KJHK's Zine Celebrating 10 Years in the Union

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*** K JHK was born 45 years ago in The Sudler Annex, lovingly referred to as “The Shack.” This little brick building perfectly embodied the alternative and artful attitude that is college radio in America.

Located on 1132 West 11t h Street, near the David Booth Kansas Memorial Statium, the building was donated to the University in 1929. Before it was known as our beloved “Shack,” it served as the garage or carriage house for the Mervin T. Sudler home. Fast forward to 1975, and it became home for LPs, creativity, and the K JHK family.

*** *** Whether the ever-evolving K JHK-ersit was feared the station’s graffiti to the rotting take-out move would kill the alternative and burntof carpet, “The spiritcigarette and freedom expression Shack” was magnetic.

While afforded in the shack. there is no way to capture 35 years (shout-out all While of wenonstop can’t write on the to walls the night-shift memories, of the Union DJs!) “unfortunately”, we hope to transport you backfill to sticky notes and white boards the shack (not song, the studios withthe theWeezer same loving, that wasn’t until 2014) comedic, andreleased graphic messages. so you can remember where your sound alternative was born!

“I started my time back in 1973.... when the station was in the basement of Hoch Auditorium and was known as KUOK. This was an AM carrier current signal up to some of the rooms in the dorms on the hill.... One would plug your radio into the wall to get the signal. Didn’t work all that well. It took a lot of work to set up the studios in the carriage building later known as the shack... I remember being at the bottom of the tower when the helicopter lifted the FM antenna for placement at the top.”

“I got a look at the application to go to the FCC. It listed the station programming to be country music as there were not any in Lawrence at the time. The thought was to get the license then worry about what the real programming would be later.”

“The license had arrived and gotten rat-holed somewhere in Flint hall.... we knew we had been approved... we were just waiting for the license to get to us. It just happened that we were doing a live broadcast on campus when it was found and gotten to us.... so in the picture where Docy is spinning the records with us going live on K JHK... You can see me behind him... telling him to sign off the old station and sign on the new station when the engineer gives us the go ahead.”

KJHK’S

Past and present, every K JHK’er has a story to tell. Dick Johnson was the first voice for K JHK in 1973. Here is his story of how our beloved K JHK began its legacy.

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MEREDITH

*** MEREDITH VACEK, STATION MANAGER 2003-2004 “I fought my way to K JHK Station Manager for the 2003-2004 school year. My place at the helm came during a difficult time in the station’s history. Women and students of color were being chased away by the actions of a small group of students who outcast others (and their more diverse musical tastes) from involvement. The School of Journalism, which held K JHK’s license at the time, had lost interest in the station and was looking to get rid of it. There was talk of simply shutting it down, or of completely changing its format, eliminating the focus on independent music and student-led shows.

Even during this difficult time, a more diverse and open group of students became passionate about saving K JHK and enthusiastically welcoming historically excluded groups. Also key to surviving these times was the Journalism faculty advisor, Gary Hawke, who believed in the station and believed in me.

Far beyond what his job description required. Supporters of change helped me become Station Manager, and all the K JHK staff who had promoted bigotry were not rehired.

Applicants who espoused bigotry in their interviews were turned down.

Gary Hawke, Program Director Bill Colburn and myself negotiated with the Journalism School and SUA to transfer the license to SUA and keep

the beloved eclectic student-led format alive. K JHK still contends with the same struggles as the rest of society when it comes to race and gender equity, but the fact that there is now an established tradition of women in leadership tells me that believing in and fighting for K JHK’s beautiful potential was worth it.

So does the fact that after all these decades, the focus on independent music chosen by the students themselves remains.”

“K JHK Exec Staff in The Shack, 2004. Pictured here, starting on the left, is Ryan, Scott Horn, Peter Berard, Lindsey Curtis, a Sports Director, Bill Colburn, Meredith Vacek, and Chris Shively holding the plush animal. In the very front is Fally Afani Ruzik. Several members of this Executive Staff went on to careers in the music industry: Peter went to Domino Records right out of KU and is now in management, Chris is a DJ and producer who tours nationally and internationally, and Fally is a professional concert photographer who founded and publishes local music print magazine and website I Heart Local Music. I too was a party DJ for 19 years.”

*** In 2010, K JHK packed up and moved to The Kansas Memorial Union. The building on 11th street was not up to code and was at risk for flooding. The move was a great way to become more visible to the campus population.

K JHK’s devoted staff worked out a plan and the final remodeling project cost about $245,000, and allowed the station to grow both in size and professionalism. This new chapter made it possible to make K JHK what it is today.

HACK FROM THE S TO THE UNION

*** LOGAN NICKELS, STATION MANAGER 2009-2010 “The Shack was the embodiment of college radio. The little things stuck with you - like how decades of gunk had piled up on the buttons of the sound board and if you picked at them with a fingernail you could reveal the illuminating red light underneath, or how the chairs would never leave their designated spot because the wooden floors had ruts in them from DJs wheeling back and forth over the years. The graffiti on the walls, handwritten reviews on vinyl records, and the alwaysbroken record players ensured you were always discovering - like an anthropologist dropped into a new land. Sure, the basement leaked.

