Chris:
Persistence. We talk about it, but it always, does pay. Our guest today, literally called in to a radio station he was trying to get a job at, and said he was Eddie Vedder so he can get through the line. Join us on another episode of the Get Overit podcast.
Chris:
All right, everybody. Welcome back to the, Get Overit podcast. I am your host, Dr. Christopher Fasano. Before we begin, I just want to remind you, the best way to get new episodes on the Get Overit podcast is, to subscribe to your favorite podplay, whether that’s Apple podcast, iHeartRadio, wherever you can find a podcast, you can find the Get Overit podcast. If you prefer to watch a video format of the show, you can do so at YouTube. So on our YouTube channel, just subscribe. Also, leave us a review if you’re liking the content, and let us know how we can do better. All right. So our guest today on episode 20 is Jeff Morad. Jeff is the program director and on-air personality for Early EQX Jam ‘N Toast, on 102.7 EQX. He’s hailing out of Vermont. I believe I got it. Jeff, what up, man. Welcome to the podcast.
Jeff:
No wonder you’re a PhD, Dr Christopher, you nailed it fantastically.
Chris:
Did I do that well? Thank you. Go ahead, man. Welcome.
Jeff:
During that introduction and I appreciate it, and I’m honored to be a part of this great podcast with Overit. Love the company, love everything that you do there in Albany, but I was wondering what the heck does podcast stand for? What is pod? What’s a pod?
Chris:
I don’t know, actually, it’s a good question. And you’re the only person that’s ever asked that. And I’ve never really thought about that. So what are we casting? A pod. What is the pod? A pod? We know a podplayer, plays the podcast. So that implies that pod. Are we emerging out of something, after we have this-
Jeff:
We’re the peas in the pod? Is that what it is?
Chris:
I think so. Maybe that’s what it is. Maybe it’s two peas in a pod, a good conversation. Maybe that’s where it came from? That’s everybody’s homework out there. I want everybody to look up the definition of podcast. We’re going to get into it, but you’re always on the microphone. Are radio shows, inherently become podcasts? Do you have a podcast? Or are you sick of talking into a microphone at the end of your day?
Jeff:
Basically, I am sick of talking into a microphone at the end of the day. I host a podcast with our friends out at Indian Ladder Farms in Altamont, New York. So that’s a lot of fun. I do enjoy listening to podcasts, from time to time. And what I appreciate about yours is the length of it, because sometimes these podcasts are just… You got to drive across the country to listen to one.
Chris:
It’s true.
Jeff:
I love the content and I love the length of what you have going on, Dr Christopher.
Chris:
You know what’s really funny? People that are really into podcasts, they’ll listen to the podcast on 2X speed or 2.5X speed, to your point of just trying to consume as much as possible. And listen to podcasts, but I much prefer to be on this side of the podcast and doing it, rather than actually sitting and listen to a show, if that’s at all ironic. I don’t know. But I tried listening to a show on 2X, and then I listened to myself on 2X and it’s not comfortable. I don’t like it. I feel like I’m doing someone wrong. That’s not how you sound. I feel like it takes away a little bit of the human element. I don’t know, man. It’s weird.
Jeff:
It’s dizzying and anybody that’s listening to this one right now, go ahead and go with the 2.5X Speed on it and just see how ridiculously fast it is. It’s an unbelievable, difficult thing to follow. And I don’t think you’re going to enjoy it. So stop right now.
Chris:
Well, I think it speaks to the time that we’re in and humans insatiable desire to want to get things so fast. And so I don’t know, man, this would be a good segue to your industry, to where you are. How does that affect radio? Because, radio is still unique in that, I can’t really control it. I turn it on and it’s there. And I know certain things, like the type of music and I know you’re on at a certain time, but I don’t know what happens with the songs. And I have a nine year old. To him, that concept, dude, is far in as hell. Like, wait, I can’t go back? So talk to me about that as you’ve been in the industry. And has it affected something, you still see a desire for that?
Jeff:
There’s so much there, so let’s start off with what the point was about. As society, we want things, right now.
Chris:
Yes, correct.
