My current Obsession

'The Scientist (Coldplay Cover)' - Mike Posner

What do you know now that you didn't know in September?

Dear Future WISE Student,

Every step i've taken throughout the course of WISE has changed my characted. Not to be cliche but it really boosted up my self confidence. I learned how to DJ. From the very beginning, i wasn't able to speak into a microphone either on the radio or at an event. After my first even I was told how confident i actually sounded on the mic (the whole time i thought i sounded broken and scared.) Right then I just felt so much better. After that things just kind of took off. I "learned" (through practice) to speak live on the radio. My confidence then transferred to the music I'd play at dances- I was no longed nervous about people's opinions.

I learned a lot about how to simply DJ, but also about myself and my peers. DJing for them was always eventful. It is not clearer to me what certain groups expect to hear when they go to a certain event. I learned how to deal with people in the best ways possible specific to each situation. I'm now more outspoken and lively, as well as realistic. WISE brought me down to Earth, it literally made me wiser.

Best Of Both Worlds

Yesterday I went with two friends to an all day concert called 'K-FEST'. It was a huge concert with 10,000 people put on by a radio station in the Hudson Valley.  It was great. It had a lot that I aspire to be some day in it. There were actual bands that played the majority of the time, but in between sets, DJs would play and mix it up, and speak to the crowd to get the riled up. It was great.

The last act was Ludacris, and he went around one by one introducing his band, as well as his DJ and gave them all little solos to "show what they got". His DJ blew my mind. Scratchingggg! One thing I have yet to do, but still would very much like to! It was so cool! It was amazing, I hope I can be that great one day!

*In case you were wondering...

My two friends and I managed to get through a crown of 10,000 people to the very front row. I saw all the action! Setting all the different bands up, and then the DJs (and other artists) up close!

Slam Poetry!

Carrie's presentation was amazing! She had great eye contact, and movement (which was great for her specifically because she stated that movement was a huge part of slam poetry). I really liked when she talked about how in the beginning she thought that she sounded bad, this is exactly how i first felt when i had to speak into the microphone as a DJ, both on radio, and live.


Her poems blew me away, so did her confidence. She didn't have a single tremor in her voice, or "ums". It was altogether fantastic! Great job Carrie!!

Have fun, be safe and respectful.

So Mr. Holl and I DJ'd Junior Prom together a couple weekends ago. It was an interesting time. To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to it all that much simply because I know how the kids in my school react when they don't get to hear the song they want. I was asked by the same kid four time to "play something faster" and each time i would respond with "we don't really get to choose the type of music. if you guys are dancing too inappropriately, we can't play other music." but when he kept coming up to me over and over again i began to just cut him off before he could finish a sentence with "Go away." which went on also for about four time until Mr. Holl told him he had to walk away. 


Then, about half way through, Ms. Little told us to shut the music off. She gathered the (very angry) kids around and talked to them. She told them that she had seen a boob, and a butt, and that the dancing was far too inappropriate and if they didn't stop the dance would be shut down. She told them that they wanted the kids to have fun, but be safe, and also respectful. Some of the kids continued to have fun while others thought that they were (literally) too cool for school, and decided to spend the rest of their night sitting in the lobby.


There were a couple slip ups, I accidentally played an un-edited version of 'Teach Me How To Dougie' but Mr. Holl was able to help me out a little on that with the volume levels, and to be honest I don't even think the adults noticed because they were so focused on the dancing!


A lot of kids left that night upset, which is slightly upsetting to me. Not so much because I think it was my fault, but because it makes me sad that kids my age can't have fun unless they're doing highly inappropriate things. Oh well, I guess they'll learn.

My Current Obsession

'After Midnight VIC Live Mix' - Pretty Lights


Like the original, LOVE this remix. 

Words Hold The Weight We Give Them

I was recently put into an uncomfortable position at a high school lacrosse game where two of my friends decided that it would be funny to make a sign with what many would consider to be "inappropriate" words on it. I had nothing to do with it, nor did I support it, but I still couldn't help but feel it was ridiculous how offended people get just because of simple words.


I do realize that when a word is used to insult an individual, it can hurt, but when they are used simply to add emphasis, what's the big deal?


This drives me insane in music. I have come to terms with the fact that I can't say certain words in certain situations, such as in class, those same words are also going to be edited out of everything I hear on TV, radio, or songs at school dances. I just don't understand it. 


