The Scripps Voice

By Caroline Novit

Photo Editor

Photo by Caroline Novit ’14

Did you know we have a college radio station? KSPC is the local student-run station, bringing you great music from all genres as well as talk radio segments and live interviews with upcoming artists. Getting involved with KSPC is just as easy as listening to it. Go to KSPC.org and click on the ‘Volunteer’ link in the ‘About’ section, or just go to their office in the basement of Thatcher Hall on Pomona’s South Campus between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Volunteers don’t just get to DJ either! You can write for the KSPC blog, manage sound systems, or bring your favorite local band to perform on campus!

KSPC also cohosts a weekly event with the Pomona Museum of Art. Art After Hours happens every

Thursday evening at 5 p.m. in front of the Pomona Art Museum. They feature a mix of live entertainment, KSPC DJs, guest speakers, and much more! This past week featured the Charles Gaines Ensemble, a collection of six noted musicians including a saxophonist, cellist, bassist, drummer, electronicist, and trumpeter. Each week brings new entertainment to Pomona, as well as a great, relaxed environment where you and your friends can spend time.

You can stream KSPC live online at KSPC.org, or tune in at 88.7 FM!

Photo by Caroline Novit

By Liz Lyon ’12
Staff Writer

Fridays from noon to 2 p.m, Karin Weston (’12) will now be broadcasting her classical music show, “Variations on a Theme” on KSPC 88.7. Majoring in Molecular Biology and Music with an emphasis on voice and performance, Weston recently joined KSPC’s team and disc jockeyed her first show on Jan. 28. Her choices included several selections from German composer Morike-Leider, Mozart and Vaughan Williams. Said Weston, “The show went pretty well for my first time. I played one track twice, but I don’t think anyone noticed.”

As a Musical Director, Weston is responsible for choosing tracks to play during her two hour show. “It’s pretty simple,” she said. “There are two stereos, so you just slide in the next CD you want to play while the other stereo is one. You don’t have to change CDs while talking or deal with the computer.”

A choir singer, Weston was familiar with the major pieces, composers and movements, but she wanted to know more about contemporary music and broaden her tastes. “It was pretty daunting at first,” she said, “being in the studio. The people there know so much. But they’re so friendly, and that’s how it all starts. You listen to some music and start learning about it. Nobody comes in knowing a whole lot.”

Weston plans to expand the classical section of KSPC’s library one CD at a time. Instead of playing the traditional, easily-recognizable composers—such as Beethoven, Hadyn and List—and the symphonies and piano concertos which are the mainstay of most other classical radio stations, she wants to explore other composers and other forms of music. True to her background as a choral performer, Weston plans to mix in a few madrigals into her shows, and she wants to make classical more retro by bringing in more medieval and renaissance music as well. She’s considered doing more modern composers, such as Shoenberg. “He does this 12-tone method with notes and inversions. It sounds disorganized and random, but it is very mathematical,” Weston said. “I don’t think people will have much patience for it because it’s so strange.”

KSPC’s eclectic mix was what attracted Weston to the radio station in the first place. She felt that the other radio stations play the same gamut of songs and she wanted to listen to and be a part of something different. KSPC plays many independent and local bands who have not signed with big labels, music which a lot of students haven’t heard. As part of disseminating good music, KSPC also brings a lot of bands to the Colleges, typically at Art after Hours, Thursday nights at 9 p.m. Weston joins fellow Scripps students Lilly Estenson (’12) and Nora Bright (’11) as members of KSPC.

Tune into KSPC!

Tune into the radio shows of your fellow Scripps students Nora Bright (‘11), Lilly Estenson (‘12), and Edie Adams (‘14) on KSPC 88.7 FM! No radio? Listen to KSPC  via iTunes, your iPhone or livestreaming on www.kspc.org.

Gachan Gachan with Nora Bright (‘11)
When: Tuesdays 6-8 p.m.
Genre:  A smattering of underground music new and old… from afrobeat to garage rock to riot grrrrl.
Playlist Sampling:

• Women – “Locust Valley”
• My Bloody Valentine – “Feed Me With Your Kiss”
• Bruce Haack – “Motorcycle Ride”
• Olivia Tremor Control – “No Growing (Exgesis)”
• Black Angels – “Haunting at 1300 McKinley”

Flowerhours with Lilly Estensnon (‘12)
When: Tuesdays 4-6 p.m.
Genre: Underground, mostly a mix of americana, folk, garage rock and punk.
Playlist Sampling:

• Mika Miko – “Business Cats”
• Grass Widow – “Shadow”
• Glasser – “Apply”
• Tune-Yards – “Fiya”
• Polka Dot Dot Dot – “You’re on the Phone”

The Best Show Ever with Edie Adams (‘14)
When: Fridays 12-2 a.m.
Genre: A smorgasbord of different types of underground music, including more electronic-y tunes, indie pop beats and Americana music.
Playlist Sampling:

• Ferraby Lionheart – “Dear Corinne”
• Freelance Whales – “Location”
• The Tallest Man on Earth – “King of Spain”
• Maps and Atlases – “Living Decorations”
• Owen Pallett – “A Man With No Ankles”

On Nov. 14, Pomona College’s Walker Lounge hosted the second installation of the KSPC Blowout Series. Following incredible opening performances from Wilderness, Let’s Go Guantanamo and Night Control, the audience was treated to a headline act from The Happy Hollows.

The Los Angeles based band consists of only three members—Chris Hernandez (drums/vocals), Charlie Mahoney (bass/vocals), and Sarah Negahdari (guitar/vocals)—but rocks out with a tremendous force that they either don’t realize or are too modest to admit (take your pick).

The Happy Hollows has already gained notoriety on the West coast over the course of its three-year existence for its dance-happy tunes and explosive onstage presence. Combining up tempo pop songs with layered distortion and wailing vocals are what give this band its unique sound that leaves you with an eternal buzz. The Happy Hollows’ youthful outlook and familial relationship with its fans works most definitely in its favor, and by the end of the show, you can’t help but fall in love with the band.

Although all the members possess immense talent, the secret of the band’s success lies in the quirky and charismatic personality of Negahdari, who is every female rock icon rolled into one. Stomping around in a triumphant, childlike manner, screeching into the microphone à la Karen O and rolling around on the floor are included on Negahdari’s list of crazy onstage antics. Plus, she can shred the guitar like no one you’ve seen before. What else could you want from a front woman?

The Happy Hollows celebrated the release of its first full-length album, Spells, in October. Its music can be previewed on www.myspace.com/thehappyhollows. The band is currently finishing a November residency at Spaceland in Los Angeles, where it will play for free on Nov. 23 and 30.

CHX W/ DIX begins a night of primal mayhem

On Oct. 3, KSPC 88.7 F.M. celebrated its first performance of the Blowout Concert Series by hosting local bands CHX W/ DIX and FOOT VILLAGE. By the end of the night, one thing remained certain: never have the Claremont Colleges been rocked this way before! The bands fused their mind-blowing sounds with paint, tin foil and huge drums while helping the audience members unleash their inner warriors. There was a great deal of drumming, a lot of screaming and limitless energy being thrown about the Grove House; enough to make you wish you hadn’t skipped out on it for the CMC White Party.

Check out Foot Village’s music at: http://www.myspace.com/footvillage

* Make sure you don’t make the same mistake twice and check out the awesome upcoming events hosted by KSPC 88.7! For more information, search for “KSPC Blowouts” on Facebook.