autumn's blog

With the start of a new quarter KDRT has unveiled a variety of new programs.

"Dead Wax" premiered on KDRT Oct. 8 with a show featuring Parker Millsap’s debut album. Live on Wednesday from 5-6pm and replays every Thursday at 11pm.

"Civilization Phaze IV" hosted by Eunah Cho, harvests the ripest fruits classical music and its offshoots have to offer.  She’ll tell you a bit about their roots and try to show you how wonderful this music can be for the mind and the soul. Live on Tuesday from 2-3pm and replays every Wednesday at 10pm and Thursday at 7:30am.

In partnership with the Davis Joint Unified School District (DJUSD), DMA manages the resources and day-to-day operations of our local educational access cable channel.

New interns: welcome to new interns this fall: Patrick Cajandig, a senior at DHS; Corin Shields, a junior at Da Vinci; Elisa McIsaac, a senior at DHS,  and Emily Merten, a junior at DHS. These interns join other continuing interns and will record a variety of events at secondary schools in Davis this quarter.

DMA conducts its major fund-raising appeal each spring, but we actively seek our community's support year round. Fundamentally, community media is about telling people’s stories. From those involved with the governance of our city, to those whose voices are marginalized, community media bridges economic strata, political affiliations and cultural backgrounds. Highlighting people’s stories helps us to share what’s important – what defines us and connects us as a community. These stories unfold through a complex narrative spanning community events, lectures, performances, meetings, interviews, public affairs, music and so much more.

It’s DMA’s mission to provide technology, access, training and support to encompass this broad range of voices and perspectives. We can't do this without consistent support from our community. Please consider a donation to DMA. Thank you!

Davis Media Access tracks a variety of public policy issues affecting community media and the larger media landscape. DMA’s Programming Manager Alex Silva-Sadder joined hundreds of other media advocates Sept. 24 for an FCC hearing on net neutrality held at the State Capitol.

Dear DMA community,

On July 31, KDRT's Eclectic Dinosaur, Lee Renault, passed away in his sleep. Aug. 8 would have marked his 9th year doing a weekly radio show. From his own personal music stash and the truly impressive vault of trivia in his head, he spun tunes and stories Tuesday afternoons at 3 for 9 years. I helped him engineer his show that first year, but after that he flew solo, and KDRT filled his retirement years with much joy. He loved to brag about me, and liked to tell people that I helped start a radio station so that he could have something to do in his "dotage." 

He could talk your ear off, never met a stranger, and had a perpetual mischievous gleam in his eye. If you even mentioned that you liked a particular show, song or artist, chances are very good that you'd soon after receive a CD of the same. 

Diane Evans writes "Last year the Human Relation Commission asked the Davis City Council to issue a Juneteenth Declaration that declared its inclusion in the 4th of July celebration. It was so declared. We want the Davis Community to know that it is taking a big step toward deepening our Nation's wholeness, perhaps the first city in the Nation to do so."

Supported by the City of Davis, the Davis Human Relation Commission, the Uniting for Racial Justice Team of the Universalist Unitarian Church plus 3 great performers - Sandy Holman (Culture Co-op), James Williams and Nathalie Minya. Join Davis residents in celebrating the 2 greatest freedom events in America History: the Declaration of Independence and 89 years thereafter the Emancipation Proclamation making our nation whole in our freedom. Our hand in your hand. Your hand in ours. See you on the 4th.

The Davis Odd Fellows and Davis Media Access present a special evening of local music to fundraise for live music field recording equipment for grassroots community radio station KDRT 95.7 FM.

The all-star local line-up features Bill Scholer and Waiting for Bruce, with special guest Barry “The Fish” Melton. The popular Winters-based country-swing band Bonanza King opens the show.

The show takes place at the Davis Odd Fellows Hall in downtown Davis, 415 Second Street,  Friday, July 11, 2014. Doors open 7 pm, music from 7:30 -10:00pm.

No, folks, I’m not talking about anything related to the World Cup. And I’m happy dancing here, and no, that’s not a delayed reaction from the Davis Music Festival.