It is clearly generational. I have put a lot of thought into this. When my generation was growing up, reaching maturity, we were told that 'the F word' was the worst word you could say. We couldn't say "shit" "ass" "hell" "bitch" and the list continues. Because of this, we wanted to say them more! So we did. We said them so much, that they lost any and all weight that they held in the beginning to make them offensive.


So now, to my generation, these are just words. Perfectly acceptable for a casual conversation. Not to sound like a uprising, rebelling teenager, but an adult telling me that I can't "swear" means absolutely nothing to me. The word "swear" or "curse" in of itself is an outdated concept. So why, could somebody please tell me, if we, the youth of America, the ones that adults are attempting to shield from this language, are going to hear, use, and EMBRACE, these words anyway, why can't they be in our music?


Kids are going to learn these words anyway, so why not let them embrace them? It causes no harm. By exposing younger children to these words, it makes it so that they are just like any other word, just like "gross" "ugly" "fat", words that yes, can cause harm, but are perfectly fine when used anytime but to be offend to a specific person. By letting kids learn these words, we are numbing them from the pain we create by adding such a heavy weight to words.


Unedited music is a right that every artist should have. To have their music, their creation, heard as they envisioned it. And I believe that it is every individual's right to hear that music as it was envisioned. The day we stop defining specific words as a "swear", is the day "swears" will cease to exist. 

Interview with Anthony From The Deli

Questions to ask Anthony:


-when did you first become interested in radio/ why?

-what was your first radio experience?

-what was your first PAID radio experience?

-could you go though the process of how songs get chosen to be played?

-what do you look for in a good radio host?

-in your opinion, what makes a radio station "good"? management, equipment, etc.

-do you like Top 40 or would you prefer something else?

-what has to be done for every new day?

-what are the "must knows" for someone like me?

-what is your advice for somebody who would like to become seriously involved in radio?

Get It, Mairen!

This past Saturday night was my friend Becca's birthday and to kick off the night, myself and my friend Caroline came up with something to do. This past week when I was at Z, Anthony was announcing a contest to win VIP tickets to a black light party at The Haunt. It sounded fun to me so when it was time for the contest, I told Caroline to call in and she got the tickets! One for Becca and then I let her have the other. So we started our night off at The Haunt and Corey (Z95.5 Program Director) was the DJ. I said "hi" and talked to him a bit and told him about Becca's birthday, and then he gave her a shout out! Then my friends went to dance on stage so naturally I followed, and as soon as I get up he yells into the mic "GET IT MAIREN!" and then let me speak live on the radio! Oh so fun!!

My Current Obsession

'Ghosts on a G6' - Basic Physics

My friend introduced me to Basic Physics, it's all mash ups! As it is I already love Deadmau5, so this mash up is right on my level!

M.L.I.A. (My Life Is Awkward)

Awkward Decisions...


So far I have DJ'd the original Fund Rager, then what is now know as "Fund Rager Part 2". "Fund Rager Part 3" is tonight (I'm not DJing, my friend Nick is), and earlier this week I was asked to DJ "Fund Rager Part 4." Having done this twice before, in the same CSMA setting, from 8-11, I wasn't very interested. I couldn't picture myself being able to handle watching my peers "dance" like they do at these events for three more hours. It's disgusting.


I asked Mr. Holl what he though about it and he agreed that there wasn't a very important experience which I'd be missing out on seeing as I had done the EXACT same twice already. And as it turns out Mr. holl is busy that entire night so there would be no way for me to get equipment and I wouldn't have his help to set up and take down.

FIVE WEEKS?!

In class this week we talked about the year winding down, and what that means for my WISE experience. I need to figure out how I want to make my presentation. Power point? Or maybe this program that I used in English Media last year that is similar to Power point but a little less boring. I've got a lot to think about!

Get A Grip

In terms of my project, resilience plays into my independence. I have to find my own music, and I have to hear negative opinions from people. I have to push myself into this mental position every time I DJ: I know I'm playing good music, other people are having a good time, if you don't like my selection then you can get out. I have to put myself in a place where I can deal with criticism and that's how I do it. I want to be great, and you don't get to be great without change, I wish kids my age could understand that. 


