Avi Perl in the KWVA 88.1 FM studio
Every Sunday night around 10 p.m., Avi Perl (aka DJV) sits down for a two-hour show at the University of Oregon’s KWVA 88.1 FM radio station. With a playlist on deck, she prepares for her personalized show “Rambles&Beats.”
Sitting in the station with the mixing board in front of her, vibing to her favorite music, Perl remains there until 12 a.m., doing what she does best: sharing her passion for music with her audience.
For Perl, joining college radio was a way to find her own community, and it has now become a defining part of her college experience. It has given her a space to explore her love of music, connect with other students and DJs who share that passion, and grow into a leadership position where she learns lifelong skills.
“Going into college, it was always a goal of mine to get involved with the campus radio, wherever I ended up,” Perl said. “My dad was very involved in his high school radio, so I kind of wanted to follow in his footsteps and do that as well.”
Growing up, Perl was exposed to a wide range of music, including bands like Vampire Weekend, Iron & Wine, and Built to Spill. The “Happy Feet” soundtrack was a fan favorite as well, among many bands and artists. Her family has played a large role in her identity as a music lover.
Her dad, Rob Perl, grew up 15 minutes outside Chicago. It was there, taking part in his high school radio, that his love of music all began.
“Having a press pass as a high school kid in Chicago was pretty much the pinnacle of cool, allowing me to get backstage to interview and hang out with bands like Soundgarden, Mudhoney, The Dead Milkmen, and Naked Raygun,” said Rob Perl.
He and Avi share a special bond through music, and Rob sees a lot of himself in his daughter. Rob says that her involvement at KWVA is very gratifying.
“I am proud to have exposed Avi to a wide range of musical genres at an early age,” Rob said. "I think it allowed me to pass on my adventurous ear for music. I’ll listen to anything and give it a shot, and I think Avi is similar in that regard.”
Another person who had a large influence on Avi’s music taste is her older brother, Isaac Perl. Avi’s brother was the person who changed her perspective on hip-hop and rap music. When she was younger, Avi didn’t fully understand the appeal of rap music. Her brother, however, always had it on. As she got older, she began to understand the strong meanings behind the genre.
Avi draws most of her inspiration from artists such as Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill. “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” in particular was a very influential album for her. Avi’s mantra, ‘How you gonna win when you ain't right within,’ comes from this record, and is one of her favorite quotes.
When she decided to attend the UO, Avi made a point to familiarize herself with KWVA 88.1 FM. When the club fair rolled around early fall term, Avi had her sights set on the KWVA booth. After picking up an application from the table, she felt intimidated. The application required listing 100 bands and artists that she would want to play during shows.
“You’re just turning in a sheet of paper with your entire music taste and being like, do you want me or not?” Avi continued, “So I ended up holding on to it for a while because I was really nervous about it.”
After hanging on to the application for some time, she decided to reach out to a mutual friend who worked at the station, asking for advice on what to submit. That’s when she learned that the station was hiring for a new DJ Director. Avi decided to take a leap and apply for two positions, a DJ and the DJ Director.
KWVA offered her a new position to be the first Assistant DJ Director, as well as a DJ. With this came a challenge, Avi had to learn how to successfully host a radio show while also learning to train new staff. She quickly learned how to balance multiple new responsibilities, such as training new hires, and scheduling and approving all that goes on the air.
Avi loves all things R&B. Her show, “Rambles&Beats,” is a play on words with the genre name, rhythm and blues. Leading up to a show, Avi will spend the week discovering new music that she feels resonates with her show, adding them to a playlist and configuring them in an order that creates the best possible flow while she’s on air.
“A lot of the fun for me is in the compiling of the playlist. I love organizing songs in a way that makes sense and having them flow really well,” Avi said. “One of my favorite things to do in high school was to sit for hours going through my entire music library and making playlists because I love to be the vibe setter.”
Now, Avi is entering her first year as DJ Director for KWVA, and says that it’s a big difference. Because there aren’t super defined descriptions of what the director does, there’s a lot more responsibility in taking over the director role. With her own assistant now, Avi is learning how to take the lead, rather than being second in command.
Avi’s father, Rob, said, “I think for both of us, involvement in school radio is such a natural fit, not only because of our obvious obsessions with music, but because I think we were both drawn to having a place within the school setting to apply our interests.”
From her first show her freshman year, to now being a third-year DJ and the new DJ Director, Avi says she wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. She has learned a lot about being a leader, the inner workings of the station, and connecting with her peers who all share a deep passion for music.
“Getting to be able to see the community that forms around the station has been really rewarding,” Avi said. “I get the privilege of being the one to take on new people and actually meet them face to face.”