Born in 1975, KJHK has broadcast good (and sometimes ugly) sounds for 45 years, to the University of Kansas and the Lawrence area. Read a year-by-year account of the station and the music that made an impact.
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October 15, 1975
KJHK is born
KJHK is born, and goes on air October 15 at precisely 12:25 p.m. Five weeks earlier, a helicopter and the Kansas National Guard placed KJHK’s radio antenna behind Marvin Hall. KJHK was the first student-run radio station on campus, but not the first radio station. KFKU, KANU and KUOK preceded KJHK.
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1976
The Sound Alternative
Results from a door-to-door survey suggest that KJHK drop its Top-40 format. The station becomes “The Sound Alternative.”
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1977
Playing in stereo
The Student Senate bought KJHK stereo broadcast equipment for $9,068, giving listeners a more natural, holistic sound on 90.7 FM.
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1978
Practical jokes
A serious incident with the FCC. On October 5, a bored KJHK staffer wrote a fake wire report claiming Waterloo, Iowa, had been destroyed by a nuclear reactor explosion, killing around 15,000 people. The practical joke was tossed into a wastebasket around 3:30 p.m. However, another staffer found it and, believing it was authentic, read it on the 4:50 p.m. newscast. When several other stations picked up the story, Kansas City FCC investigators came to Lawrence the next morning, suspecting the bogus news item was the work of anti-nuclear activists.
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1979
Riding the new wave
DJ Steven Greenwood contributes to the format change from old rock to new wave. In a tribute of Greenwood, the music director and DJ is credited at the reason KJHK was one of the first stations in the Mid-west to play groups like the Buzzcocks.
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1980
Disco Baby
On April Fool’s Day, KJHK announces it is changing its format to “all disco,” playing the latest hits from Donna Summer and Gloria Gaynor. April Fool jokes similar to this persist through KJHK’s history, most recently in 2020 when the station played the hottest hits of the decade.
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1981
A cult following
KJHK continues to create an audience and following by supporting new and progressive bands. KJHK brought bands such as the Buzzcocks, Ultravox, the Go-Go’s, and the Boomtown Rats to Lawrence.
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1982
One of the greats
New York Rocker ranks the station as one of the best in college radio.
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1983
Time for Thrash
Thrash emerges out of Washington D.C. with bands such as Minor Threat and Black Flag. KJHK has a special program called the Monday Night Thrash Show.
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1984
REM interview
Bill Berry and Michael Stipe interview R.E.M at the Stauffer-Flint studio ahead of their concert at Hoch Auditorium on September 14.
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1985
The Outhouse
Jeff Hekmati and John Chaney, KJHK staffers, help organize the Outhouse venue, where KJHK starts presenting shows in August of that year.
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1986
Recognizing the locals
Spin magazine honors KJHK for “developing and promoting” local alternative music with the Outhouse and by playing local music. Sonic Youth released EVOL.
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1987
We got the power
KJHK is granted a power increase to 100 watts. KJHK is using the same transmitter today!
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1988
Take out the Thrash
KJHK plays more Top 40 tunes to broaden its audience after an independent study suggests the change in format. However, this results in a campus protest and many angry letters to the Kansan. The format change along with FCC violations, leads to a brief stint of non-student management. KJHK members protested heavily. (Be on the lookout for a mini-doc about this in the coming weeks).
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1989
Not a student-run radio
Journalism faculty takes control of KJHK to improve the station’s compliance with federal regulations, briefly ending student-led operations in June of that year. At student outrage and protests, control was finally given back to the students, where it has stayed since.
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1990
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1991
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1992
Pearl Jam and controversy
A debate between anti-gay activist Fred Phelps and gay leaders is aired, KJHK never shied away from controversy. KJHK did not help sponsor the infamous Pearl Jam concert on the Hill on May 2, but it was a big event in Lawrence music history.
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1993
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1994
Web pioneers
On December 3, the station became the first in the nation to broadcast a live, 24-hour signal on the internet. This was also the first year KJHK hosted Farmer’s Ball, a now decades long battle of the bands competition.
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1995
90.7 The Hawk
Because “alternative” currently meant Top 40, KJHK changes its tagline to “The Hawk.”
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1996
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1997
Bye Bye Outhouse
The Outhouse shuts down, bringing an end to one of Lawrence’s most notorious alternative music venues.
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1998
We got MORE power
The station signal increases to 2600 watts.
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1999
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2000
Returning to weird
The tagline reverts back to “The Sound Alternative.”
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2001
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2002
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2003
Continuing special programming
Programs for Fall 2003 include SuperDisco Galactica, Lawnchair Review, Heart of Asia, Obscured by Beats, Endless Raga and more. Through the years KJHK DJs have both revived old shows and created brand new special programming. This creativity is in part what makes the "Sound Alternative" so unique.
