Holy Mackerel!!!

"HOLY MACKEREL!!!"

That's what Bryce said when he asked a guy at Pike Market what he'd do if he had $1000, and the guy whipped out $1000 right there.

All the WeHigh students had interviewed folks at the Market, and they found quite a few juicy characters.

Then... back to the radio station on Thursday to work on:

-- celebrating HAT DAY! (Or, trying to. Some of us forgot hats, so it has been rescheduled to Monday. Props to Artur for his ice fishing/polar bear chasing hat. And Molly for looking like she had her Grandma's garden on her head - picture to come.)

-- editing sound. We learned Adobe Audition by editing THE SOUND OF IRENE'S VOICE reciting the lyrics to... yes... Michael Jackson's "Beat It." (Thank you, Beno, for appreciating my guitar solo. And no, folks, the cover will *NOT* be publicly released.)

-- editing the Pike Market voices. Thumbs up to Michelle for (smoothly) lacing ambient noise underneath, so the sound of the interviewee's voice doesn't cut off all of a sudd--

-- Lizzie also went out on the first job shadow. She went with Amy Radil to a city council meeting and learned quite a bit. Stay tuned for more news as more interns tag along with reporters/producers this summer. It's a really great way to see radio in action in the field!

Then, Mr. Friend assigned - *gasp!* - HOMEWORK. (Are we even allowed to use that word during summer?!) Interns are looking for sounds that mean something to them - e.g., water lapping against a deck reminding you of summers on a boat (Nathan's idea), the tinkle of the bell when you enter the ice cream shop where you had your first summer job. Ah, homework.... Hopefully no one is too traumatized.

NEXT WEEK: Keano arrives!

Pike Place was fun

Interesting people everywhere.
You guys wanted doodles so here ya go. Metro bus doodles are the best kind.

Radio High at the Market!

We finally went to Pike Market yesterday... and thank goodness it was sunny! After a quick how-to review on approaching strangers with a large microphone (and after a battery check), the WeHigh team was off and running!

Artur and Lizzie sped out of the gate first. Beno and Michelle carefully checked their levels. Molly and Bryce tagged around with me (okay, so I photo-stalked them, but that's the assistant managing editor's job).

Bryce got some great sound of singers outside Starbucks Coffee, grooving and belting out tunes like "Lean on Me."

Molly chased down two guys with their caps on backwards who tag-teamed when it came to conversing and finished each other's sentences. Lizzie found a man whose hat reminded him of the friend he'd just lost. Beno (who repeatedly refutes rumors of a dolphin tattoo) got some great tattoo buzzing noises. Artur tracked down a fellow with a cool black hat. And Michelle shaked and rattled some chains outside a fishmonger's stall and worked on her "audio postcard."

All in all - despite some sunburns - the day was a success!

Wandering the Ave in Headphones

Yesterday was all about STORYTELLING. Today was all about WRITING. Writing for RADIO, that is.

Or, as Nathan puts it, we're going to tear apart everything you've been taught about writing and send you back to school in ruins.

Just kidding!

Writing for radio, as we learned today, is about simplifying things. Breaking. Down. The Sentence.

Writing as if you were telling a story to a friend. Writing so it's easy to hear. Folks only hear things once on the radio. So you have once chance to be understood.

Long story short: Simple sentences. One idea per sentence. And write like you're telling someone a story. Not reciting the history of Rome.

Listened to some great audio from Weekday's Katy Sewall (e.g., a 3-year-old with ghoulish tastes, and an earful of the surgery room).

Then to the Ave, to practice using the kits. We lost Beno and Michelle in the bubble tea shop, and Bryce and Lizzie got trapped in the "Second Floor Netherworld"... but otherwise, no one lost yet! We'll save that adventure for tomorrow....

TOMORROW: Pike Market - collecting sound for our first voxpop!

Mr. T and the Bullies

We kicked off Weekday High yesterday with a bang! (Okay, more with muffins & poor Artur running in breathless after missing his bus stop, but you get the picture.) Here's our roster this year:

- Artur - Least Favorite Band: Jonas Brothers
- Beno - Favorite Sports Team: Need you ask? Seahawks!
- Molly - School Mascot: Kangaroos (boing boing!)
- Michelle - Fave Batman Villain: The Penguin
- Lizzie - School Paper She's Gonna Start: gonna be all about The Ravens
- Bryce - He ain't gonna rap. But his middle name is "Zane."
- Keano - [on a retreat... deep, deep in the mountains]
-... and your administrators: Nathan, Irene & Steve!

Nathan (aka Mr. Friend) put on his teacher voice and gave an overview on storytelling. We started off with the 7-part story, i.e., every story is pretty much made up of 7 lines:

-- 1- Once upon a time....
-- 2- And every day....
-- 3- Until one day....
-- 4- And because of this....
-- 5- And because of this....
-- 6- Until finally....
-- 7- And ever since that day....

Most stories follow this format. Fill in any fairy tale, and you get the picture. So... we came up with stories on a carrot, on the economy, and - yes, it's true - Mr. T saving a kid from a posse of bullies.

But yes, we've got a top notch A-Team this year, and we pity the fools who mess with them!

NEXT UP: Pike Place on Wednesday... the recording kits spring into action!