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By Rome Jorge, Lifestyle Editor
RJUR 105.9FM Underground Radio is what a rock station ought to
be—edgy, unpredictable, unabashedly mixing classic, modern and
Pinoy rock into one eclectic mix.
Nikki Flojo a.k.a deejay Mick Zinger explains,
“The concept of the station has been brewing in the mind of RJ
Jacinto for a long time. He asked his son, RJ Jacinto Jr., to look
for young people who know about the music. He wanted to build the
station from scratch. He wanted everything fresh.”
This new crop of radio heads has no previous
experience with being deejays. They are all young—Christine Isaac
a.k.a deejay Memphis, Mickey Abola a.k.a deejay Billy B and Zinger
are all 23-year-old. Nonetheless they enter the scene honed and
sharp. All had prior experience in public speaking or event hosting
they says.
Among the skills they had to master as deejay,
Memphis reveals the most challenging: “Remaining interesting,
especially since they can’t see you and your facial expressions.
We had to learn to speak just the right amount of words—when to
stop talking and when to say something. It’s so easy to zone out
on the radio. Mixing the music—that was really difficult. Dealing
with the callers—that’s also a talent. Sometimes it’s cute but
sometimes it’s kulit [incessant].” Zinger also notes, “Trying
to please the listeners—if we play too much indie pop of stuff
like Pedicab or Taken By Cars, classic rock listeners will call and
say ‘that that’s not rock anymore.’ We have to explain that
the OPM now is evolving.”
They all love rock like a
girlfriend/boyfriend/best friend/fu-bu. “Everyone who was there
was involved in the music scene one way or another. Like I did music
videos,” says Memphis. “I used to be in a rock/funk band in
college named Syndrome. I used to manage bands and produce my own
music,” says Zinger. “Billy B is the bassist of Purple Chicken
and he used to be the president of UP Music Circle,” he adds.
Their own eclectic musical tastes speak well of
these young dudes. “The first thing that comes to mind is Led
Zeppelin’s ‘Black Dog.’ I find that really really sexy. And
then there’s the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I love that band. And then
there’s the Wud’s ‘Time Space Warp.’” says Memphis. For
his part, Zinger names Rico Blanco’s “Yugto,” Led Zeppelin’s
“Since I’ve been Loving You” and Traffic’s “Rock ‘n Roll
Stew.” “Thinking off the top of my head, it’s Mike Patton’s
‘Tomahawk,’” says Bill B. He also mumbles a few bands so
obscure this writer cannot fact check.
It ain’t just a job for these kids. They truly
love rock ‘n roll. They are not just reading the stuff off
Wikipedia on the fly as they play song dictated upon them by some
station manager. “We learn along with our listeners,” says
Zinger. Bill B adds, “There’s really no such thing as classic or
modern. All of it’s good.”
Originally, RJ Jacinto Jr., the general manager
and program director of RJUR, determined the song lineup for RJUR.
But to his credit he gives his deejays the freedom to add songs to
the lineup list. “We share that responsibility,” attests Zinger.
“We’re given a certain set of instructions. There’s a certain
number from each category of songs that need to be played—new
Pinoy songs, classic rock and modern rock. But we’re the ones who
actually put in the songs ourselves,” says Memphis. “There’s
no exact time that certain song has to played so many number of
times,” adds Zinger.
This is in stark contrast to other stations
where station managers dictate and strictly prohibit deviation from
the play list. This arrangement is prevalent especially with the
practice of payola. Payola is where station managers ask for payment
from record labels for their artists to receive airplay and for
their songs to rise on charts and countdowns. This system brings to
question whether songs receiving airplay truly are the worthiest or
whether they are simply the ones with well-funded promoters.
“We never accept payola. And that’s not a
press release answer,” declares Zinger. The most they’ve ever
gotten is pizza.
The station plays not only the well-worn
classics from famous bands but also obscure gems. “The songs we
put in the database aren’t just the singles. We also put album
tracks that were never released as singles,” says Zinger.
“We have total freedom when it comes to the
shows,” attests Zinger. Every Mondays is the morning show AM
Mayhem, the hour-long UR Pinoy Rock Fix as well as the
album-oriented show Music is My Girlfriend. Every Wednesdays they
play concert recordings on Live Wire. Every Thursdays is the heavy
metal show The Slaughterhouse. Every Fridays is the UR Pinoy Rock
Countdown. On Saturdays is global indie music on Kind Assault, funk
and soul music on the Flo Show and the emo show The Loneliest
Saturday. On Sundays there is Sunday Rock Jam with the veteran Rock
of Manila deejays, Pinoy Rock ‘n Rhythm and the Sunday Blues.
Underground Radio bills itself as “your
band-friendly station.” It plays quality demos from unsigned
bands, not just on special show, but as part of its play list.
“The station is all about pushing Pinoy rock. There’s a lot
venues that bands can play and websites. There’s a lot of support
but not enough push. What we’re trying to do is push these
bands,” says Zinger. Bands that benefitted from RJUR’s all-out
support include blues rockers Crow Jane, Reklamo, Powertones and
Gasulina.
Zinger reveals that, hot on the heels of its
successful RJUR Listening Tour at several bars, the station will
soon embark on a campus tour. And then of course there is the
upcoming SuperSession.
For details, visit http://live.rjplanet.com.
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