Alex Giordano kicks back in his chair during his 10 p.m. heavy metal show, “Thrash and Trash.”
A weary-eyed janitor finally makes it to the University of the Fraser Valley’s C Building. It’s quiet, it’s late and he wants to go home.
The janitor pushes his utility cart across the linoleum, then stops in front of CIVL Radio’s seemingly vacant studio. As he sweeps the floor under the studio window, he hears a ruckus. Looking up, he gasps, yells, then stumbles backwards, crashing through the window of the opposite room. The janitor has been startled a lone man in a suit vest and tie, maniacally headbanging and air drumming.
It’s Alex Giordano, the enthusiastic host of Thursday night’s Thrash and Trash on CIVL Radio and self-proclaimed “classy guy with the tie.”
Giordano, who started his heavy metal radio show in May 2012, runs the show with ease. He spits out words quickly in a his radio voice, like an auctioneer calling bids from a crowd. Giordano often kicks back in his chair, his feet propped on the desk. Among the clutter of cables on the studio desk is a turntable, which he spins with his thumb during songs.
Signs of a seasoned host.
Once upon a time, Giordano would organize his shows at least four days before air. Now, he organizes shows 20 minutes before he goes live. Hosting Thrash and Trash on the radio is a happy break from university live, and as most students know, university life tends to hinder what we really want to do. So when people ask Giordano about what he does, he tells them the most meaningful part.
“When people ask me what I do, I don’t tell them I work at a pet store,” said Giordano. “I don’t tell them I go to school or even that I’m going into law. I tell them I host a show on the radio.”
Because it’s college radio, it’s assumed that his work is unpaid, and even unheard. In some ways, that’s true, especially the unpaid part. But Giordano does have a following, including listeners from Japan and Spain. Before radio, Giordano tried many different pastimes – he drew, played video games, taught martial arts. But none of these were fulfilling enough for him. Ideas for artwork got stale, making money for video games was taxing, and teaching martial arts wasn’t personally expressive enough for him.
Radio became the venue for Giordano to involve his passions on an individual level, and heavy metal was the passion that started the show in the first place. On Thrash and Trash, he’s able to conduct shows his way (CIVL Radio and CRTC rules notwithstanding.)
Giordano doesn’t host the show just for himself but for the music community, too. Now, he gets to call himself a promoter.
“Now, I’m more than just a fan that knows people,” said Giordano. “I’m a fan that knows people, and then gets shit done.” Even if still only in a small way, Giordano helps local artists by featuring them on CIVL Radio.
Giordano speaks into a studio mic and shifts a fader on the mixing board during a conversation portion of his show.
CIVL radio, the University of the Fraser Valley’s critically acclaimed radio station, is known for operating on a tiny budget. Giordano wishes the station could get more funding to operate. The station can’t even broadcast to the university’s Chilliwack campus, and without the desired materials for marketing, many UFV students don’t even know CIVL Radio exists.
“You’ve been to the studio – half the shit’s falling apart, and we’ve made do,” said Giordano. “A lot of our shit’s held together with duct tape. Literally.”
Giordano is concerned about the station’s shorthanded status. He stresses the importance of supporting organizations like CIVL, which diversify life for UFV students and in the long run, life for Abbotsford and the lower mainland. A lot of great artists come out of Abbotsford, some of which gain great followings and end up exploding in Vancouver’s music scene.
“Who do you think got these bands started?” asked Giordano. “Places like CIVL, and people like us.”
