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You can play any music you want. The idea is to get some perspective into who you are, so bring music which you like. It can be of any genre such as '30s novelty music to classical or death metal; it's completely up to you.
The one restriction to what you may play is the FCC guidelines on indecency and obscenity. As a rule of thumb, please play things that you wouldn't mind your grandmother hearing.
Do I need to bring the music with me?If you have the music you want to play, please bring it to save time looking for the same song in KZSU library before the show.
What formats can KZSU play?While CDs are the easiest, we can also play vinyl records (33 1/3, 45 and 78 RPMs). We can also play music from an iPod, an iPhone, and CDs with mp3 tracks. We can also connect a notebook computer to the sound board from the headphone jack. We have had problems playing songs downloaded and saved to a USB pen drive due to DRM problems, so if possible please burn the mp3 files on a cd or before coming to KZSU please test the usb pen drive on other computers to make sure the tracks can be played.
KZSU also has a giant music library with an estimated 100,000 volumes. We might have that one track you want to play but can't find. KZSU's Zookeeper is a searchable database of all the music KZSU has received since 1994. KZSU receives hundreds of new CDs each month, and reviews of many CDs as well as charts of the most popular music are available on Zookeeper. You can check Zookeeper to see if the music you want to play or something new that interests you is in our library. If you're after older songs, they might be on vinyl, much of which is not in the database. Ask us, and we will check the library to see what we have.
How much music should I bring?The host suggests bringing 8-10 tracks of music, assuming they are 3-4 minute songs. Classical pieces and other longer tracks will take fewer tracks, but we can play part of a long track and then continue it as background music during the spoken part of the interview.
I am not a DJ or an expert on music. Is that a problem?No, not at all. We take care of running all the equipment, and you can say as much or as little about the music as you'd like. The idea is to gain some perspective into members of the Stanford community. If you know 8-10 songs that you like, that's enough to make an interesting show.
If you are bringing your own music, please try to arrive by 11:30 a.m. to give the host time to meet and organize the program. If you're picking music from the KZSU music library, please allow more time.
Where are KZSU Studios?
KZSU is located in the basement of Memorial Auditorium (see Stanford map for location) on the side facing the GSB Graduate School of Business toward the parking lot and the ivy. The door to the station is down a short flight of stairs to the left of the entrance to the Pigott Theater. The door has KZSU painted on it. If the door is closed and locked, please ring the doorbell.
The address is 540 Memorial Way, Stanford, CA 94305-5010 and can be used as a guide to the closest parking lot for car navigators.
Where can I park my vehicle?Stanford's Transportation website
provides maps to visitor parking places. The visitor's parking lot at the
corner of Galvez and
Another alternative is to park for free on El Camino Real near Galvez and either walk through the Arboretum or take the Marguerite bus described below. The bus stop is on Galvez near El Camino Real.
Can I bike to the station? If you are biking, there are lots of
bike racks between Memorial Hall and the GSB Graduate School of
Yes, you can get to KZSU studios on Marguerite, Stanford's Free Shuttle. The bus runs every 15 minutes. Nearly all of the bus lines have stops
either in front of Memorial Auditorium or on
Usually the show starts with a song and then the host makes introductions. After that the host usually alternates between songs and conversation until the end of the show. If you might like to play songs more than you might like to talk, please just let the host know before the show starts.