I've noticed that kids in my grade actually like the music that isn't just hip hop with a beat so hard it crawls up inside of you and MAKES you move, but the 8th grade- 11th graders don't know how to dance with anything without that beat. Maybe it's a maturity thing, I'm not really sure (not that my grade (myself included) is exactly mature...) But these 8th graders dress up to go to these dances like they're going clubbing, but what I think is that if you're not old enough to GET IN to a club, don't dress like you're going to one, so if those are the people that complain about my music, it doesn't hold much weight for me.

So Typical...

So the dance on this past Tuesday didn't exactly go as planned...


In the beginning everything was going well. The set up was going according to plan. Mr. Holl even brought me the two 12in. speakers AND the two 15in. speakers to be even louder! This time, I set up on the higher stage so that the kids could have the lower stage to dance on without getting in my way. So everything was up and ready!


As usual, it took a little while to get going, but it got there. My friend, Megan decided to come and keep me company. About half an hour in we see a girl (who we then realized was 13 years old) grinding on some random guy, after trying to figure out who it was for a minute, Megan exclaims, "That's my camper!!" The grossness only got worse.


Then, this one kid kept coming up to me trying to look at my iTunes and essentially be the DJ, himself. I kept telling him to just "go away" and made a 'shoo fly' gesture. He also asked me if i had music "to make girls shake their ass" then asked for Reggae... I told him that all I had was Bob Marley and to go away. He did. (This kid was later seen practically having sex on the wall with the 13 year old camper (Stay Classy, Ithaca!)) But these things are all part of the job. Radio has taught me to just tell everyone that you will play their music, even though you probably won't.


So everything was basically on track. My friend came up and informed me that there were cops present. (I guess we made a mark on Ithaca with the last one) Megan and I were dealing with drunk kids coming up and talking to us, falling trying to get on the stage, attempting to take off their shirts, and us trying to not puke at what we were seeing our peers do. It was honestly embarrassing, it got the point where I was doubting wanting to go to our senior prom because this was so degrading and groady. But, it was what it was.


Then around 10:10, with just less than an hour left to go, Erin (the girl's who dance this was) abruptly turns on all of the lights and tells me to cut the music. I did. When I asked her why, she explained to me that a girl, a junior in our school who is actually in my math class, drank so much that she got sick and had to go to the hospital so they had to shut down the dance. Oh yeah, people were pissed. Telling me to turn the music back on as I was packing up, and refusing to leave. Trying to start their own beats, dumb shit. I was annoyed to say the least. Granted, I was slightly happy that it was over early, but I was pissed that these kids wouldn't listen to anyone and were just being assholes. Finally Mr. Holl got there (as i texted him at 10:10 to ask him to come early to help me take down because of what had happened) and we just did our thing and took down equipment ignoring the moans and groans. Kids were still clogging the doorway as we made our way out! It was ridiculous.


But we got out. Avoiding the trail of vomit coating the floor and then the sidewalk outside. The next day, I got on Facebook and had an invite to yet another CSMA 3 hour 8-11 benefit dance, this time with my friend, Nick, being the DJ. I don't know if I'll go to this one, as I only went to the other two because I was DJing, but I guess we'll see. Let's just hope we don't make the papers.

My Current Obsession

'Pocahontas' - Shawty Lo


To be honest, I don't even remember which of my many sites I found this around, I think it may of been one of my random YouTube findings, but I am most definitely playing this tonight- JAM!

ohhh how i love the interwebs

Found yet another site for free music downloads!


HowFlyHipHop.com !


I now have 5 major websites that I visit very regularly to stay up to date on this genre of music, as well as YouTube, the radio, and word of mouth from my friends!

It's About That Time Again

The 19th has arrived, and that means... *drum roll please*... DJing tonight!!


There's less than 5 hours until the dance and I'm currently still downloading more and more music...


I've got 4 1/2 hours of NEW music as of now, normally I would say I should have more just in case, but I am absolutely so in love with the music I already have that I highly doubt I'll be skipping songs tonight.


Super excited!

"please burn me a CD!"

Just a little thing that makes me feel good- when people want me to make the mixes :)


This past Friday night, I was at dinner with a big group of friends before heading to the movies. I met two new people that night (I love meeting new people)


On the way to the movies, as half of the group piled into the back of my car, I plugged in my iPod, and turned on the playlist for the event on the 19th (as of this past friday only had about 2/3 of the music it has now). As my friend, Becca, sat in the passenger seat and started jamming out and dancing (as much as you can while seated), one of the people I had JUST met an hour before just bursts out of her quiet and shy bubble, "You have GOT to burn me this playlist!!!!" I broke out in a huge smile. I loved it.


