Deejay Talk

[pmoneyallstar]

So I'm a deejay. I've worked in radio and now work as a stripclub deejay. I'm hoping this thread will enlighten those who just listen to the radio.
A tearing down of the 4th wall, as it were, was and always will be.

An introduction into the frequencies as typed by Auntie Cheesus and Uncle Ed should go first. I will add my own introduction since I only started in 2003 on a COMMERCIAL station.

[Auntie Cheesus]

I had a brief career in the news department of a 1000 watt AM station playing Top 40 in 1978. I was taking a communications course at the local community college. I was also dating the guy that had the Friday and Saturday overnight shift at the station.

I fell ass backwards into my job of overnight weekend news chick: I was hanging out after bringing the DJ some dinner and the programming manager drove by the station. News was coming up. DJ threw the newscast in front of me, told me to put on the spare cans and that my mic would be live in 60 seconds. "Read what's on the paper and pray I don't get fired".

Sure enough, the programming manager decided to stop in for a visit. "Who's the girl?"

"She's taking broadcasting at Delta. I offered to let her come in and watch, then wanted to see how she did with the 3AM news, since no one listens at this hour."

As if on cue, the phones lit up like a Christmas tree. The PM decided he would answer the calls. After about 10 calls, he looks over at me. "You're an intern with the news department. You'll work weekend overnight and partner with Pat. The news director will be in at 7 to prep for his weekly show at 8. Sit in and you two work out details. I'll call Franklin over at Delta and get you set up to get credit for this. Welcome to the station."

And that is how I started in radio.

[Auntie Cheesus]

Smiths: Auntie Cheesus: As if on cue, the phones lit up like a Christmas tree.

who was listening at 3AM to that AM station for the news and wanted to call. and how the heck were there so many?

humanity always surprises me.


As far as I could tell, we had the majority of insomniacs, drunks and lovestruck teens in the market. The programming manager said the overwhelming majority of callers were male and young. Our news ran for 10 minutes at the top of every hour: 7 minutes of the ABC national feed and three minutes local.

[verbaltoxin]

What's this "radio?" Is that an app or a Youtube channel or something?

[fender]

Its an educational tool. It will tell you everything it knows. Just believe it when it tells you that it is so

[Ed Becker]

If I become interested in something, I have to know all I can. That's what got me into wrestling, demolition derby and radio. My radio geekdom started in the mid '80's when I became a fan and would call the request lines and bullshit with the night jocks at the local rock stations. I was in high school at the time. I would bring in bootleg Zeppelin albums for Get the Led Out and hang out in the studio and learn a few things about the mechanics of the business and listen to them bitch about their program directors.

I also started to pay attention to morning radio outside of the local then full service station. (middle of the road music, news, sports, light talk) I started to listen to a local show that had been around for maybe a year, Bob and Brian on the old WLZR/Milwaukee (Lazer 103) who are still on that frequency (102.9 The Hog) and are now actually co-workers of mine. Fast forward a few years... Bob & Brian have WLUP-AM/Chicago's Steve Dahl and Garry Meier on their show hyping their show in town celebrating ten years. You could get The Loop in Milwaukee and for a while they were syndicated here in the early '80's. So I start listening to The Loop AM and holy fuck... It was wall to wall morning shows. Such unbelievable talent. Jonathan Brandmeier in the morning, Middays with Kevin Matthews (the guy is insane. YouTube him.), Steve & Garry afternoons followed by Chet Coppick on sports. I would skip school to listen to the radio.

So while all this shit is happening, I had befriended the night jock at the former 93QFM, a fading rock station. I would take a bunch of pics at the local race track's demolition derbies and I had some good pics of Mark the Shark in the car that was prepared for him. I was a Lazer 103 guy, but I called him and told him I had some pics of him in the derby, in a kinda douchey way. He thought it was awesome, came off as a good guy and offered some cassettes for the photos.

I became friends with him. I'd call in just to bullshit. He'd feed me stuff to do phone bits. He knew I was a radio geek and wanted in. One evening while bullshitting we had a conversation that went something like this:

Shark: Dude... our production intern sucks. He just sits on the phone with chicks, thinks he's the greatest thing since Marconi and doesn't do shit. We need to get rid of him but have nobody to replace him. You interested?

Me: Does a bear shit in the woods?

I was set up with an interview, which was actually a training session with the production director, David Lee (if you listen to the NFL on Dial Global, he's the guy with the iron balls that voices the intros and bumps.) who I knew from hanging around at Summerfest.

I was given a key to the building and the suite. The old 'QFM studios were on the 21st floor of an old skyscraper on the western part of downtown Milwaukee. The view out of the on air studio was the best in all of Milwaukee. But the place was a toilet... lotsa paneling that seemed more at home in someones basement, the studios were ratty as hell, there was so much DNA on the carpet - it would make a black light cry and explode.

I learned how to dub the ABC reels to cart. I learned how to run a board with CD's and carts and laying shit over intros.

And I learned how to deal with disasters. Like when the Marti signal would crap out. Or on my first day by myself the jock was at a local county fair. I hear this:

- Him: dude... I'll be here for the break, I don't have the talkback thing. I drank the milk from the 4-H deal and I'm lactose intolerant. I shat myself. I'm waiting in line at the port-a-johns. I'll be there for the break. (I could hear him, he couldn't hear me.)

The pants-shitter was there for the break. This was in 1992. I drove in my first demolition derby at that fair a few days later. I almost got killed. I wrote the copy for the sports guy on Monday

[pmoneyallstar]

Wow.

