WZRD
Encyclopedia
WZRD is a student radio station
licensed to Chicago, Illinois, USA, founded in 1974. The station serves the Chicago area. The station is currently owned by Northeastern Illinois University
. WZRD broadcasts on a Freeform radio format.
(FCC) regulations). It would not be unheard of to hear Tibetan Buddhist chants, early 1980s punk rock, eclectic mixes, a spoken word piece and public service announcements in succession.
WZRD has hosted live in-studio performances over the years including Smashing Pumpkins, Screeching Weasel
, Rapeman
, Les Claypool
, Naked Raygun
, and many other artists that played and continue to play in-studio during WZRD's "Thursday Night Live" program—a long running weekly live performance show featuring local, national, and international acts.
, and other local punk bands, WZRD was one of the first and most persistent stations to play heavily punk influenced playlists.
Steve Bjorklund
, an early figure in Chicago's punk scene writes in the liner notes of The Effigies
album "Remains Nonviewable":
Prominent figure in Chicago music, Steve Albini
, states in Naked Raygun
's Basement Screams
reissue's liner notes that "Sunday Morning Nightmare" on WZRD was the "one radio program" for Chicago punk in the early 1980s. WZRD's role in the Chicago Punk scene was discussed in You Weren't There, a 2007 film that documents the Chicago Punk scene from 1977 through 1984.
On June 30th of 2011, WZRD hosted a Benefit for Japan from 4 PM-10 PM featuring Ono, Andy Ortmann, Sharkula, DJ Earl and DJ Spinn with dancing by Juke Chicago, all proceeds benefited Green Action Japan. In 2011,on September 27, 2011 at 1:00 PM WZRD Chicago 88.3 FM presented Cindy Sheehan, the famous peace activist known as "The Rosa Parks of the anti-war movement," in a lecture "The Peace Movement in 2012: Hopes and Prospects." The prelude to the event was performed by Mark Kroos, who was awarded the title "Best Guitar Player of 2011." This event was co-sponsored by the NEIU Justice Studies Department, the Sociology Club, and the Muslim Student Association and food provided by Merla's Kitchen.
WZRD also hosted an AIDS Awareness/Prevention Event that began with a ramp up event of Hula Hoops with Jane Albright and Cindy Huston as well as the Windy City Wizard, Emmett Miller on Friday, October 14, 2011 from 12 noon -2:00 PM. The Aids Awareness/Prevention Event occurred on Sunday, October 16th from 12:30-3:00 PM featured performances by the Stick and Move Dance Crew, and Francois LeRoux, aka the Ha!man of South Africa. Speakers for the event included Dr. Brett Stockdill of the NEIU Sociology, Latino/Latin American Studies and the Women's Studies Departments with Arick Buckles of the Illinois Alliance for Sound AIDS Policy (IL ASAP). This event was co-sponsored by the Theta Chi Omega National Sorority, the Independent Newspaper, Seeds Literary Journal, the NEIU Hip Hop Club, the Justice Studies Club, the Sociology Club, Theta Omega Phi Fraternity with food provided by Bacci's Pizzeria.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
licensed to Chicago, Illinois, USA, founded in 1974. The station serves the Chicago area. The station is currently owned by Northeastern Illinois University
Northeastern Illinois University
Northeastern Illinois University is a public state university located in Chicago, Illinois. The main campus is located in the community area of North Park with three additional campuses in the metropolitan area. Tracing its founding to 1867, it was first established as a separate branch of a...
. WZRD broadcasts on a Freeform radio format.
Programming
Unlike other formats, WZRD's freeform is no restriction on what's playable on air (save Federal Communications CommissionFederal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) regulations). It would not be unheard of to hear Tibetan Buddhist chants, early 1980s punk rock, eclectic mixes, a spoken word piece and public service announcements in succession.
"Different genres of music, spoken word, and sound effects are played side-by-side in a way that usually flows rather than jars. With a library of rare recordings that includes 15,000 records and another 15,000 CDs, cassettes, and reel-to-reels, there’s no telling what you’ll hear. 'We always say if you don’t like what you hear right now, turn us on again in five minutes and you’ll hear something completely different,' says former Program Director Dan Demchuk." - Cara Jepsen, Illinois Entertainer
- Unlike most radio stations, the individual DJs are not identified by name, solely as "Wizards".
- WZRD accepts no outside funding. Its operating budget is provided in full by Northeastern Illinois UniversityNortheastern Illinois UniversityNortheastern Illinois University is a public state university located in Chicago, Illinois. The main campus is located in the community area of North Park with three additional campuses in the metropolitan area. Tracing its founding to 1867, it was first established as a separate branch of a...
. - The station is also an affiliate of the Pacifica radio networkPacifica RadioPacifica Radio is the oldest public radio network in the United States. It is a group of five independently operated, non-commercial, listener-supported radio stations that is known for its progressive/liberal political orientation. It is also a program service supplying over 100 affiliated...
. It broadcasts Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
and Free Speech Radio NewsFree Speech Radio NewsFree Speech Radio News is an independently produced half hour daily national and international radio news program focusing on peace and social justice issues in the US and around the world. FSRN is collectively run by its workers and reporters...
.
