Sound Salvation
Radio Lives at Kpoet
I walk into the radio station at exactly 12 noon. It’s my first-ever shift as a deejay for Kpoet radio. I’m really nervous. Inside the station, though, the bookshelves, beanbag chairs and string lights make for a relaxed atmosphere. The bookshelves are full of CDs from artists such as My Chemical Romance, Michael Jackson, John Mayer and albums including Fleetwood Mac’s “Tango In The Night,” Paul McCartney “Flowers In The Dirt,” and Led Zeppelin’s fourth album. The deejay desk is shaped in a U with the computer and console in the middle. There’s a speaker and a microphone on each side of the computer. On the desk are two turntables and Big Ugly — the CD player. Covers of albums by Paul Simon, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and bands from the past and present cover the walls.
Matty Gallegos, the deejay on before me, is scheduled to play music from 12–1 p.m. on www.kpoetradio.com, broadcast live for everyone who is able to access the website. I arrive early because I forgot how to turn everything on. I introduce myself to Matty and we sit down in the chairs by the computer and start talking about school, friends and, ultimately, music — our favorite genres, least favorite, favorite bands… concerts. We have similar, but different, tastes in music. In the studio, music from Gallegos’s Spotify playlist is blaring from the speakers. We’re listening to what anyone on campus dialed into www.kpoetradio.com is hearing. Gallegos plays songs I’ve never heard like Empire of the Sun’s “We Are the People.” When his time is up and my set begins, I show him my playlist of favorite Beatle songs. Before we know it, it’s time for Gallegos to leave and for me to go on. He turns and says, “I’m so glad I became a part of KPoet.”
I was thinking the exact same thing.
When people think of radio, they probably think of the old days when radio was the television of its day: a box that sat on a table or mantle place and broadcast most of the news and entertainment of the day, along with what it proved especially efficient for — delivering music to a wide audience that would no longer have privileged enought to go to venues to see and hear music performed live. Today, many think of radio as an obsolete technology, replaced by streaming online services, podcasts, digital venues such as Spotify and even YouTube.
Radio, though, even when it comes in streaming digital out of a computer like Kpoet (and not from your grandad’s transistor), can be part of the thread that ties communities together. In fact, KPoet has been operating on campus for almost 10 years. The media organization not only brings news and music to campus but also provides opportunities for students who love music to get hands-on practical experience in a quasi-professional environment.
KPoet supports many functions on campus. Deejays are sent to basketball games and annual school events such as the Welcome Back party at the beginning of the year. At these events, KPoet deejays try to provide a fun atmosphere as well as music for everyone to enjoy. The spring concert weekend, KChella, is one of Kpoet’s marquee events.
Danielle Ruacho-Murillo, a former KPoet deejay and CD reviewer who is the current station manager, says she has big hope’s for Kchella. “I’m amping up our KChella, which is the festival that we hold in the spring and its going to be huge this year,” says Ruacho-Murillo, “and hopefully that will really get our name out there. Hopefully, people will associate the concert with KPoet and think, ‘Hey, they’re pretty cool.’”
Ruacho-Murillo, a junior majoring in English, is a true believer in radio. She says Kpoet is struggling to attract the staff it needs to keep up with duties such as music programming, CD reviews and marketing, etc., let alone expand its presence on campus and beyond. The station has also been inaccessible at times while the website undergoes a much-needed recontruction that will eventually improves the station’s broadcast quality and reach. When the website is up to speed, Ruacho-Murillo has plans to introduce a political talk show. “It’s important for journalism to combine with radio because it wouldn’t just be a newspaper for people to read and throw away, people will be listening and that’s what makes it different,” she explains.
When KPoet moves forward and they start having curated playlists and they start having recorded podcasts and they start offering live events…I think that’s the way to really engage the student body and radio.
Media consultant Alex Hackworth has been integral to helping Kpoet modernize with the new website and broaden its programming. One example already underway is Cozy Corners, a live broadcast he set up in conjunction with Lift Coffee in Uptown Whittier that features once-a-month live performances by Whittier College students. The shows are produced and broadcast in collaboration with VPS, Video Production Society. Hackworth insists that radio is still relevant; it’s just that the old ways of thinking about it are changing.
“I wouldn’t say radio is dead, because its sill easy to access and its still digital so we can still listen to it,” says Hackworth. “I think the way that we approach radio is maybe changing. You’re not in your car or desktop anymore but you’re more listening to pre-recorded segments or you’re listening to playlists. The people who consume media today want to watch and listen and consume things on demand, on their own time table.
“KPoet has a lot of potential,” Hackworth continues. “So when KPoet moves forward and they start having curated playlists and they start having recorded podcasts and they start offering live events…I think that’s the way to really engage the student body and radio and have them rethink what radio means.”
Most Kpoet deejay students say they ended up working at the station after hearing about it from an employee who reached out to them. If I wasn’t a commuter, I probably would have never heard of KPoet. As it happens, I park in the Campus Center lot almost everyday and walk through the hallway under the Campus Inn where you can find the offices to such media organization sas the Quaker Campus and Kpoet. Sometimes, I would peek through the small window at the entrance and see album covers for artists such as Fleetwood Mac, Paul Simon, Led Zeppelin and more posted on the walls. Before long, I found out that Kpoet was open to anyone who wanted to join.
During my interview, Danielle Ruacho-Murillo, the current station manager, said Kpoet was like family and that struck a chord with me, especially because its rare to find people who like the same kinds of things I do — like classic-rock bands such as the Beatles. KPoet seemed like a place where students who love music can express that in any way and find a place to fit in.
Radio is important to me because I believe in music and how it can make your day great. KPoet can give students the opportunity to connect with people through music and through their voices. Before working at KPoet radio, I was shy and quiet. I still am, but when I’m behind the mic with only my voice, I can be whoever I want to be. I learned to love music through the voices on KLOS and KEarth and I want to do the same through KPoet. Here is my chance and its open to everyone on Whittier campus.
Near the end of the fall term, I went into the station just minutes before my last final and last day on campus before the break. I stook up on the couch near the entrace and I tried to soak it all in: the twinkling string lights, the Fleetwood Mac album I don’t have but really want, the office chair I’d sit in every week for my deejay set. I knew it’d only be two months before I’d see it again, but there was something about the place that felt like home. I brushed my hand across the bookshelf of albums as I put back the Paul McCartney album I had borrowed. It was hard to think I wouldn’t be sitting at the desk every week and saying: “You’re listening to KPoet Radio. I’m Lovely Rita and today I’ll be playing my acoustic rock playlists for you guys. I hope you enjoy so just sit back, relax and let’s rock.”
I turned off the lights and closed the door and went to take my final knowing that the break would pass by quickly and I’d be right back do doing my sets.
