Post 1799 - Hallowe'en 2011

121 kids.  Fewer than last year.

The first ones showed up around 5:45.  We shut the doors around 8.  I then went downstairs to watch this week's "The Walking Dead" and the after show, "The Talking Dead".  The latter program is often more fun than the actual show.

It is 10pm.  November will be here very shortly.  And I refuse to have my heat on until at least then.  I don't care that I can practically see my breath tonight.  The heat will not be on this evening!

Tomorrow will be a busy day.  I take comfort in the fact that I have Thursday afternoon and all day Friday, off.  Looking forward to it.

See you tomorrow.

Bevboy

Post 1798 - Getting Ready

Spent much of the day watching more tv shows and movies.  Patricia has made it clear that she doesn't like "Strike Back", so I will watch that on my own from now on.  That's fine.  The sex and violence embarrass me.  Well, that's what I tell Patricia.

I spent quite a bit of time today digging out some comic books to give out to the ghosts and goblins Monday evening.  Also this year, I pulled out a special Batman book, discussing the first 50 years of that character.  It came out in 1989, his 50th anniversary.   I will be giving out that book to the kid who wears either the best Batman costume, or whose costume blows me away the most.  Probably not to a 2 year old though.  It's an actual book and would be best to give out to a 12 year old or more.

Also excavated the Hallowe'en candy today, the stuff I bought last year or the year before.  I sampled a few pieces, and it's fine.  I don't get why people get after me for storing candy in my freezer for a year.  It's on sale when I buy it, so I save a few bucks.  And I'm guaranteed to have it on hand the next year.  There is no difference in the taste that my buds can discern.  It's not freezer burned or anything like that.  It's just candy, folks!  Get over it.

Lots of comics to give away. Lots of candy to give away.  Sounds cool to me.

See you tomorrow.

Bevboy

Post 1797 - Where Did The Day Go?

Slept in.  Got up.  And we started watching shows like "Sons of Anarchy" and "Boardwalk Empire" and "Supernatural" and "Revenge" and "Strikes Back".   We finished off the evening watching the quarterly episode of  "America's Most Wanted".

A day spent watching tv.

Is it time to retire yet?

No.  I mean it.  Is it time to retire yet?

See you tomorrow.

Bevboy

Post 1796 - A Long Day

I sent off interview questions to a couple more radio jocks during my lunch hour today.  Once I get through the interviews and the attendant work it will be the holidays, easily.  Maybe even the new year.

Patricia and I went to Costco after work tonight.  I had bought my most recent pair of glasses there, to my ever lasting regret.  I have had nothing but problems with them.  The frames are loose and bent out of shape just through normal use.  They tightened them yet again this evening and put them back into their normal shape.  I will have to do it again in a month or so.  Looking forward to the day when I can ditch these glasses for something that will be useful.  That probably means going back to Vogue Optical.

We got home and watched the pilot episode of "Grimm".  It looks promising so far, much more so than "Once Upon A Time", or whatever that snore fest is called on Sunday evenings.  "Grimm" is about a cop who discovers he is the latest in the  long line of Grimm's, people who can see the true face of people, whether they're wolves or demons or postal carriers.  Armed with this knowledge, he is able to solve crimes.  Not a bad concept, and the first episode moved along nicely.   I'll be back next week.

Tomorrow I have to find suitable comics to give out to the children on the 31st.  That may take a while.

Also tomorrow I have to get back to transcribing the JAX interview.

See you on Saturday!

Bevboy

Post 1795 - More Interview Prep

In the aftermath of the Kate Milton interview, posted 2 days ago, I have received emails from 2 other jocks wanting to be interviewed by me.  I have sent one his set of questions and will work on the second set during my lunch hour tomorrow.  I also have to do some serious work on the JAX interview.  Lastly, I sent a set of questions to a 4th jock.  I will have to clear some space on my digital voice recorder!

I have a doctor's appointment first thing Friday morning, so I'll be late for work.  The guys at my work who read this do not have to worry.  I will be in to work after the appointment.  I love you guys, too.

Tomorrow is Friday.  After that is ... don't tell me.  Let me guess.  I knew it yesterday.  Ah... Saturday!  Right.  That day I will have to pick out some comic books to give the adorable children who will drop by the house on the 31st.

On Sunday, I will go to the freezer and dig out most of the candy that I purchased last November when Hallowe'en candy was half price.  People doubt that I actually do this.  They think I am kidding when I indicate that I store Hallowe'en candy in my freezer for 11 months and 29 days in anticipation of the next time October 31st rolls around.

It's true.

I have done this for years now and am proud to be able to save this money.  It makes eminent sense.  Why rush to the stores and buy crap on October 30th when I can just come downstairs to where I keep the freezer and open it and remove what I need for the following evening?  This is a good system I have worked out.  The people who rag on me for doing this are just jealous because they didn't think of it first.  They have to get over themselves.

Look: You can go ahead and store this candy for a year, too. Nobody has to know that you got the idea from me.  You can tell folks you thought of it all by yourself.  It can be our little secret.  I don't mind.

Guess I'll call it a night.

It's a night.

Bevboy

Post 1794 - The Next Day

Been getting some nice feedback on the Kate Milton interview.  Very gratifying.

Now, it's time to get to work and finish the JAX interview.  Katey Day at Lite 92.9 and I met 2 weeks ago, but that interview discussion is nowhere near finished.  It may prove to be my magnum opus.

Julia Kirkey and I are going to meet sometime in the next couple of weeks.  Jordi Morgan of News 95.7 is waiting in the wings.  Shane Wilson, late of Z103, contacted me via Facebook in the last few minutes and wants to meet to discuss his career in radio.  There are others.

I wish I could clone myself.  One of me could work, while another stayed home and slept in until noon.  A third could go to TM every week.  The fourth Bevboy could conduct and transcribe the interviews.

Works for me.

See you tomorrow.

Bevboy

Post 1793 – Interview With C100’s Kate Milton

September 22, 2011

 

 

I had some time to kill after work on September 22. K8 would’t be off the air until 7, so I was to donate blood before our meeting. Patricia shopped and rested in the car until about 6:45, when we hied ourselves over to Michael’s Bar and Grill on Young Street, not far from the C100 studios.

K8 and Deb Smith showed up a few minutes shy of 7pm. We ordered our food and commenced to talk. We talked for more than 2 hours, to the point where it would be legal to say the "F" word on the radio. I’m just sayin’.

I’ll shut up now.

How did you get your start in radio? Actually, I know how you got started at Z [from the Dan Barton interview]. We'll get to that later.

Kate Milton: Actually, you don’t. When I read the interview with Dan, I was like, "I’m pretty sure he’s got that K8 mixed up with Katie!" The story’s not actually true to form. That was the main part I was looking forward to, too, when you said how interesting it was when I got my start. It was? I didn’t really think that it was. His story was a little off track.

Do you want me to go back as far as school?

Bevboy: Let’s go back to school. You probably went to NSCC in Kentville.

KM: I did. The reason I went to NSCC for radio was, I think it was the 20th anniversary for Q104. They got all the jocks together that always worked there.

BB: 2003, 2004.

KM: Exactly the year I went. Right around that time. I heard all the jocks get together. I was listening to all their stories of everything they did. I was like, "That sounds pretty cool!" I wanted to get out of the Superstore, which is where I was working for years. [Bevboy note: It was the Bayers Lake Superstore].

I applied for the program. When I went into the program, I actually went in thinking that radio was really cool, wanting to work on Breakfast Television, for whatever reason. It looked fun, too.

The first year my internship was at Big Dog/Cat Country [in Truro]. I did the cruiser there.

BB: You would have met Moe Dunn?

KM: Moe’s voice is such an awesome voice.

BB: I listened to him on AVR in the 1970‘s and ‘80‘s.

KM: I can just picture him back then. So suave.

BB: I interviewed him. You should read it.

KM: I will.

BB: He’s a great guy.

KM: Totally. When I first went into the internship to do the cruiser job, I actually wasn’t sure that radio was my thing. I was really quiet, really shy. If you ask my professor, he still doesn’t believe that I’m where I am. It was more that I was older than most of the kids, though.

BB: You don’t look older.

KM: Thank you. What’s your guess?

BB: What’s my guess, as to your age?

Deb Smith: Uh, oh!

BB: 27. 28.

KM: 30. Close.

Patricia: I would have said 25.

KM: Thank you.

