The KMSC Studio – Descriptive Essay
Nestled deep within the heart of the Mass Communication department at Morningside College lies a small room with the power to be much larger. I am talking about the Fusion 93 KMSC radio studio.
Home to many students throughout the week, the KMSC studio is a place where hands-on learning occurs. A control board that looks so exquisite to common folk is the source of entertainment, learning, and enjoyment for someone like me trying to establish a connection with listeners and my future. When done properly, hundreds of people can become one with the person doing the controlling in the studio.
The array of red, yellow, and blue buttons and levers is enough to make a grown man envious. The sheer volume of electronic equipment is enough to give a tech guru chills. A large, flat-screen computer is home to many songs and production elements, but the arranging of them is the challenging part. Sitting in the relaxing studio chair is one that not enough people enjoy, but those who are aware of it, are surely quite fond of it. Using the combination of buttons, levers, sliders, clickers, and vocal performance, radio is a medium that everyone can enjoy.
This past Monday, I observed KMSC station manager Ryan Tellinghuisen and sports director Dan Corey conduct their weekly afternoon show. I noticed things that usually go unnoticed when I am doing the controlling. Thanks to Dan Corey’s collaboration with Game Time Sports Grill in the lower level of the Olsen Student Center, one lucky listener would be subject to the delicious aroma of a “steaming pizza pie,” as Ryan commonly exclaims, for winning this week’s edition of KMSC Pick’em. I could imagine the smell, but unfortunately it wasn’t actually present.
If it weren’t for the unfortunate sign on the door of the studio saying “No food or drinks allowed in the KMSC studio,” the studio would certainly bare the fragrance of hot wings or pizza when occupied. Instead, the smell of dust slightly burning inside of the many studio mechanisms massages the nostrils. At this particular time, the discussion of sports fills the air, inside and outside the studio.
Several hours later, it was my turn at the helm of the contraption known as the control board; one button depressed, a fader raised, and an eerily quiet room with the faint screaming of music in a pair of headphones. This is what occurs when the microphone is turned on. It’s show time. “Welcome to Fusion 93 KMSC,” I exclaim, as I get ready for a jam-packed evening of fun, music, and more fun. On this particular night, a very special show was being broadcast from the warm confines of the KMSC studio, located in the Mass Communication department.
On a typical night, I spin the tunes of yesteryear. Well, spinning records definitely sounds cool, but it’s more like button pushing, but that is beside the point. This night was no different in that regard, but a unique voice would make its presence felt across the skies of Sioux City on this Monday night. A young man from New York by the name of Joel Hoekstra, who has made a name for himself as an extremely busy guitarist, would be an over-the-phone guest. As a member of Night Ranger, the Broadway musical Rock of Ages, and even Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Joel Hoekstra’s partial presence in the Fusion 93 studio was one to bring relative star power to the transmitter atop Lewis Hall. We chatted for a few minutes, but all good things must come to an end. Hoekstra had to get to dinner, as they were celebrating the birthday of Night Ranger’s drummer, Kelly Keagy. Once Hoekstra hung up the phone, this show was back to its usual ways.
With the studio fan on low to keep me cool without causing too much ruckus, and the tunes a-rocking to keep the listeners cool, this particular Monday night was a great one. Each Monday this semester, I will wander over the HJF Learning Center, and rock out to the songs of yesterday, while nestled in the cozy confines of the KMSC studio.
