Keeping it real with Rory Auskerry - June 2007

It is with a touch of sadness that I sit to write this month’s column as tonight is my last night in Flat 11. This place has been my home since September and I have been very happy here throughout. I can’t believe that I am already one third of the way through my degree, it simple doesn’t feel like I have been here any time at all. I feel that I have learned a huge amount this year, not just academically but about myself and others around me. When I think back to how nervous I was in September when I left Orkney and compare it with how much confidence I have now, the change, to my mind, is really astonishing.

May has been the most hectic month so far as I have had lots of deadlines for work as well as the show on Utopia FM. I got all my work handed in last week, quite how I managed to fit it in around getting up at half five every week day to present a three hour show I will never know. Doing the Breakfast show was, as I knew it would be, an awesome experience. I think the most significant thing that I have taken from it is that I am now even more convinced than ever that being a radio presenter is what I want to do as a long term career. I thought that getting up that early every day would be almost impossible but I found it surprisingly easy. Every morning when the alarm went off I got the same feeling of ‘oh my god, I’m going to be on the radio in an hour!’ The buzz was immense and usually lasted until around lunch time each day. The problem was that were I suspect most breakfast DJ’s, and indeed anyone working awkward hours, would go for a sleep after lunch for a few hours to re-charge. Unfortunately, most days I could not afford the time to do anything of the sort and was instead found drinking copious amounts of coffee trying desperately to get some work done before I simple fell asleep at my desk. As dad said it would, this lack of sleep gradually built up to the point were I had to let some things slide and make time for a rest.

I found this whole situation to be the single biggest problem through out the broadcast, and I have to say, sad as I was to see it finish, the return of the lie-ins was much appreciated. In my opinion, our show improved quite a lot over the three weeks we were on for. I think we found our niche as it were and were able to get into an on-air routine each morning. Danielle and I realized quickly that even if we planed things before or during the show, we would rarely stick to them so we ended up in a situation where we would literally be 20 seconds before the end of the record and whoever was operating the desk would call mics live and we would just start speaking. I really enjoyed the ‘seat of the pants’ style because it was very spontaneous and it kept the pace of the show up.

Last month saw me team up with a mate to put on another gig in the local student pub/venue. This time we booked a funk/rock band to do a set as well as a couple of DJ’s. It didn’t attract as many people as the ‘Bollocks to work’ event which I did at the end of April, but this was expected. Small bands never seem to attract as big a crowd as DJ’s but it was never the less a great evening for those who were there. As a result of the success of both the afore mentioned gigs, coupled with the fact that the student nightclub (Manor Quay) and the only other student bar are closing, a small group of my mates have teamed up to try and rectify the situation in time for next year. We are in the process of forming ‘Northern Hype’, which will be our group name, and will give us a brand which we can use on promotional stuff and for a website etc.

Within our small team we have Barry who has had three years experience of booking and promoting bands through his own successful promotion company which he has now left friends to run while he is based away from home. We have Andy, my flat mate, who is a whiz at producing good posters and websites. Chris, a mature student studying first year media, who happens to be a fantastic local DJ, very popular with the crowds both here and in London where he often goes to do gigs. And finally me, who will be the overall group leader in charge management and finance. I’ll also get a minute to play a few records as well!

We want to put on several different events roughly three times a week which will kick off in the Bonded (the local student venue which I have used before) and then move to Independent, a 600 capacity night club in the town centre. The idea to try and do something like this came to me when I first heard that the Union was selling off two of its venues as I felt that there will be a severe lack of student based entertainment for next year, for not only the fresher students, but also my self.

Obviously ‘Northern Hype’ is in its early stages but I really feel that the team we have assembled will be able to make this work. We will just have to see what happens in September; all we know at the moment is that there’s a lot of work to be done.
In the meantime I’m looking forward to coming home and spending a decent spell of time in Orkney at a time of year when it really is at its most beautiful.