Mitchell
24-10-2008, 02:00 PM
I came home from work yesterday to find, via the official CM blog, that Aled and Matt Fincham were coming to my neck of the woods today - Walsall. Not the nicest of places, but mine all the same. So I got up at 6am this morning, stumbled into Walsall for 7, and had to wait until 7.50!!! to hear the exact location of the listener recruitment.
Turns out, Dave gave the exact place away on HIS blog yesterday. Remind me never to skip his write-ups again.
So I eventually made my way to Smart Cuts; an easy trip because it was right next to my old school, as it happened. The cars were already beeping, but the place itself was fairly empty. Fair enough, considering that it had only just been announced on air, and as Matt told me, listeners weren’t in the majority within the town. We’ve always been very local in our radio, being so close to Birmingham which hosts BRMB, Beacon, Kerrang, Heart and others. Aled came to greet me and shook my hand, asking how I was and if I wanted a biscuit. I politely accepted.
Two things: firstly, it may be my own height coming into play, but Aled is tiny. A good body on him, sure, but the guy is small. Secondly, he had no idea who I was.
I sat down and took a cup of tea whilst Aled greeted various different visitors. He eventually came back to talk to me, and it was then that I told him who I was – that sad, opinionated nerd from his forum. He seemed surprised. Not quite sure what he expected me to look like, but he shook my hand again (and what a soft handshake – he is very gentle) and told Matt about me. His words, as far as I recall, were along the lines of “He posts on Aled.info and he’s very knowledgeable – not in a geeky way, but in an intelligent way.” That actually meant a lot to me, because I never wanted to come across as a tosser or a nerd or one of those Digital Spy types who complain about the show and don’t really take time to both deconstruct it and yet still enjoy it for what it is. Once Aled had gone to greet more folk, I started talking to Matt.
Two things: firstly, Matt is a lovely guy. He is talkative, stylish and friendly. Secondly, I felt so sorry that the guy had to basically stand around, waiting to be asked if he could take a picture of Aled with different people. In the end, when I said my goodbyes, I called him aside and he held his hand out as if to either shake it or to take my phone for a picture. Instead, I asked him to be in it with us. The smile on his face was worth it.
Aled himself was kept busy. Not only was he accommodating and showing non-listeners the pictures of the team (they had framed photos of each member, from their Photoshop pictures), but he also got to deal with the local press, who came in for a photo. If one is left when I get home, I will buy a copy and scan whatever article has made it into the paper.
(As a funny aside, it was at this time that I was approached by the man who owns the place. He came up to me and asked if I was a part of the show. I said no. He replied by coming up close to me, grabbing my arm and saying “don’t tell me you’re here because you fancy him?” I was dying to burst out laughing at the complete absurdity and randomness of the question, but settled for “I’m not… but if I were, I probably would.” He laughed and said he was joking. Then he left. Welcome to Walsall.)
Aled also got to take plenty of photographs, and even used the loud haler to grab local attention. Lst watching it all, was the professionalism. Not so much the production – the crew had a mobile phone that was giving out “SIM Not Found” messages, and a loud haler with “Team Moyles” scribbled on it in permanent marker. But you knew that Aled had done this many times before: the “let’s do a practice run – HELLO WALSALL - …that was rubbish. And again…”, and knowing how to deal with the press and with listeners of all varieties. Most humourously, he was a perfectionist about photos. He knew what positions to use, what poses to use, what the lighting would do, etc. To some, it would seem arrogant. To me, it was amusing, and worth taking notes from. His awareness was astounding.
But his general personality struck me the most. An almost painfully nice guy, who seemed down to earth and level-headed. He also managed to convince me to stay longer than I could. The guy has the sad face to end all sad faces, and when he said “You’re not going, are you?” I actually felt a giant grain of guilt inside me, which kept me from leaving. Fortunately, it was worth it. I was able to grab a couple of photos which I will post later, and Matt gave me a lot of sound advice and hope for my future in radio. Aled asked me about Kerrang, and my work, and even spoke to a friend e, which made her day complete. Finally, we shook hands again and he told me to keep posting, to which I told him to keep up the good work.
Absolutely surreal day, and the erratic nature of this piece is because I’m nearing the end of my dinner break. But I will elaborate more on today later on. For now, I just want to say “great job” on the show, and it was an absolute pleasure to get to meet Aled and Matt, and reignite the passion in me for both life and this medium. Again, will explain more later, but you’ll never know how much it meant to me.
