The triangle is routinely seen as a musical hot spot, but This notion applies to more than just the bands that populate our stages. It also applies to our well-filled air waves. Representing three different universities and three different cites, WKNC, WXDU and WXYC each attack radio with their own distinct style.
UNC-Chapel Hill: 89.3 WXYC
Alongside WKNC and WXDU, WXYC could be considered the crazy cousin in the local college radio station family.
While it doesn’t shy away from Pitchfork-approved indie hits and local music, the station makes a concerted effort to remain fiercely independent, playing albums that span multiple genres and nations.
“I think the easiest distinction is that we take over a much broader swath of music,” said music director Montgomery Morris. “We’ll play many more, a much larger variety of genres than the other stations will.”
Morris put this point into a crystal-clear sentiment saying,“I think the easiest distinction is that we take over a much broader swath of music.”
WXYC has been able to provide this kind of diversity because it maintains full control of its Federal Communications Commission license, which allows it to operate free from University control.
“Of course I’m going to say our station is the best, and I think what makes us the best is our freedom,” Morris said.
While the station prides itself on its musical diversity and independence, it has faced criticism in the past for inaccessibility.
“We certainly value experimentalism in music here, which I think may turn off some listeners, but when I first started listening to WXYC I listened to Pitchfork music and rap almost exclusively, and then I got interested in a much wider variety of music, and I felt quite enriched,” Morris said.
In the face of a changing music industry, Morris is proud that his station has remained a stable influence in the area.
“We get between14 and 17 new DJs every semester, including the summer,” Morris said. “So three times a year we get that many DJs who are all students.
“We’re constantly expanding our ranks.” LG
Duke: 88.7 WXDU
More akin to Oxford than Tobacco Road, Duke University is a bubble onto itself in the middle of Durham. Marc Loeffke wants students to venture outside of it.
“It’s basically one of the only groups on Duke’s campus that includes students and community members,” said Loeffke, the music director of WXDU, of the station. “It’s a great vehicle here for students to get out into Durham and not hide in stone towers.”
In that vein, paying local music is very important to the station.
“The truly awesome thing about living around here is that there are so many great local bands,” local music director Ross Grady said in an e-mail. “Nothing gets the ‘local music pity playlist’ slot because that slot doesn’t exist. Everything we playlist makes it because it’s great music.”
Because of this attitude, WXDU keeps a solid rotation of local music pumping through its sets and has regular on-air interviews with bands who are having a CD release or big concert. One way the station maintains this local focus is through a promo box for new local CDs.
“I find that the promo box really helps for getting our new DJs more into playing the local stuff,” Loeffke said. “You just look in there, and stuff is happening that day and that weekend. They hear it and go, ‘Whoa, this is cool!’”
Using this local focus and getting DJs to spin records at dance parties and other events, WXDU continues to push Duke students into fun local things, and that’s a pursuit even a Tar Heel can get behind. JL
N.C. State: 88.1 WKNC
Of the three main college stations in the area, WKNC places the most importance on off-air activities.
With events such as newly instated free local shows on the campus lawn and its annual Double Barrel benefit concert added to efforts such as the Hear Here compilation of local artists, the station makes promoting local music a priority on and off the radio.
“There’s a lot of great college stations out there, and the thing that makes us different is that we’re in the Triangle, in North Carolina,” said general manager Mike Alston explaining why the station has such a community focus. “We might as well embrace that.”
And embrace that community it does. With its daily “Local Lunch” and weekly “Local Beat” programs, WKNC has made itself a resource for those looking to get to know local music.
“It starts with daytime DJs playing The Rosebuds,” Alston said. “And then it expands into focusing on local music and sort of extrapolating that into our daytime rotation to the point where now, if you listen for 20 minutes or half an hour, there’s going to be a local band at some point.”
Though WKNC prides itself on its area music, it places equal importance on being open to ideas from its DJs. “We don’t tell people what to play more than two songs an hour,” Alston said.
With this openness to DJ discretion, Alston attributes the station’s dedicated local coverage to its many rewards.
“The thing that’s cool is it doesn’t matter if you’re a local music director, or a DJ or just a fan, if you’re wearing a KNC shirt and you go to the show, you can pretty much hang out and talk to the band, and they’ll be like, ‘Oh man, WKNC’s awesome!’ It’s a rewarding experience to go as a representative.” JL
Programming of note
