Prism: UO Stories // culture & communication
 
 
KWVA DJ spreads the word on 'indie soul'

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"At that point I'd worked at a record shop and I had a lot of music I really liked and I was just stoked to be able to play it on the radio, be on the radio, be a radio personality," he said. "I'm just kind of a character anyways so I wanted to be able to be on the air and create a wacky DJ personality."


His show itself exhibits his desire for uniqueness. He calls it indie soul. He started out playing old soul and new indie rock, back when all the equipment and the fear of messing up still made him nervous. Now he's expanded past the old soul to funk, new soul and old hip hop and new.

"I like attracting one crowd and teaching them another thing," he said. "I'm attracting the indie kids and showing them something new."

He had a bag of vinyl records with him, full of funk and disco and even a single from the 1970s punk group The Clash. He usually brings in most of his music. He said he doesn't like relying on the CD collection at the radio station. He is serious enough in his role as teacher that he disdains call-in requests from listeners.

"I don't play what people want to hear, I want to play what I think they should hear," he said. "Maybe that's bad. I don't know."

He shrugs a little shyly, but soon afterwards said confidently that now, after his several years of experience, that he is "pretty good."

"The best calls are when people call in and say you're doing a great show and I ask them if they want to hear something else and the say, 'No, just keep doing what you're doing.' "

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