On Monday, Feb. 26, The EDGE 89.5 HD4, the student-run radio station of ETSU, hosted a segment with President Brian Noland. From 11 a.m. to noon, he was asked about his music playlist, what the music meant to him and interesting facts as well.

Mo Oluwa, Conner Napier and Bryson Carver were the hosts, asking Noland different questions about his musical background and favorite songs. Noland sent a playlist consisting of songs such as “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen, “Black” by Pearl Jam, “Pneuma” by Tool and much more.

“I grew up in a family where my father played the drums. When he was 18, he was drafted to go to be a part of the Korean conflict and his talent and ability allowed him to spend four years of service to the country as part of the U.S. Army Band,” stated Noland.

Noland talks about how music has always been a part of his life due to his dad’s talents. Nolan says that drum lessons occurred throughout his childhood and watching how music helped his father inspired him as well. He also says that his earliest memory of music was his mother singing “You Are My Sunshine” to him stands out.

“The element with music that is interesting is that the majority of these songs are either really old or by people who are really old, so the unique aspect of this is that the things you listened to as a kid are the things that stay with you. A lot of these are artists I listened to when I was young and they just stayed with me,” stated Noland.

When listening to music, Noland listens to the instrumental aspect of the song. He says that computerized technology has ruined that for him since there are no real instruments in the background. That is one thing he enjoys about older music because he enjoys listening to the real talents of people who can play. He mentions how drums and the baseline are the backbone of a song, which is what most of the songs on his playlist consist of.

As the show continued, Noland shared what his days consisted of on campus, which start at 7 a.m., and his favorite part of the day is engaging with students. Noland says that he enjoys talking to students and how he and the staff can help shape their life journey and career path. He also shared his favorite concert experience, which was Pearl Jam in Madison Square Garden.

Photo of Dr. Noland with students after his appearance on The EDGE. (Connor Lute/East Tennessean)

As the show ended, he spoke about his spring break plans, which consists of working here on campus. Still, hopefully, his motivational song “Panama” by Van Halen, and his other diverse music choices can get him through it.

If you want to listen to any radio shows or music in general, be sure to tune in to The EDGE 89.5 HD4 on TuneIn. Find the link to listen on the station’s Facebook page as well.

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