Soulparking

Saturday, 24 June 2006

I forgot how much I missed radio.  And for some reason, I knew I would intersect with it again.  I didn’t know how or when.  But I knew it would happen.

And the funny thing I knew I would also intersect with KanYe West.  Everybody in the CBD (Cape Bowl District) went nuts when Snoop, Mario, and Sean Paul came to Cape Town about two months ago.  But I wasn’t too impressed.  But when I heard KanYe West was coming into town I definitely wanted to be apart of that. 

But I didn’t know that both things would come together.

I have three offices in Cape Town.  One is my actual office where I work.  Office number two is Seattle Coffee Company on Kloof Street.  My third office is Seattle Coffee Compny in Tygervalley Mall.  So on Saturday morning I was going to office number three to work.  The TABLE film series production was going to be starting on Sunday – so I had lots to do.  While driving, I heard there were doing a live radio broadcast of my favorite radio station – Good Hope FM (www.goodhope.co.za) – I believe one of the best radio stations in the world.  The only other radio station that comes close is one in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

The premise was easy.  Diggy Barnes (the DJ) would read some information on the air about KanYe West and then 30 minutes later get three people to answer questions about it.  So as I was parking at Tygervalley Mall while he was giving the information on the air.  I listened, remembered, and rushed inside.  I was the first one that went up to the booth.  Everybody else was timid.

And that’s when I had massive deja vu.  I remembered doing live broadcasts.  I remembered being remote and also being back at the  station running the board.  I remembered how nerve racking it was but how your adrenaline would start pumping before, during, and how you were completely exhausted after the program.  I also remembered not getting paid much but loving my job.  I also remembered knowing what the voices looked like in real life.  The radio voices never matched the real people.  Most of the people had issues, drama, weight problems, and debt issues.  But they all loved radio.  Radio was in their blood. 

As I was waiting for the spot to come on, I saw the program director standing nearby.  I went up to her and started chatting.  I asked her why Good Hope wasn’t nationally syndicated even though it was by far the best radio program in South Africa.  I personally thought – in the world.  She explained that even though it was owned by SABC, the South African broadcasting association would not give it a national license due to what it deemed as not having enough mixed music.  Or something like that.  Both of us were disappointed.  I told her that watching the show was bringing back memories because I worked in radio for 5 years while in Atlanta, Georgia.  Her eyes lit up.

“Really?”

“You don’t have any grave yard engineering shifts do you?  I would love to volunteer to help out.  You run all digital boards don’t you?” I asked.

She nodded.  “Yeah, we upgraded to all digital seven years ago.”  She searched in her pockets.  “Let me give you my boss’ number.  I would love for you to talk to him.  Hold on.”  And she disappeared behind the booth where the broadcast was happening from.  She came back to me with a business card and some numbers scribbled on the back.  “We would put you through a training process.  But I definitely think they would have some spots for you when we are doing remote broadcasts or when someone wants a holiday.”

I really had nostalgia then.  I remembered that’s how I got into the radio circuit in Atlanta.  I volunteered to work graveyard shifts and holidays.  And I was training with the chief engineer.  Then he and the station manager had a falling out and he quit on the spot.  They had nobody trained or ready to step into his role.  So they called me late on Sunday night if I would come in and fill the chief engineering spot the next morning at 4 AM. 

God, I was so scared.  I was going to be in charge of the entire weekday morning drive program!  I remember when Rich Simpson walked in that morning at 5 AM to prep for his show.

“Hey Gary!  So how do you like working here?”

I was already sweating.  “Its great.”

Rich smiled as he was pulling copy from the AP wire.  “Do you know when you are going to officially start?”

I gulped.  “Today.”

It was like a truck hit him.  “Today?! For who?”

I quietly answered.  “For you.”

“For me?!  But you are brand new!  Do you know what you are doing?  What happened to the other guy?”  His veins were popping out of his neck.

Again, I took a deep swallow.  “He quit.”

“Quit!  Oh my god.”

I learned fast how to fake it until you make it.  I hid under the board all morning – and only popped my head up to smile calmly, count down to a live air, and give a thumbs up to let him know everything was okay – even though it wasn’t.  He was very, very sensitive that day.  Any half a millisecond pause between the bumper music and a commercial – I saw his face contort.  There was a 1 second delay before traffic went on – and I thought he was going to have a heart attack.  But when it was all over at noon – when the morning drive was officially completed – he came out of the studio and patted me on my back.

“Great show.  Very good show.  You’re not too bad.  See you tomorrow, right?”  Rich winked at me.

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”  And that’s how I started.  I was a nervous wreck the rest of the day.  I was shaking so bad I could barely drive to university that afternoon.

So here it is in front of me again.  There is some mystical allure about radio.  And regardless of the technology – there is something about music and a faceless voice that soothes us as human beings.  And when we are making that road trip, driving into or leaving work in the morning or afternoon, that person on the radio feels like family.  Feels like home.  And nope, there is no money in it.  But the perks of free concert tickets, VIP passes to parties, free music, T-shirts, and food – lots and lots of free food – makes it all worth it.  And there is something about being a radio DJ or a board engineer that makes women horny.  They call the radio station automatically aroused.  Weird.  Back when I was single, that was an awesome benefit. 

Oh yeah, I went on to win the KanYe West tickets and I won a gift bag of Addias goodies from Edgars clothing store.  So when I talk to KanYe after his concert, I will tell him thanks for getting me the part time job.