DJ spotlights are a great way for you to meet the awesome students and community members behind the voices you hear on KWVA each day. Stay tuned for a DJ Spotlight every few weeks, and if you’re a DJ who’d like to be featured, email Sophie.

This week’s DJ Spotlight highlights someone we all know and love at KWVA, Bobby!

Bobby Schenk, a senior graduating this year, is studying Journalism and Cinema Studies with a minor in Music Technology. Bobby started DJing when he was 15, working at KRCC 91.5 in his hometown of Colorado Springs, Colorado. He got involved with KWVA the first week of his freshman year at UO, and has been working there ever since.

Schenk became the Assistant Programming Director in January 2016, eventually becoming the Programming Director for the station. He is one of the co-founders of the Music Industry Collective, a group designed to help students gain opportunities within the music industry, and is the current President of the group. Schenk has also been published in Oregon Music News, does digital marketing for In2une Music, and helps organize house shows around Eugene. In his free time, you’ll find him riding his bike or reading a book.

You can hear Bobby, AKA “Reggae Rob,” on the air every Thursday from 8-10 am on KWVA. His show is called ‘the hooDoo vooDoo bEats sHow,’ where he plays all the beats to get you out of your seat and moving your feet. He also hosts Basement Sessions: Sounds from the Underground, KWVA’s live music broadcast on Sundays from 4-6 PM!

KWVA Music Blog: How did you come up with your DJ/show name?

Reggae Rob: My DJ name has a fun story attached to it: when I was 16, I was getting ready to host my first ever live radio broadcast. I spent hours preparing my music, tracklist, and even scripting what I was going to say on the air. I arrived at the station early, pulled up all my music, did all the right things… but I didn’t have a DJ name! The hosts of the show before mine, Steve and Michelle, saw me panicking and started throwing out names for me. There was “Reggae Bob,” “DJ Rob,” “Rasta Bob,” but when I heard “Reggae Rob” I knew that was the name for me.

KWVA: Do you have an on-air catch phrase?

RR: I don’t have a specific catchphrase, but I make a lot of record scratching noises on my show. It’s pretty silly, but I always seem to do it.

KWVA: Favorite KWVA memory?

RR: I’ve spent so much time at the station, so I have so many memories… I think my favorite was KWVA’s 22nd Birthday Bash. We collaborated with Moonlight Mash to do a live radio broadcast on a trailer pulled by a bike, and I got to follow Oliver Neill and Ryder Sherwood, our former Programming Directors, around the city as they called the ride. It was one of the most fun things I’ve ever done.

KWVA: What word would you use to to describe the DJs on KWVA?

RR: Honest. KWVA’s DJs always play the music they want, no ifs ands, or buts.

KWVA: Best advice you have for new DJs?

RR: New DJs should listen to their hearts! That’s such a cheesy saying, but I really think that people who are just starting out should find the music that speaks to them, and then try and go a little deeper with that and expand their knowledge. There’s always room to grow.

KWVA: If you were allowed to eat or drink one thing in the studio throughout the duration of your show, what would it be?

RR: Koolade and yakitori. It’s a weird combination, but delicious.

KWVA: What do you hope to do after you graduate?

RR: I’m really hoping to continue working within the music industry after I graduate, either in radio or with a music label. I want to devote my life to music, and I plan on DJing for the rest of my life. I really want to continue sharing that passion with other people in any way possible!

Thanks, Bobby!

Photos taken by Allison Del Fium, Kelly Tanguay, Sky Guasco and Bryce Hughes.

This week’s blog post comes from our very own DJ B, AKA Brooke. Brooke is studying Advertising with a focus in art direction and design. Her show, “Into the Void,” is one of KWVA’s featured programs this winter. “Into the Void” broadcasts shoegaze, dream pop, psychedelic and other vacuum related noises. Tune in on Thursdays from 10 p.m. to midnight!

Here are her six favorite dream pop records from 2018…

(Note: some images may appear blurry on some devices. We are working to fix that glitch ASAP!)