Jeff:
What’s next? What’s happening? What’s the thing? Over the course of… I’ve been at EQX now for about 15 years, as program director about eight years. And let’s just talk about those eight years as the program director, because that’s the position where you really are hands on with choosing the music that hits the airwaves and things of that nature. So, eight years ago, when I took over, a song would be considered burned out at about, 1500 spins. People didn’t want to hear it anymore. That’s when you start to get complaints, “You guys play this song all the time, stop playing it.” So that was 1500. The number on that. Today, that number is 300.
Chris:
Really?
Jeff:
So if we play a song 300 times, so that’s how much things have gone to what’s next and sick of this, give me something else. And you figure, we don’t subscribe to Nielsen ratings or anything here. We like to stay truly, independent. So I can’t quote numbers on things, but I think people still listen to the radio about 10 minutes a day. So if you listen to the radio 10 minutes a day, and we only play a song 300 times over the course of, that’s maybe a couple of months, a song will run and it’ll take us a couple of months to get to 300. You’ve maybe heard the song once or twice, and then we’re sick of it.
Jeff:
We’re onto what’s next. And I think that has a lot to do with YouTube, Spotify, all of the outlets that are there, for people to listen to music and that ability to click next or go back, to control it. I think the advantage that we have as an FM broadcaster, as a radio station, is the uniqueness of the shared experience. If you’re listening to Spotify or YouTube, the person in the car behind you isn’t having the same experience. They’re not hearing the same guests. They’re not hearing the same song at the same time. So there’s a lot to be said in society, I think about shared experiences. And that’s what radio gives to people is, collectively enjoying it.
Chris:
Dude, that’s actually some deep stuff. I never really thought about it like that, from a connection, an emotional connective level, which I feel like we lack a lot nowadays. Especially through pandemic times, we’ve retreated and went to our own situations. And you’re right, if you’re on a highway and there’s 50 cars, the odds of you guys… How many people are listening to that same thing, nowadays? Probably not a lot. Right. That’s pretty low. Back in the day, I could say that now, I feel like that’s a real old thing to say. Back in my day, you probably would have a lot more cars listening to the same thing, because your options were limited. But it’s not like you guys don’t satisfy the new era, correct? You’re streaming, you’re putting your stuff, like you said, I imagine that I can go on your site and find songs you play, stream it. Is that right? You guys adapt.
Jeff:
Absolutely. Yeah. We have a free app that’s available for all the devices. We’ve streamed through our website, weqx.com. We have our own Spotify playlist that we put out there. So if you don’t want to hear my annoying banter in between songs, you just want to discover new music, there’s the EQX New Music Playlist, our top 1027 countdown for, however many years Spotifys existed, 21 and back. Those are all up there. So we try and we’re fans of music. So we want to use our time spent, listening to it, and finding new artists and great songs and sharing those with everybody on as many platforms as possible. So 50,000 Watts, the FM signal, that’s a great way to get it out to the four states that we do. But if you can have us in your phone and download it on a Spotify playlist when you’re flying or anything like that, that’s cool. That’s a cool way to go, I think.
Chris:
But people do like the banter as well, which is why you have some shows that are talk more than… I should say more talk than just in between, if I’m just tuning to listen to music. So, from a programming perspective, how do you balance that? Because there’s some people that are like, “Dude, I don’t want hear you talk. I just want to hear music.” And then there’s people who are like, “No, I find these people to be very interesting in what they have to say. So I tune in for that as well.” So what’s the balance there? I imagine you’d listen to what people say, but talk to me a little bit about how you balance that, as someone who’s in that game.
Jeff:
Being local and independent, we try and focus solely on that, with music being the star of the show. So the advantage that we have over any of the other places where people can listen to and discover music, we are local, we’re right here in this Victorian, house in Manchester, Vermont. So we focus on local businesses and getting the great word out about all hard work and incredible products that they put out. And then, the crazy little wacky stories that tend to happen in upstate New York and Southern Vermont and the Berkshires and that kind of thing.
Jeff:
And so, we keep it quick in between the songs. We, on average, play about 14 songs an hour, which is quite a bit for a FM commercial radio station. So, just real quick hits in between, just trying to stay topical, local, fun and informative, especially when it comes to the music. Because a lot of the stuff we play is unfamiliar with 90% of the listeners. So just like when we first hear a band and one be educated about them, we try and pass that along. So, we’ll Wiki the band for you. You don’t have to do it yourself.
