Pledging for radio

KPSU kicked off its annual pledge-drive concert series last Saturday evening with a high-energy all-ages punk show at Backspace. Set in a retro video arcade and featuring bands such as the Seattle-based group The Girls, as well as the unbilled local 15-year-old rockers Don’t Hurt Miles! KPSU coordinators say the show raised around $500 for the station.

There are seven more shows left during the two-week pledge drive, in which the station hopes to raise the lofty sum of $10,000–twice as much as last year’s pledge drive goal.

“It’s been going well,” said KPSU Promotions Director Andrew Stern.

Station manager Darren Bridenbeck added that so far the station has received somewhere between $1500 and $2000 in pledges, and said that donations usually pick up during the second week of the pledge drive.

While Bridenbeck and Stern say there are no definitive plans yet for the money, they say the station has been kicking around some ideas, such as a signal delay for broadcasting and installing a microphone in the ceiling of the studio for in-house shows.

The scheduled support shows attempt to capture KPSU’s musical diversity, said Stern. The seven remaining concerts feature a variety of sounds, including jazz, blues and reggae, and other musical genres heard on KPSU’s myriad radio shows.

Most of the upcoming acts are 21-plus, with the exception of this Friday’s show at the Modern Age, KPSU’s every other week all-ages concert held at Food for Thought Café in the basement of the Smith building. The pledge-drive Modern Age show will feature performances by the Vonneguts, Strength and members of the Thermals, among others.

KPSU leaders said the support from the community has been generous, with local businesses gladly pitching in donated items for the drive, bands and venues participating at no cost to the station. The colorful promotional posters created for this year’s drive, a gift to the station.

“We have the ability to do really amazing things in this town,” said Bridenbeck.

Pledge-drive shows range in price from $5 to $15, with the exception of the upcoming 21-plus blues show with the Reverb Brothers at the Mock Crest Tavern, which is free with a request for donations.

Supporters of the station can also call in and purchase pledge “premiums”–items donated to the station and sold in exchange for pledges at a lower price than their market value. According to KPSU’s Web site, some premiums include restaurant gift certificates for Portland-area favorites such as Dot’s, and Jam on Hawthorne, VIP season passes for Rose City Rollers games and certificates for a monthly allotment of maple-bacon bars from Voodoo Donuts.

Because the pledge drive is built into the radio station’s budget, pledges from the community are vital to the station’s continued success and development as an active part of student life at Portland State. Last year’s pledge drive brought in the largest sum for the station yet at $5400, and Stern says the $10,000 goal is “mostly symbolic” of the station’s ability to garner support from the city.

Listeners can tune in to KPSU at 1450 AM throughout the Portland metro-area from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m., Monday through Friday, weekends from noon to 2 a.m., and on campus 24-seven at 98.3 FM, or live online at www.kpsu.org.

How to donate to KPSUCall: (503) 725-5945Visit: www.kpsu.orgListen: 1450 AM, 98.3 FM

Pledge drive eventsBlues show at the Mock Crest Tavern w/ The Reverb Brothers, 21-plus, no cover, donations welcomeTuesday, April 15 at 9 p.m.

“Jazztravaganza” show at Jimmy Mak’s w/ The Cosmic Dust Fusion Band, Frank Tribble and Friends, Karla Harris and The Noah Peterson Soul-Tet, 21-plus, $15 admission (tickets available at the PSU box office)Friday, April 18 at 8 p.m.

The Modern Age at Food For Thought Cafe w/ Typhoon, Reporter, Hutch and Kathy (from The Thermals), Strength and The Vonneguts, all ages, $5-10 sliding scaleFriday, April 18 at 8 p.m.

Experimental show @ Someday Lounge w/ Soriah, Metal, Eet and Childhood Friends, 21-plus, $5 coverSunday, April 20 at 9 p.m.

Indie show at the Towne Lounge w/ Yoyodyne, Southerly and Will Carpenter, 21-plus, $5 coverSunday, April 20 at 9 p.m.

KPSU’s 4/20 show @ Kelly’s Olympian w/The Heady Nugs Crew, 21-plus, no cover, donations welcomeSunday, April 20 at 10 p.m.

KPSU Magazine issue No. 3 release party at Ground Kontrol w/ Dance Terror, Strangers Die Every Day, Buttfrenchers and New Century Schoolbook, 21-plus, $5 coverFriday, April 25 at 8 p.m.

Reggae show @ Tonic Lounge w/ Katt and Roots Revolution, Rootdown, and KPSU’s own DJ Shortchange, 21-plus, $7 coverSaturday, April 26 at 9 p.m.