Veteran deejay Knows what's going on
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Photos by Reed Huthinson D.J. Riley (right) hosts “What's Going On” 6-8 p.m. Tuesdays at UCLARadio.com, the campus' Internet-only radio station. Behind the mike since 1993, Riley brings musicians, actors and politicians on his show. |
BY ANNE BURKE
Today Staff Writer
The clock is ticking toward 6 p.m. on a Tuesday at UCLARadio.com's small studio off Ackerman Grand Ballroom. Chris Brennan, the producer, holds up two fingers in front of D.J. Riley, who is on the other side of a smudged window. Then Brennan jabs an index finger toward Riley to say, “You're on.”
“This is your boy, D.J. Riley, and this is UCLARadio.com and ‘What's Going On.' If there's something you'd like to talk about, send us an instant message or give us a call … and our buddy Chris will help you out.” It's less than 24 hours after the Bruins' NCAA loss, and Riley, who has a gentle on-air manner, applies salve to the wound. “We want to give a collective feeling of contentment and joy and well-done to all our boys at UCLA Bruins basketball. They done us proud.”
“What's Going On” — the name pays homage to the Marvin Gaye song — is Riley's popular talk-and-music show on UCLARadio.com, the student-run radio station that streams over the Internet.
Bruin radio, which dates to the mid-1960s, has survived a turbulent decade and a half, mired in money woes, mismanagement and a run-in with the FCC for broadcasting at a too-high bandwidth. Since switching to an all-Internet format in 2000, the station has been on a steadier keel. Throughout the ups and downs, Riley's has been a constant and reassuring voice. The 47-year-old Santa Monica resident has hosted “What's Going On” since 1993, when he was a grad student in social work at UCLA.
“D.J. is one of the best assets of the station,” said Greg Katz, a third-year philosophy major who is general manager at UCLARadio.com. “He's such an awesome interviewer, and he has such interesting perspectives, really unlike what you hear on any radio station.”
The “D.J.” in Riley's name is a happy coincidence. Born Donald Riley Jr., in Long Branch, N.J., he's been D.J. since childhood. What few of his listeners know, apart from his master's degrees from UCLA and USC and his bachelor's from UC Berkeley, is that the man behind the mike is largely unable to move.
Riley is a quadriplegic as a result of a congenital disease called Morquio syndrome. His arms hang limp at his sides. Brennan, a UCLA library assistant whose own show, “NightLight,” follows Riley's, volunteers as D.J.'s limbs, working the sound board, slipping in CDs and patching in phone calls. If his disabilities wear on him, Riley's not letting on tonight. “I feel blessed,” he said.
The show is a two-hour grab bag of music, live interviews and Riley's musings on politics, culture and the UCLA scene. But it's the high-profile guests who give the show a cachet uncommon in the world of Internet-only college radio.
Riley rattles off names of past guests in a no-big-deal way. Jazz great Herbie Hancock did a call-in. “He just knows me,” Riley shrugs. Ditto for saxophonist Branford Marsalis and soul singer Babyface. Bruin football Coach Karl Dorrell stopped by to chat. The pop singer Joss Stone taped an interview from backstage at a concert. Michael Dukakis, a UCLA visiting professor, is a regular.
On this night's show, actress Vanessa Bell Calloway, a longtime friend, phones in to chat about Hollywood. “Love ya, D.J.,” she said before hanging up.
Katz estimates the station has only about 1,200 to 1,500 listeners a week, most of them from the residence halls and the Westside. Riley's show probably tops out at 100 listeners.
The low numbers aside, interest in working at the station has surged in recent years, Katz said. Brennan is one of several UCLA staffers behind the mike. John Mathews, an office manager, hosts “The Ultra-Mega Late Show” from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. Saturdays. “I have some friends in Europe so hopefully they'll listen,” Mathews said. Students, staff and faculty interested in the station can learn more at a meeting at 6 p.m. April 13 in Kerckhoff Grand Salon.