Chris:
Cool. So you just mentioned you’re in a Victorian house, in your studio, in Vermont. And so, that’s where you are currently. I want to go back, time machine us back, and take me through how you got to where you are in that building today, how you got into this game. I’m always fascinated to learn about how someone entered into where they are, in terms of their profession or career. So why don’t we start there, man? Was it a music drive? Tell me a little bit about what drew you to what you’re doing now.
Jeff:
Absolutely. And through every step of the process that ends up with me here at EQX, basically, I just lied, cheated and stealed my way into every single position.
Chris:
That’s about right.
Jeff:
Okay. So it was a love of music. Honestly, my first memory is driving to church with my parents and hearing Stevie Wonder on the radio. And I was like, “Music. Music is pretty freaking cool man.” And my parents were big fans, always taking us to concerts and things of that nature. So I couldn’t be without music. And in college, I remember sitting on my apartment room floor, listening to the college radio station and I was a business logistics major at the time, completely uninterested in that. So I decided this-
Chris:
The logistics, that’s interesting in itself right there.
Jeff:
Today I would be paying the bills with that degree. I’d be doing real well. Supply chain, this and that.
Chris:
You’re right. That’s right, man. Oh my God. That’s right.
Jeff:
But no, instead, my love of music, maybe pick up the phone, call the DJ at the radio station. I was like, “How do you get on the air?” And they said, “Well, we have a meeting Tuesday morning at 9:00 AM or whatever, come to that.” So this was actually a college that I was not attending. I was at Penn State and this was Gannon University’s radio station in Erie, Pennsylvania. And so I went onto the campus, went into the meeting. They said, “We have an open shift.” I raised my hand. I took that shift. They never asked if I was a student or anything. I think they were just desperate to have someone.
Chris:
They were like, “Yeah dude, come on in.”
Jeff:
No one wants to work the 6:00 AM shift. But as a natural early bird kind of person, I was like, “I’ll take the six to 9:00 AM shift.” So I did that-
Chris:
And you’ve never done this before. You’re not-
Jeff:
Never done it before.
Chris:
You never were behind the boards or never, ever whatever, they didn’t care. They just put you in the chair and that was it.
Jeff:
That’s it. Yep. And it speaks volumes for learning hands-on. When you’re live, on the radio and things are about to go real bad. You look earn quickly, how to not make them go bad.
Chris:
Oh man.
Jeff:
And so I’m doing that. And a buddy of mine asked me at the end of the semester, if I wanted to go hang out the summer at his parents’ beach house in Cape Cod. I said, “Abso-freaking-lutely I want to do that.”
Chris:
Of course. Definitely.
Jeff:
So I did that and I’m thinking to myself, maybe this is something I want to pursue. I’m having fun. I miss being on the radio over summer here. So I start applying to local radio stations on Cape Cod.
Chris:
So, you’re from this area though, correct? You’re born and raised-
Jeff:
I’m from Western Pennsylvania.
Chris:
You’re from Western PA, okay.
Jeff:
Bor and raised, here in Pennsylvania. Yeah. So I’m on Cape Cod and I put together this tape, as I think most from my generation did, dual cassette tapes.
Chris:
Yep.
Jeff:
You splice together your air check, your air check is your resume in radio. So I put together a little tape, I send it off to the radio stations. They’re not getting back to me. The end of the summer’s coming. I’m going to have to go back to school. This sucks. So I called the radio station and I told the receptionist that I was Eddie Vedder, calling in for an on-air interview.
Chris:
Really?
Jeff:
So, she puts me through to the program director. He appreciated the lie and gave me an overnight shift or whatever. So now I’m getting paid to do radio, F college. I’m not going back to college. I stay at his parents’ beach house. They don’t even know that I’m continuing to stay there through the winter. It’s not winterized. That turns into five years on the Cape, working at a rock station.
