GEORGE DAVIS
Hi, gang – greetings from KWIC-108 the rock, here in Beaumont, Texas. I know, I promised I would drop you a line around the first of the year and here it is the middle of March and I'm just now getting around to writing. Sorry about the delay, but I've been pressed for time lately – now that I do weekend air shifts here at the Rock! For about the past 8 weeks I've been getting at least 6 hours of airtime each weekend. Things have been hectic – but I'm loving it.
Actually, the airtime caught me off guard and somewhat unprepared, but when opportunity knocks, what can you do? It's a case of the program working exactly as designed – it put me in the right place at the right time. I had figured I would be hitting the books for at least a year, maybe more, before I got a shot at the mike (and in some ways I think that may be better).
I did my introductory interview at KWIC back on September 9 and made my debut Christmas day – a short three months later. At present I usually work the overnight shift on Sunday mornings – in other words I go in at midnight on Saturdays til 6AM Sunday morning. I've gained a new perspective, and a new found respect for what disc jockeys do for a living – believe me. To the uninitiated, this statement may sound crazy, but working my air shift is a physical experience.
It's getting a lot easier now, but after my first show I was exhausted! It was like grabbing a tiger by the tail. Four-minute songs seemed to just evaporate into the night air in the blink of an eye. And if anyone thinks, say, two seconds of dead air between songs is no big deal – wait till you hear these two seconds of dead air on your air check tape. Two seconds – a slow death. And for more fun, wait until you take that air check tape to your Program Director and sit down and listen to it with him. Watch his face as you wince together. One good thing about it, anyone who's ever sat down at the mike realizes that a rookie is going to make mistakes – plenty of ‘em. They also realize that the only way for you to get better is to let you stumble along - keep making mistakes – keep working – and keep improving. One bit of advice I get constantly from the other jocks is to relax and have fun with it. That's the key thin – have fun with it – it's supposed to be fun. If you work at it too hard it shows and you don't want to come across the air sounding like you're working. And I guess that's why we all want to be jocks in the first place – it seems like a fun job.
As I said, it's been hectic since the first of the year. Besides working at my “real” job and working on my Apprentice-Mentor studies, I've got to spend a certain amount of time down at the station just for prep time for my show. I'm constantly listening to new music and reading music magazines for little bits of info that I need to use for my show. Also one phrase I never really hear much is…”It’s no my job.” Job responsibilities naturally overlap and it's such a small team that without everyone's cooperation, the team loses. It's hard to think of going to concerts, clubs, movies, lunches and other public appearances as work, but it is. I've actually had to hold myself back from doing a lot of these activities because of all the other work I need to be doing. That fun stuff will come later.
Right now I've got to hone my skills and keep my nose in the books and not get carried away with all the fun stuff. Yet! Not that I've missed all the perks. A few weeks ago I got to see a Dave Edmunds concert – compliments of the station. Also I was able to meet Dave Edmunds and I got him to record a drop-in for our station. Also, I've brought home more records than I've really had time to listen to. The great thing for me is that my musical tastes are somewhat eccentric. I get off to ethnic music, roots rock, or alternative rock. I love a lot of the stuff coming out on the independent labels these days. I'm working at an AOR station. We don't usually use a lot of that stuff (but we receive a bunch of it). The first time I got a shot at the “free stuff” bin at the station, I couldn't believe my eyes. And the funny thin was as I was looking through it a guy from our newsroom walked by and said, “You're looking too late, George – all the good stuff is gone.” I think I took about 15 albums that night. And I was just being polite. I took home about 10 the next night.
Another shock for me is the amount of freedom I'm given at the station. The production studio is available to me whenever it's free and we've also got an old AM studio at the station no longer in use and it's at my disposal at any time. I can go down to the station and grab up a bunch of spare carts and “play” radio in the AM studio. I also try to hang around the production studio and pick up whatever knowledge I can. Words I never hear are ‘don't’ or ‘can't. This is quite a switch for somebody used to a conventional work scene like me. Nobody's told me that there is equipment that I can't use or given my any guidelines that list a bunch of don'ts, which I fully expected to get. I thought that I would be told a bunch of stuff that I couldn't do or couldn't say before I went on the air, but luckily my Program Director's philosophy is to hire good, talented people and let them do their thing – so far so good. Really I couldn't’ imagine lucking into a better position for learning. I think you'll agree things are working quite nicely.
Well, let me get back to work, but before I go, let me say THANKS for your part in getting me set up in such an excellent position. I'll try and keep you posted on my progress here at 108 – the Rock.
Best regards,
George Davis
Hi, Gang! Greetings from AOR station KWIC-108FM 1380AM home of quality rock here in Beaumont, Texas and the entire Southeast Texas-Southwest Louisiana area. Congratulations on the anniversary and thanks for all of your help as I enter my second year of this crazy world of broadcasting.
Actually I had intended to send an extensive, detailed, account of George Davis' climb up the broadcasting ladder, but to be truthful things are so hectic, that I don't have the time to write what would no doubt be a long story that would bore the readers to death. Lucky for all of us!
Trying to sum up what the radio experience has been like for me, I'm reminded of the old Ed Sullivan T.V. show. Hopefully, some of the readers will be old enough to remember the Ed Sullivan show. If so, remember those guys that came on and would spin plates on the end of a long thin rod standing straight up in the air. (whew-what a talent!). Anyway, these guys would spin first one plate, then another and another, etc. until they had a whole stage full of spinning plates. Of course, by the time they got ready to start, say, plate number 10, plate number 1 was losing its momentum and would be wobbling---so the guy would have to run down and get number 1 spinning good again, give numbers 2 and 2 a quick twirl, and then go start number 20. If you remember the show you know what I mean. Well, that's what radio is like for me.
I currently am working 15 hours on the air per weekend here at KWIC and my schedule is hellacious. Not that I don't enjoy it—actually I live for those 15 hours. Along with those 15 hours of glory per weekend, various odd jobs at the station (helping on remotes, staff meetings, occasional dubbing, etc.), as well as keeping my real job and trying to maintain some sort of normal family and social life. Naturally just like the plate spinner on Ed Sullivan, there are times when it seems like one phase of this existence is just about to come to a shattering halt. Somehow I seem to get my assignments done.
Speaking of assignments, I've got another of those spinning plates to attend to. Specifically I've got to do some show prep for my show tonight.
Congratulations again on your anniversary and best of luck for a bright future.
Sincerely yours,
George Davis
