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University Daily Kansan/ September 13, 1991
EXCURSIONS
Mark Rowlands/KANSAN
Jav Browning. Lawrence senior, works three hours each week as a DJ at KJHK.
RadioWaves Disc jockeys' jobs entail more than playing hits
By Kerrie Gottschalk Kansas staff writer
Kansan staff writer
Disc jockeys need to have more than just a good voice to be in command of the airwaves.
They also must understand electronics, know important radio station regulations, be outgoing and spontaneous, expect to work long and odd hours once in a while and sometimes, be prepared for natural disasters.
Julie Underwood vividly remembers her worst experience as a radio announcer at KJKH, the University of Kansas' student radio station.
"This past summer I did a special program, a dance show on Saturday nights, and it was the night of the Hoch fire," she said.
Each station has something a little bit different about its programming and its announcers must conform to those guidelines.
"That night the station flooded, the turntables and the cart we used for PSAs (and the public service announcements) broke down. And then one of our two CD players broke down.
Underwood works for a student radio station, Hunter works for a pub
"Our engineer was gone and we were running the station without anyone who had technical background.
"I was stuck there with one CD player and a microphone, trying to entertain my audience."
But it is not usually that tough being a radio announcer, she said. In fact it is usually a very creative, interesting job.
Radio announcers perform widely varying tasks based on what kind of radio station they work for.
Rachel Hunter, assistant program director and announcer at the public radio station KANU, on the KU cam radio announcer required various skills.
lic radio station, and Mike Haden, announcer at Lawrence station KLZR, works for a commercial station.
Haden is music director and announcer at KLZR. When he is not spinning disks or recording commercials, he is fielding calls from record promoters and salespeople who try to get him to air their music. They often send free samples with the hopes he will play their music.
"Everyone wants air time," Haden said.
Daily play lists are prepared by a program director at KLZR based on current popular music. DJS play their music based on those list, Haden said.
Hunter said the announcers at KANU programmed their own shows using some general guidelines, such as what kind of music was preferred at certain times of day. For example, living music should be lively, she said.
Announcers at KANU also perform other duties when they are not on the air. Hunter purchases and screens new music. Another announcer is responsible for recording live music from around the state. And another is responsible for scheduling and operations at the station.
KANU's local programming
includes a variety of classical, jazz,
blues and swing music.
Other KANU programs are picked up via satellite.
At KJHK, announcers program their music for their shows, but they must play a variety of music from several categories, said Am Peck, Olahe graduate teaching assistant who works for the station.
we provide different forms of music and try to be diverse, but we have to be strategic about it," Peck said.
A KJHK poll conducted last spring-concluded that KJKH's "Dreadlock Holiday" show was the most popular show on the station.
Eck said the reggae special has been the most consistently programmed show, which may explain its popularity.
Because KJHK is a student station, it schedules programming for about 50 announcers, which allows more students to be DJs, Peck said.
"KJHK is open to the entire student body." she said.
Students have to fill out an application and perform an "aircheck" voice test.
"We have announcers from all fields. Our international music program is announced by a graduate student in entomology," Peck said.
The diversity of the announcers and the frequency at which they change leave KJHK with program challenges.
Announceers choose their selections within five defined categories, but the classics stack alone has 3,000 records.
So that songs are not replayed during the day, announcers keep track of each song they play on their program
Announceers at KJHK also must be careful about not promoting events or sponsors, which is an additional bit of information the announcers must remember. If they forget, the station could be fined.
All radio announcers are responsible for making sure their program runs smoothly. That means knowing how to work the right equipment at the right time. They also need to be familiar with the music collections and they must understand their audiences.
New York's Blues Traveler dares to take musical risks
"The real key of announcing to me is tuning in to the people who are listening and having empathy for them," Hunter said.
By Kristine Curley Special to the Kansan
"Real music is back," said Blues Traveler drummer Brendan Hill.
The "real music" Hill is talking about is indicative of much of the music that emerged from the '60s and '70s. he said,
But to say that this diversely influenced quartet is a product of the musical masters of the past is an injustice to the band.
For the New York-based group, these earlier influences intermingled with some of the styles of today and led to a distinctive style between the era and the band.
Blues Traveler played to a sell-out crowd yesterday at Benchwarmers and the N.C. State Baseball Hall of Fame.
The group is guitar-based in its sound. It is comprised of singer John Hopper, guitarist Chan Kinclah, bassist Sheehan and drummer Brendan Bhelmh.
But to say that this diversely influenced quartet is a product of the musical masters of the past is an injustice to the band.
The band toured with the Allman Brothers this summer. Hill said working with Allman was like working with
family
it was like getting back with old cousins that you haven't seen in a while," he said.
The band's attitude while playing is easygoing.
"It makes me happy to play and to see everyone eat it. We aren't in it for the money. If people don't like it, they can turn it off."
Hill described how he felt when he performed live.
"I just close my eyes and let the music go," he said.
"We groove as much as possible. We don't have a set list, so we play a differen- tive."
The band members have been good friends since their early high school days in Princeton, N.J. This allows them to form an adhesion within their playing, which permits the band to push solos to their extent.
These solos are a hallmark for the band and contribute to its original style.
"John can play the harmonica so fast," he said, "got that 'blues' like I signature 1678."
The music of Blues Traveler ventures down many musical avenues that unexplored by, top 10 bands of today. the techno-pop, top 40 bands of today.
They have been playing clubs and theaters across the country, and their record company, A&M Records, has changed a European tour for February.
