A diamond in the waves of static

Sophomore Earl Banfy is the typical IU student. He walks to class every day from Read Center, stresses out about his homework and even attends the occasional party on the weekends. And like any typical IU student, Banfy is completely oblivious to something that is a staple of Bloomington or any other college town -- IU's own radio station, WIUS AM 1570.\n"I mean, I guess I figured we probably had something like (a radio station)," Banfy said. "I didn't even know it existed."\nSenior Jason Gucwa, both manager and on-air voice at WIUS, said listenership is the station's biggest problem.\n"We're an AM station, and that's probably the biggest factor," Gucwa said. "Our antenna is on top of the library and it doesn't broadcast very far. I think you could drive down Kirkwood and you'd start losing us."\nBut typical IU students don't know what they're missing out on.\nThe station literally has something for everyone, with genres ranging from rock, top 40, metal, rap and even talk show, Gucwa said. And with the option of listening to the broadcast on the Internet at www.wius.org, no typical IU student can use the station's limited range as an excuse.\n"There are certain things that we have to play and then we can play our own stuff," said junior Adam Duckworth, a DJ of three years. "I think one minute I might play Beach Boys then throw on some death metal song after it." \nDuckworth jokingly describes his format as "anything." He is one of a wide assortment of DJs at WIUS.\nAnd if the massive amount of genres isn't attractive enough, the station sponsors many events in the community, and the events are almost always free. In particular, on every Friday night, WIUS sponsors an event called "Vibes" at the station house, which is literally a residential home converted into a studio located on 8th Street and Woodlawn Avenue across from the HPER parking lot. Vibes is always free and usually serves as a forum for local acts to showcase their talent, but occasionally the show will catch a major act or two touring the nation. On this upcoming Friday night, the show will take place at 5:30 in the Foster Harper formal lounge instead of the station house and will feature what Gucwa called two great acoustic acts -- Dave McMillin and 20 Minutes to Park. These two bands are more indie-type bands, and according to www.wius.org.\nOn the weekend of April 22 (the weekend after Little 500), WIUS will be sponsoring "Culture Shock," an event Gucwa called "the station's big end-of-the-year blowout." The Friday night of Culture Shock will be held at the Second Story nightclub, which is located at 201 S. College Ave. The first night of the show will feature bigger name acts, and even when pressed, Gucwa was reluctant to release any names of any bands that will be in attendance, but he did say that he guaranteed the acts would be big name. In the past, the first night of the show has played host to such acts as The Verve Pipe and Spoon. \nThe second day of the show will be an all-day event held at the station and will feature local acts.\nFor further information and updates, stay tuned to AM 1570 or keep an eye on www.wius.org.\nFor any further questions about anything regarding the station, including promotions, events or job opportunities contact Gucwa at manager@wius.org.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Andy Romey at aromey@indiana.edu.