So, I went to the cruiser job. I wasn’t sure I was going to go back the second year. Chris VanTassel is the reason I stuck with radio. He is an amazing, amazing person. He’s a great boss. He’s got his shit together. He encouraged me to stick with it; he saw something. He said, "You should go back. If you’re offered a job in a hokey pokey market, stick through school and finish it. I see something in you."

The first time I did a cut-in with the cruiser, and people came, I’m like, "Huh! People did listen!" In college, I’m talking to a microphone in a booth with equipment that barely worked at that college, at that time.

The second year, I went back. I finished it. I didn’t live in the Valley the second year; I didn’t really like living in the Valley that much. I’m sorry. I feel like if you’re not from there, you’re not really wanted there.

BB: "Milton? That’s not a Valley name!"

KM: I just didn’t like living there. So, the second year, I drove back and forth; I didn’t go that often because Chris would let me do a lot of stuff at Big Dog, so I was getting a lot of experience in the industry.

The second year I went, after I graduated, I was a Q Cop for that summer.

BB: This was ‘05?

KM: ‘06. ‘05, I would have been in Truro. In 2006, I would have been at Q104.

BB: And that’s where you met Jordi Morgan.

KM: Yes. He’s one of my favourites. He’s the one I would sit in the studio with. I would look at the board. I’m like, "That’s big!" There’s a lot of buttons and you use 4 of them. But you walk in, and there’s buttons and lights. I’m like, "Holy! Am I going to be able to do this?" Then he pointed out that he doesn’t know what half of them do, either. [K8 and Deb laugh] "These ones that are little? These ones we need to know. These ones that have your mic? We need to know."

BB: I see the board that you guys run, and I’m like, "What the frig do these buttons do?"

KM: I don’t know what half of them do. If the board ever fell apart, I would not have a clue what to do.

DS: That’s when we call Engineering.

KM: 100%.

BB: Does the same engineer still work for you guys? He lives in Windsor?

DS: Oh, Steve? He works for Newcap. He actually announced his retirement. I don’t know when.

BB: OK. In ‘06, you were a Q Cop. When’s the first time you were on the radio that someone walked up to you afterward and said, "Are you K8?"

KM: Actually, you know who the first person that would have said would have been someone from Truro saying, "Are you Cruiser K8 from Big Dog?"

I’m like, "Really?" Why would you think me from Truro was me here?" I guess my voice isn’t that deceiving. I can’t hide.

BB: It’s got that smokey aspect to it.

KM: It’s why I smoke.

DS: The only reason! If she quits, she’s out of a gig. [K8 and Deb laugh]

BB:You worked at Q in ‘06.

KM: Yes. For the summer. I begged to stay.

BB: Z went on the air in July of ‘06.

KM: It was in testing while I was a Q Cop.

BB: Did you do anything between being a Q Cop and going to Z?

KM: No. JC kept me on somewhat part-time. I had put together a Power Point presentation. I just thought I knew what I was doing. I was like, "You need somebody full time Promo. I don’t want to leave Q". Q was where I needed to be to work. That was my goal.

He gave me some shifts here and there, doing Promo.

BB: Were you on air?

KM: My very first radio show ever was on Q. We were broadcasting live from the Natal Day Fest. My partner and I did a show for 4 hours. Crazy! Why would he let me do that? "Are you really going to let us be on the radio? We don’t know what we’re doing!" That would be the tape that Dan Barton threw out.

BB: Whom did you do the show with?

KM: Billy Martin, one of the most eccentric people I’ve ever met in my life. Everybody needs to have met him.

BB: Never heard of him before.

KM: Well, he’s no longer in radio. He’s back over on PEI; that’s where he’s from. He had done the Q Cop the next summer. Then, he was working on air in Charlottetown. It just didn’t go right from there. Now, he’s painting walls.

BB: Oh, dear. What station was he at in PEI?

KM: Ocean. And, is it K-Rock that’s with Ocean?

BB: Yes. There’s a K-Rock over there.

KM: The both of them that are together.

BB: The Newcap stations?

KM: Yes.

BB: Was he Skip Church?

KM: No.

BB: There was a guy at the K-Rock station. He was on the air on Sunday mornings, and he went by the name "Skip Church". I’m trying to figure out who that guy was.

DS: Skip Church on Sunday mornings!

KM: It really is brilliant.  That’s good.

BB: Do you remember listening to Skip Church on the K-Rock station? Our cottage is in Pictou County and the Island stations come in clear as a bell.

I’ll find out who Skip Church is some day!

KM: And, you know what? Maybe it was him. I don’t know that. It could have been. But, I don’t know that.

BB: OK. You did some stuff at Q. And, then you went to Z.

KM: And then I went to Z.

I have heard Dan Barton’s side of the story about how you got on the air at Z103.5. You’ve got a lot of moxie. What made you decide to employ this approach? Now you’re saying that it may not have been you after all.

KM: Well, he says I kept going in and going in.

BB: That you pestered and stalked the man?

KM: Yes. That is not the case. It’s not. Actually, I didn’t discuss this with him. In fact, Katie, who runs our Promotions Department now, that was her approach. She did pester and pester.

BB: Katie Kelly?

KM: Katie Christie at the time. Katie Kelley now. Married. I don’t know why he would think I kept going in because, as far as I remember, I maybe only went in twice. I went in once to say, "What’s up?" and to say I wanted a job. Then, another time, I had gone in with a letter of recommendation from Chris VanTassel (it was the best letter ever); and it was for Dan Cormier. He was the Program Director at the time.

BB: At which station?

KM: At Z103.

BB: Oh, Dan Barton was not the first PD there?

KM: Well, he was. Just wait.

I go in. I had just found out that Dan Cormier had been appointed to PD. Dan and Chris had worked together before. The letter was perfect; they were great friends. I’m in!

I walk in. I’m like, "I’m here to see Dan Cormier. I just want to drop off a resume."

"Well, Dan Cormier doesn’t work here any more. Dan Barton’s the Program Director."

I’m like, "This isn’t good!" [everyone laughs]. "This is not a good start at all. I’m bringing a letter to the wrong man."

But, Paul Evanov happened to be there that day. I explained to him that I was the impression that Dan Cormier was here, and you’re not him.

BB: And, can I borrow some white out?

KM: Just cross out the "Cormier", put in the "Barton". At least it’s to "Dan", right? I give him the letter and the resume.

Lucky me, Paul was there. He’s like, "Hey, I’m Paul Evanov. I own the company." I shake hands with him. That’s perfect timing!

I’d say a week went by. I got a call from Rob Brown, who was the Operations Manager there at the time. It’s funny that I’m remembering everybody’s last names, because I feel like I wouldn’t. He called and asked if I wanted to operate the live to air’s, Friday nights and Saturday nights, or whatever.

BB: At the Pogue Fado or Reflections or whatever?

KM: It was The Palace and The Dome at that time. I said no. Most people would be like, "Oh, my God! How could you turn your foot in the door away?" I was offered a second job again for OP’ing. Maybe I went into Dan at this time. I was like, "I appreciate you offering me a position in the building. It would be a fantastic start. But, I feel I have more to offer than that."

That sounds really bad, right? It sounds really cocky. But I just thought it’s not going to get me to where I want to be. If I started doing the OP’ing, I’m the OP. I’m the OP girl that ended up on air. That isn’t what I wanted to do. I wanted to end up on air. That is what I was going to find, whether it was there or not.

Dan must have thought, "This bitch has balls." [Deb and Patricia laugh] "We might as well let her try something!" He asked me to come back in and sit in with Chris Evans; he was our mid day show at that time.

BB: So, there is a mixture of truth here in this story.

KM: Yes. It was like an audition. I would go on with Chris. And, I thought it was strange because nobody else did it. But, at the same time, I’m like, "Who am I to say? I have never been on the radio before in my life. What do I know?"

I went in with Chris. At the end of the day, Dan’s like, "That was one of Chris’ better shows! That is what I need you to be, the personality that walked in this room, not that tape that you brought me." (which was the Q Cop show, live from the Waterfront). I knew he didn’t like it; I didn’t know he threw it in the garbage. He texted me before I read the interview: "I was a little hard on your demo."

I was like, "Whatever." Then, I read, "I actually threw it in the garbage!" That was a little bit harsher than I expected! It wasn’t that bad. Of course, if I listened to it now, I’d probably die of embarrassment.

And, I did. Later, working at Z, Dan played it for me again. He’s like, "Just sit down and listen to this." He played it.

I was like, "Oh, my God! I can’t believe you actually gave me a job." He just liked who he met. Thank God for it, or I wouldn’t be here right now.

