Tuning in - Local Radio at its finest

by Jordan Stepp | photos by Elizabeth Ezzell

On the fifth floor of Memorial Hall, the entire deejay booth shakes violently. A local band has set up their equipment in the radio station lobby and is warming up for their very own "Live in the Lobby" segment. Through the deafening roar, the slightly flustered deejay flicks a few switches and suddenly the hallway fills with a warm, red "on-air" light. The shaking stops for a few minutes as the deejay gives a weather report and signs off, "You're listening to WUOG, 90.5 FM." The light goes off and the shaking begins again with a vengeance.

WUOG, the University of Georgia's student- run radio station, started sending out signals to Athens, Ga. on Oct. 16, 1972. Working with a mere 3,200 watts, the station began its long-standing tradition of simultaneously pleasing and ticking off the UGA student body by ignoring most popular musical trends and embracing more obscure music. WUOG, touted as an "alternative" to pop music, first played a vast variety of songs including singles and b-sides from Led Zeppelin to Arlo Guthrie. Critics quickly began pointing out the new station's flaws such as a lack of popular music, little attention to sports, and other things, but the station redeemed itself in students' eyes when it provided the only radio coverage of an Athens-area tornado in 1973.

In the 80s, the station changed its format from a "quasi-Top 40" to a more varied collection of alternative, folk, rock and jazz music. While the B-52's spun hits in New York in 1980, WUOG was spinning a cover of "Hippy Hippy Shake" by a new local band called R.E.M. Deejays and bands formed close friendships and often alerted one another to new music and exciting events taking place. The same band/deejay relationship lives on through today. Walking into the station and finding a random member of a local band in the deejay booth is still extremely common today.

After upgrading to the current 26,000 watts, the station's format changed once again in the 90s to fit a new motto: "If they don't need us, we don't need them." WUOG's current rotation now consists of mostly new and unsigned artists from various genres. At any point in the day, an upbeat German pop song follows a Ukrainian chant or an Athens based synthesizer group. 90.5's long standing tradition of being "the alternative to popular radio," a foundation laid down by early station managers, is a concept that still puzzles some music business professionals and students alike. Why stop playing a band after they become popular? "Because we're here for the bands that need attention and don't get it," say staffers.

But now, after 36 years in Memorial Hall, WUOG is finally moving shop. Beginning during the 2008 winter break, the station and its pieces will be making a journey across the street to the Tate Student Center game room. Naturally, the station's moving schedule depends largely on the rate of construction at Tate, but 90.5 staffers agree that the station will most likely be moved-in by spring break or summer 2009. The WUOG staffers also believe that the move is part of a plan to coagulate all student-run organizations into one place in and around Tate. With the new Tate II under-construction, renovations to the original Tate will include making more space for WUOG to continue broadcasting while allowing greater access to students. While some welcome the extra space that Tate has to offer, others lament the loss of the station's historic place in Memorial.

The Memorial Hall location has a long and colorful history behind it. When WUOG first began broadcasting, Memorial acted as the Student Activity Center, much like Tate and the Student Learning Center do now. Many now famous acts such as R.E.M., Drive-By Truckers, and The Whigs received some of their first airplay on WUOG. Both Ryan Seacrest and DJ DangerMouse were known to hang around 90.5 as well. The (currently) red lobby has played host to many a local band and musician, including the house band known as the WUOGerz, once featuring drummer Bill Berry of R.E.M. But with all the free press and goodwill that WUOG extends, it is not without its fair share of controversy.

Many people don't realize that any student can volunteer at WUOG; most of the staffers aren't even broadcast majors. Students majoring in fields from Interior Design to Chemistry manage to find their way to the station and end up with lots of experience and new relationships. Operations Co-director Jessica Smith, a second-year business major from Chesapeake, Va. found solace at WUOG during her freshman year.

"It gave me a sense of purpose, and I made a lot of new friends through the station," Smith says. Digital archiving director Tommy McGahee, a fourth-year newspapers major from Athens, Ga. agrees wholeheartedly.

"WUOG gave me a place to belong in the University as a freshman since I was not really interested in a whole lot, but music was something that I knew I loved and wanted to work with," says McGahee.

Staffers hope the move to Tate will get more students involved in the radio station. "This move will give us a larger presence on campus. It'll make us more accessible to the student body," McGahee says.

But for now, WUOG is still the poster-plastered, graffiti-scrawled, giant-red monster on top of Memorial Hall. Beams of light shine through the smoky skylight and illuminate the humorous drawings on the staff bulletin boards. The "Promo Staff Pretty Ponies" board sits straight across from the "Transformers Operations Staff" board where some of the Transformers have the Pretty Ponies in their sniper-sights. Phrases such as "Fear your Operations Overlords" and "Sports Staff RULZ!!" stand out next to the boards, hinting at the decades long friendly battle between staff groups. Tons of names are awkwardly written on the walls of the deejay booth, along with drawings and inside jokes that are now lost in time. Many students have found refuge in this quirky place, and the numerous departments offer interesting experiences to future WUOGerz.

For music lovers, the station keeps a large collection of vinyl records, tapes and compact discs containing lectures, interviews and, naturally, music. Some of the recordings date back to before the station's beginning. Many of the earliest recordings have been archived in a new digital archiving partnership with the UGA Main Library on North Campus.

"There's some really interesting stuff in there, especially the interviews with bands from the 1980s," says McGahee.

Bands are encouraged to send their records to WUOG for reviewing and, hopefully, receive a spot in regular rotation. Bands can also get their chance to play live on air during "Live in the Lobby" segments on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

WUOG still lives up to the staff motto, "26,000 watts of high-powered debauchery." Even when the equipment acts less than stellar and the going is rough, it's hard not to have a fun time in the station. Paper airplanes made from promotional posters fly through the air as strains of rock music float from under office doors. The volunteers know their stuff about music and talk about it passionately. If anyone needs a musical recommendation, these are the people to ask. Be warned though. They'll talk music forever if you'll let them.

It's Tuesday night again, and another band is warming up in the lobby. An operations staffer looks up at the glass ceiling and says, "I'm really going to miss this place." The deejay agrees and heads into the booth to announce the weather. The band launches into a massive musical attack that rattles both the booth and the poor deejay inside. In the lobby, the staffers run around, checking cables and nodding to the music. Outside Memorial Hall, joggers can hear strains of the music coming from the fifth floor. Some even gaze at the lit dome for a while. Inside, the deejay smiles as he sighs, "I'm going to need another Advil."

SIDEBAR: WUOG Links and Fun Stuff

Ever wanted to listen to WUOG in Washington or Ohio? What about watching the bands from "Live in The Lobby"? Here are some links that will help you get your groove on.

www.wuog.org - Live streaming of the station and current events announcements

www.flickr.com/tags/wuog - Pictures from the station and local events

www.myspace.com/wuog - Get in touch with the station

www.youtube.com/user/wuogger - See the bands from "Live in the Lobby"

SIDEBAR: It's Pronounced "Woo-og"

WUOG staffers are known as Wuoggerz

All staffers are volunteers, that's right, no one gets paid.

W.U.O.G. stands for W (standard call sign for stations east of the Mississippi) University of Georgia!

After spending a semester on any staff, you can apply to be a deejay on WUOG

If you're really active with WUOG, you can apply to be on the executive board