DJ of the Fortnight, Summer 2011
All Fired Up DJs Tiffany Ortiz & Tanya Bogin

In May, WQHS's marketing director approached me about interviewing Tiff O and Tanya Bogin of the now defunct All Fired Up Radio show. I was reluctant. I thought it would be a horrible experience given what I knew about these self-important DJs and the entire DIY-crapshoot that is WQHS.

Now that Ive done the deed, I am fairly certain I would have 10 more years to live had I declined immediately, laughed in that marketing directors face and pranced away a la the boys of Sigur Ros. On June 1st I proceeded with the mistake for which I would be very sorry, and traveled to Brooklyn, on the pretty penny of the University of Pennsylvania. Armed with a Handy H2 recorder and my dignity, I met these former "leadership icons" at a certain bar somewhere in the city. What follows is what I could salvage from the Handy, I remember none of it, as I'm fairly certain Tanya slipped something in my Appletini upon arrival. My name is Jamie XY, and this is what was on my recorder when I woke up the next morning lying in the street in front of the Philadelphia bound double-decker Megabus.

Jamie: Why did you think joining WQHS, rather than the real station, WXPN was a good decision?

Tiff:The idea that WQHS was student-run appealed to us; we had a greater chance of assuming power faster and without too much bloodshed.

Tanya: Exactly.

Jamie: What kind of satisfaction could you possibly get from reigning over 100 college idiots with mics?

Tanya: WQHS is the most dynamic organization on campus, with the most room for development and growth. We found our home here; we made a lot of friends.

Tiff: ...and while there's still a lot to be accomplished, I think we did pretty well.

Jamie: What's the craziest thing that's ever happened to you on the air?

Tiff: Two cops busted in on us in the studio. Tanya yelled at them and told them to go away because we were on the air. They thought we'd broken in.

Tanya: We had an anesthesiologist as a surprise guest offering call-in advice to pre-pubescent males.

Tiff: Tanya got electrocuted trying to splice cables. She hasn't been able to listen to 'Is This It?' since.

Jamie: Speaking of cops, if you could be any drink, what drink would you be and who would be drinking you?

Tiff: I would be an Aberdeen Angus, no one knows to make me, or even order me for that matter.

Tanya: I would be a White Russian.

Jamie: And what kind of listeners would drink your show?

Tanya: Single 18-29 year old college educated males and females with too much time on their hands.

Tiff: ...for whom the words post-rock tropicalia carry significance. Very few.

Tanya: Oh and one pissed off mother from the UK.

Tiff: Say, Jamie, are you feeling alright? Your mouth is drooping.

Jamie: And radio? Sincehdjfsd fuvoie jrgld

Tiff: Tanya got started with the infamous Maria Conde in Spring 2008 and I joined forces a year later. I used to have this fantastic little show called Garbage Critters, where I could play whatever I wanted without Tanya fucking up the programming.

Tanya: Yup, Maria and I got started thanks to our friend, Mike Gardner. I think for all of us the allure of radio was the two weekly hours where we found sanity, an escape from the stress of classes. I'll never forget that little spike of nervousness right before you turn the mics on. It was...

Tiff: Exhilarating. (sigh)

Tanya: Except if we realized no one was listening.

Jamie: Wait dsfhwoefowiejfosidjfsoidfc All Fired Up?

Tiff: The name of our show derived from All Fired Up, the Interpol Song off their fourth best album. It's the only thing we could think of on the F train home from the Tom Petty Fest at the Bowery Ballroom last summer.

Tanya: Some other ideas were, Red Light Radio, John Mayerville...

Jamie: beasts…wild…spiffsdfhsjsa

Tiff: Right the Wild Beasts were our first joint band interview. We've also interviewed Cut Copy, Delicate Steve, Courtesy Tier, School of Seven Bells, and BLK JKS, among others.

Jamie: What's your hgjhfdfavorite--

Tanya: Venue? Lately its 285 Kent, for the mosh pits, airlessness, and videogames.

Tiff: Bar? The Trash Bar, my band Reign State is playing there June 24th, and you get a free order of tater tots with every beer.

Jamie: Wait a second why am I gdgfhsiiiintervewingdfgjhskdfgggggraduated?

Tanya: Yeah we graduated. I guess they saved the best for last? Or for when the best are no longer relevant.

