D8 Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Saturday, December 12, 1981 ‘New wave’ survives on tiny KCMU-FM 1 The Clash and other groups who reject middle of the road rock have found a home for their work on KCMU By Joni Balter Last February KZAM-AM pulled the plug on “Rock of the 80’s,” be cause, said station officials, the sta tion’s unique new wave format did poorly in the all-important Arbitron Cb. ratings. The station’s audience, however small, had a large and loud commit ment to saving the only station in the area that played its kind of music. With the kind of passion usually re served for rescuing a whale in captiv ity, listeners rallied, protested and staged fund-raising benefits in an ef fort to save the area’s only new wave station. Now, 10 months later, KZAM-AM is KJZZ-AM, an automated jazz sta tion. But, new wavers in the know, and in the University District, have a new station, KCMU-FM, 90.5 on the dial. Listening hours Actually, KCMU, the student-run radio station on the University of Washington campus, has been playing some new wave music for over a year now. But the decision was made in July to go to a total new wave format, in part because of the void created by the demise of ‘‘Rock of the 80’s.” “We wanted to do something dif ferent than any other station,” said Neil Sussman, one of the student man agers of KCMU, adding that the sta-^ tion is now the only one in town' offering a solid menu of national and local new wave music. From 8:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. weekdays, 9 to 2 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays, KCMU listeners can hear music by nationally known groups such as The Clash, The Psychedelic Furs, Elvis Costello, The Pretenders and The Po lice, interspersed with music by Northwest groups such as Student Nurse, Red Dress, The Cowboys, The Heats, Junior Cadillac, Kidd Afrika and The Skyboys. Becomes fuzzy For those who wonder if a station so different from the rest of commer cial radio can survive, there’s good and bad news. The good news is that KCMU is not a commercial station. The station, which is run by unpaid students, doesn’t sell advertizing time, and there’s no need to turn a profit. The bad news is that KCMU is only a 10-watt station, meaning its transmitter can only reach radios within a four-to-eight-mile radius of the UW campus. Therefore, the station is fairly well-received in the university area and a bit farther north, around Green Lake. And listeners across the lake in Bellevue and Kirkland can pick up KCMU on decent receivers. But, for Example, on a car radio going south on Interstate 5 from the University District, reception is solid until the Stewart Street off ramp where the sound becomes fuzzy. It’s total static by the end of the off ramp, downtown. One more piece of bad news for KCMU fans. The station was in a life- threatening situation of its own this past summer, after the UW School of Communications announced it was cutting the station’s operating budget as of Aug. 21. However, temporary relief came in the form of a $22,000, one-time funding grant from the UW Student Activities and Fees Commit tee — money that will keep the sta tion operating through June 30, -1982. In preparation for the end of funding, members of KCMU’s student staff are trying to raise money. The first of. several planned musical fund raising events is set for- tomorrow night, 9 p.m. at the Hall of Fame , a music club at 4518 University Way N.E., just north Of 45th Street. Keep it going Music will be provided by local new music groups Citizen Sane, Red Dress and The Visible Targets. A $4 donation will be asked at the door. KCMU fans are trying to raise enough money to keep the station going after June 1982 in several other ways: business underwriting of pro grams, the sale of T-shirts and but tons, and listener donations. Listener donations, for any amount of money, can be sent to: KCMU-FM, D.S. 55, 304 Communica tions Bldg., University of Washington.' Seattle, Wash. 98195. Joni Balter is a Seattle free lance writer. by Ben Vereen, MacDavis. Dick 8:05 (17) Movie ★★★ The cold woman falls for a hot- and reviews their experiences as © Dance Fever Celebrity (udges. Dick, Pat, Nels, Jimmy 1:15 0 Note Ot Faith (SHO) Movie ★★ Seniors Den-