Sunny Stroll

It seems like every time I stroll by the studio, Verne is in the midsts of another interview. Today, Gabriela Montero stopped by to chat. Last year she had to postpone her visit to the station and for good reason. She got the opportunity to perform with Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman at the White House. The forecast for most the weekend is calling for gloomy weather. In order to keep myself active and off the couch, I might have to make a visit downtown and check out one of her perfomances with the Symphony.

Hot off the Press

In quintessential KPBX Kids’ Concert style, Saturday’s tribute to Django Reinhardt featuring the Hot Club of Spokane had the Bing Theater aisles bustling with kids dancing to the Gypsy-Jazzy beat. It’s a hard task to keep kids attention let alone their parents for an hour concert performance, but the Hot Club did just that. With their catchy rhythm and interaction with the audience via sing along, the group kept the audience active. Guest guitarist, Steve Bauer of 6 Foot Swing had parents laughing feverishly when he mentioned his favorite performer’s eccentric spending habits. The kids got their good laugh when later in the performance he imitated Django’s bizarre playing style. The hour long concert culminated with Miss Lee Lee, a diva that would have had the 1920’s Parisian audiences roaring. I can honestly tell you I did not recognize the music of Django Reinhardt before the concert, but after hearing some of his tunes, I can now say that I have become a fan of Hot Club music. Before starting as an intern at Spokane Public Radio, I thought I was aware of a wide variety of music. After helping out with several KPBX Kids’ Concerts and the R&V Sale, I have realized that I have much to learn. It’s great that the children who attend the station’s concerts get to listen to alternative music at such a young age.    

The Run In

Have you ever unexpectedly bumped into a person you know? Whether it's family, friends, people from your past, or co-workers -- it can be an strange but stimulating experience. Last week, while at a Gonzaga music performance featuring French guitarist Florian Larousse, that’s exactly what transpired. After listening to Larousse play passionately, I was surprised to run into Leon Atkinson. The crowd had exited the concert hall, but the two of us remained to chat. After exchanging greetings and discussing the performance, our conversation had run its course. I like talking to Leon, so instead of ending the conversation there, I prolonged our meeting by mentioning the weather, the ultimate conversation stretcher. While not the most ideal topic to discuss, at the very least, I was able to enjoy the chat a little longer. After we went our separate ways, I realized it was not that unusual to run into Leon at a performance in Spokane, especially since it is Spokane. However, there might have been another reason that we ran into each other. Could it have been the Law of Attraction? The law states that you will attract to yourself whatever you give focus, attention, or energy to; whether wanted or unwanted. For example, if you think about being broke, poor, lonely and believe in your thoughts, then most likely you will be. This extends to the synchronistic "coincidence" of being in the same place at the same time as someone you know. Leon may be the host of KPBX's Guitar Hour, but on that night we both were brought together by the positive energy of a few relaxing acoustic guitar sets. You would have never known that a demanding week-long pledge drive had just concluded. If you have a story about an unexpected meeting or the Law of Attraction feel free to post a comment on the blog.

Drive Update

By now you’re quite aware that the station’s spring pledge drive is in full swing. While the semi-annual drive can be very strenuous, everyone so far has been up to the task of attaining the stations pledge goals. Coinciding with the tremendous financial support from listeners, the down in-the-trenches support from all the staff and volunteers has been sensational. Everyone is working diligently and doing their part to make sure the week-long event ends as soon as possible, even if it means burning the candle at both ends. Several staff are arriving as early as 4 and 5 am and not leaving ‘til evening so that they can complete their duties.

The volunteers answering the phones are working hard too. On Friday, I was lucky enough to answer calls with three ladies, several of which had already done multiple 3-hour shifts for the drive and were planning to do more. They were energized to be there and enjoyed taking pledges so much that at one point in Pledge Central, it was more like the game show Jeopardy when an easy question is asked. It’s all a matter of who had the quicker reflexes and could connect to the caller first. I was never fast enough, which seems to be the story of my life. Even though the drive may still have a few days left, it’s apparent that all involved are staying steadfast in seeing the final hours through.

Humdinger

We all know the sailors adage referring to the quiet before the storm, but is it really true? In regards to weather, but is it always the case? According to How Stuff Works, warm, dry air is the main contributor needed to produce the calmness we experience before a cloudburst, because it is a relatively stable air mass. The quiet before the storm possibly describes Spokane Public Radio before a pledge drive. All is relatively quiet at the station currently. Starting Thursday, it won’t be that way. Pledge Central will be hectic and filled with volunteers sitting at tables and answering non-stop phone calls. The staff will be hard at work; running around making sure everything is going as planned and even spending their extra time in the studio to help make a push for the cause. The aroma of lunch provided by local restaurants will have people attempting to determine whether they’re at a restaurant or a radio station.

The staff has been briefed, the setup in pledge central is complete and only several things are left to be finished. Electricity is in the air, and the staff at the station is excited to have all the calls pour in as it warms up with all the community support. A tremendous amount of effort goes into a pledge drive which includes the generous support from volunteers who contribute their time and local businesses that donate food and other items to help fuel the drive. Of course, the listening community is imperative to the endurance and success of the station. It has been especially warming to witness the amount of pre-pledges that have been received by the station. The perfect conditions seem to be in place during this calm before the pledge drive storm. Let's hope it's a humdinger.

