Jennifer Paige is a professional DJ and a bliss rider.
Photo by Denisa Kraus

Denisa Kraus
The Navigator

Interview with the host of Project Bliss, the weekly “radio munchies for your soul.”

Navigator: Why Project Bliss?

Jennifer Paige: Because everybody needs some time to mellow out, take the time to be, and let life happen around them. Stop moving around constantly and tune into yourself personally. It also goes along with the idea that there’s not enough good news in the media, so this is a chance to focus on that.

N: Who do you wish to approach with the show?

JP: I want it to speak to everybody on some kind of level. In the beginning, I didn’t focus on one specific genre, but changed a lot. I did acoustic music on some nights and electronic on others, but I stuck with that. It seemed pretty successful.

N: How do you prepare for each episode?

JP: Soundcloud and Bandcamp are two of my best resources for finding new, original music. I like to play new music on each show and try not to repeat songs. What I was doing before was focusing on a different theme every week, like overcoming anxiety one time or meditation another day. Now I switched it to every month having a sort of virtue. In December, when I started, the virtue was generosity, so each week I focused on a different aspect of generosity. That’s how I start preparing, actually. I think of those concepts first and then think about what kind of music would amplify that and what kind of exercises would go along. That’s pretty much all the preparation. It’s like one living organism, and in a way, it makes itself.

N: Which parts of hosting do you enjoy the most?

JP: I love doing the midway bliss—the bliss access exercises. I share with people the different things that work for me for different situations and for finding that inner bliss again. It’s really cool to get responses from the listeners who did the bliss exercises. People will be like “oh yeah, I did your exercise. You said not to do it while driving, but I did it anyway and it felt awesome!” Things like that lighten up my day.

N: Do you remember your first show?

JP: That was pre-recorded, as was the protocol at the time for new shows. We had a short period where we had to submit our first episode in order to be approved, so I did that. I had planned it completely, but then I stopped, because so many spontaneous things happened and that is when real, natural stuff comes out and stands out, and people remember it. And that’s what kept the show together.

N: Where in Nanaimo do you go for inspiration?

JP: The Colliery Dam. That’s my most frequent haunt in Nanaimo. Since I moved to Lantzville, it’s Huddlestone Beach and spending time near the ocean. Or walking around Neck Point Park. And playing and being really goofy with my kids. They give me a lot of ideas when it comes to being blissful and joyful. People need to remember how to be kids.

N: How would you inspire our readers to become CHLY programmers?

JP: I’d tell them to go for it. Whatever ideas you have, there’s got to be something there. Write it all down and see what comes out and try it. Find a programmer who would have you on the show if you’ve never done radio before, get comfortable, and then go for it. A lot of people think “I don’t know anybody at the radio. I’m not sure,” and that keeps them away, but that’s the worst reason for staying away from doing a show. You’ll meet people right away. They’ll jump up to help you. It’s the easiest radio station to get onto. But the biggest piece of advice—always make sure you know your music well, because even if you think you have a lot of music, you’ll play it out really fast.

N: If you could have your dream show…

JP: It would encompass more people. As I said, it is a living organism. It’s not just my show, but something that exists for people. So it’s something strong enough that anybody can pick up and take over from me or contribute to. Ideally, what I’d love to see in the future is different people getting involved in contributing music, and ideas, and exercises that help them find their bliss. I want to do more interviews with life coaches and health practitioners, and that would change the show in a lot of ways. I’d love to have a team of people who would not only do the radio, but go out and do, for example, hammock enlightenment sessions randomly in parks, and different things that would make people stop and go “whoa.”

Project Bliss airs every Tuesday from 8-9pm on CHLY 101.7 fm. Listen to the podcast at chly.dailysplice.com/project-bliss.