BB: Would you say that Z was your big break?

KM: Absolutely.

BB: You wouldn’t be here right now if not for Z and Dan Barton?

KM: Absolutely.

BB: Where would you be if not for Z?

P: Superstore.

KM: Maybe. I don’t know. No. You know what? It was down to 2 people for a Q104 swing job. It was me and the other guy. I actually called JC to decline my application. I’m glad I did it. I don’t regret that decision at all. I called him and said, "I don’t know how this is going to sound to you, but I just started at Z doing evenings and I just feel I should stay here and figure out what I’m doing. It’s full-time. Yours is part-time." I know they paid way better, but that’s obviously not why anybody’s in radio: for money. It’s not really about the money; it’s about what you do. So, I withdrew my application.

He was like, "Are you kidding me? I would prefer it to be you."

I was like, "I’m going to kick myself, but no, I would like to carry on with what I’m doing."

BB: And, other than Anna Zee, there are no women working at Q104.

KM: Anna’s like the rock of the place, though.

BB: You would have been cool at the Q.

KM: I know, but I’d probably still be part-time. Honestly. Five years later, I’d still be part-time.

BB: Ian Robinson still is.

KM: Well, they have 5 part-time people, I counted.

BB: Well, let’s see here. Dominik Diamond. [Bevboy Note: This interview was conducted prior to Dominik’s departure to Toronto]

KM: My favourite!

BB: Ian. Jeff’s on the air one day a week.

KM: Bob.

BB: Bob Powers. Who’s the fifth one?

KM: Mike McFarland.

BB: He left, and Jeff took his shift. That’s how Jeff got on the air: The departure of Mike. He works for the post office.

KM: Oh, really? I didn’t know that.

BB: Is there anything else you want to add about Z?

KM: I started there in late September [of 2006]. I wasn’t from the first day, but pretty close. Three weeks after it had announcers, I came along.

BB: And you were there until last year.

KM: I have been with Bell/CTV/CHUM for just over a year now.

BB: OK. You were at Z for almost 4 years.

KM: Yes.

P: She’s gainfully employed. Be happy for her!

BB: I’m trying to trace the chronology, because people care. Thousands of people read these interviews, you know. Eventually. People still read the Denyse Sibley interview. People still google "Denyse Sibley" and find it.

Who left The Bounce to create the opportunity for you to apply there?

KM: I didn’t apply there.

BB: You were wooed?

KM: Yes. Twice previous that, too, actually. While I was at Z, I did Evenings for 3 years. Then, the Afternoon position opened up at Danny Kid left there. I got Drive there.

Twice, I was approached by Bounce to come over: Once for Morning Show co-host, and once for Evenings again, I think.

BB: This was after Amber LeBlanc left?

KM: Yes. And, Evenings? I don’t know who it was. There was quite a bit of transition with the evening people in the beginning.

I didn’t want to leave the afternoon, at all. And, again, there was a sense of loyalty, too. I spent so much time at Z, and I truly believed in it. I just felt bad even meeting with [Bell Media]. When they wrote me, I was like, "I hope nobody finds out!" I just didn’t feel right.

My girlfriend Katie (Kelly, Christie), the one that did harass Dan to get the job, had moved to Toronto to work at Z, and wanted to come home. They day she finally admitted to me that she wanted to come home, there was an opening at Bounce for Promotions.

She said, "I can’t do that!"

I’m like, "Kate, do you want to come to Halifax again? You have to."

Then, she started at Bounce. They wanted to talk to me again. She was sent on a mission to convince me.

BB: A mission!

KM: She was. The "LBG", we called her. The Little Blonde Girl. She sat with me for days, just wanting to shake me and say, "Come do it." There’s a 6-10 position open at this time. It was Kid Craig that had left that position; he had moved out West.

BB: What was the deciding factor?

KM: I had always appreciated the company. I always knew that was where I was going to end up. Where I am now is where I wanted to end up. At the time, I just didn’t think I was ready to leave the Afternoon show. I wanted to wait for that opportunity to open up and go for that.

I had met a couple of different Program Directors over the year there. So, when Katie convinced me to consider leaving drive and going to Evenings, I met Boss Chris. Chris Duggan. I really liked him. He’s from the States.

BB: He lives in Boston or something?

KM: Somewhere in that vicinity. He just made me feel that, no matter where I wanted to go [in radio], he could help me do that. He wasn’t looking to take me in and be like, "You’re just going to work for me." He was like, "I love listening to you. I think that, where ever you want to go, you can go. I can help you do that." It just worked out for him that I don’t want to go anywhere! And, he’s now stuck with me for life.

BB: Or as long as the ratings hold up.

KM: Well, yeah.

BB: That was last year that you went to the Bounce. But, I heard that you also filled in on Drive on The Bounce for a while because they hadn’t hired the new guy yet. [Turk]

KM: Another reason it was easy to leave: Dan had left from Z already, too. It’s not that I didn’t like the new Program Director, but it made it a little easier for me to go, too. I didn’t have Dan there.

I would say, out of the first 9 months of me being there, I did the Afternoon show for 7. When I first started there, it was summer, so I think my second week there, I did Drive. I filled in for all vacations. I did Drive for a good chunk of the summer, based on vacation fill-in’s. Then, when Ed left, I filled that straight through. I think it was 6 months or 7 months.

BB: Ed who?

KM: Special Ed. It was 7 months, I believe, maybe 6, that I was filling in for Drive.

BB: People would have had the impression that you were the Drive announcer at Bounce.

KM: Yes. Well, some people still think I was. A lot of people ask me why I went to C100 when I had the same job over there. But, I didn’t.

BB: I certainly would have asked the same question.

KM: So, I went back to Evenings. There were 2 weeks left in the Book. Then, I went back to Evenings. They brought Turk from the States. He’s now the Drive host there.

I’m back to my Evenings for a little while. It wasn’t very long that I was back in the Evenings that C100 came up.

BB: We’ll talk about that next.

You recently took over the time slot of a long-time jock, Matt Northorp. How much of a challenge has it been to take over this time slot and make the show your own? He was there for a long time.

KM: 26 years. I don’t really like to think of it as taking somebody else’s show. I never have. I try not to even think about the fact that somebody else had that job, first, because you never know why they aren’t there. When Craig left, I didn’t ever feel like I was sitting in Craig’s show. I just go into it as my show, period. I don’t think about anybody being there before. I just hope the listeners don’t go, "Oh, you’re not the same person that’s been there!" I haven’t had that yet. In all the positions that I’ve taken over, no one’s ever questioned [me on that].

BB: No one’s ever called 451-1313 and goes, "Where’s Matt?"

KM: I haven’t had it yet. Same when I went Kid Craig’s show on The Bounce: Nobody ever called me up and asked what happened to Craig. When I went into Danny C.’s job at Z103, nobody ever called in and asked that. Maybe people like me! They’re just like, "Hey! She’s ok!"

As for the challenge of making it my own, it’s always the challenge of making my show #1. It’s all I ever focus on.

BB: Well, how do you approach it at C100, which has a slightly older demographic than The Bounce, or Z? It’s a different approach for you, I’m sure.

KM: Yes, and no. I think I thought that moreso than I needed to. Even Boss Chris said I toned myself down a little bit too much, because I thought that that was the case; but it’s not, really, because I am pretty much the core demo myself of C100. And, the way I always am and always will be on the radio? My father is my #1 fan. He listens to my show every day whether he’s here or not. I wouldn’t say anything on the radio that I wouldn’t say to him. There are things that I said that he probably goes, "Oh, God!" It’s just because it’s his daughter saying it.

I didn’t really change my approach at all. I did at first a bit. I toned back a little. But, I still do the exact same thing that I did on any of the stations.

BB: You’re no more edgy, or less edgy, on C100 than you were [before]?

KM: When it comes to some of my contests, yes, I’m less edgy on C100. On The Bounce I had a game called Oral Explosion. Again, my dad listened to it every day, so I didn’t see anything wrong with bringing it to C100, but we didn’t. We had to change that name. So, certain contests, and the titles which I used for them, have been scaled down a little bit.

BB: Brad Dryden says you can get away with a lot of things with innuendo.

KM: Right. Exactly. And that’s more fun anyway. It’s more entertaining that way, I think. If you don’t have to actually come out and say it, and you’ve got the point across, that’s clever to me. That’s what I always really liked about Tom Bedell. He was always an announcer that I always listened to and thought, "I like his dry sense of humour."

