Name: Anthony Heatherly
Hometown: McMinnville, OR
Major/Minor: BioResource Research, Water Resources Option; Chemistry Minor
Year: Junior
This week’s Campus Celebrity is the Music Director for KBVR-FM, Anthony Heatherly. Read on to hear more about all the awesome work Anthony does for KBVR!
HC at Oregon State: You are the Music Director for KBVR-FM, correct? Can you explain a bit about what you do?
Anthony: That’s me! The job had a few parts when I came into it, and we have added some things as well. At the core, my job at the radio station is to coordinate the review process of any new music that is sent to the station. We receive as many as 60 LPs, EPs, singles and remixes every week during busy parts of the year. Though I love music, I can’t listen to all of that, so I have music reviewers that take care of some of the reviewing.
Among other responsibilities, I am in charge of maintaining and organizing our record collection, and more recently I set out to start a music journalism program in the FM music department. You can find that content over on KBVR-FM’s new website.
HC at Oregon State: How did you first get involved at KBVR-FM and what led you to apply for Music Director?
Anthony: I actually started as a DJ this past February…I’m relatively new around these parts. I was encouraged to take a chance and just apply for a FM staff position, so I went for it! I still can hardly believe that I landed what is probably the coolest job on campus. Who doesn’t love music?
HC at Oregon State: When you aren’t at KBVR, what else are you involved in?
Anthony: I’m a part of the Organic Growers Club and interned at the student farm this summer. I try to climb at the rock gym when I can, and I work in a lab on campus. If I’m not doing those things or schoolwork though, I’m usually at home cooking or out in nature, be it the woods, mountains or coast. Long live Cascadia!
HC at Oregon State: Have there been any ups and downs? Maybe more ups than downs, or vice-versa?
Anthony: The toughest part of college radio is that (and this goes for anything run by college students) projects and work tends to be a little rag-tag. Overwhelmingly though, we as a staff have already begun to exceed some expectations, despite setbacks. We had a conference that sort of fell through last minute, and we held it together and turned it into an incredible in-house symposium for our DJs. So proud to be working with these awesome folks here in FM.
HC at Oregon State: What is it like to work within Orange Media Network, and more specifically the radio station, on campus?
Anthony: I’d say the biggest difference from my other campus work is that other jobs are more skills-driven than leadership driven. With OMN and FM, while we have great advisors and an incredible station manager, as music director I have to take on a leadership role. We make decisions about how we want to mold the station over the course of the year, which is a lot more flexibility than you see in other workplaces across campus. Overall though, OMN is a hectic but exceedingly enjoyable workplace.
HC at Oregon State: In what ways do you see your job at KBVR-FM impact the Oregon State University campus?
Anthony: Most college radio music directors determine a station’s programming. At KBVR-FM, DJs can play whatever genres they care for, which makes the music director a bit less relevant – or at least, that’s what I thought at first. FM is not only a place for DJs to express themselves, but also a place to discover new music. When I help DJs find new tunes, they commonly end up playing that music on their show, or perhaps share it with others on campus. In this way, DJs impact anyone who is listening to 88.7fm.
HC at Oregon State: What is the most gratifying part of being a music director?
Anthony: I have heard that music directors tend to relish the “campus tastemaker” status. For me though, the most satisfying thing about being an m.d. is seeing a music reviewer or a listener gush about a new tune they found or heard at our station. I’ve always been zealous when it came to music, but to see what handing an album to another student inadvertently does, how it sets off a music-listener love affair… it’s magic.
HC at Oregon State: Has it benefited you in your academic journey towards your degree? If so, how?
Anthony: Academically, not so much. A science major can’t really use music reviews as a graduation requirement… It has worked well in diversifying my work history and resume though. The job title helps a lot with conversation too; stream lab technician doesn’t draw ears in dialogue, but music director definitely catches people’s attention.
HC at Oregon State: Has this job shaped your taste in music in any way?
Anthony: I’m afraid you might have underestimated what a loaded question that was… I typically ran in my tastes in cycles of about a year and a half growing up. I’d get into a genre then switch to other stuff after a year or so. This job pushes you so hard to bend your comforts, though. This summer, Tame Impala’s Currents was one of the hottest albums and from my first listen it made me fall in love with psych, a genre I had disliked for years. I’ve been fostering my love of mathy music, aussie folk, alternative R&B and indie pop while developing tastes for noise, psych, surf – even punk, which I haven’t liked since Green Day’s American Idiot (which, to my surprise, I now know isn’t the truest testament of punk music).
HC at Oregon State: What is currently at the top of your music playlist?
Anthony: I think a few of my top songs right now would be Sufjan Stevens’ cover of Drake’s “Hotline Bling,” Wet’s “It’s All In Vain,” GEMS’ “w/o u” and “Reprieve” from Vallis Alps. That is definitely just a taste of what I’m jamming to right now.
HC at Oregon State: How has getting involved at the radio station on campus impacted your experience at Oregon State University?
Anthony: Quite simply, applying was the best decision I have made at OSU. That being said, I have been incredibly lucky with the research projects, coursework and activities I have discovered and participated in here. The station stands apart though – my job is to bring music into the lives of our DJs, and work with the rest of the staff to get people tuned in, so they can be exposed to everything our DJs have to offer. I have met so many awesome people through the station, and am excited for the next 7 months in the position.
HC at Oregon State: Is there anything really cool coming up for KBVR that we should know about?
Anthony: Our website just launched a week or so ago, and I encourage people to check back there regularly as we will have lots of new content soon! In the meantime, you can stream our station there, and stay tuned at the beginning of next term, as we hope to expand and create new projects and experiences at the station. We might be having some KBVR live music nights in town, and as always, if students have ideas for programming or want to get involved, we welcome you!
HC at Oregon State: What would you say to someone who was interested in becoming involved at the radio station?
Anthony: Is it too cliché to use the Nike slogan here? I encourage anyone with a passion for music or radio to get involved. I applied as a DJ on a fluke, not really confident that I was “cool enough” to fit in with the DJs. The truth is there is space for everyone among our ranks, especially those willing to commit to making FM one of the largest and often loudest student organizations on campus. With over a hundred DJs, there is still room for more, and we are hoping to start working on podcast programs as well! Stay tuned for news on that front.
Tune into the KBVR-FM at 88.7fm or at their website, www.orangmedianetwork.com/kbvr_fm.