Concert. Woot!

First things first--Friday. Little worried about my weekend show, I'll be honest. I had a few things to say about some stuff (9 dollar flights, anyone?) and I spent most of the day on Saturday wondering if I came across as snippy. I hope not.

Saturday=Awesome. I went to Matt Moore's CD Release Party. I didn't realize until I got there how "big deal" it was going to be. Also: First VIP Pass ever. Looking back, I was probably too excited about that. Still...I'm totally saving that in a scrapbook somewhere.

The show was amazing. I'd had to opportunity earlier in the week to check out Matt's Album, which was great. The album is great. Truly. But I really wanted to check it out because who likes to go to a concert where they only know maybe one song? Not me. After seeing him play (w/ a full band and an appearance from FuseFM's very own Josh THO), I can honestly say he's even better live. Seriously. Check it out.

As far as being there as a FuseFM DJ goes, I hung out with Carol for a bit at the table. We were giving away CD's and whatnot--I still feel...awkward? I didn't really know what to do with myself for a large chunk of the time. I went with the idea that I wanted to be super-friendly and talk to loads of people and stuff, and then I mostly ended up hanging out with Sara, Carol, and Dice. But I'm still in the "newbie" stage. Or something. I can't really explain it--I had a blast and I'm so glad I went, but at the same time I felt kind of out of place. Not "just a fan" but not a seasoned radio host, either. Surely at Big Ticket I'll be too busy to dwell on feeling weird. Which, PS, is something that high school counselors always said would go away. Liars. :)

In any case, it was my first music event for the station and it was super cool. And in case you were wondering, the stage shot is Matt Moore, and no I couldn't really get any closer. I mean I could have, but it goes back to that whole feeling awkward thing. But please please please feel free to share pics if you went and also to identify yourself if you are standing next to him in the other picture. :) You can, of course, do all of that by emailing me at colette@myfusefm.com

Three Day Weekends Are Nice...

Today. Fun as usual. I didn't even glance around the station, I just headed to the back, where you can usually find Josh and Sara working on something. Only thing is, I didn't feel as productive this week--you have to be careful there, it's almost too much fun. :)

Today went...well? I found myself feeling a little off today--I was prepared but something didn't feel quite right. Can't put my finger on it--oh, and apparently I almost cost the radio station a couple thousand dollars in FCC fines, too. Yikes. I just happened to casually mention to Josh that I'd included a break about the super awesome CD release party I get to go to next weekend, and its cost to the public. Which apparently is a big no-no. No money amounts on-air. Definitely something I'm glad I know. :) So, it was back into the studio for a quick re-do. :)

Driving home tonight, I heard my "commercial" (for lack of a better word). It is so cool to hear someone else say your name and when your show is on and everything--just another unexpected reminder of how cool my life is right now. :)

Big fun going on this weekend as well--I'll be doing my THIRD parade in Alma at the Highland Fest tomorrow, so look for us. We'll be in an Explorer this time though, so I certainly can't make any promises about aim when it comes to throwing candy.

Have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend. :)

Colorado It Ain't, But I Do Love Michigan

I just got back from a speedy road trip out to Colorado, so it was really nice to get back into the swing of things--especially at the station. Rick's been in this week, and the man is full of interesting conversation. Also, the Fuse 200 shirts came in and they.are.sweet. There is still time to snag one by the way! Just check out our website or give us a call.

Anyway. On Monday Josh received a random package chuck full of newspaper. From a couple years ago I think too. Buried deep inside was a gigantic seashell. Signed. By The Afters. I am not kidding. I love the random stuff that shows up there--but to be fair, it absolutely has something to do with their next single, called "Ocean Wide" so while it is still completely random, it's also very clever.