BB: It’s very dry. It could be 5 minutes later and you go, "Oh!"

KM: Exactly. And I feel like I took a lot of that from him. I’ve always listened to him in that way and always said, "That’s the kind of announcer that I want to be like. I just want to be somebody that says something that eventually someone goes, "I get it!" And I do do that a lot.

DS: I do it every day.

KM: It’s perfect having her with me, because I’ll say it, and she’ll be like, "Yeah!" And, that is something I learned from listening to Tom.

BB: Tom was a great guy when I talked to him.

KM: And, I’ve told him before how much I admire him on the radio. I think he appreciates it.

The Megan Edwards question. You lose your iPod. I find it. What songs on it would surprise me the most?

KM: I think what would surprise you the most is that I don’t own an iPod. I do not own one.

BB: No kind of mp3 player?

KM: Nope. I am straight up cd’s. I don’t download; I buy.

BB: What kinds of things would I deem as eclectic in your collection?

KM: If you’re assuming that I listen to the pop music that I generally work with every day, I don’t know that it would be surprising. I would have to say Blue Rodeo and AC/DC. I’ve seen Blue Rodeo seven times. Every time they come here, I’ll go. Love Blue Rodeo.

BB: Me too.

KM: I don’t know if that’s surprising or not.

BB: It surprises me a bit.

KM: Yeah?

BB: They are low key and Countryesque.

KM: Ani DiFranco. Very Folksy. She’s somebody else I’m a big fan of.

BB: Do you wish you could go to the Deep Roots Festival in Wolfville this weekend? You didn’t know about it?

KM: I didn’t. Is Blue Rodeo there?

BB: No. They were going to play Ridgefest, and they canceled it.

KM: That’s right. I did know they were going to that. Somebody else I have mad respect for: Joel Plaskett. I just think the world of him.

BB: Do you have a chance to meet these guys?

KM: No. Have I met Joel? I think I briefly met Joel when I was a Q Cop, but he would never remember who I was or meeting at all.

When it comes to meeting anybody that I actually admire musically, I haven’t, really. It would be Rock people that I would want to meet more so than a lot of these artists that we play.

BB: Are there some older artists you like? Do you like McCartney? Do you like Elton John?

KM: Elton John? Yes. Very much. If we weren’t in ratings, I would definitely have loved to have made the trip to go see him.

BB: He played Cape Breton...

KM: Which sold out in minutes, and then PEI. Did that one happen already, too?

DS: Yes.

BB: He played here in ‘08. Did you see him?

KM: I didn’t. I’ve never seen him live. I’ve been to some pretty cool concerts, but I didn’t go see him.

BB: We paid 400 dollars to see Elton John.

KM: That’s why I didn’t go. Unfortunately. I kick myself for not. I think it would have been worth it.

P: It was a really really early birthday present. We had decent seats. We could look down and see his right hand playing the piano.

DS: And that’s all you saw.

P: He was on big screens. I kept thinking when I was younger, I was told I couldn’t play the piano because I had short, stubby fingers. Elton John has short, stubby little sausages!

BB: Did you like Elton John stuff from the ‘70‘s, or more recent stuff?

KM: The White Album is the best. That’s everything he’s ever done. It’s one I can put on, and leave on. It’s his best of.

BB: Is there anything else you want to mention?

KM: I think the rest of it is pretty obvious. David Guetta’s probably one of my favourites. He’s a dj, right? I didn’t know anything about dance music when I went to Z. I knew nothing about of that music.

BB: Really?

KM: Oh, God, no.

BB: You’re a Rock girl.

KM: Yes. I remember when they were testing, I would look at Billy and be like, "People can listen to this at 7am?" It just blew my mind. Then I got there, and fell in love with dance music, solely because of David Guetta. But, that’s probably not surprising to anybody, for the most part.

BB: Except me, because I don’t know who the Hell he is.

KM: You’re surprised he exists.

DS: You should have seen us with that Poison song today, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn".

KM: My favourite thing about C100 is, at minimum, once a day I go, "Oh, that song? When’s the last time I heard it?" Every day, at least once. Today I went for 3, because then, later, "Eye of the Tiger" came on.

BB: I heard that. I was listening.

KM: I cranked it. I’m like, "This is so fun! It’s perfect."

BB: "And, they pay me!"

Please say something about the following people.

A. Dan Barton. It's your time to get your revenge.

KM: And, I should. Dan is the best drinking buddy ever. [Patricia snorts and laughs; Deb just laughs]

BB: I have that picture of him pouring beer down your throat.

KM: Exactly. And the picture goes right by that quote, right? He really is.

What can’t I say about Dan? He will always be the person that gave me my first job.

This is why I hate this part, because it’s like standing up at the Emmy’s and I have to remember to thank everybody. Obviously, I’d like to thank my professor Dave Bannerman. And, then, Chris VanTassel for telling me to keep going. And, then, Dan, who gave me my first real legit gig on the air. That’s pretty brave of him. Especially for having a demo tape that he threw in the garbage.

BB: In retrospect, were you ready to go on the air at Z?

KM: In my head, yes, I was ready. I thought I knew it all, right? I thought, "I could do this! Why not, right? It’s night time. I am these people. I can talk to these people." It took me a long time to figure out who I was there. It was because of Dan that I did. He was the one that sat down with me every day and said, "Remember that personality, the reason that I put you here. Keep doing that." So, I would go in; we would have a conversation about what I thought I might like to talk about. We’d have the conversation and it would go that way on air with the listeners. He was always a "Yes man", even if he was getting no’s from above about things that I wanted to do.

I jumped out of an air plane and took a listener with me. Seriously, the things that he made ok... I don’t even know how he got the ok for that to happen at all. But, he always believed that what I was doing was for the better of our ratings. He just always let me go at it and helped me do it.

I would do "Battle of the Blondes" with Sarah P. She was my co-host at the time. We would do bets every week, so if I lost the bet I would have the consequence and vice versa. One of the consequences was to fight Boss Dan in a Sumo suit. I lost the bet, so Dan beat me up over lunch one day in a Sumo suit. He kicked my ass, literally. That’s how it went over the air. He said, "I just beat a wee little girl over lunch", or something like that. Who does that, right? Whose boss just puts on a Sumo suit and says, "I’m going to beat her up!"?

There isn’t a whole lot I couldn’t say about Dan. He’ll always be "Boss Dan" to me. I introduced Boss Chris to him. "Boss Chris, this is Boss Dan. Boss Dan, this is Boss Chris." Any move I’ve ever made in this business, he’s the first person I call, every single time, still to this day.

BB: I was at his house a couple of weeks ago. He spoke highly of you then.

KM: I even asked him if I should do this interview. [laughs] No, I didn’t really. I have a lot of respect for him.

BB: He’s a very nice man. And he told funny stories.

KM: Well, look at the interview you have with him. It’s enormous.

BB: 19 500 words. It’s like a Rolling Stone or Playboy interview.

B. Jeff Cogswell. Note: This interview was conducted before Jeff acquired more shifts at Q104 from the departing Dominik Diamond.

KM: You know what? I remember hearing him on C100, but I didn’t make the connection when I met him. The best part about Jeff is that he was always willing to do crazy things like me. There wasn’t a lot of that at Z at the time. Like, while I’m getting the station logo tattoo’d on me, Jeff is being flung down Cogswell Street on a computer chair with a hockey helmet on.

BB: It was on youtube. I also saw him rolling down Citadel Hill

KM: Yes. That was the first one he did. They rolled him down in bubble wrap. I really appreciated that because I started doing all these out-of-the-box, crazy stunts which generally really don’t suit radio. You can’t see it. You take it to Facebook and blogging about it and whatever. But, he just really grabbed on to it, too. We always tried to tie them in together and just do off-the-wall things.

He’s very talented. He’s very easy to listen to. And, now that he’s on Q... I just wish it was more than one night a week. He’s never sounded more perfect on the radio.

BB: Are you listening to him on Friday nights?

KM: Oh, yeah. I just feel like, of all the times I’ve listened to him every day, he just sounds like his voice belongs in it, like the ID guy.

BB: He told me how happy he was there.

KM: He loves it. You can tell. You can absolutely hear. Jeff’s a really good friend. And, he has a really hot wife, too. She’s gorgeous. That’s what most people say when they meet her. "How did you get her to marry you?" She’s a doll.

