Manic Monday.

Yeah. I stole the title from a song. And the band was kinda lame, too (sorry Bangles). Moving on....

Listening to your own show might not be the best idea. :) I completely avoided Saturday as I had conveniently made plans before finding out my show was debuting a week early. I managed to catch most of Sunday, including the part where I talked about the amazing weather and also developed a slight lisp. :) I ended up hanging out in our basement like a creep listening and cringing--okay, and also playing Bejeweled Blitz. It's hard to listen. Mostly because I see all the parts where it could have been better. Like, being accurate on the weather. Or a few pauses. Or other things that most people probably didn't notice.

In the end, I'm okay with it. Actually, I'm pretty proud of myself. My first show was the moment in which my dream was realized. It may have taken a few years to hear where God was calling me, and I certainly didn't go about it in any sort of traditional way, but there it was. And that was a pretty incredible feeling. I am really looking forward to next weekend's show as well. As cocky as it may sound--I really do hear a difference and it can only get better. Right?

I brought a cake with me into the station today, and Josh ended up hunting down some comedy from Bill Cosby in order to set up a joke in which he changed the words to the song just to add my name (something about chocolate cake?). In a strange way, it's almost flattering that he would spend that much time on it just to make sure I (and Sarah) got the punchline. And also...not. Because surely I could have found the humor in it without the five minutes of Cosby stand-up. I love the way that everyone at the station seems to spend so much time building each other up--the jokes are never mean, and it's more than evident that everyone cares about everybody else. It's so refreshing to be in an environment like that. And sooooo good for the ego. :)

Today I got to edit music. I learned how to use a program and pull out dead space and clean up the intros and outros (Uhm. That's possibly not a word). It's pretty cool, and I felt really tech-y but it's a little time consuming. And I really wish you could have to opportunity to hear Sarah and Josh "discuss" how Sarah edits music. She doesn't like to waste air space. :)

Radio Lingo of the Day: We have a list of songs (the top 37 as of today) which start out at the bottom and work their way up to number one. When they hit number one, you will hear it once every two and a half hours. Hence feeling like we "always play" certain songs--they're huge hits so they get lots of air time. Once they leave the number one spot, they become part of the recurrents--you'll hear a recurrent about once every other song or so. And then there's another confusing process that determines which recurrents you hear and when. More on that in another blog. Possibly. :) Also--don't quote me on the spelling of that either, because I'm pretty sure I just made it up. Any corrections will soon follow if necessary. :)

See you Friday!

Surprise!!!

I had a little extra time before heading into the station today so I sat down at the computer and planned for two days worth of shows. I carefully organized everything and felt pretty good. I was looking forward to this last practice session before my "official" debut. And then. :)

I was chatting it up with Carol and Jim when Dice walked out of the studio and said, "Yeah, there was a typo on the date, so your show actually starts this weekend." Apparently Laine and Tower had been talking about it all week. :)

?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Awesome. I panicked for a few minutes. The news stunned me, and while I was very excited I was also completely freaked out. I kept repeating something about my first show ever, and then finally Dice set up the back studio for me and I got to work. It isn't as distracting in the back. It might be simply that there aren't any windows, but either way I didn't feel as self-conscious. So in two hours I finished my first weekend show. Ever.

My show debuts tomorrow. My show. Two months-ish of preparation, and ta-da! I left with a huge headache and completely psyched. It was strange--I couldn't stop bouncing around while we were going through a few of the breaks and I couldn't wait to get on the phone. :) I finally-finally-feel like a "real" DJ. I've told people that I'm interning at FuseFM but now I can tell them I'm also a DJ and not feel like a liar. :) It's really cool.

The con to not knowing it was this weekend was that I didn't have time to prepare. That was also the biggest pro. I think if I had too much time to dwell on that first weekend, I would have had a hard time meeting my own expectations. In the end it worked out quite nicely, which things have a way of doing. :)

Did I mention yet that my show debuts this weekend? You can listen to it on your radio at 101.7 FM, 96.7 FM, or stream it online at MyFuse FM.

It's not perfect, and I do have a lot to learn despite my progress over the past two months, but it is something I'm pretty excited about. I hope you are too. :)

Oh--no Lingo today, but I wanted to let you know that I'll be hanging out in the parade at the Shepherd Maple Syrup Festival on Sunday at 2:30. Make sure you come by and say hi!

Buzzcut-itis

Yeah. Uhm, it's really hard to take yourself seriously when you're in the middle of playbacks and someone notices you mispronounce "artist." :)

Today was a good day. It was a milestone actually. I completed an entire two days worth of show!!! It is possible!!! Thank goodness, because I was starting to get worried.

Being comfortable in front of the mic is improving too. It really is hard to talk to yourself, and I'm always worried about what I'm going to say, so there tend to be a few awkward pauses where I don't want them to be. It's also getting a lot easier to identify my "outs" and how to tighten up my breaks--it's doing it on the first try that's proving to be the challenge. But I do feel like I'm getting closer to being ready and building some confidence. It is so easy to tell myself to relax, it's the doing it that is difficult. On the drive out to the station there were a few things I really wanted to say and I had it pretty well planned in my mind. I just still trip up a little bit when the time comes to actually do it.

