Music: Rock & Roll High School

Like many Tristate Alt Rock fans, my hopes for terrestrial radio went to the grave with 97X. Aside from a few fantastic shows on WAIF and other community stations, eclectic Rock programming is a thing of the past.

Or so I thought.

One night, while searching for a favorite program on the low end of the dial, I got an earful of Jets Overhead and was certain I had found my frequency. When they followed with an old James Brown tune, then Reverend Horton Heat, I started to wonder. Sure enough, the station ID held a surprise: It was WLHS (89.9FM), Lakota High School’s radio station. High school?

Over the next few weeks, I tuned in religiously, absolutely transfixed. I heard Ima Robot B-sides, lengthy Mars Volta and Fiery Furnaces songs, tracks from local bands MOTH and The Minni-Thins, and choice picks from today’s Indie, Punk and Garage crops. With all this studded ’80s and ’90s Alternative acts (lots of Pixies and Ween) and Funk, Jazz and Classic Rock nuggets from the ’60s and ’70s (from The Kinks to Coltrane), it was more like pirate radio than anything else I’d ever heard on the radio.

Certainly high school kids were not picking these tunes.

But after tracking them down through their Web site, I found that was indeed the case. With tens of thousands of discs at their disposal and some guidance from teacher Mark Hattersley, the kids of LHS’s Radio II class display the discerning taste of an obsessive record store clerk. As I sat down to talk to them, the entire conversation was punctuated with references to obscure bands and commentary on various styles. You’d think the room was filled with crusty Indie Rock veterans instead of high school seniors.

“We’re pretty unique in that no one tells us what to play,” says Brian McCabe, one of the DJs. “We can pick songs that we think should be getting attention.”

Imagine that — DJs spinning their favorite tracks without being beholden to commercial interests. Although all profess to be longtime 97X devotees and to play music in that vein, the setup sounds more like the early, underground days of WEBN.

“Sometimes we bring things from home, sometimes we pick off the shelves,” Ryanne Walton says of their freedom.

“We do have to play a certain amount from the ‘current’ list,” adds Jennifer Schroeder, meaning that at least a few songs in their half-hour blocks must be off of recent releases. But they don’t have to be hits or singles; the DJs are free to cherry-pick their favorite tracks.

“It’s like making a mix tape for the world,” moans McCabe sarcastically.

The broadcasting program at Lakota is almost 30 years old, but has recently blossomed into today’s exciting entity. In the past, most programming mirrored popular music, but Hattersley, in his sixth year teaching the class, is shifting that mindset. “I try to sell them on playing things that you wouldn’t hear on commercial radio,” he says.

Adding to the rebellious vibe at the station are the flippant attitudes, particularly towards pop culture and sometimes even certain PSAs (the public service announcements required of community radio stations). One DJ followed a spot for the U.S. Marine Corps with, “That’s a great idea, if you want to die!”

“I’m surprised that made it onto the air,” says Hattersley, who is responsible for insuring the broadcasts are family friendly.

Each 30-minute show (or “overnight”) is recorded by a student during the day, then loaded into an automation program that loops them randomly. During the school day, there are live Metal, Punk and Hip Hop shows, as well as some sports and talk. But the Alternative Rock kids do most of the overnights. This is what gives the station its college-radio feel.

“It’s like a football team,” says Hattersley. “The kids that put in the time get the most play.”

“Yes! The awkward sports analogy!” announces McCabe grandiosely.

In addition to spinning music, the WLHS DJs actively do CMJ charting and search for new music, seek out sponsorships from local businesses and essentially function like any radio station … without the stifling market share pressures and subsequent narrow musical focus.

The WLHS DJs also stay in touch with their audience, for better or for worse. Not many Lakota students are fans, as their tastes run more mainstream. But older listeners who are impressed with the play lists end up calling frequently.

“Some people will freak out that we’re playing weird stuff and request ‘Shoefoot Jackson’ or something,” jokes DJ Erick Stoll. “I don’t even know what that is. OK, I just made it up.”

Unless you’re close to their transmitter in West Chester (the station has about the same reach as the old 97X signal) or snag one of the coveted Live365 feeds (they’re usually full), chances are you’re not going to hear them, which is a shame. Despite this, they are pressing on with promotion, even if it is academic.

“We have been trying to get our name out there by putting advertisements on Web sites and in papers and such,” says Schroeder. But with their delivery limitations, reaching a wider audience might not be feasible.

If all goes well, next year’s class will inherit the outgoing seniors’ affinity for expanding musical horizons. Maybe they’ll even offer a more accessible Internet stream and get the word out. At the very least, they might continue to shine as an example of what can go very right with radio, and how using it as an avenue for personal expression fosters the kind of connection between the DJ and the audience that most in the business have long forgotten.

This article appears in Mar 30 – Apr 5, 2005.