With killer views from the 7th floor of a building in the heart of New York City, it’s no surprise that DJs at The School of Visual Arts’ (SVA) college radio station WSVA joke about wanting to live at the station. “I would love to have this as my apartment,” said Michelle Mullin, WSVA’s Manager of Operations. Similarly, alumnus Jacob Gardner, who uses they/he pronouns, admitted to napping at the station, especially since their apartment was in another borough. Beyond WSVA being a lovely space physically, the station also feels welcoming to its participants. “There’s actual life in this place,” explained Alice Katok, the station’s Manager of Production, contrasting it with the closet-like conditions of her apartment. Especially after a few isolating years of COVID, it’s clear that students are gravitating to college radio station WSVA in order to be part of a community of like-minded music enthusiasts.
WSVA Punk Show and Community Connections
And that community is growing beyond the walls of WSVA. The station hosted a sold-out punk show in February, 2023 (its first in recent memory) and 70 people showed up. Mullin was impressed by the turn out, saying that she’d never seen more than 30 people at a school event in her time at SVA. Although it was restricted to SVA-affiliated people, they even got some RSVPs from people who aren’t connected with the school. This outside interest was gratifying to WSVA and a sign to them that they are on an upswing.
Katok mentioned that they’ve also been getting communication from more artists and have had to turn down requests from bands to play. Additionally, WSVA has heard from folks at nearby colleges and college radio stations at FIT, Hunter College, NYU, and the New School about possibly collaborating on events. Mullin said that she feels “lucky” that WSVA has so much creative freedom; in part because the station is internet-only.
College Radio Station WSVA Feels Like an Art School
These days, WSVA is buzzing with activity. Gardner said that there were 40 shows in spring 2023 as well as a record number of listeners on the online station’s stream. And, specific attempts to make the station “more accessible” and “less cliquey” are paying off. “I tell everyone I know, you can come here, you don’t have to have a show,” Mullin remarked, adding, “I love coming in…and seeing 10 people in here.” Gardner explained that WSVA is “supposed to be a space that everybody can enjoy,” and pointed out that the station really “feels like an art school.” And it’s true. There’s art everywhere, including random paintings, sculpture projects, drawings on the walls, and a shared notebook packed with sketches. The WSVA Sketchbook was a new addition in February, 2023. Additionally, a “doodle challenge” on the wall of WSVA encourages DJs to “draw your favorite album from memory.”
Looking Back at WSVA During COVID
This creative, in-person energy is quite the contrast to the past few years during COVID. WSVA was completely shut down in spring 2020. By the summer, they had created a virtual studio over Discord and test ran a station on Twitch, where they even held a dance party. By fall, 2020 WSVA was running shows over Twitch. For Gardner, it served as their only social interaction, which they characterized as “commiseration” during an especially challenging time for students.
By fall, 2021, WSVA was back in its 7th floor studio, although work had to be done to spruce it up after it had been sitting idle for over a year. In-person shows resumed in October, 2021, with around 36 programs on the schedule. “I think people were just excited to do anything,” recalled Katok about this reawakening on campus. There were still restrictions in place, with only 3 people allowed in WSVA at a time in fall, 2021. “I was here typically alone,” Katok said.
WSVA Re-Energized in 2022-2023 School Year
However, by the 2022-2023 academic year. WSVA was even more energized, which was quite palpable when I visited in late March, 2023. “I’ve definitely noticed a shift this year,” remarked Katok, adding, “more people are curious” about the radio station. Along with that, WSVA is attracting more attention. Gardner joked that when they started at the school, the radio station was like the “Bigfoot of SVA,” with students not realizing that WSVA even existed. Another positive shift was that some younger staff members were in place this spring, with many of them still in leadership positions in fall, 2023. Having continuity is helpful, especially with the disruption during COVID.
College Radio Station WSVA’s Lively Space
The lively WSVA space is covered with flyers from past events, as well as promotional posters and stickers from prior eras of the station. The on-air studio is sweetly outfitted with a nice leather couch and matching chair, a cute floral armchair, and multi-colored plastic crates full of vinyl records. A red pitchfork is propped in one corner and posters and flyers cover the walls. A handful of CDs sit in the station window, which faces the entryway to the station. Another studio currently serves more like a storage area, but seems like it may have functioned as a production studio or news studio in the past.
