Community radio is vitally important, and WRFU is a crucial component of that in Champaign-Urbana. Unfortunately, owing to its nature as a low-power FM (LPFM) station, a good portion of the community can’t experience its eclectic programming.
One way to improve reception in C-U is for the station to build a taller, permanent tower, which would allow its signal to transmit longer distances. WRFU has been raising funds for this effort, and the latest fundraiser will be Saturday night at Mike ‘n Molly’s. Beginning at 5:30 p.m., there will be 18 bands, solo musicians, poetry readings, and other entertainments, continuing until 1 a.m.
WRFU Station Manager Andrew Ó Baoill has completed his Ph.D. and secured employment in New York, so he’ll be moving out of the community this summer. He’s been instrumental in many aspects of the station’s growth, and tomorrow night would be a good time to say thanks.
Smile Politely: What’s the status of the tower funding? Are you hoping this puts you over the top? Are you close enough to have a goal for when it would be built?
Andrew Ó Baoill: We’re hoping this puts us near the top. We have around $15-16k so far. Our goal is in the region of $20k. [The exact cost of the project will depend on some construction and consulting costs, which we have estimates for, but not final details.] I don’t expect the event to bring us over the top, but it should put a serious dent in what’s left, and we’re working on other projects – underwriting, merchandising, etc – that we hope should finally put us over the top. The benefit should put us close enough to start preliminary work in the near future.
Smile Politely: What’s the plan if it rains? Will you go upstairs at MnM’s?
Andrew Ó Baoill: The weather forecast is good on this one, so I think we’ll be fine – Saturday is in between storm days.
Smile Politely: Do you see a different crowd for these events when you hold them at a downtown Champaign bar rather than at the IMC? How so?
Andrew Ó Baoill: The IMC is an all-ages venue, whereas bars obviously are not. That does cut out some people who would be able to attend an IMC event. On the other hand, Mike’n’Molly’s, and Cowboy Monkey where we held our December benefit, are right on the street, so there’s more of a likelihood that someone will be passing by and drop in to see what’s happening.
Every time we use a different venue we find we reach a different crowd. This event is about outreach – letting people know (a little more) about us – as well as raising cash, so it helps to vary things as much as possible. We also do outreach at the Farmers’ Market, at Quad Day, and at various community events in town. We’re always interested in new ways to get in touch with community members who might be interested in what we do.
Smile Politely: It sounds like this will be your last fundraiser as an in-town organizer (good luck, by the way). Can you reflect a little on your time in C-U and with WRFU?
Andrew Ó Baoill: That’s a tough question to answer, because there’s just so much. The IMC and WRFU have been among the most exciting projects I’ve encountered here in town – I’ve also been involved heavily with the GEO on campus, which was also educational and inspiring.
What we’re trying to do at the IMC is fairly ambitious – it’s an attempt, held together with twine and duct tape, to provide a comprehensive range of media and arts facilities to the public, and to encourage the public at large to change how they think about their relationship with media. That’s something that can be stressful (most of us are volunteers running these projects on the side) and frustrating (our imagination frequently exceeds our capacity), but also really wonderful – fun, inspiring, rewarding.
At WRFU we’ve got volunteers from a range of backgrounds – we’ve got a show put together by volunteers from the local Mosque, as well as evangelical Christians, we’ve got Chicana/o and Native American groups, we’ve got a dizzying array of music programs. Seeing people from such varied backgrounds work together is exciting. Meeting someone who heard about us at the Farmers’ Market, or one of our benefits, and who is now producing media for public consumption, perhaps for the first time ever, is such a rewarding feeling. And, of course, here in town we’ve got such experienced and thoughtful activists — I’ve learnt so much from so many people since I arrived back in 2002.
Here’s the lineup for the event:
5:30 p.m. Sandunga
5:55 p.m. Aaron Ammons
6:15 p.m. Tree Thump
6:40 p.m. Peninsula
7:00 p.m. Andy Moreillon
7:30 p.m. Elizabeth Simpson
7:55 p.m. William Gillespie/Cristy Scoggins
8:10 p.m. Cody Sokolski
8:30 p.m. Eleni Moraites
8:55 p.m. Aaron Ammons
9:15 p.m. Dottie and the ‘Rail
9:45 p.m. Clarabelle Bean
10:15 p.m. Swedish Lawn Games
10:40 p.m. Cristy Scoggins/William Gillespie
10:58 p.m. Jack Pine Savage
11:25 p.m. Usopp the Liar
11:55 p.m. John Hoeffleur
12:35 a.m. The Duke of Uke and His Novelty Orchestra
From the event’s Facebook invite: “As the radio marketplace consolidates, what we hear on the airwaves is increasingly homogenized. Massive media organizations are focused on attracting the broadest audiences possible, gearing programming to the demographic groups that are most appealing to advertisers. As a result, programming that reflects local community interests and niche genres has largely disappeared…”