I’ve hit the ground running with “Real Talk with Chequelle,” and its exhilarating. On Tuesday’s episode of “Real Talk with Chequelle” I had the pleasure of interviewing Independent R&B artist Maria Verdell from Columbus, GA. She was such a delight and a good time. Maria Verdell is one of the artist that will be performing at D30’s Indie Artist concert on Thursday. To prove that her vocals were authentic, she did not bring a single to the station instead she sung live a smooth R&B medley. It was a combination of Miguel’s “Do You” and Musiq Soulchild’s “Love.” Chills began to appear on my arms immediately. To interview someone who is someone who is so passionate about their craft and perfecting it was such a breath of fresh air. Maria has yet to release a single but she is releasing a cover mixtape titled “Untitled” in August.
radio
Today’s Work – Jyotsna Scales –
Today I had the opportunity of working with some PSA advertisement checks from several companies and filling out paperwork for the winners from different stations contests. I worked the board during my usual times which is 4-5:30pm and answering phone calls for the winner of the day during the “Top 4 Playlist” half.
Around 4:45pm we did have an on-air interview with Janel Lewis on the Lupus Live charity fundraiser on May 3rd. Mrs. Lewis spoke about where the event will be held, what will happen and most importantly what the event is.
The event is meant to raise awareness and research funding for lupus, an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks healthy tissue. Lupus Live will be held Saturday, May 3 from 7pm to 8:30pm at St. James AME CHurch banquet hall located at 1002 6th Ave. downtown Columbus. There will also be a walk that morning at 9:30 am at Lake Bottom Park.
It was wonderful to hear what Mrs. Lewis had to offer and say about the organization.
Music Production – NPACE – Leonard Hood
This has been one of the most exciting and entertaining weeks for me in NPACE. There are a lot of different shows and skits being put together by the students and one is called “Tv Turnt Up”. I have been making instrumentals for the show so that there can be quality music on the show without having to worry about copyrights. Producing music has always been a hobby of mine since a kid so it feels good to be able to put my talent to use. I’ve put in a lot of hours in order to come up with good sounds, but when they are finished, all the hard work is worth it. Some of the students have also been recording one liners and discussion topics in the radio station room. I was even able to be included in one of the radio discussions this week.
Setting up cameras in the studio to record a skit
ArtBeat Radio, Arts in the Heart of Columbus!
Artbeat to me, is the life of Columbus. For two weeks, people come together and express themselves through their art. Me being originally from Augusta, Georgia I know of festivals like this such as Arts in the Hear. But Artbeat to me is special because of my involvement in it every year.
This week at the NPACE radio center I got to interview some of the most interesting people I’ve ever met. Latino artist, sculpture artist , actors, dancers, chairmen of committees.
The key that I’ve learned from working on Radio with Josh Pate is in instances like this let him take over and do all the work!
No I’m just kidding, but the thing that really has people come alive on air is talking about their passion. Having them sit down and explain their life, their art, their angle. That is what really makes the whole thing pop.
Where else are people of different nationalities, cultures, backgrounds, and artistic taste going to meet up and become one for two weeks?
The answer is nowhere, nowhere but Artbeat.
Friday Night Sports Focus!! Tune In!!
Working on the Board Again, Davis Broadcasting, Jyotsna Scales
Today I got to work the board again. But this time I didn’t work the board for like 30 minutes but for the whole 2 hour block that I am at my internship 3-5pm. I got to work not only the board but also the phone line for “Topic of the Day.” Topic of the Day are daily topics that listeners and citizens of Columbus, GA submit in each day to talk about their personal issues and other things that are going on in the city. It isn’t easy working the board and the phone line. You have to make sure that you are not conflicting with what’s going on on-air either. I am not going to lie I did mess up at least twice. While my mentor was talking on the radio I accidentally cut him off and turned the music on which didn’t allow him to finish what he had to say. Second, usually when someone is talking on the radio some kind of music need to be playing behind their voice. While I thought I had turned on the instrumental, nothing was playing behind his voice. It took me about 10 seconds to find out what was wrong but it felt like so much longer. I can honestly say that I think I am getting better at working the board. I am still nervous but practice makes perfect.
