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Can you feel your Pulse?
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The Pulse.
That is the name of Boise State University’s student radio station.
It broadcasts every Sunday from Noon-Midnight on AM 730 on your radio dial. It also broadcasts simultaneously on AM 1450 in Twin Falls and 89.9 in McCall.
But the whole week through it is found online at pulse.boisestate.edu. It is broadcast in the Student Union Building and in the Student Recreation Center. When you stroll through those buildings and hear the music in the background, recognize that the music is student made. No, it is not all student music, but the producers and D.J.s who mix the music are students. (You can be one of them.)
Jeremy Miller, the general manager of the Pulse said the station has never really turned students away. Those who want to come in and learn about how music is mixed, those who want their music to be played on the radio can do such things though the Pulse.
But it is not the same stuff you will hear on the regular radio. There are very few commercials, and since it is online radio, you can listen to your favorite Pulse D.J. any time you want. Each show is available as a podcast at pulse.boisestate.edu.
Each of these shows is as different as the D.J.s who spin the tracks
“We don’t want to play the stuff everyone is listening to,” Miller said. “The Mainstream is really well-served. They serve a commercial purpose. The Pulse is different.”
The dial serves a possible population of about 800,000 people in the Treasure Valley and beyond. But, there is no way to gauge how many of those listeners are tuned in to the student radio on Sundays.
Miller suggested that students listen to the Pulse while sitting at their desks, working in the library or in their offices around campus, in their homes, etc. It is Internet radio most of the week, so you really need a computer to make it work. He said that because of copyright laws the Pulse cannot allow its podcasts to be downloaded from its Website. That is why you need an Internet connection to listen to what these students choose to play.
That is the coolest thing about this student organization: you can join, get your creative mind into the studio and let loose the music that you use as a personal soundtrack.
“It’s something you can put on paper,” Miller said.
Like, for a job silly. If you want to get into mixing music, this organization is a great place to start.
“They can have their own radio show,” Jess Splan, program director for the Pulse, said, “Pick their own music to play.”
Some producers and members of the 5-person staff (there are 17-19 producers, totaling the staff in the low 20s) have gone on to get jobs in the field. Some have gone to talk radio on the AM dial and others have found jobs in radio, television and print.
Miller and Sears said they notice people around campus wearing their music in their pocket. When you think about it, anyone with an iPod is mixing music every time he or she turns it on. This is just taking it one step farther, to put the music out in real time to prospective Pulse patrons looking for something new to hear.
“They (you) look the part of the music fanatic,” Miller said. “They should share that music with the campus.”
The five staff members receive service awards for their work. The organization holds two to eight events each month. It mixed music at New Student Orientation and holds regular events in and around the SUB. The producers are volunteers.
The Pulse wants feedback. It craves listeners willing to comment, produce, learn and volunteer.
It is looking for sustained momentum.
Check out the Website: pulse.boisestate.edu
Give it a call: 426-1025.
DUSTIN LAPRAY
Editor-in-Chief
