My Visit To KALX

Hi,

A little late with this entry but with a day long trip to Phoenix, two in-stores and a mild bout with the flu, it's been a long week. I will probably break my SF trip into three entries, starting with my visit to:



I was in the final stages of planning my trip to SF to see Hope Sandoval when I received an invitation from my friend of eight years, Erin Ruiz-Prunchak. A little further background is needed here. Erin also happens to be the Operations Coordinator for the world-famous college radio station on the UC Berkeley campus, KALX 90.7FM. She also DJ's the 6-9pm slot every Friday night as Rubberband Girl. Her invitation was to sit in while she hosted her shift on 9/25. I was honored to accept her kind offer.

I arrived at the station a little after 5pm, a little sweaty from my hike up the hill from the BART station and through the beautiful Cal Berkeley campus. She greeted me at the door and gave me a tour of the office area. She showed me the DJ schedule board that was laid out on a giant greaseboard. It was a very impressive jigsaw puzzle that had all of it's pieces fitting in all the right places. This is one of the important resposibilities that she has at the station. It looks like something that would keep me up nights! Since all DJ shifts are filled on a volunteer basis, it is not an easy task for her.

After placing my belongings safely into her office, we went into the music library. Wow! What a sight! Literally thousands of records:



and CD's:



filed meticulously, row after row. Since she was busy preparing for her show in less than one hour, she gave me a quick rundown on how everything was filed. After nearly three decades in music retail, it didn't take long to get the layout straight.

There was an area with hundreds of new and recent releases all stickered with a code. Green dot meant unfavorable reviews with red dot signifying positive reviews on the CD. A few had both, obviously a few differences of opinion but I can see how it would be very helpful. Music taste is different for everyone and DJ's are no exception to this rule. As she prepared, I scoured the bins looking for a few gems that I asked her to play, if it worked in with her set. I have been listening to her show regularly since she was awarded this time slot a few months ago. I am able to tune in from Las Vegas by going to iTunes and clicking on Radio, under the Library heading, and then College/University Radio to KALX.

Right before 6pm, as the previous DJ signed off, Rubberband Girl stepped in to the booth. She put on her first tune and settled in. Seeing RG (Rubberband Girl) slide gently from task to task was impressive. She had an array of equipment and computers at her disposal. If my memory serves me correctly, she was utilizing two CD players, two vinyl turntables, her computer with her personal notes and music research, the sound board and other devices used for pre-recorded announcements. There was even a huge reel-to-reel player off to the side. She also logged every song onto a screen with artist, song, album and label. This info goes to the KALX website so that listeners can retrieve the last 24 hours of songs played on the station, a great idea. I had planned on taking pictures but completely lost myself in the experience and flailed in this responsibility miserably. Here's another stock photo of the booth:



After a few initial songs, she introduced herself and anounced the previous songs and launched into her second set. As the evening wore on, I noticed that she had routines that had to be maintained. Once a song started, RG would be on the prowl for the next track to queue up. She explained that she wanted the song to fit the mood of the set. Often, she would have a song ready to go and would change her mind and go with an alternate choice, agonizing over her decision. One of her choices for the evening, a song called "China" by The Red Rockers, sat on the turntable for about 45 minutes while she waited for the right time to play it.

Occasionally, RG would announce a ticket giveaway to a certain numbered caller. After announcing the artist and venue, she would start the song and answer her phones. Once a winner was found, she would get name and contact number and congratulate them. A handful of calls followed with a quick polite reply of "KALX, sorry, tickets are gone".

Erin has great taste in music, in my opinion. She plays a variety of very diverse musical styles, alot of my personal favorites included. They range from contemporary indie, world music, 80's and 90's post punk/new wave, electronic dance/pop, power pop, international pop, contemporary and traditional folk, obscure 60's garage and various lo-fi to name a few. She was also kind enough to play a few of the songs that I chose, for which I am grateful.

The show went quickly to me and before you know it, it was 9pm. I would have enjoyed hanging out playing music literally all night and began to wonder why I never pursued this as a hobby. Erin really made everything look so easy and seemless. It is obvious the passion she has as a DJ and her love for music but seeing this in person was a real treat. It is an experience that I will never forget and I am grateful for the opportunity that she gave me.

Since her station is listener-supported radio, fund drives are needed to run the daily operations. This is another one of Erin's many responsibilities. Later this month, KALX will be starting up this vital fund-raising program. If you are interested in supporting a great institution, you can obtain more info from the KALX website:

http://kalx.berkeley.edu/

More on SF later this week including my review on the Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions show from The World-Famous Fillmore on Saturday, 9/26!

K