Sarah MacDougall

Every year at the Winnipeg Folk Fest I manage to stumble upon some music that I wasn't planning on seeing but end up loving. Sarah MacDougall is my random find this year. Her music really spoke to me and left me with a feeling of peacefulness and calmness.

I dunno, maybe you'll enjoy her beautiful voice too!

 

I feel like a Buddhist

If you're like me at all, then I know you're hyped for the 40th anniversary of the Winnipeg Folk Festival. In less than two weeks me and about half of Wolseley will cruise our bikes up to Birds Hill Park for 5 days of friendship, jokes, eats and great music.

This year's going to be special. I have that feeling you get deep down in your stomach that isn't excitement or nervousness, but giddiness. I feel like a kid again!

Here's Whitehorse - The dude Luke Doucet is a solid Wolseley boy!

This guy's from Quebec, and I lived there for a few years, so naturally I'd like him. He'll play the main stage on Friday night.

Summer gems

If you haven't heard this track yet, you will soon. From what I understand this band and song is taking Europe by storm. I can see why, it's so catchy.

Here's another gem I stumbled across the other day. We all know the original but to me this might take the cake. Most of my friends disagreed with me ;)

That's all I got for now. If I find any other gems I'll make sure to let you know.

Folk Festival 2013

On Saturday the 16th of March the Winnipeg Folk Festival released the line-up for this summers upcoming festival. I must say that I'm one person who is very excited about the performers this year and went out and purchased my ticket later that afternoon.

Folk Festival for me is a tradition. I've attended the festival since I was a kid and know that it's a place where I will bump into old friends. It is also a place for me where I seem to make peace with myself and the world around me. The experience differs from year to year, but the positivity that the festival instills in me always seems to remain the same. 

This week on the Morning Hike I will be featuring many of the performers so the listeners can gather a greater understanding of some of the talent that will be featured this year.

Here's a taste of what you can expect on the Hike this week. 

A face for radio

A few weeks back some buddies of mine came into the Red River Radio studio and shot Mike Cuma and myself in action.

Not bad boys, not bad.

But you be the judge.

Two things

First of all I just want to say how proud I am of my classmates hard work in promoting Red River Radio. I can say this jokingly and that is what do you do when you want to get noticed? Send in the cute girls.

Red River Radio made it to the front page of the Red River College website.

The second thing is that I have a new favourite song that is sung by a Canadian and is about one of Canada's most beautiful geographical regions.  

More good music

As the Morning Hike on Red River Radio keeps on keeping on the music seems to keep getting better as well. Just this past week station manager Dan uploaded a ton more great local Canadian Indie music. One thing that I can definitely say has contributed to the success of this new online radio station Red River Radio is the quality of music that the station manager has programed.

Here is a song from a Canadian Folk Rock band City and Colour that has just the right amount of harmonica. I must admit I am a fan of the harmonica but this gem by City and Colour is one I think even non supporters will enjoy.

Ahmadou this one's for you.

When I was younger, I spent some time living overseas in Ghana. While living in Ghana, I become best friends with a man from Senegal, Ahmadou. Ahmadou I miss you buddy and wherever you are today I'm sure you're doing just fine and spreading that positive vibe. I dedicate this track to you, and my memories of you and time spent in Ghana.

Mac Demarco

One perk about waking up at 5:30 am to do a morning radio show is that you're constantly looking for new music to share with your listeners. What this means is that while you're trying to make your listeners happy you also get to discover new music for yourself. One young Canadian musician who has caught my attention lately is a young man from British Columbia Mac Demarco. 

Demarco's great and has a very different sound. His lyrics are clever and his style is unconventional. I have been listening to him via Youtube videos for the past week and have given him plenty of play on Red River Radio. 

Here are a few gems I have enjoyed by him through my quest of discovering this young Canadian musician.  

Good stuff from a prospective young talent. 

The boys are back

After a longish break the boys from the morning show are back on Red River Radio. The holiday season is supposed to be relaxing, it’s supposed to be a time you spend with family and loved ones, and it's supposed to be a time that you recharge the batteries. However if your family is anything like mine, you know that there's no recharging of the batteries. It's simply, go go go. 


I did however spend lots of time with family and loved ones. I bought my 3 year old nephew his first pair of hockey skates and got to start giving him skating lessons. That was probably my highlight over the holidays. 

