This week’s featured DJ is Chris DiBias, a senior studying Aerospace Engineering in Auburn’s College of Engineering. Chris has been a part of WEGL since the fall of his freshman year in 2017. He told me that his first memory of WEGL was signing up for the organization in the Haley Center during his Camp War Eagle session. The first show Chris hosted on WEGL was called Proceed with Caution, which was actually the first non-sports podcast hosted on our station. He has also hosted a hard rock show with his friend and now alumni Patrick Coleman called High Voltage, and this semester he is hosting a new show called Cheetah Print with fellow engineering student Jack Hart. I’ve known Chris since I joined this organization and it was a pleasure to have this opportunity to get to know him better though this interview, here’s how our conversation went:
When did you first hear about WEGL?
- “I first got involved with WEGL at my camp war eagle session before my freshman year. It looked fun and interesting, and they told me they’d give me a free keychain if I signed up, and I still have that keychain to this day.”
Tell me about your favorite show that you’ve done on WEGL
- “There were a few of the early episodes of Proceed with Caution that I really enjoyed, I also really liked doing the special episodes of High Voltage like our thrash metal episode. What I really enjoyed though were the times where I was goofing off with my friends in the studio, that’s why I did Proceed with Caution in the first place, because I wanted to have fun. I also want to shoutout Alex Husting and Davis Carroll for their Star Wars episode of their movie podcast, Through the Lens. That one was a really great time.”
What’s your favorite way to listen to music?
- “I think going to live concerts is fun, but that’s not something that you get to do very often, especially now. I’d say I prefer streaming music through a speaker at ‘deafeningly loud’ volume, and if it’s in my headphones, it’s also going to be ‘deafeningly loud’.”
Do you have an all time favorite artist or album?
- “I don’t know if I have an all time favorite artist or album, but if there were a few I had to pick, it would be Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon (“stereotypical I know”), Reign In Blood by Slayer, that’s my favorite thrash metal album, and Pure Heroine by Lorde (“goated album”). I guess you could say I have a pretty broad taste in music.”
If there was one artist you could see live in concert, alive or dead, who would it be?
- Alive: “Definitely Slayer, I had an opportunity to see them on their farewell tour, but I didn’t realize that it was their farewell tour, and I’ve regretted it ever since.”
- Dead: “Easily Nirvana, I’ve been a big fan of theirs since I went through a grunge phase in high school, and I’m still a huge fan now, so that would be awesome to see them live.”
I’ve gathered that you’re a big rock and roll guy, but are there any other genres you enjoy that you haven’t quite mentioned yet?
- “I really listen to anything, but a few other genres I enjoy that I don’t talk about as much are oldies, like the music Dr. Hepcat plays on his show The Golden Oldies. I also enjoy classic country music, and believe it or not some hyperpop songs have started to grow on me.”
Do you play any instruments?
- I used to play the bass when I was in orchestra band in middle school, and I’m not talking the electric bass, I mean the upright bass, the real bass. In high school I learned how to play the guitar and piano, but over the last few years I’ve kind of lost my touch, but it’s been a goal of mine to re-learn those instruments in the future.
Chris is also in Auburn’s Army ROTC program, so I thought I’d ask him what he listens to while he’s working out to stay in shape for the Army. He told me he mostly enjoys listening to metal during a workout, but on occasion it’ll be 90’s hip-hop music or the occasional trap music playlist, “but never at the same time” he says.
I had a great time interviewing Chris over FaceTime as he neared the end of his quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19 over a week ago, but we’re all looking forward to his debut episode of Cheetah Print next week. Make sure to tune in on Wednesdays at 8PM for all your soul, funk, R&B and disco music needs, I’ve also attached a link to the official Cheetah Print playlist, which’ll give you a taste of what’s to come.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0oxt67bjJSbZwYgrELpCtd?si=9962ee614ef748c2
