06/22/2015
Lowell Sun
By Andrew Dunn
LOWELL --The best college DJ in North America can be found in Lowell.
Nick Canovas, a rising junior at UMass Lowell, won the honor and a free trip to Switzerland in a contest run by the International Radio Festival.
Canovas, who is from Bethlehem, N.Y., studies sound-recording technology and hosts "Time in the Study" on WUML, the school radio station. He plays a range of local music that spans genres, including the indie band MIZER, the rap group Whiskey James and even the traditional jazz band LUX.
Canovas, 20, interned at WUML as a freshman, became a DJ that winter and is now WUML's director of promotions and assistant chief engineer.
Q: As a New Yorker, what brought you to UMass Lowell?
A: The best way to describe why I came here is bang for your buck. I applied to here, Binghamton University, New York University and Ithaca College. I got into all of them, but a lot of those places were very expensive. NYU's tuition is, like, $71,000, and they gave, like, no financial aid, so you have to make all that yourself. I found that UMass Lowell was the most affordable and offered the best results because the sound-recording technology program here is so widely revered and highly praised in the audio world. It's fantastic that you can get such a world-class education for an acceptable and reasonable price.
Q: What got you involved with WUML?
A: I wanted to find ways to get involved with music on campus.
WUML has a potential listener base of about 2.2 million, so the idea that I'd be able to play music and talk on air to that many people blew my mind.
Q: What's the origin story of the "DJ Dad" moniker?
A: It started at the beginning of my freshman year because I tend to dress, not like a dad, but not like most college students: tucked-in polos, shorts and khakis. The main reason it came about though was during the second-ever episode of my first show I ever had in Lowell, "Left of the Dial." The show ran Thursday nights from midnight to 2 a.m., and I don't tend to do well staying up late, so before the show, I took a nap to get some energy. I ended up waking up a half-hour into the show and was rushing to get all my stuff, so I grabbed my black bathrobe and walked over to the station. When I came in, all my friends were just, like, "Nick, that's such a dad outfit to wear." From then on, I started wearing the robe to all my shows that semester, and that's how the name DJ Dad was born.
Q: Are you playing a character of DJ Dad?
A: Yeah, you could say that. For example, my character on the show likes to tell dad jokes a lot and say things like, "Oh, is this what the kids are into these days?" I do think I ham it up a bit more when I'm on air. Though certain aspects of my performance do trickle their way into my life. For example, I do tell Dad jokes during my day.
Q: What's the mix of music and you talking on air during the show?
A: I try my best to let the music do the talking when I can. When I'm on air, I try to make it short and sweet. Personally, that's because I tend to ramble if I don't wrap things up quickly. That's something I was struggling with when I was first an intern and something I've gotten better at as time has gone by. Percentage-wise, it's about 70 percent music and 30 percent me talking.
Q: Why did you apply for the best college DJ competition?
A: I learned of it last year when the previous winner was announced, Alex Spinelli of WSPN from Saratoga Springs, which is funny because I'm only an hour away from there. I sort of decided that is something I can keep my eye on for next semester.
Q: Have you thought about the 2-hour show you'll be playing in Switzerland?
A: My plan right now is to have all local music featured. I'm trying to represent all kinds of different music you can find in Lowell, and I'll be including a few Boston-based bands as well. In terms of me going on air and talking, I'm partially considering doing what I normally do. I'm also considering throwing in a little bit of history of Lowell, too, because they've given guidelines that you should do the show like normal, but, at the same time, I want to showcase Lowell, the city. I'm going to be there representing not just the station and the school but also the city, in general.
Q: What do you think makes your show stand out?
A: I would say personality. Like I mentioned before, radio isn't so much about yourself, it's about the personality you portray. I think I do very well with the DJ Dad guise. I bring a lot of flavor that you normally don't see on radio, since a lot of shows are about what's new, what's cutting-edge. While I do that sort of stuff, my character is very grounded in old-school traditions. You don't normally hear DJ Dad; you normally hear "DJ Big and Tasty" or something like that. It's nice to have someone who's dialed back and yet still has that same confidence, and that's something that I think I bring to radio that not a lot contestants did. Though a lot of them were very good, too. I was very honored to be sharing this competition with so many great applicants.
Q: Do you see radio as a profession or is this a hobby?
A: My plan after college is to do something along the lines of studio recording or broadcasting. To be completely honest, while a lot of this was just, I'd love a free trip to Zurich, I'd love to broadcast my show, I'd love to meet these people. It was very much a personal thing. I have a motto to myself: I am always in the pursuit of doing cool and awesome things.
Q: What are your future aspirations and plans for you and WUML?
A: I would just like to see myself doing something with music in the future. Whether that's performing stuff or doing the radio stuff or being more on the business and engineering side, I just want to do something with music because music is something I deeply care about. For WUML, I think that our presence on campus is strong, and we've been making attempts to branch out into the community. I think it's just a matter of finding more opportunities to promote ourselves within Lowell and potentially closer to Boston.