The following is an interview with Kyle Petersen. Kyle is the former music director at WUSC and and a current DJ that enjoys writing about music on his own blog, Dark Southern Hearts.
Interviewed by Todd Mathis
1. Who are you and what do you do?
I’m a grad student at WUSC and have done a radio show the past four years. I was a music director my senior year, which means I sorted through the tonnage of submissions the station gets each week, review some of it and add it to our rotation, but now I’m just a regular old DJ.
2. How was your time as music director?
It can be a bit frustrating, because it could be something you devoted 40 hours a week to, and good stuff always slips through the cracks. Plus you are always limited by your own experience, your own musical tastes. There are a number of records I passed on through the whole experience that I now realize are college rock staples, stuff most WUSC DJs would have really enjoyed and played a lot. On the whole, though, it was a lot of fun. Checking the mail every day is considerably more exciting when it’s stuffed full of CDs–and it forces you to listen to so much new stuff that I got a ton of new favorites.
3. If a new local band wants to get the attention of WUSC, what would you recommend they do?
This is admittedly tougher than it should be, because it can be pretty easy for MDs to pass you over if they think you are crap. However, if you make music that seems like a good fit for WUSC (non-commercial, independently-minded), the station generally tries to serve the local scene as well as it can. Your best bet is to bypass our standard submission policy and appeal directly to either DJs you know, DJs that seem to play stuff similar to your music, or some of our alumni DJs that review and play a lot of local music. Pat Wall (Locals Shows), Josh Smith (The Columbia Beet), Uncle Gram (Red Bank Bar & Grill) and Redneck Matt (Hillbilly Heaven) are a few of the names that come to mind. And I do my best too (Aftermath USA).
4. Any local/regional bands turning your head as of late?
Well, as a root music/alt. country guy at heart, I always try and support my three favorites in Columbia first and foremost, American Gun, Josh Roberts and the Hinges, and Due East.  I’ve seen Grey Egg a couple of times recently, and their live show blows me away. Toro y Moi has been getting a lot of buzz and recently signed to Carpark Records, which is pretty cool. Venice is Sinking, from Athens, is amazing and they seem to be making some waves. I’m of the belief that there is a ton of under-rated talent in this city, so I almost hate to mention some names at the expense of others. I’ve been working on a blog that has a decent list of local/regional groups I like and care about if you care to check it out.
5. What’s the best out of town band/performance you’ve seen in Columbia so far in 2009?
Probably Danny Schmidt, a singer/songwriter who played the UU Coffeehouse back in June. He’s an absolutely spellbinding performer live.
6. What are your favorite local and regional venues and why?
Locally, The Art Bar, Elbow Room, and New Brookland all have pretty good stages and decent sound (and reasonably priced libations), and The White Mule is doing a great job of having a listening room where you can still focus on the performer over the chatter of patrons. Outdoor venues like Cafe Strudel and El Burrito are pretty good in that regard too, people tend to listen. Charleston can be hit or miss, but The Village Tavern (in Mt. Pleasant) books some great acts sometimes, plus medium-sized venues like The Pour House and The Tin Roof do a pretty good job. Not really too much downtown I really like though. I like driving up to Asheville for shows at the Orange Peel and the Grey Eagle, both places have great booking and nice rooms.
7. Any last words/requests/rants?
Personally, I’m tired of people talking bad about Columbia. Sure it isn’t perfect, but we should be proud of our scene and our bands, not ashamed. It’s not gonna get any better if you tell everybody within earshot how bad it is.