Just amazing!
Turns out, Dave gave the exact place away on HIS blog yesterday. Remind me never to skip his write-ups again.
So I eventually made my way to Smart Cuts; an easy trip because it was right next to my old school, as it happened. The cars were already beeping, but the place itself was fairly empty. Fair enough, considering that it had only just been announced on air, and as Matt told me, listeners weren’t in the majority within the town. We’ve always been very local in our radio, being so close to Birmingham which hosts BRMB, Beacon, Kerrang, Heart and others. Aled came to greet me and shook my hand, asking how I was and if I wanted a biscuit. I politely accepted.
Two things: firstly, it may be my own height coming into play, but Aled is tiny. A good body on him, sure, but the guy is small. Secondly, he had no idea who I was.
I sat down and took a cup of tea whilst Aled greeted various different visitors. He eventually came back to talk to me, and it was then that I told him who I was – that sad, opinionated nerd from his forum. He seemed surprised. Not quite sure what he expected me to look like, but he shook my hand again (and what a soft handshake – he is very gentle) and told Matt about me. His words, as far as I recall, were along the lines of “He posts on Aled.info and he’s very knowledgeable – not in a geeky way, but in an intelligent way.” That actually meant a lot to me, because I never wanted to come across as a tosser or a nerd or one of those Digital Spy types who complain about the show and don’t really take time to both deconstruct it and yet still enjoy it for what it is. Once Aled had gone to greet more folk, I started talking to Matt.
Two things: firstly, Matt is a lovely guy. He is talkative, stylish and friendly. Secondly, I felt so sorry that the guy had to basically stand around, waiting to be asked if he could take a picture of Aled with different people. In the end, when I said my goodbyes, I called him aside and he held his hand out as if to either shake it or to take my phone for a picture. Instead, I asked him to be in it with us. The smile on his face was worth it.
Aled himself was kept busy. Not only was he accommodating and showing non-listeners the pictures of the team (they had framed photos of each member, from their Photoshop pictures), but he also got to deal with the local press, who came in for a photo. If one is left when I get home, I will buy a copy and scan whatever article has made it into the paper.
(As a funny aside, it was at this time that I was approached by the man who owns the place. He came up to me and asked if I was a part of the show. I said no. He replied by coming up close to me, grabbing my arm and saying “don’t tell me you’re here because you fancy him?” I was dying to burst out laughing at the complete absurdity and randomness of the question, but settled for “I’m not… but if I were, I probably would.” He laughed and said he was joking. Then he left. Welcome to Walsall.)
Aled also got to take plenty of photographs, and even used the loud haler to grab local attention. Lst watching it all, was the professionalism. Not so much the production – the crew had a mobile phone that was giving out “SIM Not Found” messages, and a loud haler with “Team Moyles” scribbled on it in permanent marker. But you knew that Aled had done this many times before: the “let’s do a practice run – HELLO WALSALL - …that was rubbish. And again…”, and knowing how to deal with the press and with listeners of all varieties. Most humourously, he was a perfectionist about photos. He knew what positions to use, what poses to use, what the lighting would do, etc. To some, it would seem arrogant. To me, it was amusing, and worth taking notes from. His awareness was astounding.
But his general personality struck me the most. An almost painfully nice guy, who seemed down to earth and level-headed. He also managed to convince me to stay longer than I could. The guy has the sad face to end all sad faces, and when he said “You’re not going, are you?” I actually felt a giant grain of guilt inside me, which kept me from leaving. Fortunately, it was worth it. I was able to grab a couple of photos which I will post later, and Matt gave me a lot of sound advice and hope for my future in radio. Aled asked me about Kerrang, and my work, and even spoke to a friend e, which made her day complete. Finally, we shook hands again and he told me to keep posting, to which I told him to keep up the good work.
Absolutely surreal day, and the erratic nature of this piece is because I’m nearing the end of my dinner break. But I will elaborate more on today later on. For now, I just want to say “great job” on the show, and it was an absolute pleasure to get to meet Aled and Matt, and reignite the passion in me for both life and this medium. Again, will explain more later, but you’ll never know how much it meant to me.
Just amazing!