I'll share my stories in the next few days.
I almost forgot I posted this.

Www.FiveDollarFreakShow.Com

A talk radio show on the interwebs. It's what I continue to do today.
A working man's perspective. A "reality" radio without scripts and paid talkers.
Common folk who take public transportation and deal with the REAL world.

[Ed Becker]

Just got some bummer news from one of my old PD's. My first GM passed away on Monday. I worked for him from '92 til late '94 or early '95.

When I worked for him, I was a 19 year old punk who learned via trial-by-fire. I wore asbestos shorts. The biggest lesson I learned was know when to shut the fuck up, an important lesson that carries over from professional to one's personal life. Al didn't fuck around and you didn't fuck with Al.

I obviously wasn't close with him. I made fun of him behind his back, as many do with their bosses. I did learn a shit-ton over those first few years of my career. I now look at them as being very pivitol in my career. Although I was at a fading heritage AOR, they could've gotten rid of me at any time. Maybe they saw something in me, maybe they couldn't find anyone else to do the job at a shithole station. Maybe both. I'm thankful for that opportunity. I'm also sad to see him gone.

Of course, I have to share some stories...

- On the importance of prep: I was producing the morning show and we just had a total abortion. Called into his office. He's reading us the riot act. There was nothing of redeeming value on the show that morning. Nothing even remotely funny. He looks at me and says, "SAY SOMETHING FUNNY!" After I voided my bowels and said nothing, he says, "SEE! DO YOUR GODDAMNED SHOW PREP! PLAY A FUCKING RECORD OR SOMETHING!"

- Our arch rival, Lazer 103 boogered one of our features. I can't remember which one. Something like "two-fer Tuesday" or some crap like that. Oh, wait... It was "Ticket Window Tuesday." So, Al gets the layers and goes over to the Lazer offices. C&D's are flying all over the place. At the time, Lazer was owned by Great American Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Hanna/Barberra. (Most of the GAB stations would eventually be folded into what is now know as Clear Channel after GAB overextended themselves in buying TV stations. Lazer was bought by Saga, the company I now work for. It was the first purchase after deregulation came to pass locally.) Anyways, Al went in and sold the feature to them for $93 (93QFM). We turned around and did a contest to give that check and tickets to every concert that summer to a listener.

RIP Al

(edit: fixed URL)

[sharktrager]

OK, question P$.

I swear one of the clubs down here had a filter so no matter who talks in to the mic it sounds the exact same.

Have you ever heard of such a thing?

[hobblekitty]

pmoneyallstar: Wow.

I'll share my stories in the next few days.
I almost forgot I posted this.

Www.FiveDollarFreakShow.Com

A talk radio show on the interwebs. It's what I continue to do today.
A working man's perspective. A "reality" radio without scripts and paid talkers.
Common folk who take public transportation and deal with the REAL world.






Yeah, I'll say there are no paid talkers!!! I demand recompense! I'm gonna talk to my union!!

/what? I have no union?
//what?! this is a VOLUNTEER position?
///fuck

[pmoneyallstar]

So I began in 98' at KUWS 91.3 in superior, Wisconsin. I knew a guy who had been working at the local college radio station. I bugged him so much that he groomed me as his replacement. As his of 91 Jazz Street.
Pick one song off of each Jazz Cd, write down your playlist, read underwriter copy and play carts.
Carts were a bitch. Like 8 tracks, but worse.

Anyways, I did the shift til class was back in session.

Months later, the public access channels broadcast the KUWS audio and heard a call for volunteers for summer radio.

I gave a call and knew a guy and got a spot on "The Deans List" an alternative rock radio show.
Again, I was told to play one cut off 30 cd's and the rest would be up to me.

Those were the days...

A whole room of records, cd's, you were even encouraged to rate the CD's at home by Up-tempo and language.
Took home Korn Cd Follow the leader. I Loved Earache My Eye Nd multiple dead tracks..LOL

I had a cohost once and even had a few followers. Til Class was back in session.

Wow. So much I've forgotten and yet what a trip that was...

I move to NY in 2000.

I see infomercials about the NEW SCHOOL.

Learn how to be a deejay!!
Get fame. Be cool.

So I join. I dress to impress and work two was hard. Radio school was 6 months, followed by internship and a pat on the back...

I make friends with teachers due to my constant showing up early and staying late, cos this shit rocks!!

I eventually am told by teachers that they mentioned me, blah blah, A few weeks later I see this letter by a small radio company on my teachers desk, stating they're a small company looking for good people and you're a school, send em' our way.

It clicked.

So one of the teachers heard my delivery and told me he knew a guy from a station no one has heard of 93.7 KRock in Albany, NY that I sounded like, he's cool. You should meet him.
I go up, he's cooler than the freezer!! Nice guy. Let me come back and hang out. He had a Sunday show, let me Tagalong.

So I got an internship early, and finished the day before I finished radio school. And at that local company. I kept sticking around and I got a Saturday VT (voice tracking) shift on Saturday night 7-12

I started my first shift on a midnight. Hey Ya by Outkast was my first song and it was almost an out of body expierience.

I stuck around and was looking to do more. We had these production meetings and the night before one of the meetings, I planned I offering myself for free.
I got what I was looking for.
I would be a newspaper gopher and intern to a controversial talk show host who tried to commit suicide after his last gig.

Part 2...

Soon...