2008 Woodie Awards
DJ James Gowdey
Maddy Ryen
Issue date: 3/2/07 Section: Features
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This spring is the fifth semester in which James Gowdey has hosted a show on KUPS and the senior communications major is still enjoying the experience.
"You find so much music at college," he said. "You meet people and share music."
Gowdey's program which showcase old school funk and disco dance music, runs from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays. He is adjusting to the change of hosting a two hour show; many of the weekday spots on KUPS are one hour.
"Weekend shows are much better," Gowdey said.
Trying to split up the two hour block into smaller sections, Gowdey often spends one hour on '70s funk and one hour on '80s funk. When he only had an hour long show, he spent more time crafting the overall pace of the show, starting with faster, up-tempo songs and slowing down toward the end of the show to ease the transition to the radio show following his.
Gowdey had no previous DJ experience before coming to UPS, and he says he initially became interested in the radio station for a simple reason:
"Honestly, I heard they had a lot of music downstairs," he said. "I wanted to learn more about the genre of indie rock."
As a new DJ, he went through a few hours of training before being put on the air.
"The best way to learn is just by doing," he said.
His earlier shows featured mostly electronica until he "ran out of stuff to play." He has transitioned to funk and disco music, but the overriding theme of his shows remains dance music. Gowdey is also a choreographer for the Repertory Dance Group.
He believes that viewers are drawn to KUPS and other college radio stations because the music being played is not mainstream.
"People are more interested in underground stuff," he said. "[They listen] to feel more connected - and not to hear commercials."
"You find so much music at college," he said. "You meet people and share music."
Gowdey's program which showcase old school funk and disco dance music, runs from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays. He is adjusting to the change of hosting a two hour show; many of the weekday spots on KUPS are one hour.
"Weekend shows are much better," Gowdey said.
Trying to split up the two hour block into smaller sections, Gowdey often spends one hour on '70s funk and one hour on '80s funk. When he only had an hour long show, he spent more time crafting the overall pace of the show, starting with faster, up-tempo songs and slowing down toward the end of the show to ease the transition to the radio show following his.
Gowdey had no previous DJ experience before coming to UPS, and he says he initially became interested in the radio station for a simple reason:
"Honestly, I heard they had a lot of music downstairs," he said. "I wanted to learn more about the genre of indie rock."
As a new DJ, he went through a few hours of training before being put on the air.
"The best way to learn is just by doing," he said.
His earlier shows featured mostly electronica until he "ran out of stuff to play." He has transitioned to funk and disco music, but the overriding theme of his shows remains dance music. Gowdey is also a choreographer for the Repertory Dance Group.
He believes that viewers are drawn to KUPS and other college radio stations because the music being played is not mainstream.
"People are more interested in underground stuff," he said. "[They listen] to feel more connected - and not to hear commercials."
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