BB: Jeff’s been really nice to me over the years. I first heard him on CJCH-AM in 1995. He was a production assistant on a computer show called Computer Talk Online. A guy named John Leahy was the host. Edd Grant was the co-host. And one of Jeff’s first production jobs was working on that show. It was an in-house show done on Deb’s old station [Bevboy Note: Actually, Mike Moses was the initial host of the show until Leahy felt seasoned enough to run with it on his own]. And, why do I remember this shit?

KM: Yeah!

P: He remembers this shit, but do you think he can remember to take the garbage out?

KM: I was just going to say that. I already know. It is mind boggling. How is that even possible?

BB: I loved that show. And Terry Williams cancelled it. [To Deb] You started in ‘95.

DS: ‘96.

BB: ‘96. I’m sorry. CJCH went to a news talk format on March 6, 1995. You were hired to work with Brian Phillips as some kind of a production assistant on the Hotline.

DS: Yes. It was producing. I started in May of ‘96. It was my internship. And, then, a job came up. But, I remember when you said, "I remember when you started!"

And I think that it’s great that you do it because you learn a lot. Remember on CJ, they used to bring in some of the old announcers?

BB: That’s what inspired me, you know?

DS: And that’s what I feel like your blogs are like because I learned a lot about the history of radio here, and in general I guess, when I was working at CJ and hearing all these old stories. That’s what your blogs are like.

BB: Anything else about Cogsy?

P: He has really interesting pictures on Facebook. Those avatar images.

KM: Oh, my God, they’re awful.

P: Some are really sick.

C. Deb Smith. What do you want to say about the beautiful woman to your left?

KM: Oh, God. If she wasn’t next to me...

DS: I could leave.

KM: This is how I’ll start this. When they first sent the email out to all staff was K8 was going to be the new Drive announcer on C100, I couldn’t wait to find out her reaction. This is the new bitch coming in on her territory. [Deb laughs] She’s had it how she’s had as long as she has; now, I’m coming in out of nowhere, right?

Within minutes, she inboxed me on Facebook and then ran into studio and was like, "I’m so excited!"

I was like, "Oh, thank God!" I was really looking forward to working with her. My favourite thing about her is that she seems so shy and well-mannered. And is. She has such a kind heart and is very polite. But, she will do anything. We’re just getting started. We haven’t been together long enough at all yet. Even when I first started, she was filling in on mornings and vacations. I launched without her, even. I didn’t even start with her.

Especially for us to get together for The Milton Matinee and make her be crazy characters and act out movie scenes. I bawl my face off laughing because she’s just so well-mannered, and then she comes out of nowhere with all this character. It’s amazing. I’m really excited to work with her. She reminds me a lot of Sarah. Sarah P. and you were a lot alike in that. Whereas you wouldn’t expect the things to come out of your mouth that do. And, they do; and it’s just perfect. I love it.

BB: Get Deb to do some bird noises. She did bird noises on CJCH. I remember that.

DS: I know I’ve done a crow. I can’t do it in here. [everyone laughs]

KM: See? The well-mannered side in public. But, if we were in the studio right now, she would do it no problem.

BB: Make her do it sometime.

KM: I’ll record it and send it to you.

BB: When’s the first time you heard Deb’s voice on the radio?

KM: That’s something else. If I ever have kids, I’m going to make you do book to tape for me and record it, because her voice is just so soothing. I always said that to Ray. When you were gone, I was like, "I could just listen to her talk forever. Her voice is just so calming."

I couldn’t pinpoint a time, though, a year or a date or anything. That’s not my thing.

BB: What station, though? You wouldn’t have listened to CJCH, would you?

KM: CJCH, I would have. But, I don’t know if I would have heard you. When did you start on CJCH?

DS: ‘96. I was doing news in the afternoon for a while. Then, I did mornings and mid day with the Hotline. The last couple of years, it was mornings.

KM: And, I probably did listen. I’ve probably been to all those lunches with you the whole time. I don’t know that I knew it was her at the time. I was sitting there taping my countdowns on my ghetto blaster, recording my mix tapes from the radio. So, you were likely there at some point. But, I’d have to say C100 is the first I remember actually knowing that it was her. Like I said, I’m not a radiohead, so I didn’t grow up following it by any means, like on purpose. It was always there, a part of my life, but it’s not something that I pursued like yourself, for instance [laughs]

D. Shane Wilson

KM: Shane Wilson is the coolest geek I know. He is the geekiest of geeky. I just love him. There’s not really a whole lot I can say about him. He was always the reasonable one, the responsible one, the adult in most situations. If you need that voice of reason, he was it.

What I’ll say about him is I really always appreciated how he was with Sarah. He was her boss, being News Director. It was her first gig, and he was very accommodating. He led her down the right path. He groomed her. Every day he would sit down with her and point out to do this and point out to do that. That doesn’t happen a whole lot any more. A lot of the times at Z, I didn’t get as many air checks as I wanted to have. There wasn’t a whole lot of guidance; I figured my way out, myself. I figured me out, myself.

He was just very responsible that way. He led her in the right direction; and he was such a good friend to her too. I didn’t have a huge relationship with Shane; I just appreciate him mainly based upon their relationship because she was my best friend. I always appreciated how he was with her, and how nurturing he was with her. I think he’s fantastic.

I filled in on the morning show once with him. I wanted to die; I don’t ever want to do it again. It’s too much for me. Mornings aren’t my thing.

BB: How was working with Shane that morning?

KM: Ummm. Shane always had his shit together. He has the dry humor I love. When I filled in that morning, I was so nervous, until I sat with him. He made me feel ... right.

BB: When Jeff, Nikki, and Shane were "thrown" off the air for a day and a half, didn’t you and Megan do the show the next day?

KM: No. Not me. You know what? I don’t know who would have done it with her. Was Shane thrown off, too, or did Shane stay?

BB: All three.

KM: Oh, Sarah. It was Sarah and Megan.

BB: It was a publicity stunt. Everybody knew that except for all the people who were listening.

KM: And, it pissed all of us off because we didn’t get the extra long weekend like they did out of the stunt. I’m like, "What do I have to do to get a day for that?"

BB: They were perceived as swearing or something. People thought the most obnoxious things.

KM: I get the whole buzz talk. But, I thought that was a little lame. It had been done.

BB: The stunt was lame?

KM: The stunt was lame. It had been done before. Then look what happened: It started going in the direction of Nikki dropping the N bomb and all that stuff. I’m like, "That’s not good!" There is such a thing as bad publicity. You don’t want anybody that’s what happened at all.

BB: OK. So, Shane is nurturing. And it’s a shame he’s not on the radio these days.

KM: Yes, absolutely.

BB: He has another job doing something.

KM: He’s out at the airport now. He went to Jeff’s [Cogswell’s] stand up comedy last week or two weeks ago. Shane came. I hadn’t seen him since I left Z. He seems really happy. He’s an airplane geek, too. He used to be a pilot. But, he has a bad eye, I believe. And [because of] the arthritis that he has, he can’t actually fly any more.

DS: He used to instruct, actually.

KM: I couldn’t even pronounce what he does out there. His title is something really important from the sounds of it. It sounds big.

BB: I wonder if he would want to go back on the air.

KM: I don’t know. I didn’t ask. He seemed pretty happy. He just had a baby. It would be a year I guess, now.

E. Moya Farrell

KM: Moya is somebody I have a lot of respect for. She’s been on the radio since I can remember, really. [To Deb] How many years has she been there?

DS: She’s probably around the same as Matt, 24, 25 years.

BB: It was John Biggs and Peter Harrison, Biggs and Harrison in the Morning. Moya joined that team.

KM: That’s amazing. Being a female in radio isn’t always the easiest, either. Not for any reason, but there wasn’t many females I enjoyed listening to. Usually, they were laugh tracks. It’s awful to say, but it’s true.

BB: They laugh at every dumb ass thing the guys say.

KM: To make the guys seem so cool or whatever. Moya never did that. Moya was always very strong-willed and very prominent in what she does. When I first came over to Bounce, she came over and was like, "I really enjoy listening to you." I don’t think there’s a bigger compliment in the world than for somebody like Moya (and Adam Marriott said the same thing) [to say that]. I said, "Thank you. That’s crazy for you to say that."

And, she’s so much in the community. Any time the community needs anything, for anything, Moya’s there. I don’t know how she has her own life at all, ever.

BB: Well, being in radio is full time anyway. Is she still a realtor?

KM: No. She’s not doing that any more. But, she did that, too, even. But, all the charities don’t even write the company; they don’t even write the Promotions Department. They just write Moya. They’re like, "Hey, can you come do this?" That’s cool. She just has that solid a relationship with the community. So, I have a lot of respect for her.