All that been said I am very happy to be back on air, playing my favorite music and telling stories and jokes with a friend. Being away from your work gives you lots of time to reflect about what you like about what you're doing and what you want to improve on. And being away for over a month has reinforced my belief that the best shows I've produced weren't well planned or organized. They were shows where we talked about stuff we were passionate about and stuff that we knew about. 

So my advice to anyone who is starting a new radio show or wants to get into radio is this. Talk about things you're passionate about, tell the truth and don't talk about things you don't know about. I know it sounds so simple but if you follow those three pieces of advice your listeners will respect you and enjoy listening to you.

So to end this blog I just want to say happy new year, and may 2013 be your year to do those things you've always wanted to do. Go get it, 2013 is your year if you want it to be.
Here is a band I've just discovered and I think they're great. Maybe you will too.    
   

A Christmas Hike

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas, and the boys from Red River Radio are putting on a Christmas special on Tuesday December 18th.

The show will run from 9:00 am until noon.

So if you're in the mood for an alternative voice and some groovy Christmas tunes, make sure to check it out. We also have lots of silly yet interesting segments planned for the show.

Here is a sample of some of the holiday goodness you can expect to hear on the show.

Radio for a better cause

On Tuesday the 20th of November, Red River Radio will host a Radiothon. The Radiothon is being put on by the public relations majors at the college. I happen to be a public relations major at the college, meaning that I get the opportunity to play a vital role in organizing and producing the actual show.

Here is an example of the enthusiasm and commitment that the public relations majors have here at Red River College.





This was the first promotional event planned by the public relations majors for this event, and as you can tell from the video, they have a lot of energy and passion for the cause. The theme of the Radiothon is Rally for Red and the goal is to have over thirty people donate blood. The public relations majors partnered with the Canadian Blood Services.

http://www.blood.ca/

The Canadian Blood Services has provided our team with much support and resources. The staff have been available questions and excited about the efforts the public relations majors have made.

I'm very excited to see the fruition of all the hard work that my colleagues have put into this blood drive. I'm also excited to participate in the Radiothon as an on air voice with my pal Joe. Joe and myself will be doing a shift from 1-7 pm.

The Radiothon runs from 7-7 and should be quite the experience.   

Depth over distance

I can now successfully boast that I have done a daily morning radio show at Red River College for 11 consecutive weeks. You might find yourself thinking - oh boy, that sounds rough. And let me tell you, many of my friends and colleagues have expressed this sentiment to me. What I want to remind anybody thinking about taking on a project of this size is yes, it can be rough at times, content can be hard to find and you might not have found any new music in a while.

What I have found to be helpful is to make the show about quality over quantity. What I mean is if you don't have enough content for one day don't force it. Play music that you think people will like, if it's older music that's okay. You don't always need to be pushing the envelope to make a show good. But you do always want to keep your finger on the pulse of what your audiences are wanting. 

To sum it, I believe the quote goes like this - You can't stop the waves but you can learn to surf.

I like that quote, and I like this song, maybe you will to.  

BAHAMAS

CALLING ALL FOLK MUSIC FANS.

The beauty about doing a morning show on a radio station that allows you to play the music you love is that you get to share the music you love with your listeners. Red River Radio and the Morning Hike with John and Mike are no exceptions. This year I have had the privilege to wake up every morning, bike to school which is about 15 minutes, and then jam out to some of my favorite music for two hours.  Could life get any better?

I also get to talk to a very funny guy every morning, Mike Cuma.  The guy tells a funny story.

I want to pass on some advice that a wise lady shared with me earlier today. Cathy Hanson is a radio instructor at Red River College. I spoke with Cathy today about my show in search of feedback on how I could tighten it up and make things better. The message Cathy left me with is so simple, but I feel important to share with anyone interested in radio.

So today when I sat down with Cathy, she said you guys are doing great, you're just being yourself and that's funny. You guys aren't gimmicky or cheesy at all, which is exactly what your listeners want. She said you boys are authentic. Wow what I compliment I thought.  Not only did this make me feel good but it made me appreciate why I love doing my radio show so much, because it allows me to be me.

My big sister Emily bought me tickets to the Bahamas show on Tuesday, she must listen to my show because she knows I like Bahamas a ton. #respect

I hope you enjoy the track.
  

You know what you know.

The Morning Hike with John & Mike is now 8 weeks old. If you're unfamiliar with my blog I write about being on radio and my experiences operating a morning radio show at Red River College. The first few weeks were fun but kind of rough at times.  Lately, things are operating much smoother.

