Radio variety spurs some unexpected fans
By Douglas Sulenta
The Collegian
In a musical landscape inundated with monopolies and mandatory playlists, the lone sanctuary for free minded and independent music lies in college radio. Continuing in this rich tradition of diversity is KFSR, Fresno State’s radio station.
KFSR first hit the airwaves in the 1940s when California State University Fresno was still Fresno State College and was located at the current site of Fresno City College.
Until 1982 KFSR could be heard only in the campus dorms and in the student union, but in 1982 the station received a grant of $50,000 from Associated Students Inc. This grant allowed the station to expand into a legitimate radio station that now broadcasts at 2600 watts and can be heard throughout the Fresno/Clovis area.
KFSR features a diverse blend of music that fuses together most genres of music. At any time in the day you are likely hear rap followed by reggae, hip-hop, alternative/indie rock, trance, electronica and any other brand of music (sorry, no country) to be imagined.
Sticking with its policy of diversity, what you will not hear is music played on mainstream radio. The purpose of college radio is to expose students to varied styles of music they might not otherwise hear. In a sense, it could be said that listening to college radio is a learning experience in itself.
KFSR features a wide variety of music shows throughout the day and into the evening.
The program director at KFSR is Frank Delgado, known as Frank D on the radio. Since becoming program director last year, Delgado has made a concerted effort to broaden the play lists played during the day. Whereas in years previous the station would be clogged up with a style of music geared exclusively toward one type of audience, Delgado is attempting to make the programming desirable to all.
The mornings on KFSR are dedicated exclusively to jazz. Not the kind played on a smooth jazz station, rather the kind listened to in the 1950s when it was cool.
Every day starting at noon is the “Afternoon Eclectic.” This show plays mostly indie rock with hip-hop, reggae and all other music peppered throughout the show.
Frank D hosts “Audio Harvest” which airs at 9 p.m. on Wednesdays. This show plays mostly acid jazz/electronica/hip-hop/trance and whatever else he wants to play.
It is an endless stream of original beats and jams on the planet. He seamlessly merges one song into the next, giving the impression of one expansive, unending and flawlessly devised shower of music.
But the show with undoubtedly the largest listenership of any at the radio station is the Japanese Street Beat. Airing Friday night’s from midnight to 6 a.m., the JSB plays nothing but Japanese hip-hop.
DJ Trik, the host of the JSB, is a graduate of Fresno State. His show is streamed live over the Internet across the world and his aim is to make the JSB, “a stage, if you will, for the underground Japanese hip-hop scene.” He said, “KFSR is one of the only radio stations in the world, Japan included, to broadcast a program dedicated to this art form.”
DJ Trik’s passion for music has not fallen on deaf ears. The listenership for the JSB online is estimated to be close to 60,000, with listeners in Japan, Germany, China, Korea, Canada, France, Spain, Brazil and more.
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