By Josh Hughes
On June 3, Make.Shift Art Space will be hosting the grand opening for KZAX 94.9 FM, Make.Shift’s own brand new radio station. This will be the first large scale event to publicize the station since its official inception in August 2016. Similar to Western’s own KUGS 89.3 FM, KZAX intends to showcase underrepresented viewpoints and reach out to an audience eager to hear locally created and curated music and news content.
The grand opening starts at 6 p.m., with a lineup that consists of Cat Valley, Sir Coyler & His Asthmatic Band, Mhostly Ghostly, Step Dads, Nodalus and Southlvnder. In addition to the musical lineup, the event will include a photobooth and face painting. Admission for the all-ages event ranges from $6 to $10, and there will be additional pop up tents such as a toast bar from Morning Jam.
Make.Shift started KZAX last year with the intention of highlighting Bellingham’s vibrant local scene, so booking a slew of some of the up-and-coming names from around town only makes sense for their opening event. Step Dads and Mhostly Ghostly competed in last month’s Sounds of the Underground hosted by Western, and both bands have played on campus numerous times before. Step Dads write and perform music indebted to Mac Demarco and similar upbeat guitar outfits, whereas Mhostly Ghostly fall under an elusive realm of psychedelic prog rock, post rock and garage punk.
Cat Valley, another band that has performed on campus at the Underground before, performs folk music that very much takes inspiration from nothing other than, well, cats. Led by Abby Hegge and Whitney Finn, their quirky singer/songwriter blend showcases the exact type of unique sound that KZAX and Make.Shift intend to spread throughout Bellingham.
Nodalus, on the other side of the spectrum, makes instrumental hip-hop beats, and Southlvnder, aka Alex Sutherland, makes dark, atmospheric dance music, and has been a regular opener at the Wild Buffalo.
Lastly, Sir Coyler & His Asthmatic Band, a good contender for best band name in Washington, are a three piece punk outfit from Seattle that self describes their sound as “primitive-but-crisp.”
The KZAX grand opening lineup is important because it showcases the breadth that the station has to offer, and the local talent that it hopes to represent. Since the station is still less than a year old, programming is not yet 24/7, but the schedule can be found online through their website at http://makeshiftproject.com/kzax-949-radio/. The station is also looking for volunteers to help fill the airwaves and preview music, as well as submissions from local bands. Any additional information can be found on the station’s website, which currently exists as a subpage of Make.Shift’s website.
Come out to 306 Flora Street this coming Saturday to take a break from studying for finals and celebrate one of your local community radio stations!