Rock Ramblings: Music made the connections during internship in the Hat

By Medicine Hat News on April 5, 2018.

I am a firm believer that music brings people together. From meeting people at shows, to just finding out you like the same tunes, it’s so easy to make friends through a mutual love of music.

I’m new to the Hat, so I’m going to take this opportunity to introduce myself. I’m from Calgary, interning at 105.3 Rock for the month. I’m about to graduate the radio program at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, this internship was part of my graduation requirements. Now, I’ve lived with my parents for my whole life, and suddenly I’m on my own, living in a motel on the side of the road, hours away from anyone I know. So I guess you could say I was just a little nervous. But I learned really quickly that I had absolutely nothing to be worried about.

I walked in on my first day and Melissa immediately took me under her wing. She made me feel so welcome. Within my first week I had met everyone, and even went to a station potluck! Throughout the month, the station had me all in, producing, writing, sitting in on meetings, and even sitting in on live shows. All of these things are great, but the main thing that helped me settle in was the music.

I’ve always been a rocker. April Wine is my favourite band, and seeing Iron Maiden live is high up on my bucket list. I grew up listening to Eric Clapton, Aerosmith, and CCR. I bought my first vinyl (Van Halen’s “Diver Down”) when I was 14. So you can imagine how homey it felt at 105.3 Rock. In my second week I sat in on the morning show with Poncho and Cassie. It was around 8 a.m., when we played Velvet Revolver’s “Fall to Pieces” with the volume way up, and everyone at the station that morning singing along. I produced a lot of music bits with Melissa, bonding over the bands and sharing stories of meeting musicians. One afternoon, I was talking to Trapper while he was on air. He was about to play the 5 o’clock Hair Appointment, which sparked a long conversation about the different kinds of music we like, hair metal in particular.

I learned a lot, and made a lot of connections this past month. Needless to say I’m going to miss this gorgeous city. All thanks to rock ‘n’ roll.

Angelie Styranka is an intern from SAIT and we at 105.3 ROCK wish her well in her broadcasting career!