RetroRadio – Paul Potts

November 22, 2018
by Rodney Olsen
Add Comment

RetroRadio is a series of posts of radio interviews from my time working at 98five Sonshine FM covering everything from issues of spirituality to chats with visiting musicians and celebrities.

Hopefully, the interviews spark a few memories and a few thoughts.

This week Paul Potts is starting a Christmas tour of Denmark and Norway with several sold out shows. He has certainly come a long way since the days of being a mobile phone salesman.

Paul first sang opera in 1999 in a karaoke competition, dressed as Luciano Pavarotti.

In the following years, he dabbled in amateur opera but it was in June 2007 when his audition for Britain’s Got Talent was broadcast that he began his truly extraordinary journey towards winning the first season of the competition.

He then became known around the world as the mobile phone salesman with the incredible voice. Millions of people around the world have since watched that first audition that blew the audience and the judges away.

I spoke to Paul back in April 2009. While working in radio my job allowed me the opportunity to speak to many well-known people from all around the world.

I’d have to say that my chat with Paul would rank among my favourite interviews because he seemed like such an ordinary and very likeable guy. He certainly has an amazing voice but he remains genuine and down to earth.

Just click the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post to hear our conversation.

I spoke to Paul about suffering at the hands of bullies in his younger years, comparisons between his story and that of Susan Boyle, the unlikely star of the 2009 season of Britain’s Got Talent and about the career path he thought of following when he was just six.

I hope you’ll take the time to listen to the interview and enjoy spending some time with the remarkable Paul Potts.



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading RetroRadio – Paul Potts? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.

RetroRadio – Brandi Carlile

November 15, 2018
by Rodney Olsen
1 Comment

RetroRadio is a series of posts of radio interviews from my time working at 98five Sonshine FM covering everything from issues of spirituality to chats with visiting musicians and celebrities.

Hopefully, the interviews spark a few memories and a few thoughts.

Brandi Carlile released her sixth studio album, By the Way, I Forgive You, in February this year. She recently teamed up with U.K. singer-songwriter Sam Smith for a duet version of her song Party of One.

Rodney_Brandi.jpgDuring the last week, she had the honour of singing my favourite Joni Mitchell song, A Case of You, with Kris Kristofferson at Joni’s 75th birthday celebration. She’s an extremely talented and highly respected artist.

All the way back in March 2008, I had the opportunity to chat with Brandi when she visited Perth to Support Maroon 5.

If you haven’t heard much of Brandi, here’s the song that first captured me, The Story.

At the time we sat down to talk, Brandi’s music had gained a wider audience through the television series, Grey’s Anatomy.

I interviewed so many people over my years of working in radio but my time with Brandi certainly stands out as one of my highlights. She’s extremely talented and it was wonderful to be able to chat with her.

You can listen to the interview using the media player below.

[Note: All RetroRadio interviews on RodneyOlsen.net are a snapshot of the time they were recorded. We all grow and change and so the opinions and thoughts of those in the interviews at the time of recording may or may not necessarily be the same as they are today.]



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading RetroRadio – Brandi Carlile? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.

Working at Enjoyment

June 22, 2018
by Rodney Olsen
Add Comment

It’s a weird concept but I’ve been thinking again recently about the self-discipline we require to do the things we love.

We might imagine that we’ll just get on and do the stuff we love doing and that we only need to discipline ourselves to do the things that we don’t like to do; the things we have to anyway.

It takes real discipline and resolve for me to do any gardening and a bunch of other things that aren’t really my thing but what about the things I really enjoy doing?

Shouldn’t those things come easily to me?

Perth’s beautiful weather makes my city the perfect place for cycling. It’s one of my favourite passtimes yet if I don’t discipline myself to get out there on my bike I’ll miss out on something I love. It’s easy to sleep in on a Saturday morning instead of rising early to ride with my cycling friends but I know that if I put in the effort I’ll get greater benefits from cycling than I would from an extra hour in bed.

When I force myself into the habit of regular cycling I feel fitter and more energised, yet that discipline can slip away so easily. With a ride right across Australia on the horizon next year, I’d better get that discipline happening soon or I’ll miss out on my big adventure.

If I love reading so much why do I need to discipline myself to sit down with a book for an hour?

A week or two can often go past without me sitting down to soak in some words from the pages of a good book yet when I make the time to read I can easily get lost among the words and I thoroughly enjoy every moment of it. Sitting down with a coffee in one hand and a book in the other is one of the most satisfying things in the world yet I can waste my time on the trivial things of life rather than reading.

We need to work on our relationships.

Some relationships are easier than others, but we even need to put in a great deal of effort on our relationships with those we love.

Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well. ? Theodore Roosevelt

Do you find the same thing happening?