These days, WSVA DJs are playing a wide range of genres. The folks who I met up with mentioned playing folk, mid-western emo, 1950s doo-wop, and hardcore. And by this fall, the 37 shows on the schedule included “Love Letter to an LP,” “Emo to the Extremo,” “Fiona’s iPod Shuffle,” “Into the Pit,” “Anti Wave,” “Girlie & Pop,” and more.
Although the WSVA crew recognizes the freedom that affords them as an internet-only college radio station; they also expressed some wistfulness about not having a spot on the terrestrial dial. We chatted about the station formerly being on AM, but not much was known about that time.
The Mysterious History of College Radio Station WSVA
Part of the challenge is that there is no written WSVA history. And the “about us” section of WSVA’s website circa January 2008 is comically spot-on when articulating this lack of a detailed station history. According to the post, “WSVA was founded…well, we actually don’t know when. I’m assuming it was some time in the late 80s or early 90s. Then it was shut down for a while and opened up again sometime in the late 90s. Again, we don’t know exactly when this was.”
Early Days of WSVA: 1980s
While WSVA’s “history is shrouded in mystery,” according to Gardner, there are little kernels of details around the station. Formerly a carrier current radio station at 590 AM, WSVA is rumored to have started in 1970. Throughout the 1980s, the college radio station broadcast over carrier current and into various spaces on campus. Events included a “Battle of the Bands” in spring 1986, with participants selected based on demo tapes. At the time, the station used the branding “WSVA 590 Rock 59.”
One featured program was “Overtones,” which played progressive jazz fusion and new age music. Other shows included the “heavy music” oriented “16 Tons” as well the “Rockin’ Rob Show,” which played new wave music, rock, rap, comedy and interviews. By spring, 1987, it seemed that WSVA’s space had been reduced, with it now occupying only a portion of the 7th floor lounge that was its home. An article SVA’s student newspaper Canvas states, “Our sound can be heard in the incredible shrinking seventh floor lounge Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Fridays 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. We can also be heard in the cafeteria every day from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and soon-to-be in the afternoons as well.”
1980s Programming
Additionally, a new show in spring 1987 was an on-air classifieds-type program, “The Bulletin Board,” which aired at 3:30pm every day. WSVA also offered to buy records from anyone on campus that spring. A local music show, “Homegrown,” began in fall 1986 and by spring, 1987 it had received material from a variety of bands, including The Crunge, Me and My Bro, Norman Bates and the Showerheads, Sidney and the Homewreckers, and the Rescue. In fall, 1987, the station was airing music (including a classical show), hourly newscasts, talk shows, and a comedy show within its mix of programming.
An October, 1989 account in Canvas reported on delays in broadcasting that fall due to an explosion in Gramercy Park and a New York Telephone strike. With new equipment, the station was gearing up to broadcast from 7am to 5pm on weekdays into four SVA buildings: Sloane House and lounges at East 21st Street, East 23rd Street, and West 21st Street.
Early 2000s at College Radio Station WSVA
Posters and stickers at WSVA from the internet era include the spot on the AM dial, suggesting that carrier current persisted into at least the early 2000s. Photographer Noah Kalina was Music Director at WSVA in the early 2000s and posted an anecdote about what the station was like during that time. While at the station he compiled charts to send to the industry publication, CMJ. Coincidentally, years later, he shot a CMJ cover featuring the musician Sia.
On his website, Kalina reflects back on his time at WSVA:
WSVA is a radio station nobody at the school even knew existed. It only broadcast in the school cafeteria which was 3 blocks away and they never had the volume up loud enough to hear it. We basically sat around the station all day making up the music charts we had to send in to CMJ. We would also field calls from all of the music publicists further perpetuating the myth that we were a legitimate radio station. This insured that the station could continue to receive tons and tons of promo CD’s and we could keep our jobs.
