WCDB is a college

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

located at The University at Albany in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York Cit ...

. WCDB currently broadcasts at 90.9 FM with a signal covering the Capital District and reaching parts of Western Massachusetts. The station is staffed completely by students and student alumni, operating on a 24/7 schedule. WCDB's programming includes a wide range of alternative music programs. The station is available worldwide via streaming on their website.

History as WSUA

The first traces of campus radio activity at the Albany campus appeared in the 1940s when the University Radio Council was formed. This organization made initial plans for the creation of a campus station tentatively called WCFA (College For Teachers, UAlbany's first incarnation) and WSCA. In 1962, the college became a University in the State University of New York system. WSUA debuted on February 22, 1963 as a "carrier current" AM radio station, with the broadcast transmissions propagated via and confined to the electrical wiring of the college campus. The frequency was 640 kHz. At the time, a school newspaper account specified the station's power at eight watts. WSUA was located in a janitor's closet in Brubacher Hall in what is today called the "Downtown campus." At the time, the format consisted of news, sports and music in the jazz, classical and Broadway vein. A Top 40 format was later adopted. In the mid 1960s, WSUA upgraded their studio space to the basement of Brubacher Hall, where space for more studios and record storage was available. Around this time, the station's carrier current signal was initiated at the new "Uptown" campus. The electrical wires used to carry the signal often imparted a buzzing sound on the transmission. In 1975, the station began to use the slogan "Buzz Along With Us" on some promotional items to acknowledge this fact. A more progressive type of rock music format was introduced in 1968 and would later become the dominant format, displacing the Top 40 music. At the same time, WSUA began sports coverage of the Great Danes basketball and football teams. The station also featured a daily news digest called Earwitness News beginning in 1973. By mandate of the Student Association, the station was required to use this specific ID for its top of the hour announcement: "WSUA Albany, subsidized completely by student tax paid to the Student Association of the State University of New York at Albany.

History as WCDB

WCDB moved from the AM dial on to the FM dial on March 1, 1978 with the song " Born To Run" by

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...

. The station operated with 10 watts of power in FM stereo. In 1981 the State University of New York submitted to the FCC an application to increase the station's transmitter power to 100 watts, which was approved on March 1, 1982. The first song played at the new higher power was "Rock and Roll" by the

Velvet Underground Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...

. In March 2012, the WCDB 34th Anniversary Music Festival and Alumni Reunion was held at Valentine's Music Hall in Albany. The Festival featured over 15 bands, including

Titus Andronicus ''Titus Andronicus'' is a tragedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593, probably in collaboration with George Peele. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy and is often seen as his attempt to emul ...

Avi Buffalo Avi Buffalo (born Avigdor Benyamin Zahner-Isenberg, November 5, 1990) is an American musician, songwriter, and producer. Career Avi Buffalo's self-titled debut album was released on April 27, 2010, and was given positive reviews by '' The A.V. Cl ...

, and

Brian Dewan Brian Dewan (born 14 June 1963) is an American multi-media artist, who produces music, audio-visual performances, decorative painting, furniture, poetry, filmstrips, illustrations, and musical instruments. He has released three albums of song ...

Notable alumni

* Brian Lehrer - CUNY TV

Live music performances

WCDB has hosted numerous on-air band performances over the years. Notable performances include:

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhyt ...

(1979);

Television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

(1979);

Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, f ...

(1984);

Fugazi Fugazi (; ) is an American post-hardcore band that formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They are noted for their sty ...

(1993); Cymbals Eat Guitars (2010);

The Music Tapes The Music Tapes is an experimental pop music and performance art project of Elephant 6 member Julian Koster (also of Neutral Milk Hotel). The Music Tapes is characterized by unusual orchestrations (such as singing saw and bowed banjo), the use ...

(2010);

Wye Oak The Wye Oak was the largest white oak tree in the United States and the State Tree of Maryland from 1941 until its demise in 2002. Wye Oak State Park preserves the site where the revered tree stood for more than 400 years in the town of Wye Mi ...

(2011);

Colour Revolt Colour Revolt is an American rock band from Oxford, Mississippi. History Colour Revolt's members first played together while they were high school students at Jackson Academy in Jackson, MS under the name Foxxe, then changing to Fletcher and r ...

(2011);

(2012).

References

External links

*
The WCDB Historical SocietyWCDB Sports blogThe Kitchen (WCDB 80s Show blog)WCDBlog
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wcdb CDB CDB Radio stations established in 1978