I've become the resident "Indie/Acoustic" lover at FuseFM, so Josh asked me to compile a list of random songs we could include in a future stream this week. Which was so cool, and I had quite a few until I realized that acoustic music, especially in the secular world, almost always hovers on that line of being too sad. This led me to question why I loved that sound so much (if you've met me you know I'm pretty much the opposite of sad), and also to start seeking out some great artists that might be playing more positive music--and I don't mean music with a blatant Christian message necessarily, but happiness would be good. "Positive music" has lots of meanings. :)

Friday was Show Day, as it's come to be known in my mind. Let me just tell you that working on show prep while staring at the mountains is both inspiring and distracting. It was strange to work on the show while on "vacation." It left me feeling discombobulated and a little fuzzy-headed when I went in today. Hopefully that doesn't show too much. I also took a risk by not fixing everything on each break--there were breaks that were great but I fumbled on a word at the end, and I just couldn't ditch the whole break and start over. Hopefully that all gets ironed out soon. :)

Oh, AND. Got signed up for my THIRD parade this week as well. :) I will be sitting on a car in Alma next weekend for the Highland Festival Parade. Wooo hoooo!! :) :) Come say hello if you can. :)

Third Time's the Charm

First things first: The picture shows each piece required when making an excellent radio show. You need--a mic, a studio (it's there), show prep (the papers), a computer, and of course, a gigantic pop (Diet Mountain Dew).

Today was fun. It could have been the caffeine, though. :) Josh and Sara were hanging out in the conference room watching something on YouTube, so I hung with them for a few minutes. Josh had his guitar, and eventually we heard an interesting rendition of the Blue's Clues Theme Song. Awesome. :)

Working in the studio today felt...natural. I had confidence--real confidence. It was easy to get started. Sure, I stopped and re-did some things, but I felt really good about my show this week. It isn't perfect, but feeling like I'm getting closer to "great" is a really good feeling. I've come to the conclusion that my shows are infinitely better when I spend a good chunk of time prepping for them. I had everything laid out this week--what I was saying and why I was saying it.

So I did the first hour and then the beeping started. I had no idea what it was, but even with my limited background in radio, I was pretty sure it wasn't good. And more importantly, it would definitely be picked up on the mic. So I did what any intern would do: I yelled for help. Dice sent me to Josh, who came into the studio, pushed a couple of buttons, and then took us off-air for what felt like an eternity but was really only a couple of minutes at most. The beeping, I learned, was coming from a battery that was designed to prevent us being taken off-air in the event of a power flicker. I also learned that if we lost power, it had the capacity to keep us on-air for roughly twenty minutes. Not a whole lot of time. Here's hoping it never, ever happens to me while I'm there. Ever.

Today was so cool. I cannot believe the free stuff that pours into a station. DecyferDown sent a "brick" of CD's (I don't have any idea what that entails but I promise to look it up for you soon), and two skate decks. One of which was signed. Awe.Some.

Today was great. I felt comfortable there--really. Dice listened to some of the breaks this time through, and while I found some things to nitpick, they really are getting better--more natural. Except for when I'm trying to be funny. I had a break that involved a punch line that came to me while thinking it up, but when I delivered it on the mic, it ended up sounding rehearsed. And that's not good. So...I guess that once I'm completely comfortable, the punch lines will hopefully just happen spontaneously. :)

Monday is cleaning day at FuseFM. And I am not even dreading that. :) I think I'm really starting to love this whole radio thing.

Have a great weekend! :)

Second Show Down

Friday...was. It was fun. I had a pretty decent head cold, so it made perfect sense to me to just go in early and help out with FuseROCK intead of going home to think about how yucky I felt. I had a blast. Editing music feels tedious but not when you're hanging out with Josh and Sara (who, by the way does not spell her name with an "h." I apologize for the typos).

When it came time to record my show, I realized that the paper detailing all of my show prep was still on my kitchen counter. Josh graciously offered to share his with me--which included a story about Korea genetically engineering glow-in-the-dark pets. I am completely serious. Google it. I was able to remember most of what I wanted to say though--in the future, I plan to use GoogleDocs for all show prep. :)

The show went well. I think. I couldn't really hear myself. Or much of anything else. But it was fun. And it's getting easier and I am gearing up for next weekend's already. I do plan on listening to this week's show, but not in the creepishly obsessive way I did last week. I need to listen to it to see where things are improving and where they could be better.

I wish I could accurately describe what it feels like to be there. It is such a mellow atmosphere--but fun and buzzing with excitement at the same time. Unless it's just me doing the buzzing. It has been really cool getting to know both radio and the amazing DJ's I had listened to and admired for so long. They're even starting to feel like regular people to me now. :)

So, I'm holding my breath only a tiny bit for this weekend's show. And surprisingly already looking forward to Monday. :)