Wednesday mornings my roommate and I both get up at 7:15. We eat breakfast, feed our fish, Sasha Fierce and Miranda Cosgrove, and put on 5 layers of clothing in order to brace the Boston weather. She goes to class, and I go to the radio station.
I’m the only one there at 8 am. The first thing I see is the red neon sign, displaying WRBB Radio, which glows 24/7. I take out my laptop with some music I have gathered for that week and I flip the microphone on. I introduce myself to my 3-8 viewers and I tell them what to look forward to in the next hour. The keys are worn on the obnoxiously red keyboard and the mixing board is missing some knobs, but the technology in front of me feels full of potential.
Since I cannot hear the volume of the radio station myself, I text my dad, who faithfully listens every week to tell me how it sounds. It always takes a few adjustments to make the music volume match the microphone volume.
I enjoy composing a dynamic playlist, taking note of songs that sound interesting back to back. I try to sound like a real-deal radio host, adding in little details about when the song was written or what album it’s from, but I usually fall back on just saying who it is by. I have not quite found my voice yet as a radio persona, but I like pretending I know what I’m doing.
My favorite aspect of this experience is the attention to detail. I spend an hour alone, early in the morning, listening to artists I love. I always listen to music on my way to class and my headphones are my pride and joy, but only a fraction of my attention goes to the music itself. I’m usually trying to navigate through the crowds and icy sidewalks, and it never takes more than 10 minutes to get to where I’m going. I forget how meditating it is to sit and listen. As a college student, I am constantly trying to be productive, and it’s nice to set an hour aside, before the rest of campus is bustling, to appreciate something I love.
Being a radio show host has been more casual that I imagined it would be. When I took the "clearance class", on how to use the equipment, I was told how to turn on the microphone and how to record the music I play on the website. It was really basic instruction. I had no idea what I was doing. The first time I went on air, I could not figure out how to play anything and there was approximately five minutes of static. And it turned out fine!
I am glad I pursued this opportunity because it allows me to start my day early, focus on music I like, and experience running my own radio show.
