The Oppenheimer Report 3/9/15

Shauna's promo for my first show -I'm  lucky to have such a good publicist!
 

I had my “shakedown” show on Hunter’s Bay Radio (CKAR 88.7 FM) last Thursday night, and I was petrified. Luckily, the station manager was there to walk me through that first night. Having heard scare stories about other DJs deleting the entire playlist for the day, I was trembling with each click of the mouse I made to load my music into the system. When the mic turned on and I spoke my first words, I felt a little like King George VI, the subject of The King’s Speech. I went into the show prepared with my playlist, but for the first hour or so, I was trembling every time I turned on the mic. This is community radio, and they want their DJs to talk. We are supposed to be providing an informative show, and my intention is for my show to be an exploration of the art of songwriting. I have many thoughts on the subject and am eager to impart them, but somehow my fear got in the way. Shauna taped my speaking segments for this first show, and my very first time at bat was hard to hear. I counted fifteen “ums and ahs” in the first minute. Like anything else that frightens me to do, practice will make me better. By the end of the night I was no longer shaking when I hit the mic button, and I suspect everything will be a little easier for this upcoming Thursday’s show. I am told I need to enunciate a little more. If anyone had told me that I was going to have my own music show on an FM radio show, I would have laughed in their face. Then again, I was petrified to get up and play live on air, and I have now done this three times in the past year. What I have finally realized is that nobody’s perfect, and it’s quite a rush to finally do something that terrifies me. Once I get over the home room jitters, I think I will be a little better.

 

What I hope to do is to approach the art of songwriting from the perspective of an aspiring songwriter. There are successful writers who host shows – Randy Bachman and Kim Mitchell come to mind immediately – but they are already established writers. I am still unrecognized. Who are the writers who have influenced me? What is it about the song that hooked me? My influences go back fifty years, from songs like “Venus” sung by Frankie Avalon, to “White Room” by Cream, to “Blinded by Science” by Thomas Dolby. People have told me that my song writing style is varied, and this is because I like all kinds of music. I am very interested in the songwriter’s perspective. What does the writer sound like singing his or her own song? Last Thursday, I played the brilliant Cole Porter singing his bare bones version of his song “Anything Goes” on the piano. So many famous artists have covered that song successfully, but what is particularly interesting, to me anyway, is to hear the writer perform the song. While many writers are singer songwriters, just as many are not. There are far more artists and musicians out there who are not the best writers, and I want to remind people that a good lyricist is invaluable. A good lyricist who also has an ear for unique melody lines is even rarer. I will have some Harry Warren in the mix, Irving Berlin, Gershwin, Hammerstein, as well as John Prine, Leonard Cohn, and a whole list of obscure writers who have caught my ear over the year. While most radio shows will try to mix the selections thematically and melodically, my approach will likely be random; you never know what will pop up on my show. There will be novelty songs, live performances no one has ever heard before (with the permission of the performers of course), and my anecdotal two cents worth. Most of all, I intend to learn something, and I already have learned a lot from research for the first show.

 

Mysteriously, Boris Nemstov, one of Vladimir Putin’s staunchest political opponents, was recently shot to death, not far from the Kremlin. Putin was quick to take over the investigation, the fox guarding the henhouse, and of course he immediately found the murderers … Chechens, of course. Vlad is all about law and order. Nemstov, was reportedly close to proving Russia’s involvement in the Ukrainian conflict, something Putin has categorically denied since the conflict began, so the timing of Nemstov’s murder is curious. I would say join the bandwagon of quips about Putin’s stupid bare-chested photo ops, but then we have the un-presidential video of Obama, taking selfies and talking to himself in the mirror. I guess this is the new normal: promotional videos for presidents. Actor Harrison Ford was involved in a plane crash last week when the vintage airplane he was flying crapped out shortly after takeoff. He’s banged up but he’ll live. I’m sure there will be s few Han Solo jokes about that, but he did manage to land an unpowered plane, and not kill anybody in the process, so perhaps he IS a good pilot. Wish me luck on Thursday, and thanks to those of you who listened on the internet!

Who wrote the song “Yummy, Yummy, Yummy, I Got Love in My Tummy?”

 

Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c2015 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED