It’s bad-joke Wednesday, and DJ Raymond West has both a theme and a special guest for a recent edition of his show on KOUG radio.
The guest: his girlfriend, Alex Bowen. The theme: cats.
Normally, it’s West telling the bad jokes. He’s told at least a thousand over the years, he estimates. But on this show, he let Bowen take the lead.
Hit it, Bowen.
Bowen: Why don’t cats play poker?
West: Why?
Bowen: Because there are too many cheetahs.
Oy.
Bowen: What is a cat’s way of keeping law and order?
West: What?
Bowen: Claw enforcement.
Bowen brought seven pages of cat jokes to her boyfriend’s weekly bad-joke show; these two must be a match made in heaven.
West, a senior at Washington State University, cuts to musical break and “What’s New Pussycat” by Tom Jones fills the airwaves.
For the past several years, KOUG radio has been more of an underground operation, housed in a closetlike space in the math lab on the Washington State University Vancouver campus. But now, it has new digs in the library, it is filling the airwaves at the campus bookstore and it is poised to grow.
The show is broadcast exclusively online and staffed by an army of volunteer student disc jockeys.
They already have at least one international listener. Most of the student DJs average about 10 to 12 listeners each show. And the station has the capability to track where its listeners are located.
“We have reached out to the German listener and said, if you’re the German listener, let us know, and we’ll send you a T-shirt,” said West, who is also the station’s manager.
No word yet from the German.
Not long ago, the studio would likely have been crammed with vinyl records or even compact discs. But the station now is clutter-free, with two microphones, a computer screen, a soundboard and phone for listener calls. There is a vinyl player, but it’s rarely touched.
The music, like the radio station, is all online.
In addition to bad-joke Wednesdays, KOUG radio offers a popular show called “Between Two Friends,” in which political guests and topics are often featured.
“T.O. classics” is a music show by student Taylor Ocasio featuring older tunes by the likes of Miles Davis. Ocasio is a finalist for the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System Golden Microphone award for “best on-air personality.”
West, who has been involved with the station for several years, said it’s mainly a creative outlet for students, adding that he is excited to watch how the station evolves.
One last joke before we go, Bowen.
“What do cats like to eat for breakfast?”
“Mice Krispies, obviously.”
