Joe Here! A.K.A, Average Joe or sometimes referred to as “is that really your jean size?” This week has been my fourth and final week of practicum which made it officially “demo week!” The quality of a demo has the ability to make or break the chances for a job so safe to say I did NOT take it for granted! During this process I discovered techniques not only good for a demo but life in general, so here are 3 things I learned during my fourth week of practicum!

1.Be yourself

Every demo deserves an intro, a way to let the people listening know who you are and what your about! When I first made my intro, I’ll be honest I flew right through it with a “hi I’m Joe” over some generic pop music! As much as I love Justin Bieber and am in fact Joe it needed more! After some time, I was able to create something I felt represented me more than a vocal nametag and even though its only 6 seconds long I couldn’t be more hyped!

2.Put your best foot forward

While working on my demo I learned most people only listen to the first 30 seconds of a demo, IF THAT! So, it was KEY to put all the best work up front and make those early transitions so CLEAN that they’re too busy jamming out to turn it off!

3.Stand out

Schools quickly coming to an end in a couple months which means not only is my class looking for jobs but so is every class in every city in every province! Swimming in a sea of job hungry Canadians means you’ve got to stand out, be noticed and give them zero reasons to be turned down! If I’m being honest I’m still working on this part but considering where I was only 4 weeks ago I’m that much more excited for when I figure it out!

Thanks for taking part on this journey with me! After four weeks of being in the industry I’d be lying if I said I’m glad its over! What I am though is over the moon with what I learned, accomplished and more importantly what s next! Four rhymes with more for a reason.

Joe Here! A.K.A Average Joe or often referred to as “Do you work here?” The third week of my practicum is officially done and I’m going to share with you how it all went down. Now that I’m a few weeks in and gained some trust from my practicum mentor, almost everything I produced ended up going on air! I would be lying if I said I handled that responsibility with the utmost of confidence, there were a few times where I was really nervous and honestly a feeling that I wasn’t good enough. Throughout the week though I discovered that those feelings might not actually be such a bad thing, so here are 2 things I learned during my third week of practicum!

1.Confidence not Confi-DUNCE

We’ve all heard the term “confidence is key” which is honestly great advice, but sometimes too much confidence can do more bad than good. In order to produce content that airs on the radio I thought I would need to be some sort of expert with this super confidence, like a millennial version of superman that’s NOT allergic to kryptonite! Since I didn’t have that confidence I would end up spending HOURS on making content “perfect” that should’ve really taken me 15 minutes!  Instead of hiding this, I decided to share this with my mentor and after an hour of talking and listening to “not so good” content from other producers that ended up on air, it really changed my thinking! Being confident doesn’t equal being perfect, you’re never going to stop learning and growing so don’t think you have to be the best at something right away.  Understanding that I’m not the best pushes me to keep trying and learning giving me confidence in the fact that I know I’ll always try and get there!

2.Go hard or Stay home

My whole life I’ve tried to go the safe route to avoid tripping, falling, and upsetting someone which to no surprise ended up translating in my work during practicum! If I was asked to do something I would accomplish exactly that, too comfortable to go the extra mile and think outside the box. I think my mentor caught on to this asking me this week to go BIGGER if I’m voicing for a commercial or go HARDER on a production spot to create a clearer image! After a few days of this I really noticed a big difference in the quality of not just the content but in my confidence as well! Playing it safe will only take you so far, sometimes you need to go the extra mile to end up somewhere you would’ve have never knew existed! With one week left of my practicum that place is hopefully a job.

Thanks for taking part on this journey with me! Chapter three is now in the books!

Joe Here! A.K.A Average Joe or often referred to as “what’s that smell.” The second week of my practicum has come to an end and I’m here to give you the inside scoop of how it went down. It was filled with crazy cool opportunities like working with some tremendous writers and insanely talented voices! The more days that go by the more confidence covers fear and the more excitement covers anxiety. Here are 3 things I learned on my second week of practicum!

