 "Photo: Ariel Min/The Daily Texan")
Late at night, disc jockeys in the isolated KVRX studio play “none of the hits, all of the time” for Austin listeners.
One such DJ is Kelsey Innis, a plan II and computer sciences senior whose free-form show (simply called “Kelsey”) features a variety of music on Wednesday evenings.
Innis was born and raised in San Francisco, Calif., and moved to Austin in 2004. Shortly thereafter, she joined the KVRX team after seeing a sign advertising it from across her dorm room. Now, she’s been DJing off-and-on for about four years.
Innis explains that having a radio show requires more than just playing music and perfecting your DJ voice — especially at KVRX, where many policies govern the student-run station. Like the station’s slogan suggests, students aren’t allowed to play music from bands that have received any sort of national music recognition (i.e., coverage from MTV, VH1 or Rolling Stone magazine).
“It can be frustrating,” Innis said of the limitations. “But ... the policies are done from the idea that KVRX provides a service for the community, giving bands exposure to get played where normally they wouldn’t get played.”
In an hour-long show, DJs must also play five songs from their “new bin” of recent releases, at least five songs from different genres and two songs from local artists to give Austinites a taste of their own.
“Since you have restrictions on what you can play, it forces you to look for new things,” she said. “Lately, I’ve been really into sludge-metal.”
Prior to her move to Austin, Innis began to cultivate her musical knowledge while sifting through her father’s extensive record collection.
“I’ve been a musical nerd for a long time,” she said. “My dad had a record collection that I would liberally root through.”
The aroma of musical knowledge can be smelled upon entering the KVRX radio station. It’s easy to feel the sense of community that comes from a group formed by students who started off in the same place.
“We need volunteers,” Innis said. “Even if someone doesn’t want to be a DJ, there’s tons of other behind-the-scenes stuff that people can do.”
The station itself provides many volunteer positions for students willing to join. Whether it be reviewing CDs, DJing, distributing flyers or helping with production, the station has a wide range of opportunities.
And while many responsibilities come along with a KVRX time slot, for Innis it ignites excitement.
“You get thrown in, and often times, it’s very loosey-goosey because it’s run by students, but that is what’s so cool about it,” she said. “It makes you feel like you can do anything.”
Innis’ set plays on KVRX 91.7 FM Wednesdays from 9 to 11 p.m.
