Making a scene on Rage 103.7

6 p.m. on a weekday night, and Southeast Missouri State University's student radio station, Rage 103.7, is about to do something it does 24 times a day -- something other local radio stations won't.

A voice comes over the air, announcing to listeners they're about to hear a band they won't hear on commercial rock stations. "It's the local spotlight on Minds Above," says the voice.

Minds Above is one of many local bands, sweating it out in Southeast Missouri, where the venues are small and the pay is low. They don't have platinum records or a major-label contract, but that's fine with The Rage.

"The radio industry is purely local," said Cara Stone, program director at 103.7. "With the local music scene growing, we just want to do our part to help."

The names are ones that local hipsters will recognize: Rock Solid, Inkognito, The Dirty 30's, The Otto Modest, Essence of Logic, Steerjockey. They're the groups who play their hearts out on Cape Girardeau's stages and the ones who actually need the airplay with their biggest fan base, the college-age-and-younger crowd.

"It really serves the campus community," said Stone. "In that way, it's exposing people from different areas to local music. It opens the bands up to a venue they wouldn't normally have and is a great way to tie the local community to the university."

"In Cape really, because it is a college town, the local scene is important," said disc jockey Heather Valle. "My friends in the local bands love it. It's some really good PR for them. If you hear about a Cape bash, then you hear the band on the radio, you're more likely to go see it."

Musician Jeb Stuart is a member of several local bands that have built a strong following -- like Squad Car, Pizzasaurus Rex and The Dirty 30's. Stuart said with the kind of promotion provided by 103.7, he's seeing the local scene really take off. He's also the bassist in Rock Solid, appearing at tonight's show.

The scene has improved, with a flood of bands hitting the local market and getting shows in the past few years, said Stuart.

"I've been playing in this town for four years now, and not until this last year have I seen turnouts the way they're getting now."

Stuart also said he's seen local shows double in size in the past year. "Before you had to pass out flyers and damn near sell your soul to get 15 people there," he said. "Now the radio station's playing our songs, they're promoting the shows and kids are really starting to get interested and come out."

Rage also draws in its audience with programming like "Late Rage Show." It airs Wednesdays from 9 to 10 p.m. and is a comedy/talk show described by host Mike Fraze as "'The Daily Show' and Letterman mixed."

There's also a sports show and a show called "Sound Above Ground" that plays underground classics like Echo and the Bunnymen and Velvet Underground.

But it's in the local-music department where Rage is fulfilling its mission as a catalyst for the development of a local community of musicians playing original music -- a mission made possible partly by freedom from commercial restraints (even though the local spotlight has recently found a sponsor in Hempie's).

"The fact that this is a student radio station gave me the freedom to think outside the box," said Stone.

As long of bands keep sending in submissions of high enough quality for airplay, Stone hopes to keep the mission alive, even after she graduates in May.

"My vision is for this to continue on," said Stone. "I'm training my successors how to keep this going and not let it die out. It all depends on the bands."

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182