1.Practice makes perfect…ish

The first week of my practicum was more or less a showcase of my skillz (the z makes it cool) demonstrating what I’m capable of! The second week was all about really honing my production skillz and finding better ways to do things! Some people can’t take critical feedback but I found out throughout the week that I actually really appreciate the brutal truth! If there was anything I could improve on id make it a priority to try and make it a strength with the keyword there being try! There would be times where I would spend HOURS on a single project and still not be happy. I found the secret is in being honest, asking for help and practice, practice, practice.

2.Time is of the essence

In the world of radio, I found out timing is everything! You got to learn quick on how to do a lot of things in a short period of time and after a few more days of production practice it was TIME to time me! The goal was to see what I was able to do in 30 minutes which honestly felt closer to 30 seconds! Thankfully I was able to pass the test (with flying colors I might add) but id be lying if I said it wasn’t close! After a few more days of acting like I’m the flash, I found that being organized and managing your time wisely between tasks to be super sonically helpful.

3.Why?

I have this bad habit where my brain will tell me exactly what I should be doing and typically has a solid reasoning behind it and I will still say “NAHH” and do something totally different! This practicum had no exception to this bad habit and I would find myself changing things based on what I thought my instructor would like and not staying true to what I know is right! There were a handful of times where he would he would tell me my first draft was way better than my second because I was changing things that I honestly had no reasons in changing. He also asked me “why?” on every decision I made and said if I could answer that question than no one can tell me I’m wrong! Learning to trust your gut while reminding to ask yourself “why?” is truly key in completing any project, small or big!

Thanks for taking part on this journey with me! Two… infinity and beyond!

Joe here! A.K.A average Joe or sometimes even referred to as “down in front.” I’ve just experienced my 1st week of practicum and I’d like to share how it all went down!

Naturally I should give some context on how it is I got the practicum in the first place and you can’t spell nature without Joe! Actually, you kind of can but then it would just be “natur” which sounds more European! ANYWAY, as a radio student I found my strong suit in production and writing so I decided to head on towards that route. After telling one of my instructors this, I was paired with this great guy that could show me all the production ropes! Now that we have some backstory, here are 2 things that I learned on my 1st week of practicum!

1. Don’t put yourself in a box

Personally, I’d consider myself a sort of shy character which is why I think I chose to go the direction of writing and producing! Since my practicum was in that field I naively thought that was all I would be doing! To my surprise on my second day I was asked to voice for a commercial which doesn’t seem that bad but I have this lisp that got me teetering on the edge of what is known as “insecurity.” Understanding how I sound like, I was already prepared for the impending criticism or as I would say “critississm.” What happened next, I did not expect (solid rhyme) after I sent my practicum instructor the voicing, I got an email back saying he liked my read! He actually liked it so much that he wanted to play it ON AIR at an actual radio station in B.C. Where I thought I lacked skill turned out to be what led to a radio related victory. So, don’t shy away from what you’re not the best at or you’ll end up missing on something great or in my case a farmer’s market commercial playing in a town of 5,000 people (score).

2. Adapt, Adapt, Adapt

Let’s face it the world is always changing! Right when you think you got the hang of something SIKE a worldwide pandemic hits and similar to going to the mall as a child you got to keep up or you get left behind! Exact same goes into radio and on my first day I found out quick! There were production tools I’ve never heard of with newer and faster methods of using them! At first it can seem overwhelming but if you take time to understand, open up to new methods and trust in your abilities, you’ll adapt in no time!

Thanks for taking part on this journey with me! One week down, Life to go.

Let’s be honest, life is crazy. More than that though, life is unique and we all live it a little bit different! From the way we eat, the way we dress and even the way we sleep! During my short life here on what people call “earth” I’ve been lucky enough to experience different types of sleeping styles! Without further ado I’d like to share my opinion on what my Top 5 Beds are and why! (in no particular order)

1. Bunk beds

Growing up bunk beds were THE coolest thing! I’m sure many kids can relate to whenever you went over to a friend’s house and they HAD a bunk bed it was an INSTANT boost in cool points! I was lucky enough to get a bunk bed when I was a kid and the benefits that came with I think are unmatched. You can always have a friend sleep over. You can use it as a pull up bar. Jumping off onto pillows was not only available but ENCOURAGED! There is not a single childhood bed that beats the bunk bed.