Chris:
Not at this house though. You didn’t stay in the house for five years. Tell me-
Jeff:
No, no. Eventually-
Chris:
Because I was going to be like, dude, that’s excellent. If you just-
Jeff:
That would have been great, but no, I bounced all over the Cape. For five years, I was there. Then, I went to go visit a buddy, and now I’m starting to realize if I go to visit a buddy somewhere, I end up moving there because I went to go visit a friend in Denver. On the flight back, I’m reserving the U-Haul making the plans to move out there. I move out without a gig. I end up running into an old college friend at a bar, who works at a radio station. I get my foot in the door there.
Chris:
Yeah, but wait, wait, why did you just bail? You had a gig. So you were in the Cape. You had this gig, you were there, and then you’re out. What’s up?
Jeff:
Have you ever been to Cape Cod, in the winter?
Chris:
I have not, but I would know this area enough to know, it’s probably not a lot going on over there.
Jeff:
There’s nothing. I think it’s a 70 mile stretch. It’s your arm. There’s 70 miles there. There’s one bar that’s open, in the winter. So that after five winners, a young single dude, I couldn’t take it anymore. The bright lights, big city of Denver. That’s where I’m going. So I get hired there. I’m working overnights at a Jamming Oldies station, which, way more awesome than I ever would’ve expected it to be. I hang out in the morning, trying to learn stuff from the legendary morning show host. He ends up bringing me on as his executive producer. And I turned into a character on that Fart Friday thing, I call, all those Morning Zoo, radio shows.
Chris:
Now, what was this station? What was this? Where was this? This was in Denver?
Jeff:
In Denver, yeah.
Chris:
Okay.
Jeff:
Yeah, it was called Jamming 92.5, Jamming Oldies R&B.
Chris:
All right.
Jeff:
Really fun stuff. I end up a big character on their morning show. This was for CBS, now. They were CBS broadcasting at the time, probably iHeart now, and the radio station down the hall is a Top 40 station and they want to steal me from the Jamming Oldies station. So that was simple. They offered a ton more money and I went to work there. So now I’m working for a Top 40 Morning Zoo radio show that plays maybe, one song over a four hour shift. And after a few years of doing that, it really clicked in my head, money doesn’t matter. I got into radio because of my love of music. And here, I’m making an ass out of myself on the radio for a paycheck and not enjoying that.
Chris:
But why, though? What were they doing, man? They wanted you to just, be the show, they wanted you? Is that why there was just one song? It’s just you there, talking and schticking?
Jeff:
That’s all we did. We read stupid emails from soccer moms about, “Oh, I have to go to this dinner party and I don’t know what”, it was ridiculous. It wasn’t my lifestyle at all. And I was the man out on the street thing, doing the jackass stunts and stuff like that.
Chris:
So you’re faced with that, that people get, which is, okay, I got to a good place. I got some money coming in, but this is not at all, what I like to be doing. Which is a common question and a common occurrence in life. And so a lot of people have to then say to themselves, I’m doing this mainly for the money. And is it satisfying enough, the dollar, for me to continue? Or do I follow what I originally got into this for? Which is a key, that happens a lot. And people rarely go with the thing that drives them. And it’s completely understandable why you don’t, it’s scary. So you did that. Was it any thought at all? Or you were like, “Screw it. I’m out of here.” Were you really thoughtful about it or you’re like, “I can’t do it. It’s just not me.”
Jeff:
You know how my boss at CBS and Denver found out about it? I didn’t show up to work for three days. So they drove by my house and found me loading up the U-Haul.
Chris:
So you were just out, you were out.
Jeff:
I was out, man. And like the dick that I was, I didn’t tell them. There’s a lot of regrets that I have.
Chris:
Right.
Jeff:
But not really, because I’ve taken care of me, very selfish, for sure. But what’s important is that, you get to a place in your life where you’re happy, so that you can make other people happy. And at that time, I’m blaming the job. I’m blaming the company. I’m blaming my wife, at that time. Everything’s miserable. And it has nothing to do with me, is what I was thinking.
Chris:
Right.
