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SOTW: Joan Jett & The Blackhearts – “If You’re Blue”
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The Prime: Pop Through the Ages
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AOTW: Sir Chloe – ” I Am The Dog”
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Phoneboy Interview
SOTW: Skiifall – “2 Charming” (Clean)
June 2nd, 2023 by Liz Kosik
by Liz Kosik ’25
Song of the Week: Skiifall – “2 Charming” (Clean)
Released: May 5, 2023
Rate: 9/10
RIYL: Kendrick Lamar, KAYTRANADA, GoldLink
Montreal-based rapper, Skiifall, is here and taking over Canada’s music scene. The artistic setting of Montreal has lacked appreciation for rap-style genres in the past, but Skiifall is expanding his sound and space like no other. Read the rest of this entry »
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Alumni Spotlight: Stephen Vanyo (2017)
May 30th, 2023 by Charlie Wahlberg
Stephen Vanyo, a Loyola class of 2017 graduate, discusses his career as an entertainment, sports, and media attorney, and how the knowledge he gained from WLOY not only solidified a career path for him but prepared him for it as well.
Q: Can you tell us about your show at WLOY? (name and theme, genre of music)
A: Indie-anna Jones and the Underground Temple. It featured DIY artists and other independent rock music. My show focused on independent artists that were not getting the attention they deserved both locally and nationally, but I mainly focused on Baltimore and the North East.
Q: What was your show’s top-played artist?
A: Turnstile, who has since been nominated for a Grammy, and Wild Honey, a Baltimore band. I also played some music from Pianos Become The Teeth, and Free Throw.
Q: And your current favorite artist?
A: I don’t have one currently, but my all-time favorite would have to be Blink 182.
Q: How do your experiences from being at the station help you today?
A: I am an entertainment sports and media attorney, so I work in music law. We represent athletes, celebrities, and entertainers, along with record labels, producers of instrumentals, music producers, authors, scriptwriters, actors, film directors, and more. I am also a registered NFL agent.
My experiences at WLOY helped in a few ways. I think that an important part of my job is talent discovery, and I did a lot of that at WLOY. There was already a market for stations playing the current top 40, our job as a college radio station was to act as a sort of music discovery. Part of what I had to do was foster a connection to the bands I found, and now as an NFL agent and Entertainment Lawyer, I’m always looking for talent on the rise. It is very important to know about what is going on in the market and the scene around you so that you can best advocate for your client, so I think that keeping up with the scene and keeping up with what music was going well really impacted my career then.
I also learned about the legalities of it all. John talked to us a lot about copyright and proper payment of royalties, which helped solidify my interest in music and entertainment law after college.
Q: Tell us about your favorite WLOY memory.
A: Because the window was right there, and the music played outside, my favorite memory was recording on Tuesday nights and seeing students walk by and nod their heads along to the music, or whenever somebody told me that they listened to the show or heard it playing on campus. I felt like that was my goal- to shed light on those bands that deserved a lot of ears. One specific example would be the Christmas Parade, I loved decorating, the van, attending the event, and really the experience as a whole.
Q: What is one piece of insight/advice you have for current Loyola students involved at WLOY?
A: The simple answer would be to put yourself out there and remain true to who you are. People can sniff through when you’re not being authentic, and authenticity will get you a lot farther than trying to be the type of person that you think someone wants. Secondly, putting yourself out there. Don’t be afraid to shoot your shot, that’s the way I always did it, I didn’t have any business asking some of the bands I did for interviews or asking for press passes from Ram’s Head Live or other big venues, but we got them just because we put ourselves out there, and because I was polite but persistent in getting those opportunities.
One more piece of advice that I have is keeping up with the industry, trends, and knowing what is going on will serve you well. Knowing and understanding the business behind certain things is important. Whenever I’m watching a TV show, I think about the business aspect of things, and that’s when I begin to notice that not everything in shows and music is just for artistic integrity, but also for the advertising and marketability of that show or song. Keeping up with the why of why things are done is super important rather than just the reaction outside of it. There’s no cost to going online and staying up to date with the industry, and knowing the why, not just the how.
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SOTW: Joan Jett & The Blackhearts – “If You’re Blue”
May 25th, 2023 by Liz Kosik
by Johnny Cozza ’24
Song of the Week: Joan Jett & The Blackhearts – “If You’re Blue”
Released: May 2023
Rate: 8/10
RIYL: Green Day, The Runaways, My Chemical Romance, The White Stripes, Wheatus Read the rest of this entry »
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Alumni Spotlight: Tim Teeling (2011)
May 23rd, 2023 by Charlie Wahlberg
Tim Teeling (2011) discusses their experience at the WLOY radio station, including hosting his show “Under the Radar”, and becoming General Manager at the station.
Q: Tell us a little bit about your show.