Tiff: We have a couple projects in development right now. I'm not really at liberty to discuss them or name our collaborators, but we will be on 'waves' in the near future. I promise you, this is not the last you'll be hearing of DJs Tiff O and DJ Bogie Boges.

Tanya: You promised you'd never call me that again...

(Here the recorder was overcome by feedback, three hours later it unexpectedly chimed back in...)

Tanya: Ok you grab his legs, I'll get his arms.

Tiff: He's heavy.

Tanya: Look, obviously he drank too much and we can't leave him here. The cops are on their way.

Tiff: Why do you always do this to me? Two Appletinis aren't supposed to make a 6 foot man dance and sing naked on top of a bar.

Tanya: Yeah it's odd...

Tiff: He kept grabbing his crotch and screaming, "Blog about this!"

Tanya: Oh he forgot to turn off the...

There you have it. DJs of the Fortnights, former Station Manager and Program Director Tanya B and Tiff O. I'm sorry.

By Jamie XY

DJ of the Fortnight, April 2011: Lawrence

The most desired man on the radio...

WQHS: Everyone loves listening to you on the radio, you make us insanely proud. From where do your derive your success and your sultry radio voice?

I'm Australian.

WQHS: What's the music scene like in Australia where you're from? Do you rep said scene on your show?

Oh man I could wax lyrical about the music scene where I'm from and most of my time on radio is spent doing exactly that. What I will say now is that if you only know Tame Impala, Cut Copy and the handful of other artists who make it in America then you are really missing out. The music scene in Australia in general has moved from the working class pub rock of the 80s to new age dance/indie pop type stuff that reflects the laid back lifestyle of Summer in Oz. I'd say that is what is most popular, although the electronic music industry is on fire (eg. Pendulum and more recently Shock One, Dubmarine, Opiuo etc. etc. etc.) and the Australian hip hop scene continues to be a bastion of hope, holding out against the influence of US gangstazzz, and maintaining its own unique vibe. The folk scene is also worth a look and seems set to continue to grow in influence with the likes of Angus & Julia Stone and singer-songwriters like Lisa Mitchell, Sarah Blasko, Missy Higgins and Kate Miller-Heidke.

WQHS: Unfortunately everyone at wqhs is aware of the type of women you normally go for ( "5' 11", 44DD, looks like Ratatat sounds, a young female Schwarzenegger"). You're very graphic and we like it. Describe the woman/man/animal that looks like the following bands sound.

Cut Copy: Way too cool for school. She's in the middle of a packed dance floor looking uber-trendy and gyrates with such disco-styled appeal that every man in the place wants to 'get on it'. You approach from behind, swayin' yo hips until you feel the slightest contact and then proceed to cheekily feel her up on the d-floor. Well... at least that's what you thought you were doing until you landed halfway across the room in a crumpled heap unable to remember the events of the past half-hour. Then you remember: shoulda left the bumpin' n grindin' for the frat party, cos this girl ain't no cheap ghetto booty, so don't you dare treat her like that! You hear!

Tame Impala: You spy her from across the other side of a smoke-filled room. Oozing with vintage appeal, but curiously distorted by the smoke billowing out across the psychedelic sanctuary in which you recline. Her clothes, like relics of a bygone era, beckon you across the room and as you do so your eyes meet. The resulting blast of endorphins delivers a falcon punch to the universe, resulting in the cessation of time itself and the unlocking of the 4th dimension. True story.

Die Antwoord: Ah 'Die motherfucking Antwoord'. This chick is edgy and has attitude. You don't understand half the shit she says, but fuck it. She makes you look like a dawg so you ain't complainin'. She soon realises that she is cooler than you can comprehend and dumps you for someone with a more alternative haircut. Devo.

Sleigh Bells: Ah. This is the type of girl you would have a one night stand with. Loud, brash and sassy she is perfect for a night of mayhem on the town. But in the morning, with the putrid taste of vodka on your lips, you find yourself curled up in the fetal position next to the most vacuous piece of filth this side of the Large Hadron Collider. She only has one speed: go. After struggling through small talk in the morning you leave knowing that nothing will shut this bitch up and with a head still pounding like a bongo drum.

