Alexis Armour has a gift for comedic timing. With her bubbly personality and spirited hand gestures, the sophomore’s deadpan delivery catches her audience by surprise.
And, as host of CisternYard Radio’s The Salon with Gossip Goddess, Armour has a pretty diverse audience. Fortunately, her storytelling speaks to all kinds of students across campus.
For instance, the story of how she and her mother got turned around on their way to visit the College from nearby Columbia: “We got lost for six hours,” she says, then pausing: “Six hours.”
When she and her mother did ultimately find their way to the College, Armour fell in love with the campus, despite missing part of the tour.
Months later, toward the end of her freshman year, Armour’s suitemate encouraged her to pursue a video blog or radio show. “You should be doing something so everyone can see you and laugh at your stuff,” she told Armour.
At first, Armour ignored the suggestion. “I’m only funny in small groups, when I can be joking around and talking with people,” she explains. But as time went by and she worked part time in CisternYard Media’s ad sales department, Armour learned more about the organization’s radio component.
“I started speaking with the general manager, and he told me I could basically do anything I want, that I could have complete creative control over a show,” Armour recalls.
That conversation was the first of many between Armour and general manager Thomas “Kon” Robinson. He worked with her on a focus for the show (gossip), a title (The Salon, a place where gossip flows) and a host name (Gossip Goddess).
“I suggested Gossip Guru at first, but Kon said, ‘No, it has to be the best. You have to be bigger than anyone else out there.’”
When Armour is the Gossip Goddess, she’s immersed in her character, often bantering with herself briefly at the start of each episode: “I’ll say, ‘How is your day going, Gossip Goddess?’ and then I’ll answer, ‘Well, thank you for asking, Alexis!’ Then I’ll talk about my day and make a joke because my life is hilarious.”
The show progresses from there – Armour talks about the latest celebrity news, she plays music (“whatever I’m getting a good vibe from that week”), she interviews a guest and features a segment called “Gossip with the Guys.” Occasionally she’ll dole out advice to first-year students: namely, what to wear or not wear and how to avoid common mistakes.
But for Armour, her involvement with the show doesn’t end at the close of her one-hour time slot. In fact, that’s precisely when the communication major switches gears from thinking in terms of broadcast to social media and marketing. She films and edits promotional videos for the show and shares links to each episode on her personal social media channels.
Yet, in spite of all of her promotional efforts, she was still shocked when people began recognizing her as the Gossip Goddess.
“People I don’t know started tweeting at me, saying, ‘This girl is hilarious!’ It was crazy,” she laughs. “It’s the coolest thing in the world. I get to be funny and play music that I love and people actually respond to it.”
While Armour is quick to mention she has a backup plan – graduate school – in case radio doesn’t pan out, if the success of The Salon is any indication, she won’t have anything to worry about.
“I definitely want to go into radio after I graduate. The more I do it, the more I realize how many people got their start in radio: Wendy Williams, Queen Latifah, Oprah,” she lists.
And, as Armour grows more comfortable in her role on The Salon, she gains more in common with her heroes in the club of radio-hosts-turned-international-celebrities.
“I may want to take on a co-host next year,” she muses. “I’m still deciding who it will be.”
Thus she may become a hero herself, providing a platform and valuable guidance to another student with a voice as unique as her own.
– Photo by Alice Keeney ’04
