C B Z W h t i w
Image courtesy of Alex Krowiak/Gavel Media Staff
GETTING WEIRD ft. DJ Nick
By Emily Akin/Online Manager Bent over his mic in the dimly lit WZBC studio, Nick Benevenia takes a deep breath before greeting his listeners. “It’s 2 a.m. If you’re still awake... good for you.” Benevenia, the general manager of WZBC, and I are putting on a two-hour long rock show for the insomniacs. Between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. I get to watch the master go to work, spinning off vinyl, CDs, iTunes, with even a few last-minute YouTube videos thrown in —just because he got a hankering for Chuck Ragan. I foolishly ask Benevenia why he doesn’t use a pre-made playlist on Spotify, and am rewarded with a fabulously withering look. “I have no interest in making this sound like Pandora,” he tells me. “That takes all of the art out of it.”
DJ NICK’S SPIN TABLE
INTO IT. OVER IT.
The Shaking of Leaves “The song of the year for me.”
MODERN BASEBALL
Play Ball! “The album is called ‘Sports,’ which I think is hilarious.” CHUCK RAGAN GLORY “He’s the Chuck Norris of Americana.”
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BC Gavel
The off-air result of this constant shuffle is an overwhelmingly motion-packed two hours spent in the tiny DJ booth. Benevenia paces around like a man possessed by a caffeinated demon. He explains that the ceiling-to-floor shelves crammed with CDs in the DJ’s booth are dubbed “The Playlist.” He lectures me on the modern phenomenon of the ‘Emo Revival,’ which he thinks is a load of crap. He plays the appropriately titled, “You Can’t Sexy Dance to Punk Rock,” with the added personal disclaimer, “And believe me, you can’t.” He even performs an impressive and erratic air-drum routine to the Menzingers. And then, when it comes time to go on air in between songs, he finally sits down. The manically caffeine-high Benevenia disappears once the mic switches on. There is no more fast-paced chatter. The mood in the booth slows down as he speaks to the listener, describing the music of Tyler Daniel Bean with a tangible degree of introspection: “You can tell he puts a lot of time into the words,” he muses. “And musically . . . it ambles . . . is the best word to choose, I suppose. It moves slowly . . . but it wanders. Which suits the music really well.” Just like Bean’s lyricism, Benevenia’s ebbing commentary might sound rambling to an inattentive listener. In reality, his seemingly casual voice is calculated,
and the frequent pauses in his speech are poignantly chosen. This on-air presence lends an overarching personality to the music he plays —the audience hears the show through the Benevenia filter. A radio show is, after all, more than just good music. While WZBC is known for its musically versed DJs, Benevenia doesn’t pretend to be one of them. “I like songs about girls,” he candidly shruggs. Musical taste aside, what he can and does lay claim to is a great on-air demeanor. A past winner of the contest “The Voice of Boston College,” Benevenia has incredible control over the decibel and inflection of his voice. It’s a calming presence on air in between sets —it’s friendly. “There’s a reason radio is still prominent,” he explains. “It’s because of the host. We let people who are lonely feel like they are a part of something.” This connection between host and listener, this hour-long friendship of sorts, is the reason why WZBC plays such a prevalent role in the community, both on and off campus. No matter how lonely you are, no matter how much you have going on in your life, there will always be DJs like Benevenia around to make friends with at 2 a.m. “Goodnight everyone. ZBC will be back in the morning.”
December 2013