RADIO U

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), May 17, 2008 | by ANDREW WINEKE

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In the dimly lit basement of radio station KRCC, DJs Alex Horner and Scott Ventrudo are playing Mongolian hip-hop on Colorado College's new student radio station, SOCC.

A sign on the wall warns students "Think before you speak!" and another advises "If you wouldn't say it in front of your friend's grandmother, then don't say it."

That's college radio for you. College stations can be a training ground for the DJs of tomorrow or just a way for music lovers to share their favorite tunes. They can be the voice of the campus or reach out to the entire community. Some have thousands of listeners, some just a few dozen.

Colorado Springs is home to four college stations -- at Colorado College, the Air Force Academy, Pikes Peak Community College and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Here's a rundown on what they are, what they play and where to listen:

Colorado College -- SOCC (91.5 FM on KRCC's HD-3 digital suchannel or online at krcc.org)

SOCC, short for "The Sound of Colorado College," is the new kid on the college radio block. It signed on in March.

Seventy-four student DJs have since signed up, bringing their CDs, iPods and MP3 players to the studio.

"If you tune in now, you never know what you'll hear," said Matt Baer, a CC sophomore who is the station's operations manager.

"Everyone's getting more and more comfortable," said Jacqueline Danzig, a sophomore and the program director. "It kind of stinks that we've got summer break coming up because we're starting to get into a groove."

When SOCC signed on, the first few days were something close to chaos, with stumbles and snafus as the DJ's figured things out, but it was all music to KRCC general manager Delaney Utterback's ears.

"It's exactly what I envisioned college radio sounding like," he said.

KRCC, the Springs' National Public Radio affiliate, is owned by CC but runs mostly independently with a professional staff.

Giving CC its own station is a way to connect students, to give the campus something more in common. "Sometimes, CC struggles with a sense of camaraderie," Danzig said. "This has made me feel more connected."

Although SOCC broadcasts with the full power of KRCC, it's confined to the HD-3 digital subchannel, which requires an HD Radio to receive, so most listeners tune in online. At a small school, though, reaching even a small audience can help connect the campus.

"As far as the college goes, there's only 2,000 kids," Danzig said. "So even having 500 listeners, or even 100 can really have an impact."

Air Force Academy -- KAFA (97.7 FM and online at kafa.usafa.org )

The cadets at the Air Force Academy will someday be flying billion-dollar bombers and leading dangerous missions across the world. For the 30 cadet DJs at KAFA, though, their mission now is to play cutting edge alternative rock.

Even in an age where music is dominated by iPods and MP3s, college radio can still break a song -- although the cadet DJs admit that country and classic rock are the most popular styles at the academy.

"I'd still say college radio is pretty influential," said Bryce Johnson, a senior who serves as the station's program director. "There's definitely some songs we play six months before other stations play it."

Hearing commercial stations follow KAFA's lead on bands such as Flyleaf, Vampire Weekend and Panic At the Disco is a thrill, Johnson said.

KAFA broadcasts from a puny 20-watt transmitter mounted atop Vandenberg Hall.

Its signal barely reaches Interstate 25, so when the station began streaming over the Internet two weeks ago, it vastly expanded KAFA's potential audience -- not least to the legion of academy alumni who now serve in the far corners of the world. "I'm really glad we got this done before I graduated so I can listen to it," Johnson said.

"Due to our transmitter, we don't cover a huge area. You get past the south gate, you can't get us too well."

Because of the academy's focus on training leaders, few cadet DJs expect to go on to careers in radio. One exception is Andrew Kemendo, KAFA's general manager.

"My ultimate goal would be to have a syndicated talk show," Kemendo said.

"I've been listening to talk radio since Art Bell."

Pikes Peak Community College -- KEPC (89.7 FM and online at kepc.cjb.net)

At many colleges, students come to school and might discover radio. At KEPC, radio is school. Only nine students are accepted into the radio internship each semester and nearly all of them expect to soon be working in radio professionally soon. For now, station manager Sharon Hogg teaches them the ropes.

"If you listen to their first aircheck, it's amazing how far they come," Hogg said.

"After the first semester, I doubted myself a little bit," said Philip Wolf. After two years with KEPC, that's changed, he said.

"I feel like I could get a job anywhere," he said.

KEPC is the only college station that broadcasts in the ordinary FM band and can be heard anywhere in Colorado Springs. That means many, perhaps most, of the listeners for its alternative rock format have no connection to the college.