More than words – The Voice of There

Hey Mr. DJ!

August 27, 2004

by ZachC

It was a quiet day, There was closed, it was raining, and I had been meaning to talk to There Radio owner Nep about djing for a radio station. I figured this was as good a time as any, so I sent him an IM.

Poor guy was lying down with a bad cold, but agreed to let me interview him for this article.

Zach : Why do people want to be DJ's?

Nep: Well, it goes anywhere from just wanting to express themselves through music, to wanting the potential popularity. Everyone has his or her own reasons

Zach : With all your experience, is there anything that stands out in your memory?

Nep: Must I only pick one? ROFL

OMG, so many people have passed through any of the stations that I've worked at over the past 2 1/2 years...

So many are just completely crazy, umm, I have had DJ's call me from Jail that they've gotten arrested, why they chose me as one of their phone calls I'll never know, and I've had those that are completely inappropriate on air *cough* name deleted to protect the guilty *cough* ROFL I honestly couldn't name names b/c there are so many

Zach : LOL

Nep: A lot of good memories

Zach : So saying someone wants to become a DJ, what are the steps?

Zach : Is there any special experience needed?

Zach : Is there any other criteria?

Nep: Experience is pretty unnecessary, many of my DJ's come in with no experience what-so-ever, we have a pretty extensive training process, the only criteria they have to meet really is they have to supply their own music, they have to have a high speed connection, and they have to play There.

The first step is to just apply. Then I look over your application, and see if you'd fit in our schedule. Next I contact you for training and we just go from there.

Zach : Speaking of schedule, what kind of schedule would a new dj expect? And how tightly should they expect to be held to it?

Nep: Well usually when a DJ comes in I like them to take 3 shifts, shifts are each 2 hour blocks that rotate on the even hour like 2, 4, 6 etc. They’re held pretty closely unless they arrange something with me before hand, like known absences and stuff. Usually when they come in they're on 2 weeks probation, meaning they can't miss more than 1 shift in that time period.

Zach : I C, what if something comes up in rl, and they can't make a shift?

Nep: Usually DJ's that know they'll be gone ahead of time take a call out. If they're in the probation period I usually try and work things out, but I do watch carefully... if its obvious they aren't trying, I remove them right away. RL happens, so we try to accommodate it as best we can.

I'm actually pretty lax when it comes to rules. I enforce them only when I feel like I need to step in, otherwise I let things run their course. Everyone is pretty mature for the most part and they all know what’s expected and what they need to do.

Zach: So let's say I have decided to be a dj, I sent in the ap, and you have reviewed and accepted it. Now it's time for training. What sort of training can I expect, without giving away any station secrets, of course.

Nep: LOL Well I set all the DJ's up with Winamp and our DSP, the DSP is what’s used to broadcast, and also some other files they'll need to DJ.

The training takes about 2 hours to complete if you have no prior experience, it usually takes about 30 minutes if you already know what your doing.

First we'd go in, set up the DSP so that all your information is ready for you to broadcast.

After your Winamp is all set up I would put you on the Test Server and make sure you're set up right. Then I would set up your station email, and your Request Line information

Next I send you over to Mari_J my station manager to mentor you. Thats the final step of training

Zach : ok, for those of us who haven't got a clue, what is a DSP?

Nep: It’s a plug-in that you install in Winamp, and it lets you Encode your music... pretty much in radio stations you can think of it as the antenna. The server is the satellite, and the listeners’ computers are the radios. The DSP is the first step to getting the music to you.

Zach : Speaking of radio stations, since yours is an internet radio station, are there any rules or regulations you are required to adhere to? Is there any regulatory body like the FCC is for regular stations?

Nep: No, internet broadcasting isn't regulated by the FCC because technically they're private broadcasts. Our call letters that I picked, KTHR aren't designated. I actually picked them. If I were actually registered with true call letters and an FM frequency, the station would be regulated.

As the front page at our web site says, we are uncensored. The DJ's can say and play whatever they want, pretty much.

At this point there wasn’t much left to tell, and Nep’s cold was getting the best of him so I let him off the hook. We can expect to see lots more of Nep and the crazy DJ’s from KTHR. The station is thriving, and is working closely with the Voice of There. Check them out at: http://www.kthr.net/