BB: I want to talk to her. I will approach her when I stop being so shy. I’m told that a lot of women feel that they can just go to her for advice.

P: I remember her in the ‘80‘s with the big hair.

DS: Oh, yeah?

P: I remember that! The higher the hair, the closer to God.

F. Brad Dryden

KM: I don’t know enough about Brad to say anything but this: I remember the first time I met Brad. It was when we were at the Black-Eyed Peas concert. We broadcast live there all day, both of us. Our tents were set up together. I got there, and I didn’t notice him. All of a sudden, this guy in a C100 shirt is just running back and forth, through the field, with a microphone and a recorder, just getting the crowed pumped. This guy was crazy. I thought, "This guy’s awesome!" I wish I had that energy. In public, I don’t have that.

He’s very prominent. He’s so funny. The things that come out of his mouth! It’s like Deb: You don’t expect it to come out of his mouth. I look forward to getting to know him better.

BB: He’s been very nice to me. He actually invited me to be a part of the Media team tomorrow for Exile Island. I’ll be doing that tomorrow. I won’t wear the K-Rock hat out of respect for C100.

KM: Perfect.

P: And your bedazzled pants.

BB: I got the word wrong yesterday.

P: He used the V word.

BB: I made a mistake. I admit my mistakes.

P: I got such a good laugh on the phone. Everybody in the office where I was working could hear me laughing my head off.

[The women all laugh at Bevboy’s expense.]

BB: Remember what I said this week, when I sit down to my other computer? What happens?

P: [laughs]

BB: Go ahead and tell them.

P: It was about your Vista computer, right?

BB: Yes.

P: It runs Vista. He goes downstairs and says, "I’m gonna go downstairs and clench my balls!"

BB: No. That’s not what I said. That computer is so slow, the OS drags so much, and it’s so frustrating for me, that every time I sit down to that computer, my balls clench.

[The women laugh again]

P: So, I said, "When you come upstairs, they’d better be unclenched! I’m not putting up with that all night!"

G. DJ NoLuv. Jeremy Slattery. Whatever you call him.

KM: You know what? I always call him the wrong one at the wrong time. I’ll be introducing him to my Dad and say, "This is NoLuv." I’ll introduce him to a club manager and say, "This is Jeremy." I’m always opposite.

He was my best friend the minute we met. I didn’t know what I was doing. He launched Z. He got the petition signed for it to exist. He literally launched Z. But, I didn’t know anybody there. I didn’t know how welcome I was with people. He just was that person. We did everything together, inside work, outside work, whatever. When it came to live-to-airs, we were always a team for the most part.

He doesn’t even see how amazing he is. I love all the DJ’s I’ve worked with. He’s by far the best DJ. I really think he could make it DJ’ing. I think he’s really talented. I don’t think he sees it.

I’m really proud of him to have packed up and moved across the country, finally, after all these years. It takes balls to do that. I’m super proud of that.

BB: Were they clenched is the next question?

DS: I was just going to say that!

KM: I think he deserves more respect than he ever got, and I think he’s got it now.

BB: By respect, do you mean...

KM: Appreciation. He definitely wasn’t appreciated in the way that he definitely deserved to be.

BB: I know he worked his ass off. I talked to Neil Spence on a Sunday night. Jeremy was there in his office.

KM: 24/7. I call Jeremy "My Lobster". They mate once for life, and they’re lifers. We never mated, but we’re lifers. He’ll always be a big part of my life.

BB: Would he have been a mentor to you at all?

KM: I think we were each other’s, in a sense. He was always very interested in doing on air. I was always very interested in music. I think we balanced each other out in looking up to each other. At least on my side. I feel like he would agree.

BB: I met him the one time. He was really nice to me. We were going to do an interview, and things happened, and then he left town. We’ll do it over Skype.

H. You choose a person you would like to say something about.

KM: There's 2 people I'll say pretty much the same thing about. Sarah P. and JAX.

BB: Jaclyn Irwin.

KM: Yes. Both are so amazing, such amazing people, and have so far to go. JAX just kills me. She came to Z. She walked in. I found she'd worked for at Cleve's. I named her JAX, actually.

DS: Did you?

KM: So, Jaclyn would always go to work and go, "Oh, my God. I can't believe you're Kate's brother. I just love listening to her." So, she gets hired at Z, and I meet her. Now, I think she is just a slice of awesome. I've never in my life met anybody like her. She's just hilarious. Even when she's not being funny, you can't help but just giggle at what she says. She did that on air; she is just herself on air. I think she is amazing on air. I think she can go anywhere she wants to. I love that I was the person that she looked up to. I think it's crazy that anybody would. And, I named her.

She's like, "What am I gonna be?"

I'm like, "You're gonna be Jax, with an X." She went with it, and she's been that way ever since.

Sarah P. is another person. Such a good heart. The things that I made her do! When we would do The Battle of the Blondes, she's very willing to go above and beyond what she does. She does news and traffic, too; that's her passion. That's what she likes. But, she will go anywhere she wants to as long as she keeps the open mind that she has. I love listening to her on the radio. She's up in Toronto now; she was just recently let go from Z Toronto and then immediately got a job at the news station there. The next day. She was fired on a Thursday; she had an interview Friday at the other place. She called and had the interview and got hired part-time. She'll go as far as she wants to, too.

So, 2 people to keep your ears open for, because they're going to kill it.

BB: I look forward to that. And, Jaclyn knows about the blog. She wants to sit down with me [She did, on October 6, 2011; look for that interview here soon!]

KM: [To Patricia] Come for that, too. You have to meet her.

P: OK!

DS: She's fun.

KM: When she was living out West and wrote me to tell me she was coming home, we were hiring part-time at the time. I went to Chris. Katey and I both were like, "You can't let this go! You have to bring her here. We need her."

She came. I have not been proven wrong yet. Every single person in that building is so thankful that she's with us because she is just a ray of sunshine. Everybody loves her.

What is the best piece of professional advice you have ever received, and who provided it?

KM: Two answers. The first one that happened, Dave Bannerman, my professor, telling me that I’d never get a job in Halifax to start. I’d never get a start in Halifax. And, he also said I would never have a solid relationship while being in radio. He was right about the first one. I had to get the career under my belt, so the first boyfriend ended up missing out. But, I’ve definitely balanced them both now. So, him telling me I couldn’t do it, was just daring me to do it.

BB: He wasn’t being a prick about it.

KM: No. Just in general, you’re not going to get your first break in Halifax. He was well aware that I didn’t want to leave Halifax. He was like, "I just don’t know if this is right for you because that’s just not likely going to happen." The more he told me that, the more I was like, "Yeah. It will!" And, it did.

The second was Katie Kelly. Might as well call her Katie Christie because she would be thrilled. Her telling me to suck it up, lose the Drive show [at Z103], go to Evenings [at the Bounce]; it will be a better decision. And, it was.

Honestly, that’s all I can think of. I’m sure there’s more. I’m sure that Chris, Dan, everybody’s going, "Oh! I told her this! I told her she should have done this." I’m sure that I’m missing something, but that’s what stands out to me: Telling me I can’t, and telling me to do.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

KM: If you had asked me that month ago, I would have seen myself on C100 Drive. In 5 years’ time, I’ll still be there. In 10 years’ time, I hope to still be there.

BB: Oh, really? You have reached your career pinnacle?

KM: For as far as I can see, yes. I see myself retiring with the company. I only ever want to do the afternoon show. I’ve never wanted to do the morning show. I don’t want to step up to that. Drive is where I’ve always wanted to be; it’s where I want to stay. Maybe, some day, Music Directing/Mid Day, just because the music side of it would be cool.

BB: Zach Bedford is just a kid. He’ll be there forever.

KM: But, Zach Bedford has aspirations to go above, too. He’d like to be Program Director some day. Maybe he’ll be the Program Director, and he’ll hire me to do music in 10 years or so.

BB: Generally speaking, is Music Director a management position?

DS: It’s not considered Management, but you deal with Management.

BB: So, Zach Bedford is in the union?

KM: Yes.

BB: OK. Because I hear "Director" and I think, "OK, that’s management." The Program Director, of course, is excluded from the union because he hires and fires.

KM: Oh, I see. The whole union thing is very new to me, too. I still don’t understand most of it, to be honest. I just do what I do and love it.

Tell me about a couple of on air mistakes you have made. I know you have worked at 3 different radio stations in just over a year. Dare I ask if you have ever mis-identified a station you’re working for?