First Day of Controlling the Board – Jyotsna Scales – Davis Broadcasting
Well today was the day. My first day working the board on live radio. I was so nervous about messing up and causing just silence on the radio. Silence on a radio station is a bad thing. Music or commercials needs to always be running on the radio, even someone just talking. I started working the board around the 4 o’clock hour when topic of the day was over. I was basically in charge of getting the 4 play at 4 ready and the throwback song of the day. It’s interesting being charge of the board and controlling what the audience is listening to. You see the first two tabs from the left control the volume for the microphone, while the red and yellow buttons for all the control buttons determine whether that portion of the board is on or not. Red signifies “on air” and yellow if off the air. The next three control bars represent the volume for the music. All three must be at a set volume so the sound will equal out when the radio personality is talking you can move the first two tabs down so when the next song plays it intertwines. Next we have is BBAR 1, 2, and 3 which controls the background music behind the speaker. When the radio personality is talking you want some kind of music behind it so their won’t be any silence. There are several instrumentals to choose from and of course each radio station picks their own personal one. The next control bars control the computer and phone such as when callers call in and recorded. Let’s say today wasn’t perfect but that’s why after today I will keep controlling the board at a certain hour than eventually run the board the whole time slot by myself. Radio isn’t as easy as I thought it would be. There is a lot of planning and thinking towards it
Broadcast Time – Jyotsna Scales – Davis Broadcasting
Today I learned about broadcast timing. Basically how everything on radio is managed on a clock. The picture provided above is not the exact timing that 98.3 the Beat uses but it is close. Radio is seen in 15 minute intervals. Every 15 minutes commercials are played which are featured sponsors of the selected radio station. For example, sponsors such as Gil’s, bars downtown, and Budget Car & Truck have featured commercial spots. Also, my mentor, Derrick Greene, mentioned to me how you have to have top/popular music within the first 15 minutes because that is when people are getting off work or more than likely getting in the car. You have to keep the audience interested and wanting to stay listening to your radio station. Every top hour there is the most popular music playing just case you didn’t know. Of course weather and traffic have their special time slots which is usually during half of the hour and :45 mark of the hour.
It’s crazy when you learn how radio works because it makes you look and listen to radio differently. I even caught myself listening to different radio stations and noticing the small things such as they played their commercials too early or don’t even have any other sponsors besides club events.
Mediabase 24/7 – Jyotsna Scales – Davis Broadcasting
Today I learned about Mediabase 24/7. It is a social music media base that shows you what music is being played across the country. You can search from hip-hop to country music on this site. Of course you have to have a special login and password just to gain access to all this music. I believe only radio stations are allowed to access to this site. Not only can you view different music but you can search different radio stations and see what their playing. For example, I can look and see what Hot97 is playing in California and Power105 in New York.
The picture you see above are this week’s top 100 songs in hip-hop. You see on readio you can’t just pick and choose what songs to play on a daily basis. You have to choose what’s popular not only for you listeners but also what’s popular around the country. You can’t play a song that you like in particular and it be rated a 78 on the top songs. My advisor, Derrick Greene, explained is best when he said, “You have to wait until that song hits the top 10. You can’t play a song that is underrated because you have to give it time to climb to the top. We could play out a certain song six months ahead just because it’s popular here but the artist would wonder why it’s not number one at its highest peak because we played it out already.”
I never knew radio had such an organized and unique way about it.
Action, action, action – NPACE – Leonard Hood
This week was very interactive and busy. I started my week out in the radio room helping people record their PSA’s. I was using Adobe Audition to record them and I also was able to pass some of my knowledge of the program on to some of the people I met. Just a few days ago Color Me Rad was taking place in Uptown Columbus. The NPACE team and I were there to record some footage for a future video we will make. It was a fun day, experience, and we were able to get some really nice looking shots.
Doing the background work on PSA’s
Houston we have Lift off – CSU Sports Talk – Derek Bailey
After Weeks of planning and painstaking work its here ladies and gentlemen!
CSU TV’s own Sports Talk Broadcast!! This show was the brain child of myself Chatil Bradford and Matt Gay. We’ve been planning this radio show out since the semester started and with the help of other students in the NPACE center we recorded our first broadcast this morning.
Honestly I felt very comfortable with the cameras around because it was very similar to the Friday Sports Focus Show I’m already doing for NPACE radio. So for me it went hand in hand. It was a little bit more nerve racking because as opposed to that show, I’m the host so the responsibility is a little bigger. Big Kudo’s to Matt Gay and Josh Pate for being able to do this on a week in and week out basis!
Tune in every couple of weeks for our Bi-monthly broadcast but DONT FORGET about the Friday night weekly show with Matt, Mark Madden, and myself where we talk EVERYTHING SPORTS. Also look for a special surprise very soon with a visit from a very Special guest!!
Columbus State University Communication Internships 