1. Weyes Blood: Front Row Seat to Earth

This record didn’t come out this year, nor does is it really fall in the dream-pop realm of things, but I’m going for it. While listening to this record, Weyes Blood killed me and then proceeded to resurrect my soul. Her delicate ‘60s sounds also deliver a punch in the gut only to make you cry not from pain, but from how beautiful her masterpiece of a record is. Dramatics aside, this record has slight psychedelic influences and powerful vocals lead by philosophical lyrics. Although it has a very nostalgic sound, the artist projects a fresh sound that will make this record a classic. Long story short, I would die for Weyes Blood.

Top Tracks: Dairy, Generation Why, Can’t Go Home, Seven Words

2. Sam Evian: You, Forever

I’m calling it now, we’re going to hear a lot more Sam Evian in the coming year. This record is SO FRESH, especially in this post–Demarco era we seem to have found ourselves sitting in (I’ve admittedly been to a concert, but it’s an unspoken rule to not play DeMarco, right?). Before listening to Evian I was in somewhat of a rut, kind of bored of everything I was listening to. His fresh, charming delivery with this album was much welcomed by me. Influences I hear when listening is the “etherealness” of Chris Cohen with a pitch twang adopted from Whitney.

Top Tracks: Health Machine, Anybody, Next to You, You Forever

3. Sasami: Not the Time

Sasami has been known among the L.A. music scene for a while now, gaining support from the likes of Cherry Glazerr, Mitski, Soccer Mommy and Snail Mail. The first ten seconds of this single instantly make me think she may be the lovechild of Broadcast and My Bloody Valentine with heavy synths and glittery guitar riffs. She has already supported Eugene’s hometown hero, Japanese Breakfast. Based on this single, I’m expecting the upcoming album will more than please.

4. Caroline Says: No Fool Like an Old Fool

This band is named after a Lou Reed song, so what is there not to like? Caroline Says’ album satisfies both parts of my music brain, the part that loves the shimmering, iridescence of dream-pop and the other that loves depressing lyrics. Seriously, I seem to have some sort of a death wish with sad music, but for some reason I find it soothing in a way nothing else is. The lyrics in this album air on the side of introspective which was a big theme for me in 2018, but also contributes to the timelessness of this record.

Top Tracks: Sweet Home Alabama, A Good Thief Steals Clean, Cool Jerk, I Tried

5. Drinks: Hippo Lite

Tim Presley of White Fence and Cate Le Bon, who is producing the new Deerhunter record slated to come out in early 2019, released this second album under the Moniker Drinks. By fusing elements from both artists’ respective backgrounds, the duo created an album that in all honesty makes me feel kind of weird. But like weird in a good way, not a creeped out by the guy breathing heavily next to me in lecture kind of way. Experimental in nature, the album utilizes wacky loops, baby cries, typewriter punches and squeaking doors. Some tracks have lovely lyrical additions while some are completely instrumental. If you like Ariel Pink, John Maus and that general crew of weirdos, this will be a real treat for you. I recommend listening to this album at night.

Top Tracks: Blue From the Dark, In the Night Kitchen, Greasing Up, You Could Be Bette

6. Parquet Courts: Wide Awake!

When this album first came out, I was really set on not liking it. For some reason, I thought the sound was too punk for my usual tastes. But my final verdict is actually quite positive. I think part of my acceptance towards this album happened when I listened to more “Ty Segall and friends,” or so I’m calling them, because it seems like that list of musically gifted friends never ends. First off, this album manages to use humor in a way I don’t think I’ve heard before. Lyrics like “Spend all your money at the casket store” is an example of what I’m talking about here. Musically though, the album splits between a Television, Velvet Underground vibe in addition to glittery sounds similar to Thee Oh Sees.

Top Tracks: Violence, Mardi Gras Beads, Freebird II, Back to Earth, Wide Awake

Thanks, Brooke!

Want to contribute to the KWVA music blog? Email Sophie.