A: I hosted a show called Under the Radar. Featuring artists spanning pop/indie/folk/Americana that didn’t make it mainstream. Later after becoming General Manager, I helped host the weekly Friday at Boulder Top 20 Countdown. Also got to pretend to be John for a few episodes of Centsable Finance.
Q: Who was your show’s top-played artist?
A: Found an old Facebook group from 2008 and it looks like Matt Nathanson and Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers. Read the rest of this entry »
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The Prime: Pop Through the Ages
May 23rd, 2023 by Liz Kosik
by Liz Kosik ’25
Genre: Pop
Subgenre: Bedroom Pop
RIYL: Clairo, Mac Demarco, Men I Trust, Peach Pit, The Marías
We’re back! After surviving finals season, WLOY is happy to reintroduce the series: The Prime! Our station DJs have done an excellent job of bringing their fans all the hottest hits and coolest throwbacks, so… why not provide some background on the music we all know and love? The series will span a spectrum of genres such as alternative, pop, and rock. We’re super excited to dive deeper into the subgenres, affiliated bands, and even some song suggestions. Read the rest of this entry »
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AOTW: Sir Chloe – ” I Am The Dog”
May 23rd, 2023 by Liz Kosik
by Liz Kosik ’25
Album of the Week: Sir Chloe – “I Am The Dog”
Released: May 19, 2023
Rate: 8/10
RIYL: Mitski, Beach Bunny, Crawlers, Cage the Elephant, The Walters
Sir Chloe is an American indie-rock band from Bennington, Vermont now based in Los Angeles, California. They have released a total of 9 albums, recently putting out their newest piece “I Am The Dog.” Sir Chloe consists of members Dana Foote, lead singer; Teddy O’Mara, guitar; Palmer Foote, drums; Austin Holmes, keyboard; and Emma Welch, bass and vocals. The band was assembled in 2017 during Foote’s senior year of college. Instead of a usual thesis proposal, she decided to hold a concert that featured originally written works. Around 6 years later, Sir Chloe gained popularity and rose to fame in their 2020 TikTok hit “Michelle.” Read the rest of this entry »
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Alumni Spotlight: Matt Weitzel (2017)
May 16th, 2023 by Charlie Wahlberg
Matt Weitzel, from the class of 2017 describes the path from WLOY to working in radio today, and how his experiences at WLOY prepared him for his career.
Q: Can you tell us a little bit about your show at WLOY?
A: My show was “It’s A Hard Rock Life” and we played everything from Avenged Sevenfold to Pearl Jam, to Taking Back Sunday. There was also a spinoff called “It’s A Harder Rock Life” that aired Saturdays at midnight where we played all the metal (and its 7 million subgenres) that we got yelled at for playing during the daytime show! Read the rest of this entry »
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Alumni Spotlight: Joelle Hernandez (2014)
May 9th, 2023 by Charlie Wahlberg
Joelle Hernandez graduated from Loyola in 2014 and went on to use skills she learned from her experiences at the station in her current career. Joelle gives us a look into her time at WLOY and shares her advice for current Loyola students!
Q: Can you tell us a bit about your show on WLOY?
A: I hosted a show with my twin sister, Jordan, called Double Dose of Entertainment! It aired on Friday evenings from 7-9 PM. We played R&B and Hip-Hop music and talked about entertainment/celebrity news.
Q: What was your show’s top-played artist?
A: Beyonce & Rihanna! Lots of Ciara and Sevyn Streeter were thrown in as well. Read the rest of this entry »
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AOTW: Hippo Campus – “Wasteland”
May 8th, 2023 by Liz Kosik
by Anabel Martin Llanusa ’25
Album of the Week: Hippo Campus – “Wasteland”
Released: April 2023
Rate: 8/10
RIYL: Vampire Weekend, Ed Sheeran, Vacation Manor, COIN
Hippo Campus is an American indie rock band that recently released its newest album, Wasteland. The tracks on this album provided a light, happy melody and were primarily the reason I enjoyed it so much. Despite most of the lyrics centering around pain and love, the message is still positive and encouraging.
Some of my favorite songs were “Honeysuckle” and “Probably.” The lyrics for “Honeysuckle” are not intensely deep, but the soothing melody of the song enhances a lighter mood. “Probably” reminds me of Ed Sheeran’s, “Happier”. Both pieces have a similar tone and guitar sequence but Hippo Campus diverges with their unique addition of the piano in “Probably.” Also if you enjoy country music, “Kick in the Teeth” is a super cute love song (despite the title lol). There are only five songs on the album, so give this album an easy listen on your way to class!
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Phoneboy Interview
May 4th, 2023 by The Professor
Back in March our intrepid DJ/Production Manager Ben Ostrowski ’24 caught up with one of the station’s favorite bands Phoneboy for a chat about their start, college, recoding, touring and advice for DIY bands getting their start. We lost the interview for a moment, but in the meanwhile they’ve posted their second Album of the Week here at WLOY. Listen now before they sell out 10 nights at Madison Square Garden!
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