2. Hammocks

Although these beds aren’t really common inside houses especially if you live in Calgary with our 8 months of winter, they are a contender in top beds! Since it’s simply a bunch of ropes, it forms to your body shape pretty much perfectly and is significantly cheaper than other types of beds. Hammocks also sway side to side like you’re a new born baby ready to dream of rainbows and powdered milk! I’ve never experienced a better nap in my life then when I’m outside laying in a hammock rocking like I’m a wave in the ocean.

3. Smelly beds

I don’t know a lot about these beds but I do know they exist, and that’s enough for me. While I was visiting a friend’s house I complimented how nice their room smelt when they said it was their bed! Apparently, it was filled with roses and whenever you sit on it, a beautiful fragrance comes out! Imagine after a long day of school or work you get into bed and the smell of lavender or mint wraps around you like a blanket for your nose.

4. Water beds

In all of history there has never been a bigger FLEX than the water bed. It has been the symbol of wealth and libido for decades! I’ve only experienced this luxury a few times in my life and once you get over the fear of drowning its quite enjoyable! Very similar to the hammock the motion of the ocean underneath you, puts you in an unmatched trance that’ll give you weirdly relaxing boat dreams!

5. Race car beds

The ultimate bed for letting people know that your fierce, fast and untamable! Shaped like a race car this bed puts you in the hot seat! Iv sadly never had this bed but trust me I WILL! I don’t care if I’m 80 and in critical condition! Someone better bust out a bedpan and I.V and hook it up to my F4 formula race bed!

Theirs no right or wrong way to sleep but if you want to elevate your slumber game I suggest you try out one of these beds!

If you’re like me then music is pretty much constantly being played in your life. Whether your jamming in the car or singing ballads in the shower, it’s there! Personally, I know I can get a little too much when it comes to playing music. Like, if there isn’t a pair of headphones in my pocket when I leave the house then it’ll be a VERY basic day which is NOT THE MOVE! I wish I could say that this has been a part of my life since I was young but sadly that’s not true. My love for music actually started a little later in the timeline that is my life. When I was younger I lived in kind of a strict household where I couldn’t watch a lot of shows or listen to a lot of music. Since my parents were religious, I could only listen to mostly “Christian style” music. Scratch that ONLY Christian music. Like I didn’t even know that there were songs that existed that weren’t religious! I don’t want to seem like I hated it because there are a lot of Christian music out there that are actually really good! I just didn’t know about this whole other world out there with so many amazing and different songs in it. Finding out about this was such a big deal to me that I still remember the very first time I started listening to other kinds of music.

I just entered junior high school and my friends were trading iPod’s and listening to each other’s music. Despite not knowing a lot of songs I DID have an iPod but the only songs on it were worship music or the Veggie Tales. And if you don’t know what the Veggie Tales then I feel bad for you, but that’s a talk for another time. Once one of my friends heard what I had on mine he immediately and audibly would not allow me to continue living the way I was. He took my iPod home and put on at least a couple hundred songs by artist I’ve never even heard of at that point. I put my oddly durable but terrible quality apple ear phones in my ears, hit shuffle and immediately after I heard that first song I was HOOKED! I probably didn’t even take out those headphones until the next morning when I “had” to shower for “hygiene” reasons. From that moment the hunt for music began, I looked for new songs EVERYWHERE! I asked all the kids in my classes, shopping malls, grocery stores, I just couldn’t stop finding these ear gems! I even started buying a bunch of records without owning a record player! I know that wasn’t the best use of my allowance money but I couldn’t help it. As the years have gone by though I have calmed down a bit but the love still remains!

oh also of you want to know what the first song i heard was it was “Low” by Flo Rida. Which isn’t the most “musical” song and also very misogynistic but it was just enough to get me going!

