2008 Woodie Awards
Batt writer becomes a DJ for a day
The early bird plays music
By: Chelsea Lankes
Issue date: 7/1/08 Section: Aggielife
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With coffee in hand and notebook in tow, I found the home of College Station's most popular radio station. The five-story glass building tucked away from Highway 6 is especially inconspicuous when the sun isn't out. When I walked into the office, Frito and Alli already had the morning show started. Located on the fifth floor, the studio has a remarkable view. Even at 6 a.m., I realized that if going to work meant listening to music while watching the sun rise and talking for a few hours, this job wasn't half bad.
Frito, the program director and DJ, who requested that his real name be withheld, described his attitude towards his line of work.
"It's spoiled us to anything else we would ever do in our lives, because it's like hanging out all day, and getting paid for it," he said. "Honest to God, our job is - we sit around and listen to music and do all the stuff that people do in their free time and we get paid to do it. There is structure but at the very basic level. Our day is spent hanging around with a bunch of our friends and having fun and cruising around on the Internet."
Alli, promotions director and class of 2005, echoed his sentiments but added that the job isn't no work and all play.
"We do have a lot of work to do, we all work really hard," she said. "It's just that at the same time, I think the product that we're putting out mandates that the things we're doing to make it what it is have to be fun."
The studio is a small room, CDs lining the walls, microphones sprout from the large desk, and many knobs, gadgets and buttons lay before the confident hands of Frito as he easily navigates between each segment, commercial and song.
As a listener of the station, I couldn't help but wonder if DJs get tired of the songs that are consistently recycled and worn out. It may be a bit sacrilegious for a DJ to admit, but Frito reluctantly confessed.
"I don't get tired really of the music," he said. "I'm generally entertained by it, but obviously some songs, when you hear them 1000 times, eventually it's like, 'Man, I really would like to hear something new.'"
Alli's take was similar, but she emphasized that as a DJ, it is your job to listen to those songs all day every day. However, the top 40 songs in America get a break from the constant spins as Candy created a "My Five" playlist. Any listener can request five songs to be played each day.
"When someone gives me an excuse to play Metallica, or gives me an excuse to play five songs in row by Death Cab [For Cutie], that's really, really fun to me," Frito said. "And it's a nice thing for our listeners to hear something besides the stuff that they like. Obviously people's tastes are pretty broad, and that's why we made the 'My Five.'"
It was about 7 a.m. when the program went from primarily music to primarily talking. The morning show is mostly natural conversation. With exception to some staple segments, it is easy to go with the flow. To my surprise, we played a game called "Are you Smarter than a Batt Reporter?", and as unprepared as I was, bizarre trivia questions were thrown my way along with a brave listener. And to my relief, I won. One would think, four hours of sitting and talking would fly by, well it's true. When the headphones are on, time isn't an element. It's odd to think that in a room of a couple people and a phone line, the conversation is being eavesdropped on by thousands of early-risers in the Bryan-College Station area. As a locally owned station, the community is the focal point of each program. From the bits, contests, and songs that are chosen, the listeners of Bryan-College Station are the center of each decision. The radio station's work goes beyond the studio and into the community, as they are involved in a number of charities, such as Christmas Angels and Children's Miracle Network.
"If we see something we're interested in being involved in, our station as a whole believe that because we are locally owned, because we are an important part of this community, that we can be a voice for the community," Alli said. "It's our responsibility to allow community access to the stations that are here."
So maybe being a DJ isn't all talk and no walk. Though some promotions meetings are discussed during games of Guitar Hero, when the conversation involves giving back to the community, the perspective of a DJ morphs from small talk to a voice of accountability.
Ben Downs, general manager of Candy 95, has been in the radio industry for almost 40 years. One of 23 members of the National Association of Broadcasters, his wisdom and experience provides guidance and direction for the DJ's at Candy.
"Because I'm an old guy in the business, I make it a point to never let the words, 'We've always done it this way' leave my lips," Downs said. "I'm more than willing to let the staff of any of the stations give something a try. As long as what they're trying isn't against the law or FCC rules, the only way to advance a business is to try new things."
Being a DJ may be the hottest job in town. If going to bed early and getting up early is the hardest part of the day, life for a morning show DJ is smooth sailing. I can't say that after one day of playing DJ that I would consider it as a career path, but their job is enviable.
Alli remembers the first words that Downs said when she was hired at Candy: "Well, it beats working."
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