Jam out to your local, community neighbors

Editor’s note: members of the editorial staff of The Lumberjack are part of and have been part of KRFH. The author of this article had no previous affiliation with KRFH.

Following winter break, KRFH has returned with its entirely student-staffed programs, TALX, MIXX and Local LIXX. Each of the programs bring on guests to participate in their show, providing a platform for community members to show off their skills and speak their mind.

Local LIXX, the longest running program at KRFH, invites local artists to display their talent live on the radio.

Co-Manager of LIXX, Michael Freire first became part of the program in 2017.

“It’s like a really, really cool special thing to have a fully student-run radio station that is promoting a local music scene in a town that has a surprising number of good musicians per capita,” Freire said.

One of the main focuses at LIXX is to create a diverse program that speaks to all music genres and tastes.

“One of the few limitations is that I obviously only have a view on the part of the music scene that I’m familiar with,” Freire said. “So I also try to like reach out to as many friends as possible for suggestions of places I can go, ’cause I don’t want to just put one genre of music or one group of friends on the radio.”

To scout talent for LIXX, Freire attends as many shows as he can, searching for sounds that he feels are a proper fit for the program.

Quentin Wall and his band, Quentin Wall of Sound, were the first guests of the spring semester. This was Wall’s second appearance on the program, but his first with the new band.

“Playing on air is fun,” Wall said. “It’s scary because anything you do, there’s no take-backs. But it’s fun because anyone can listen, and it’s a lot of people that I would never meet.”

Not to be mistaken for LIXX, the MIXX program currently abides by a first come, first serve policy. This allows the platform to seek out the hungriest, most enthusiastic artists first.

MIXX Manager Alejandro Zepeda is currently in his sixth semester with the radio program.

“It’s really fun to watch the different DJs and their different techniques and how they’re doing it,” Zepeda said. “It’s a really great learning opportunity for myself and anyone else on the MIXX crew if they’re interested in DJing, just because you don’t really get to be this close to the performer usually when you’re out at an event, and you know there’s all sorts of other stuff going on.”

TALX is the odd man out of the programs. Instead of placing the focus of an entire show on a single guest act, TALX incorporates their guests as part of a larger conversation. Unlike MIXX and LIXX, TALX doesn’t require a guest in order for the show to go on. Instead, students are given direct control of the content they create.

Delaney Duarte is currently in her second semester as manager of the TALX program.

“When you’re in there you’re gonna meet a bunch of other people, and then you kinda create like this bond with everyone,” Duarte said. “Everyone knows you and it’s like a really good community. I love the radio community a lot here on campus.”

KRFH is one of the last student-run free-from radio stations. Students are given complete creative control over their content, so long as they conform to Federal Communications Commission regulations. KRFH programs provide an opportunity, not only for community members to showcase their talents, but for students to express, explore and share their identities.

“There’s just something about being in the booth, something about being in this radio station,” Zepeda said. “It’s calming for me despite all the crazy things that happen, and there’s always something ridiculous happening. It’s my happy place, and I’d like to continue that for other people that need to find something like this in their lives.”