Keeping It Real - March 2008

Live on BBC 6 Music

Another busy month has passed since I last wrote for Orkney Today. Talking of passing, I was very pleased to have at last successfully completed my driving test on Valentines Day. I have been talking to several of my friends who have already got their pink licence about their test. It seems to me that in most cases its nerves rather than lack of ability that prevents young drivers from nailing it first time. I make no secret of the fact it took me four attempts to pass. However, when I did pass I only made three minor mistakes. The fact it has taken me so much time, and so many lessons to get to this stage has not done my bank balance any good, but I am convinced it will be of benefit in the long term. This is because all the extra time I’ve spent with an instructor has meant that good habits are now firmly ingrained, whereas had I passed quickly and been driving on my own ever since, I may well have already developed a ‘bad practice’ driving style.

It’s a big relief to have passed but only time will tell if the extra lessons help me avoid an accident, or at least mean an accident is not a result of poor driving on my part.

I mentioned my disappointment in a previous column that I was never taught how to build websites at school. After some deliberation and discussion with friends I have decided to make an attempt at correcting this. I have bought a step by step book on how to build sites using html and css code and with the help of my flat mate Andy; I hope to have mastered the basics by the summer. I feel that being a media student in the era of the internet, and not being able to construct even a simple website is ridiculous. I’m finding it quite rewarding and I’m already making progress.

Staying with the internet I think its worth commenting on the power of social networking sites, in particular, Facebook. Such web networks receive a lot of media attention, both good and bad. I must admit to using several of them on a regular basis because I find them to be a convenient and free way to keep in touch with my friends both here in Sunderland and at home in Orkney. In the last couple of weeks I have been amazed at the power of such sites as marketing tools.

Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles now has over a quarter of a million fans on the site. This may not seem that amazing considering he gets over seven and a half million listeners every morning, but when you think that each and every one of those online fans can now be bombarded with promotional messages by Radio 1, you can see why the station was keen to get involved. Perhaps even more staggering is the fact that even if you have not added yourself as a fan you will still get adverts for his page on yours in the ‘news feed’. This is because the news feed tells you what all your friends have been doing. Therefore you will get a message saying ‘12 of your friends have become fans of the Chris Moyles Show’ inviting you to add yourself as well. The result is a snowball effect.

We have begun using the same thing as a PR tool for Northern Hype and I have created a fan page for my podcast. Although it’s working on a fraction of the scale, it does seem to be making a difference. Last week was the busiest week we have ever had at Hype – with almost 300 people turning up at Independent.

I had an exciting day a couple of weeks ago when I received an email asking if a member of Northern Hype would do a live interview with Steve Lamacq about Hype. Obviously we jumped at the chance and I was picked to do the interview. We got a five minute interview at the end of Steve’s show on BBC 6 Music and I talked about the origins of our group, what the night is about and what kind of music we play. One of my friends did some filming before and during the interview and made it into a short documentary just as practice. Afterwards the production team at 6 Music found the film on youtube, and I got another message saying how they all thought it was hilarious that their phone interviews were being made into documentaries!

The deadline for the completion of Utopia FM demo tapes has now passed, thankfully. I have been constantly in the studio working with different groups or individuals trying to coach them into producing something good enough to get them on air in May. In some cases I see a great deal of emerging talent but sadly in others there is not much there worth a letter home. Interestingly, the people who could, with a little help, be great presenters tend to be very unsure of their ability while the ones who just lack the spark are deluded by a notion that they are actually, and I quote; “the, next Chris Moyles.”

I have thoroughly enjoyed helping all of them and it has been a useful learning curve for me. Partly as I’m re-enforcing my fairly inexperienced understanding of what makes good radio, but I’m also beginning to understand what it must be like to be a teacher. I am simply trying to tell them everything I have learned and give them plenty of encouragement as I feel that’s the most useful thing I can do to help them.

This month I have worked my first open day as an ambassador for the student experience at this university. Because I never went to an open day I was unsure of what to expect but by the end of the day I felt that I had hopefully helped encourage some people to subscribe to student life. Aside from the fact that I get paid to do these jobs, it feels nice to be putting something back in some small way. Cheers.

