Tabatha Patterson
Station Manager 2010-2011
Favorite albums while at Radio UTD?
Two of my favorite albums during my time at Radio UTD were Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus and Tom Waits’ recent retrospective Glitter & Doom. Of course, some days you need some really cheesy historically themed Scandinavian metal, and on those days Turisas’ Battle Metal and The Varangian Way can really hit the spot. We also acquired a copy of The Asteroid’s Galaxy Tour Fruit album on vinyl and I think it may still be in a drawer or shelf somewhere in the station. I listened to that album more than a few times on the turntables. You really have to crank up the bass for that one and maybe enjoy it with a bottle of pink champagne, a slice of heavily frosted cake, and some tacky cocktail jewelry because there’s something inherently sweet, femme, and colorful about it. Nevertheless, The Best of Blondie remains my favorite compilation of all time.
Favorite new discoveries while in Radio UTD?
Being a DJ gave me a good excuse to delve deeper into the genres I already liked. Instead of just skimming the surface of all the unusual genres I already enjoyed and catching the usual tunes, I eventually dug up all the Nick Cave bands, ranging from The Birthday Party to Grinderman, and discovered many more blues favorites like Koko Taylor and Hound Dog Taylor. “Insane Asylum” by Koko Taylor featuring Willie Dixon is still one of my favorite songs ever. When I first came into Radio UTD I listened to a lot of goth rock and new wave, which I still think is really great on a separate level. But somewhere along the lines I started listening to Goldfrapp, Yelle, and other bouncy musicians just as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs released It’s Blitz and amped up their discography’s bounciness factor by about 60%. I can thank Radio UTD for getting me into Beyonce too. I kinda pulled a reverse Robin Sparkles/Robin Daggers, haha!
Favorite memories being in Radio UTD?
It was interesting to get a call from a really gruesome death metal band in Australia who requested that I play their album. It was completely not FCC friendly, but they were real nice guys. I enjoyed chatting with them.
The Prom Parties were cool back when we did those. We all got together for the first one in 2009 when we realized how many DJs in the station never went to their high school proms and decided maybe we should make up for that by holding a really bad ass party. Or rather, we held the kind of prom we would have liked when we were young. I remember the 2011 party really well because I got tackled to the ground by Lezlie Deane, the roller derby girl/lead singer of Scary Cherry and The Bang Bangs, dressed as a zombie in a bloody wedding dress when she flew off the stage mid-song. I got to check something off my bucket list that night.
Where do you see Radio UTD in 10 years?
It’s pretty great that Radio UTD isn’t stuck in the broom closet anymore, but I’m not sure the station will get a radio frequency any time soon since that’s just not the direction that the technology is going these days. In general I would love to see what is popular among musical genres become a little more broad across the board (not just within the station), and I hope to see Radio UTD be a leader in such an expansion. It’s easy to get wrapped up in two or three popular genres (which seemed to be electronic/dubstep, hip hop, and a rather delicate variety of indie rock there for a while) and sit on them for a decade, but it gets old pretty fast no matter what genres you focus on. So I always like seeing DJs branch out in their interests and observe the difference between liking and appreciating music. You may like classic punk rock, but appreciate classical symphonies at the same time. The music you like does not have to dictate your personality, and vice versa. You don’t necessarily have to like something in order to understand and appreciate it as an art form.
Laura Carroll
DJ 2009-2010
Programming Director 2010-11
Station Manager 2011-Present
What made you first want to join Radio UTD?
Strangely enough I found out about Radio UTD when I was still in high school from former DJ and summer MD, Chris Ostlund, while he was working at Sur La Table. I had just confirmed my admittance to UTD, and he was giving out espresso samples to my friend and mentioned he went to UTD. I was a little reluctant about going to UTD, but his enthusiasm for radio made was refreshing knowing there was a strong community of music lovers at an otherwise very science oriented school. At freshman orientation I went straight to the Radio UTD booth, talked with Stu McAfee and Andrew Godefroy and then immediately went home and applied to be a DJ.
How did Radio change from when you started to when you left?
I have been lucky enough to work at Radio UTD during times of extreme change and growth. My freshman year we were still in our old, very small station and management was always working to prove themselves. Administration wasn’t always convinced of our full potential, but after they decided to build the new media suite the conversation around our success completely changed. The new space brought all these grandiose ideas for the future and collaborative working with other media groups. We used to only have one media advisor, Cristen Hixson, and then after she left they thankfully recognized how overworked she was and added another position.
Our relations with the Dallas community, our student body and other organizations on campus has completely changed as well. We really worked to legitimize our presence and try to prove we weren’t just some inclusive “hipster” group, but we just want to share our passion for music with other students and the larger community.
What were your favorite albums in the years you were a DJ?
Whether Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s second album, Some Loud Thunder was as good as their first self-titled album was a long heated debate my entire freshman year, and I still can’t decide. I tried to list a bunch of really solid, “college” radio style albums, but honestly when I think of my time in Radio UTD, it’s full of memories of a room full of DJs screaming lyrics to all of the Beach Boy’s Pet Sounds or dancing like freaks to R. Kelly’s “Remix”.