KM: I probably will tomorrow now. [everyone laughs]

BB: I'll be listening!

KM: When I did the cruiser at Big Dog and Cat Country, I did 2 cut-ins an hour, one for each station. I did once say, "Big Dog" on Cat Country, I believe, was the way I did it. It was quickly fixed, though; it wasn't that big a deal.

I was filling in in Toronto on Z; I was flown to Toronto on 4 or 5 different occasions to fill in for vacations up there. I was on air and I did a blonde joke up there called Punchline. Whatever the blonde joke was, I wanted to make sure that I made it clear that I wasn't being prejudiced against blondes because I had white blonde hair at the time. Instead of saying that I said, "I'm not prejudiced. I'm white." I still have the audio or it. There was no saving it; I just said it. I just finished the sentence and went, "White blonde hair!" And, that was that. I have the audio; it's hilarious.

[Deb and Patricia find this pretty funny]

BB: Does any other one come to mind?

KM: I said "shit" once. I was playing back a call. I had just forgotten to bleep it. I played it, and wrote Boss Dan. I was like, "Oh, my God. Please don't fire me. I said 'shit'; I forgot to edit it. He was like, "It's 11:30 at night. It's 'shit'. Like, whatever."

BB: You can use the F word after midnight.

KM: You can. It's after 9, actually.

BB: [To Deb] That's why they still run your disclaimer on Q104.

DS: I was just talking about it the other day.

Tell me what goes through your mind each day at 1:59, just before you crack the mic.

KM: "Let's do this." I just figure it out as I go. Things happen, and I go with it as it goes, for the most part. There’s certain things I have planned out and ready, but basically, "Let’s do this."

BB: How much thought and effort goes into your show prep every day?

KM: That’s all I do every day is show prep. Not so much at home any more, because I’m always prepared. I’ve got myself into a cycle where I a month’s worth of show prep and won’t even use most of it.

Show prep for me is a little different. I don’t do the celebrity gossip stuff.

BB: Thank God!

KM: I blog it, but I don’t talk about it. Mine are more about the dry humour things, like Tom Bedell type things to come out of my mouth.

Generally, what I do is I search my Facebook status. Then, I have a huge collection of all the ones that I’ve had over the entire time Facebook has existed. A lot of those are my breaks.

I have pen and paper everywhere.

I have notes everywhere. It’s ridiculous at home. There’s things [I write at night]. I get up the next day and it doesn’t make sense any more.

BB: I notice that you "like" a lot of my Facebook status updates. I assume you do that with a lot of people. Do you spend a lot of time on Facebook?

KM: Yes.

BB: What do you think of the new layout?

KM: You know what? I don’t really care, to be honest. I don’t feel like it’s that big of a difference. I think it’s funny that so many people complain about the new layout and how now you can see what everybody’s doing, every minute of every day. Is that not why you’re on Facebook? I don’t care that you went to the gym, tanning and laundry, but I read it anyway. That’s why I’m on Facebook: Subconsciously, I wanted to know what you were doing. Now they they put it in your face, now all of a sudden, you’re like, "Oh, I don’t want to know what they’re doing." Then, why are you on Facebook?

BB: Good point.

You ask me a question other than, "Why do you do these interviews?"

KM: You sort of touched on it a little earlier, but my question is, if you’re this much of a radio head, why are you not in radio?

BB: It was a confidence thing. I remember listening to the radio when I was a kid. There were these amazing people. I listened to Dave Bannerman on AVR in the late ‘70‘s.

KM: The one glove. That was his thing. When he spun his record, he had one glove on. Rumour has it!

BB: I don’t remember that. I remember listening to him doing a show on Annapolis Valley Radio in the afternoons. I was in awe of the medium.

KM: But, you sit down and interview everybody in it. That takes a lot more guts than some of the things that we have to do.

BB: Really?

KM: I would think so. One of the hardest things that a lot of announcers have to do is interview somebody.

BB: Well, the magic is in the editing and the transcription that I do. People say that I’m a good interviewer.

KM: Voxpro! You can do the same thing.

BB: But, it was a confidence thing. When I get home, I’ll be playing this back. I’ll hear your wonderful voices; and I’ll hear my mumbling voice.

KM: But that’s what we all hear ourselves doing. Eventually, I got used to it. But at first I’m like, "Oh, my God! That’s what I sound like?" I don’t think anybody really likes the sound of their own voice when they hear it back.

BB: And, well, I make a lot of money where I’m at now.

KM: Well, if money is an interest for you, radio is not the place.

BB: Like I said before, the job security [is not there]. Some supremely talented people can’t get work. Or, they had work and they’re gone because there’s a format change, or it becomes the perception of your program director that your show is stale and let’s make a change, and you’re not coming along with.

P: A lot of radio personalities are very nomadic. They have to be.

BB: And it’s not because they want to be. Not many people get to be a Peter Harrison or a Moya or a Brian Phillips. Not even Brian Phillips gets to be Brian Phillips any more. The day of people being associated with one radio station for their whole career is unusual.

KM: It’s my next goal.

BB: Well, I hope that you achieve it. It’s amazing that Peter and Moya have been at the same station doing the same show for over 20 years. That’s very unusual anywhere.

So, it was a confidence thing for me. But I love talking to you guys. And, I have a reputation. I hope it’s a good one. I’ve worked hard to achieve it. Does that answer your question.

KM: Yes.

A special series of questions courtesy of... Dan Barton!

Would it be too lengthy to put the Bernard Pivot questionnaire to her that James Lipton uses on Inside the Actors Studio? I've always loved the questions, and the answers are typically very brief:

A. What is your favorite word?

KM: [long pause] You know what? It’s funny that one just didn’t come out.

BB: You coined a word: JAX.

KM: That’s my favourite name, maybe. Not word.

BB: Would another beer help?

KM: Can we say "beer"? [laughs]

BB: Sure. Whatever comes to your mind.

KM: "Annihilated". Let’s go with that.

 

B. What is your least favorite word?

KM: A very common one: Panties. I hate that word. I used to have to say it when I voiced The Bay commercials. Every time I did it, it would take half an hour because I would be sitting there going, "I can’t say this. This is going to run again. I’m going to be the ‘Panties’ voice." That’s way easier than my favourite.

BB: I’ll bet you’re glad it wasn’t "Panties Across the Bridge".

DS: That will be next year.

 

C. What turns you on? I don’t think he necessarily means in a romantic sense.

KM: Adrenaline.

 

D. What turns you off?

KM: Rude people.

 

E. What sound or noise do you love?

KM: I like when the dryer goes off, the buzzer on the dryer.

BB: Why?

KM: Because there’s fresh laundry about to come out.

DS: That’s good! "Oh, my flannel pajamas!"

BB: I have to try these questions on someone else.

KM: They are good.

 

F. What sound or noise do you hate? Bev Keddy’s voice.

KM: I hate fire alarms, which is awful. I should appreciate them, but they drive me crazy.

BB: Do you want to elaborate on that a bit?

KM: They’re just so piercing. My ears are fairly sensitive. Anything loud like that really just makes me angry.

KM: For the next interview, just trade them off and say, "Kate wants you to answer these."

 

G. What is your favorite curse word?

KM: That’s right, Deb. She definitely keeps to plug her ears. Let’s just be honest. It would have to be the F-word.

BB: You can say it. It’s after 9 o’clock.

KM: I would have to say "fuck". You can use it to make things sound so much better or so much worse. No matter which way you want to use it, it will do the trick.

BB: And it’s a very, very old word, too. It goes back hundreds of years.

KM: It’s an awful word. It’s not a word I would ever want to use on the radio. If you have to use that word to make something engaging, I just think you’re not doing your job. There’s no reason to ever have to use it.

BB: The fact that you’re allowed to use it after a certain hour does not give you license to use it?

KM: No. I would never use it. I just don’t see the reason. I’ve heard it a few times on Q. I just go, "You know what? It didn’t even need to be there." It didn’t make or break the break. It doesn’t matter if it was there or not.

BB: Stan Carew had a John Lennon morning a few months ago. Every song was by John Lennon. Did you listen to it?

KM: No. But my dad tells me about it every day. He’s a big fan of all the themes and things that they do.

BB: John Lennon did a song about working class people. The F word is throughout that song. He played it at 8:30 on a Sunday morning.

KM: Wow.

BB: It would take clenched balls too, I presume, to play it. I don’t know if he got mail for it.

KM: I don’t know enough about CBC, but I’d have to think it probably wasn’t just his decision to play that, either. There must have been someone above him that either suggested it or OK’d it.

