Critique Me Please

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I was digging through the crates and I found this today. It reminded me of the ambition that I once had. At one point, my drive literally drove all of my friends away. They called me crazy. I dedicated almost 80% of my day towards researching the industry. Finding out who's who. My network game was tiiiiight. I have no regrets. In a little under 10 years, I was able to maneuver through some of the top radio markets in the country. Most importantly, I was able to go from $6 dollar an hour to a six figure salary in 9.4 years. I was humble yet hungry.

The above image is a snapshot of something that I created called it a critique sheet. I mailed them to Program Directors across the country along with my audition cassette tape. I simply asked various people in the industry to review my tape and them critique it. I included a self-addressed stamped envelope (this was before e-mail & MP3s) to try to make it easier for them to respond. It was also a way to introduce myself in a non traditional way. Unfortunately, I rarely received a response. I remember being so angry as most PDs wouldn't give me the time of day. Furthermore, a bitch was broke and I had wasted postage and perfectly good cassette tapes on some of these assholes.

I thought it would be cool to share some of the results from mailing these packages to some of the industry's alleged finest.

Terri Avery - Never mailed the critique sheet back. I called to follow up and her response was, "I usually charge people to critique them". >>enter a WTF face here<< >

Russ Parr - Actually responded. Showered me with compliments. Insisted that I would make it 'BIG' one day.  

Steve Hegwood- Ignored me in the worst way.

Vinnie Brown - Ignored me in a WORSER way.

Helen Little - Ignored my critique sheet..but eventually responded to my phone calls...but would never hire me.

Lisa Lisa (formerly of WKYS in Washington DC) - Crickets.

Lorenzo 'ICED TEA' Thomas - More crickets.

Toya Beasley (formerly of WRKS, NY) - Ignored me.

Tracy Cloerty (formerly of WQHT, NY) - Ignored critique sheet...but eventually met her personally. She told me that she only hired 'stars'.  >>there goes my self esteem<<

Tony Gray (consultant) - Ignored me but eventually responded. Gave me a lot of empty promises.

There are probably more...but I'm gonna head for bed now.  

SIDEBAR - I actually received a phone call today from a potential employer!  Being unemployed for so long has definitely done some damage because I wasn't even excited when the phone rang.  My heart told me that it was going to be about some bullshit.  And it ended up being exactly that..Bullshit. 

What Goes Around Comes Right Back Around Again - Please Believe It...

I started reading at age 3. My mom took me to audition for Sesame Street at age 4. I was enrolled in the Astor Program for gifted children from kindergarten to 7th grade.  I attended a nationally acclaimed High School for talented children. I graduated from college and was fortunate enough to find a career that I absolutely l.o.v.e.d.

Combine all of the above with an unexplainable amount of will, passion & determination and you end up with me. In 1995, I received my first job as an radio announcer at a small radio station in the South. I made $6.00 per hour. After receiving my first paycheck for $57.12, I wrote on the back of that paycheck:

"This is ONLY the beginning.  New York City, here I come!"  

Little did I know, my vision would come to fruition and it wouldn't take long. Not only was I able to work in New York, I ended up becoming a morning show personality in New York- which was something that thousands of people only dreamed of doing. My talent took me all over the country and I was living on top of the world. I remained humble; realizing that to whom much is given, much is required. What started out as a $6 per hour job, became a $150,000 per year blessing. I never felt like I was waking up in the morning because I had to "go to work". Work isn't supposed to be fun...and I was having a pure blast for 4 hours a day, 5 days a week. 

Fast forward to last Monday. I recently learned about a general manager availability at a college radio station in the south. I won't post my ENTIRE radio resume - but in addition to the above, I am clearly OVER QUALIFIED for the position.  Long story short, I found out that the person who would be influencing the new general manager hire, graduated from my alma mater. In addition to that, a colleague of mine knew her personally and recommended me. I thought that the job was MINE. Also keep in mind that the job has been available for at least 3 months. Wrong. After she ignored my initial inquiry, she called me and was extremely nasty. "College radio is different from commerical radio." "I'm not going to want to train someone...the person that we hire needs to hit the ground running." "Well...just keep an eye out for the job posting on the university's website. You can apply. After all, I'm not the one who will make the decision."

Words can't describe how upset I was. Her tone was SO nasty - you would have thought that I called her mama a frog faced bitch or something. The sad part is, I also have an extensive marketing & fundraising background which this station could have certainly benefitted from. God made it clear to me that if I WERE hired, her poor bitter soul wouldn't have been able to sit in the same room as me for more than 30 seconds. Evidently, she has some deep rooted issues that require counseling and perhaps medication. 

I hope and pray that our paths NEVER cross. I wouldn't give her a square of toilet paper if she needed it. Karma is a bitch and don't ever forget it.