Tue 4/2 @ 7:30PM
College radio has always been one of the northeast Ohio music scene’s under-appreciated strengths, dating back more than 50 years. Partly because of the dominance — locally and nationally — of WMMS-FM in the ’70s and ’80s, it usually didn’t get the credit it deserved. Local bands often saw a few easily ignored spins on WMMS as more valuable than heavy airplay on a college station such as WRUW, WCSB, WJCU (formerly WUJC) or WBWC, which reached a smaller but more adventurous audience more apt to check out a new band. (David Thomas of Pere Ubu once said in a Scene interview that radio in Cleveland never played his band, and when confronted shortly after it appeared by WRUW host Michigan Mom who pointed out that the station had had his latest album in heavy rotation for weeks, said, “That doesn’t count — that’s college radio.)
In the 1980s nationally, college radio was the first place where many major bands got an audience — bands such as U2, R.E.M., Sonic Youth, and many more. That story is told in a new documentary film called 35,000 Watts: The Story of College Radio, which will be screened, appropriately, at the Grog Shop. While the promotion for the film is boasting that it reveals “the untold story” of college radio, the significance of these stations won’t be news to serious music fans in Cleveland. 35,000 Watts includes interviews with some of the artist who got their first career toehold on college radio, as well as regional acts for whom they were the major means of promotion. It also features conversations with former college radio staff talking about the role these stations played them and continue to play in the music scene.
The screening at the Grog Shop will be followed by a panel discussion on the local college radio scene, moderated by Rachel Hunt, a WRUW host who also works at the Grog Shop. Among the panelists is longtime area musician Dave Swanson (New Salem Witch Hunters, Guided by Voices, Death of Samantha) and radio personality, with other local college radio personalities to be announced.
Admission is $10, plus $3 more if under 21 (It’s an all-ages event). And if you use the access codes WRUW, WCSB, WJCU or WBWC the proceeds from your ticket will go to your favorite station — and you know these nonprofit outlets are always needing resources, not just during their radiothons. Get tickets here.
grogshop/35000-watts-the-story-of-college-radio/