WQHS: You're stranded on a deserted island. There is no freshwater, the place is infested with cannibals, you have no tools and no way of making them. The sun is baking you to a crisp and at night you must hide in a cave to keep from being eaten. What color loincloth do you make for yourself? What song do you listen to while you fashion it?

So the island is deserted... and you're asking me what colour loincloth I would wear? I struggle to wear clothes at the best of times... So if I had to I guess it would be clingwrap. The cannibals would also pose no problem as I always carry sand in my pockets in case a fight breaks out. So while they are blinded I hack them to pieces and chuck 'em in the fridge for later. I subsequently turn the cave into a bachelor pad and accrue a harem of mermaids. While all this is going on uber Captain is playing H-Bomb and 48/4 is playing Poos Pooh. After the concert we all crack open a coupla coldies, then I die from skin cancer owing to an unfortunate combination of my luminescently pale skin and the sun. Welcome to my life in Australia.

WQHS: Why should people listen to your show? Why should deaf people listen to your show? What do you think the speaker's vibrations communicate?

Because having a listener for once would be awesome! Well as I always say to the handful of sporadic listeners I occasionally entertain, 'find every available computer, open up www.wqhs.org, click 'Listen Now', mute it and continue on with your life'. How dare they think they can all get away with listening to one computer. I'm kind of like a one-man frat: the numbers are important but the ratio is what gets you success.

WQHS: How do DJing and WQHS factor into your long term future plans?

I owe WQHS a lot. Being on radio here has not only enabled me to fulfill a dream that I did not even know I had, but has also opened up an exciting new world, which I fully intend to explore when I return home. I do Law back home so I have been looking into pursuing a career as a lawyer/agent/manager in the music industry. If that fails I'll just man up and become a blood-sucking parasite like every other lawyer in this godforsaken wasteland. So yeah music would be good.

WQHS: Finally, How does it feel to be the most desired DJ on the radio (sexually)?

It feels like people only value me for my voice...

DJ of the Fortnight, March 2011: Ernest Owens

It's time for another DJ of the Fortnight, and this time it's Ernest Owens of the wildly popular Ernestly Speaking!. Tune on on Fridays from 10 to midnight to find out what it's all about.

The just plain awesome Ernest Owens

WQHS: Tell us a bit about your show and why you set it up this way.

Ernestly Speaking is a talk radio show about University City in general. Topics range from madness at parties, to dating, to interactive Facebook chat live. There is a wide range of relevant pop and hip hop tunes played throughout with a selection of contests, and funny phone calls from callers. I set my show up like this so that there is something for everyone, music, advice, gossip, and suspense: who doesn't like that?

WQHS: What is your favorite music genre or specific artists?

Pop and hip hop, with a concentration on Britney Spears, GaGa and top ten Billboard Tracks.

WQHS: What makes you so fabulous?

I am willing to talk about everything most people aren't willing to on talk radio while also playing music that is actually awesome and hip!

WQHS: If you could be any musical artist, past or present, who would you choose?

Britney Spears, I find it astounding how she continues to reinvent herself and rise above obstacles to come out on top every time.

DJ of the Fortnight, December 2010: Grant Dubler

Another fortnight, another DJ of the! College Senior Grant Dubler recently took some time off from Being The Future of America to speak with us about vestal livery, contentious on-air arguments, and what he's doing "On Top of the Button" every Tuesday from 11pm to midnight. Don't wait twenty years to read the interview that could end his political career -- get it now, while it's fresh!

Grant Dubler: The voice, the politician, the legend.

WQHS: Your talkshow format is pretty unique for WQHS. What made you decide to go this route? Can you give people who have never tuned in (FOOLS!!!) a walk-through of a typical episode of "On Top of The Button"?

Well I suppose the short answer is that I'm going to be President of the United States someday, and I thought it would be better for me to practice debating politics than to practice making iTunes playlists (although don't get me wrong...I love my "Workout Jamz, June 2007" playlist). The long (and, more or less, truthful) answer is that I lost the UA Presidential Election last year and was lacking a public forum to express my views. While "On Top of the Button" is a light, humorous, presentation of the world of politics, the show also provides an opportunity for me to engage my guests on the major issues of the day and share my opinions. I also like the sound of my own voice. A lot.

