Kurt Cobain once wrote that he would have liked to “buy a really powerful ham radio system connected to a satellite dish in order to listen to any college rock station in da country.”
He could have considered listening to Green River’s own 89.9 KGRG. It is a nice thought considering Nirvana played a gig in the Lindbloom Student Center only 20 years ago. If you have spent any time in the KGRG offices of the Lindbloom building you would certainly know of it since there is a framed poster that chronicles the date, place and even price to see the band play (student discounts!).
You will most likely be greeted by the program director of KGRG1 (the college’s online radio station, different from the live FM station), Mark Burkhart, also know by his DJ name The Amazing Modest Mark “The Dopeman” Logic from Tacoma.
Modest Mark is a man who knows his music and knows that college radio is not for mainstream music: “You’re not going to get any top 40 [on KGRG1 or 89.9 FM].” According to Mark, KGRG1 and 89.9 FM are where the underground, indie and alternative music is played. Nothing mainstream and he made it very clear that the college shows are one of the few who will put Husker Du and Slater Kinney on air.
When asked about how the online station differs from the live FM station, Modest Mark explained that it is utilized to teach students who enroll in the broadcast journalism class how radio can still thrive in the digital age of social media. He also says that the students are shown how to make, download and distribute their own pod casts.
Some students who have enrolled in the KGRG program are known and beloved by all who listen to the radio shows, though all may be only a handful since they always joke that there is a vast number of about 4 listeners, like Nick Westcott, co-host of Brian and the Broken Bottle Brigade.
His radio resume goes even further; he is a part of the morning show on 100.7 the WOLF screening calls and is even partaking in a fun round of bull poker in a week or two. When the conversation turned to other rodeo events and all of the dismemberments they can cause, he was asked if he would rather lose his leg or his thumb, he replied with: “I gotta go with my thumbs, my legs are too beautiful and nice.”
There is also Adam Fix aka “Nobody Man.” He is the co-host of Movies Entitled and Bad Movie Morning, where he and Luke “Mighty Moose” Barker discuss terrible movies they have seen lately; and of course Twilight: New Moon was instantly discussed and rebuked by all. But it is all in good fun for Fix who cites the Bad Movie Morning show as “[my] own personal creation, my baby.”
Next we meet Noah Hensley, who’s on air nickname is “Timekeeper.” He is assistant program director who, when asked what his other occupation is with the station, said, “Resident workaholic.” Hensley works three different shifts, most predominately on Sunday nights where he hosts Mornings Untitled, which features only music of the world, as in from other countries like Iraq and India. His co-hosts go by the names Mel and Handy Andy.
So what is a day in the life of KGRG? In only so many words, it is a day of crazy nicknames, great underground music, and a need to let the listeners know that it’s all about having a good time … as long as things don’t cut into watching the Simpsons online.
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SOURCES:
*interview with Mark Burkhart, Nick Westcott, Adam Fix, Luke Barker and Noah Hensley
*kgrg.com
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