Green River College’s pioneering radio station celebrates 30 years of ‘Today’s Rock’

Format has kept listeners in tune to campus’ 89.9 KGRG-FM

April 24, 2019 2:30 pm
Green River College student Natalie Holcomb, right, cues up the next song in the KGRG-FM studio, with Chris Wilson, a student and the radio station’s assistant program director, monitoring the sound. Holcomb, who is finishing her time at the college, has worked part-time in the promotion department at the local Entercom Radio stations (KISW, KNDD, Hot 103.7, The Wolf, 94.1 The Sound). COURTESY PHOTO, KGRG-FM

Green River College radio station 89.9 KGRG-FM celebrates the 30th anniversary of its “Today’s Rock” format with a month-long bash on-air and online.

The celebration continues with the station hosting Alumni Week, April 29-May 3, with daily DJs featuring more than 15 alumni who work professionally in the radio industry today.

Scheduled to visit are: Bob Rivers, a Seattle radio veteran turned GRC instructor; Julie Pilat, formerly of KIIS-FM/Los Angeles and now at Apple Music; Curtis Rogers of 710 ESPN/Seattle; Matt “Slickhawk” Mikolas of 950 KJR,/Seattle; “Ryder” of 98.9 “The Bull”/Seattle; Bob “DJ No Name” Van Dyne, formerly of KNDD/Seattle; and others.

The anniversary celebration continues with an all-ages rock concert on Friday, May 10, headlined by rising Northwest rock stars “The Home Team.” The concert begins at 7 p.m. at the college, 12401 SE 320th St., Auburn.

An on-campus fundraising car bash for the radio station is set for June 4.

The radio station, run exclusively by students since 1989, has helped launch the careers of major artists and professional radio broadcasters over four decades. The rock music station provided heavy, early airplay for such Northwest bands as Nirvana, Presidents of the USA, MxPx, Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie, and My Chemical Romance before they gained national and worldwide status.

“Literally hundreds of KGRG-FM students have moved to professional broadcasting careers in Seattle-Tacoma, the Pacific Northwest, (Los Angeles), Houston and around the country,” said Tom Evans Krause, director of broadcast operations. “The Green River students who made KGRG-FM their college home have been phenomenal over the years. It’s been a privilege to be associated with them.”

Charlie Harger was a student news director and program director for KGRG-FM before going pro. Today, the recent Edward R. Murrow Award winner and Emmy-nominated man is a principal reporter/anchor for KOMO-AM & FM/Seattle-Tacoma.

“I wouldn’t be a journalist if it wasn’t for KGRG-FM,” he said.

Harger, a principal reporter/anchor for KOMO-AM & FM/Seattle-Tacoma, has also been nominated for an Emmy.

KGRG-FM, a non-commercial new rock music station, was originally licensed in 1974 under a different format. It operates daily and broadcasts in HD at 89.9 FM in South King County and 89.3 in Pierce County.

It has been nominated many times for national College Radio Station of the Year honors t is available via streaming at kgrg.com and through the KGRG-FM free downloadable app at iTunes or GooglePlay.

Natalie Holcomb at the mic. COURTESY PHOTO, KGRG-FM

Natalie Holcomb at the mic. COURTESY PHOTO, KGRG-FM