Rather, I am very pleased to announce that Davis Media Access (DMA) has successfully wrapped its fundraising campaign Celebrating 25 Years of Community Media in Davis. Our must-meet goal was $20k in support of our programs and services, and as of June 27, we exceeded our stretch goal of $25k. That money keeps KDRT on the air for another year, and also helps offset some of the cost of producing intensive local election coverage and supporting youth media projects (yes, we do an astonishing amount with relatively little money).

View our list of donors.

Davis Media Access records five local high-school graduation ceremonies each year: Davis High Schhol; Da Vinci Charter Academy; Davis School for Independent Study; King High School; and Davis Adult School. Commemorative Graduation DVD SPECIAL: $25 each (includes shipping) if ordered before June 30; after that, price returns to $30 (includes shipping). Fine the order form and information here.

Our Kid Video Production Camps are already full.  But, we still have limited space in both our Animation Camps.  Animation Camp presents a unique summer learning opportunity for younger kids, aged 11-15.

The course is team taught by DMA staffer Alex Silva-Sadder with assistance from college and high school interns. DMA will offer two sessions of Animation Camp, July 7-11 and July 14-18. Participants will learn how to plan and storyboard an animation, record dialogue and effects, and light and create stop-motion animations. Each class is limited to six participants. Camps conclude with a screening of the students' work.

Curious about KDRT, DCTV or DJUSD Channel 17, and want to learn how Davis Media Access can help you? Plan to attend our next General Orientation on June 25 from 6:30-7:45pm!

Any potential volunteers should plan to attend as it's the first step to getting involved.  The orientation includes the history of Davis Media Access, a tour of the facilities, and information on the many aspects and opportunties provided by DMA.

We acknowledge business contributions to the radio station with brief on-air messages called "underwriting." Underwriting is to community radio what advertising is to commercial radio. The difference, however, is clear: commercial stations may air as much as 18 minutes of advertising time per hour. KDRT airs less than one minute of underwriting per hour. KDRT listeners make a deliberate choice to tune in because our unique programming is local and fun. Our listeners appreciate businesses that support the kind of radio they like to listen to.

For details on our underwriting plans--including scheduling availability, messaging, and reasonable rates--please reach out to underwriting@kdrt.org

Yolo County Supervisor District 2, Don Saylor, is partnering with Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA)  and the Yolo Workforce Investment Board to present a Job Fair and Youth College Link Success Camp. The event will take place on June 16th from 11 a.m.- 3 p.m. at the Yolo County One Stop Career Center at 25 N. Cottonwood Street in Woodland. At the job fair attendees will have the chance to meet over 30 local employers, as well as learn more about several apprenticeship programs and training opportunities.  All employers present will be currently hiring.

Tyler Shaffo hosts Lynn Kimsey, Ph.D., Director, and Steven Heydon, Collection Manager, both of the Bohart Museum of Entomology. The museum has the seventh largest collection of insects in North America with over seven million specimens.  This episode of In the Studio presents quite a few insects.  Some still alive and crawling.

In late May The City of Davis hosted two workshops for the local community to discuss planning and share ideas for the Davis Nishi Gateway. Each workshop provided an overview of the planning effort, schedule and goals.  The May 28th workshop was recorded by Davis Media Access and the focus was on mobility, open space and community character opportunities for the Davis Nishi Gateway.  You may view the video online here.

Bill Buchanan calls last week’s "Davisville" one of the best he’s ever done. As he tells the story, he answered a poster at Armadillo from someone looking to form a punk-rock grunge band, and scored an interesting interview with the person behind the poster -- Sonja Martin, 22. She has strong opinions, clear answers, and a goal that a lot of people (especially artists and anyone working in an un/underpaid field) will recognize -- the drive to do something meaningful and difficult, because you really have no other choice.

Nik Joshi (aka DJ CharSoVees) lets us know about the move of his Bollywood radio show, Duniya Dar Dashan, to Mondays from 6-7 p.m.