Today, (two days later), I was sitting on my couch with yet another friend who randomly just said "Make me a mix!... Please." So I did.


Every time I find a new song, I want to share it with someone, anyone! I usually do this by getting the YouTube link and sharing it on a person's Facebook wall, but tonight, I seemed to be running out of people! I LOVE the fact that sitting down in front of my lap top for HOURS on end finding, listening, and downloading music, is considered part of my ENGLISH homework! I love WISE!

My Current Obsession

'Summerbreak' - Fatman Scoop (feat. DJ Alidin)


Came across this on hiphopearly.com- absolute JAM.

goal *CHECK*

So, as you know, I am DJing a dance party for another student on the 19th. When I was first approached to do this event, I made a goal for myself: I wanted to have COMPLETELY new music. I didn't want to play a single song that I played at the 'Fundrager'. As of tonight, I have 3 hours and 40 minutes of new music for the event on the 19th! While the event is only 3 hours long, I still intend to find more music. It's always important to have more music than you'll actually be able to play, hours more. Simply because you're going to decide that you don't want to play certain songs that you had originally planned on playing. BUT, I still have enough NEW music to get through if I don't skip songs! I'm honestly surprised that i've found that much new music in three-ish (?) weeks since I was asked to do this. I can't wait!

My Current Obsession

'Best Love Song' - T-Pain


I can't, for the life of me, get this song out of my head! I LOVE IT!

Makin' Moves

Went to Z tonight! And in the course of the evening Anthony started talking on the studio phone with one of his DJ friends from Long Island (so i could hear and talk as well) and they just mentioned about needing someone to voice track mid-days. Anthony asked if I'd like to do it, partially joking, and i just assumed he was completely kidding. As I was leaving I started thinking about how great that'd be! So I texted him asking if there was any possibility of me ACTUALLY doing it, and he said he'd shoot the idea to Corey (Program Director at Z) and see what he thinks! I hope Corey goes for it!

My Current Obsession

'Party Animals' - Chris Young The Rapper


Most definitely playing this on the 19th!

April 19th Preview :)

Britney Spears - 'Till The World End (DJ Kue Remix)

Cee Lo - 'F*ck You (Get Low! Remix) 

Far East Movement - 'If I Was You (feat. Snoop Dogg)'

 *CLICK MEEE*

Can We Fast Forward, Please?

I've started the playlist for my event on the 19th! It's a lot more techno/ electronica than my first (solo) event, but everything still has a great beat (kids don't know how to dance to anything without a beat...)
Sneak Peak of the playlist is to be coming shortly! I'm so excited!!!!

WISE got me in trouble....

I've so far spent two hours just TODAY looking through my music. I've been absolutely GLUED to the computer. My mom kept yelling at me to get off and do other things... I took a short break (including writing this) only planning on getting right back to it after this! (sorry, mom...) But anyway, in my search, I've found some GREAT new songs, a few of which are irritating me on belief because they aren't yet available to download and I want them SO badly :( I've been trying to find away around it but I can't!


But I did come across a new site and source for music! http://www.bangerzonly.com/ :)

Happiness Revisited

When do you feel most happy?
I'm most happy when my work pays off. When it brings a swile to wither my face or someone else's. When a whole group of people instantly spark and energize because of something I've done, a song I chose, there's no better feeling.


React/ Respond to 'Happiness Revisited'
How we achieve 'happiness' has crossed my mind before. What is happiness? Don't we define it? So why is it that so many of us aren't happy? The concept of 'flow' very much plays into my project. When I'm getting into my music, I can just keep going, it's not work, even though technically I'll be getting a grade for this, but i thoroughly enjoy this. I feel as if more people are actually on the 'boredom' side of the flow chart and their reaction to that manages to point them to the 'anxiety' side. We set goals for ourselves so that we will be successful (not bored bums), but attempting to reach that 'success' causes us anxiety. I'm honestly not sure if anyone can actually achieve 'flow', but I believe that we all can come close, to a healthy level.


Where am I on the 'flow chart'?
I'd say that I'm pretty close to finding a healthy balance, but am more toward the anxiety side. I stree out about making my own mash-ups and finding the "PERFECT" music (funny because I'm going by my own definition of what "perfect" is...)


