"Introductions"

This here space and these here words aren't really a bio per se….not that I'm…ahem…hiding anything, or in the witness protection program, insofar as you know…..this is more just a collection of somewhat random thoughts that I'll update from time to time. I don't have any particular agenda….I may write about music….I may write about radio….I may write about something in the news….I may write about what I had for dinner last night…I may write the great American Novel (not likely)…..I'll count on you to tell me what's worthwhile and stimulating and what isn't.

Maybe these thoughts will inspire feedback and ongoing dialog with you and other listeners. Or maybe they'll disappear into the void never to be seen again. Either way is okay…it's not like we're wasting paper here or anything….

I figured the most logical place to start is with the question I get asked most when I meet people: "So, how DID you get into radio?"

Truthfully, it was equal parts dumb luck and good timing combined with the fact that I've been a total music geek my whole life. I remember the first radio I ever owned (a Snoopy AM transistor) the first records I ever bought (John Lennon Double Fantasy and the 45 of Whip It by Devo) and the very first song that ever gave me goosebumps (California Dreamin' by The Mamas and The Papas…I think I was maybe 6 or 7 years old).

And from then on I was hooked. I bought records, I memorized lyrics, I bought more records, I went to concerts, I surrounded myself with people who loved music as much as I did, and of course, I bought more records…and then CD's.

And along the way, before I ever thought about being IN radio, I became the guy that all my friends would come to with their dumb music questions- "Who sang that one song that went like this…?" "What year did such and such come out?" "What's he/saying in the lyric?" Etc. etc.

It's a lot like Dustin Hoffman's character in the movie Rainman. He, from what I remember, had an astonishing memory for numbers and figures. I, on the other hand, can't balance my checkbook. But I do tend to know who sang what songs, when they came out, what record label they were on, and all kinds of other useless bits of information. Useless, unless of course, you decide to go into radio. Combine the above with a 4 year degree in Political Science that I never found much application for and voila, I ended up in radio.

Sure there's more to it than that, but I think anything more specific would probably border on the long-winded and self-involved; something you find way too much of in radio and on the web these days, so I'll spare you that. (Unless you really care to hear. Then I'll bore you with more details than you can shake a stick at.)

Suffice it to say, I'm in radio because I truly love music (and that's also why I got OUT of radio for awhile too, but more on that in another episode)…..more than anything else in the world other than family and friends. I can't imagine life without it.

I think I was about 20 when I realized that if I could make some kind of living doing a job that involved music in some way, shape or form, I'd probably be able to wake up every morning (or almost every morning) and make it into work and be a relatively productive member of society.

So far, that's proven to be true, other than the productive member of society part.

I'm really happy to be at 99.5 The Mountain. I think it's a great radio station that's only going to get better.

And as for any personal philosophy to which I might aspire? In the simplest terms, I plan to listen more than I talk, because I've found that you can't learn anything at all if you aren't listening.

Thanks for taking the time to check out the website and read this rambling missive from me. I'll try to cook up something with a little more panache for the next edition.

Best-

Mike Casey