My First Meeting

Ask any college student what their least favorite part of school is, and the answer isn’t a surprise. Of course, finals and midterms top the list, but immediately after -- is going to class. Sitting in a classroom for over an hour as a professor monotonously rambles on about some “fascinating” topic is torture for most students.

Excited to go the SPR special meeting today regarding the upcoming pledge drive, I realized shortly after sitting there that I had been deceived into adding an extra class to my Tuesday schedule.

Without realizing it, I began to follow my normal class routine. I grabbed a seat in the back row and watched as everyone trickled in several minutes late. My new professor for the hour, Linda, began to outline the meeting’s agenda. While at first I was active and interested in the subject matter, eventually I started to feel the Charley Brown effect where the teacher makes non-sense whopping “wa-wa” noises. It is also interesting to note that I was not the only one feeling this way. Like always, the guys in the room livened up the discussion by adding several humorous (wise-ass) comments -- something typical in most of my college classes. Linda did, however, get everyone through the material in a little over an hour, and I was impressed that the staff and volunteers felt free to give their unique two-cent perspectives and ideas. And I certainly learned that there’s much more that goes into running a pledge drive than I have ever even thought about.

As the meeting began to wind down, and the aroma of the Aloha Island Grill after-meeting meal began to waft through the room distracting everyone’s attention, I was struck by the thought that maybe some things never change. Will my future work meetings be like class lectures where my mind wanders and I can’t wait get out and go skiing?  Is this what I have to look forward to when I graduate? Or is it that, maybe, the employees at SPR have just found it hard to grow up? Either way, I’ll find out in a year or two.

Shelf Shuffle

Do you remember that feeling as a kid when you were forced to visit the dentist for the first time and in your mind you way over-blew the event? Friends and family (even though they were joking) petrified you by telling outlandish stories of their first visit being a time where dentists tortured people with drills and sharp pointy objects? I guess some things never change--since there are people that still hate going to the dentist.

When I first started interning at the station, the same over-blown thought processes occurred in my mind, except this time it was the stereotype that all interns were errand-running servants. I will admit that most of my perception came from the movie “The Devil Wears Prada” (I won’t go in to the details of why I watched the movie, since it is a chick-flick). For those of you that haven’t seen it, Anne Hathaway runs around as the assistant to an over-demanding boss (Meryl Streep), who everyone fears because she is so malicious. Up until Tuesday, my internship fears never had any merit, since I never had to do monotonous tasks. What made Tuesday an interesting day was that I was asked to bring up from the basement an all-metal shelf unit. I was more than willing to grab it, and even assemble it, until I realized that the box had to weigh nearly 200 pounds. With no elevator, and only a dolly for support, I was anxious about getting the IKEA-style shelf up the intimidating flight of front stairs. I did manage to get my load up the 20, or so, steps with a little elbow grease and was able to start putting the shelving-system together.

Like a dad trying to put his child’s bike together on Christmas without the adequate tools, I didn’t have a hammer (suggested in the manual as essential equipment) to help me complete the job. If you have ever put one of these units together, you know that it can be tedious to get the support panels locked into place so the whole thing doesn’t collapse. Using my body weight, I’m sure I looked foolish hanging off the ground while holding on to the side panel to get it to lock into place. When it was all put together (and I had done my pull up workout) I was glad that I had followed the directions (the second mistake that fathers perform). When all was said and done, though, I was pretty astounded that I had built the shelf without any prior experience -- even though there were two extra pieces, go figure.

Ecstatic of my accomplishment, I was a little irate when several staff members walked by and told me how easy it was to put shelves together. At least now I can say that I am a real intern and have done the grunt work.

R and V Aftermath

Believe it or not - vinyl is not dead. This past weekend was a testament to the sustained popularity of this old-school musical medium. For two days, the KPBX Recordings and Videos Sale had hundreds of people lined up early to get first grabs at all the pristine vinyl they could buy. As the new kid on the block who had never participated in the event (and who knows relatively nothing about vinyl) I was amazed at the continuous flow of record groupies all day in the Spokane Masonic Center Auditorium, where the event took place.

I lent my time as a volunteer for several hours on Saturday and was given the duty of putting rogue records back into boxes and helping buyers carry their stuff out to their cars. I soon realized why no one else wanted the task: vinyl records are like carrying lead when you get dozens of them stuffed into a box. If I were asked “what is humankinds’ best invention to date?” - I would have to say the dolly. While loading records, equipment, and other dusty treasures, I got a chance to converse a little with sale-goers about the items they purchased. You would have thought that they had discovered gold with the way they described all of their stuff! One gentleman bought a load of old 78s, and as we were putting them in the cab of his ’69 Chevy truck (another potential conversation piece), he told me that it’s a hobby of his to keep “the good stuff of the past.” I guess he gave me the nostalgia fever, because at the silent auction I decided to bid on a turntable that, surprisingly, I won.

Finishing up all the duties for the day with the rest of the volunteers and staff who worked long hours to make sure the event ran smoothly, I felt invigorated. Placing equipment on the tables for the next day’s auction, I now understand why vinyl continues to survive even if digital allows you to access thousands of songs in the palm of your hands. Sure, it could be the quality of the sound or the artistic album covers, but the sense of community and the history are what make it even more special. I’m not quite there yet to join the vintage LP fan club, but I am enthusiastic about next year’s sale. Especially because I can bid on that receiver I forgot I would need to go with my new turntable.