Listening to KRCL 90.9 FM on Tuesdays from 1:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m.? If not, you are missing out on Cami Lutz’ radio show filled with music news, music events and of course, music. Lutz has been a volunteer DJ for the non-profit radio show KRCL for about six months.
A double major in marketing and psychology, one may wonder how she ended up in radio and managed to avoid the communication professors at the U. Lutz’ love for music started early in grade school, before iPods and music downloading. She was lacking a large CD collection and instead chose to listen to the radio. Through shows that incorporated talk and music, Lutz began to admire and appreciate the radio.
When she applied to volunteer at KRCL, Lutz never dreamed she would become a DJ. She is still learning about all of the controls and is part of the station’s series of shows called “Training Wheels.” Mostly, she’ll only talk for about 10 minutes during her two-hour time slot. That means that listeners, however, will get to enjoy more music and public service announcements. Because KRCL is a non-profit station, the DJs play PSAs instead of advertisements.
Lutz says, “I play mostly new indie rock as well as some classic rock and blues with a hint of soul and hip-hop.” Her selections are very different and infuse several genres of music. Lutz has enjoyed discovering new bands and sharing a variety of music genres with her listeners. Though her show airs in the middle of the night, Lutz has up to 100 listeners at any point during her broadcast.
Lutz is still working on her undergraduate degree, but she plans to attend graduate school following graduation. She would like to conduct research and discover how music affects people on all different levels. As for DJing, she’s not sure if it will become her future career, but she definitely wants to incorporate music into her post-graduate endeavors. Make sure to tune in to 90.9 FM Tuesdays at 1:00 a.m. to find out what Lutz will introduce us to next.