WQSV Profile:
M.E.
How did you come to be involved with WQSV? And how long have you been involved?
We have been listening to WQSV since moving to Staunton in 2020. It really helped us feel more connected to our new hometown while being isolated during a pandemic. WQSV welcomed the show Native America to Mondays from 5-6pm in January of 2025.
When did you start DJing? Are there any DJs who influenced you? Or something/someone else who influenced you?
January of 2025. The inspiration: having lived and traveled all over the country but not hearing Native and/or Indigenous music on the radio.
Talk about your connection to music/the role music plays in your life?
Music is home.
Describe your show.
Native America is contemporary Native and Indigenous music from the North American Continent.
Our past affects our future. Music is one of the ways we record lived experiences and knowledge that has been handed down, as well as attempt to make sense of the gifts and burdens bestowed upon us as human beings.
Contemporary Native and Indigenous music has a wide range of sound. Some artists like to keep the traditional sounds and instruments humming, while others choose to carve out a place in the ever-evolving genres of trap, hip hop, roots, folk, rock, punk, soul, and country. Most of the songs played on Native America are a blend of traditional with modern.
While we may find commonalities to other music in the beats, rhythms, instruments, and melodies, please pay attention to the lyrics.
In them we find understanding, teachings, preachings, histories untold, secrets buried, resistance, resilience, hope, and beauty.
What were the first concerts you attended?
Fugazi (1991)
Grateful Dead (1992)
Deee-Lite (1994)
Nine Inch Nails/Marilyn Manson (1995)
Do you have any particular criteria when selecting music for your show?
Because there is so much to choose from, I tend to have a subtle (or obvious) theme each week. All music is by Native and Indigenous musicians unless otherwise stated, due to a theme. For instance, one show was dedicated to Leonard Peltier upon his release from prison after 50 years of incarceration. During that show I played a few songs that were written about him/his cause by non-Native musicians.
M.E. is the host of Native America, which airs 5-6 PM on Mondays.
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