My name is Tom. I am volunteering at Eastside Radio to get some experience in media, with the intention of swindling some inexperienced recruitment manager into giving me a paid job somewhere in media. As luck would have it, Eastside FM is located close to my house and were generous enough to allow me through the door.

I am attempting to crowbar my way into media and radio as it seems to be the only interesting area which is applicable to my otherwise dull university degree. I listen to a large variety of music, even the jazz of Eastside Radio. I find it deplorable that jazz and some of the other alternative music played here is so often referred to as elevator music, especially since elevators no longer play music.

I’ve had a lot of exposure to live music as I previously worked as a bartender at stadiums for large concerts. Whilst there I heard Metallica, AC/DC, P!NK and Coldplay. I also worked for all 5 Taylor Swift concerts without earbuds and was awarded the Victoria Cross Medal for bravery after an emergency brain transplant.

So into Eastside I plunge, ready for the dizzying highs and the crushing lows of Community Radio. White-knuckled I grip this rollercoaster, hoping only to not get blinded by the paparazzi flashes as I leave the Paddington studio each time. Goodbye to my anonymity, farewell to my privacy, this is the life of the Community Radio volunteer, and this is the life I have chosen.