KTUH ALUMNI

KTUH-FM turned 50 years old in July, 2019 and celebrated in style with campus concerts and a big celebration in October (see below)

If you are a KTUH alumnus or alumna you'll want to be sure that your current email address is on the KTUH alumni email list to receive timely information about alumni events. If you are a KTUH alumnus or alumna and not on the list yet, please sign up for the alumni list by emailing Fred Barbaria and providing a little info about yourself – when you were at KTUH and DJ name, if any. You can also use that address to request an email address change or to ask about DJing the weekly alumni show.

Got News?

Alumni news, that is... If you would like to share any KTUH alumni news items, please email them to Fred Barbaria.

Would you like to see reunion and archive photos?

We have photos of the three alumni reunions (details below), plus photos from the 2010 "KTUH 40" gallery show and the 2019 gallery show (and many historic KTUH photos) on the KTUH Alumni flickr page.

We will hold another KTUH alumni reunion in late spring, 2024 to celebrate 55 years of KTUH FM

Reunion details will be sent to the alumni email list. Don't be left out!

57 Years Ago at KTUH...

KTUH has been on Honolulu's FM airwaves since 1969, but do you know that KTUH operated as an AM "carrier current" low power operation from 1966 until 1969? The original staff got the old Hawai'i Hall audio gear running, built several low power AM transmitters that attached to the electrical panels (the dorm building wiring served as the antennas) and operated a limited on air schedule to show that they could successfully staff and operate a radio station. A humble beginning for the 7,000 watt, 24/7 operation of today's KTUH FM.

KTUH Alumni Reunions

KTUH alumni have held three reunions. The first, in summer, 2011, was held on campus on the Hemenway Hall makai patio, with about 75 alumni and guests attending. We celebrated 45 years of KTUH being on the air (starting with the carrier-current operation in 1966).

The second reunion, celebrating 45 years of FM operation, was held in June, 2014 at Bevy Bar in Kakaako. A wide spectrum of alumni ages and years at KTUH was evident, from 1966 to 2014.

The 2019 alumni reunion was held in conjunction with KTUH's Golden 50th Anniversary celebration on October 4th. In addition to an alumni reception, the celebration included a silent auction, KTUH trivia game, a concert by the Richard Thompson Electric Trio (plus one) and an after party with DJ Z Trip.

A KTUH Flashback . . .

Some of the more interesting early KTUH events were the Andrews Amphitheater concerts. In the early 70s KTUH was desperate for operating funds with an annual budget of a few thousand dollars. One of our staffers, Hank McMonigle, also worked for John Leonard at JFL Concerts. The idea was hatched for KTUH to sponsor concerts as it could use the amphitheater at no cost. JFL paid KTUH a sponsorship fee, which helped with the station's expenses. It was a real win-win, with artists like Loggins and Messina, Hubert Laws, Little Feat and Jesse Colin Young playing under the stars.

It all came to a crashing halt in 1978, though, with the infamous Blue Oyster Cult incident. Here is how Hank describes it –

"Blue Oyster Cult was presented over a Friday and Saturday night in the summer of 1978. Both concerts were sold out in advance but many thousands of fans showed up on Friday night to listen outside, completely blocking traffic on Dole Street. The largest PA system in Hawaii was set up to impress the rockers at Sony and Waikiki.

The Saturday crowd outside the building was far greater in numbers than Friday night as news of the exciting show on Friday night had spread among concert fans. Busy traffic on Dole St as well as University Avenue was blocked and diverted. Blue Oyster Cult was using early technology lasers that were housed in crates the size of coffins. They needed to be water cooled using 2-inch fire hose and jockey pumps to move the water through the laser housing and up and out of the amphitheater. Constant aerial rocketry and pyrotechnics lit up the sky and got crowds inside and outside the building riled up.

Honolulu Police Department motorcycle traffic cops found the crowded University Avenue bottleneck outside the building with little to no success. Promoter John F. Leonard was threatened by the HPD with arrest (which he was ready to accept) if he did not halt the band's performance on Saturday night. Chief of Security for Leonard was Hank Magana, a retired HPD Captain, who met with both HPD and UH officials who had been called to the scene. He reasoned that stopping the performance would cause far more damage and harm than letting the band finish its incendiary performance.

Following the Blue Oyster Cult concerts, UH Facilities Management and the Dean of Students offices banned live music from Andrews Amphitheater for nearly four years until further studies were completed on additional rules necessary for live music events."

The KTUH sponsored concerts continued but were moved indoors to the new Campus Center ballroom.

Thanks for that, Hank!

KTUH alumni can be found all over the world, some working in radio or other media, some in unrelated industries (and some retired) . . . Click here for a special alumni page highlighting some of our KTUH alumni!