It was a moment unlike anything that’s ever been aired before on WKDU 91.7 FM, Drexel’s free-format, student-run radio station — or any radio station in Philly, for that matter: Westphal College of Media Arts & Design Dean Allen Sabinson playing Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” on air and describing how the track, “one of the great songs about being a performer and having stage fright,” helped him appreciate hip-hop.
Immediately after the song ended, former LeBow College of Business Dean Frank Linnehan (he retired as of June) came on air to present his first song choice, the aptly titled “Stage Fright” by The Band, whom he’d seen play live in college.
Throughout the two-hour-long set on June 8, the “Westphal vs. LeBow” dueling DJs took turns playing their favorites from all genres.
“We do a lot of difficult stuff as deans,” says Sabinson. “This is a respite.”
The idea all came together thanks to Chris Burrell, WKDU’s electronic music director and an adjunct professor in the LeBow College of Business. Burrell had been DJing a Westphal event in the spring when he struck up a conversation with Sabinson, who mentioned that he did a guest DJ stint on WKDU a couple years ago and jokingly asked why he was never invited back.
“I said, ‘Well, we can fix that. And I’ll raise it and get Frank involved as well, so we’ll have two deans,’” says Burrell.
They leapt at the chance to appear on what Sabinson calls “the voice of Drexel.”
“WKDU is one of the last true college radio stations,” says Linnehan. “It’s built up a great reputation and you can’t get music like this anymore.”
“I love that WKDU has kids involved from all over the University, including Westphal and LeBow,” says Sabinson. “When a student gets engaged in something like WKDU, they’ve got a community with like-minded people and a place to go. Those kids are going to graduate, and probably with friends for life. And then of course there’s the music!”
Listen to the guest DJs’ show on mixcloud.