KALA changes it up and rocks out
Joe Jarosz
Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: Features
Neil Young said it best when he sang that "rock and roll can never die." From the soft set of an acoustic performance to the loud reverberations of a heavy rock album, rock & roll is hard to ignore. On that note, beginning in February St. Ambrose's radio station, KALA 88.5 and 105.5 FM, is introducing a new block of rock music to its Saturday line-up. With the change from 100 watts to 10,000 watts, KALA now has the ability to reach outside the Quad Cities, as far as Clinton, Iowa, and Iowa City, Iowa. However, the more noticeable improvement comes from inclusion of HD radio. Through HD radio, music will sound as clear as if you are listening to one of your CDs. Students will be able to listen to this new station on KALA's HD2, either online or from an HD radio. With the addition of HD radio, KALA is the first public station in the Quad Cities to include the HD stations and only second in the Quad Cites.
Dave Baker, station operations manager and music director, said "the 'new' aspect of this is getting more students on the air in one continuous time period." Baker explained that the problem last time was the rock shows being too early in the day, creating inconsistencies in scheduling when students who volunteered as DJs had class.
However, the students who applied for the new Saturday programming are "gun-ho" and "eager to learn the ropes." One of the applicants, student Cody Tucker, already interns for B100.
"I basically want to do it to get a more hands-on approach as opposed to the talk-show format at my internship," Tucker said.
The music Baker said he hopes to play is in the vein of what one would imagine when they hear college/indie rock. Under this label are bands who may not be obscure, but don't get the type of recognition as some of the bigger names on radio stations like Green Day or Red Hot Chili Peppers. For a more concrete idea of what that may be, the Tripe A Chart on CMJ.com is what KALA hopes to emulate.
"I'd like to think I know a bit about more obscure music that people should like but don't know about," Tucker said. "I love pop punk, pop rock, and techno-influenced acts such as Four Year Strong, Say Anything, Family Force 5, Jonezetta, Set Your Goals, Vampire Weekend and Anberlin."
The hopeful start date for the launch of the Saturday programming is Valentine's Day weekend, the 13th. Even though the schedules have not yet been worked out, expect to tune in during the day. Stay tuned St. Ambrose.
Dave Baker, station operations manager and music director, said "the 'new' aspect of this is getting more students on the air in one continuous time period." Baker explained that the problem last time was the rock shows being too early in the day, creating inconsistencies in scheduling when students who volunteered as DJs had class.
However, the students who applied for the new Saturday programming are "gun-ho" and "eager to learn the ropes." One of the applicants, student Cody Tucker, already interns for B100.
"I basically want to do it to get a more hands-on approach as opposed to the talk-show format at my internship," Tucker said.
The music Baker said he hopes to play is in the vein of what one would imagine when they hear college/indie rock. Under this label are bands who may not be obscure, but don't get the type of recognition as some of the bigger names on radio stations like Green Day or Red Hot Chili Peppers. For a more concrete idea of what that may be, the Tripe A Chart on CMJ.com is what KALA hopes to emulate.
"I'd like to think I know a bit about more obscure music that people should like but don't know about," Tucker said. "I love pop punk, pop rock, and techno-influenced acts such as Four Year Strong, Say Anything, Family Force 5, Jonezetta, Set Your Goals, Vampire Weekend and Anberlin."
The hopeful start date for the launch of the Saturday programming is Valentine's Day weekend, the 13th. Even though the schedules have not yet been worked out, expect to tune in during the day. Stay tuned St. Ambrose.
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