misc stuff & answers to serious questions

Jeez - I seem to always be writing these things on Mondays. I guess maybe there's more to talk about. I'm playing the Dandy Warhols on the air right now, and the beginning of the song Bohemian Like You made me think of Jumping Jack Flash. Similar chords. Sorry - that was just a random thought.



Went to Southwick's Wild Animal Farm on Saturday with Joey's (my four year old) best friend Josh and his family. It was really cool! I get a kick out of zoos anyway, and this place has a ton of stuff; rhinos, elephants, lots of monkeys (a veritable barrel full), lions, leopard, camels, giraffes, etc. Afterwards we got some fried food (my favorite food group) at this place called George's Surf & Turf (delicious), and had a movie night at Josh's place. His dad had borrowed one of those gnarly PC projectors and we watched Shrek 2 projected on a sheet hung on the back of their house. It was really cool.



Okay.. answers to questions most frequently asked:



1. Yes, my nose, hair and name are all mine. I was born with them and they have not been altered. With the nose thing, my Mom and Dad were both blessed with good sized noses, and so there was no way of genetically dodging a prominent proboscis.



2. How'd I get into radio? Not enough space for the full explanation, but I will tell you that I have always loved both music and performing. I can't even remember when I started listening to music. I started at a seriously young age. The albums that stick out in my memory are Beatles: Rubber Soul, Jackson 5: Going Back To Indiana, and Led Zeppelin II. I also started play acting radio shows from a very early age. Early in life I also started playing musical instruments (or more accurately, making noise). My Dad was a lover of bluegrass music, and he played guitar, banjo, mandolin and more. He just loved making music and thought everyone should play an instrument, regardless of how serious their skill level was. So that made it easy for me to try different things out. Fast forward to early high school when I started playing in rock bands, initially on bass, switching quickly to lead guitar (cooler solos). Put in a lot of time playing rock band staples (Steve Miller, Lynyrd Skynyd, Jethro Tull, etc.), before branching out into Jazz and Funk. Getting into the funk prompted a switch back to bass, because playing funk bass to me is one of the most fun things you can do with your instrument on.

My first radio experience was at my high school, where they had a "carrier current" (you could only hear it in the high school) AM station. The first song I ever played on a radio station was "Outta Space" by Billy Preston. I kept with the radio thing in college, with a funk show on WMUA at UMass Amherst. After I graduated (with a Communications degree) I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to do long term, but the live music part of my life was still very strong, so I played in bands at night and got a "day job" through a temp agency. I ended up getting hired full time, and before I knew it, I had been at the company (DH Heath in Lexington) for a few years, in a few different jobs.

Then came a strange time in my life leading to a "fish or cut bait" moment for me.

My Dad got sick and passed away, which was something I couldn't fathom happening - but it did. I feel very lucky that I had my dad for the time I did. Dad was certainly not perfect, but if I can be half the father that he was, I'm doing alright.

With that life-changing event, and the fact that I was approaching the big 3-0 I asked myself what I REALLY wanted to be doing, and the answer was radio. Went to broadcasting school (to intern at a radio station you need to be in school), interned at two radio stations and got a job doing traffic reports for Metro Traffic. Through sheer fate, one of the stations I was interning at was bought by the company that owned WBOS - which happened to be looking for a Production Director (the guy who makes those funny things that run in between songs). With my musical recording experience, I had, as the hip kids say, the skillz. I parlayed that into some on-air stuff, ended up on the morning show and never looked back.

I've been very lucky that I've been able to stay in my home market (rare for radio) and have encountered some very talented people along the way that have helped me out, and to whom I am sincerely grateful.

I like getting the question about what it takes to get into radio and be successful. Does it take a voice from God? No, thankfully. Although I'm happy with my own voice, I certainly don't have one of those big "radio" voices that used to be the norm. What's important nowadays is that you LOVE radio - that you realize it's a really cool vocation. Enthusiasm goes a long way in this business, as does flexibility, and the people who succeed in radio are those who genuinely have a good time on the air. For me it's great because it combines being immersed in music, which makes me a happy camper, with the opportunity to entertain, which is also something I love.

Thanks for letting me do that!

-George