Myself and counterpart were not used to getting up at 5:00 am, we weren't used to having to produce material everyday and so many other little things that I will not bore you with them here. After 8 weeks we feel like we're cruising. Everything is getting easier and we're still having a blast doing it.

You really only know what you know. My point is that play music you know about, stuff you enjoy and talk about things that matter to you. If you do this you will come off as more sincere and your listeners will respect you for it.

                                                  My new motto "Know what you know"

The Sweater Contest

Recently on my morning radio show, the Morning Hike we launched a contest where we're giving away a very comfy and attractive sweater. The premise behind this contest is to have our listeners use our social media platforms to nominate and share a story about a nice person in their lives. We have received positive feedback from our peers and listeners about this contest and are happy to say that the Morning Hike is dedicated to making our costumers happy.

The beauty about running a contest where people get to share a feel good story is that it makes you feel good to win something for a friend or just someone you admire for being a great person. Running contests can be difficult and making people want to enter them can be even more difficult.

Here is what I've learned. Make them about the listeners, make them about the costumers and empower them with the feeling of belonging to your community. Read the best entries out on air and share them on your social media platforms. The world is a crazy yet simple place. I say this because sometimes it's the simplest things that get people talking and sharing stories with each other.

When you run a contest keep this in mind. Simple is good, and feel good is always nice.

Here is a track by The Lumineers, a band we have started to play more of on the Morning Hike. Very good stuff in my opinion. I hope you enjoy this track and have a great weekend.

   

Hearts of Gold

This past week, The Morning Hike had the opportunity and pleasure to interview two very kind people who are at very different stages in their lives. We interviewed the Dean of Business and Applied Arts Graham Thomson on Tuesday and Jackie Doming, a second year communications student here at Red River College on Thursday.  

The interview with Graham went quite well. We spoke with Graham about his participation in a fundraising effort known as Change for the Better. Change for the Better raises money that supports homeless employment programs. 

Graham participated in what is known as the CEO Sleep-out. Graham explained on the Morning Hike that this is supposed to raise awareness about homelessness and not stimulate it. Graham mentioned that it was a wakeup call on how privileged he is to be able to go home to a warm bed. The thing he said that was the most humbling was all the noise he heard down-town throughout the night. He mentioned that he was surprised at how consistently siren bells rang throughout the night.

The event brought awareness to two solutions to ending homelessness: (1) Employment and (2) housing.

Change for the Better is still fundraising - all year round. And they still hope to reach their goal of $150,000. Currently, they are at $111,595.

http://www.changeforthebetter.org/

Jackie Doming, a second year student at Red River College is doing some fundraising of her own. She has started a project called Threads of Hope. This projects purpose is to raise $10,000. This will be donated to the Children’s Wish Foundation. Jackie explained that she was intrinsically motivated to take on a project like this because she doesn't have any brothers or sisters. She further disclosed that her parents come from the Philippines and that the health care system is not as modern as here in Canada. Both of those things combined with her love for DIY activities sparked the campaign to sell clothing and accessories where the profits generated will go to benefit others in need. This indeed is very inspirational stuff.

You can learn more about this project by visiting Threads of Hopes website.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/tohclothing

You learn a lot from talking to people and even more from listening to what they have to say. Radio is a great medium for listening. These two very different people, in completely different stages in their lives, one ready to retire one just getting ready to launch their career are out spreading positivity in their own ways. It made me proud to be a part of something, the Red River College community and to have my part, in helping share their messages through radio.

This song is awesome; it's by The Head and the Heart. It's been getting a lot of air time on the Morning Hike these past few weeks.  Enjoy!

Technical difficulties.

Hello faithful readers,

I know you're out there somewhere, maybe it's your parents basement or maybe it's you office, whatever. Today I'm going to share some advice on how to react when technical difficulties occur. I wont say that I wasn't warned before I started The Morning Hike that technical difficulties happen, but to the extent they happened this morning was a wee bit much.

First of all, my co-host and I couldn't hear each other through our headphones. Lets just say panic followed immediately. Mike, my co-host and myself were furiously phoning everybody we could think of trying to sort out this chaos. It took us 15 minutes to solve this problem and when we thought the madness was over, we were wrong.

Eventually we could hear each other again, and we were on top of the world for about half an hour. Fantastic right? Wrong. No, it wasn't fantastic because we had lined up an interview with the Dean of Business and Applied Arts from Red River College, and needless to say we were stoked. However what we weren't anticipating was for more technical difficulties, especially after the fifteen minute fiasco we had already gone through earlier in the morning. We never ended up having the interview, the dean could hear us but we couldn't hear him, so we lost are opportunity to interview the dean.

