Laurie Savage is 19. She's a first-year student at Central Lakes College, is on KLKS radio on weekends, and she's a singer, plays trumpet, guitar and piano, and loves all kinds of music.
"Music is what gets me through the semester," said Laurie. "On Mondays and Wednesdays my last class is jazz band and it's a great feeling to be playing with people who actually want to be there."
And she wants to be there. She's taking trumpet lessons from Steve Anderson and piano lessons from Helen Anderson. She took vocal lessons first semester.
"The Andersons are awesome," Laurie said. "On Steve's 60th birthday we had cake and ice cream at jazz band rehearsal. Then on Friday night, he was playing at Maucieri's and we all came to hear him. We had a great time."
Her interest in music started at Pequot Lakes School where she played in the band and sang in the choir. Right now, her goal is to be a jazz singer. After completing CLC, she'd like to major in vocal jazz performance. In the meantime, she's busy taking classes at CLC and being the voice on KLKS on weekends.
The radio gig got started when her mom, Sherry, was listening to KLKS and heard about a weekend radio job. Laurie sent in her resume and had two interviews, and she got the job.
"I was absolutely terrified the first time I was on the air," she said. "I didn't know what button to push."
Bob Stafford trained her and knew she was really worried that she would do something wrong.
He asked her, "Did the tower fall down?"
"The tower didn't fall down and I learned to get over my mistakes and keep going," Laurie said. "He was awesome to work with."
She said it took her about a month to get over a bad case of nerves. Now she looks forward to going to work. On the radio, timing is everything, something she understands as a musician. Now the time flies by, she said, and before she knows it, her shift is over.
"Being on the radio at KLKS is a wonderful experience. I like it and feel comfortable now. I give the news on the hour and work from the play list. I've chosen Stevie Wonders' 'Signed, Sealed and Delivered' as my opening song after the news."
Laurie said she really liked her high school teachers. They influenced and encouraged her to go on with her music. She said she did sing a jazz number in high school before an auditorium filled with people.
"I was pretty nervous," she said. "Mike Sommerness, the high school band director, played the tenor sax and it turned out OK. My radio experience is helpful. I'm learning that you think of your audience as one person. It's a conversation."
She likes to fiddle around on the piano until she finds a melody she likes. Then she adds the chords. She hasn't written any of it down, but it's not forgotten. She said maybe she should put a few of those lines together.
"I'm trying to write the music, not the lyrics," she said.
And as for her future, at this time she just knows she wants to keep making music.
"It's hard to put in words, but there's a different freedom about jazz," Laurie said. "I also like classical, pop, and even some country, but jazz is my favorite."
She's been to a Wynton Marsalis concert at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis and she's looking forward to attending a Dave Brubeck concert.
"He's 80," she said, "and he's still playing."
Laurie has her jazz vocalist dream, but she says, "I have no idea what's planned."
Whatever it is, this young lady will always have her music.
