Photo by Sara Anne Finke
Editor's Note: This post is the third of a month-long series, "Up All Night," on St. Louis culture after dark. Check back every Wednesday for the next installment.
The idea was deceptively simple: E-mail all seven KDHX DJs that inhabit the 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. slot, mixing and matching their responses to a handful of questions. During that nocturnal hour, the programmers veer from playing Native American music to classic R&B to jazz to conscious hip-hop. For a station known for bringing a variety of sounds to St. Louis audiences, this particular time slot is one that just screams out “ecclectic!” with no two shows even remotely the same.
Nick Cowan, at it turns out, was the single programmer to kick back notes; though, kindly enough, Sara Finke of “Earthsongs” (Saturday-into-Sunday at 3 a.m.) sent along our accompanying photo. Cowan’s show, “Train of Thought,” airs from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. on the Thursday-night-into-Friday-morning overnight, with a rock-heavy approach. Like all the programmers at that hour, he’s got his own way of dealing with the time challenges inherent in playing an overnight shift. And, like his colleagues, night shows tend to have callers that are, quite frankly, ecclectic in their own right; he’s got those, too.
Here’s what Cowan had to say about his volunteer slot:
If someone meets you and they're unfamiliar with your particular program, what's your nutshell answer when they ask "What's your show sound like?" or "What's your show all about?"
It took me a year to come up with a short "elevator" description but here it is: About 75 percent of my show is rock (all the things "rock" means these days) and the rest is filled in by any other genre that I can fit into the vibe. I try to do my show like a mix tape and figure a way for songs to flow into each other some way. If I could get the playlist to show up as a j-card I'd be an even happier camper.
How long have you done your show? And has it always been in the 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. slot?
I got this slot in August, 2008, when the schedule got revamped. Prior to that, I had a show from 1999 to mid-2005 that was also graveyard (4 a.m. to 6 a.m. and then 2 a.m. to 4 a.m., respectively).
The biggest question on everyone's mind, I'm sure is this: How do you handle sleep on those night? Nap before, nap after, maybe you're just a total night owl? What's the formula for sleep success?
I have two slight advantages; let’s call them genetic advantages to make me sound cooler than I really am. By nature, I'm a night owl, always have been; and I can function on a few hours of sleep without an IV drip full of Red Bull. I’ll nap for a couple of hours before going in, another short nap after, and that usually does the trick. As a buffer, I try and schedule my Friday's to be light on heavy analysis. But if I miss that nap before the show, I have a detailed Friday caffeine regimen involving black tea, a two liter of Mountain Dew, and a big straw.
Aside from the obvious FCC relaxation after dark, is there any additional sense of freedom that comes from being on at this particular hour? Do you feel more able to "stretch" your programming in any sense?
I think I'd feel this sense of freedom in any time slot. One thing I might change is to have a more concise playlist. Right now I only think three or four songs ahead unless I’m doing a “songs about” theme. I like it to be fluid The only way I stretch, maybe, is that I like to play a nine or 10-minute track during my show but keep things to a more conventional length when I’ve filled in for people. I steer away from potential FCC issues even with “safe harbor.” It’s really unlikely that someone with a bug in their colon will cause any hassles but the risks aren’t worth it to me.
Who are your listeners and how would you describe your regulars? Do you sense that they're primarily people from St. Louis, or do you also get over-the-web listeners?
For the most part, my listeners are folks on the night shift and other night owls. They have a good sense of what I usually play and can come along for the ride (if you pardon the cliche). The folks I hear from are generally in line with what I play, one guy so much so that I’ve checked out bands that he’s recommended. Callers generally request some great stuff, and there a couple of folks that call in pretty regularly. That's especially cool because when I answer the phone (I always do, kind of an OCD thing) it’s awesome to recognize a voice and say, "Hey David, what's up." In addition to a few regular callers, I get random request or a hearty “thanks for being there.”I would wager that all of the DJs get a call like that every now and then; those are always appreciated. Every now and then I’ll get request that are uncanny because it shows that people are listening to what I’m playing and want to add their two cents into the vibe. It's not unusual to communicate with those folks via e-mail for a few weeks. Those usually continue for a few shows. After that I guess they get back into a regular sleep schedule.
Maybe it's an exchange with a caller, or some night's set list that just flowed like water, but have you ever thought, "this radio moment could only have been created on this station, at this time of night, with this format?" In effect, do you have an overnight anecdote with an extra dusting of magic?
I would be lying if I didn’t say I have regular moments where I’m playing a really good set of tunes or an interesting song I and think, “No other station plays this stuff.” No stories really, not from ‘Train Of Thought,’ anyway. Most of my listeners are just regular folks going about their business. I have had calls from crazy folks, folks that just needed to talk, fellow liner note junkies, an actual junkie (once), a few still partying. But mostly just good ol fashioned music fans. A few playlists that I’m smashingly fond of include a David Bowie birthday show I did right before the rules changed about playing a whole show of one artist (1-16-09). I like the playlists from 08-12-11, 12-10-10, my recent Halloween show on 10-28-11 (which mostly featured songs about zombies and other undead entities). There are others where I love but they existed prior to the playlist database, but I don’t have those handy.
To learn more about Nick Cowan and his show, there are a few places on the KDHX website that can help. There’s a long-form interview with him at: http://kdhx.org/blog/2011/05/25/88-1-kdhx-spotlight-nick-cowan-of-train-of-thought/. His Top 10 picks for 2011 can be found here: http://kdhx.org/music/music-news/881-kdhx-djs-top-10-albums-of-2011#tt. And his pieces for the kdhx.org blog can be read here: http://kdhx.org/blog/author/trainofthought/.
The full KDHX lineup is found here: http://kdhx.org/radio/881-kdhx-schedule-shows-and-playlists. (And, in the interests of disclosure, this writer hosts “Silver Tray” on KDHX, Fridays at noon.)
