Post 1854 – Interview with The Bounce’s JAX!

October 6, 2011

 

 

Patricia and I arrived at Michael’s Bar and Grill about 5 minutes before Jax did. Patricia excused herself and went to the lady’s room. That’s when Jax showed up and did the same thing. Patricia and Jax met in the lady’s room. I’m a little jealous.

We all sat down and ordered our food and began to talk about radio and Halifax and the time she nearly told JC Douglas where to go and what to do when he got there. I’ll shut up now, so go ahead and read this already.

1. How did you get your start in radio?

Jaclyn Irwin: I went to NSCC for Radio/Television Arts. I took early graduation in April, 2010. I started working for Z103 in 2009.

Bevboy: This would have been the waterfront campus?

JI: Yes. But, before that, Floyd had a show on CKDU. She asked me to co-host it with her. We did that show together, a silly little show where you could do 8 minute talk sets. We started with that. And, we ended up going to school together.

BB: I love Floyd.

JI: She’s a sweetheart.

BB: So, Z was your first professional job?

JI: Z was my first professional radio job, yes.

BB: This was in 2009. What shifts did you work?

JI: I was just working weekends because I was still in school. But, I was their swing announcer, so slowly but surely, I started having to take more and more time off school. I covered for mid-days. I covered lot of nights. I did Production. I did writing. I did reception. Pretty much everything.

BB: Did you ever think of yourself as full-time there?

JI: At points, yes. I was working over 40 hours a week sometimes. If K8 was sick or something, then I’d work K8‘s shift at night. I was working a lot of hours there. But during ratings, since I was still in school, I had to do my classes. I was Swing. Sometimes it’d be 2 shifts a week; sometimes it would be 7.

BB: You were THE Swing person?

JI: Yeah

BB: There was no other back up. If you got sick...

JI: No. I didn’t get sick there. I never called in sick at Z.

BB: OK. That was your first professional job. I’m not sure how this happened. Jessica Rankin left the Q and went to BC. She worked for your sister station, right?

JI: Well, she worked for my sister station and my station. She was Creative Writer. Before she went to Q, she worked for our competition in Prince George. She knew Prince George. She loved it. So, she came back.

BB: We’re getting ahead of ourselves just a tiny bit. You left Z to go to Prince George?

JI: Yes.

BB: Why? You’re a Dartmouth girl. You love it here. But you went to Prince George. Why is that?

JI: Well, it was getting close to graduation. I wanted a full-time job. Nothing was really opening up in the market. Beforehand, I wanted to go out West. I had a lot of friends out West. I’d been born and raised here, so I wanted to see how far I could go across the country. I had a job offer in Medicine Hat, one in Fort Mac, and one in Prince George. I chose the Prince George one.

BB: That’s as far away from here as possible.

JI: I wanted to see BC, because BC’s beautiful from what I’ve heard.

BB: What was the station you worked for in BC?

JI: 94X FM.

BB: Ah, yes. When Jessica Rankin left Q104, she went there, and it was through her that I became acquainted with you on Facebook. I’m not sure how that happened now. It’s one of those things.

JI: Networking things.

BB: It’s almost like Linked In, only more fun. Patricia doesn’t know this, but I mailed Jax some Bevboy’s Blog business cards. Did you distribute them?

JI: I did. I handed them out to my PD, a bunch of my sales folks, and some people around the station.

BB: Well, thank you for that.

JI: Not a problem.

BB: Did they ever follow up on the blog at all, or did they care?

JI: I think the Swing announcer of my other station, Mike Erickson, started reading your blog. He found them really interesting. I haven’t seen anybody who does what you do, focusing only on radio people. He found that very interesting, so we would read them sometimes.

BB: Perfect. I appreciate that. I was corresponding with you several months ago, after this stuff happened. You were coming back to Nova Scotia because.. I thought you were going back to school this Fall.

JI: I was originally going to be going back to school. It’s tricky. Because I took early graduation from the radio program, and then I moved to BC, according to student loans, I was still out there. It was all jumbled. I was still a resident of British Columbia, so I couldn’t be financed to go to a school in Nova Scotia. It was a mess. But, it worked out, because I’m working a bit more at The Bounce. I’ll probably go back next year.

BB: You came back to Nova Scotia without a job or even being able to go back to school.

JI: No. I had a job when I came back. I was hired by Chris Duggan at The Bounce when I came back.

I was planning to come back to Nova Scotia because some family stuff was going down. I wanted to be a bit closer. They asked me to re-sign my contract in Prince George. I loved it in Prince George, but I wanted to come back East.

K8 actually mentioned that The Bounce was hiring. I got in touch with Chris Duggan, who is the Program Director. He said, "Yes, indeed. We are hiring." I sent them some of my stuff. He said he liked what he heard. We set up a meeting for when I came back.

I’d grown up listening to C100 and wanted to get in with Bell Media. I knew Katie Kelly pretty well. I said, "Listen. I’ll do Promo. I’ll mop the floors."

I’m working there 4 days a week. I work Promo on the side and Production.

BB: Do you consider yourself full-time there?

JI: If I have the availability, I can make sure I get full-time [hours]. I’m not full-time on air, but I work Production and Promo on the side.

BB: It becomes a full-time job?

JI: Yes. It’s 5 or 6 days a week.

BB: What kind of Promo?

JI: Going out for Promotions, events, contesting and things like that. We go out and go around the city to events. We’ve done the Run for the Cure kickoff. It’s just a way to make hours. I want to get involved in any way I can.

BB: And, you’re having fun?

JI: I’m having a blast. I love it. I love The Bounce.

2. Being on the radio, you have a degree of anonymity. At the same time, yours is a well-known voice. How does that feel, to be known yet "unknown", if you "know" what I mean?

JI: Sometimes, it’s really beneficial because people don’t know what you look like. People sometimes think that I’m a blond, tall girl. Sometimes, they think I’m older; sometimes, they think I’m younger, which is funny. It’s interesting, because sometimes they have no idea what you look like. That’s kind of cool. Also, my name is actually Jaclyn Irwin, obviously. When I say "Jax", nobody really connects the two, which is funny.

BB: You can tell K8 I’m saying this because, when I hear K8 on the radio, her voice reminds me of Kathleen Turner’s.

JI: Kathleen Turner?

BB: The actress. "Romancing The Stone".

Patricia: We’re showing our age, aren’t we?

BB: Yeah. Have you seen that movie, with her and Michael Douglas?

JI: No. But, Michael Douglas is a babe, though.

BB: Ask you parents about "Romancing the Stone".

JI: I was born in ‘88.

BB: Jessica Rabbit from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" is voiced by Kathleen Turner.

JI: Oh, the sexy voice!

BB: So, tell K8 I said that.

JI: All right. I will, for sure.

3. What percentage of the buttons and levers and switches on the board that you run, do you actually understand? I hear that most of you guys only use a few of them, most of the time.

JI: I’ve opped and everything, so I know what is mostly going on. At the same time, it would be easy because you don’t use a lot of the buttons. We have 5 or 6 mics in our room, so we have 5 mic pots. That’s for morning show or guest, but I’m always by myself, right? I don’t have to use those mics.

I think you could get away with not knowing a lot of them, but I think I would say I know about 80% of them. There’s a couple of buttons I wouldn’t mess with. There’s some buttons you want to know, but you’re too scared because you’re always live. But, radio people usually know most of the buttons.

BB: Jordi Morgan told K8, because K8 was a Q Cop years ago [when Jordi was working at Q104], that he didn’t know what most of those buttons did. That made me want to ask that question.

JI: What did K8 says she knows about the button? Most of them?

BB: Most of them, she doesn’t know what the Hell they are.

JI: Most of them, she doesn’t know what the Hell they are?

BB: Yes.

JI: I’ll put it this way: I know all the channels that I need to know. But, there’s some things on there that nobody uses. There’s a couple pots there that I don’t know why they’re there. After my shift on Friday nights, we go live to air, so I usually set them up for when the Board Op come in.

BB: "Pot" is short for potentiometer, right?

JI: Yes. The "Pot Up" kind of thing.

BB: Chris Mills told me about pots.

JI: Not the bad pot. [laughs]

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

JI: You would probably find it stock-piled with David Bowie.

BB: Really?

JI: I have a lot of David Bowie on there.

P: All right!

JI: You would probably find some weird House stuff, some house music. Electronic music. You may find some Country in there. I have a soft spot for The Dixie Chicks.

BB: There’s nothing wrong with that.

JI: You would find Justin Timberlake on there.

P: Oh, Lord. I just lost a little respect for you.

