Country on KDIC blends east with west

February 26th, 2010 | By Chloe Moryl | Section: Arts

Curious about KDIC’s new semester of shows, The S&B sent in their own editor-in-chief, Chloe Moryl ’10, to get an inside look into”East Meets Western,” Wednesdays from 4-6 p.m., hosted by Chris Hwang ’11 and Tom Van Heeke ’12.

What is the name of your guys’s show
Chris: East meets western.

Why?
Chris: Because I’m asian and I love country music

What inspired you to do all country music?
Chris: I actually love country. I didn’t really listen to country until I got here, to Grinnell, and it just kind of grew on me and… you know, it’s kind of a laugh-factor, you know? I’m usually the only asian guy at a country concert.

So what are some favorite country artists? Are you guys more new-school Taylor Swift pop-y country or are you Johnny-Cash-Merle-Haggard?
Chris: Personally I’m more of a Brad Paisely, kind of sarcastic country music. That’s like my favorite thing. I’d say I like Big N Rich—guys who, like, know how to party.
Tom: That’s my attitude too. It’s all about those guys that can party.

Well what specifically appeals to you about country music? I just don’t feel like that’s something that comes typically to a lot of people here.
Chris: We are kind of like the odd-ball, out-of-place country music fans if you think about it.
Tom: I like that it’s a little more down-to-earth, and it’s just real. This is a lot of what I hear from my friends that are into it as well, they express the same feeling that it’s just real. You can just kind of understand what’s going on. I don’t know

There’s no ‘this is so post-modern or meta’ [bull]?
Tom: Exactly. It’s just straight up and honest.
Chris: When I first started listening to country I was dating a girl from Iowa and she took me back to her hometown, and it’s just like blue-collar, down-to-earth people who just like to have a fun time. A lot of the music really categorizes that. It’s not just about your dog dying or your truck dying or you know just bad things and depressing music. There is a really fun attitude about it.

How do you decide what music you’re going to play? Is there a lot of talk?
Chris: As of right now we don’t have many listeners. We just kind of leave it that like if I have any feedback knowing that there are people listening then maybe we’ll talk a little bit about stuff. I really want to do trivia and current events and just fun stuff.
Any Dolly Parton being played?
Chris: That’s actually the first song I ever heard. My mom loved Dolly Parton when I was growing up so she played “Nickels and Dimes.” Really old school Dolly Parton. That was the first time I ever listened to country.

Everybody’s really into Jolene, but 9 to 5…
Tom: 9 to 5 is where it’s at. No doubt that’s where it’s at.