The road to becoming a radio DJ for the local 107.3 campus radio station, right here at UNBSJ is something that anyone can do, provided that they’re willing to commit the time and thought into giving something that someone will want to listen to. The station is the only listener supported broadcaster in the Saint John area and has won many awards over the years for their efforts.
There are some rules that must be kept in mind when doing a show. There must be a certain amount of local content, Canadian content, and various other specifications depending on the set type you choose. The biggest rule is no Top 40 tracks. The reasoning behind that is simple; if you wanted to listen to Top 40, there’s a plethora of stations constantly playing it around the clock. This station is dedicated to bringing you interesting, new music and playing an active role in the community by providing news updates from the Saint John region.
The doors are open to anyone looking to become a DJ, regardless of skill level or experience. Management provides plenty of room for you to learn and grow as you venture down the path of getting involved with the station. As long as you feel that you have something to contribute, the doors are open.
How did I get involved? I was approached by my friend Patrick Harrington some months ago, asking whether I would be interested in spending my Tuesday nights listening to good music and talking about it. Of course I said yes, and have since been teamed up with him on the Noise Tank.
Having recently switched to a longer time slot on Mondays, I proposed the idea that we start to try and get more personal with the listeners. Since then we have allocated a certain amount of time to talking about the music and allowing listeners to hear our reasoning behind why we think a song is good. This fuels even more discussion and facts as we list off upcoming albums, what we’re excited for, and how we feel as though bands have grown.
As the discussion idea grew, so did the ways that we could perpetuate it. We recently have begun pushing to have live musicians come in and perform for us to provide us with a personal in-depth look at their process and what their music means to them. This has been met with interest from local artists who we have proposed our ideas toward, as well as performers who are coming to Saint John. Most recently we had a live phone-in interview with Luke Nicholson who was performing for the first time in the Maritimes.
Becoming a DJ has provided many others, including myself, with the chance to get our thoughts and music out there. No matter what genre of music you’re into, or what you like to talk about, there is a place for you. You can always tune in at 107.3 or listen live at localfm.ca and hear for yourself what this community has to offer.