Now, for those seven of you out there who have not listened to my program, here's how it works: The show opens with the theme song from The West Wing (composed by music genius W.G. "Snuffy" Walden). I introduce the topics for the night's show, tell some bad jokes, sound moderately full of myself, and thank our non-existent sponsors such as Diet Pepsi or the Greater Camden Chamber of Commerce. The first segment is always about politics, and usually includes stories about upcoming elections, bills in Congress, and (when relevant) political sex scandals and not-so-innocent interns/pages/mistresses. I'm often joined by frequent guest co-host and UA Treasurer (he controls $2 million of your money) Ryan Houston. Listeners can also call or text in to the show. Next up is always the weekÕs main interview, usually with a moderately famous Penn celebrity. That's followed by segments on sports, campus life, and our charitable cause of the week. Sometimes we even raise money for the charities, such as on Veterans Days when we brought in nearly a hundred bucks for the Wounded Warriors Project. The penultimate segment is a trivia contest for the guests at home. One lucky winner is always eligible to win a free iPod Touch if we crack 100 listeners (our high is 83, but we're still trying). The show ends with shoutouts, a preview of the next week's show, and Right Said Fred's I'm Too Sexy. This is primarily to warn listeners in case they plan to look me up on Facebook. Oh, and we also play funny audio clips and politically relevant music throughout the show. And sometimes I make moderately offensive comments that could/will haunt my future political career.

Grant Dubler with bff, Vice-President Joe Biden.

WQHS: To prepare for my show, I pick a completely arbitrary theme and then create a playlist of songs whose titles have words tangentially connected to that theme. How do you prepare for your show?

I literally spend the 7 or 8 hours before the show in Van Pelt planning it out. Not even kidding. This show takes a lot of work, from reading the news to advertising via email/Facebook/Twitter to prepping interviewees...it's kind of a bitch... but I love it.

WQHS: What newspapers and magazines do you regularly read to stay informed and to understand the world? What ones specifically? Can you name any of them?

I'm kind of a news junkie. I read quite a bit, but the news becomes my life on Tuesdays (when the show airs). The following online newspapers/blogs/magazines are my collective Bible: Politico, The Hill, Roll Call, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The LA Times, The Miami Herald, The Huffington Post, The Economist, The Atlantic Monthly, Newsweek, FiveThirtyEight.com, ESPN.com, The Daily Pennsylvanian, and (of course) "Under The Button". I/m also all over the Associated Press, Reuters, and the AFP. No, I don't currently have a girlfriend. Why do you ask?

If I had to choose two to recommend to aspiring political junkies out there, I/d absolutely go with Politico and The New York Times.

WQHS: You've successfully convinced quite a cadre of guests to trek out to the Hollaback Center at 11pm on a Tuesday for your show. What are your guest selection criteria?

I've been as surprised as anyone to find out that people are willing to walk halfway to Camden to be on a radio show that reaches fewer people than there are in my HIST 430 lecture (Prof. Tom Childers is the man, btw...but I digress). As far as choosing guests, I generally don't even think about it until Sunday afternoon. It's never been a problem to get politically inclined members of the Penn community to our cramped little studio. Plus I generally bribe them with cheap sex and some blow. My only criterion is that whoever comes on the show knows about politics and has a sense of humor. Past guests have included DP columnist and former Students for Specter southeastern Pennsylvania coordinator Colin Kavanaugh, UA President Matt Amalfitano, Penn Democrats presidential candidate and Sestak for Senate student coordinator Ted Koutsoubas, Penn Israel Coalition President Evan Philipson, Penn Tea Party Patriots Founder Dan Chinburg, and State Department staffer Evan Medina. We're planning on having a female guest on the show as soon as women get the right to vote.

WQHS: What has been the high point - the "Mission Accomplished" moment - of your career On Top of the Button?

I want to say it was getting 80-plus listeners the night that Matt Amalfitano was on the show, but I'm going to have to go with the time I got hate mail from one of my listeners after a particularly contentious show in which I got in an argument with one my callers. You know you've made it when people take the time out of their busy day not only to listen to you, but also to write you a nasty email. If I ever wind up dead on a Wednesday morning, you should check the audio from the previous show. I guarantee it will have been a good one.

Dubler was always meant to be a radio ~*star*~.

WQHS: Do you have plans to enter the political world post-graduation?

