This past Sunday, the Hilltop was alive with the sound of music, resurrected from its typical Sunday slump. On Sep. 14, beats emanated from McLaren Conference Center as attendees walked up the path and into KUSF’s Rock ‘n Swap. The rhythm intensified upon entering McLaren, where a DJ set up, check-in and snack booth connected in a circle around KUSF members manning each station.
Vendors sold a wide variety of music in various formats, with each vendor occupying a certain niche in terms of genre. The room resembled a record shop with posters, banners and signs adorning each booth with stacks of vinyls in milk crates, cassette tape boxes, stereo and record player equipment and memorabilia for sale ranging from $5 to $200. Attendees struck up conversations with vendors about their selection and how they source it, while some engaged in discussion over hyperspecific genres and eras of music, sharing their love for the medium with one another.
Guests received a blue star stamp on the hand after showing a student ID for free entry. Non-students paid $3 for general or $20 for early bird admission. The Bon Appétit spread of bagels, pastries and coffee was demolished by 10 a.m. and the room buzzed with lively conversation about music and shared passions.
The Rock ‘n Swap started in 1983, originally known as the “Rock and Soc.” The KUSF fundraiser used to feature live bands and an auction, according to KUSF General Manager Miranda Morris. From “soc” to swap, the event has transformed into the largest and longest-running college radio station-led record fair in the Bay Area. Record and cassette tape vendor Marc Alfieri said the event attracts “people from all over the Bay Area, not just San Francisco… and it’s just known as the place to come to have the largest selection and variety of albums.” Bay Area locals drive hours to come to the event, sometimes coming early and paying the extra money for an early bird ticket to have a first-look at the vendor’s selections.
The Rock ‘n Swap’s continuous success stems from KUSF’s strong relationships with vendors, many of whom return year after year and secure their slots early, according to Sebastien Pierre, KUSF Music Director and senior architecture major. Part of the event’s appeal for students and community members comes from KUSF’s effort to keep items fairly priced. “It’s easier for you to walk away with 5 records at a $40 rate rather than going to Amoeba and dropping $80,” Pierre said.
While music aficionados come to the Rock ‘n Swap for their large and varied selection of fairly priced items, they stay for the people they meet and the rocking community they find. Kylie Vuong, a junior nursing major, said, “There’s a place for me to express a lot of my music … Here, I can actually participate and show [people] things that I’ve found.”
The event and KUSF itself provides an outlet for music enthusiasts on-campus and in the Bay Area to come together and share their zeal for music with each other.
David Greenfield, a non-USF affiliated attendee, has been coming to this event on and off for the past 10 years. “The Rock ‘n Swap helps keep the music community connected,” Greenfield said.
People from different generations and backgrounds gather here to discuss their shared interests and pass down knowledge and recommendations to each other; as Morris describes it, an “Analog Cafe.” This year, KUSF changed the frequency of the Rock ‘n Swap to one per semester–if you missed it this time, you will have to wait until the spring semester to rock again.
For more updates on the next KUSF Rock ‘n Swap, check out KUSF’s Instagram @kusforg.
Graphic by Sydney Waldrop / Graphics Center
