The tenure in Bremerton was quite an interesting experience. Following the Poulbso experience in which my brother, Andrew, and his wife, Amy Loh, had swindled me out of near $75,000 for a year’s work of work, I ended up living in Bremerton while working for the company that would eventually purchase the then defunct company, and attending college working on my second degree in computer science.
While living and attending college in Bremerton, a local AM radio station asked me to host a live show on the air. Monkey Boy Bill, a talk show host during the day, was my neighbor. He mentioned that a Sunday slot was coming available and asked of I knew any on-air personalities. The only thing I could recommend is promoting local bands, since several of my college friends were artists and musicians. Before too long, I was asked to host a radio show promoting local musicians. This would be a 90 day volunteer position for which I would receive no pay. I thought this would be fun and agreed to host a show on Sunday nights from 7:00pm to midnight.
It wasn’t long until word spread that local musicians would get air time if they met the few requirements. First, the bands had to be independent and “unsigned”, meaning no label could have picked them up. Second, they would have to be able to perform live in the studio with acoustic instruments.
The show was named “In Your Ear w Ethan Rivers” and within three weeks we had over 15,000 dedicated listeners. Bands from across Washington as far north as Bellingham, south from Vancouver and Olympia and east from Spokane and the areas in between were requesting to schedule a slot on the show. Each band was given a 90-minute interview live on-air while Rocky sat on the other side of the soundproof window recording and operating the soundboards.
This radio show led to managing many bands in the Seattle region and booking shows along the coastal areas and east into a variety of towns, cities and private parties. It was always a party and between bands and bodies, there was always a thrilling adventure. It was a time of bump and grind, booty and beer, bands and bodies. After two years of constantly on the go, the late nights and adult activities wore me out. I managed to graduate during that time, but it took more than average to maintain grades and work in addition to managing bands and bodies. I gave it up and focused on graduating from college. With a 3.83 GPA and a promising future, it was an easy decision. Had this experience not presented itself, my time there would have been much shorter than nearly the decade living on the peninsula.
If bands and bodies weren’t enough, though, it wasn’t long after when I became involved with playing competition pool including 8-ball and 9-ball leagues. Once again I found myself spending more than enough time in the clubs, some rather swank while others were dives.