Jeff:
Well, you turn around and look at that now, and no, I was making everything miserable because I wasn’t happy. And you can’t make the people around you happy unless you’re happy. So, loaded up the U-Haul and came to this area because EQX… I don’t know, outside of the radio world, because I’ve never lived out. But inside the radio world, EQX is very well known, very well respected for, still to this day, being independent. We’re one of two, independent alternative stations left in the country and Brooks Brown, the gentleman that established this place was just really hard about remaining independent. He was brutal.
Chris:
And did you have conversations with them before you bailed? Or you just went with the whole-
Jeff:
No.
Chris:
Okay.
Jeff:
Yep. Just like I did previously. You go there and then you make it happen. If there’s a will, there’s a way, right. There’s no way I’m ever going to take no for an answer. So I moved to, well… It’s funny. I looked at a map when I was in Denver, and I was like, “Oh, Lake George looks like it’s pretty close to Manchester, Vermont. I would like to live at a lake.” So, did that, and it’s not that far. Everything in this area, the country is about 45 minute hour drive anyway. So it wasn’t bad. So I’m trying to get hired here, at EQX, living in Lake George. I took a job at the Sagamore Resort.
Chris:
Beautiful.
Jeff:
And so, I’m coming from this big, popular position in Denver, very well known everywhere. I would go to being a bellhop at the Sagamore, taking care of all those rich people who spit on you and it’s ridiculous. But the crew there, was super fun. You ever work in hospitality?
Chris:
Oh, man.
Jeff:
It’s a blast. Have you done that, Christopher?
Chris:
I bused tables for a while. I’ve been a part of wait staff. So I lived down in Florida, in Miami, and I was trying to figure out… I was DJing as well. And I was trying to figure out what I was going to do. And I picked up hours and it was tourist place. So super crowded. So it is not… You’re taking incoming man. But like you said, you find whatever in your crew and your team that you work with, because they’re going through the same stuff, they’re going through the same battle.
Jeff:
Yeah. So it was an absolute blast as I continued to try and get employed here. Finally got my foot in the door, doing some overnight and fill-in shifts or whatever. The radio station came upon hard times, they had to lay off all the part-timers. So I’m back at the Sagamore. And then I got the call, “We need a new morning show host, are you available?” And I’ve been hosting the morning show for nearly the last 15 years, now.
Chris:
Did you have to tell them that you were Eddie Vedder, to get in your first thing this time? Or no, you were good?
Jeff:
And maybe that’s why I’m here and maybe here for the rest of my life, because this is the one gig that I didn’t lie my way into. So that’s cool.
Chris:
That’s great, man. But you see, persistence, you see that, business logistics, man. You just got up and left. You got in the truck and the car and you were out, and that’s an extreme and people will hear that and be like, “Wow, how can one, do that?” I hear this. People talk to me a lot about that. They’re like, “Chris, it’s not that easy. It’s not that easy.” No, of course it’s not that easy. Nothing’s easy in the grand scheme of things. And I don’t know your situation at the time, man. If you ever had a family or what’s going on, but that compounds everything. But I think too, in this pandemic, what I’ve learned really, is that you don’t really have as much time as it feels like. And I know it’s corny, but it’s really true. Actually, how many weeks until the average person lives, it’s not a lot of weeks, dude. So you really have to ask yourself, what means the most to you? And what’s going to be the most fulfilling in that time and go, just go for it.
Jeff:
Yeah. I’m really glad. That’s great point, Chris, that is so true, man. And people need to be reminded of that as often as possible, because you don’t get a second chance at this. It goes by quickly, and now you’re going to have me obsessed with how many weeks we’re actually on the average, alive.
Chris:
Dude, my brother did that to me the other day. He was like, “I want you to do something for me. Tell me in your mind”, I’m not going to say it. I want everybody to do it. The average length that a human lives. And then how many weeks that is, it is shockingly low. The number you’re thinking, is not even close to what it actually is. Go do it. And if that doesn’t kick you in the ass, I don’t know what does. But again, it’s never that simple, but sometimes at its most pure part, it is, because in the end, we’re just humans that thrive on emotion.
Chris:
And if you’re not feeling emotionally good, like you said before, everything else around you can just go to crap. And then really, you’re contaminating everything else, in this world of contamination that we’re dealing with. Two things I want to talk to you about before we don’t have enough time today, is this concept of independent. You talked about that. For me more and for everybody, explain the difference. When you guys are saying, “We’re truly independent as a radio show.” what does that mean? And why is it so hard to come by?