How has my "flow" changed throughout my project?
I've started to do more! So I've brought myself completely out of the 'boredom' side, and then a little past 'flow' and into anxiety, but I think it's a healthy level of anxiety. Personally I feel that if there was no anxiety, I would end up getting bored with my project, I would have no incentive to keep working and reaching new goals.


How can you achieve flow?
Simply put, KEEP WORKING! :) The more I do, the more advanced I get, the more fun I have! And then the more I want to keep doing it and challenge myself to reach new heights!

My Current Obsession

'Bomb (feat. Wiz Khalifa)' - Chris Brown
Completely obsessed with the beat and the background music in this song. I just found it while messing around on youtube the other day! I'm definitely going to play in at my even on the 19th!

only $3,000...

So I've started looking more seriously at DJ equipment, mostly using the website Musiciansfriend.com. And I wish more than anything that this stuff wasn't so damn expensive! A starter package is like $3,000! Looks like I'll just be trying to find bits and pieces to work together :/ Mr. Holl has nicely offered me his old mixer and then first stab at some old lights!

Hang on...

So this past week I went into Z95.5 for my (at least) weekly visit, but this time, as desired, I pushed things along a bit! I spoke LIVE! It was the first time I had been left to make up a decision about what I wanted to say! Anthony literally left the room and simply says to me, "I'm gonna let you do your thing, TALK!". And I did! :)


I had to announce the song 'S&M' by Rihanna for the High 5 at 9. In the song she sings "those chains and whips excite me." So, to announce it I got all into in and professional and just managed to pull out, from somewhere in my lungs "Next up on the countdown taking the number 3 spot is Rihana with 'S&M'. If you haven't seen this video yet you've GOTTA check it out! It's up on our web page at Z955.net, it's almost as exciting as those chains and whips!" It's safe to say that I left Z that night feeling very accomplished! 


It gets better:
The next day in school, I went to get math help from my teacher Mr. Noyes (he knows I have an internship at Z). Now imnagine my surprise when I tried to start speaking to him and he cut's me off with this, "Hang on, before you talk lemme say something. Last night I was driving home from the Senior meeting and I turned on the radio, tuned to Z95.5 because I always try to hear you but have never caught you..." (I saw what was coming) "Oh God..." I mumbled. He continued, "Now imagine my surprise when I finally hear you and you're talking about chains and whips on the radio! And I'm thinking, 'No way is one of my students talking about chains and whips!" It was a little awkward, but mostly funny, and hey, it was my job to say what I said and I still think that I did a good job!

Would you like to?... YES

So my mentor meeting with Mr. Holl got bumped up from last Tuesday to last Monday because I hadn't been in school for a week, but it went really well! First we talked about me definitely DJing the event on the 19th of April. As it turns out, the mother of the girl who is throwing the dance, called Mr. Holl to ask him to help chaperone, this made me quite happy to know that there would be someone responsible there. Not so much to help out with DJing, as I can handle that on my own, but keeping the kids off the stage and away from the equipment. 


Then there is Junior prom, which I am most likely only going to be assisting Mr. Holl in. But here's where it gets cool, he said we'll most likely hook up BOTH of our laptops to the speakers instead of just one, and we'll mix and make our own LIVE mash-ups!


And THEN there's a wedding! This, will be my first paid gig! As Mr. Holl is going to be attending the wedding as a guest, he's going to be leaving me alone most of the time and paying to do the work! I'm pretty excited, but this will be my first event not in front of my peers who I know will be supportive so I am somewhat nervous.


And finally, some exciting news, as my biggest mountain to climb is getting my own equipment, Mr. Holl is going to be replacing some of his old equipment and said he'd let me take the first stab at it! Things are looking really good for my project!