JI: Tina Turner. And, a lot of Fleetwood Mac. There’s some Classic Rock there, too. I weirdly love Bowie.

BB: Older stuff? Newer stuff?

JI: I like Ziggy Stardust, that era a lot. But, I love all Bowie.

BB: Have you seen any of his movies?

JI: "The Labyrinth" is actually one of the first movies I ever saw. I can probably watch that and reiterate all the words.

BB: "The Man Who Fell To Earth".

P: What’s that vampire movie?

BB: "The Hunger".

JI: Should I saw more? Is that enough?

BB: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

JI: Take The Dixie Chicks off there. That’s embarrassing.

BB: Oh, come one. What’s wrong with The Dixie Chicks?

JI: Have you ever seen Bowie and Mick Jagger? Why can’t I ever think of the song that they did together?

BB: The one for Live Aid?

JI: Go home and watch it. It’s weird. They’re both on something. It’s a weird video.

BB: They’re in each other’s face.

JI: Yeah. That one. It’s a bizarre video.

BB: "Dancing In The Streets".

JI: That’s what it is, yes.

BB: That was for the original Live Aid in 1985. Years before you were born.

5. Please say something about the following people.

A. Dan Barton

JI: Boss Dan! Dan was my first boss; Dan hired me. It was funny, because after my first year of college, I moved up to Toronto just because I wanted to be there and see some shows. Dave Bannerman emailed me and said, "Dan Barton from Z103 is looking to hire someone. Get in touch with him."

I’ve never actually seen a voice mail like this, but but you could press "OK" if the voice mail was good, or you could restart it. I think I called him 3 times. I was so nervous. I re-did the call and kept re-leaving the message.

He called me back and said, "Leave me some stuff." I sent him stuff; it was really, really rough. I sent him more stuff, and it was still rough. He said, "Listen. When are you going to be home?"

I said, I said as soon as possible kind of thing . and seeing really good concerts I So, I went back. I walked into his office and met Boss Dan!

He’s a treat. I want to talk about him, not me. He’s my first boss; he’s got a lot of patience. He’ll put up with you and he’ll spend the time with you. He’s a busy guy, but he’s a doll. He gave me my first break. He’s funny as shit. He’s really funny. He’s got some good voices and some good characters. He’s smart; he knows a lot about music. He’s a big sweetheart.

BB: I was at his house. I met his wife. She’s a lovely person.

JI: Cass! I also worked with Cass, and she’s a doll.

BB: She works at Kool now.

JI: She works at Newcap, yes. She’s a doll. They’re good together.

BB: Where did you work with her?

JI: At Z. She worked at Z before she worked at Newcap.

BB: I didn’t know that. That’s where they would have met, I guess.

JI: She’s a good girl.

B. K8

JI: K8 took me under her wing when I was this stupid little chattery person coming in. When I went into Z, I expected that she wouldn’t even give me the time of day. I went in, and it was her and Sarah Parrott. We had a blast She made me Op the news, the first day I got there. I had no idea what she was doing, but she just threw me to the wolves and made me go at it. That’s the kind of person she is: She’ll teach you and give you a shot. We’ve been buddies ever since.

Sarah’s a doll, too.

K8‘s one of my favourite people that I’ve met in radio. We kept in touch when I was out West. I consider her a big help if not the reason I got in with Chum. She’s my buddy. She always has the time of day for me. She’s my really good buddy; I love her to death. And she gave me the name "Jax".

BB: How did she derive that name?

JI: The first day I walked into the Z studios, because my name is spelled really weird, K8 said, "Well, you need a different name. You should be... Jax!"

At first, it was going to be 3 X’s. Boss Dan was like, "That’s too complicated. One X!" I think people think I don’t have a last name any more. I was called Jax when I went out West...

P: Well, there’s Madonna. Cher. Jax!

JI: When I went out West, they asked me, "Do you want to be ‘Jaclyn’ or ‘Jax’? Don’t worry. We’ve already made the decision, and you’re going to be ‘Jax’". When Chris hired me, he said, "Are you going to go by ‘Jaclyn’ or ‘Jax’?" Before I even got it out of my mouth, he said, "‘Jax’ sounds cooler!" And, K8 gave me the name!

BB: But, to this day, you don’t know what thinking process went behind coming up with the name ‘Jax’?

