Here at Bucks, students who want to learn about radio broadcasting can do so by joinng Radio BUX.

Since fall 2009, Radio BUX has taken to the airwaves here at the college. The club’s adviser and Associate Professor of Arts, John Sheridan, leads a diverse group of broadcasters, who meet Tuesdays and Thursdays in the Audio Lab, located on the first floor of the Gateway Center.

The club took a brief hiatus in 2010, but returned in early 2011, ready to tackle the technological advances of radio—with web-based broadcasts and Internet streaming.

 “Last year we obtained live-streaming radio, before that, we had done podcasts,” said  Brendan MacDonald, 20, a music major from Levittown who also happens to be the club’s president.

Under MacDonald, the club has won the Phoenix Award, awarded by Student Life Director Matt Cipriano.

MacDonald has a full plate of activities for Radio BUX:  “I organize everything; what type of shows we have, as well as their times.  I work at a radio station, so I have a knowledge and experience, as well as try to make everything run as smoothly as possible.  Here, creativity is strongly recommended.”

One interesting aspect of Radio BUX is its focus on the  local band scene: “Radio BUX helps my band Wanderers grow.  It allows for a local audience to listen and critique the local music,” said John Welsh, 20, guitar performance major from Newtown who acts as the club’s treasurer.

“Essentially, we act as the ‘megaphone’ for the college,” stated Welsh.

This was echoed by MacDonald: “We’ve had lots of local bands interviewed, some from the Temperance House, and played their music—Stranglehold, [the aforementioned] Wanderers, to name a few.  We’re proud to expose the local music.”

Stranglehold has gone onto play in many local venues, most recently in Trenton.

However, the club isn’t just limited to just music: “Last year, we went up to the State Capital in Harrisburg, and met with politicians regarding funds and tuition for community college students.  I’d like to believe we’re much more than simply a music-oriented station.”

Certainly, this statement rings true with some of the current personalities at Radio BUX: “Big Al’s Music Jam,” hosted by Alex Scavone, 20, a communications major from Bristol, airs on Mondays at 11 a.m. The show offers not only music, but insight into the day’s events and news.  “Miller-Time on Radio BUX,” hosted by Craig Miller and Joseph Morrison, is a sports show, focusing on sporting news as well as a mix of classic rock, aired Thursdays from 4:10-5:30 p.m.

“We’ve had shows ranging from classic rock, to general news, to sports and even comedy shows,” said Bob Brock, Bucks lab technician, 26, from Warminster.

These students’ creativity wouldn’t be possible without the assistance of Brock: “I help students out with hardware/software issues, as well as audio/video recordings for the college, I’ve been here since the ‘rebirth’ of the club,” offered Brock, who also runs his own company, Alternate Angle Media LLC, specializing in “Event, Concert and Promotional videos, as well as other audio/video production/transfer services.”

Thanks to the ever-growing  popularity of the club, Radio BUX is trying to get a new room, located near the cafeteria and Student Life building.

“It’d be great, for our own room; it’d draw in more listeners, and we’d have a full schedule,” Brock stated.

“We’ll have some audio ‘bumpers’ recorded by our on-air talents, and archive that audio with our host server to broadcast it whenever we’re not currently having a live show going, in order to have a more continuous broadcast schedule,” said Brock.

With the club expanding, more creativity is welcomed.  To get in contact with Radio BUX,email [email protected], and you can “like” the Facebook page “Radio BUX.”  To get in touch with Alternate Angle Media LLC, check out http://www.altanglemedia.com.  To listen to the on-air talents at Radio BUX, simply type in the url  http://cast7.serverhostingcenter.com/start/mciprian/ and select a media player to provide the radio stream.