Master CraftsMon - Aired Monday, January 9, 2006 at about 11pm CST - Segment 1
Master CraftsMon - Aired Monday, January 9, 2006 at about 11pm CST - Segment 1
As I said last week, I do clean up on the songs that come in for review. I go in and listen to the albums that have been on the shelf for over a year. The problem I have always had is that paranoia can creep in if I am not careful. I mean, On Wednesday, I came in and the shelf had been cleaned up and all the old albums were gone. Is there a relationship? Probably not. Co-incidences can occur.
This last week has been very, very strange for me, because I finally got someone to take over most of the shifts I cover here at KEOS. Whether you know it or not, KEOS is an atypical station. We have live people talking behind the microphone. We have humans making the changes between programs we buy. In other stations, the entire day is pre-recorded, a master mix is made and a file on a computer is made. How they do contests I do not know. What mostly happens is that a DJ comes in and lays down his tracks from scripts, fills in the music and the resulting audio file is played in the slot it is supposed to be played. For the programs that are bought, the radio station has a download audio file and a computer does all the rest.
Here at KEOS we try to do live programs. The problem is that we haven't had too many people get through our training program, so people like me have to fill in. I was behind the microphone about 20 hours per week since September. I tried like hell to get someone to take over, because I do not particularly like music shows. KEOS has a listserv that allows everyone to get the same message by sending to one email address. I asked people to take over my shifts. No one did. I finally decided that it might be because there were too few mentors. The last three classes in our training program have a trainee do hands on training at the microphone with an experienced person watching and making suggestions. I offered to do the mentor classes so that someone could get through the last three classes in one week instead of three classes given once per week. No luck. Finally a guy sent me email saying he wanted to take over some of my shifts. He had finished training but was not yet approved. The last step in our training program is an oral test given by the Management Team. He hadn't been approved. I couldn't let him take over until he was approved. He didn't need mentoring. I had him come by and watched him do the job. I have no idea why I did that, but he seemed to want to sit with me. So last Wednesday, they approved the guy and he now does Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays here on KEOS. He is doing sixteen hours at the station. I am now doing two hours. That was not what I wanted. I wanted about six trainees to take six three hours shifts instead of one guy taking four three hour shifts plus a couple of hours of putting on shows KEOS has bought.
Such is life. Now I am at the station for two one hour shifts on Thursdays and Saturdays. Plus of course this show. I signed on to do this show and now, in essence that is what I am doing. No more excuses. I have to go forward.
The problem I am having is that KEOS is too small. The power is low and the number of people it reaches is small and falling. To do what I want, I am going to have to start speaking to groups and I just do not know whether that will work. Right now I am about convinced that there is no one listening to me right now. I am just here talking to myself. That in and of itself is not a bad thing. In order to become the best, you have to fail. This format has failed. I do not know what to do about it, so I am going to try something else. When you fail, you can blame other people or you can simply say that the idea was stupid and get on with it.
What I had expected was that people would get on their computers and leave me notes on my blog. I expected debate. I got less than nothing from that concept. I don't know what to do right now. A master craftsman learns from failure without letting failure dissuade him from his goal.
I've committed myself to being the best, and I have failed, but I am not running with the best, nor am I competing with anyone. Jesse Owens was of the opinion that you must always compete with yourself to be the best. As has been shown repeatedly, defeat is in the mind, not the body. I have failed to get anyone to look at my blog.
I'll be playing some songs that I have liked tonight. Not many, because I don't like music much. Then I will be talking about the concepts I see in the songs. When I say see, I mean, that the lyric evoke a picture in my mind and I create a story behind the songs. We shall see whether you see things the way I do.
As I said last week, I do clean up on the songs that come in for review. I go in and listen to the albums that have been on the shelf for over a year. The problem I have always had is that paranoia can creep in if I am not careful. I mean, On Wednesday, I came in and the shelf had been cleaned up and all the old albums were gone. Is there a relationship? Probably not. Co-incidences can occur.
This last week has been very, very strange for me, because I finally got someone to take over most of the shifts I cover here at KEOS. Whether you know it or not, KEOS is an atypical station. We have live people talking behind the microphone. We have humans making the changes between programs we buy. In other stations, the entire day is pre-recorded, a master mix is made and a file on a computer is made. How they do contests I do not know. What mostly happens is that a DJ comes in and lays down his tracks from scripts, fills in the music and the resulting audio file is played in the slot it is supposed to be played. For the programs that are bought, the radio station has a download audio file and a computer does all the rest.
Here at KEOS we try to do live programs. The problem is that we haven't had too many people get through our training program, so people like me have to fill in. I was behind the microphone about 20 hours per week since September. I tried like hell to get someone to take over, because I do not particularly like music shows. KEOS has a listserv that allows everyone to get the same message by sending to one email address. I asked people to take over my shifts. No one did. I finally decided that it might be because there were too few mentors. The last three classes in our training program have a trainee do hands on training at the microphone with an experienced person watching and making suggestions. I offered to do the mentor classes so that someone could get through the last three classes in one week instead of three classes given once per week. No luck. Finally a guy sent me email saying he wanted to take over some of my shifts. He had finished training but was not yet approved. The last step in our training program is an oral test given by the Management Team. He hadn't been approved. I couldn't let him take over until he was approved. He didn't need mentoring. I had him come by and watched him do the job. I have no idea why I did that, but he seemed to want to sit with me. So last Wednesday, they approved the guy and he now does Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays here on KEOS. He is doing sixteen hours at the station. I am now doing two hours. That was not what I wanted. I wanted about six trainees to take six three hours shifts instead of one guy taking four three hour shifts plus a couple of hours of putting on shows KEOS has bought.
Such is life. Now I am at the station for two one hour shifts on Thursdays and Saturdays. Plus of course this show. I signed on to do this show and now, in essence that is what I am doing. No more excuses. I have to go forward.
The problem I am having is that KEOS is too small. The power is low and the number of people it reaches is small and falling. To do what I want, I am going to have to start speaking to groups and I just do not know whether that will work. Right now I am about convinced that there is no one listening to me right now. I am just here talking to myself. That in and of itself is not a bad thing. In order to become the best, you have to fail. This format has failed. I do not know what to do about it, so I am going to try something else. When you fail, you can blame other people or you can simply say that the idea was stupid and get on with it.
What I had expected was that people would get on their computers and leave me notes on my blog. I expected debate. I got less than nothing from that concept. I don't know what to do right now. A master craftsman learns from failure without letting failure dissuade him from his goal.
To be the best, you must run with the best
You must compete with the best
You must commit yourself to BEING the best
AND... you must fail as many times
as is necessary to STAY the best
--- Jesse Owens 1936
I've committed myself to being the best, and I have failed, but I am not running with the best, nor am I competing with anyone. Jesse Owens was of the opinion that you must always compete with yourself to be the best. As has been shown repeatedly, defeat is in the mind, not the body. I have failed to get anyone to look at my blog.
I'll be playing some songs that I have liked tonight. Not many, because I don't like music much. Then I will be talking about the concepts I see in the songs. When I say see, I mean, that the lyric evoke a picture in my mind and I create a story behind the songs. We shall see whether you see things the way I do.
posted by aRandomTexan at
2:42 PM
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