Wednesday, April 23, 2008

... And Hit It Right Outta The Park!

.:That. Felt. Good.:.

I'm sitting here in the station, having finished my first boardwork for 99.5 Campus FM, and I have to say, I'm really floored.

The sheer volume of messages I received from the Campus Y! Messenger, the amount of calls I got over the hotlines, the personal text messages, all of that just really added up to one heck of an experience for me. I was genuinely overwhelmed by the sheer number of people who were there, whether or not they realized it was actually my first day in Campus FM.

Hades, even the Brewsters were being exceptionally nice to me. I can't tell you enough how welcome I felt when the Brewsters even called the station up just to wish me luck when they got home...

My head's still swimming, and while I'm a bit miffed I didn't get to record my first foray on the air here in 99.5, I still archived what songs I played.

.:Overtly Excited:.

As early as two or so in the afternoon, I was already in Paragon because I wanted to shake off some jitters after being off the air since July or so. As most people know, the station I came from pegged me to talk in a laid back manner, with next to no (if at all) modulation of my voice on the air. That wasn't going to fly in Campus FM, even if I was going to handle 12-3 AM. I was going to have to be energetic and extra lively, and it was going to have to be a side of me that people generally don't see when I'm around. I was walking around the station during Joe Spinner and JayBee's second go.

Having said that, I sat around some more and even bonded with sir Jimmy Jam and newscaster Dada about everything from food to UST to sir Jimmy's fondest on-air interview memories, including running into the Corrs completely unprepared. In contrast, my only interview memories worth keeping were those involving Mick Foley and the Smackdown wrestlers a few months afterwards.

From there, I decided to have dinner during the Big Z's timeslot, and I ended up riding along with my new boss, the Triggerman himself. I have to say that whenever I see him, I find him larger than life, to be honest. He graciously dropped me off at Shang-rila and wished me luck for my show later, and he told me he was going to be listening...

... pressure!!!

.:The Brewrats Advance:.

So it was my first time to hear the Brewrats on the air, and it was supposedly "Bring a Friend Tuesday". I ended up being the "friend" they'd bring, because I was the new guy at the timeslot. Hehe. Having said that, it was my first go on the air in Campus FM, and there were tons of Brewsters in the booth, which made the experience even more surreal for me as I was asked questions by Tado and Angel about random topics, to which I gamely answered - still using my normal voice.

Having said that, the Brewrats show was incredibly amusing, and I think they only played a total of five to eight songs over three hours, one of them being a song they actually played twice! I laughed when he played Kid Rock's "So Hott!" as a song for Earth Day, though. "Mother Earth, it's so hot!"

It was a great show, although of course, my Beloved was initially turned off by the Brewrats, but then, as I told her, it was going to grow on her. She was in stitches the minute she heard the game "Pinoy, Patay, Bading", where I ended up losing to a caller, because I was too busy laughing aloud when he immediately exclaimed "Bakla!!!" upon hearing Roderick Paulate's name... I couldn't even answer correctly afterwards. Hehe.

I think I'm going to be enjoying being the show that comes after the Brewrats... heh.

.:And Then, The Moment Of Truth!:.

So my first song was "Gimme More", by Britney Spears, and that was my tall order to myself, I was going to give more this time out. I was a bit pressed for time to put in my first song, so I came up with the first thing that seemed reflective of me.

Then I found it. The song that really encapsulated what I wanted to say on my first day back in radio land...

Troy and Gabriela's "We're Breaking Free" pretty much sums up how I felt when I finally got on air again. I missed being a part of radio, and being a part of 99.5 Campus FM is pretty much a dream come true...

I needed to hit my stride after having to clear a lot of rust, and what was really jarring about my stint was that I had to really be exceedingly lively, and some listeners mentioned that I seem to be channeling sir Jimmy Jam, which I'd take more as a compliment than a criticism, to be honest, but that's because I'm a fan. This was not how I was before, as I had to deliberately scale myself back. Now, I get to cut loose, and I'm happy about that.

Soon enough, I was really firing on all cylinders. Still a few gaffs here and there, but all in all, I was doing very competently on my own, which was a far cry from my initial first day, since I wasn't even the one handling the console back then. This was a genuine baptism of fire for me when it comes to holding my own in the Campus format, and whether or not people would say I did exceedingly well, I know I gave it my best effort.

I'm still awake, and I'm actually waiting until 6 in the morning before I leave the station. The euphoria's still there, and I'm very happy that I managed to run with it tonight. I have a lot more room for improvement, but it wasn't bad at all for an opening salvo. I hope the people who listened to me feel the same way about it!

"My name is Mister Vader, and it's good to be back! Don't ask how, don't ask why, but it's just good to be back on radio, and what better place to be at than the number one hit music station in Metro Manila, 99.5 Campus FM?"

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