I'm sure you've figured out by now that today's pic is the FuseFM staff. I have no idea why, but I love it. Maybe it's because everyone looks so happy to be there, or maybe it's because I'm in it and it's like having proof of being an actual member of said staff. :) I don't really feel like a DJ yet--probably because I have yet to start my own show, and because the past few weeks have been thrwarted by toddler illness so I haven't been on the regular schedule. I know the DJ part will come. There are still days--today even--when I think to myself, "Holy cow! I am actually a DJ!!!" Pretty cool.

The thing I find most surprising is that the breaks where I'm sharing personal stories or how I feel about life and God are the ones I think I mess up the most on, and yet those are the ones Dice seems to like. I guess there's the added feeling of vulnerability that makes me question those breaks so much. But music is more than just a beat to me--it's about life and mistakes and learning and love and happiness and joy and a whole host of other adjectives. It is so important to me that you know that and that I make sure to share it with you in my breaks. It is yet another reason why I love what we do at FuseFM. We play songs about struggles and relationships--being a Christian doesn't make you immune to heartache. If I had a goal as far as being a FuseFM DJ, it would be to share with you my heartaches so that you know you're not alone in yours.

Radio Lingo of the Day: Buzzcut-itis. Since I'm a "staff member" I figure it's only fair that I am allowed to add words to the English language. From now on, "buzzcut-itis" refers to an overabundance of new and amazing music. It may sound funny, but being overwhelmed by new music is not a laughing matter. This condition can best be cured by popping in Joey Lawrence's debut (and final?) album. Or even voting at myfusefm.com :)

See you Friday!!!

Edging Ever Closer...

After enjoying Good Friday off from my internship, I came into the station today with plenty of show prep and ready to get back to business. Or something like that. I am somehow suffering from a cold this week, and I feel completely scatter-brained.

Today went well. It started of with a political discussion between Dice and I during which Sarah mysteriously disappeared and Josh occasionally chuckled to himself. :) I did some "practice" stuff in the studio, and then we went over the breaks.

I am really getting much better at identifying where I could do better and how to tighten up a break. Dice even labeled one of them "great" today, so that was pretty cool. I am still slightly hindered by feeling self-conscious, but it really does get easier and easier every time I'm behind the mic. I have even felt confident enough to record a break on the fly based on the song we just played or the one coming up next. And it sounds like the debut of my own show is getting closer and closer, which is very exciting.

There are things I need to improve on. There will probably always be things I will hear played back that I wish I had done different. The real difference between now and when I first started my internship is that I am no longer scared and overwhelmed to start my show. The very thought used to keep me awake at night in the beginning. Now I am just...totally excited. And it just gets cooler and cooler every day.

I love being somewhere that is so interesting and so much fun I am unable to see it as work. I have truly-finally-found my niche. Here's hoping the FuseFM Staff agrees with me. :) :)

Radio Lingo of the Day: Once again, this isn't a term but instead some information. Radio stations classify themselves with all sorts of letters. For example, we are considered a CHR station (or Hot CHR, depending on who you ask). CHR simply stands for Contemporary Hit Radio. That is, we play the hits across all the various genres be it hip hop, rock, pop, etc. Asking this question today led to an interesting discussion with Dice and Josh. Dice commented that he sees us as more of a Hit CHR station since we play agressive, up-tempo music, and yet somehow "Christian" music has been classified as it's own genre, despite all the characteristics it may share with other genres. For example, Pillar is obviously a rock band. However, because they are signed with a "Christian" label, they are a "Christian" band. It's sad to me a little that groups are pigeon-holed for positive lyrics when the musicianship is clearly mainsteam-worthy. It's one of the reasons I love working at FuseFM so much--we clearly have a desire to change the way that people view positive hit radio.

I apologize for the blog being a day late--I have crazy kiddos sometimes. ;)

Monday was cool. Different, but cool. I recorded three PSA's (public service announcements) with Sarah showing me the ropes--it was waaaay more fun that it had any right to be. Everyone kind of pitches in and helps with those, so it was fun having a chance to do something that made me feel a little more connected to the station--even if I was just reading information from a piece of paper.

After that I went to work helping Josh get things ready for the launch of FuseROCK, our first online station. I got to help catolog the music we'll play, which sounds a little bit cooler than it actually is. I am still so shocked by how many things are done "by hand." Every song must be typed in along with artist and a bunch of other distinguishing characteristics. So it mostly involved a lot of data entry, which I happen to love for a reason I can't fathom. But it was fun, and there's always laughter there, and a tendency to over-share. At least on my part. :) I worried a little bit that I was hindering more than helping, as I hadn't heard of many of the bands I was dealing with. When you catalog music, they catergorize things by gender, sound, genre, etc. In FuseROCK's case, songs are catergorized by "hard," "medium", and "light/indie" also. Having never heard many of the bands before, I had to ask Josh for a lot of that info. before I could put it into the computer. Still fun, though. :)

It was neat to see the non-DJ side of the station on Monday. I wasn't holed up in the studio recording--which I love--so I got to interact with people and see what else has to happen in order to make a station like ours as awesome as it is. :)

It feels weird, calling it "ours" instead of "theirs." I really am starting to feel that way--that I'm part of it. Not just pretending, which has been the case previously. There is still the element of that and the insecurity that goes with it, but I feel it ebb more and more every time I'm there. It has been a struggle mostly becauseI am used to feeling so competent, and so dealing with insecurity has made me feel a lot younger than I am--and not in a good way.

I must also apologize for the lack of Radio Lingo today. I was so busy working on Monday :) that I forgot to grill everyone for random radio facts. There may just be two next time...

I have no idea what Friday will bring. But I promise to let you know in a more timely fashion. :)