Gerald Rea ’70

I came to CLC as a PhysEd major and played Frosh Basketball. Two of my teammates, Jack Muschell ’70 and Terry Berntson were guitar players. I was a singer. We formed a band and soon discovered we could make money playing at CLC dances and in both Los Angeles and Ventura counties for professional gigs. We never played basketball again! 

We played at the first Yam Yad and in all the dorms, and we won a battle of the bands contest in Thousand Oaks. Our continued “jam” enabled us to keep cars and have some pocket money in a very sparse economic time. We played a lot of genres, and everybody responded. Rock, soul, Motown; we tried to keep everybody happy. We were first known as “After Ours” and then “Union Bookstore.” I also sing as Jerry Ray. SONGS? Think of “My Girl,” “Light My Fire,” “Purple Haze” and songs by the Byrds, Beatles, Stones, etc. All my love to all my old friends.

Mark Edward Hall ’77

Scottish singer-songwriter Al Stewart’s “Year of the Cat” album and single were released in October 1976. The title song is a dream, a fantasy with a romantic theme (À la the 1942 “Casablanca” movie). At the same time, there were several CLC (College, back then) students on the verge of realizing a dream that had been long in the making (four years) — to finally establish a cable radio station on-site, the studios of KRCL FM Stereo 101.5 MHZ.

With the help of movers and shakers (like Dwight Case, president of RKO, and professor Don Haskell ’70, drama department), and the dedication and skills of Tim Schultz ’77 and Doug Ramsey ’80, the remodeling work began during the Interim session of January 1977. This included a small construction crew.

It would be a radio station where students were responsible for deciding what to program and keeping the two studios maintained and operating at the designated days and scheduled times. It would only survive through the participation of campus students. Its first airing was in February 1977. My first on-air program included playing the song. Haskell became the first station director, Schultz was station engineer and Ramsey was program director. By the way, Al Stewart titled the song based on a Vietnamese Astrology book he saw in 1975.

Lynn (Wirthlin ’85) Lewis

I transferred to Cal Lutheran in the fall of ’82. My new roommates had a fantastic sound system, and whenever I hear the song “Who Can It Be Now?” by Men at Work, I am transported back to the Rasmussen dorm with Louise (Beisswenger ’83) Jordan and Lori (Long ’83) Gutknecht!

Rebecca Lirette ’90

“Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley — the happy song of college
“Sweet Love” by Anita Baker — the song of romance
“Kokomo” by The Beach Boys — reminds me of the weight room

Sarah (Rickert ’09) Nielsen 

Whether we were warming up for a game or getting ready to go out together, this jam was on our mixed CDs blasting in our dorm room or our cars. Pictured, from left, are Lauren McGuigan ’09, Sarah and Kelsey Sullivan ’09 — three Regals soccer teammates who remain friends today!

Amanda Asquith-Caya, MS ’15
“Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars

My comps study group for my masters in counselor education would hum to it to help relieve stress. It’s such a fun and memorable song!

Eric Wilder, MS ’15
“On The Way Home” by John Mayer

During the summer before my first year attending Cal Lutheran, I enjoyed a brief stint of living in the truly groovy and one-of-a-kind Kramer Court residential community on campus. Like a king in an empty castle, I had the *entire community* to myself, while I attended some work-related trainings before other students arrived for classes.

It was a temporary housing assignment for only a few weeks — just enough time to reflect on my changing life as I moved away from my hometown to become a brave new graduate student, but not enough time to hang pictures on the walls. A precious, yet promising, moment of transformation, grappling with a reimagined sense of home.

Music soothes the soul in times of tenderness, indeed. At the time, John Mayer had just released two fascinating albums that marked a major change of life for him, too (“Born and Raised,” and “Paradise Valley” for JM fanatics out there), and his songs quickly became the soundtrack to my journey.

Paradise Valley’s closing track, “On The Way Home,” was the perfect mantra I needed on repeat to fill the empty halls of the Cour de Kramer that summer — and you can trust that I took complete advantage of the opportunity to turn the volume up to “11,” marking the start of an indelible life chapter as a graduate student of Cal Lutheran.

“It takes a little while, but you’ll be fine, another good time comin’ down the line.”

Erin Sommers ’18
“A Head Full of Dreams” by Coldplay

Coldplay is one of my favorite bands — I even saw them live while I was in my third year at Cal Lutheran! This song was my jam because it has a dreamy, upbeat melody and it always put me in a good mood when I was feeling down. The lyrics explore what it feels like to follow your heart and open your mind to new experiences, which helped me whenever I was struggling.

Giana Gutridge ’18, MBA ’21
“Don’t Let Me Down” by The Chainsmokers featuring Daya

The song that was memorable during my undergrad days was “Don’t Let Me Down” by The Chainsmokers featuring Daya. This is the song that was playing on Admitted Students Day when my family and I walked into Gilbert Arena and were surrounded by the peer advisors and Cal Lutheran staff cheering for us. The song was trending on the charts during that time, so whenever I heard it, I thought of that moment first coming to Cal Lutheran.

Taylor (Netter ’19) Wilson

Johanna Rose-Kamprath ’19 and I would jam to this song in the car. It’s the first song I think of when I think of my college days.

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Kyle Tamkin ’21

It was a great song to get me pumped up for the gym or a party! Not to mention it was the most requested song on iCLU Radio for a long time!