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WORK: A ROUND AT SOUTH TRANSFER

from SOUNDS OF NATURE AND OTHER MADNESS (2024 Remaster) by The Santairs

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This is one of the last bizarre “real life” recordings I did in my lifetime (not including avant-garde music.) I took a portable mono cassette tape recorder, and armed with a blank cassette with 30 minutes of availability; I went to work and recorded a round I would do for security at a place called South Transfer. By releasing this now, I’m giving away no secrets since the security company no longer is in the area, and the actual building itself is now gone and has been replaced and totally upgraded. Even though this recording features more of me talking than anything else, it does pick up other sounds I thought was interesting that I wanted to have. I think I talked to myself on the recording since I was so bored. The job itself was one of the most boring things I ever did, which was guarding a garbage dump. My main task was to prevent people from dumping their garbage in the station for free after hours. I worked there for 3 years before they finally got a gate to secure the area. One would have thought to do that instead of hiring guards to patrol the dump. A round at the station took an average of 30 minutes. (A “round” means walking and checking the area/property in one long and continuous loop.) I was to do at least one full round every 2 hours (and no more than one an hour.) A shift would average 12 hours a day. Even if I did the maximum checks per hour, I’d still have 6 hours of absolutely nothing to do. It was a bit physical to walk around the area since there were several hills and such, (and it’s also the first time I got hurt on the job, where I was trying to close a window that was left open which was just beyond my reach, and thus cutting my hands on the window frame.) As I listened to this again, it brought back some good memories. This was a time where I was a young adult but before having all the responsibilities of a full time adult (like CHILD SUPPORT—those government asses!) Okay, now I’m feeling much better.... Actually, one of the fondest memories I have is collecting a bunch of CD’s, records, cassettes, and books that people were throwing away. Most all times the customers would rather give me the stuff instead of dumping it forever into the garbage. They would still have to pay for the dump fee, but it always made them (and me) happy that their stuff found a home elsewhere. This particular recording was made on 12-11-89.
This is recording #394.

Recorded at South Transfer Station in Seattle, WA.

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from SOUNDS OF NATURE AND OTHER MADNESS (2024 Remaster), released July 11, 2016
Wayde K. Brown

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The Santairs Auburn, Washington

I am a musician, singer, and songwriter doing this part-time but have been doing it all my life. I started singing before I could talk at the age of one, and wrote my first real song at 15 years of age. (If you count avant-garde as a song, then the age would be 7.) I currently own my own recording studio; and I write, perform, and record my own music (and other's from time to time.) I am Santairs. ... more

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