Political answer: Oh, it's too early to decide that kind of thing. That's a decision that will require consultation with my family and ultimately an important conversation with the American people. Right now I just want to focus on serving the great people of the University of Pennsylvania in whatever way I can.

Real answer: You've got to be kidding me. Of course I'm running for office.

WQHS: If so, can you please link me to many embarrassing Facebook pictures of yourself, to be used for future blackmail endeavors?

No need to send you the link. Just friend me on Facebook and look at any picture. Blackmail materials await you. You can also ask my friends for the video of me drunk on the floor of my apartment chugging maple syrup and singing about racism. That should work too.

WQHS: Why are you convinced radio is, hands down, the most powerful medium for communication in modern society and how proud are you to be a successful part of it?

It worked for FDR and Orson Welles. That's good enough for me. I guess all I need to do now is start using a wheel chair or get really, really fat in my old age. And as for pride...let's wait until I crack the 100-listener threshold. That's when I'll be proud.

WQHS: Without Googling, can you tell me the duration of a fortnight?

Two weeks, obviously. You're talking to a Shakespeare fanatic here. Now, can you tell me what "vestal livery" is? I thought not. Clearly someone has not followed in my footsteps and memorized all of Act 2, Scene 2 of Romeo and Juliet.

DJ of the Fortnight September 2010: Meredith Perry and Sean Kelly

After a brief hiatus, DJ of the Fortnight is back and it's better than ever. This time, Meredith Perry aka the Real Master P, and Sean Kelly aka the Howard Stern of student radio, talked to us about considering careers in the phone sex industry and instruments that bend the time-space continuum. Tune into "Radio Waves and Belly Button Naves" on Sundays from 8-10 PM to hear interviews with super cool bands like the Disco Biscuits and Sonic Spank and to hear Sean talk to Tupac's sister on the air. (On a side note: Tupac is coming back in 2014.)

This is why, this is why, this is why they're hot hot...

WQHS: Meredith, you're one of the veteran DJs here on WQHS. What has kept you around for so long? And Sean, what brought you in? Was it the promise of the fame and glamour of the WQHS lifestyle?

Meredith: There is nothing more exhilarating than watching the Listener Count soar from 9 listeners to...10. That is what has kept me around. Also, the location is great. But fo' realz- I'm obsessed with all things music and WQHS has enabled me to appreciate it from a whole different angle. I can intersect all of my interests in one show while simultaneously laying down some phat beatz.

Sean: There are only two reasons I will do anything: babes and more babes. I've seen Howard Stern; radio DJ's bathe in hot women. If Stern, the hollow-eyed Corpse King, can score chicks of that caliber, then I absolutely can. Though, I've yet to see any of these women. It's been close to a year and a half, I think it's time I cash in my supermodel tab. Where do you guys keep them? In the closet?

WQHS: Everyone really loves your show. Tell us more about it. What's in the name? What's an average "Radio Waves and Belly Button Naves" show like?

Meredith: In between face-melting guitar licks and beats that make your body go boom-boom, Sean and I banter comedically about the latest topics of life. We communicate through the radio waves and the whole "belly button naves" thing pays tribute to my hobby of excavating old belly buttons of various mammals for my residential real-estate business. It's odd but pays well.

Sean: Most real-estate investors are belly button enthusiasts. Might just be a Connecticut thing though. You'd be surprised how popular belly buttons have come. Just next week Meredith and I will be signing autographs at "Belly Button Con 2010." We'll have our own both with belly dancers and a t-shirt/midget cannon, maybe even a guest appearance from notable belly button scholar Justin Timberlake. Our show allows us to stay connected with our fans. They're what make our show worth it. Also, tequila.

WQHS: Do you and your co-host have DJ names? Who's the real "Master P"?

Meredith: My 8th grade nickname was Master P. I was clearly the coolest kid in school. Eight years later, I've matured into the new alias of "Murderdeath". Sean goes by "Shin-Splints" on most days.

Sean: On other days I go by "Senor Hurricane" and on Sundays I go by "Lord." Meredith and I understand our towering social stature and work hard to meet that standard. If you want, we'll even give you guys sweet nicknames. It's kind of our thing.

The lovely Meredith Perry.

WQHS: Meredith, some of our listeners think you have a sexy voice and would like to know if you've ever considered a fall back career as a phone sex operator. And I mean this as a sultry, sultry compliment.