Jeff:
The owner of the radio station, Mimi Brown, Brooks passed away seven or eight years ago or so, his wife, Mimi, continues to run the radio station. I’m pounding my foot on the floor, she’s in the office right below it. So that’s the president, the GM, the owner of the radio station is right there. We have very low overhead because we have very few employees. So we all take out the trash, we all shovel. We do everything that needs to be done in order to keep the bills down so that there’s not a lot of money to be made in radio. But we earn a living. We keep the lights on. We pay the FCC bill. So independent means, we don’t answer to anybody except for Mimi downstairs and our listeners. And as long as Mimi and our listeners are happy, we can continue to do whatever we want. Radio stations that are owned by corporations, they don’t listen to music. I’m going to burst the bubble of everybody, here. You listen to your favorite corporate radio station. They look at charts.
Chris:
Yep.
Jeff:
Because that’s what matters to them. They subscribe to Nielsen ratings. They need to have those numbers high.
Chris:
So whatever does that, is what they are going to be pushing, right?
Jeff:
Yes.
Chris:
Yeah.
Jeff:
Yes. And so, we don’t care if a song never makes it onto the chart. Obviously, we would love that for the artist. But if we like the song, we go right into the studio and put it on the air that affords us the opportunity to fall into the good graces of many artists. Because they’re like, “Holy shit, there’s a radio station in Manchester, Vermont that’s playing us?” And then, it’s the Albany market. And then that gives them somewhere to go tour, and they get up on the stage and fans are singing back their lyrics to them, maybe on the other side of the planet. And that’s the of power of independent radio, right there. And of course, [crosstalk 00:25:31], go ahead.
Chris:
So you finish, and then I got it. Go ahead.
Jeff:
And of course, that happens for major artists. They get their airplay on corporate radio stations and sell out arenas and things like that. But we like it a little smaller, we like Empire Live. We like the hollow. Do we hate Spack? Hell no. But our artists tend to be more of those, they draw 100, 200, maybe 500 fans to a show. Because, McDonald’s sells billions and billions of burgers, and a great restaurant will sell a couple of burgers. The better burger is always better, but it’s not the most popular.
Chris:
So I imagine then, for you, as someone that gets to have that say and that license to procure and take and, this is what we want to play. This is what we’re going to put on. Being in a situation like that, of independent, gives you that license much more, obviously. Because you wouldn’t have that sort of freedom and the ability to sit and really think, because it’s purely driven by numbers that are out of your control. Even if you want to do that. So I imagine for you, again, coming back to this core of what you do, who you are, this is the perfect setting for you, because you get to really explore your passion still, without someone being like, “Nah.” You answer to people, but not in that way, a very different way.
Jeff:
Right. Exactly right Chris, and another great thing about being independent. I talked to a friend who runs a radio station in a major metropolitan area. And this was when the new Jack White song came, and it’s an alternative radio station. So to me it seemed like a no brainer. I said, “How’s the Jack White song doing?” And she said, “Well, we’re not playing the new Jack White song.” I said, “Why? Do you not like it, what’s the deal.” She said, “No, Jack White hasn’t played city X.” So there’s a lot of politics involved.
Chris:
Mm.
Jeff:
And we don’t play that game, whatsoever. To not play a core artist of alternative radio out of, “Well, he’s not playing our city.” That’s just foolish, man.
Chris:
Right. Really? That’s why we’re not going to put it on. Right. Is it good, or not?
Jeff:
So that entire city doesn’t get to hear the wonderful sounds of Jack White, because of politics.
Chris:
Talk to me about the pandemic and radio. We talk about this a lot on the show. We work with a lot of different businesses, so it has affected industries, clearly, service. We talked about service, clearly got annihilated and it was terrible. Radio, you’re still there, right? You’re there, in that booth. I wonder what that first couple months was like. And then once you sorted it out, nothing really changed for you guys really, did it? And I imagine people tuned in, maybe more that more there more people were home. What did you see? Talk to me about that.
