By OLIVIA PIERCE FREEMAN
To some, KUPS may seem like an elusive, underground mystery that occasionally hums as the soundtrack amidst the Diversions bustle. But it truly is so much more than that.
KUPS is putting forth a strong effort to promote their campus presence toward the entirety of the student body, especially toward those for whom the station is unfamiliar.
There are many committees that make up the KUPS team, and their Street Team (in which all students, DJs or not, can participate) is responsible for getting people involved in events hosted by the station.
“I think that having things like Street Team is a great way to get those involved who don’t necessarily want to be DJs, but still want to have contact with the music side of the station,” Danya Axelrad-Hausman, KUPS DJ and Street Team member, said.
An exciting new effort they are putting forth is the creation of a zine, a self-published journal representative of a particular subculture. In this case, the zine will be KUPS’ The Stump, showcasing a collection of art submitted by students and the local community that relates in some way to music.
“What KUPS really wants to accomplish with this zine is to get people interested in not only the station, but the art that surrounds music,” Street Team Manager Andrea Eaton said. “It’s kind of an homage to the station, our listeners and non-listeners alike, the DIY scene, and just music in general!”
Though the submission deadline has passed, anyone was welcome to submit their work, as the team wants the content to cover a wide range of musically inclined expressions, all the way from album reviews to photography to poetry to visual art.
The decision to start The Stump was in an effort to increase the station’s presence on campus and to give KUPS another outlet to show the community what it does; to give students another way to showcase their artwork or writing as well as provide a way for people to be involved or take interest in the station who have not before.
Another way in which KUPS hopes to lure in and encourage further student involvement is through ticket giveaways, with anyone having an equal chance to win.
The station promotes a wide range of genres selected with listeners in mind, from loud rock, hip-hop, electronic, every type of alternative, ska or reggae, and even stand-up comedians! In addition, KUPS gives away a pair of 3-day passes to Sasquatch! Music Festival every year, so keep your eye out by shooting the KUPS page a “like” on Facebook or follow them on Twitter or Instagram.
“We will post a status, or tweet, or post a picture on Instagram with instructions for how to enter to win,” Promotions Director Kelly Van Patten said. “But we also still have call-in giveaways, raffles and competitions.”
Just the other weekend, DJs Daniel Cohn and Zoe Fritz went to the Toro y Moi concert, courtesy of the KUPS ticket giveaway scavenger hunt, in which they had to moon a KUPS DJ and sing the South African national anthem, among many other ridiculous tasks.
“Whenever someone wins a ticket they always get a plus-one,” explained the compassionate Van Patten. “We would never want anyone to get lonely at a concert or feel like they were being judged by the tween girls around them.”
Opportunities to attend shows are not limited only to off-campus acts for those lucky folks who win the ticket giveaways, however. KUPS hosts shows on campus fairly frequently, including recent in-studio performances by Olympia-based band Broken Water and LA-based psych pop group Gothic Tropic, both of which were open to the public.
Visit kups.net for a full list of events and exciting information about the station. If you are interested in learning more about Street Team and ways you can get involved, visit the KUPS table on Fridays in the sub.
“They just had a bake sale and everything tasted delicious,” Van Patten said. So that is some incentive.