JI: I don’t know if she liked Mortal Kombat a lot, because there’s a character by that name in it. K8‘s pretty edgey, so I think she looked at me and said, "Jax!" It’s funny, because my mom and dad and my entire family call me ‘Jax’.

P: It’s a one syllable name: Jax!

BB: It’s simple, right to the point.

JI: It’s simple. She gave it to me. I haven’t been able to live it down. And, God bless her, because it’s a radio name.

One more thing I want to say about K8 is she has her following. They followed her from Z to The Bounce to C100. It’s really good that she’s on C100 now.

BB: I’ve always wondered: When people move from one station to another, are people listening to the music and they want to stay with whoever takes over; or are they going to follow the personality?

JI: It depends. I used to listen to her when I wasn’t even in radio. Floyd and I listened to her show in the car. "K8‘s so cool!"

Some people stay for the music. Some people stay for the personality. Anybody who listens to K8 is like, "I’ll go where she is.", because she’s funny. She’s quirky. And she’s where she belongs now. She deserves that spot.

BB: She wants to be there for a long time.

JI: She sounds good.

C. Neil Spence

JI: It’s funny, because he was the Imaging guy for CCKC, NSCC’s radio station. We always used him, because he has that deep, Neil Spence voice.

BB: I’d kill to talk like that. [Bevboy note: Not literally!]

JI: I emailed him one day because I wanted to get some new liners done. We just started talking back and forth. We go for coffee every month or two months. He’s friends with Floyd and all those guys. I know him pretty well. He’s a really good guy. He’s got good chops. He’s made moves that he needs to. He even went back to school, but he stayed in radio. I think he’s really happy with where he is now. And, he sounds great.

BB: He does sound really good.

JI: He works really hard. He’s young. He’s talented.

D. JC Douglas, because everyone knows him.

JI: JC’s a cool guy. I’ve always known who he is. When I was going through college, I had a little programmer crush on him because I thought he was really cool. We ended up talking because Jessica moved out West.

BB: Jessica Rankin.

JI: Yes. We started talking; we still talk once in a while. I met him for the very first time face-to-face, though, at the Lion’s Head. I was working in Production. Mark Fraser. the Production Director, asked me to come out to lunch with him and Ms. Williams, who’s Terry Williams’ wife; she works Traffic.

BB: Christine?

JI: Yes. I went out to lunch with Mark, Christine. And, JC was there.

He was like, "You’re JAX, right?" I didn’t know you were coming back to the East Coast.

I said, "Yes. I’m back."

We had lunch together. He’s so cool. He knows what’s up. He has these eyes; they’re very penetrating. He just looks right at you.

But, the funny story was, I was playing basketball off Gottingen Street. This was 3, 4 months ago. I was playing with some friends. I was walking back home. I was all sweaty. I had little shorts on and a little t-shirt. I hear these 3 honks. I thought, "Some guy’s being a jackass."

I’m not a girly girl, so I didn’t know if he was just razzing me. I turn around because I’m about to just the guy the dirty look and tell him to fuck off. Just as I’m opening my mouth, I see that it’s JC. "Hey, JAX! How are you? Just wanted to say hello."

I say, "Oh, hi, JC!" I wrote him an email after that and we laughed quite a bit. I was about to tell JC Douglas off because I thought he was a creeper, driving down Gottingen, trying to hit on me! But, he’s the programmer I thought was so cool for most of my life. I was so humiliated.

He’s a cool guy. Everybody knows JC Douglas, right? He’s a good programmer; he knows his stuff. He’s an encyclopedia of rock.

BB: Not just rock. Any kind of music.

JI: Oh, any kind of music. I’ve seen some pictures of his mullet back in the ‘80‘s. It was pretty sweet. I’d like to get to know him more for sure.

BB: Do you see yourself traipsing over to the Q sometime?

JI: I’m very happy with where I’m at right now. I definitely want to try to work up the CHUM ladder and see where I can get.

BB: That’s a damn good answer.

E. Peter Harrison

JI: Ah! The voice of my childhood. C100 was the only station I listened to when I was growing up.

BB: It would have been Kelly, Peter and Moya.

JI: Before Kelly moved out West; now, it’s Brad. But, Peter actually talks like that. That’s his voice! It’s unbelievably deep.

The first time I ever met him, I was working Promo at a charity golf tournament. Moya and Peter were there. Peter was just so sweet to me. He and Moya were really nice to the new girl on The Bounce.