LISTS LISTS LISTS

3 Ways I've Stepped Out Of My Comfort Zone
-DJing my own event
-playing music that nobody knows
-answering calls on the radio


4 Ways My Project Has Changed
- radio has become a sub-project
-my own event is no longer my final project
-i'm looking into the kareoke business
-I lost my source of income for equipment


3 Things I Wish I Did Differently So Far
-jumped off with more interviews
-taken set up- and clean- up more seriously
-securing my own equipment


5 Things I Learned About My project, Myself, Or Working With Others
-I have to tell others what I want to learn, not just expect them to teach me
-it's pretty easy to get started with your own DJ experience, just securing equipment is $$$
-I need to stick to a schedule... (typical)
-people are going to mess with your equipment, and style, it's your job to get them to F off
-THE MORE CONTACTS THE BETTER, gettin' my name out :)

Disrupting My Comfort Zone

This is actually something I've been thinking about lately. I've been stuck in a certain role with radio, I always go to Z95.5 and do the same thing, I'd like to find a way to change it up. As for event DJing, I want to learn to ACTUALLY DJ- with discs- scratching, not just picking songs to play. On that same note, I want to mix my own music but I haven't tried much simply because each time that I do, it's too difficult, and sounds like shit, so i stop. I want to force myself to finish a song project.

Ouch

so even though my mento meetings with Mr. Holl are usually on Tuesdays, we bumped it up this week to today, Monday because I wasn't in school all last week because I got my wisdom teeth out (OUCH). We talked about me DJing in April and also a little bit about junior prom, but then it came to the question, "so what are your goals for the rest of the project?" I had to stop and think, I had already put on an event on my own, something I had originally thought would be my final project, not my FIRST. And when it came to radio, I could mostly run that if I had to, so what did I want to do with my time?


Got it.
Two things.


First, I ned to be able to ACTUALLY run an event on my own without Mr. Holl helping me, meaning, set up and clean up. I could run music and lights for three hours, but getting there and leaving- I'm almost lost. So Mr. Holl had an idea, before my next event, we're going to arrive rather early and he's going to help me set up, but then we're going to take it all down. Then when it comes time to actually set up, I'll do it all on my own with him lurking in the shadows in case I need him, but he won't be instructing me on what to do this time.


And Second, I need to find a way to get at least some of my own equipment! I wish that I had more details on how this is going to work itself out, but I'm not entirely sure- TIME TO BRAINSTORM, I'll keep y'all updated :)

My Current Obsession

'Hello Fascination' - Breathe Carolina


So I've known about Breathe Carolina for a few months now thanks to a friend putting a couple songs on a mix for me, but i had yet to hear this until i just looked into them. I'm constantly looking for new music to introduce... possibly thinking of making a remix? hmmm...

Take 2

Time for Round 2! I was just recently, as of a few days ago asked to DJ yet another event at the CSMA for a fellow WISE member's final project on April 17th! I asked Mr. Holl and the equipment is free soooo yezzir, I will be doing it! It'll be very similar to the last event except my goal is to get almost COMPLETELY different music. Meaning I have A LOT of research to do to find new songs that not only I love, but that others will as well!... I love this :)

$2,300

So, DJing the Pennies For Peace dance at the CSMA went GREAT. Aside from two girls having to be *ehem* asked to leave for messing around with my equipment which Mr. Holl so kindly let me borrow, everything wen't according to plan. The club grossed almost $2,300! Meaning 230 people were there, the enjoyment of their night mostly resting at the tips of my fingers as i chose which songs to play. I came up with a system of sorts, all of the songs i KNEW i needed to play i put into a separate playlist and then all of the other random jams into their own. I'd uncheck the songs i'd already played and re-shuffle. One guy I've known since middle school but have never really been friends with stumbled past the stage where I was set up, stopped dead in his tracks and screamed "SHE'S THE DJ?!" Apparently he was somewhat surprised... Amari, the girl who asked me to DJ was apparently asked multiple times who the DJ was, how much were they paying the DJ, and complimented on the music selection! Even the one jerk who gave me shit throughout the event later told one of my friends that the music was "surprisingly good". All in all I think most people really enjoyed it and the club made out with a great donation for charity!

My Current Obsession

Lady GaGa, Shakira, Pitbull, Madonna, Akon - Mega Mash-up


Found this in my search of music for the playlist for the dance this coming Saturday, I'm easily playing this!

nervous is an understatement...

So on Tuesday evening my friend Amari (IHS Class of 2011) sent me a facebook message. She is part of a small group who are all throwing a dance this weekend on Saturday the 12th. It turns out that their DJ fell through and she had heard that I was learning how to DJ for my WISE project, so she asked me to DJ the event!


Yes, I'm insanely nervous. This is going to be my first event I DJ on my own!


I'm getting very excited starting the playlist for the dance, but I'm worried that people won't like my selection :/ Anyway, I'm thinking after I get into the even a bit it will run smoothly and be a BLAST!

