Whether it’s Lazer 103.3, the Hawk 97.3 or Kiss 107 FM, there is one thing all commercial radio shows have in common – they all play whatever is currently popular among their target audience.

Enter 88.5 KURE, Iowa State’s student-run campus radio station. KURE is a not-for-profit, unsyndicated station dedicated to providing music that is not found on commercial radio. And while many of the programs on KURE are focused on indie rock and alternative-style music, some KURE DJs have gone their own way.

Kevin Harris, senior in MIS, has a show called “Almost Blue” which airs every Tuesday 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Harris says he plays everything from Muddy Waters and Eric Clapton to Jonny Lang.

“I try to do a lot of Americana, blues and classic rock,” Harris says. “I try to do a lot of blues, but I tend to get off that a little bit. There are a lot of new artists out there, like Jonny Lang, who are breaking new ground. He’s still blues, but he also has his own flare. I absolutely love his stuff, he’s a great artist, and he’s only like 18 or 19.”

“The interesting thing about Jonny Lang,” Harris continues, “is that even people who don’t listen to the blues still like his stuff because he uses a lot of heavy guitar.”

Harris even plays artists like Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp, both of whom, Harris says, have a lot of blues ties.

Harris believes blues is a very powerful form of music because it is true to life and all different kinds of people are attracted to it.

“You have kids from high school, families, and Hell’s Angels-looking type people, and they’re all gathering together for [the same blues show],” Harris says. “It’s cool because it shows how music can bring all these different people together.”

To help promote blues music, Harris holds contests in which he gives away free concert tickets to blues shows at the M-shop and Des Moines’ Brick House.

“[Blues] has really influenced almost every type of music out there,” Harris says, adding that bands ranging from Aerosmith to the Beatles have borrowed blues elements.

Another KURE DJ, Angie Chipman, senior in psychology and history, has a show Sunday nights from 6 to 9 called the “Queer-core Power Hour.”

Chipman says her show is aimed at trying to promote the inclusion of all people, especially the LGBT community.

“Every other radio show validates hetero-sexist [behavior] and is very heterosexual in nature,” Chipman says, adding that such radio personalities as Dr. Laura, who is adamantly homophobic, are holding back the gay movement. Chipman feels she is doing her part to counteract such shows.

“I try to play a lot of artists who are openly LGBT,” she says. “It’s music with a message.”

One of the downfalls with commercial radio, Chipman says, is that the DJs often talk too much and play too many commercials, which draws away from the music. KURE, on the other hand, focuses primarily on the music and tries to avoid as many music breaks as possible.

“Every once and a while I’ll discuss issues that affect the LGBT,” Chipman says. “I’m a very interactive DJ. I like people calling in. I like people sending e-mail. I like people with questions and comments in regards to the show.”

“Madness” is an electronic show which airs every Tuesday night from 6 to 9 and is hosted by Dan Henderson, sophomore in forestry.

“My shows have a different format than other shows,” Henderson says. “The first half hour [of each hour] is of nonstop local or [international] DJ sets.” Sets consist of anywhere from about 10 to 50 songs which are all looped together into one song.

The last half hour of each hour consists of single tracks, he explains. This is done because of the promotions that must be read during each hour of a show.

Henderson’s show doesn’t restrict itself to one style of electronica. Henderson spins house, trance, techno and drum and bass.

“I try to get as much variety as possible,” Henderson says. “I never play the same song twice.” One of the reasons he does this, he says, is because he has so much music. “This year alone, I’ve burned 120 electronica CDs.”

Henderson says his show gives people the opportunity to hear music that they can’t hear anywhere else.

“There’s, like, 20 different forms of house music, and it’s like that with all the other forms of electronic music, too,” he says.

The one thing he tends to restrict from his shows is the slower electronica songs.

“It’s harder, faster electronic,” he says. “I don’t really play any slow stuff.”

In the near future, Henderson says he hopes to bring his own turntables into the station to do some mixing of his own.

From 9 p.m. to midnight, every Wednesday, Darryl Frierson, A.K.A. Diggame, along with Steve Muhammed, host a show called “The Quiet Storm.” Frierson Muhammed are the latest DJs to host “The Quiet Storm,” a show which focuses on urban contemporary and old school R&B. The show has been on the air since about 1997.

“Because it’s so late, we try to keep it slow and relaxed,” Frierson says. “You don’t really have to be involved with [the music]. You can just let it set the tone for you. It’s a relaxing show. People can listen to it while studying.”

Other shows include: Punk-a-Billy with Boonie every Monday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m; Japano-core with Sean McWhorter, a.k.a. DJ Toasty, which air every Tuesday from 12 a.m. to 2 a.m; an `80s hair band show with DJ Grizzly Adams which airs Friday 9 p.m. to 12 a.m.; and a comedy talk show, hosted by Brandon Riley every Sunday at midnight until 2 a.m. Monday morning.

For more KURE news and scheduling information, visit the KURE Web site at www.kure885.org.