DJ Name: Tom Kay
Freeform Show Name: Do the 45!
Freeform Day/Time of Show: Alternating Sundays from 10am-noon
Interview by: DJ Beanie
FF: Where did you grow up? When did you move to Portland (if applicable)?
Tom Kay: I grew up in Madison, WI and moved to Portland in the spring of 2015.
FF: What influenced you to become a DJ and how long have you been doing it?
Tom Kay: I had been collecting records for a while and had some friends with shows on local college and community stations. Those friends kinda pushed me to do something more than just sit on my records, encouraging me to get a radio show. About 7 years ago, I finally applied for a show. Once I went through training and got on air, I was hooked! My first show was on 91.7 WSUM in Madison, but I took a break when I moved out to Portland until I found Freeform Portland.
FF: What considerations do you take into account when preparing for a new set of ‘Do The 45!’?
Tom Kay: Most of the time I am just pulling out 45s from my collection that I wanna listen to or are new finds from digging for records. Sometimes I will try to set a theme for a show and then I will put more time into pulling out records that fit the theme. I just did a show of all records from the King and Federal record labels. I did another I called the deja vu show where for the first hour I played a set of songs and the second hour was all the same covered by a different artist.
FF: What do you like to do when you’re not digging for 45’s?
Tom Kay: I am probably catching some live music somewhere, watching terrible b movies and dumb arthouse flicks, or shooting some photos with my old cameras.
FF: What do you think makes Freeform stand out in the realm of community radio?
Tom Kay: There are so many excellent DJs at Freeform Portland with a wide range of experiences. All of whom are willing to help you out with your question or issue you may have, radio related or not.