There was absolutely no authority so we basically made it up as we went along. It was the best job anybody in college could ever ask for, not to mention it was two flights above the darkrooms. How or why we ever got paid will always remain a mystery.
Judging by the look of the current website (we never had a website) not much has changed. It does however seem like they are doing a really fancy itunes stream. I am so proud of them.
Noah Kalina
Over email, Kalina shared more reminiscences with me, as well as some photos that he took of the station during his time there from 2000 to 2001. He explained that even though WSVA was piped into the cafeteria, it was an underused space, limiting their audience even further. He added, “They said it was in the dorms too, but it wasn’t.” As far as the music of the era, he mentioned, “…we basically had Radiohead KID A on repeat non-stop so that album marks that time for me. Fall/Winter 2000. Unforgettable.” He also recalled that a major renovation took place at WSVA in late April, 2001; which he captured in photos before the work has been completed.
Early Streaming at WSVA Limited to the Campus
While its unclear when internet broadcasting started for WSVA, it does seem that it was initially limited to campus networks. Vintage stickers posted at the radio station include a URL for Pipeline, which likely provided an intranet for the campus, seemingly between 2001 and 2008ish. In 2005, a comment on WSVA’s LiveJournal site said, “SVA should invest in a WSVA server for some sort of podcasting system, allowing for listeners outside of the campus! That’s what I think. Any ideas on implementing such a system?” A post on the station’s website four years later, in fall 2009, indicated that these broadcasts were still “limited to our school’s network.”
By spring 2011, WSVA could be heard streaming “via the magical internet, so listeners are able to tune in all across the world.” Some of these shows from this era were also posted as podcasts as well. Although I’m unsure about when carrier current broadcasting ended for WSVA, it appears that by 2013, the station was only streaming online. They also installed a webcam in 2013 and a few videos can be found on YouTube circa 2017. Also in the early 2000s, there were at least two different ‘zines produced by WSVA, including one called STATIC, and later a webzine called Xzyqunity.
Lore from WSVA’s Past
Mullin, Katok and Gardner were interested to learn more about WSVA’s past and have made attempts at research. Gardner found some recordings of shows circa 2017 and they have had requests from station alumni looking for even earlier archives. Gardner said that they are proud of WSVA alumni like musician Mike Krol. An interview with him is on the current WSVA website and Krol shares some memories of his time at the radio station in the early 2000s.
Rumors of a 1990 Kurt Cobain visit to the station are unverified, but there’s also SVA chatter about artists Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring (who attended SVA) hanging out in the school cafeteria. A friend of mine, John Devecka, who worked for carrier current equipment manufacturer LPB, recalled visiting WSVA circa 1995-1996 and seeing Keith Haring graffiti in the building’s stairwell. Devecka was there to test the carrier current system as well as to explore the possibility of installing radiating cable FM. Unfortunately with the layout of the building, it was found to be too expensive to shift to FM at that time.
While this mysterious history is alluring, today’s WSVA participants also worry about this lack of awareness of the station’s past. “I don’t want this place to be lost in history,” Katok explained. Mullin added that some of her professors seemed completely unaware of WSVA’s existence; although she noted, “We’ve been alive this whole time.”
During our chat in the spring, Gardner mentioned that WSVA had hoped to do a ‘zine again; so I was excited to see a post calling for writers and ‘zine contributors on the WSVA Instagram in October, 2023. Especially thrilling for me is that history will be part of that ‘zine. The post says, “We want to document the history of the radio station, as well as feature the works of our DJs who make WSVA possible.” I can’t wait to see the finished ‘zine and wish WSVA luck in sleuthing out more stories from its 50+ year history.
Thanks to WSVA + More Radio Station Tours
Thanks to everyone at WSVA for the warm welcome and fun visit in March, 2023. I’m also very grateful to Beth Kleber, Head of Archives for the School of Visual Arts Archives for help in locating WSVA material from the 1980s. More thanks to Noah Kalina for sharing memories and photos from his time at WSVA in the early 2000s.
This is my 172nd radio station tour report and my 114th college radio station recap. View all my radio station visits in numerical order or by station type in our archives. Stay tuned for additional tours from my spring and summer travels.
