This year, several freshmen have taken the initiative to start their own radio shows on WLFM, and they are all worth checking out.
Rob Gray takes the booth on Mondays from 4 to 6 p.m. to broadcast his show “Scatterbrain!” “The purpose of the show is basically just to give me a way to vent my own personal musical tastes upon the unsuspecting world,” said Gray.
He plays many different types of music, and rock, pop, and alternative dominate the playlist. “I like the Beatles, bands like Sonic Youth and the Pixies. I like the Sex Pistols, I like Wilco,” said Gray, pointing out a few of his favorites. “Anything that’s not metal, not country, and not rap.”
While “Scatterbrain!” is not a Top 40, call-in request show, Gray encourages people to call him with thoughts or ideas. He also put a discussion group up on Facebook for fans to interact.
As far as the radio experience in general, Gray said, “This is always something I kind of had in the back of my mind that I’d like to do, because I love playing music for people and explaining the history and context of the songs.” As further explanation, Gray added, “I have been told I have a good face for radio.”
Jessica Harvell-Haessly runs her show “The Music I Like and Interviews” from 10 p.m. to midnight on Friday nights. “I play a bunch of different kinds of music, like rap, folk, alternative country,” said Harvell-Haessly.
As far as interviews go, she conducted an interview on the air with local rock band Helltruck, and plans on doing more. “The biggest goal is to entertain,” she said. “To give people something they can sit back and listen to, and relax.” Call-in requests are encouraged.
On Monday nights from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., Luke Morrison and Mike Korcek present “Bolt the Door, I’m in the Spin Cycle.” The music ranges from alternative rock to dance rock to punk and metal.
“We just want to play some great music, hear some new stuff, banter and chat. We aim to please,” said Korcek. As far as planning a playlist goes, “I don’t think we’ve ever made one beforehand. We come up with ideas at dinner before the show and just kind of see how it goes,” Korcek admitted.
Requests are not only accepted but also encouraged during the show. “We try to get people to call in, but we do get several AIM messages. And now we set up an email account so fans can email us in advance,” said Morrison. The email for the show is boltthedooriminthe-spincycle@gmail.com.
Willy Bauer brings another type of music to the airwaves Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m. His show is titled “Resonating Steel Battlefield” and features progressive rock and power metal. “My favorite bands are bands like Gamma Ray, Blind Guardian, Angra, Rhapsody, Helloween and Royal Hunt,” said Bauer. “I play prog and power metal that doesn’t make it into the mainstream,” he added.
Ian Fitchett and Alex Macartney have a new show in the works for Thursdays from 4 to 6 p.m. The as-of-yet-untitled show will play indie, oldies, punk and others. “We’re going to play things that we think are cool and we know people want to hear,” said Fitchett.
“Also some stuff we want to introduce people to. We will have lots of segments talking with people, bringing them down into the studio, and weird games and trivia while the show is going on.” Call-in requests are highly recommended. Fitchett explained, “We will take a lot of requests because we love our listeners.
Freshmen take the reins at WLFM
