Content Director
Returning to weird
The tagline reverts back to “The Sound Alternative.”
We got MORE power
The station signal increases to 2600 watts.
Bye Bye Outhouse
The Outhouse shuts down, bringing an end to one of Lawrence’s most notorious alternative music venues.
90.7 The Hawk
Because “alternative” currently meant Top 40, KJHK changes its tagline to “The Hawk.”
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.
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.
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.
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).
We got the power
KJHK is granted a power increase to 100 watts. KJHK is using the same transmitter today!
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.
The Outhouse
Jeff Hekmati and John Chaney, KJHK staffers, help organize the Outhouse venue, where KJHK starts presenting shows in August of that year.
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.
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.
One of the greats
New York Rocker ranks the station as one of the best in college radio.
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.
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.
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.
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.