So you want to become a radio DJ …

As a DJ, one of the most common questions I get is,” What does it take to do a show?” It’s an interesting question because there are two different types of requirements to get the thing done.

The first set of requirements is purely personal. You must be able to talk to yourself comfortably. You can’t be afraid of a microphone and you must have an abiding interest in what you’re talking about.

When you’re doing a show, you are talking to people you can’t see. Heck, you aren’t even sure that there’s anyone listening. And you must be OK with that.

It’s likely that any sort of validation for what you’re doing will be slow to come, if it comes at all. You have to want to entertain, but you need to be OK with no live audience. In the moment, it’s just you and a microphone, and the only thing you hear is yourself in the headphones.

Can you say something funny and be OK with the response of total silence? Can you ask a question for which you’ll never hear an answer?

It also helps to know what you’re going to say in advance. Or at least to have a general idea. You want to avoid long pauses and linguistic fillers like “uh” and “um,” (yes, I know, I’m sometimes guilty of this on my show!) though you can edit some of this out while building the program.

As part of this personal ability, you need material. You have either to have a musical theme (at least a genre idea), or a talk show topic that you feel passionate about and that is engaging to others.

This requires some thought because, in the case of local public radio, you need to have a different slant on your topic or new material each week. No one wants to hear the exact same show repeatedly.

The second set of requirements is the physical; the equipment involved. At the basic level, these things are not hard to come by.

You will need access to a computer and access to the internet. While it is technically possible to build your show on your phone alone, there are good reasons not to do this for most shows, as we shall see.

The computer needs to be able to handle sound files (virtually all of them do) and you will need at least a microphone and headphones that you can connect to the computer. Some DJ’s (like yours truly) prefer headsets with both headphones and an integrated mic built into it.

Your computer will have to run at least two pieces of software: an app that can record mp3 files, and aggregate those files into a finished show, and the application from which the radio station broadcasts.

At KRYZ, most on-air talent (because we operate on a budget absque pecunia) use the free application “Audacity” to build the actual show. KRYZ does the actual broadcast from another (not so free) application, which is called AirTime (and which does not run on a phone — first reason not to use your phone!), so you’ll upload your show to AirTime eventually.

If you’re planning a talk show, and you have your topic, you’re good to go. It would probably be good to use an outline or barebones script, at least at first. And a guest speaker from time to time is always good.

Start Audacity, open an audio track and chat away. Audacity is easy to download and very easy to use. It also provides a top-down view of your show as you create it.

Most phone applications just don’t have the monitor space to be able to do this. It also allows the user to move tracks around within the show, which is difficult on phone platforms.

While Audacity is pretty intuitive, virtually any of KRYZ’s on-air talent would be glad to help you get started.

If you’re planning a music show, you need music. You’ll need to choose a genre (or at least a musical theme). The station has thousands of songs in our library and once your show concept is accepted, you’re free to use those songs.

Having said that, most of the music DJs on KRYZ rely on our own music collections primarily since our shows are specific to our musical taste. The great thing about public radio is that we’re not bound to a specific genre or type.

As long as we don’t violate FCC (or KRYZ content committee) rules, we can play, and say, whatever we choose. And KRYZ has licensing agreements in place for pretty much any music legally obtained.

Each DJ or host has their own way of doing a show. Some talk more; some talk less. Some have guests, some don’t. Most music DJs strive to play much more music than do commentary, while talk show hosts obviously talk a lot, and if they include music at all, it tends to be less prominent.

It’s a great idea to listen to some of the shows on KRYZ to see how a show flows and how the DJ or host manages time. You can also draw inspiration from commercial DJs and hosts.

There’s no right or wrong way to do a show, and in a very short time, you’ll begin to develop your own style.

If you’re shy about striking out on your own, contact your favorite KRYZ DJ or host through the station at kryzradio@gmail.com. They’ll likely be glad to share some pointers.

The station also does workshops from time to time to teach aspiring talent how we “do a show.” Keep an eye out for those, you’re welcome to join us!

Once you’ve got a demo done, there’s a process for submitting the thing to the station for audition. Check the website Contact page for the current process.

Being a DJ (or talk host) is truly a blast. For most of us, putting our shows together is one of the highlights of our week.

It’s a productive, artistic hobby, and I invite you to give it a shot if it’s of any interest to you.

Codie Hart is the vice-president of the KRYZ Radio Board of Directors, a music lover who host the weekly show “Music Machine” and a longtime member of the Mariposa Community. He can be reached at codiehart@yahoo.com.