11-4-99

Radio Fee Boulder: The coolest college station around could use some cash.

Laura Bond

Westword

A person could get worked into a state trying to find something new on the commercial radio dial in this town. After all, how many times a day does a person really need to hear the Joy Drop's "Beautiful"? (Many local programmers place the number at about thirty.) And while there may yet be regions of the world where hearing "Brass Monkey" is indeed a new rock-and-roll adventure, fans looking for new music this side of the tundra are likely to regard most local playlists as maddeningly repetitive and laughably retrograde.

Fortunately, KVCU, at 1190 AM, in neither. The Boulder station has received much attention in its first year--not just for surviving, but for kicking serious ass. Life as a public station with a relatively limited broadcast range and comparatively low power is a delicate existence. The CU affiliate has hung on via university funding, student fees (approximately 26,000 CU students pay a mandatory $1.57 per semester) and listener support. Radio 1190 is a multi-directional marvel of a station, with DJs who know their stuff and sound like human beings, whether they're talking about Jon Zorn or Master P or Neutral Milk Hotel. But powering up for an audience of about 10,000 ain't cheap, and the inevitable must come to pass. In other words, Fund Drive Alert! Roughly one month before the station celebrates its first anniversary, the station will warp into money mode October 4 through 14.

"We're trying to make it different from other fund drives," says station general manager Jim Musil. "It's more of a celebration. It's a Watt Attack--you can literally buy our watts." Sure, Musil and the all-volunteer DJ staff will, from time to time, ask listeners to cough some cash, but the two weeks promises an even better than usual platter from the station. Just as PBS busts out the goods during its fund drives, listeners can expect KVCU to raise the bar--and the roof. With that in mind, you'd be wise to tune in. And as for pledging, it may not be as noble as a blood donation, but a livable radio station is a damn good cause.