WQFS
| 200px | |
| City of license | Greensboro, North Carolina |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Triad |
| Branding | Your Only Alternative |
| Frequency | 90.9 MHz |
| Format | Variety |
| ERP | 1,900 watts |
| HAAT | 61.0 meters |
| Class | A |
| Facility ID | 68233 |
| Transmitter coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Owner | Guilford College |
WQFS (90.9 FM) is Guilford College's student-run radio station, with both students and members of the community serving as disk jockeys.[1] Broadcasting in a variety format, it serves Greensboro, North Carolina and the greater Piedmont Triad area. WQFS is currently ranked number six in the Princeton Review's "The Best 378 Colleges."[2] The station has maintained a spot in the contest's top ten for seven consecutive years.[3] In October 2008, Greensboro News & Record's Go Triad also named WQFS as the Triad's Best College Radio Station.[4]
History
The station started as a student club, The Fine Music Broadcasting Society, in 1965. Guilford obtained a license from the FCC on October 26, 1966 and, once it had the necessary equipment and funds, WQFS began a daily broadcast schedule on January 6, 1970, broadcasting in an adult contemporary or middle of the road format.[5] By its second year of operation, some disk jockeys began to play what a decade later would become known as college rock. Others would play hybrid programming, which could feature avant-garde jazz, contemporary classical, bluegrass, blues, and Musique concrète, sometimes all within the same program.
One early experiment involved celebrating the second anniversary of the Paul is dead hoax by playing not only Beatles, but other rock, and even classical records backwards, or using the station's two turntables to play a Beatles song forwards and backwards at the same time.
Like many college stations, WQFS currently features a wide variety of genres, all with a strong focus on independent music labels.[citation needed] The main format is indie rock. About one hundred DJs, half of them students, work at the station at any given time. Students also hold the management positions, which change frequently.
WQFS plays many local artists such as Low Sky, Resister, Decoration Ghost, and Workday/Schoolnight.
Long-running shows include David Butler's "The Sunday Morning Rehab Show" on Sunday morning, Wesley Elam’s "Flava Lab" (hip-hop on Thursday evenings, Josh Neas' "J's Indie Rock Mayhem" on Wednesday evenings, DJ Midnightt's "Garden of Good and Evil" on Tuesday evenings, Chris Roulhac’s "North Carolina Show" on Wednesday afternoons, and Sherrill “Maddog” Ward’s "Friday Night Rock Party".
WQFS is currently ranked as the sixth best college radio station in the country by the Princeton Review. In the past the station has held spots as high as number 4.[6]
Currently, Kate Schwab serves as General Manager, and Mace Smith as Programming Manager, Matt Carter and Gabe Pollak as Music Directors, Eric Chubb and Camile Lindsely as Promotions Director, Daniel Raeder as Outreach Manager and Mary Heisey as Production and News Managers.
Programming
Alphabetical listing of programs airing on WQFS as of September 2008, all independently produced and hosted by volunteer disc jockeys unless otherwise noted:
- Bits and Pieces Show with the Original Steve-O
- Buddy Ro Radio
- Carpe Diem
- Counter Folks
- Garden of Good and Evil
- Democracy Now! (produced by Democracy Now! and distributed by Pacifica Radio)
- DJ Props
- Flava Lab
- Friday Night Rock Party with Maddog
- J's Indie Rock Mayhem
- Let the Good Times Roll with Wild Bill
- Monkey Wrench Radio
- Paddy-Whacked Radio
- Radio Bravo
- Rock and Roll Study Hall
- Stoner Serenade
- SubGenius Radio Ministries Hour of Slack (produced and distributed by the Church of the SubGenius)
- Sunday Morning Rehab Show
- Sunday Evening Sound
- The Magic Bus with Driver Dale
- The Mike Smith Cavalcade of Musical Enjoyment
- The Canadian Connection with Cool Breeze from North of the Border
- The Caravan with Chef Dave
- The North Carolina Show
- The Old Country Store
- Tom's Diner
- Uncle Bill's Basement
- Weekend Beach Party
- Weekend Warp Drive
- Worker's Playtime
- WQFS Blues Show
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
