WVUD spins 40 years into anniversary concert

WVUD celebrated its 40th anniversary Saturday night in the Bacchus Theater, with a concert featuring performances by Newark institution the Sin City Band, the Celtic folk-inspired Mythica and local favorite Three Legged Fox. As with any good birthday party, there was also cake.

"The first time we played in this theater was in 1975," the Sin City Band guitarist Scott Birney says between a song. "We played this song then and we are playing it tonight as well."

Birney also hosts the Friday morning "Roots" show on WVUD, on which the Sin City Band's music makes frequent appearances.

Station general manager Scott Ohlmacher says the Sin City Band was an ideal choice for the event.

"We wanted to showcase 40 years of the station's history," Ohlmacher says. "The Sin City Band just does that - they have been around for over 30 years and Birney has been with the station almost as long."

Birney wasn't the only staff member to take part in the performances, as Mythica features the host of "Java Time Wednesday," Michele McCann, who is known for her use of the hurdy gurdy, a stringed musical instrument.

Since its creation in 1968, the station has changed name and format, increasing its listener radius and becoming the station that students and Newark residents are familiar with today.

This year marks another important change for WVUD, as it recently received approval from the Federal Communications Commission for an increase in wattage that would expand the station's reach even more.

While the event celebrated the station's history, it also served to highlight the fact that the station is still changing, an idea evidenced by the event's tagline of "40 years & counting."

Program director Mike Nigro says while it becomes harder for students to tune into the station, he still feels many are making the effort to listen. This is in part because of the station's tradition of providing a wide variety of programming, compared to mainstream radio.

"Growing up in the area, I was aware of the station and its reputation as a place to hear interesting and different music," Nigro says. "I feel like the station still has that reputation and people are still listening."

While students and community members share the work of running the station, Nigro says since the station is a student organization, there's a push from both the university and the station's staff to reach out to more students.

Looking out on the crowd from the concert, there was a noticeable majority of community members over students in attendance, something Nigro attributes to it being a Saturday night on campus.

"What we have is a lot of alumni," he says. "These are people who were involved with the station while they were students and stuck around after they graduated."

Station manager Steve Kramarck says the station is making moves to generate more student involvement, as it is students who are really responsible to operate the station.

"Students do a lot of the heavy lifting," he says. "I just make sure everything is legal."

Though Kramarck says much support for the station comes from community members, a great deal of programming on the station is reserved for students only. On weekdays, 1:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. is reserved for student shows such as Nigro's "Music from the Annex" and Ohlmacher's "Certain Songs."

Even though he has only been with WVUD for a few months, Kramarck says he feels a great deal of pride in what the station is doing and hopes to help move the station forward.

The station is working on streamlining the application process, making it faster and easier for students to become DJs and take part in the station.

"We are always looking for more students," he says. "I don't think students realize there is a lot more they can do here than just being a DJ."

Aside from music, the station has sports and news programming, and Kramarck says students are also encouraged to take part in the station's promotions and public relations departments.

Kramarck says in an attempt to help bring in more students, the station is also planning to start airing pre-recorded shows. He says this will allow for more flexibility for students who want to host shows, but might be unable to do so live at the times available.

"Working for the station is a good way to be involved in everything music," Nigro says.

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