Hill admitted that he would like Blues Traveler to eventually reach widespread notoriety. But he said it would take awhile to reach that level.
NightLife in Lawrence
■ At The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire, Bob Harvey will perform on Friday night. The cover charge is $5.00. Saturday night New World Spirit will open for Pale Devine. The cover charge is $4.00.
At The Jazzhaus, 926 $ _{1/2} $ Massachusetts, Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band will perform Friday and Saturday. The cover charge is $4.00.
At Benchwarmers Sports Bar & Grill, 1601 W.23, Chip and Jeff will perform The cover charge is $1.00.
The Student Union Activities will show "Home Alone" at 7 and 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday in the Kansas Union . Tickets are $2.50.The midnight movie Friday and Saturday is David Lynch's "Wild at Heart." Tickets are $3.00.
Liberty Hall, 642 Massachusetts, is showing "Paris is Burning" at 5:30, 7:30 and 9:30 Friday and Saturday; "Come See the Paradise," at 4:15 Friday and Saturday and "Judo" at 7 and 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $3 before 6 p.m., $4.50 for adults, $4 for students after 6 p.m.
LIVE WIRE
Joplin heirs claim singer's blues style
Little did the late Janis Jolin learn that her recordings of such tunes as "Me and Bobby McGee" and "Piece of My Heart" would become anthems of the 1960s, or that her booby, bluesy, hot-mama howl would become a touchstone to the acid-rock era.
Now, 21 years after she crooned and growled through her last set, a legal battle has arisen about a musician making a make-believe day in *lopin life*.
Lawyers for the playwright and producer warn that the outcome could chill freedom of speech and theatrical expression as much as the give-it-all singer warmed generations of rock fans.
The play, "Janis," closed in Seattle last month because of a lawsuit in which Joplin's heirs claimed exclusive rights to her "performing style; her voice, delivery, mannerisms, appearance and dress, and the actions accompanying her performances."
Playwright-director Susan Ross
filed a $3 million counterclaim Sept. 5.
A separate response was being prepared by play producers Gaye Anderson and James Allen.
"Janis Joplin is a part of our national heritage," Ross said. "Her influence on us today, on the music business and on the way women in music perform is tremendous. She is not a part of someone's personal property."
The suit for unspecified damages was filed in a U.S. District Court by Strong Arm Music, a division of Joplin Enterprises that holds many of the most famous musical Lion Productions, a joint venture with Sea Lion Films of New York.
Queen Latifah says she wishes other rappers would dislay the vulgar and hostile references to women.
Singer says women are getting bad rap
Latifah, the top female rapper, with a reputation for her thoughtful, feminist lyrics, becomes angry when she gets Cube and N.W.A. put down women.
"These guys have that negative streak in them regarding women," said Latifah, who was born Dana to Nate and Katherine. "They say those pasticious, vicious things."
"These women don't impress me all," she said. "If you're just nasty and you aren't making any kind of important statement, then you're useless."
Jimmy Connors has been pitching Converse for so long that the footwear marketer named a line of tennis shoes after him.
If the shoe fits ...
Connors tries Nike
Latifah said that even the female rap group Hoe's Wit' Attitude demeans women in its vlvics.
So what was this old pro
Jimmy Connors
this old pro doing in Nikes as he staged a remarkable performance in this year's U.S. Open matches?
Dolan said Connors, 39, approached Nike a few months ago with foot problems. He was fitted at the company's research lab in July and took home one of the regular Nike tennis shoes.
"He asked," said Liz Dolan, Nike representative.
Connors and his agent, Ray Benton, could not be reached immediately to explain the shoe shuffle.
Converse Inc. representative Helene Fletcher would only say Connors was playing "possibly the best tennis of his career."
Montreal's top pick is k.d. lang
The movie in which Canadian country music singer k.d. langer made her screen debut has won the Best Newcomer at the Montreal World Film Festival.
gre, placed by German actress Rosel Zech, in the remote Aklaan town of Kotzebue. After some conflict, the two eventually become soul mates.
The film am was awarded Le Grand Prix des Américains, the festival's top award. It was picked from among 22 films in the 18th annual competition.
Adion, whose best-know previous film was the 1897 hit "Baghad Cafe," did not attend the award announcement Monday. Last week, however, when he presented the film to an audience, he called it his newborn baby.
"Salmonberries," by German director Percy Adlon, is a tale of love about a young half-white, half-Eskimo woman played by lang who has never known her parents and embarks on a search for her identity.
She meets an East German emi
What's Hot
TOP SINGLES
5. "The Promise of a New Day,"
1. "I Adore Mi Amor," Color Me Badd (Giant)
2. "Good Vibrations," Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch, Loleatta Holloway (Interscope)
4. "Things That Make You Go Hmmm, "&C Music Factory featuring F. Williams (Columbia)
lowey (inner scope)
3. "Motownphilly," Boyz II Men
(Motown)
Paula Abdul (Captive)
R&BSINGLES
1. "Don't Wanna Change the World," Phyllis Hyman (Philadelphia International)
2. "I Adore Mi Amor," Color Me Badd (Giant)
3. "Never Stop," The Brand New Heavies (Delicious Vinyl)
Heavies (Delicious Vinyl)
4. "So Much Love," B Angie B (Bust It)
15. "D don't Want to Be a Fool," Luther Vandross (Epic)
VIDEORENTALS
2. "Awakenings" (RCA-Columbia)
3. "Sleeping With the Enemy"
(Fox)
4. "Dances With Wolves" (Orion)
5. "New Jack City" (Warner)
From The Associated Press