With ‘Big Mamma Jamma,’ Chapman Radio gets physical
Photo by Emily Paris, Photo Editor
Radio and music at large has always been a largely intangible experience — something to be heard and felt emotionally, rather than physically. That may be part of why physical media, particularly vinyl, has made a comeback, giving fans a palpable way to connect with their favorite songs and artists. It adds a new dimension to the experience: one that Chapman Radio is now seeking to get in on.
“Big Mamma Jamma,” named after the hard drive that Chapman Radio operates on, is the organization’s new zine, full of radio information, staff and new radio show features, games, photos and upcoming event info. It’s not the first zine to come out of Chapman Radio, but the first attempt at a consistent publication in decades.
“In Chapman Radio, every time we have a new GM (general manager) come into their position, we kind of try to give them what we call a ‘legacy project’ or something that they're able to leave behind after their duration of Chapman Radio is over. And with Lily (Goldklang) and I kind of being the first ever co-general managers here at Radio, we wanted to make something memorable,” said senior writing for film and television major Madie Manalo, co-general manager of Chapman Radio. “And the zine has been something that's been on my mind since my freshman year joining Radio, and I just thought that right now was the perfect time for us to create it.”
She continued: “And it's really nice because I feel like it includes everyone from the staff. So even though it's mainly a legacy project, everybody is able to be involved and it's given Sophie (Canny) such a great platform to experiment with a lot of different things. I feel like it's going to be really fun to see how it evolves over the years.”
Chapman Radio, established in 1967, has been a staple of the university’s community since its inception. Broadcasting 24 hours a day on its website and new app and as an all-day music station in Argyros Forum, it is home to dozens of student-run shows and events each year.
Sophie Canny, a sophomore creative producing major and the graphic designer for Chapman Radio, was in charge of putting the physical zine together. The pages of the physical zine are made from intricately layered and handmade collages, thick cardstock full of stickers, cutouts, photos and handwritten notes. The physical zine is the product of careful, passionate artistic work across long stretches of time.
“It probably took somewhere around 40 to 50 hours total, from collecting, whether it be the actual physical materials or things from people and getting emails sent out for shows and stuff, and then the actual process of working on it and the cut and paste process of making it all together,” Canny told The Panther. “It went by pretty quick and now I'm really happy with the finished product, but it definitely was a labor of love and something I had to really sit down and take my time with.”
Photo by Emily Paris, Photo Editor
“Big Mamma Jamma,” which Chapman Radio plans to publish twice per semester, is the start of a grand initiative to memorialize the program. Chapman Radio features over 70 DJs, over 60 shows, somewhere close to 20,000 concerts attended across its staff and an Instagram over 3,000 photos deep. This new zine is a mission statement to encapsulate all of that in just eight pages.
“Ideally we'll be able to collect all these zines, that way as new people come in and join Radio they can look through and see what it used to be like and how it's evolving,” senior communications major Goldklang, co-general manager of Chapman Radio, said. “And hopefully it will not only involve staff members, but also members of the class and club becoming more involved with the zine. Whether that's writing a review on a show or just drawing. I think it's a really cool way to get other DJ’s thoughts even without them being on staff.”
Readers and listeners can expect to find copies of the latest edition of the zine at future Chapman Radio events, on their website and outside the station in the Henley Hall basement.