Airwaves

by Brian Goslow

With the beginning of May comes the conclusion of the broadcast year for area colleges, including WCHC (88.1 FM) at Holy Cross and Worcester State's WSCW (94.9 FM). More than ever, music lovers will be counting on WCUW (91.3 FM) and WICN (90.5 FM) to provide them with information on what's happening in the area clubs and concert halls and to air the latest local and national small-label releases.

IT'S PROBABLY THE FINAL WEEKEND to catch DJ Genesis working his magic on Da Underground, which airs Saturday from 9 p.m. to midnight on WCHC. Last week's show included Channel Live's "Red Rum (Sign of the Times)," Krumb Snatcha's "Gettin' Closer to God," and Sunz of Man's "We Can't Be Touched." Genesis (a/k/a Oyekunle Jegede) took the time to post his playlists and a few CD reviews on WCHC's new Web site (www.wchc.home.ml.org). You can get his impressions on Hieroglyphics' 3rd Eye Vision (Hieroglyphics Imperium), Fatal Hussein's In the Line of Fire (Relativity), Gang Starr's Moment of Truth (Noo Trybe Records), and the Goodie Mob's Still Standing (LaFace Records). He's also posted some soundbites, which will hopefully remain accessible long after he heads off for summer action.

Loud Rock Department director Andy Cambria has posted reviews on the Web site, too, including Black Pumpkin Records' New York's Hardest 2 compilation (which features 25 ta Life, Candiria, and Skarhead), Earth Crisis' The Oath that Keeps Me Free live CD on Victory Records (he warns you not to waste 10 dollars on the disc, though), and former Sepultura member Max Cavalera's new group, Soulfly (Roadrunner).

If you're a longtime WCHC listener, you're probably aware that good-bye is never good-bye. Expect the occasional broadcast until the Class of '98 graduates in late May.

WHILE WE'RE TAKING A look at recent playlists, let's glance at what some of the city's "full-time" non-commercial DJs are featuring.

Face the Music, WCUW's long-running Womyn's music program airs every Thursday from 8 to 9:30 p.m. Cohost Sylvia recently featured disappear fear's "On the Beach," Ani DiFranco's "The Diner," and Alix Dobkin's "Lesbian Power Authority," while Sage played Dar Williams's "As Cool as I Am," Mary Gauthier's "I Don't Know Anything About Love," and Michelle Malone's "My Green Thumb." She's also featured lots of Playtime, the long-awaited follow-up to 1983's Unexpected by Barbara Higbie and Teresa Trull. They'll be back in Northampton on June 6 to perform at the Women in Medicine Conference.

Rich Fox, host of Tuesday's New Traditions program, which airs from 6 to 9 a.m. on WCUW, has been spinning Rachel Bissex's "Dancing with My Mother" from Don't Look Down (Alcazar), Iris DeMent's "When My Morning Comes Around" from The Way I Should (Warner Bros.), and John Pizzarelli's "Splendid Splinter" from Naturally (Novus Jazz). Upcoming guests on the show include Valerie and Walter Crockett (May 12), Lori McKenna (May 19), and Mark Humphreys (May 26).

WORCESTER'S COMMUNITY CABLE broadcaster WCCA-TV 13 is still home to Static Fusion, which visits area clubs and performance spaces to capture a slice (and I'm talking about some of the creative camera angles here!) of the city's musicians. The next slate of shows, which will air each Monday at 10 p.m., features the Nobodys, a folk duo who were videotaped at the Plantation Club Drafthouse; Tizzy, the Northampton power pop contingent, captured live at the Space; and Inchicore, who become the program's first Irish band to be featured, at a recent Irish Times appearance.