 

H. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

KM: Some form of art, like being a tattoo artist. I think that would be cool. It’s kind of the same thing. You get to hear a lot of people’s stories. You’re definitely led into people’s lives in a way that strangers shouldn’t be, but would be in these situations.

BB: Do you have an artistic bent?

KM: If someone said, "Here, let’s do this!", it would look like Steve O’s tattoo that he did on Jackass. It would be awful. I can’t draw at all. Nor am I musically inclined. I can’t even play Guitar Hero. [Deb and Patricia laugh. Bev snorts]

DS: That’s two snorts from that side of the table tonight!

BB: I love these questions!

KM: I do, too!

 

I. What profession would you not like to do?

KM: DJ’ing. It’s funny, because on my blog at C100, if you go to the "About Me" section, it says, "If I could trade it would be a DJ". Oh, I don’t know if it does any more. I think it did at The Bounce. I said "a DJ

because they get so much love", but that’s bullshit. I would never want anything to do with that life at all.

BB: Is it the people? The music? The ambience?

KM: I think it’s just the whole standing-outside-in-freezing-cold, standing-in-line-because-you-have-to-go-to-the-bathroom. Then, you have to stand in line because you have to get a drink. Then, you’re being pushed on the dance floor. You know what I mean? They’re 19 years old. They keep refreshing in the club scene, and then I go in and it’s like...

BB: You’re the oldest.

KM: At least I’m not a guy, because I’m not the creepy old guy. But, I’m the cougar now, probably. I can’t imagine ever spending my life standing in a DJ booth full of disgustingness until all hours of the night. Power to them. I’m glad that there are people out there that can do that, because where would we be without them?

BB: All the more respect for Jeremy, eh?

KM: Exactly. Especially for someone that doesn’t drink at all. He doesn’t even drink.

BB: Really?

KM: Yes. To spend as much time in bars as he does and not drink, and deal with us drunk people there. "I need to hear ‘Tick Tock’ again."

"It was just on 2 minutes ago."

"I don’t care. I was in the bathroom!"

Oh, God. I’d be no good.

 

J. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

KM: "You’re forgiven!" Wouldn’t that be what anybody would say? I don’t think I’ve ever done anything to actually sin, but I’m sure there’s things along the way that HE didn’t approve of.

DS: You’re K8!

KM: No. He’d call me K Eight, because HE wouldn’t get why I use the number.

BB: Why do you use the number?

KM: You know what? It’s because I thought I was cool in Grade 7. It has nothing to do with me being on radio or using it for a schtick. I carried it over just to stand out a little bit more. But, it was something that I’d done, younger.

The only time I use my last name at all is for The Milton Matinee. I hope everybody reads this, because most people have no idea why it’s called The Milton Matinee. Like, "What is Milton?" I’ve only ever been "K8" on the radio. I don’t like using my last name. It’s just...

BB: Creepy?

KM: Yeah. A lot of people make up names. A lot of people will ask me, "Is that your real name?" I’m like, "Yes". So, using the number makes it a little more fake, I guess. But, I don’t use the last name [except for] the matinee. I think it’s separate enough that the right people get it. I don’t have 2000 people on my Facebook because I know who they are. There’s a good chunk of my listeners that know that I’m Kate Milton. But, it’s just not something that I want to tie together.

BB: I sat down with Neil Spence. Of course, he worked at K-Rock in the Valley for a couple of years, before he went to Cape Breton, before he went to Live 105. He called himself "Neil Spence" at K-Rock because he’s from the Valley and he knew he couldn’t get away with just calling himself "Neil".

KM: Right.

BB: They knew him. But when he came here [and in Cape Breton], he just called himself "Neil" on air.

KM: Oh, he’s just "Neil"? He sounds really good on air.

BB: He’s great.

KM: I wrote him one day, actually. "I don’t know if you remember me", because I think he was in first year when I was in second year. I was like, "I just think you sound fantastic; you’re very conversational."

BB: He has a very mature voice. And he’s a great guy, too. When I showed up I was wearing my K-Rock hat. He had worked there for 2 years. He just smiled. [everybody says "Aww!"]

KM: And got you a Live 105 one, probably.

BB: I don’t have one. I listen to that station all the time. I do not have a Live 105 anything. I won a phone from them last month, and Patricia got it.

KM: You mean a cell phone?

BB: Yes.

KM: Sweet!

 

Wrap Up

BB: Kate Milton, thank you very much for the last couple hours of your time. I know you would rather be home.

KM: It was a pleasure.

BB: It was really nice meeting you. And, Deb, it was lovely to see you again.

DS: You too.

BB: We must do this again in 3 or 4 years. I want to interview you again sometime.

P: And not at a loud Pogue Fado either.

KM: And I’ll come and sit next to her.

BB: Anyway, thank you again. Lovely to meet you. Dan told me how nice you were...

KM: And lied about me.

BB: He undersold you. It’s been a pleasure.

KM: Thank you.

Post 1792 - One Less Thing, But It Went To A Good Home

Patricia and I visited Dan Barton this evening. He lives not far from here.  While there, he purchased "my" copy of The Jimi Hendrix Experience album from 1967.  It had belonged to my brother.  He probably bought it with money earned the hard way, from picking strawberries or digging potatoes or something.  I don't have that much of my brother's, and now I have one less thing.  The way I figure it, I am not a big Hendrix fan and haven't owned a turntable in years.  I think Ernie would have liked to see the record go to someone who appreciated it.  It had languished here in my home office for several years and had not been played in many more.  Why not let it go to a home where it will be played over and over?

The album still plays very well.  For the first time, I understand how a vinyl recording, analog sound, can sound warmer and more inviting than digital music.  The basses sounded much better than they do on a cd or on an mp3 or even a wma or wav file.  Well, a traditional cd stores its music in wav format.

I sent Dan just now a link to my tribute to my brother.  It is post 500 back in October of 2008.  You can just click on the "Brother" label and see it if you want to.  I figured that Dan would like to know a bit more about the man whose album it was, 40 years ago.


In other Bevboy's Blog news, the Kate Milton interview may go up as soon as Tuesday evening.  Just dotting some i's and crossing a few t's.  I can reveal that she is a real firecracker, and that you will learn a lot about her.  I sure did.

See you tomorrow.

Bevboy

Post 1791 - A Day In The City

I didn't get up terribly late this morning, around 8am.  There was a mountain of dishes to be washed, and I washed them.  A very long time later, I was done.  Of course, after a chicken dinner, there are more dishes to be washed.  That would rate a sigh.

We went for a long walk along the Beechville-Lakeside-Timberlea (BLT) Trail this afternoon.  We would have gone further, but the skies threatened rain.  That would rate another sigh.

We went back to the house and watched the season opener of "Sons of Anarchy" and "Once Upon A Time", but I found the latter a disappointment.  Another sigh, a minor one, if you please.

Watched "The Good Wife" again this evening, and am afraid that the show is in a slump.  A sigh.

We watched another episode of "Sons of Anarchy", and liked it a lot, but it's too late to watch a 3rd episode. Yeah.  A sigh, if you don't mind.

Lots of sighs today.  What follows them?  Returning to work tomorrow morning.

Sigh!

Bevboy

Post 1790 - A Day In The Valley

Patricia and I spent the day in the Valley, taking care of some business.

We checked out the farmer's market there.  I know it's not as big as the Seaport Farmer's Market in Halifax, but the one in Wolfville is plenty big for me.

Patricia read the biography of Mona Parsons, who should be a Canadian hero and is nearly forgotten.  There is a Heritage Minute about her, so go ahead and google it.  She's buried in Wolfville.  I showed Patricia this morning just where the grave is, and took her to it.

What else?  We prepared lunch for Mom and ate together.  I know that Mom appreciated having the company for a meal, which doesn't happen nearly often enough for her now that Dad's gone.

In the afternoon we went back to  Wolfville and then to Kentville.   We picked up some free range organic chicken from the guy who sells them to us every year.  We paid our goodbyes to Mom and returned to the city.  The cats had missed us.  We fed them and have spent the evening watching some tv show that we like.

Tomorrow we will do some cleaning up around here.  We will have a nice chicken dinner.  And we may go for a walk over to Dan Barton's place.

Also tomorrow, I think I will commence transcribing the JAX interview.  Hope to finish that in a couple of weeks of work.

Newbie is glommed on to me here.  I think he missed me, too, in his cat way.

See you tomorrow.

Bevboy