Live performances
WZRD has a close relationship with the local music scene in that it often gives away tickets to various shows and festivals and throughout the years has produced live events at The Metro, The Abby Pub and The Empty Bottle, to name a few venues. WZRD's "Thursday Night Live" show features local acts of all types of music, but live sets have often been performed on WZRD at all hours and days of the week.WZRD has hosted live in-studio performances over the years including Smashing Pumpkins, Screeching Weasel
Screeching Weasel
Screeching Weasel is an American punk rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1986 by Ben Weasel and John Jughead.Since their formation, Screeching Weasel have broken up and reformed numerous times with numerous line-up changes. Ben Weasel has been the only constant...
, Rapeman
Rapeman
Rapeman was an American post-hardcore/noise rock group founded in 1987 and disbanded in 1989. It consisted of Steve Albini on guitar and vocals, David Wm. Sims on bass, and Rey Washam on drums.-History:In an interview, Albini reported that "'Rapeman' is .....
, Les Claypool
Les Claypool
Leslie Edward "Les" Claypool is an American musician and writer, best known as the lead vocalist and bassist in the band Primus. Claypool's playing style on the electric bass mixes tapping, flamenco-like strumming, whammy bar bends and slapping.Claypool has also self produced and engineered his...
, Naked Raygun
Naked Raygun
Naked Raygun is a Chicago-based punk rock group. Initially active from 1980 to about 1992, Naked Raygun had several short-lived reunions afterwards and a full-time reformation in 2006....
, and many other artists that played and continue to play in-studio during WZRD's "Thursday Night Live" program—a long running weekly live performance show featuring local, national, and international acts.
Importance in the Chicago Punk scene (1980s)
WZRD was a hotbed for local and touring punk, hardcore, and post-punk groups in the 1980s. With its consistent live in-studio performances, and having hosted shows at Metro and other venues with Effigies, Naked RaygunNaked Raygun
Naked Raygun is a Chicago-based punk rock group. Initially active from 1980 to about 1992, Naked Raygun had several short-lived reunions afterwards and a full-time reformation in 2006....
, and other local punk bands, WZRD was one of the first and most persistent stations to play heavily punk influenced playlists.
Steve Bjorklund
Steve Bjorklund
Steve Bjorklund a/k/a Steve Björklund a/k/a Steffan Bjorklund was born ca. 1960 in Chicago, Illinois. He was an early figure in the first punk rock music scene in Chicago. He briefly attended Roycemore School in Evanston, Illinois...
, an early figure in Chicago's punk scene writes in the liner notes of The Effigies
The Effigies
The Effigies is an early post-hardcore group from Chicago. The band, first formed in 1980, was active for approximately a decade, undergoing multiple personnel changes, with frontman John Kezdy the only constant, before disbanding in 1990 . The band released 5 LPs and several EPs, most on...
album "Remains Nonviewable":
It was the early spring of 1980, and the occasion was a free show by a shitty band called A Minimal Graphic in the auditorium at Northeastern Illinois University on the northwest side. Northeastern Illinois University was significant because it housed the only radio station in Chicago that wasn't afraid to play punk rock.
Prominent figure in Chicago music, Steve Albini
Steve Albini
Steven Frank Albini is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour, and is currently a member of Shellac...
, states in Naked Raygun
Naked Raygun
Naked Raygun is a Chicago-based punk rock group. Initially active from 1980 to about 1992, Naked Raygun had several short-lived reunions afterwards and a full-time reformation in 2006....
's Basement Screams
Basement Screams
Basement Screams was a six song EP and the debut release by Chicago punk band Naked Raygun, released on Ruthless Records in 1983. Quarterstick Records reissued the EP in 1999, and added the street version of "I Lie" and the 222 S. Morgan St. sessions as bonus material. The 1982 Morgan St...
reissue's liner notes that "Sunday Morning Nightmare" on WZRD was the "one radio program" for Chicago punk in the early 1980s. WZRD's role in the Chicago Punk scene was discussed in You Weren't There, a 2007 film that documents the Chicago Punk scene from 1977 through 1984.
On June 30th of 2011, WZRD hosted a Benefit for Japan from 4 PM-10 PM featuring Ono, Andy Ortmann, Sharkula, DJ Earl and DJ Spinn with dancing by Juke Chicago, all proceeds benefited Green Action Japan. In 2011,on September 27, 2011 at 1:00 PM WZRD Chicago 88.3 FM presented Cindy Sheehan, the famous peace activist known as "The Rosa Parks of the anti-war movement," in a lecture "The Peace Movement in 2012: Hopes and Prospects." The prelude to the event was performed by Mark Kroos, who was awarded the title "Best Guitar Player of 2011." This event was co-sponsored by the NEIU Justice Studies Department, the Sociology Club, and the Muslim Student Association and food provided by Merla's Kitchen.
WZRD also hosted an AIDS Awareness/Prevention Event that began with a ramp up event of Hula Hoops with Jane Albright and Cindy Huston as well as the Windy City Wizard, Emmett Miller on Friday, October 14, 2011 from 12 noon -2:00 PM. The Aids Awareness/Prevention Event occurred on Sunday, October 16th from 12:30-3:00 PM featured performances by the Stick and Move Dance Crew, and Francois LeRoux, aka the Ha!man of South Africa. Speakers for the event included Dr. Brett Stockdill of the NEIU Sociology, Latino/Latin American Studies and the Women's Studies Departments with Arick Buckles of the Illinois Alliance for Sound AIDS Policy (IL ASAP). This event was co-sponsored by the Theta Chi Omega National Sorority, the Independent Newspaper, Seeds Literary Journal, the NEIU Hip Hop Club, the Justice Studies Club, the Sociology Club, Theta Omega Phi Fraternity with food provided by Bacci's Pizzeria.