By Sarah Weller
Here is one thing you probably didn’t know: WLCV, the University of Louisville’s own on-campus radio station, has been around since the 1970s. When I first walked into the WLCV studio, I really had no idea what to expect. Like many of the students here on campus, I knew absolutely nothing about this place except that it was in the Student Activities Center and it broadcast to a very narrow range on 1590 AM radio. However, I was very impressed by the eccentricity and support of free speech I found when I met the people who make up the station. There is even a poster on the wall containing the phrase “Censorship is Un-American”.
Even though WLCV is located on the University of Louisville campus, they say their most popular listeners are not U of L students. In fact, hardly anyone here listens to them at all (except for the students sitting around in the SAC between the hours of 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. and a few devoted at home listeners), but a lot more people might if they were able to pick up reception. Yet they survive because WLCV also participates in Stream and Digital Web casting over the Internet (at www.wlcv.net), where they are able to reach listeners not only in the US, but worldwide, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is a major change for the radio station, and even more changes have been made just over the past year. “We are ahead of the times. When the rest of culture catches up, we’ll already be there,” said Marea Stamper, the general manager of WLCV.
Although they have no set format, the DJs at WLCV say you won’t be hearing any Britney Spears. “Basically, we look for the most on the edge, far out stuff,” says Stamper. If you tune into WLCV, there is a chance you could hear some house music and techno from Stamper, Andrew Acree (WLCV’s program director) doing his “Rock ‘n Roll High School” show, or rap, reggae, metal, hardcore, as well as lots of indie rock… just don’t ask them to play any Creed.
“Most of the complaints we get are about the techno, asking to play popular music, but that only makes us want to do it more. We’re about stepping outside that boundary [of pop music], but we’re not total Nazis,” says Stamper, a.k.a. “The Lady Foursquare.” Stamper is a full-time U of L student as well as a DJ at WLCV and a working DJ. Many of the students who work at WLCV are also working DJs.
WLCV is composed of an executive staff made up of four students, as well as about 20 DJs and a few “groupies.” Also, many traveling professional DJs make a pit stop to visit WLCV. Many well known DJs, including DJ Booth, got their start right here in Louisville. According to Christal “Xtal” Glover, the music director at WLCV, some of the perks of working at the radio station are getting to hear new music, getting to meet people in bands and interviewing them, and especially getting exposed to a variety of different musical genres. The staff at WLCV also likes to boast about holding live performances in the studio from bands playing at the Red Barn and having their turntables right in front of the window where they can be seen. WLCV gets most of their materials from record labels, including promotional merchandise, MP3s, and T-shirts.
WLCV hires new students every semester on a volunteer basis. The only requirements are that you be a U of L student and “not too creepy.” So, if you like different types of music, support the First Amendment, and are looking for an overall friendly atmosphere, WLCV is an organization you might want to get involved in. “We pretty much let people play whatever they want, but within reason,” says Stamper.