Are there things that you really love yet you find you have to discipline yourself to invest your time pursuing them?

I find the same thing with my faith. I’m never happier than when I feel that I’m in tune with the Creator yet I can let time slip through my fingers without making the effort to recharge my spiritual batteries.

The simple spiritual disciplines of prayer, reading the scriptures, reflecting and others that are absolutely life giving can be easily crowded out in our busy world.

Why do we let ourselves get robbed of the real stuff of life?

It’s somehow strange that we should have to exercise discipline and self-control to do the things that make us feel most alive but sadly it’s true. I guess that’s where priority setting comes into play.

What are you like at doing the things that you love? Are there things you love, things that truly energise you, that you have let slip away?

(This post previously published here at RodneyOlsen.net)



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Working at Enjoyment? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.

Bing and Bowie 40 Years Later

December 21, 2017
by Rodney Olsen
2 Comments

I’ve got over four hundred Christmas songs on my iPod and they’ve been filling our home and my car with Yuletide cheer … whatever that is. Everyone from Michael Buble to Diana Krall, Bing Crosby, Run DMC, Barry White, The Wiggles, Guy Sebastian, Jimmy Barnes and even Russel Coight, along with many others, are singing about Christmas.

And Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without this song. It’s very much part of the soundtrack of my life. I’m not a huge fan of the song Little Drummer Boy but I am a fan of both Bing Crosby and David Bowie so I love hearing their Little Drummer Boy / Peace On Earth medley around this time every year. The chat at the start of the video is cheesy and somewhat awkward but I just love it.

Bing Crosby was my dad’s favourite singer and Bowie has always been a favourite of mine so to have the two of them combined has always been pretty special for me.

While the single wasn’t released until 1982, the video was shot in September 1977, just over 40 years ago, for Bing’s Christmas special. Unfortunately he never saw the special aired. Bing Crosby died of a heart attack in October 1977. Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas was broadcast on CBS in the United States on the 30th of November, 1977.

Little Drummer Boy was written back in 1941 with Peace on Earth written especially for this collaboration.

Do you have a favourite Christmas song? Do you have a favourite artist at Christmas time? Does Mariah Carey’s very successful Christmas album get a spin at your place each December?



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Bing and Bowie 40 Years Later? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.

Let the Music Play

December 1, 2017
by Rodney Olsen
Add Comment

The old song says, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year” but not everyone’s convinced. Either way, you can’t escape the all pervasive sounds of sleigh bells and cheery Christmas music at this time of year.

For some people it rings out the happy news that the big day is imminent. Others are left asking, “How did we get here so quickly?”

It’s the first day of December. Christmas is around the corner. That means it’s time for me to press play on my selection of Christmas music.

I’ve got over four hundred Christmas songs on my iPod. There are songs about snow and the cold weather, which sound really weird when we’re looking down the barrel of hot summer days, through to odes to a fat guy in a red suit.

Everyone joins in with music from Michael Buble to Diana Krall, Bing Crosby, Run DMC, Barry White, The Wiggles, Guy Sebastian, Jimmy Barnes and even Russel Coight, along with many others. There aren’t too many musos who haven’t released something Christmassy over the years.

Then, among all the excitement of all that the big day holds, comes songs that tell of something deeper. I love all the fun of the season but the Christmas music that speaks most clearly to me is the music that tells the simple story of a baby, born two thousand years ago in humble surroundings, and arriving with the massive task of healing a broken world.

One of the songs that captures that story the best is still Randy Stonehill’s Christmas Song for All Year Round. It not only speaks of the baby we celebrate at this time of year but of the price he paid on our behalf.

Christmas Song for All Year Round
-Randy Stonehill

I wonder if this Christmas they’ll begin to understand
The Jesus that they celebrate is much more than a man
‘Cause the way the world is I don’t see how people can deny
The only way to save us was for Jesus Christ to die

And I know that if St. Nicholas was here he would agree
That Jesus gave the greatest gift of all to you and me
They led him to the slaughter on a hill called Calvary
And mankind was forgiven when they nailed him to the tree

But most of all the children they’re the ones I hope will learn
That Jesus is our savior and he’s going to return
And Christmas isn’t just a day and all days aren’t the same
Perhaps they’ll think about the word and see it spells his name

And I know that if St. Nicholas was here he would agree
That Jesus gave the greatest gift of all to you and me
They led him to the slaughter on a hill called Calvary
And mankind was forgiven, mankind was forgiven
We were all forgiven when they nailed him to the tree

So Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.

I wonder if this Christmas they’ll begin to understand??

What is your favourite Christmas music?

Do you have a favourite Christmas song? Do you have a favourite artist at Christmas time? Will your songs be filled with sleigh bells or a saviour?

Let me know about your musical tastes around Christmas.



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Let the Music Play? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.