{"id":63785,"date":"2010-11-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-11-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/students-bring-wriu-to-life\/"},"modified":"2010-11-22T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2010-11-22T00:00:00","slug":"students-bring-wriu-to-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2010\/11\/students-bring-wriu-to-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Students bring WRIU to life"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tKINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 November 22, 2010 \u2013 Katie McGwin couldn\u2019t contain her smile as she talked about the in-studio guest scheduled for the next day.<\/p>\n

\u201cDeer Tick is coming tomorrow night, and I can\u2019t wait,\u201d said McGwin, a senior majoring in communications and art. \u201cThey are my favorite group.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the host of The Mixed Tape on WRIU 90.3 FM, McGwin secured a visit in early November from Deer Tick, the Providence-based band that plays a style of music that can be described as a mix of folk, blues and country. A local favorite, Deer Tick has toured the country and released three albums, including 2010\u2019s The Black Dirt Sessions (Partisan Records). You can here the audio from the interview here.<\/a> <\/p>\n

The band didn\u2019t just visit McGwin in studio, but also delivered an acoustic performance live.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love acoustic music,\u201d McGwin said. \u201cYou feel like you get to know the artist a little better.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the general manager of WRIU \u2013 äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBÕ¾\u2019s radio station \u2013 McGwin is one of 13 students who serve on the station\u2019s executive board. While the weekly lineup featured several experienced, professional DJs, it is run entirely by students.<\/p>\n

Senior psychology major Lauren Kelley is the stations public service announcement and public affairs director. She also hosts Mentholmint Rock along with Harry Bock, and counts an interview with Jethro Tull lead singer Ian Anderson as a major highlight of her radio career.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are a bit of a band of misfits,\u201d Kelley said, \u201cand we love it. We are somewhat of the underdog, when you think about it. We are the largest non-commercial radio station in the state, and we are run entirely by college students.\u201d \t<\/p>\n

Found on the dial at 90.3 FM, WRIU is the largest non-commercial radio station in the state, with a signal that covers most of Rhode Island, as well as parts of Connecticut, Massachusetts and Long Island.<\/p>\n

What makes the station even more unique is the variety of programming that can be heard on a daily basis. Starting Wednesday afternoons, for example, you can hear Kelley\u2019s brand of rock, followed by Sterbyrock Radio Warped Wax Wednesday (hip-hop), The Celtic Realm (Irish\/Scottish traditional) and McGwin\u2019s The Mixed Tape (rock).<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely an eclectic group,\u201d Kelley said. \u201cBut we all get along really well because we are passionate about music. That\u2019s why we all do this. We love the music.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelley points out that it\u2019s music the average listener won\u2019t hear on any other local station.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you listen to other stations, they may play (Jimi) Hendrix, but it\u2019ll be the same five songs you hear all the time,\u201d Kelley said. \u201cWe may play Hendrix, and it\u2019ll be a vinyl from Live at Monterey. There are no set lists and the DJs can pick the artists they showcase, as long as we follow FCC regulations. We offer a lot more in terms of creativity than most stations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now the station is can offer more opportunity for students looking to experience life behind the microphone. Earlier this month, the station re-launched RIU2, an online-only station that operates in WRIU\u2019s Studio B. <\/p>\n

With RIU2, there is programming 24 hours a day, seven days a week throughout the school year. The DJs are all students, and it serves as a breeding ground for the FM dial.<\/p>\n

\u201cRIU2 is a chance for students to get their feet wet without the pressure of being live over the air, which can be intimidating,\u201d McGwin said. <\/p>\n

There are more than 40 student DJs with WRIU2, and another 30 on the FM dial at 90.3. McGwin and Kelley stressed that there is always room for more.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis really is a big family,\u201d Kelley said. \u201cEven when I\u2019m not working, I am here hanging out because I know there is someone here. There is always something going on, whether it\u2019s a live set on the air, or something behind the scenes. There is a rush, and we all love the atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n

To learn more about getting involved with the radio station, visit www.wriu.org<\/a> or call 401.874.4949.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 November 22, 2010 \u2013 Katie McGwin couldn\u2019t contain her smile as she talked about the in-studio guest scheduled for the next day. \u201cDeer Tick is coming tomorrow night, and I can\u2019t wait,\u201d said McGwin, a senior majoring in communications and art. \u201cThey are my favorite group.\u201d As the host of The Mixed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63785"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63785\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}