KXSC welcomes in the new year

Any indication of the notorious remarks suggesting that no one dances in Los Angeles were left at the door of KXSC’s house show on 24th Street Saturday night. 

USC’s radio station chimed in the new year with their Welcome Back Show that garnered a significant attendance to enjoy DJ XOXO and indie rock bands Frank Pellegrino and Rain on Fridays. 

When doors opened at 8 p.m., the venue welcomed in a line of students and company that wrapped around the corner, suggesting an eagerness for the first live music experience of the semester hosted by the University organization. 

The radio station’s general manager Spencer Churchill, a senior majoring in environmental studies, said he was extremely pleased to see the big turnout.

“I’m really stoked that all these people are into KXSC,” Churchill said. “I’ve been here since before COVID and so it’s wild to see that this many people like KXSC and know about it. It’s cool to see all these people like what we’re doing”

While white indie rock bands might be as common as the bright-eyed freshman, KXSC truly does succeed in finding small talent that deserves a crowd of rowdy college students. 

L.A. rock band Frank Pellegrino, whose first single on Spotify has just over 2,000 listens, opened the night. Though the crowd was seemingly warming up to the night’s festivities — often more chatter than audience engagement — there was still noteworthy attendance and a satisfaction found among those who took to moshing. 

The true highlight of the show followed as San Diego band Rain on Fridays took the stage. With over 24,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, the band has truly made a name for themselves in the indie rock scene since their first single release in 2019. 

They opened their setlist with “Hey Man,” and lead singer Madi Coe immediately captured the attention of everyone in the backyard with their powerful voice. There was a fervor seen throughout the crowd that left everyone embracing the rock-out garage show in the perfect encapsulation of collegiate adolescence. Strained necks and jumping bodies were crashing into one another for what felt like too short of a setlist. 

According to brothers Ryan and Matt Levy, seeing their family friend, guitarist Jesse Miller, grow from a self-taught instrumentalist who once played in friends’ garages to a part of this established band was nothing short of admirable. 

“It’s just a testament to her dedication to the craft and her amazingness in general,” said Ryan Levy, a senior majoring in computer science. “The fact that she taught herself from nothing by herself and now she’s playing in front of hundreds of people. It’s very cool to see, I’m very proud of her.” 

According to KXSC’s live show director Ava Kalenze, a sophomore majoring in law, history and culture and cinema and media studies, the live music experience is one she significantly values. Having grown up in Minneapolis surrounded by music, working within L.A. has introduced her to new feats that she welcomes.  

“I think it just feels like it’s happening at a really different level because a lot of people are like ‘I want fame’ and that’s the goal, so I think there’s a level of artist officiality,” Kalenze said. “I’m used to people just slumming it in basements in Minnesota, and it’s just for fun.”

In an effort to honor the DIY sentiment she grew up around, she utilizes her role to book artists by tapping into the local scene and typically having a student performer involved in each show. Kalenze said she tunes in to the “Fans also like” feature on Spotify and pulls from the vast network of bands she’s come to know from hosting the weekly Live Show Fridays at 4 p.m. 

“To me, having authentic experiences with live music is what has made my adolescence and early 20s, so it’s important to be able to do it for other people,” Kalenze said.

A similar sentiment is shared by others on KXSC’s staff team. Though a radio station first and foremost, the live music experience is one that hones in on the community that the organization hopes to establish. 

“For me, live music is one of the most pivotal parts of building community,” said Betsy Schmeler, a sophomore majoring in music industry and KXSC’s street team director. “All of music is about the experience that’s happening with it.” 

For an organization that receives no funding from USC’s undergraduate student government, Churchill said events like these are possible because of the “people who are dedicated because they want to see cool things happen for the sake of cool things happening.”

“It’s kind of incredible to see it go from five to ten people being like ‘a show should happen’ to it happening,” Churchill said. “We’re here just because we like it. We like seeing things happen.”

Though it’s easy to find majorly-funded concerts on campus such as Springfest hosted by the Concerts Committee, Churchill said he believes it is necessary for the station to raise the money themselves and that working with a smaller budget can be an advantage.

“With industry stuff, it’s cool and it’s like okay ‘We have a lot of money so we can do something bigger’ but then we have to make the money back,” Churchill said. “Even with this we kind of have to make our money back and we need people to come but when there’s lower stakes, you can kind of take bigger risks.”

For KXSC, the goal will continue to be putting on the best show possible with what they’ve got, for the people that are in it for the right reasons. 

“Live music is a farce without people who care,” Churchill said.