ZBC offers indie sounds

Tucked away in McElroy 107 lies a hidden jewel of college radio, WZBC. From this wood paneled den covered in a sea of stickers and logos of underground bands going back almost 30 years comes the sounds of innumerable experimental and Indie bands blasting at 1,000 watts on 90.3 FM. The station, long ignored by the majority of student body, has always harbored up and coming musicians, as well as those who never make it big.

With a laid back atmosphere and student volunteers who encourage people to drop by and hang out, it's easy to understand why some of the biggest names in music such as Nirvana, REM, The Police, Sonic Youth and The White Stripes, to name a few, have made stops to interview in the studio before they became household names. It must be said though, that these artists are the exception to the rule, as WZBC likes to keep things a little more off the beaten path. There are few major labels to be found along the crowded walls, and helping connect people with music that is hidden by the music industry's blinders is part of the station's ethos. With this in mind, one can see why most of the student body tunes out, in a day and age when most rock stations stick to a limited selection of music and seldomly swerve outside the lines.

WZBC is built upon diversity, allowing every DJ to choose freely whatever music inspires him at the moment, mixing genres of music freely throughout the day. It's hard to find another station where reggae, jazz, rock 'n' roll, rap, hip-hop and news all find airtime and many tracks are heard six months before they are released to the public.

The real mark of WZBC is the music they call "No Commercial Potential" (NCP). This is the experimental side of music that will never make it to record stores and is meant solely for those true fans of music who reach into the different depths of sounds and melodies.

Although the station bills itself as BC's student-run radio station, only about one-fifth of the 60 DJs are actually students. It must be said that all of the behind the scenes positions are filled by students, but the DJs are the ones who make the connection to the listening audience. By having so few students controlling the tunes, it isn't surprising to find that WZBC has an extremely close knit group of listeners in the greater Boston area.

Even though the station has few student DJs, this doesn't mean that students can't easily become DJs or work in some other capacity. With some training and a desire to be part of the WZBC community, anyone can quickly integrate himself into the radio scene. The desire to involve students does not stop with simply encouraging people to stop by, as the station has an AOL IM account (WZBCDJ) so people can instantly request songs as well as get info from a DJ. Another important resource for listeners is the station's Web site, WZBC.org, where the daily lineup of genres and DJs can easily be found, along with access to streaming audio for those without radios. The station also has the requisite request line, (617) 552-4686, for those who would like to hear their favorite underground songs.