What were some of your favorite memories being in Radio UTD?
I owe a lot to Radio UTD. This organization of strange, enthusiastic music nerds has become my family these past four years–weird cousins, annoying step-brothers, lifelong sisters and all. Whether I met people through radio or convinced them to join after we met, almost everyone I’ve become close with at UTD was a DJ at some point. While some DJs stay isolated, only competing their weekly radio show, most of us reach out, dance, share music, come up with weird blog ideas, and eat ungodly amounts of cookies and pizza together.
Not only have I been granted the amazing opportunity to work closely with so many DJs and inspiring management members, UT Dallas’ generosity allowed me to meet an amazing number of people in the national college radio community through CMJ and access to festivals.
I’m just going to walk through the last 4 years during my amazing time in Radio UTD. This organization has become my baby, so excuse me while I cry about having to leave her all grown up.
2009-2010
Nerd Dance Party
This was the very first dance party I attended, and I remember thinking this is everything I wanted college to be, and everything high school wasn’t. There was no grinding, only unapologetic passion for getting your freak on, and lots of pizza. It hurt to walk for a couple days because I danced so hard, all thanks to the wonderful DJ Mikey Vaughn.
Capybara House Show
This was the first and last house show I’ve ever been to in Richardson. For some reason Capybara had this giant Shaq head that they toured with, so after their set some weird things happened with that cardboard head.
Prom Party with Astronautalis
Prom party was everything I wanted my high school experience to be. James Evans DJed between sets and got everyone way too excited about throwing inflatable balls. Apparently we did some damage to the ceiling in the Galaxy Rooms that night, so now we try to stray from mixing intense electronic with beach balls indoors.
2010-2011
My love affair with college radio catapulted to unseen heights at CMJ. It was my first time in New York and my first real experience with an immersive festival in any “official” capacity. SUAAB’s advisor, GNO White, thankfully agreed to go with us because we were advisorless at the time. He got to see Wu-Tang though, so I’m pretty sure he loved it.
Oberhofer In-Studio
Everything about this was a disaster. We bravely invited them to the studio, but only used a vocal mic and a Zoom H4N for recording. Safe to say, that video should never see the light of the internet. Luckily they were really patient with us, which was probably 50% cupcakes and 50% pity. The next day, Chelsea Upton and I showed some of the guys in the band around Dallas– bike riding, white rock lake and all. Thankfully they ended up liking us, but I learned a valuable lesson about taking baby-steps in our studio ambitions.
2011-2012
Alex Hays
Sent to us from the tech heavens under the wing of Luke McKenzie, Alex Hays was the mastermind behind our new website. That summer we spent way too many late nights at my house talking about logo placement, page titles and colors. It felt sort of miserable at the time, but those late nights sparked one of my strongest friendships and taught me a lot about web redesign.
All four of upper management was able to go on this trip and it really helped to solidify bonding. When everyone in radio is your friend, it never feels like you’re working– which is something I desperately hope for my future jobs. Trang and I snuck into the very sold out Domino showcase at 285 Kent with Twin Sister and John Maus. I’m pretty sure there were double the amount of recommended people in that space and half the air flow. It was the sweatiest, smelliest show I’ve ever been to and it’s probably as close to heaven as I’ll ever get.
Radio UTD Presents: Mikal Cronin, Bleached, Final Club and Old Snack at the Labb for 35 Denton
35 Denton was gracious enough to allow us to present this amazing lineup. I still get chills thinking when I remember Mikal Cronin and Ty Segall covering Wreckless Eric’s “Whole Wide World”. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen Zachary Brown so happy.
White Denim with Nikka Costa, Gallery Cat and Man Factory
We originally planned this concert to be outside on a huge stage on the Chess Plaza, using the entire mall as our venue. Unfortunately, it rained the day of set up so we had to move inside. While the change in location reduced attendance, the performances were incredible. White Denim’s frontman bolted off the stage and started a running circle during “I Start to Run”. I turned 21 at midnight, so that entire 24 hours felt like a birthday gift from the music gods.
2012-Present
CMJ v 3.0
Sneaking our way into the Sup Pop showcase at Knitting Factory, talking with Bob Boilen and walking along the Hudson River at sunrise are all moments that exemplify everything I love about college radio. It was tough to say goodbye, but hopefully some of radio management will be back in the CMJ community post grad.
Where do you see Radio UTD in 10 years?
Radio UTD is my family. Once a DJ, always a DJ. As long as that mentality stays strong within Radio UTD, the organization is only destined for incredible heights. Realistically I see all of student media joining as one entity and Radio UTD running the music and culture sections. Chad Thomas and Misty Hawley are extremely capable advisors, so if Radio UTD was going to ever get a frequency, it would be under their careful guidance.
We’re still here, doing this, and I couldn’t be more thankful for these opportunities.