He’s a great announcer; he’s got great chops on him. He’s very cool. That voice on him is wicked. Whenever I’m working Production, and have to ask him to do a commercial, he’s always really nice, and really chill, and very approachable.

BB: When you work Production, do you ever have to ask Peter Harrison to repeat something?

JI: No. He’s been doing it for so long. He can usually get them done first go. If there is anything that I want him to re-do, or if it’s too long, or if it’s too short, or he slurred a word or something, I can just say, "Peter, can you repeat that?" I’ve only produced for him a couple of times. But, he’s not hard to approach, no.

BB: He’s a pro, but not egotistical.

JI: He’s not like, "Who is this kid asking me to repeat this?" He’s not a problem. But, at the same time, he’s on another station, and we work totally opposite shifts. I see him once in a while. But, he’s always a nice guy.

F. Floyd

JI: My best buddy? Oh, Floyd! Floyd is stupidly talented. She’s so good. She sounds wicked on the morning show, when I’ve listened.

I’ve known Floyd for 5 years. We did the CKDU show together. We’ve had a couple of drinks sometimes and listened to our old shows. She was always confident and really cool; I was always like, "Hey!". I would always agree with her.

Floyd’s one of a kind. It broke my heart when Floyd moved out West. I ended up moving out West a month after her. I think a lot of people were sad when she moved out West. She’s awesome. She’s a sweetheart. She’s so good. She has her eyes forward. She knows where she’s going and what she wants. She’s extremely driven. She’s bizarre sometimes, but in the best way possible.

BB: I saw her Facebook status. "I’m PMS’ing, so I made a salad with ringolos in it!"

JI: Oh, my God. We have a weird little friendship. We’re quirky. We’ve had some awesome times together and partied a lot.

We did our first Summer Rush together, with Z103. We were on this high together. It was a cool time. We’ve had some nice radio moments together.

When I first started working for Z, she started as an Op, and then did part-time news. I think, once or twice, I would fill in for K8, and she was filling in for news.

BB: I know "Op" means "Operator", but that’s like Production, isn’t it? Is there a distinction?

JI: She was Op’ing live-to-airs down at Reflections. And, God bless her because that’s a tricky shift to do and not want to go dance. And, Floyd’s a good dancer.

She was brought back here to do mornings. Floyd’s an entity in herself. I love her to death. She’s a really good girl.

BB: There are days I regret I only have one set of ears, because I can only listen to one station at a time.

JI: I hope she pays for my bills one day, when she’s rich and famous.

G. Megan Edwards

JI: If you ever do a shift after her, the room will always smell really pretty. That’s what I’d like to say about Megan. She’s such a girly girl.

Megan is wicked. Megan’s a really good girl. We didn’t really know each other, but we went to the same high school together. I always knew she was on Z; she graduated 2 or 3 years ahead of me.

We’re very opposite. I’m not super girly. But, we’ve had some wicked times together. She’ll do really well. Is she doing tv yet?

BB: Well, she does The Moment for EastLink.

JI: I watch that quite a bit.

BB: I’m not sure what she’s doing. They laid her off at Z. [Bevboy note: This interview was conducted prior to Megan’s leaving Halifax and moving to Vancouver.] I’m not sure if she’s pursuing radio work or not.

JI: That girl will be on the tv in front of you, soon. She’s so pretty.

P: We’ll probably see her on E-Talk or something.

JI: She’ll do excellent, whatever she does. And, it’d better be on tv because she’s too pretty not to be on tv. She’s got herself together, and she knows what she’s doing. I don’t know anything about the Z thing, but she’ll find another opportunity and will totally rock it. I can definitely see her do something on tv, like Patricia said, some sort of entertainment reporting. She’s bubbly, smart, and funny. She’s not just pretty with no wit about her; she’s witty and silly. I like that.

BB: I enjoyed meeting her last year. She was really nice to me.

JI: I like Megan Edwards. We had some good times.

BB: I presume you haven’t seen her in a while.

JI: I haven’t seen Megan for a while, no. We briefly talked when I moved back to Halifax; but no, I haven’t seen her around. I’d love to see her, though.

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

BB: Is there a broadcaster you admire whom you haven’t met yet? Is there a person in radio you listened to when you were growing up whom you just haven’t met yet. Is there such a person?