Jeff:
Yeah. You’re smart. You hit all the nails on the head, there, Chris. We did freak out at first, because we’re such fans of music, live music, concerts, events, was 95% of our business. And so, that’s gone. Thankfully, with Joy. I want to give Joy a shout out. She’s the midday host. She immediately recognized small, local businesses are going to need to get their word out. When are they open? Are they open? What specials are they doing? That kind of thing. So we reached out to all of those. Those local companies saw great success with it. They kept coming back. I want more advertising. They would tell their friends that own businesses, this is really working for us. So that quickly, filled the void of the concerts and live events. As far as… Yes, a lot more people were listening and we realized, we’re members of this community.
Jeff:
We see people out all the time. People are scared about this. People are confused by this. There’s a lot of misinformation. There’s a lot of information, it’s tough to weed through it. So a shout out to Keller, who’s our afternoon host, here. He said something that still sticks with me now, right in the beginning, he said, “It’s all about tone. We have to have the proper tone on the air. We can’t freak out one way or the other about things. We have to deliver a soothing message of hope and fun and things of that nature, when appropriate.” And so, that was what we went with. And that worked, because we’ve received lots of loving and caring messages from listeners who say we helped carry them through.
Chris:
Yeah. Got you through a really crappy, one of the worst times in our history. I was telling my son during this, “I know you can’t comprehend this right now, but when you’re older and this, what we’re going through and what we’re living through, this is going to be talked about, I hope.” Another one of these one in 100 year, 50, or however long gaps, maybe once in our lifetime, events. And this is going to be something that is going to be looked back on, as one of the most awful periods.
Chris:
And I’m in the mental health field. I host a mental health podcast. People are not doing well, still. And we’re looking for anything, to your point, the tone is so great because there’s a lot of hysterics, a lot of counting tickers and cases and numbers and death counts. And it’s crazy. You want to feel good, man. You want to look for it. And through this venue that we’re doing through radio, through that… Bring it back full circle to the beginning, it allows you to connect. And I think that’s why probably, people tuned in more. They wanted to connect with something.
Jeff:
Yeah. Hey Chris, props to you. I know this has been a very difficult time to be a parent. I don’t have children. So I feel like, I’m half as stressed as everyone else, because I know everything you parents and teachers and the kids themselves, are going through. And also, thank you very much for your work in the mental healthcare field. Couldn’t be more important than it is right now. Always been important, and always will be. But right now, people are hurting. And that’s another thing that we decided to do here at the radio station with the drug overdoses and the mental health issues and everything that people seem to want to sweep under the carpet. We started a one hour show, that’s on every Thursday night called Clean Jams, and it focuses on addiction, recovery, mental health, opioid, all of that stuff. So anyone that’s listening to this podcast, Clean Jams, Thursday nights, 11:00 to midnight, and you can also listen to, there’s about 51 episodes of it now, you can listen @cleanjams.com. It’s helping a lot of people because-
Chris:
That’s awesome, man. And again, because I feel like people are tuning in because they want to connect. And then, if you’re able to give them that, in that feeling, I think that’s super helpful. And the positive in all of the negative has been that, there has been this incredible spotlight been put on mental health. I’ve never seen that before. It’s typically been, “We know people are depressed or whatever.” Now it’s, we know it, it’s bad and there’s a lot of money going into it now, of course, into making therapy more available.
Chris:
I hope that in this bad, that is this rise of mental health problems, is this renewed feeling that, you know what, my mental health is just as important as my physical health. So if I’m going to the gym or if I’m running on the treadmill, I need to work out my mind as well. Last few minutes. One thing that people love to do, that really helps them and gives them something is, you mentioned live music, it got crushed. Live venues in itself. How has it been? Have you seen it come back? Where are we in that world of live venue, live music? Do you think it’ll ever get back to where it was?
Jeff:
Yeah, absolutely. I know it’s going to get back. I’m not going to say when that’s going to happen, because I’ve already guessed wrong about 18 times, once a month or more. But thankfully the technology has existed and people who know a lot about technology stepped right up to bat for all of us live music fans with these online concerts and things of that nature. A shout out to local musicians, Jocelyn and Chris, who do an insane amount of on online entertainment and incorporate their fans in. And that’s neat, because there always is something good that comes out of something bad. I hate at concerts, people talking and the fact that I can’t talk to my friends, but when you’re streaming, who cares if you’re talking to your [inaudible 00:34:18] or whatever. And then you’re also able to have little side chats and stuff and messages and stuff of that.