Meredith: You're making me blush. Do you know that I've had the same raspy voice since I was just a little turd? I practically fell out of the womb sounding like I'd been smoking 3 packs a day for 30 years. I frequently impersonate my 82-year old NY Jewish grandmother.

WQHS: We hear you're into space. If you had to send aliens a mix CD (OR TAPE, that's still relevant!) to explain Earth, what songs would you put on it? Would you name the mix tape, "shoot for the moon and you'll land among the stars"?

Meredith: What's awkward is that Carl Sagan actually sent a record (called the "Voyager Golden Record") to space in 1977 in an attempt to communicate with ET life. It had recordings of various earth noises in addition to "hello and welcome to earth" recorded in every language. Carl, baby, listen- the aliens would much rather hear some Led Zeppelin or a sick bass line. They told me.

Sean: Plus, alien bands are WAY better. Meredith and I have now made a few trips through Centauri Black Hole 5 for concerts, and let us tell you, THEY RULE. Imagine grungy haired, three-eyed tentacles shredding space-guitar in front of five thousand screaming amorphous organisms. Their instruments actually bend the space-time continuum. Nothing sounds better than a trans-dimensional solo, and anti-matter gets you WAY higher than weed. Plus, alien babes are super easy. The fins are a little weird at first but you get over them.

WQHS: Meredith, how did you come up with the signature Meredith Perry interview question, "Have you ever sneezed on stage?"

Meredith: Haha, everyone gets really taken aback when I ask that question. I love it. I spend a lot of my life trying to escape the path of nearby sneezes. When you sneeze, shards of bacteria explode out of your face for about a second. It's disgusting. If your face explodes while you're in the middle of a jam, things could get either really funky or really..funked up. As a musician, it's important to be prepared for the perilous possibility of a mid-show sneeze.

Sean: We're actually in the process of patenting a sneeze-deterrent for musicians. It's down to an invisible face-mask and a pill that disables your sneeze functions. Since the invisibility isn't a real thing, it's really just down to the pill. We did some focus testing this weekend, but people were complaining about trivial issues like "blindness" and "complete malfunction of digestive system." We hope to have it on the market by next week.

The also lovely Sean Kelly.

WQHS: How did you guys meet? How did you develop that palpable on-air chemistry?

Meredith: Sean and I were on the same hall in the quad our freshman year. A lot of mice died in my room and I would call him to come pick them up and throw them out. It was a very healthy relationship.

Sean: Healthy for our friendship, but not for my body. I contracted four different versions of rabies. Thankfully, Meredith was very understanding. Even when foam was pouring from my mouth she'd say supportive things like "man, that's awkward." After I threw up a kidney and she told me "suck it up," I knew we'd be great friends for a long time.

WQHS: You're really, really good at interviewing bands. Any favorite interviews?

Meredith: Thanks, sista. My favorite was Jon Gutwillig. It was my first interview and, at the time, he was my favorite guitarist of my favorite band. The interview was supposed to last for 20 minutes but it went on for over an hour. We discussed everything from gypsies to Bin Laden's dance grooves.

Sean: I once interviewed former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. It was a pivotal moment of my life. I mean, she was a sock puppet, and it was on my own hand, but she was extremely candid and surprisingly charming.

WQHS: The Disco Biscuits seem to love you. All bands actually seem to love you , guys. What makes them come back for more? What advice can you give to people who want to interview lots of famous rock stars like you?

Meredith: I tend to become friends with the bands I interview, and that has led to making friends with other bands - which has led to more interviews (and more free concert tickets - yusss.) Sean and I actually just scheduled an interview with The String Cheese Incident. Yeah, boy. Advice for those who want to interview stars: JUST ASK THEM. Honestly, these bands want free positive press, especially if they're going to be playing shows in your city.

Sean: If they pass, don't be afraid to take matters into your own hands. Unmarked vans and chloroform are vital tools in the entertainment industry. Also make sure you mention the babes. Seriously, where do you guys keep them? Is it like a scavenger hunt or something?

Congratulations Crazian Canadians,
Phil Law & Doug Ross!

Phil Law and Doug Ross, the best Canadians around, invade WQHS's airwaves for the best tunes Canada and 'chill indie rock' have to offer. Mikaela Pedlow sat down with these outrageous personalities to find out all about their show, music tastes, and the drunken night when it all began.

