Musicians at the College have a new venue through which they may showcase their music, and it airs on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. from the basement of Dudley Coe. Hosted by Harry Rube ’16 and Sam Kyzivat ’18, “Live on WBOR” features student music and is the newest radio program on WBOR, the College’s own FM radio station.
Modeled after Seattle’s KEXP live program, which invites artists into the studio for a dual interview-performance, “Live on WBOR” provides student musicians an opportunity for airtime in which they can both play and speak about their music.
As co-president of the Bowdoin Music Collective, a long-time WBOR DJ and founder of “Live on WBOR,” Rube has dreamt of developing a show like this one since he was a sophomore, when he realized the music scene on campus lacked a forum where students could broadcast their own music.
“Until now, I never really had the equipment or the time or the help to put that kind of thing together,” said Rube. “I thought, ‘Hey, it’s my senior year, might as well go for it.’”
While there are several opportunities to perform on campus—such as at College House parties, Pub Night, Chase Barn shows and weekly Bowdoin Unplugged sessions behind the Café—“Live on WBOR” not only stands out for its medium but also for its in-studio audio and video recordings that are published to the show’s YouTube channel.
Rube recognizes that radio is regarded by many as a “dying” artform but hopes that bringing live performances to WBOR will draw in more listeners.
Kyzivat feels that the show will fill a gap in Bowdoin’s music culture, and he performed in the inaugural session of the show. An electric violinist, he played a set of five songs—three original compositions and two covers—in the hour-long session, intermittently interviewed by Rube about the pieces.
The first session was February 10. Kyzivat will co-host with Rube in future sessions.
“He knows about this kind of stuff,” said Rube about Kyzivat. “He knows how to put on a good act, so it’s just really interesting—loops, violins, pedals. It’s very different.”
Both hosts hope that the show attracts a following on campus, both of the broadcast and the online recordings.
Kyzivat said the he hopes students will take advantage of this new type of music experience at Bowdoin and actually tune into the show instead of just watching the videos afterward.
Musicians are largely invited to be on the show through the Bowdoin Music Collective, where both Rube and Kyzivat already know many of the members. Rube encourages musicians on campus to reach out to him or Kyzivat if they want to perform on the show.
“We’d love to have anyone that wants to play as long as they’ve practiced and their set’s pretty clean,” said Kyzivat.
The show is not limited to any specific genre or style and is especially open to original work.
Students may follow the show via its Facebook page, where the recordings and news of upcoming artists are published.
Harry Rube ’16 is a staff writer for the Orient.