When it was announced at the WE Vancouver office that Kid Carson had been chose as Vancouver's Best Radio Personality in our Best of the City readers' choice survey, some of our female staff members swooned. Would he be coming into the office for an interview? Would they get to meet him?
Why? Because, as they said, the host of Sonic radio's morning show "gets" women. They love listening to him because he listens to them.
Alas, Carson was on holidays last week so we had to interview him via email. His insightful answers say a lot about why so many people love his show.
My mom.I remember many discussions at a young age about how everyone is equal regardless of race, gender, religion, sexuality or financial situation. That was hammered into me almost as if she was terrified to have a child who felt otherwise! Ha. Thumbs up for mom!
I think we're all connected in a very literal way. It's obvious that emotions and experiences are contagious. We feed off each other as intimate partners, as co-workers, and even as a city. Reading "The Intention Experiment" by Lynne McTaggart was an eye opener for me. She discusses what the fringe sciences have discovered about how we're connected.
Ad companies probably. Haha! I know that sounds like a smart-ass answer but really... our subconscious was mostly programmed by them. (Without our consent I might add.)
I've been trying to shake off most of what I learnt as a kid because none of it seems to be true. For example, most my early goals as a kid were to obtain 'stuff' and now as a wiser adult it's like, wait a sec... none of this stuff has helped me to be happier at all,WTF! My mother loved me, and I had a couple solid mentors along the way, but sometimes your biggest influencers aren't always your best.
I just came to accept that I'm not 'right' about anything... There's always a book, or a person or an idea that reminds me how little I know. That keeps me open to new ideas all the time. Sometimes people don't get that about my personality on the radio, because when you're doing a radio show, you have to polarize the audience to spark a discussion. So I'll dig my heels in and represent a hard opinion on something, when in reality... what the hell do I know!!?? My view is just a snapshot of the moment. I'm hopefully evolving all the time.
My family was tiny... my mom, sister and me. I think dudes who grow up around women have a natural inkling to understand more.
That being said, men and women literally have a different brain and speak a different language. A woman says to her man: "We never go out for dinner!" And what she means is, "I feel like going out for dinner." Meanwhile the man hears: "You're a lame partner, you don't take me out enough." And it bruises his ego. FAIL.
Yah, maybe it's not normal for a dude to read books about this stuff, but I get off workat 10am... what the hell else am I going to do??
If there's ever an overall theme to my show, it's that happiness doesn't come from the things we're trained to believe.We're all just trying to be happy. We're on the same mission, Let's help each other.
I use the term "knowledge Bomb" on-air when I share a cool piece of info. I think it's the "real talk" that people enjoy the most. I'm not an expert on anything but I like to start conversations that could potentially carry-on with co-workers or friends throughout the day. That being said, I really enjoy the distraction of pop culture. It's fun, and always getting weirder, and it's part of why I LOVE working at a Top-40 Radio station. SONiC ridiculously fun.
I used to smoke, chug energy drinks, and eat whatever. I did this armed with the knowledge that I was wearing myself down, but I was too 'busy' to take any of it seriously. So I guess I'm most proud of finally stepping up and taking what I put in my body seriously. It's quite the effort to cut the chemicals and shit out of what you eat. It's everywhere.
I'm also most proud of the commitment I made to myself to meditate daily.After years of reading about its profound benefits, I finally got down on the floor and did it. It's not easy to break in a new habit, especially one that involves siting still. Ha. But I committed, and I followed through. Haven't missed a day. Not only I'm reaping the benefits of the meditation itself, but following through on a goal is powerful in itself. It feels good knowing you can count on yourself. Right?
A documentary Kid filmed chronicling his move to SONiC from The Beat will be airing on CityTV Vancouver at the beginning of March. Called Kid Carson Making the Switch, you can catch it on:
Friday, March 8, 730-8pm
Saturday, March 9, 11-11:30pm
Sunday ,March 10, 6:30-7pm
Monday, March 11, 11-1130om
You can also connect with Kid by tuning into SONiC 104.9 or on the app. (Search "sonic radio" in the App Store)
Twitter: @kidcarson
Instagram: kidcarsonshow
