Stayed Tuned

Wednesday, October 28, 1998

Stayed Tuned

Campus radio stays alive with a new cable station and more time
to play music

By Jena Coghlan

Daily Bruin Contributor

Commercial radio no doubt booms loudly, but you won’t find as
much Geoff Buckley, Deicide, Yo la tango, Bed Head and Pavement
anywhere else except right here on campus.

KLA, the campus radio station, prides itself on fast-moving,
undocumented sounds to carry students, using music and talk,
throughout the day .

Found on 91.9 FM and recently added to cable TV channel 29, KLA
can be heard in all the on-campus residence halls.

"Being able to integrate graphic and video equipment this time
for the cable channel loans a lot of options." said Chris Brennan,
program director, radio administrator and disc jockey for the past
five years.

"We might not have 80,000 listeners, but you’re going to get
experience," he added.

The reason KLA can be heard in the dorms and almost nowhere else
is that UCLA missed the boat in the 1950s, when radio signals were
bought for far cheaper than today.

The university, however, acquired a signal in 1963. It uses a
0.1 wattage transmitter (compare that to a commercial radio
station’s transmitter, which can be over 100,000 watts), that only
transmits to LeConte Avenue and not much farther.

Listenership, though, has increased due to new technologies that
have allowed more people to tune-in.

Giveaways also help conjure up student support, and with hot
items such as Universal Studios Horror Nights II tickets, Gap khaki
pants, and talking stuffed bears, more students are tuning in to
the station.

This fall quarter has lent an increase of 40 hours per week of
air time on weekends and late nights, extending the hours of
programming from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m.

Lavin Ruiz, a fifth-year psychobiology student, said he likes to
listen to music while he studies but often forgets about the campus
radio station.

"I turned it on a few years ago. I was curious about its
disappearing after one year. I wondered what happened to it," he
said.

"I know if I saw the number advertised, by The Bruin stands
perhaps, I’d program my walkman," he added.

Located in the back of the Ackerman Grand Ballroom, the radio
station walls are lined with CDs, records and sticker graffiti.

It may look chaotic with DJs and interns running around, but the
office actually runs without much brain overload or mass confusion.
Everyone who works there knows a lot of time is committed, on a
volunteer basis.

Nearly 100 people applied at the beginning of the quarter to
work at the entirely student-run station, but only 15 were chosen
to help DJs or work broadcast equipment.

Brennan, a fifth-year history and German student, hosts his own
program on Monday mornings .

My Indie World, on the air from 7 to 9 a.m., showcases
alternative bands such as Wilco and Super Chunk, and other bands
that usually don’t get support from the music industry at
large.

Two new music shows are Jambalaya by Makoto Mizutani on Fridays
from 10 a.m. to noon, and Rock en Español by Francisco Garcia
and Alex Latios on Sundays from 7 to 9 p.m.

"I just love being able to play music really loud and talking on
the radio," said Stephanie Sales, a fourth-year history student,
who has been doing her alternative format mix for two years.

Tina Harrington, a third-year musicology student and general
manager, and Nick Johnson, a third-year economics student and
director of promotions, feature one band a week on their show,
Discography, which broadcasts on Monday nights from 7 to 9.

"We both like the same bands, so we thought it fun to play rare
songs and to spotlight groups like Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead and
Tori Amos." Harrington said.

Mike Gharabiklou, a third-year student majoring in cognitive
science with a computer science specialization, said that the music
industry often looks to college radio for inspiration.

"College radio is mainly a chance to hear music. On major radio
stations you can practically set your watch to the times they play
the same songs."

Nearly 250 CDs a month from various labels arrive at the
station, everything from garage bands to Beck.

Disc jockeys compile lists of the most frequently aired songs in
a week and then send them to College Music Journal, a magazine that
distributes scores to commercial radio. Bigger commercial stations
rely on these scores to determine their future line-ups.

"(Mainstream) radio stations wait for college radio. They want
their reactions, and then they take chances," Gharabiklou said.

In addition to playing the latest grooves, news manager Donald
Bendz, a fourth-year sociology student, and 15 assistants write
Bruin news. News reports and sport score updates occur twice a day,
with an hour-long news show on Thursday nights.

"It’s an alternative format, not mainstream," Bendz said.

On one particular night, the station ran stories on bathroom
scandals, a girl who’s lived in a tree for 10 months and a gun that
only fires using a custom ring on the trigger.

The radio station has also provided public service announcements
to its listeners, including everything from rape prevention and
drug counseling hotlines to free plays.

Ultimately, though, the students at KLA just want to play
music.

"We’re mostly about music, for all genres, but with news reports
and football coverage, we’re also trying to speak to UCLA with news
that’s entertaining and informative," Harrington said.DAVID
HILL

Anne Walls, a second-year communications major, dj’s during her
show on KLA radio.

Comments, feedback, problems?

© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]