I've finally made use of the various audio equipment and software I've purchased in the past couple of years and recorded my first podcast, a show for Metro Weekly Extra. My first media job ever came when I was 16 and I snagged a position as a DJ at my hometown radio station, WPKY. At the time, it was a dual-broadcast AM/FM station -- apparently it's been split into two stations, WPKY re-broadcasting ESPN radio on AM and the renamed WAVJ broadcasting country on FM.
Anyway, WPKY is where I learned how to edit audio, patch through live feeds, and all the other skills that haven't directly translated to the digital age. You wouldn't even believe the shabby little recording booth in the back where every commercial I did the voiceover for sounded like I lived in the bottom of a deep tin can. You could only record one live voice and one pre-taped audio track from the cart machine onto the second cart machine -- if you wanted more than one audio track, say a second Dolly Parton song or something, you had to quickly mute the mike and swap carts fast enough that no appreciable pause made it into the final recording.
I learned a lot about how to make things work in less than ideal situations.
A handy skill, given that I'm still trying to figure out exactly how all my software works, etc. But the basics of juggling tracks and writing for time and nipping and tucking sound is all the same. Fun, fun, fun. I'm looking forward to doing more of them and trying some things I never got to do in my early radio days. Like, you know, having more than one song or sound effect track at a time.
Although I probably will throw in some Dolly Parton just for old times sake.
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