JI: I think Griff and Caroline’s morning show is really good. I think that’s a really cool station. I love the music that 96.5 plays. I think they’ve got a really tight morning show. I think they’re funny.

P: No holds barred.

JI: No. And, I’ve never met them, face-to-face, but I think they’re a really solid morning show. My folks always listen to 96.5, and I always hear it in the car. Any other job I’ve had out of radio, such as restaurants and stuff like that, always has 96.5 on. It’s just really feels good. They don’t have any other announcers, but the morning show’s solid. I’d love to meet them.

BB: I’m sure JC Douglas could make that happen.

JI: We’ll see. Maybe I’ll just meet them in passing.

7. What is your greatest unfulfilled goal in radio? I realize you have all of 2 years' experience. Is there something you really aspire to?

JI: I’d love to get into music directing. That will come with time. I’m super young. I’d eventually like to get into Evenings [full time]. I’d like to get into Mid Days and then go to Music Directing one day. We have a wicked Music Director/Mid Day host. Have you ever met Mel?

BB: I have not met Mel.

JI: She’s awesome.

BB: Tell her I said hello.

JI: I will for sure. She’s really cool. Eventually, I’d like to do the same sort of thing she’s doing, whether it be here or Winnipeg, Vancouver, Port Hawkesbury. I’d like to get my Music Directing chops one day. I was doing Assistant Music Directing in Prince George.

BB: So, you would have met with music labels and so on?

JI: I was more a librarian at that point, because the Music Director I had out there was doing all the meetings.

So, I’d love to get into Music [Directing]. But, I’m super young. I’m just going to work my asso off to get there.

8. Tell me about a couple of on air mistakes you have made. Have you ever said "poop" on the air, or something like that?

JI: When I was in Prince George, we had our news come on at a specific time. We had to be totally done and ready to go on at that exact second. I was 15 seconds early, so I put on the news. Our news girl was sitting in there singing to the other  station’s music. It was awful. It was terrible.

Anyway, I put her on the air. I didn’t realize it for a couple of minutes because I had to pot it down because I thought she was going to the news cue. She was not impressed with me because everyone in Prince George heard her beautiful singing voice.

The biggest thing was that I slurred a couple of things pretty hard sometimes, or talked in circles. I’ve never sworn. That’s my biggest fear. I’ve come close a couple of times. I said "funked" one time. It was "defunct". I don’t even know why I would say that word on air. It’s too tricky. But, I almost said "fuck". It was not a good situation.

BB: Was that in town?

JI: That was on Z. Sorry, Boss Dan.

9. You have worked on the West coast, and in Hali. Which one do you prefer, and why?

JI: Both of them have their advantages, for sure. Both of them are really good markets. Prince George is a bit smaller. It’s considered a "small medium market".

BB: What’s Halifax referred to as?

JI: Medium Market. But, there’s something about Halifax. Some people say there’s too many radio stations here. I just think it just means more competition, and more fun. Especially with Top 40 and CHR, there’s quite a battle going on. It’s really interesting to watch.

P: Keeps you on your toes.

JI: That’s exactly right, Patricia. It keeps you on your toes because you never who’s listening; and you never know who you’re up against. You never know who’s trying to take from whom.

Halifax is really diverse. There’s even more musical tastes that stations could cater to. It’s very interesting to see the ratings books. The ratings are a big things here because there’s so many stations. Everyone’s fighting for a piece.

BB: They’re changing formats and adjusting them so that the listener wouldn’t notice.

JI: Yes.

BB: Take Lady Gaga. When you hear Lady Gaga on 4 different stations, at that point, it comes down to who’s playing the music, the personality. Right?

JI: Yes. I would absolutely hope so. Some people just want to hear the songs that they want to hear. They’ll flip to the station that they want to hear. But, I hope that the more personality takes over, the better. You’re right. With a lot stations playing the same kind of music, that’s a lot of overlap. You have to have your leg up in some aspect. Personality is definitely what I would go for, to keep the listener hanging out. I just like having fun. I have a weird sense of humour. Sometimes it translates. Sometimes it doesn’t. But, I think the listener likes it.

10.

Tell me 4 things about Halifax that you really like.

JI: Just four? I can think of 20 things that I love about Halifax. Radio wise, or in general?

BB: The culture. The people. Whatever you want.

JI: I would definitely say the culture. Some people hate the fact that there’s a lot of university students here. I love it. I think it’s a lot of fun.