Planning

Mentor Meeting 3/8/11

So I met with Mr. Holl for our weekly meeting again today. I'm going to look at the CSMA for my personal event. We are also still trying to set up a meeting with Mr. Mills to figure out the specifics as what I have to do to put on my event because it can in no way be affiliated with the school, been a few weeks and he hasn't gotten back to us...

Oh and then there's the possibility of me DJing Junior Prom! :)

In Class 3/8/10

Today was all about what makes a good WISE journal. To me, it's all about the voice. Who wants to sit there and read a boring ass journal entry simply stating plainly what you did one day? No one. Details, details, details! Then there's the organization, making sure that the reader knows where to go and what they're going to reading about. Keep it a bit spazzy, and of course, original!

My Current Obsession

'One Of A Kind' - Mac Miller

So I was slightly disappointed that Mac didn't preform this song last night, as it's my favorite of his, but the concert was still a blast and I still can't get him out of my head. :)

KIDS (Kicking Incredibly Dope Shit)

So on Sunday night I (and about half of IHS) went to a Mac Miller concert at The Haunt. Helping him out on stage, as well as between performers, was a DJ. Before Mac was on stage, he played all sorts of music to pump people up, it was an absolute BLAST! I hope to be able to have that affect on people eventually, where you can play a song and just have everyone immediately smile, start screaming, and jumping up and down. It was awesome. I can't wait to have that opportunity!

Sweet Caroline, BA BA BA

So my first experience DJing was a blast!... for the first 2 hours :) in the very beginning we had an issue with not being able to hear the vocals, it turns out the mixer simply didn't like the jack we were using and we switched to a different jack and everything was then fine! There were a couple of times when I had to announce things that I froze up a bit before hand like I do at the radio station, but I got over it pretty quickly, except for one time where I had NO idea what to say. I had to come up with something exciting to say about maple syrup- WHAT IS THERE POSSIBLY TO SAY ABOUT THAT?! Sheesh, that wasn't the best... but other than that everything went fine! With the exception of a couple parents mis-hearing words, thinking they heard "i wanna make love" when the words were actually "i wanna make up" and getting pissed because making love was inappropriate for their children, the music went over well. Oh and my friend Geoffrey (a hard core Yankees fan) didn't appreciate my choice of Sweet Caroline (somewhat of a Red Sox anthem), other than that, it went great! And according to Mr. Mellander I sounded really confident on the mic, which I didn't even think so myself! That gave me a great confidence booster!

Research

DJ'd my first event! The IHS/ Camp Good Days Winter Carnival! I learned about the necessary items for DJing. I used 2 speakers, on stands, an amp, mixer, and then a laptop for the music. It was a pretty basic set up, but easily enough!

Planning for the carnival!

So Mr. Holl has asked me if I would like to DJ the IHS Camp Good Days Winter Carnival at the school! Obviously I said yes! (duh) So on Thursday the 3rd, I spent about an Hour planning out the 7 1/2 hour long playlist for the 4 hour carnival. I'll be edting it as I go along at the carnival. It was slightly difficult because I had to make a mix up of different genres of music as the carnival is all ages. On Friday the 4th, I went and picked up all of the equipment and loaded it into my car. It wasn't all that much of an ordeal. And today is the carnival!

My Current Obsession

'Gold & Garnet' - DC

As if i weren't excited enough for college as it is, this just makes me even more pumped!

GO NOLES

who's that callin'?

Check out me and Hannah on the intro for Corey on Z95.5's Phone Scam!


http://soundcloud.com/user7986863/phone-scam-bieber-fever

My Current Obsession

'Shut The Club Down' - Girl Talk

So Mr. Holl just recently burnt me a copy of the 'Feed The Animals' album by Girl Talk and I now can't get this song out of my head.

Ohhh, locations...

So the first step to hosting a good event is finding a good location, and I've started my search! I checked out The Elks Lodge behind Rogan's Corner on South Hill, but I'm not sure it'd quite fit. First, I think I'd like something more open where I (as the DJ) could see everything that was going on. And second, I think I'd like something more downtown where more people could access it, as I want a lot of people to show up! Other location prospects include the CSMA and IYB, which I still need to check out!

