I think the interview show went well! It's kind of weird how dull the actual show is, compared to the frenetic activity of trying to get it ready. All I had to do was stand there, read off the flowsheet, and pop in the CDs. Since the whole thing is planned out in advance I didn't even bring all my CDs, just the ones I needed. Everything went smoothly, no flubs, and the interviewee's daughter-in-law called during the show to say how much she was enjoying it.
One thing I will do differently next time: say "uh-huh" much much less during the interview. I tried not to say it at the time, but when I listened to the raw audio it seemed like all I could hear was UH-HUH every five seconds. Fortunately I was able to edit almost all of them out. The trick will be to get the interview without saying "uh-huh" and without making the interviewee nervous. Because that verbal throat-clearing is so normal in ordinary conversation. Omit it and the interview sounds really weird while it's happening. A few months ago the Graedons interviewed me for their headache show, and I have to say the lack of verbal acknowledgement was disconcerting. They just sat there staring at me while I was talking, and I kept wondering if I was saying something wrong or what. It wasn't until I heard the raw audio from this show that I realized why. I'm going to have to think about how to put an interviewee at ease without any "uh-huhs."
Next Sunday Georg and I are doing a 4-hour program, from 2 to 6. We took advantage of the holiday break to grab the show after mine. And then the week after (Dec 7) is Sammy Davis Jr.'s birthday! I can't wait. I've been thinking about this show for months. I'm rereading the biography Black and White, and I'm going to try and finish Yes I Can! the "autobiography" my brother-in-law gave me. That way I'll have plenty to say during the show besides just "wow I love Sammy."
It's going to be hard to narrow the music down to just two hours. I like to plan these tribute shows out in advance so the playlist can follow a progression, rather than just being, you know, a bunch of songs I like.
Would it be practical to record your own voice on a separate channel so you can just drop it out in post-production whenever you aren't actually saying anything? My guess is, probably not without spending a lot of money on a recording studio.
true, I don't have access to that kind of equipment. The station has a handheld mic which works very well, but is low-end compared to what a commercial radio station would have. For the interviews with my dad we used Skype and I used Audio Hijack Pro to record the conversation. I could probably find software to separate the two sides of the conversation but it's just easier to train myself not to say "uh-huh" all the time.