If you tuned in last week, you’ll be aware that I had the pleasure of sitting down with one Dr. Longwood, infamous KUPS talk show host. This week I resumed my series of interviews by sitting down (figuratively) with a group of ‘Alternative’ DJs handpicked for recognition by KUPS.
The DJs: Josh Bornstein and Reeves Richard
Their Show: Super Beard Bros., Fridays 1-2 p.m.
The Question: What’s your on-air dynamic? “We tend to banter, and occasionally, ramble,” Bornstein commented. “Reeves and I take our jobs seriously, but that doesn’t mean we take ourselves seriously! (I’m pretty sure I stole that from a company’s website or something). Sometimes we’ll go on tangents about pop culture, often geekier stuff like Star Wars or Marvel Comics. Occasionally I worry that our humor is more funny to us than to our listeners, but we still manage to field a bunch of music requests during each show, so hey, somebody must be listening.”
“Josh and I are definitely not afraid to have fun when we talk on the air,” Richard added. “I have always considered one of our strengths as being able to convey to the listener that we are having a good time and that they are along for the ride. However… I also wonder if we are the only people who consider what we just said as funny.”
The DJ: Erika Barker, (AKA DJ Willy)
Her Show: (Thursdays from 2-3) “I play mostly punk-influenced music, meaning I play a lot of pop-punk and folk-punk. I like the idea of re-introducing people to the bands they might’ve loved when they were in middle school while also showing them bands they might like now. Because of that, I also play a lot of indie. Every once in a while, I throw in some hip-hop or straight up ‘90s pop to keep things spicy.”
… and what she considers to be the best thing about being a DJ?
“The best thing about being a DJ is that I’m now very aware of what’s going on with current music. There’s nothing better than falling in love with a new band, and KUPS is really good about promoting new music. The next best thing is that I’ve met so many great people through being a DJ. KUPS is its own little community, and if you try to be pretty involved in it you can meet wonderful people.
The DJ: Dan Wonk
His Show: Dan is perhaps one of the most prolific alternative DJs at KUPS clocking in at three hours a week: Mondays from 10-11, Tuesdays from 12-1, and Thursdays from 3-4. Naturally, I asked him about the stress of finding three hours of fresh musical material a week. “I was kind of worried about finding enough material at the beginning,” Wonk responded, “but at this point I love trying to find new and different stuff every week. I decided to take a different approach to each of my shows based on their time and basic style. For example, my Monday morning show tends toward more relaxed and melodic songs, but, I admit sometimes I’ll add a ska-punk or garagey song to get people going in the morning.”
… and the extent of his additional commitment to KUPS? “I’m a contributor the Street Team blog (http://kups.tumblr.com) under the nickname “womp.” The blog is primarily coordinated by myself, Tai Koga and Kim Clancy and we try to bring interesting things that appeal to everybody, ranging from album and concert reviews, new videos and shout-outs to on campus events. Lately the Street Team has been getting involved with bringing bands to campus and we hope to continue that in semesters coming up.”
Tune in again next week for the conclusion of our KUPS interview series!
[PHOTO COURTESY / KEVIN CURLETT]