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2004
Union saves KJHK
KU Memorial Unions takes on responsibility for KJHK from the School of Journalism. Without its funding and support, KJHK likely would have faded away. KJHK removes the School of Journalism from its website and replaces it with the KU Memorial Unions.
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2005
Dirty 30
KJHK unveils archived and near-real-time playlist info online at kjhk.org. The station also celebrates its 30th anniversary with concerts at the Granada.
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2006
Tower damage
In March, KJHK goes off air for a few days after the radio tower was knocked down in a strong storm.
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2007
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2008
Sweeps!
KJHK staff members win 11 awards, including seven first-place honors, at the annual Kansas Association of Broadcasters ceremony. KJHK has received awards at the state almost every year. Just look at that table; it's about to fold under the weight of all those plaques!
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2009
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2010
Moving from the Shack
The station moves from the Shack to the Union on May 6, and the City of Lawrence declares May 7 KJHK Day. Many feared this move would be the death of free spirit and creation at KJHK, but the past 10 years speak otherwise.
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2011
National recognition
A Princeton Review release ranks KJHK as the 15th-best college radio station in the nation in August. And the Washington Post recognizes KJHK in their listing of “10 Great College Radio Stations” on Oct. 13.
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2012
KJHK bit my finger
KJHK's YouTube channel is born. KJHK still posts in-studios and other videos to the channel. Frank Ocean released Channel Orange, a deeply personal album that was the coronation for one of the decade’s most vital queer voices.
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2013
What a season of shows
KJHK and SUA present Bad Rabbits (May 10), HAIM (October 13), and Chance the Rapper (November 10) in concert. The station also launched its iPhone app which even today allows users to stream KJHK in real time and view logged tracks.
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2014
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2015
In a poll, KJHK listeners voted Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly the best album of 2015. Other albums on the top 10 include: Tame Impala's Currents, Carrie and Lowel from Sufjan Stevens, Depression Cherry from Beach House and Courtney Barnett's Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit.
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2017
Battle of the Beats
KJHK hosts the first ever Battle of the Beats, an amateur DJ/mixing contest at the Bottleneck on February 26.
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2016
Final construction of studio 366
KJHK finishes construction on studio 366 over winter break of 2016.
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2018
Live events management
Denzel Curry performs at the Granada (April 20) and Action Bronson cancels his October 25th show, 5 hours before doors opened. Live events directors almost ripped their hair out, but made it through.
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2019
Hip shows
KJHK finds hip-hop artists crowd favorites in Lawrence. Action Bronson rescheduled performance to February 28, Injury Reserve played October 5, and Rico Nasty wowed Lawrence on November 22.
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2020
Nothing can stop the Sound Alternative
KJHK continued to broadcast remotely 24/7, 365 through a global pandemic, a software change, and campus closures. This little station has made it through a lot, and thanks its devoted listeners, fans and alumni for keeping the records spinning. Oh, and KJHK turned 45 this year. Here’s to (almost) half a century of awesomeness.
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Across The Pond
Lily Rasmussen Name, grade, position at KJHK? I'm Lily, a sophomore speech-language-hearing major, and I'm the DJ for the Across the Pond program, a show that deals with international music of any genre. Tell us about your show? I really wanted to be able to do this specific show, as I'm super interested in learning more about the musical histories of other countries, and I've been trying to broaden my music taste beyond the US and Europe for a few years […]
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Alumni Hour
Sam Blaufuss Grade, position at KJHK? Senior, special program DJ (Alumni Hour) and content staff Tell us about your show? KJHK has a rich and dedicated group of alumni. On Alumni Hour, we bring in one former KJHK DJ a week and listen to some significant songs they would have played and the stories behind them. It’s a nice, chilled-out show where you just get to hear about Lawrence’s storied history scene straight from the people who lived it. What’s […]
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Everything “Post”
Interview with Kade Schoenfeldt (DJ Show-n-Tell) Name, grade, position at KJHK? Kade Schoenfeldt, I’m a junior and the Programming Director at KJHK. Tell us about your show? My show is called Everything Post, it’s on Sundays from 7-9 PM where I play a wide range of post-punk, post-hardcore, and post-rock. What’s your favorite part about hosting it? I get to play some of my favorite genres of music, as well as play some of my favorite songs of all time. […]
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Malicious Intent
John Wood Name, grade, position at KJHK? I’m a first-year grad student in the School of Education and my position is just DJ. Tell us about your show(s)? Well, Alternative Flashback basically is college rock, college indie rock from the 90s and 2000s; basically, turning the clock back to when I was originally in college, so that’s how I’m looking at it. The music I listened to when I was first a college student in 1991, that’s the kind of […]
If you want to support KJHK you can make sure to keep it locked at 90.7 FM, or consider making a donation.
Special thanks to Cate Manning, Deegan Pores, Cami Koons, and the content and music volunteer staffs for contributing to this timeline.