On The Mic

A little over than 11 years ago, I worked for PAGCOR with the hopes that it will be able to support my other aspirations and passion. It’s a low stress, low reward, and decent paying job that only requires you to show up. I wanted to be a DJ because I thought I was good at it.  I had listened to Hill-Billy Willy, Koji Morales, Boom Gonzales, Gaucho, Louie D., Chico Garcia, Little David, The Mouth (Francis M. to the world) Sgt. Pepper and the Mole, thought to myself ‘that would be a sweet gig!’.

As the first (and still the only one, I think) Bulacan State University student to get into the Radio1 program of DWRX 93.1, the exposure gave me lots to be proud of, and a lot to prove. I was there everyday for over 10 months and began to pinch-hit for regular DJs.  I was 24 and I thought that time was running out, for some dumb reason… There are a lot of things running through my head which made me ripe for some bad decisions… or maybe I slept with the wrong person… or maybe I did not believe that I could do it despite the fact that I was already doing it… Or I thought my band Jobit Moya and the SP01s were gonna make it big. Although I did not fail at it, I did not push for it to know how far I’ll succeed.

The ‘push’ is the most important aspect in fulfilling your dream. There will be helping hands but nobody will hand you any free ride, it’s called reality. On my last day on-air I told people that I was going to move to Qatar from a half-baked offer from my sister. She then changed her mind and gave the opportunity to work there to our youngest sister instead. I didn’t really mind.  She, in turn, felt the need to justify her action by claiming, rather bluntly, saying “Mambababae ka lang dun!” (You’ll just womanize when you get there). Ouch! But then again, it’s funny that people easily confuse me as either a macho womanizer or an androgynous effeminate.

There is joy in speaking your mind on the mic and wrapping it with good music. We galvanize memories with (current) music playing in the background ,  a soundtrack of the moment. This is why the music we grew up with are the best, because of the associated memories foiling it fresh. Unless of course if you have a rough, beat up childhood but there’s early Pearl Jam for that. 

Despite liking what people say about how good I was, I never really liked my voice. I’d usually record radio shows I was in on casette tapes (Google what it is kids, or refer to Guardians of the Galaxy movie). I’d try to listen to it afterwards but I cringe at the sound of my voice. For me it sounds like a thick muffled voice that is not low enough.  

The on-air experience though, I thrive on that. I like how my mind is fast enough to pick on verbal details, verbal lobs and jabs, things that make conversations entertaining. The same things that make a radio show entertaining. So when I became a card dealer for PAGCOR, it was as far left field as from where I was trying to go.

To be continued…