More Blogging...

Most of the blogs featured here can be found alongside the musings of my fellow KNOM volunteers. To see them in a much better formatted version than I was able to provide here, visit this link.

A new blog is on it's way as my Alaskan adventures come to a close.

Goodspeed Josh!

Final Currents.

Now my life is sweet like cinnamon
Like a dream I’m living in
Baby love me cause I’m playing on the radio
How do you like me now?

Radio – Lana Del Rey

I have already written this blog one hundred times over in my mind. Many nights have been spent crafting what it was that I wanted to say when it came time to deal out my farewells. Not unlike the student who stayed up all night to cram before the next day’s exam, though I have diligently prepared, I feel overwhelmed now that the test is in front of me.

All of my wit and stories fail me, as so far into this blog as all I have written is a summary of my current goodbye angst and some Lana Del Rey lyrics. Well that’s something at least.  If I can’t find the right words to sum up how I feel, then perhaps as Music Director it only makes sense to utilize the words of artists I have followed closely during my volunteer year. Radio by Lana, (yeah, we’re on a first-name basis,) was a song that I listened to on repeat time and time again as I prepared to leave for Nome. It tells the story of someone who is leaving a life behind to achieve a dream; someone who desires so much to use the magic of radio as a conduit for the love and passion inside of them.

I guess you could say that I relate to its content.

When I was a kid I used to have pretend DJ shifts in my room. As the other neighborhood children were outside riding their bikes, I was compiling liner notes and developing playlists for the benefit of an invisible audience. When I reached 16, I used to drive home as many friends as I could fit into my car just so I could play my newest mix cds for them.  Something about sharing music with people has always made me feel full inside.

I have been told, in one way or another, that my interest in music was trivial and that without an academic background in the subject,  I would be unable to find my place in that professional niche. I have also been told that my collegiate background would likely place me in a fairly rigid career track with little professional deviation. Three years after graduating from college, I’ve worn more hats than I can count. In three years I’ve attained more dreams than I could have ever though possible. I’m a wildland firefighter, musician, construction worker, DJ, producer, videographer, environmental technician, photographer, graphic designer, blogger, social media guru, counselor, volunteer coordinator, music critic, actor, costumier, teacher – and the list goes on.

Everything I’ve done and every little dream I’ve captured in my glass mason jar of life has been thanks to service. Three years ago I was a young person who had no idea what he wanted to do with his life and felt hopeless. Three years later I’m a young person who has no idea what he wants to do with his life who couldn’t be happier.  Service isn’t about an end. It isn’t about landing a job with a non-profit or building your resume. Service is about the journey. It’s about those you help along the way: those that say thank you, those that don’t, and those that you didn’t even realize benefited from the work you’ve done. It’s about trying scary new things in which you mind screams, “This isn’t right for you!” and then finding out that it is. It’s about throwing your hands in the air and accepting the beautiful fact that you are more than one person. You are more than the sum of your fears and hopes. You are a conduit that has the capability to send your love across the community in which you live and the world around it like energy through a phone line.

If my time spent in AmeriCorps and KNOM Radio Mission are the best things I ever do with my life…then I’m okay with that, though I know many more adventures await me. Service will always be a chemical component in my bones, and these last three years will always be something I behold as being more than special.

My time as a KNOM volunteer has been six years in the making. I first came across a description of the work done here when I was a freshman in college. For years I placed the dream that had sprouted in my head by simply reading a small paragraph of information on the highest shelf until I felt ready. To this day I feel amazed that it would become a dream come true. KNOM spoke to me and here I am. Words can’t do this part of my service journey enough justice. I don’t know how to say thank you to Western Alaska. I don’t know how go about counting my lucky stars for making this happen.

Soon I will play my last song and my selection will travel across Western Alaska one last time. I must have played thousands of songs in my time here, yet it never stops feeling magical. I just hope the music that I am leaving behind can speak of all the gratitude I can’t seem to shake off my lips.

American dreams came true somehow
I swore I’d chase them until I was dead
I heard the streets were paved with gold
That’s what my father said

Now my life is sweet like cinnamon
Like a  dream I’m living in
Baby love me cause I’m playing on the radio
How do you like me now?

Dear Cher - It's Me, Josh.

Sometimes when you can’t get your thoughts together and you’re walking a hazy emotional path it can do you a world of good to reach out to a close friend.  On this blog I share with you a transcript of a letter that I recently sent to my dear friend, Cher.  Who better to be my guiding light in times of transition?  She’s transitioned more than anyone else I know.  If she can make it from bell-bottoms, to disco, to the modern day club scene, I can make it from KNOM volunteer hopeful to KNOM volunteer alum without too much strife.
…Right?
——————-
Dear Cher,
Before I get started, let’s get real for a second.  By the time you receive this letter I will be just one month away from completing my time as a KNOM Volunteer.  One year in Nome! A year of DJing, music selection, Iditadogs, unfamiliar weather patterns, new friends, and so much more! It seems like it was just yesterday that I was writing you about my time spent learning how to input new music into the system and accurately “time-down” and hour of programming.  My how far I have come!

Don’t worry, we still have plenty of your old stuff too.

Before I get too self-absorbed in my ramblings, how are you doing?! I saw you on the finale of The Voice the other week.  You were really fantastic.  I am so glad that you are back with new music.  What’s it been? Twelve years? Craziness.  I must say that adding your new single into KNOM’s current musical rotation was more than awesome.  If I had a highlight reel of my Music Director experiences, me ripping a brand new Cher song into the catalog would be prominently featured.  Maybe even with some slow motion action as I popped the cd into it’s tray as the footage immediately star-swipes into a close-up of a smile forming on my lips.  I can almost see it!
It always thrills me when music veterans such as yourself not only come out with new music, but do so while maintaining such music that sounds so contemporary and relevant to today’s popular music scene.  Just a few weeks ago I was adding new tunes from Petula Clark.  You may remember her from the 1964 hit song, Downtown.    Well she is back on the scene with a lead single that weaves her crystal clear voice with electronica elements and even a touch of auto-tune! I can only hope that I am so vibrant and hip when I am eighty-one years old.
Oh, and guess who dropped his twenty-first studio album?  None other than the legendary Eric Clapton.  Reggae, rock, folk – his new music has it all.  He and Petula aren’t the only ones rocking it after retirement age either.  Yoko Ono had a #1 Billboard Dance hit just a couple of months ago that I really enjoyed playing on my show at KNOM.  I feel so lucky to be able to play such a wide variety of great music!
I must admit that sometimes I get a little sad when thoughts of me no longer being in the DJ booth cross my mind.  Sure, I can always carve a path for myself dealing professionally in airwaves and mp3s, but no one does it quite like KNOM.  Where else can you hear Prince back-to-back with the Savoonga Drum and Dance?  Loretta Lynn handing it over to New Order?  Madonna making way for an up-and-coming indie folk act?
Sorry, I know I shouldn’t mention Madonna.  I know that makes you angry.  My bad.  I do wish you two would try harder to get along.  But I digress.
I don’t really know what to do with myself as the weeks count down.  I find myself going about my day to day life as if I’ll never leave Nome.  I know that sooner or later I will have to pull the band-aid off in one quick yank.  Until then I know I still have plenty of great music to seek out for Western Alaska.  Until then, please take care of yourself and take the time to write me back.  I worry about you traveling around so much.  Be sure to drink plenty of water and rest when you can.    And don’t you worry about me.  I’ll be just fine.