Jeff:
So it’s been fun. There’s nothing like being in a venue, sweaty, packed, rock and roll, with family, friends and even strangers. But we will get back to that. And I’ve been to some shows, and I feel like this area of the country, fantastic at being masked up and being as safe as possible and being understanding about restrictions. And one thing that I have noticed, I’m sure you have too, Chris, and everyone listening, we have become so used to the word canceled. Not only because it cancel culture, but-
Chris:
I know.
Jeff:
I’ve never seen so many concerts and events, be canceled.
Chris:
It’s almost expected. You would never do that in my day. Where, dude, I’m going to this show. Never would you be like, “I hope it doesn’t get canceled. What are we going to do to if it gets canceled?” You never really thought about that, because if it happened, it’d be so bizarre. Wait, is that person… Are they right? Now it’s just like expected as part of the calculus. Well, it’s probably going to be canceled.
Jeff:
Yeah. So if anything, another positive that’ll come out of this. We all, are very capable of making last minute adjustments, now. We’re like, “Yeah, okay, cool.”
Chris:
This is true. Maybe, be a little more nimble. Shout out to the great state of Vermont. I am from New York originally, downstate. I moved upstate about, well now 10 years. And growing up, even from downstate, I always visited Vermont. There’s something about… Vermont and Maine to me, there’s states that have a feel. I can’t describe it, but there’s just something about Vermont, that is so… I don’t know. You can feel it. It’s a beautiful place. You’re outside a lot. It’s just a really beautiful place. I imagine you feel that way, you’ve been there. I’ve already been there, this winter. It’s great.
Jeff:
I crossed the border back and forth between New York and Vermont all the time. And I love cities. I love upstate New York. It’s absolutely beautiful. But there is something that you can’t describe when you come back over that, it’s different there.
Chris:
I don’t know what it is. I know. So if anyone’s listening, you guys who are hearing this over here, I’m sure you’ve been to Vermont. If you haven’t, go. And you could pick any time of year, too, Winter, it’s beautiful. Fall, it’s fall in Vermont. Come on, right. Spring, Summer, it’s one of those full season… it’s cold, but in that cold, there’s a whole hell of a lot to do. And it’s beautiful. So Vermont is one of my most favorite-
Jeff:
Just avoid mud season that, as soon as the snows melt there’s the-
Chris:
You get that slide-
Jeff:
You don’t want to come then. But come to our radio station, 161 Elm street in Manchester, Vermont, we love to show this place to people and give tours. Absolutely. We are open door. We love being a part of the community and showing everyone behind the scenes.
Chris:
So Jeff, give them the website where they can go to learn about the station if they want to stream, where can they go find it?
Jeff:
Weqx.com is the website and our app. You just search for it in the app store or Google play. WEQX free to download, listen to 24/7. I’m on, 6:00 to 10:00 AM, Monday through Friday and Jam ‘N Toast, Thursday night, 9:00 to 11:00, Saturday morning, 9:00 to 11:00. Love to have you listen in and let us know your feedback about the station. We want to make it yours.
Chris:
You did that so well, you should be in radio. Ha ha ha, Jeff.
Jeff:
Hey, I really want to applaud you. You are a fantastic host of this podcast here, man.
Chris:
Thanks, man.
Jeff:
You were born to do this. You’re really good.
Chris:
Thanks, man. I appreciate that. Podcasting is weird because you’re talking into a microphone and you have no idea, and I’m talking to you and I have no idea who’s going to tune in and listen, but it has given me the ability to meet people like you and talk to people and mental health, give me a forum to talk about something that I find to be very important. So what’s better than that, man. So Jeff, I appreciate it, man. Thank you for doing this, and special shout out to Overt studios who puts this together, produces the show. Overtstudios.com for anyone that’s local, they want to learn how they could do this or get out, do some content, go there and check it out. Thanks to the audience and Jeff, man. I really appreciate it. Have a great day.