|
PROFILES in style Alternative Girl in AC Body - Michelle Cruz
I would like to say first, and without reservation, that
Michelle Cruz wins the "Persistence Beyond Comprehension Award" hands down. Why?
I will attempt to explain.
There we were, sitting in the parking lot of the H.O.R.D.E. concert at Hershey Park,
watching the sweat from the 100 degree heat and 100 percent humidity drip down our arms,
Michelle answering my canned interview questions, me writing furiously, to get it all on
paper.
We were plowing through the standard barrage of questions: "Where were you
born?" "Langhorn, PA." "Did you always want to be a radio DJ?"
"No, I wanted to be a Spanish Teacher." "How did you wind up in
radio?" "By accident, I got to do an overnight shift when a DJ friend was out
sick, and it launched my career." Then I asked the (I can’t believe this answer
is five pages long) question: "How did you wind up at The EDGE?"
"Persistence" Michelle answered, and when I asked her to explain, she told me
this:
"The very first day The EDGE came on the air, I was working at TRAFFAX here in
Harrisburg during the day, and at MIX 106.7 (the *Adult Contemporary station) in Baltimore
on the weekends. I was surfing the radio dial and heard The EDGE. I knew I wanted to be a
DJ on that station right then and there, and called the station to find out who the
Program Director was and when that person started working."
"Every day, Monday through Friday, of the first week John Moschitta (Program Director
for The EDGE) worked, he received a package from me."
"On Monday I sent him a box, lined with blue metallic paper, housing a shipwreck. I
included a note that said: Welcome to the area, don’t get shipwrecked, get the Cruzer
on board, along with a demo tape and my resume."
"On Tuesday I sent him a box with ten thousand colored pieces of paper in it, each
with the word maniac written on it. The included note read: Now that you’ve got
10,000 Maniacs, why not add one more? Again with a tape and a resume."
"On Wednesday I sent a box with flowers and a nine inch nail… the note said:
Unless you have a head like a hole, you’ll hire me… with a tape and a
resume."
"On Thursday he received a box with an alarm clock in it. The accompanying note said:
Set this alarm for nine in the morn, it will sound like a bell and not like a horn. To
keep bugging you until you hire me is my pledge, for tomorrow at 9am you will meet your
next air talent for The EDGE."
"Friday, I was the final package. Standing in the lobby when John came into work, he
was not only surprised to see me, but a little bent. He didn’t get Thursday’s
package, and wasn’t too happy about people showing up unannounced. He gave me an
interview anyway, and told me that he would definitely be in contact with me. He never
did."
"One day, driving to Harrisburg I heard John on the air, and called from my car phone
to tell him that he sounded good on the air. We talked a little, and I finally blurted
out: John, you’ve gotta help me, I’m an alternative girl trapped in an AC body!
He laughed, but he never called." "Another month went by, and I actually ran
into John at the Chameleon in Lancaster during a concert. I cornered him, got my
interview, got my audition the following Sunday, and got the job!"
"So there I was working for TRAFFAX 40 hours a week, and on the weekends at MIX in
Baltimore 10am to 4pm, and at The EDGE 6pm to 9pm. Finally, I was offered a full time
position at The EDGE and gave up my other two jobs."
After that little story, I asked Michelle if she had any advice for our readers who might
want to get into radio. Her answer, as if I didn’t already know what it was going to
be, was: "Be persistent!"
You can hear Michelle Cruz on The EDGE, 105.7fm every weekday afternoon, and she regularly
appears at the Village in Lancaster and at the Vault in Harrisburg. |