If this was a swat analysis I'm not sure if this specific scenario would fall under a threat or weakness, I don't know if anybody really knows. Either way the dean is a nice guy and he has agreed to another interview some other time, which is awesome.

Advice: Don't lose your cool, or at least try to recover as quickly as possible once you do. Trust me, I was sweating. I was bummed out for a few hours after my radio show and let me tell you this, being bummed out is not a productive way of being. You're angry, frustrated and to sum it up nicely, you're pissed off. I walked into an image editing and design course I'm taking and started a fire storm. John are you al-right people kept asking me. No I'm steaming was a response of mine. Was I legitimate for being angry yes, should I have let it ruin my morning, no. Advice, relax, you'll live another day.

Next time, I'm hoping to practice composure. Composure is something I value but really need to work on, and if you're on radio you should focus on composure too. Composure is your friend, study it, practice it and act like you have it even if you don't, because it's unattractive to be that guy who loses it over minor things that are really out of your control. That angry guy for no reason, just isn't cool.

I hope this helps you in your journeys to becoming radio personalities, It is something I now know to expect in the future. Will I behave more maturely, maybe, or at least I sure hope so.

I will once again leave you with a track. A track by a band I quite enjoy Local Natives. This song I believe is about his grandfather and for some reason it speaks to me. Maybe it will speak to you too.

What I wish I knew before I started my morning radio show.

 

Producing a daily two-hour morning radio show has many challenges, especially when you’re new to the medium and have little experience at waking up everyday at 5am. one of many skills you need to have is being able to paint a picture in your audience’s imagination, tell them a story that is either entertaining or that provides useful information. You need to be able to execute this skill during every music break. And when you're show is two hours long, you need to prep about 15 talking points which can be quite challenging especially when juggling the rest of your life duties.  You need to be able to conduct interviews effectively, and make them entertaining or interesting and have the skill of being able to bring out the best in the person you are interviewing.

You need to know about the music your playing, know about up and coming artists and concerts that your listenership would want to know about. You must be able to run contests effectively, contests that engage your audiences in ways that’s easy for them to act on. The contests should be interesting enough that they should motivate your audiences to share them with friends. A recent study shows that 92% of people trust recommendations from people they know, which I don't think is a big surprise. For more on this please follow the blog link below.

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/nielsen-news/trust-in-advertising-%E2%80%93-paid-owned-and-earned/

I know this all sounds like common sense, which in many cases it is, the trick is being able to integrate this into one show that makes your show unique and different, which then should have the potential to build a loyal listenership.

The first thing I wish I knew before I started the Morning Hike is to just relax, practice makes perfect and perfection is the enemy of good. You only know what you know and being honest with your listenership will create trust and help build authenticity for your show. Authenticity is my number one, always be yourself, it's better for you and actually way easier. You don't need to impress people with your music knowledge or charming personality all the time.

The second thing I wish I knew would be to be on social media, and connect with your listeners by having contests where they can interact with your show through Facebook and Twitter.This makes it so easy for your listeners to participate in your show, and is easy to monitor and can be fun for everybody involved.

The third thing I wish I knew before starting would be interview techniques. Practicing and knowing the fundamentals of interviewing cannot only make an interview, but also make sure that the person you interview wants to come back to your show, and feels comfortable in your presence.  Here is a link to the book I bought that when I have had time done some research on how I can become a better interviewer.

http://www.coursesmart.com/0077253183

Here is a link to the podcast from the Morning Hike. If you haven't listen to it yet then why not listen, if you have I would love some feedback.

  

http://radio.rrc.ca/?page_id=14

I will end this blog post with a song. This is just a great track from Billy Bragg & Wilco's album Mermaid Avenue and was released in the late 1990's. I hope you enjoy this track and remember to be authentic when on air, authenticity is the key to developing a successful radio personality.

A nice article about Red River Radio

The Morning Hike with John & Mike is happy to say that we survived our third week. Producing a morning show can be tough and challenging but when you're having fun time fly's. This week I will keep my post short, however next week you can expect an update about how our first contest is going.

This week I wanted to share with you and article that I'm featured in that was written by John Gaudes from the UNITER. I hope you enjoy,

http://uniter.ca/view/7866/

I still want to include a song in my post this week. The Morning Hike has played this song a few times this week and we have received some positive feedback from our listeners. This song is by Of Monsters and Men and I feel is just a beautiful song. I hope you enjoy this song too!