KOXY Pushing Music to the Limit in 2009

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Author: Brenda McNary

Music lovers at Oxy have a new reason to rejoice (and it isn’t a new Animal Collective album): This year KOXY is planning a total revamp that will be sure to make the station more sonically satisfying than ever before.

Oxy’s radio station, KOXY, has been in existence for as long as anyone can remember. Always intent on curating showcases of local musicians, Oxy has hosted some legendary events in its history, sometimes featuring artists that go on to make it big, like Beck. Also, remarkable amongst most other college radio stations, pretty much anyone can host their own DJ show at KOXY – provided they have an idea. Without elitism, and also centrally located in the musical and cultural breeding ground of Los Angeles, KOXY has a lot of potential to make a substantial splash on campus.

Wondering just what KOXY has in store for my ears this year, I managed to catch up with the busy new station manager, Kit Warchol (senior), who highlighted some of her favorite memories of KOXY’s glory days. “When I started at Occidental College, KOXY was at this spectacular peak of programming and events, mostly thanks to the Station Manager at the time, Tessa Goldston, and the Events Director, Nicholas Gitomer,” she said. Warchol revealed her ambition to make KOXY a well-known college radio station similar to the likes of Loyola Marymount’s KXLU.

To this end, Warchol outlined a jam-packed list of innovations for the station this year. In collaboration with a new and well-connected event staff, KOXY is planning shows with local bands like Best Coast, Mika Miko and Girls. Never playing favorites with one genre over another, other programming will include the return of the Folk Music Festival, as well as a heavy representation of Oxy DJ talent in the popular DJ Showcase series. An all-women line up of DJs is also in the works, as well as KOXY sponsored “field trips” to local venues like The Smell and The Echoplex. Oxy kids can also look forward to show-stopping collaborations with other on-campus organizations, especially after the huge success of the ICC/Programming Board/KOXY presentation of the Art of Rhyming hip-hop concert last spring.

At KOXY, however, Warchol assured me that it isn’t all about big names. DJ applications are still being accepted for next spring (and this fall with a little wrangling). Any Oxy student, whether a first-year or senior, can apply for a time slot and showcase their skills. Stressing the importance the station places on diverse programming and dedication over experience, Warchol had a lot to say about what she wants in a KOXY DJ. “In terms of shows, we’re looking for people who produce a complex and good show theme – regardless of what sort of music or talk that might entail,” she said. “Some of the best shows we’ve had have been the really weird ones, like a show that entirely revolved around vinyl that was picked up at garage sales.”

The weirder the better, but always with passion: stay tuned for upcoming KOXY events this year.

Listen up to KOXY streaming online soon at www.koxyradio.com. Students interested in applying for a DJ position, contact Richie DeMaria at rdemaria@oxy.edu.

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