Phil (left) and Doug (right) of the Crazian Canadians strike a pose.

WQHS: Tell us a little about your show.

Phil: Can we first talk about the award? So the award in itself...when we first joined WQHS, and we first logged onto the site, that very first time, when we saw those two beaming smiles of most recent DJs of the fortnight...that's when we knew. That's when we set our sights on it and it's been a year and a half, no, a year-long process but we finally attained our goal. They say the longer you wait the sweeter it is and it's absolutely true.

Doug: That's true, and I mean we're the most recent people since then, so it took us a year to get here but really it only took one try. I think we're naturally talented in this sort of thing...I don't know, I think the foreign roots sort of does help I mean coming from somewhere else and giving a different perspective is what I think our listeners admire about us.

WQHS: Tell us about your roots and Canadian perspective at Penn.

Phil: Okay, so we met because we were both drunk...one of us was drunk...this was like way back in NSO.

Doug: First night of NSO.

Phil: Yeah, first night of NSO. So, I was with a Canadian girl and funny enough the Canadian girl knew Doug--knew of Doug, a lot about him--and that's how we met. So we developed a Canadian posse, at one point we had...there was Malcolm, BrookeÉthere were 5 or 6, 4 or 5 solid Canadians and we hung out a lot during NSO.

Doug: But I mean, when he says solid Canadians he means all Canadians because all Canadians are solid...

Phil: Yeah exactly. So anyways, when I say I'm from Canada and they say 'oh do you know Jamie Besant or Adam Levy...of course we do, all the Canadians know each other because we stick together, because we're such solid people. So that's kind of where the root was. I think as we've been here for a year, we've become a lot more patriotic I would say...

WQHS: How do you incorporate Canada in your show? What sort of Canadian music do you play?

Phil: It's an expression of ourselves.

Doug: I think a really good example is I recently discovered this band called the Rural Alberta Advantage. Phil's from rural Alberta and it just speaks straight from his roots: you listen to the lyrics and it's like Phil could be writing this song... and then I have a band which we listen to called Pilot. I feel like the music is generically good and everyone could enjoy it.

Phil: And when you listen to our first song, our "Oh Canada" remix by Classified, there's so many Canadian allusions...is that the right word?

Doug: Yeah right word.

The party never stops when the Canadians are in the house.

Phil: And it's just a very cultural thing. It's a factor of being away from home, and of course you know we love Penn, and we enjoy our friends here but there's nothing like home.

Doug: There's nothing like home.

Phil: In terms of coming up with the show, Doug actually found it and I don't know what his thought process was but I think he knew from the beginning that it was going to be a Canadian duo because that's inherently a big part of who we are.

WQHS: What about your DJ names?

Doug: So I'm DJ Full Mounty and Phil's DJ Alberta Furtrapper and we don't really go by anything else once we're in the studio. Whenever we have guests come on air they have to come up with their own Canadian DJ names (DJ Vancougar, DJ Slapshot). Our two particular names came from How I Met Your Mother. There's an episode where they're talking about Canadian sex positions, and they start throwing out Canadian sex positions and DJ Alberta Furtrapper and DJ Full Mounty are two of the sex positions...and so we just took it and ran...

Phil: Uh yeah, I don't think either of us have tried them.

Doug: Not yet, not yet...it's something that we need, I think, a couple more years to perfect and then we'll pull it out one day...something we aspire to again.

WQHS: What are your general music tastes? Favourite artists?

Phil: Yeah, [our music taste] is very different and we've converged a little bit...or rather I've converged to DJ Full Mounty's preferences because my preferences were clearly exclusive to me...

Doug: So, can I give you a good story, this is perfect. DJ Alberta Furtrapper's favourite band is Nickleback, if not favourite, one of his favourites and uh, I have...no, I despise Nickelback.

Phil: But background, background...so, I love Nickelback, but the background is they grew up like an hour and a half from where I'm from and so there's a little bit of that home connection too.

Doug: We put it on the show one day and I'm like Phil we cannot play this, I refuse and he's like Doug, just this once, I promise, just this once ...we lost 50 % of our listeners as soon as we put on Nickelback. Ever since that day we've banned Nickelback from our show.

