Off The Mic
Name: Morgan Cormack
DJ Name: DJ Emma Stoned
DJ Shift: Mondays, 12-3am
Major: Journalism (News and Information)
Minor: Spanish
Notable KJHK Contributions: Content Staff (Video editing and production)
Favorite Color: Blue
Hobbies: Writing, attending concerts/local shows, hanging out with friends, basketball, finding new music, editing videos
Ellie Fehlig: Who’s your favorite artist and why?
Morgan Cormack: I have a big array of favorite artists. I’m not really picky on music but I think my favorite band is Brand New. They’re just a great band overall. I saw them in April at the Midland. My roommate got me tickets for my birthday. I didn’t know until she got them for me and it sold out the next day and so I went to the show and I was like, “Oh, I’m so excited. I’ve never seen Brand New. I’ve missed them every time they’ve been in town or they are sold out.” They hadn’t been to Kansas City in five or six years and I finally got to see them. I was crying during 90% of the show.
EF: That’s awesome. What was the first album you bought?
MC: I think it was “American Idiot” by Green Day. The only reason I remember that is because I think I was in sixth grade and I obviously couldn’t drive yet so I rode my bike to Target near my parents’ house, which was about a mile away. I’m from Overland Park so it’s like suburbia. So I rode my bike to Target and I bought the explicit version of “American Idiot” and I felt like such a badass. I was like, “My mom’s gonna hate this.”
EF: Okay, so who or what got you interested in the type of music you like?
MC: I don’t know, really. I’ve always just kind of been up for listening to music. A lot of my friends have really been into alternative music. I really love rap and hip-hop as well, which is like the opposite spectrum. I’ve just been kind of the more artsy kid out of me and my siblings and I just really loved music. I had a phase in middle school where all I listened to was Green Day and Blink 182 and I was like, “I’m so rebellious!” Then I started listening to more alternative stuff. I had a really weird stage where all I listened to was hardcore and metal and then I kind of got out of that once I left high school. Now I really listen to alternative and hip-hop. I listen to what’s on the radio. Being around people and having different outlets to listen to music just really kind of got me into what I’m into today, if that makes sense.
EF: Yeah, definitely. So what song would you say describes you as a person or explains what you’re like?
MC: Whoa. This is probably the hardest question. Honestly a song I’ve always really related to probably since I was a teenager – whoa, wait I’m not a teenager anymore. That’s really weird. I heard a song; it’s called “It Must Really Suck To Be Four Year Strong Right Now.” It’s by Four Year Strong. Part of the song just goes, “The best advice I’ve found is don’t look down,” and it’s kind of a punk-ish kind of song. It’s really just about being who you are and just being positive. I think I can be kind of a negative person so sometimes I try to think about that song and kind of try to be more positive and be less pessimistic, if that makes sense.
EF: That’s definitely the most philosophical answer I’ve gotten. What made you decide to come to KU and join KJHK?
MC: I am from Overland Park so about half my class went to KU. I originally did not go to KU but then I transferred because my previous school’s Journalism program just wasn’t very good. I came here about a year and a half ago and I’m a News and Information major. Then there was my friend Nolan Donovan, who is the current Communications Director here at KJHK. He’s really what got me into KJHK and I really owe him a lot for that. He kind of brought it up to me one day and he’s like, “Hey, you should join KJHK. You’d really like it because you love music.” I was like, “Ehhh,” and then he was responded with, “Nope, you’re gonna do it.”
And then there was Mason Kilpatrick, who is the Content Director. He reached out to me and said, “I’d love to have you on my staff, please apply.” I applied, got a DJ shift and then I slowly got into Content Staff. I really owe those two a lot for being on KJHK because it’s been a really fun experience even though I have one year left.
EF: What app do you use the most? We’re on to the more random questions.
MC: I either use Tumblr a lot or I use Facebook. I also use the NHL app a lot. I love hockey so I keep up with that a lot. So either NHL or Tumblr, actually.
EF: Cool. Who would play you in a movie version of your life?
MC: I’d have to say Emma Stone. I’ll just tell you how I got my DJ name. I got my name because there was a period in high school where I dyed my hair very red. It was an auburn color and people I didn’t even know would come up to me and be like, “You remind me of, uh, what’s that actress’s name in ‘Easy A?'” I would say, “Emma Stone?” and they would say, “Yeah, yeah!” Apparently I have a “distinctive voice,” so people said I reminded them of her which is a compliment to me because I think she’s awesome. So yeah, I’d probably say Emma Stone would have to play me in a movie. Also because my DJ name is Emma Stoned, so it’s kind of meant to be, I think.
EF: What’s the most random thing you’ve watched on Netflix?
MC: I’m trying to think. I really have a guilty pleasure for Law & Order SVU so I watch that sometimes. I don’t know if that’s random. I was watching this documentary about Russian prisons and they’re so much more hardcore than the United States prisons. I think that’s so crazy. That’s probably the weirdest thing I’ve watched on Netflix.
EF: Who doesn’t love the occasional Russian prison documentary? So if you were to take a road-trip with anyone, living or dead, who would you want it to be?
MC: I love Betty White. She’s very much like a grandmother figure to me but she’s also hilarious and really wild. I don’t really have a specific place I’d want to go but if I could just get in an RV with Betty White for like a week, I think that’d be a really good time.