By: Joshua Lenahan, Practicum Writer
Regis’ KRCX radio station held a basement session with up-and-coming North Carolina Rap artist Ron Beatty recently. The basement of Clarke Hall is home to the headquarters of the oldest college radio station in Denver. Beatty has been touring colleges around the country promoting his music before dropping his new album “Beats Beers and BBQ.”
Beatty sampled his unreleased album with the crew at KRCX and talked about his inspirations, other artists he has worked with, and his artistic process. Anyone who’s interested in Beatty’s new album, or any other new music, can tune into the station at KRCX.org whenever they want. Beatty is the first of many successful artists the KRCX team hopes to welcome into the station this year and next.
With a new staff, the station is on the rise and improving its lineup. KRCX is run by students who update the music library, market the station to the rest of the student body, and bring in talent to perform in basement sessions to share their music with KRCX’s audience.
Basement sessions serve to get the station involved with the community, and vice versa. Artists can bring new or old music to show off – and even perform live on the air. The basement of Clarke is home to a broadcasting room, a studio with an isolation booth, a video editing room, and all kinds of equipment needed to create music. It’s a playground for musicians and music lovers alike.
KRCX’s goal is to get more students tuned in and consistently listening to the station. It brings new, curated music to the student body and helps keep students informed about happenings on the Northwest Denver campus. Being an internet radio station, anyone can listen from anywhere, which makes it ideal for busy students who listen to music on their phones. In an era of music-streaming services, many students turn away from radio even though they can provide a tasteful and curated selection of music picked out by Regis’ own students.
KRCX recently got some news attention thanks to 9News. The local TV station ran a piece about the band Queen’s first U.S concert, which was held in the Regis Field house in 1974. Regis has hosted many big-name concerts over the years, including Jimi Hendrix, Hall and Oats, and The Kinks, to name a few.
With a lot to live up to, the new team at KRCX is becoming more and more involved around campus and is proud to be the official sound of Regis. In the future, expect to hear KRCX outside the student center, the dorms and around campus. So, remember to tune in to KRCX.org and support your local radio station.