Keeping It Real - February 2008

Dispelling midwinter blues

A lot of people have told me that the post Christmas term is the hardest. They say it’s when people studying away from home are most likely to suffer from home sickness, or the dreaded ‘Seasonal Affective Disorder’.

As far as I’m concerned this is nonsense. I’m willing to admit that waking from the bed of festive warmth into cold weather, long hours of darkness and a somewhat forlorn bank balance can easily get people down. However, it is a new year of opportunity and instead of thinking about how cold and dark it might prove, we ought to be looking optimistically towards Easter, and the inevitable summer sunshine. My policy is simple; if I feel a bit low I put on some happy music, do something productive and find something that makes me laugh.

January has been yet another exciting month for me. I have been ‘on air’ at BBC Radio Newcastle, ‘Hype’ is continuing to go well, my podcasts are receiving positive feedback and the new semester has begun.

Some of you may remember Martin Emmerson, the sports commentator who came up to Orkney last summer for Radio Orkney’s parish cup final broadcast. He lives very near me in Sunderland and he suggested a couple of weeks ago that I might like to come into Radio Newcastle while he was temporarily presenting their ‘drive’ show. As you may expect, I jumped at the chance and had quite an eventful week helping the show’s producer put people on air, take calls and usher guests in and out of the studio. On the Thursday I went in for the whole day and was lucky enough to be allowed to sit in the studio with the presenters for two consecutive shows before ‘drive’ started at 4 o’ clock.

After the first presenter realised I had some previous radio experience I was invited to talk on air about how long it takes to get from Sunderland back to Orkney. During the next show which is presented by TV actor and comedian, Alfie Joey, I was invited to chat to him on nearly every link throughout his three hour show!

I find being around radio studios exciting as it is, but getting to go live on air and chat about things as random as garlic crushers, which James Bond actor is the tallest and daft names for driving schools is, for me, pretty cool.

While I was on air, one of the senior station staff asked Martin who this student was that he had taken in to the station. To which he said; “He’s here as a fellow BBC employee from Orkney.” The senior staff member then asked why I didn’t have a proper BBC pass. Martin had to explain that having seen the relative size of Radio Orkney, a pass was not necessary!

I am very much hoping that this is just the beginning of my involvement with BBC Newcastle as I have been very keen to get involved in some way ever since I started studying in Sunderland.

The decisions as to who I’m going to live with next year, and where, are currently in full swing. At this stage it looks like I will definitely be living with two of my current flat mates, Andy and Phil as well as two girls that the three of us have been best friends with since our first week in Sunderland. Jo and Kate both study the same course as the lads and I, and they are also fun and up for a laugh. They have been living in private accommodation this year but this will be a first for the boys and I. We are currently making some final decisions about which property to rent and then it’s just a case of signing contracts.

I have been keen for a while to do some communal cooking in the flat. This is mostly because I like cooking and enjoy making a meal and having everybody sit around and eat it together. It is also a great deal more efficient and healthy than everybody shoving a frozen pizza in the oven every night. Unfortunately, despite being keen to do it, it hadn’t really happened much until a couple of weeks ago when I decided to bite the bullet and give it a go.

I made sure the lads in the flat were available and invited Jo and Kate round for a beef casserole. It was the first time I had eaten boiled tatties and broccoli since Christmas and I think the lady in Tesco was about to give me a medal for the amount of veg on the conveyor belt!

The six of us had a great evening and my culinary skills seemed to go down well. I have to thank mum for the book of family recipes she made me for my 19^th birthday!

Hype has been going well since we started again after the Christmas holidays. We have been doing some special promotions with free Absinthe, glow sticks and the popular ‘Guitar Hero’ Playstation game. We don’t think that giving away random unrelated free gimmicks is necessarily a good way to increase business, but we do believe that if something we give away enhances the night, it is worth doing. There are also plans brewing for us to book some big name bands in the next few months which is exciting.

I really enjoy recording and producing my podcasts every couple of weeks. It’s a fantastic opportunity for me to spend more time in the studio, as well as to find out more about some of my friends by inviting them to take part in the shows. It’s also a good vehicle for me to get feedback from people as to what elements of the show are entertaining as well as what things could be improved, or sometimes removed altogether! I’m hoping this will enable me to decide on a popular format for my show on Utopia FM this May. Don’t forget you can get the shows free by searching for me in your iTunes store! Cheers.