Who: Stefan Fraizer, senior
Activity: Senior Stefan Fraizer and junior Sam Rybeck started Park’s radio station 106.5 FM to broadcast their favorite artists. To hear the featured genre of the week and potentially listen to interviews with local artists, tune in before school from 8:00 to 8:40 a.m. and after school at 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. every day. Check out their Facebook page, “St. Louis Park Radio Station,” to find podcasts of the show and the featured playlist.
How did you first come up with the idea for the station?
I was in a meeting for Natural Helpers and Principal (Rob) Metz brought up that there is a Park radio station that plays ’90s music on loop. Apparently it had not been used since there was a radio broadcasting class offered at the high school. Radio broadcasting has been something I have always wanted to pursue and I thought, “why not revamp the old station?”
What is the structure of each broadcast?
We start off our introduction with the theme and music that will be playing that week and the definition of the music we are playing. Also, we will mention the key artists in the genre that we feature and from there we will play their music. We might talk about upcoming shows and hopefully interview some local artists. We want to bring in 2012 graduate Alex Tronson, who now makes his own music.
Do you have any advice to fellow students about finding new music?
Ask your friends, because often times they introduce new music to me (that) I wouldn’t listen to otherwise. Also, just go- ing through related links on YouTube of artists you already like is a simple and fast way to find new music.
What genres do you want to feature on the station?
We want to go all across the board from jazz, hip-hop, folk and electronic. We want the station to be a source for students to find new music they wouldn’t find on their own otherwise and catch the students’ attention.
How do you find the music you feature on your broadcasts?
I use a resource called Music Map, I look at related links on YouTube, share music between friends and just take the
time to seek out new music. Many music reviewers such as The Needle Drop spend their life just looking for good music, and they tend to find the most interesting music since it’s their job.
How did you decide to work with Sam Rybeck on the station?
We had been in touch since freshman year and since then we have been sharing music on Facebook and also through e-mail. We both have a similar passion for music, and it made sense to work together on the station.
What is the music theme featured this week?
This week we decided to pick some of our favorite music from movie and television soundtracks. A few of them are music from Superfly, Drive and Interstella 555. We decided on this theme because it’s a common interest of many students and we thought many would appreciate it. The first broadcast with this theme will air (today) after school from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
