It's time to flip the switch on your radio dial. You're used to leaving it on FM. That's normal. That's where all those nice, friendly corporate stations hang out. But if you look toward the back, or maybe on the side of the stereo you'll see a little switch that says "AM." That's not for your morning clock-radio alarm, that's where the best radio station in town hangs out - Radio 1190.
I finally became aware of that "other" side of the dial while at work. Most of my waking hours are spent here in the Boulder Planet confines and regardless of how many record companies send however many CDs, tapes and promo gimmes, a void can develop - you've got to have good music to get through the day.
Want diversity? Radio 1190 played Black Flag and Muddy Waters within a few minutes of each other. Are you lonely and want some human interaction? They take requests (and actually play what you ask for!).
Instead of the mostly puppet DJs at KBCO, KTCL, KXPK, KBPI and the rest, CU's campus station, Radio 1190 (call letters KVCU), has real music fans running the show. Call up with that request and chances are they know what you're talking about. If they don't know, they might even go through the trouble of asking someone else in the station.
Radio 1190 is the product of the drawn-out struggle that KUCB, the old campus station, went through. KUCB was the station no one could hear, but it seemed everyone wanted to fight over what would happen to it. The CU students rallied together to pass an initiative to fund the rebirth of their campus radio station. Jim Musil was brought in from the University of Minnesota, where he started as a student and worked his way up through their campus station. After 10 years, he decided it was time to move on and ended up as General Manager for CU's new station, KVCU.
"We're getting more and more of a buzz as we go along," Musil says. "But we have two things going against us right now: we play music no one's heard and we broadcast on AM."
Then again, that's what sets it apart from other radio stations.
"We like that our DJs are honest and quirky. It gives the station a truer feel," Musil adds.
Employing college students can be an adventure, but everyone working there aside from Musil is a student.
"We keep the student workers as long as we can," he says, "but there's a high attrition rate. Half the staff we had when we launched on November 4 has changed."
For those budding Jim Ladds and Wolfman Jacks out there, the station brings in new DJs and show hosts as spots become available. There are two levels of members at the station - the long-time members do the specialty shows (jazz, world beat, hip hop, rockabilly, etc.); the ones just starting out get indoctrinated through the regular programming schedule so they can learn the ropes.
Musil, half-jokingly, said that Radio 1190 is "working on an advertising budget similar to what KBCO might shell out over a weekend."
In lieu of massive ad campaigns, the station is getting its name out by sponsoring shows at the Fox, Ogden, and anywhere else there's a show with potential listeners in the crowd. They sponsored shows by Modest Mouse and Built To Spill and are looking forward to plugging the upcoming Guided by Voices and Superchunk concerts.
The web site, www.radio1190.org, lets listeners check out the schedule of specialty shows, DJ time slots and descriptions of what's being played during those shows. There's a Top 10 play list (seems the over-eager intern just kept on going, so it's more like a Top 31 or something), upcoming concert calendar and an in-depth history of the station (it's been a rocky road to where they are now).
"This is a four-year process for us," Musil says. "As the students come into the university and grow with us, we hope to build a lasting legacy."
Radio 1190 might be on the wrong side of the dial, but at least it's in the right frame of mind.
I'll see you out there.