Lucas Hummel is an Indiana native who made their way to WYSO after hearing Luke Dennis address potential interns at Wittenberg University.
Lucas serves as WYSO’s volunteer coordinator and in this interview we learn about their fondness for making music.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Kenney: You're listening to WYSO Weekend on 91.3 WYSO. I'm Jerry Kenney. Pleased to be with you this weekend, and also sharing some space with us for the weekend is WYSO's Lucas Hummel. Welcome to the program.
Hummel: Thank you for having me, Jerry.
Kenney: We do these interviews with the staff so our listeners can get to know people who kind of keep the station running, and why don't you tell us what you do here at WYSO.
Hummel: I do fundraising support, essentially. I'm the membership associate or coordinator, so I send members "thank you" notices, I interact with our members on a daily basis and process the payments and go represent us at events.
Kenney: So Jackie Winfrey is your boss, right? And you two really do a lot behind the scenes. So we really appreciate that. Tell us a little bit about how you came to know about WYSO and how you got on the staff here.
Hummel: I actually didn't know anything about WYSO until I was a senior in college at Wittenberg and a fellow alumnus, Luke Dennis, the general manager at this station came and gave a talk to a group of interns that I was in, and from there I came and got an internship like that fall. I just kind of stuck around and no one can get rid of me-
Kenney: You know that happens a lot in public radio and a lot of it's because people really don't want to leave. So what do you find interesting about your work?
Hummel: Oh, I love the opportunities I get to meet people. I'm big on connecting with other people. And I meet all sorts of people through events, through membership, through volunteer coordination. Like there's all sorts of things I get do. I'm very excited about that.
Kenney: That's great. We've got a great crew here. And let's talk a little bit about outside interests. But first, I want to know, are you Dayton native, Miami Valley born?
Hummel: I am not; I'm from southeastern Indiana. I am from a little town called Lewisville that's a little more in the eastern part of Indiana. So now I'm here.
Kenney: Big family, small family?
Hummel: A very small family, born into a farming family in Indiana, as one is. And then my father's from Chicago so not a whole bunch of time with extended relatives. It's just two brothers and a mother and a father.
Kenney: Okay, did you enjoy farm life?
Hummel: No
Kenney: Hence your move to the Miami Valley. So I know you're a music fan.
Hummel: I am a music fan and a creator of music.
Kenney: So what do you create?
Hummel: I create my own songs. I'm a singer-songwriter, and then I'm also in a band, and occasionally throw shows and stuff like that. I'm really into psychedelic music. Not necessarily psychedelic, but really into Grateful Dead, really into like King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Yeah? So most of it's folky, very lo-fi, self-produced, self-recorded.
Kenney: Do you play around the Dayton area?
Hummel: I do play around the Dayton area. I've had a couple shows at Blind Bob's, a couple of shows at Oregon Express, a couple show at Belmont Billiards. And then yeah, I play up in, help book occasionally and play up in Springfield at like the state theater in my hat.
Kenney: We've talked a little bit that Belmont Billiards is not your grandfather's Belmont billiards.
Hummel: No, it's not. It's a wonderful, wonderful place now though. I love what they've done with the place. I love Ike. What a fantastic individual. I love Jackie too. What fantastic individuals. And yeah, Belmont Billiards is quite the place, quite the scene. Lots of youth.
Kenney: How did you get into music? Is your family kind of musical or was i just something you picked up on your own?
Hummel: My family is kind of musical. I grew up around bluegrass and my dad plays guitar and everything, but I was in school and kind of going through something and then I was like, ah, I don't really want to be in school anymore. But I had to be because it was my senior year, so I kind just acted at Wittenberg and then literally acted at and then did my own side music stuff and I've been developing that.
Kenney: Well, is acting something you want to continue to do or have?
Hummel: It would be interesting to do, for sure. I really liked it, I got really into it. I got into character work and stuff like that.
Kenney: So, final question. We've got a lot of pet lovers here on staff at WYSO. Tell me about your home situation there.
Hummel: Yeah, I've got a wonderful little toddler, a two-year-old golden retriever called Maiden who everyone said get to two years and then she'll be perfect. And that is not true. She's still quite cantankerous, but I love her and she’s my daughter.