Phil: So I don't think I've played Nickelback since then and after that I was gun-shy and I just let DJ Full mounty choose all the songs...we've kind of been experimenting a bit, it's pretty diverse but...I don't know what genre you'd call it, alternative rock? Almost, maybe?

Doug: Chill indie rock...something like that, but we're not extremely indie types of people, we're not hipsters through and through, so can't really pull that off either.

WQHS: What are some of the craziest requests or guest performances you've had?

Doug: One of my favourite things is we've had random people talk or connect with us. I had someone facebook message me and be like: look I'm a guy from Toronto, I'm the drummer for this band that's living in NY, would you please play our music. DJ Alberta Furtrapper got another one...

Phil: We got an email from a guy in NY whose band was called Food Will Win the War... he basically emailed us and said do you have an address so I can send you something and sure enough three or four days later after I replied and sent him my address he sent us his CD in the mail and we were just like shocked because occasionally there'll be some like random person who neither of us have ties to that hears about us some way or another, and you know...wants to be exposed, because of our large listenership.

Phil: Occasionally we've had a couple guest appearances, when one of us will do the show. They've been fun just to mix it up...we've had the two Canadians in that one time, we had a South African a couple times. That was interesting because he loves house music and it was a different kind of show. The station's fun as well, that was a big reason that we did it, just to get away from campus for a bit and focus on something else.

Doug: Because we both went different directions after freshman year, it was basically a really good way for us to stay connected and spend a couple hours with each other every week no matter what.

Stay Tuned for the Triumphant Return of the Crazian Canadians and their Radio Show, Spring 2011.

DJ of the Fortnight: 2009 - 2010

Congratulations, Phil Rocco and Lauren Mancuso

Their iridescent and undeniable on-air chemistry.

Phil and Lauren's the kitchen sink is keeping it real every Wednesday from 10 am to 12 pm. Tune in for everything from super creative playlist titles to impersonations of sloths making love. WQHS got to sit down (more like, electronically correspond) with both Phil and Lauren to learn a bit more about them and their show.

WQHS: Just so our Program Director can sleep at night, what is your blood type?

Phil: Just stayin O Posi!!!!!!

Lauren: What I can tell you is that I'm hot blooded. Check it and see. I've got a fever of a hundred and three. What's that? I shouldn't try to answer all of these questions with Foreigner lyrics? This feels like the first time anyone ever has?

WQHS: If you could be any part of Thom Yorke's body, which one would you be and why?

Phil: The part of his brain that allows him to make out with his pillow.

Lauren: His secondary auditory cortex. Why not?

WQHS: Picture yourself in the middle of a meadow, there is fresh snow covering the grass but it is slowly melting and your mother is showing you how to eat the good blades of grass. All of a sudden a hunter comes and shoots your mother and you are left all alone. What do you do? Who do you turn to for help? What music do you think could get you through the day?

Phil: A.) Convince the hunter's wife to go back to art school. B.) Friendly diner waitresses (by which I mean all diner waitresses in Dallas, TX). C.) John Cale singing into a wind tunnel accompanied by Ry Cooder on a slide guitar (pre-recorded).

Lauren: I close my eyes. The Breeders' version of 'Happiness Is A Warm Gun' begins to play. My thoughts race. Finally cool and collected, I open my eyes. The song continues to play. Nicholas Cage hands me a shotgun. End scene.

WQHS: So your show's called 'the kitchen sink'. Any particular affinity to kitchen sinks? What's in the name? (we like the no caps)

Phil: The kitchen sink (tm) is actually a reference to the last recorded words of Chester Arthur Burnett (alias Howlin' Wolf).

Lauren: We'd like to think that you're getting everything but 'the kitchen sink'. This may include on air impersonations of sloths making love, free dinners for two at the Chuck Wagon if the station phone works and you're our lucky caller, or Shel Silverstein singing about quaaludes.

WQHS: Everyone really, really enjoys your show. Really. What color underwear do you have on and if your underwear could be any band, which one do you think it would be?

Phil: First off, thanks. Second, black. Third, Big Star.

Lauren: They are white with royal blue stripes and look like they belong to an 8-year-old boy. I do not have underwear synaesthesia, but every time I imagine them, the Bats play.

DJ of the Fortnight, Summer 2011All Fired Up DJs Tiffany Ortiz & Tanya Bogin