BB: Wait until you’re 40.

JI: I like nightlife in Halifax quite a bit. There’s so many options to choose from.

P: I remember what it was like when I was her age in Halifax.

JI: It’s a lot of fun. I missed this shit when I was out West. You never realize how much you miss home until you’re gone, right?

I would definitely say the night life and culture. The people here are untouchable. The people of Halifax are great. Everyone pretty nice here and accommodating. I obviously like the water, not the harbour. It’s gross and sketchy. I like the fact that you can go 20 minutes outside the city and you’re at the ocean.

Finally, I would probably say that I like the fact that it’s a city, but there’s also a lot of green around. You can go lay on the Commons on a hot day. I like the landscaping of Halifax, the way it’s laid out. I don’t like the fact that’s it’s really hilly, sometimes.

BB: Wait until you’re 40.

JI: I’m a chubby kid trying to get up the hill. That’s tough.

And, again, like we were talking, I love the North End. I love it to death.

BB: It’s growing on me.

JI: It’s a good place. I was only gone for a year. It’s boomed even in just the year, especially the Hydrostone area. It’s nuts. It looks like little Montreal in there.

11. A special series of questions courtesy of... K8 via 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?

JI: Oh, my God. Any word?

BB: Any word.

JI: That’s so hard. These are really hard questions! What is my favourite word? "Bloated". I love that word.

BB: All right. You don’t have to justify your answer.

b. What is your least favorite word?

JI: Moist. I hate that word. I fucking hate it.

c. What turns you on?

JI: Sexually?

BB: Not necessarily. We don’t have to go there.

JI: When a really good beat drops. I get shivers through my spine. You’ll hear it on The Bounce. It gets really going, like LMFAO songs. Not LMFAO, because I don’t like them very much.

BB: Can you give me an example of a song that does that for you?

JI: Deadmau5. But it’s spelled...

P: [Patricia correctly spells Deadmau5]

JI: Oh, look at this! Anything by Deadmau5 definitely turns me on.

P: Don’t let the gray hair fool you, honey.

d. What turns you off?

JI: Sneaky people. If you’re sneaky, it turns me off.

e. What sound or noise do you love?

JI: These are hard, Patricia! I love the sound of the air brakes on a bus.

BB: Really?

JI: Yes. I do.

P: That’s bizarre.

JI: It means that somebody’s getting where they need to go. It’s very satisfying. I know it’s weird.

BB: Do you take the bus very much?

JI: Yes. I sold my horse, so I have to take the bus.

f. What sound or noise do you hate?

JI: Balloons popping. It makes me panic. It makes me think of gun shots. I hate it. Thunder, at the same time. Both of them.

g. What is your favorite curse word?

JI: Oh, it’s got to be "fuck". It’s definitely got to be "fuck". I put "fuck" in the most inappropriate places, where it’s not necessary.

BB: You mean, at church?

P: It can be used for negative, and it can be used for positive. "That’s a fucking great song."

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

JI: I’d like to be a pilot. Why?

BB: We have a moment. Sure.

JI: I like to fly, and I think that pilots get the best view. I love the sky, so I’d like to be a pilot. I think it’d be really scary, and probably really sketchy. I think it would be beautiful. The pay off would be nice.

BB: Are you watching that Pan Am show?

JI: I haven’t seen much of Pan Am.

i. What profession would you not like to do?

JI: I wouldn’t be a cop. I think it would be scary. It must be rewarding pay-wise, and when you help someone; but I think that the negatives are too much there. I wouldn’t be able to do that. And, I hate confrontation. I wouldn’t be able to tell someone to stop shooting up heroin on the side of the road or we’re going to arrest you.

BB: "Please".

JI: Yes. Plus, I can’t run. I couldn’t pass the physical. I probably wouldn’t be able to go for that.

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

JI: "Good job!"

BB: Do you consider yourself a good person?

JI: Some days. I think I always have good intentions, but I don’t know if I’m always a good person. I try to be. I think I’m getting better as I get older.

BB: You’re, what, 24?

JI: 23.

Wrap Up:

BB: Jax, thank you so much for the last hour and a half of your life. It’s been most interesting. K8 said what a great person you are. She was not kidding around. I had a lot of fun meeting you.

JI: I had a lot of fun.

BB: Thank you for your time.

JI: Thank you very much. Thank you for the good company, and the onion breath. I appreciate it.