Tuesday, February 16, 2010

The First Entry

The all important first entry, what do I talk about.. how about, how did I get to this point. How does one go from studying electrical engineering to getting this
on my twitter from one of the coolest artist in Malaysia...  Let me start at the begining.

I was studying electrical engineering and wanted a part time job and heard of a job which payed well.  The hitz.fm Cruisers which were called the HITZ fm Prado Cruisers back then.  I went if for an interview and next thing I know I'm out with the guys.  I got the part time gig and I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. That was on the 13th of July 1998. After a year of doing it part time, I graduated. Yay!! I'm an electrical engineer... "Now what" I thought. They offered me a full time job as a cruiser and I took it, while I wait for an Electrical Engineering job to open up..... I'm still waiting. LOL

I work with the cruisers for a year and in that time I decided to learn all I can on radio. Now let me tell you the cruiser job is not all fun and games.  You're the lowest of lows in ranking when it comes to radio but you work the hardest. You have to set up a venue, make it nice with all the banners and all. You'll have to warm up the crowd for the DJ's and make sure everyone is happy and everything is going right. Basically, first one in, last one out. Most amount of work, least amount of credit, but I loved it.

I became the cruiser coordinator, that was my official title. Behind the scene after normal work hours I decided to learn more. I sat with a production engineer call Shafri who thought me Pro Tools (the program used to edit all the sound and promos) and how promos and made.  Till this day that knowledge comes in very handy.

 my uniform back then...
Production done, what next?  I was offered by the Jakeman a weekend slot. So I took that chance to learn more. My slot was 3 hours on a Sunday and it was 3 different shows in a row. The first hour was called hitz center stage.  I played all the live performances from artist.  Gave everyone a chance to be in a concert every weekend. Then the next hour would be a show called the All Asia Show, where I played music from all around Asia.  Japanese, Chinese, Korean, you name it we played it as long as it was a hit at that time. The third hour was just a normal slot before Rick Dees came on. Never did I think I would become a DJ full time on hitz but hey I'm glad I took it.

In that year there was a change from Hitz Fm to hitz.fm.


Then came the big chance. I was offered a full time gig as a DJ/Announcer on hitz.fm and I said yes. My first slot was 2am to 6am in the morning. Moved on to the hitz.fm Top 30, became the music exec at that time as well, then I did Drive and I did the afternoon slot, finally settling down with the hitz.fm Morning Crew.  Don't ask me what happen for that change and for my chance to do that slot cause I still don't know but and thankful for the chance.


It's 12 years now and it has been an amazing ride which I still enjoy everyday of. I'm normally asked this question, "How do I become a DJ?"  and I always answer the same thing, "I don't know"  .  It's 50% luck and 50% hard work. Get your foot into the business anyway you can and work your way up I guess.  Good Luck..


So that's it for my first entry... what you think?  Will take you behind the scenes to the next event I do, I promise..

14 comments:

Daniel "St. Pinkie" Anthony said...

Heys! Awesome post. Keep them coming! :)

Anonymous said...

Yeayy..JJ has a blog....

lizzy j said...

electrical engineering.. :O

shizuru satonaka said...

long way to go before becoming the morning crew. anyway JJ congrats! and i should agree with miss y lizzy. lols. ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING??? :O

sm said...

Keep writing JJ! BLOGGING is about EXPRESSING and SHARING.. hehehe.. ^_^ and I will keep reading!

THREE said...

I love hearing stories about how someone pursues one career and ends up with another... AND actually ENJOYS it! It's like, a simple twist of fate that's for the better.

I wish I have a turning point like that. It'll be one of those 'historical' moments in my life I've always dreamed of. My career/field is so mundane and... well basically it's not what I really wish to do.

I wish my luck turns out like yours, JJ. I guess relying on 50% luck won't be enough, need the hard work to complete the rest 50%. You inspire me, man.

Daisy Vanie said...

JJ,
I guess you can say its 50% fate as well....I mean, who could be better in this than you...keep the articles coming and all the best.....=)

Unknown said...

Hi J.j.,

Waiting for your upcoming entries...keep on writing ya! =)

Anonymous said...

hope 1day the hitz.fm will offer me to join as a cruiser team... :)

JJ said...

I will Daniel..
Aziel, glad you like it..
Yes Lizzy & shizuru EE
Shobrai, I will.
Hope all will turn out goo for you THREE
Thanks Vanie, Jid & Nazirah, call them and see

Unknown said...

hey jj..im a big fan..ive been listening to u n rudy since the beginning...before u got married and the baby..gosh..i see u grow old guys...makes me have teary eyes all the time...just wanna let u know how much i love u guys..."remember that time our first 13A's scorer in spm a few years back..if not mistaken he wanted to meet the pm and he managed to have a dinner with DR.M...n dat just inspires me...i study so hard so dat one day when ppl ask me who u want to meet..i know my ans..."jj n rudy, the hitz morning crew"...i prayed for it every nyte and i told every one i know about it...but things doesnt go my way..i only got 7A in 2007...so there goes my dream and im really sad cos i cant meet u guys..." u may think im exaggerating and joking..but in God's name..im not...i love u guys so much..and since im an IT geek...i still cant sign up for that epass thingy..i simply tulis in here only la...anyway if u see rudy..i dun mind dating him...

JJ said...

Sorry for this late reply but Aqim please get in touch with me. jj.hitz@gmail.com

Melizarani said...

Hey JJ.

I'm Meliza. I am currently pursuing a degree in Communication and Media Management and write a monthly column in Cine Fashion magazine. I listen to the hitz.fm Morning crew show every morning and I truly enjoy it.

I absolutely love how witty and spontaneous you are when you handle callers, celebrities and even your co-host. I guess it takes talent, skill and a whole lot of experience, right?

It has been my ambition since young to talk for a living, and seeing you do it brilliantly everyday for years now, reminds me that its an achievable dream.

I hope to meet you someday and perhaps get the chance to learn from you at Hitz.FM.

Thank you very much for making every morning awesome!

Cheers, Meliza

JJ said...

Hey Meliza,
thanks for the kind words.
Maybe someday..
We will see...

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