Research

I'm looking into buying some of my own equipment. I found a small strobe light for around $50, which isn't bad, I'm still looking though. I still need to talk with Mr. Holl about what exactly I'll need for my event. The math is complicated for figuring out what size speakers to get. I still have a look of internet work to do on this.

Want a slice?

Went to the radio station again on Thursday 2/17. I'm pretty much just on my grind when it comes to that, I know when to update the website and what Anthony wants from me when it comes time for me to speak on air. I still need to work on being more lively when I'm speaking to him and am not ready to go live yet. Between bites of his pizza, Anthony asked me to being in a couple friends again next time that I go in to record more drops so I can't wait for that because that's always a blast! On a side note, I helped Mr. Holl get in touch with Z95.5 to see if they'll DJ the Camp Good Days Carnival, it's cool to feel like I have some sort of connection, even if it's really small. 

My Current Obsession

'Illmerica' -Wolfgang Gartner

Trying to burst out from my typical 'Z95.5 Pop music' bubble.

"I heard you on the radio"

This past Wednesday, February 9th, I brought three of my good friends to the radio station Z95.5 with me to record some drops. It was a blast. While Kelly and Atsede had to leave relatively early, Hannah stayed with me for the entire time and we ended up recording A LOT. We ended up having to make this jingle- type song to the beat of 'Bass Down Low' by Dev. It took quite a few tries but Hannah and I were pretty good with staying in sync with each other. Anthony, the DJ who's show i intern on, then wanted us to record a drop which made absolutely no sense simply so we would be saying "ass", "I really want to swear!" is what he kept saying. I ended up telling him it made no sense and I came up with my own drop which he actually really liked, had us record, and then figured out how to change it once the weather becomes warmer to keep it on air. The next day, my friend Angela told me that she had heard me the previous night, which only happens once in a while that people actually happen to catch the times that I'm on air. Later that night, I was sitting in my car listening to Z95.5 and I heard Hannah come on with a "We're in New York! We gotta do it big!" drop. It was really cool to hear.

My Current Obsession

'You Don't Have To Leave' -Mike Posner


So my current obsession with Mikey P is starting to get a bit extreme. Four new favorite songs in a 24 hour period....

2 Week Plan

Week 1

This week I will begin laying the ground for my project. I have my meeting with Mr. Holl on Tuesday when I plan to speak to him about when his upcoming events are. He also has told me that he may have a great contact for me, so I intend to take advantage of that and set up a time for an interview. I’m going to begin researching how to mix my own music. I will be going to Z95.5 on Wednesday for the night show. I’m going to try my best to be more lively when I speak as last time wasn’t my best attempt. I’ve also secured a job which I begin this week from which I will be putting a specific amount each week into an account specifically for DJ equipment.

Week 2

This week I’ll begin reading the material I’ve obtained from the library beginning with the book How To DJ Right. I will have my meeting once again with Mr. Holl on Tuesday at which point we can hopefully lay the final plan down for me to accompany him to an event. I will go to the radio station most likely again on Wednesday. This week I intend to contact Corey- the Program Director at Z95.5 to set up an interview with him. 

Dear Reader

My WISE project is all about music. DJing to be exact. There are two components to my project, radio DJing, and event Djing. For radio, I need to learn how to speak and react quickly. I need to become more comfortable with speaking on air, especially live. I want to learn HOW radio actually works and what the different components are. How does someone move up in the ranks? For this, I’ve secured and internship at the local radio station Z95.5 where I work on the night show. I want to become fluent with working the boards. I need to work on my breaks, what I say between songs because I’m pretty awkward when I attempt to do those as of now. I want to learn what the music directors do besides pick what music is played on air. By early Spring I’d like to be able to speak live on the radio.

            The second component of my project, DJing events, is completely different. For the most part, you pick your own music, which is great. But there is also a lot more stress. Every one who attends your events will expect to have a great time. They will also expect that the DJ 100% knows what to do. For this I’m going to be accompanying a DJ- Matt Holl when he DJs events so that I can get used to all of the planning and stress of events. By mid- spring, sometime in May, I want to hold my own event. This will entail a great deal of advertising and preparation including securing a space, making playlists, and figuring out the best ways to advertise to my age group. I’m going to see if any locations with make a deal with me on a space so that it doesn’t cost me as much. As far as playlists go, I’m going to use Facebook as a tool to survey what songs and type of music people would like to hear. I’m also going to use Facebook as part of my advertising, creating an event to get the word out.