About nine months had passed since I went back to working overnights at KZZO in Clovis, NM. This was despite the fact that Jid the owner had told me that he was going to start having me work mid-days. That never happened and I never saw any evidence that it was ever going to happen. I was surprised at how quickly nine months had gone by and I was doing the exact same thing. I felt like I was stagnating.
One of the things you need to understand is that I loved my job when I was on the air. I had a good time and enjoyed being at work. But I hated everything that was going on when I wasn't at work. I didn't like my girlfriend, I didn't like my friends, I didn't like how I was just barely getting by on my meager income.
One night, I was at the laundromat. While I was waiting for my clothes to finish washing, I saw this older man standing around. He appeared to be in his 50s. All of a sudden, I felt like I was in a movie, in which I was peering into my future. I was concerned that I would still be here in Clovis 30 years later, doing my laundry and wondering what the heck had happened to my life. I knew then that I couldn't continue down this path.
When it was announced that Heid was leaving KZZO in Clovis, NM to move to the big-time in Dallas, I expected 100% to get back into the six to midnight shift. I was looking forward to having a regular social life and a normal sleep pattern again.
The Wednesday before Heid was to leave, I hadn't heard anything about what was going to happen the next week. I asked the Program Director about who was going to get Heid's shift. He said they had decided to give it to one of the part-timers. That part-timer worked full-time at the Air Force Base. I'll admit he was a good DJ, but he did not need a second full-time job. On top of that, he had a family, so unless they were in financial straits, he really had no reason to work that shift. I didn't blame him, but I was upset that the Program Director didn't even bother to discuss this with me before he made the decision.
I went home and I just started crying. It wasn't just the shift, but the combination of all the other issues. I didn't want to live in Clovis anymore. I called my Mom and told her that I wanted to quit my job. She said that she could arrange it so that I could go live with my uncle Ord and his family in Denver and try to get a radio job there or do something else.
I was able to get some sleep. I went into the station that afternoon. I went to my desk and put a memo triplicate into the typewriter and wrote my resignation. I actually wanted to terminate my employment that day, since they had so willingly terminated Tod and Daz's employment immediately upon receiving their two-week notices.
I handed the memo to the receptionist. The Program Director happened to be there at the time. The receptionist read the notice out loud and was shocked. She said, "We need to have a meeting about this right now." The three of us went into the General Manager's office.
The General Manager had recently been hired to replace Mr W after his silent partners had ousted him. At this point, Jid the owner no longer had any involvement in the day-to-day operations of the station. One thing was apparent about the new General Manager: He did not know how to operate a radio station, or at the very least, hadn't been involved in radio for about 15 or more years. I really did not have much respect for him.
I explained that the Program Director had informed me that I wasn't getting the six to midnight shift, so it appeared that my efforts weren't really being appreciated, and if that was the case, I didn't really need to be there. The General Manager responded, "And now you're coming to me, saying, 'Boo hoo hoo! My feelings are hurt!' Well, you don't know what we have planned for you. We're going to put you in a mid-day shift." "So starting Monday, I'm going to be working mid-days?" "I didn't say that. We won't be able to do that for about two months. So, give me two months and we'll have you working mid-days." After much discussion, I said, "Alright, I'll give you two months."
However, I knew that wasn't going to happen. I decided I was just going to work one more month and then move to Denver, regardless of whether they were going to let me work a better shift. I wasn't going to let another 10 months slip through my fingers. I started thinking about one of my favorite songs by REM, "(Don't Go Back to) Rockville." At this point, I could really identify with the closing line of the chorus "...and waste another year." As an adult, I found it was so easy to lose track of the passing of time. That song didn't mean the same to me when I was 19, but it spoke volumes just four years later.
That weekend, I loaded a few things out of my apartment into my car and drove to Artesia. I did this every weekend over the next three weeks. I went into the station and handed them a one week notice this time. I didn't get as much hassle. The General Manager did ask why I was still quitting. I told him I didn't see any indication that he was going to be able to fulfill his promise of a better shift. He didn't have any response to that.
When I had put in my original notice, it would have caused all types of upheaval because they had no one to replace me right away. Their only choice was Mr. W's "Boy Toy," who still worked weekends, but was absolutely terrible. In fact, when I turned in my resignation, they hired someone to replace me on overnights, but this new guy had no experience whatsoever. That really stunk, to know that I could just replaced by someone who didn't really know what he was doing. I actually considered that an insult to what I thought I had contributed to the station.
Another thing that ticked me off was the Program Director's initial attempt at trying to get me to stay. He said the overnight shift was a "righteous shift" that he would love to work. WHY ISN'T HE WORKING IT THEN? I guess the thing was that if I was allowed to do whatever I wanted with the shift, I might have been more inclined to stay. Considering how the other DJs played whatever the heck they wanted after Jid no longer had any direct involvement, I probably could have. I'm pretty certain I could have done a college-style radio program after midnight that catered to my musical tastes. (Even the student station at ENMU didn't have that kind of freedom.) I just didn't think of it at the time. But again, that would have been another reason for me to stay and that was something I really didn't want to do.
So, for my final shift, I actually did a college-style program. I played a lot of the new artists that were normally seen on MTV's "120 Minutes." I know it had to freak some people out to hear The Jesus and Mary Chain's "Kill Surf City" on our station. I only did this for the first couple of hours on my shift, then switched back to normal programming. I didn't think that sounded good after 2am. Since I was leaving at 6am, my final song on the station was Chicago's "If You Leave Me Now." Yeah, I know it's not "Welcome to the Jungle," but I like the line "...you take away the biggest part of me. Oooo, baby, please don't go" as if the station really didn't want me to leave like that.
I'm not done with KZZO yet on this blog. I still have a couple of stories to tell before my big move to Denver, but it's going to be all wrapped up within the next week.
No comments:
Post a Comment