At pretty much any time of the week, you can tune in to Colgate University’s beloved radio station, WRCU FM 90.1, to hear your peers deliver a diverse range of themed radio shows to the local area.
This past week marked the 75th anniversary of WRCU’s receipt of the grant that put the student-run radio station into existence. To celebrate the milestone, WRCU hosted an open house on Saturday, Feb. 15, where anyone could stop by the station to learn more about how it runs and munch on some music-themed snacks. WRCU then hosted a concert featuring artist Teddy and student band Chalant.
Sophomore and WRCU Events Manager Isabel Drexler Booth explained the intention behind the open house.
“Normally only WRCU DJs have access to the station, which can sometimes create the illusion of a divide between those on either end of the microphone. With the open house, we wanted to welcome everyone, listeners and DJs alike, into our little slice of home at Colgate and share our excitement for college radio with the campus and Hamilton community as a whole,” Drexler Booth said. “It’s incredible that WRCU has maintained such a strong presence for 75 years, so we also really wanted to use this open house to help celebrate how far the station has come, and share how eager we are to see it continue to grow.”
Drexler Booth also expressed how it feels to be part of the radio station while celebrating its 75th birthday.
“It’s crazy. I am so insanely grateful to be a board member for WRCU during this milestone anniversary,” Drexler Booth said. “WRCU has become one of the most important aspects of my experience here at Colgate, and it’s such an honor to be a part of its history.”
The radio station has hosted plenty of live music events before. The neon lighting, eclectic decor, cozy atmosphere and, of course, access to great sound equipment make it a perfect venue for an intimate show. Last weekend’s concert was partially a collaboration with FrontRunner Magazine, who put the evening’s opening act, Teddy, on WRCU’s radar.
Teddy, who hails from Brooklyn, N.Y., brought the station a cozy, somewhat rock, somewhat country acoustic vibe and performed many songs about love, longing or the struggle that comes with navigating relationships — fitting when Valentine’s Day was still fresh on the audience’s mind.
Student band Chalant followed with an energetic set, full of original songs and a cover of MGMT’s “Electric Feel.” Chalant’s sound epitomizes that of a student band: energetic, raw indie rock. You could picture them jamming out in a garage — 2000s-movie-esque style — if not at the WRCU station. According to Chalant guitarist and sophomore Andrew Tatela, that’s not too far off from their style. Tatela along with sophomore Craig Arquiett, who also plays guitar and performs most of the band’s vocals, get down to most of their creative work in their dorm room.
“Songs usually start with [Arquiett] and I bouncing ideas off each other. We’re roommates, so we play guitar late into the night and have long conversations about what we want out of the song,” Tatela said. “We challenge ourselves to make catchy songs that people can move to while also including more unusual parts to keep it fun for us.”
Tatela also described how the group came together. The group consists of Tatela, Arquiett, sophomore Katie Bradley and junior Matt Walinski. Chalant’s formation is a testament to the spontaneous and lively nature of Colgate’s music scene.
“We started as a band when I saw the other guitar player, [Arquiett], wearing a Fender shirt on the quad and I asked him if he played guitar,” Tatela said. “We started jamming in his dorm and he showed me songs he had written. I really enjoyed them, so we kept writing that semester and eventually added [Bradley] on bass, who lived down the hall from [Arquiett]. We found our drummer, [Walinski], later on when I met him in the pit band for a school musical.”
Chalant debuted some new songs at the evening’s performance and tried out a new, perhaps unconventional instrument.
“We were excited to debut a couple new songs at this show where we mess with some different sounds than we’re used to,” Tatela said. “On a song called ‘Star Child,’ we use a little cigar box guitar that we plug into an amplifier to get crazy feedback.”
The WRCU studio audience responded well to Chalant’s set. Junior Jack Zizza explained how he enjoyed the performance.
“Chalant is a fantastic group of talented musicians! Their performance was energetic, engaging and full of personality. You could tell the crowd was really into it, and it’s always exciting to see live music create that kind of connection,” Zizza said. “I’m really glad that the station is committed to highlighting all of the extremely talented musicians that are here on campus. I had a great time at the event and I’m excited to see what’s next!”
For the WRCU staff who put this show together, like sophomore Annabel McKenna, one of the station’s Music Directors, the warm reception to the anniversary show felt like a sign of music’s role in community building.
“The anniversary event was a super cool way to deepen the connections within our community,” McKenna said. “Music is an especially powerful tool for community building, something we really believe in at WRCU, and we really saw that play out on Saturday with everyone coming together to support the station and the super talented bands […] that showed out with their performances. We’re really grateful for everyone who is a part of WRCU and that contributed to the celebration with their awesome energy.”
For the 21 and up crowd, Chalant’s next gig will be at Hamilton’s Sir Handsome Johnny’s, more commonly known as “Bar Bar” (18 Lebanon St.), on March 11.