Sure, it had the acoustics of a cinder block and it was as ADA-compliant as Machu Picchu, but it was great, and it felt like it was the central character in a play about college radio culture.”

“And then we moved to the Union.

There was consternation across all parties that we would lose that punk rock spirit - that not being able to graffiti the walls would somehow change our ability to be our own people, or that having people witness the magic through giant windows would somehow mean we weren’t able to create it anymore.

And it did change how we could do things - but it didn’t mean we lost our spirit. It meant that bassists for instudio shows weren’t at risk of falling down the stairs, and that we had new,

gorgeous equipment that WORKED. It also meant that we could share our weird, beautiful passion with more people, who increasingly seemed to “get it.” People who saw a deep love and excitement and jumped on board with us. And that punk rock weirdo spirit came with us to the Union because it doesn’t matter where the signal comes from or where the mics are plugged in. K JHK is a collective, not a location.”

“That’s the thing that K JHK meant to me more than anything else Liking what you like, and knowing that out there, chances are good someone else also likes that thing.

I stopped apologizing for taste and preference at some point in college, and just started liking the things that I enjoyed. K JHK is entirely to thank for that, because that’s the place that I found people that thought esoteric and weird was cool, as long as you had a passion for it. That translated far beyond music and college, and has certainly shaped where I’ve landed today.”

“K JHK was hilarious, educational, and most of all, formative. I wouldn’t trade my time at the Shack or the Union for absolutely anything, and goodness gracious do I miss it - 10 whole years later.”

*** K JHK-ers feared the station’s move would kill the alternative spirit and freedom of expression afforded in the shack.

While we can’t write on the walls of the Union “unfortunately”, sticky notes and white boards fill the studios with the same loving, comedic, and graphic messages.

*** Even with trends shifting toward digital media, the walls of our studio are still lined with physical albums, both new and old.

With the move, K JHK replaced the outdated sound boards and recording devices, but we made sure to keep as much of The Shack as possible. The main door from The Shack was turned into a table that we use in our recording studio control room. This control room is part of a new amenity K JHK acquired in the move, “Studio 366.”

This space is where we host bands performing for Live @ K JHK and other content, shoots, and editing.

While we were able to have bands in The Shack and the Union’s music library, this space opened up doors to larger bands and opportunities.

*** RAY BENNET, STATION MANAGER 2017-2018 “K JHK was so many things. It was being at the station late at night, it was googling “how to write a music review,” it was playing that one song to cheer a pal up, it was connecting with people from all walks of life. Not only has it been the single greatest learning experience of my life, it is the thing that changed everything.”

“Being a Station Manager allowed me to make sure so many others had the same opportunities I had. I’m a better person because of it. I’m so grateful to be able to look back on it fondly while also moving forward in life bravely.”

SOPHIE

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*** SOPHIE JOHNSON, STATION MANAGER 2019-2020 “How do I summarize everything I learned and feel about K JHK into one blurb? I think that the beauty in this question is, I can’t. K JHK is an idiosyncratically charming entity that has allowed people from all walks of life to graciously enter through its doors-- whether it be the door of The Shack or The Union-with open arms. Maybe it is the interpersonal relationships made at K JHK, where all you may have in common with someone is liking the same album; or getting approved to DJ that one special program you thought no one would listen to; or maybe even discovering a new skill set you never knew you had, that makes K JHK so special.”

“Regardless of anyone’s personal connection to the station, the beauty of K JHK is that each person’s experience is so unique to the individual. To be a part of K JHK is to be a part of this one strange blip on campus where majors don’t matter, the impending anxiety of that assignment you have to finish can vanish, and you can just be one with yourself, music, and the people around you. Through the joys of discovering new music, learning its history, exploring local musicians, bringing national acts to campus, and so much more, K JHK brings a special light to its space and to Lawrence that is unwavering and continuously warm.

“To have been granted the privilege of being the Station Manager of K JHK means more to me than just a title I can put on a resume; it means that I was able to sew another patch onto the quilt that is the entirety of this student-run radio station’s history. Through being Station Manager I have learned how to grow, evolve, and love others in the same way that this station does for so many people, and for that I will be forever grateful.”

“I believe that the spirit of college students and their passion for music will always keep K JHK alive, regardless of where the physical station is located. K JHK will continually evolve to fit the needs of its time, as it’s done time and time again, and I can’t wait to see where it will be in another 10 years.

For anyone who reads this zine further down the road, I hope you explore the endless experiences and opportunities K JHK has to offer and has offered so many of its members since 1975. Remember that K JHK gives back as much as you put into it, and to enjoy the ride while it lasts.”

*** One thing is for certain, KJHK creates a powerful bond through the simple love of music. This love then on goes to create a timeless family of past, current and future KJHK’ers that allows the legacy of our radio station to never die out.

Radio prevails and so do the people who have put in their time and effort to create such a historic and influential place that we can all call our home.

Through sickness and health do us part. KJHK forever. <3

lovingly curated by our executive 2019-2020 staffers Erin Bugee - Creative Director Sophie Johnson - Station Manager Miranda Roberts - Communications Director Cami Koons - Community Engagement