I’ve always had a fascination for things in this crazy world of ours. What I’ve dishearteningly noticed though is that when I tell other people about my fascinations, they just sort of brush it off as if their “basic”. This has frustrated me my entire life! Like how can you not see how crazy some of things are! A good example of what I’m talking about is when I was young boy, maybe around 13 or 14 years old. I went to the mall with a few friends and while we were there we stopped in front of a store. This store was big and colorful and I don’t know how I’ve lived my life without knowing about this place. The store was called Build a Bear Workshop. Yes, I know what you’re thinking. “You don’t what build a bear workshop is?”  I don’t know how I didn’t know either because this place was MAGICAL! Once I walked in, this young teenager in an apron that seemed way to tired for a Thursday afternoon asked if we wanted to help make bears for their display. I was for a lack of better words HYPED! I look over to my friends and Immediately they were all like “meh” or “I’ve done that before.” I was straight up shooketh to my pre-pubescent core! Are you telling me you would give up the chance to create life itself! You would deny the joy of making a fur-ever friend that a small child will love and cherish for the rest of their small child life! Unacceptable! I’m guessing my friends felt my rage (maybe it was my yelling) and they un-enthusiastically agreed to build these bears and let me tell you what went down. First you get to pick your choice of bear but the crazy part is they did not just have bears! They had monkeys, dogs, bunnies, dinosaurs and even unicorns! A part of me wants to say false advertising since there were more non-bears then there were bears but I digress. After you pick your snuggle buddy you fill them up with THE SOFTEST stuffing a snuggle buddy deserves. Then the magic happens. Once their all stuffed up you get to put a small precious heart inside of them. BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE! You have the choice to record something on the heart that they will say when you squeeze them. Like are you kidding me! That is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever heard of! It’s probably the closest I’ve ever been to being a father, like I imagine it can’t be that far off. After that, we got to dress them up in the cutest drip and give them names. The saddest moment was when it was all said and done and I had to leave the bear there since we were only making displays for the store. My little man child heart broke walking away and id be lying if I said I didn’t think about my experience at this magical store to this day. To the tired teenager working at the Chinook mall build a bear, I thank you.

The first time I remember wearing a hat was when I was maybe 3 or 4 years old. I remember that it was a Winnie the pooh themed rabbit hat from Disney world. The hat had long thin bunny hears coming out of the top and big black rabbit eyes on the front of it. I would wear that hat all the time and hop around the house like a bunny, annoying my parents in the process. The next hat I remember wearing was when I moved to Australia in grade 2 and ended up at a private school with uniforms. The uniform came with a blue hat with long piece of fabric on the back which was meant to cover your neck from the sun. I would play outside at recess and imagine the back fabric was a cape and pretend to fly around the school yard. A few years later I’m still in Australia and in grade 8 when I see this hat in a mall laying in a bin under a sign that says clearance. The hat was half pink and half grey with the word’s Billabong on it and for some reason I just had to buy it. After the cashier gave it to me I didn’t even want the bag I just put the hat on immediately and wore it for the rest of the day. Depending on my mood I would wear it high, low, backwards or slightly tilted to the side (like a gangsta). I wore that hat pretty much every day until I moved back to Canada and lost it somewhere during the unpacking process. For the next few years after that I didn’t really wear much hats. I’m not sure if it’s because I really missed my old hat or that I just couldn’t find a hat that I felt represent me. I’m in high school at this point when a friend of mine buys a hat with a BOGO deal and got another hat for free. This hat wasn’t like the usual hat I would go for, it was limp and made of soft fabric. It was a dark blue beanie. Since my friend said he didn’t need another one he decided to give it to me. I ended up wearing this beanie all the time, it didn’t matter if it was summer or winter, I wore it. I began buying more beanies after that and gained a small collection. Time goes by and I end up graduating high school and got a retail job in the mall. This new retail job combined with my new-found hat buying phase became a problem right away. I would go to work to earn money but somehow come home with less money but more hats. If I am being honest though I don’t think I regret it at all. Hats have become a way I identify myself with and a way I can express myself. When I look at a hat I don’t just see fabric, I see memories, freedom, friendship and love. Also, I really think I have a big forehead and I like to cover it up.