KUCI (88.9
FM) is a
student-run college radio station
Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting 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 rad ...
licensed to the
University of California, Irvine
The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...
in
Irvine, California
Irvine () is a Planned community, planned city in central Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was named in 1888 for the landowner James Irvine. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the ...
.
The station is owned by the
Regents of the University of California
The Regents of the University of California (also referred to as the Board of Regents to distinguish the board from the corporation it governs of the same name) is the governing board of the University of California (UC), a state university sys ...
.
KUCI broadcasts a
free-form format. Besides Irvine, the station serves
Santa Ana,
Newport Beach
Newport Beach is a coastal city of about 85,000 in southern Orange County, California, United States. Located about southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Newport Beach is known for its sandy beaches. The city's harbor once supported maritime indu ...
, and other parts of
Orange County in
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...
.
Located near the university's Science Library and the Humanities Interim Classroom Facility, KUCI is the county's only independent radio station.
Background
Originally a student-run
pirate radio
Pirate radio is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license, whether an invalid license or no license at all. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are rec ...
station in 1968 only reaching a few miles from the UCI campus, KUCI broadcast taped music from a dormitory on campus. The tapes were made by Richard Privette, and the broadcast equipment was assembled by an engineering student named Craig Will. Shortly after, there was a nightly live music and talk show called ''Unreal Radio'', with Lee Sailer and Zack Zenor, from Sailer's dormitory room.
KUCI became legal after it was forced to officially register with the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...
(FCC) following a crack-down on illegal radio broadcasts in 1969. The legalization of the station was undertaken by Craig Will. 1969 was the first year that KUCI received funding from the
Associated Students of UCI (
ASUCI), which filed an application to register the station with the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...
. Will, unable to continue the process due to a wound from radiation testing and under the burden of his schoolwork, handed the project to Earl Arbuckle, who continued the work.
On October 16, 1969, the FCC granted KUCI Program Test Authority to broadcast on 89.9 MHz. The studio at the time was inside a small closet in the Physical Science Building. Evening-only broadcasts featured records from the
disc jockey
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...
's own collection. The first song ever played on KUCI was "
Sugar, Sugar
"Sugar, Sugar" is a song written by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim (singer), Andy Kim, produced by Barry and recorded by the Archies, a fictional bubblegum pop band from Archie Comics. It was released as the group's third single (music), single on th ...
" by
the Archies
The Archies are an American fictional rock band featured in media produced by, and related to, Archie Comics. They are best remembered for their appearance in the animated TV series '' The Archie Show''. In the context of the series, the band ...
.
In the spring of 1971, construction began on the third floor of UCI's Gateway Commons for studio and office space. By the fall of 1971, KUCI moved for the first time. At this time, the station's music library consisted of 400 records.
In January 1975, KUCI's management decided to establish a 24-hour schedule.
In 1981, KCRW, a station sharing the same frequency as KUCI, received permission from the FCC to relocate their antenna and boost their power. KUCI's signal was dampened to a few hundred yards. KUCI quickly applied for a new frequency, but the
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
lost the paperwork. After protests and petitions by staff, students, and community members, KUCI received permission to change their frequency to 88.9 fm, where it continues to broadcast. It shares this frequency with another low-power college station,
KXLU
KXLU (88.9 FM) is a radio station broadcasting out of Loyola Marymount University in southwest Los Angeles, California. It was first on the air in 1957, and in 2007, celebrated its 50th anniversary. It is a non-commercial college radio statio ...
, which broadcasts from
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. LMU enrolls over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, making it the largest Catholic university on the west coast of the ...
in
West Los Angeles, California
West Los Angeles is an area within the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. The residential and commercial neighborhood is divided by the Interstate 405 freeway, and each side is sometimes treated as a distinct neighborhood, mapped ...
.
Almost ten years later and after the filing of many applications, KUCI acquired the right to raise the power from 25 watts mono. On April 23, 1993, KUCI became a 200-watt stereo station and played "Sugar, Sugar" again to celebrate the event.
In 1993, UC Irvine's management was ready to tear down Gateway Common's walls for earthquake retrofitting. In the summer of 1994, KUCI moved its entire operations to the temporary building called Humanities Annex, home to the Center for Gender Education.
KUCI has benefited from its proximity to the Los Angeles music scene, with notable performances and visits from many up-and-coming artists such as
X,
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (musician), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of a ...
,
No Doubt
No Doubt is an American rock band formed in Anaheim, California in 1986. For most of its career, the band has consisted of vocalist and founding member Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal and drummer Adrian Young. Keyboar ...
,
Social Distortion
Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. It consists of Mike Ness (vocals, guitar), Jonny Wickersham (guitar), Brent Harding (bass), David Hidalgo Jr. (drums), and David Kalish (keyboards).
Emerg ...
,
Jack Johnson, and the
Dead Milkmen
The Dead Milkmen is an American punk rock band formed in 1983 in Philadelphia. Their original lineup consisted of vocalist and keyboardist Rodney Linderman ("Rodney Anonymous"), guitarist and vocalist Joe Genaro ("Joe Jack Talcum"), bassist Dav ...
.
KUCI airs an extensive schedule of the
UC Irvine Anteaters
The UC Irvine Anteaters are the athletic teams fielded by the University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine). Its athletics programs participate in the NCAA's Division I, as members of the Big West Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Feder ...
, including all of the men's basketball games and most of the women's basketball and baseball games.
See also
*
Campus radio
Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...
*
List of college radio stations in the United States
Following are radio stations in the United States of America affiliated with colleges and universities that are regarded as college (student-run) stations. The listings include links to Wikipedia pages on the stations, their parent institution ...
References
External links
*
*
{{California college radio
UCI
University of California, Irvine
Mass media in Orange County, California
UCI
Former pirate radio stations
Radio stations established in 1968