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The Wolf 101.5 FM, hey that’s Sloan with “If It Feels Good, Do It�€?, five thirty-six with Marty Silvestri, The White Beaver, making our way through a Monday night…
how you doing out there?
I want to be an entertainer, and I figure it’s the best way to do it where you’re mixing music and entertainment and just being able to talk about whatever you want.
I like to talk and I like to make people laugh and have people listen to me so I just figured that this was the best job to get into to do that.
I come in usually, I grab my program log and my music log and look at what songs are going to play,
grab all the contests because you got to stick those in and just look like, how much time I’m going to have.
Well we’ve got lots of contests this afternoon;
we’ve got a Moondance album of the week to give away—Robert Plant—some Super Seven tickets to give away.
I think you just have to be knowledgeable about the music and just kind of know what people are thinking, like if it’s a hot day talk about how hot it is.
Two oh eight with Marty in for Brian Ellis this afternoon,
little bit hazy out there, no rain in the forecast only about a thirty percent chance, but nothing major.
I don’t want to be a character, I want to be, like portray what I’m like.
Like, I’ll often sit around with my family and I’ll talk about an issue and I’ll bring that up on air just because it’s something that I find interesting.
There is a lot of technical stuff but it’s not really as hard as it looks and there’s always people to help you out, and it is pretty simple.
Like, I find when I know what it’s used for and I learn how to use it, it’s just easy. But it is a little overwhelming when you first look at everything,
but then once you get the hang of it, it’s not that bad.
You don’t have to necessarily go to college but it’s highly recommended if you’re going to get into management and things like that.
The more education the better, because you learn all the components of what it takes to be an on-air announcer.
Income: it all depends. Here I think high thirties/ forties if you got into management.
Right now I’m mainly part time; it’s definitely under thirty.
I wish somebody had told me that the pay was, you know, not as high, and that it would take a long time to really build yourself and get where you want to get.
You know I wouldn’t know what it’s like to have holidays.
Of course when you hear me on air in the afternoon it means I’m filling in for somebody and you got to take the work when you can get it.
Because I’m new at the station, I get all the shifts that maybe aren’t the most glamorous times.
You just have to have passion for it because, you know, you’re going to have to put years into it until you’re going to get full-time work, I think.
And you just have to have the right attitude, and you just can’t be too self-centred and arrogant to be in this industry.
You hand out a demo tape, the program director listens to thirty seconds,
so you’ve got thirty seconds to impress this guy, and if he doesn’t like your voice, he’s not going to hire you.
You get recognized on the street, I kind of like that, so you’re like a mini-celebrity status. I was surprised at the amount of people that phone you.
Hi, the wolf, hey how are ya? Hi the wolf… hi the wolf… hi the wolf… hi the wolf… hi.
Oh yeah, like, people call in all the time, you’d be amazed, people call in all the time and want to talk to you or want to hear a song.
I’m going to stick with it because I don’t picture myself doing anything else,
I’ve done the hard labour jobs and digging and lifting and that’s not for me. If I can get paid to sit down and talk for a living, I’ll do it.
We’ve got some Led Zeppelin right after this…
So there you see that’s basically what it takes to be an on-air announcer. You know, it’s a lot of fun, it’s an enjoyable job, and you’ve got to put a lot of time in to make it big.
But if you stick with it, eventually good things will come, and if you’re thinking of becoming an on-air announcer, I highly recommend it.