Online radio station is raising a Rukus

The word “independent” comes up a lot when Moe Angelo and Trevor Quillan talk about Rukus Radio, their online station.

Independent artists. Independent DJs. Independent thinking.

Rukus, now in its third year of live webcasting, is all about being independent.

The artists heard on the station (rukusradio.com) are unsigned, releasing work with their own money or through small labels.

The DJs play whatever they want to play. And because Rukus carries no advertising, it is not beholden to anyone.

Angelo, Quillan and about a dozen other DJs (including locals Jack Bradway, Adam DePascale, Chris Rutushin and Gabe Crish) keep Rukus on the air from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. every day, with a variety of different programs.

Rukus is uniformly unpredictable from DJ to DJ, with few constants — band interviews and lots of high-quality music among them.

Every genre — jam, folk, rock, funk and hip-hop — is represented, depending on the DJ’s preferences.

The site has registered listeners in 89 countries and almost every state (China, North Korea and, for some reason, Wyoming are three of the holdouts).

Perhaps not surprisingly, Rukus isn’t big in Youngstown. But it does have healthy listenership in Los Angeles and New York.

Quillan offers an anecdote that seems to verify the station’s reach. On a recent trip to Colorado, a bartender — who had nothing more than his voice to go by — asked Quillan if he was a DJ on Rukus Radio.

The site gets upward of 10,000 views per week and has 1,600 members, many of whom keep the chat room lively.

Bands upload videos and blog links onto the site, and also hook up to schedule gigs.

In short, the site has become a social network based on indie music.

Angelo is the bassist for local rock band The Kellys, and Quillan is a solo singer-songwriter. They know the music business as well as anyone, but they’re just not sure where Rukus will wind up taking them.

They’re not in it for the money — which is good, because although the station just cleared $2,000 in an online fundraiser, it has no other revenue stream.

But they are having a blast with the journey. “We’re not looking to get rich,” says Angelo.

Their only goal, they say, is for Rukus to be a self-sustaining site, one that is free for both the bands who submit music to it and the listeners who want to hear it.

One possible direction, says Quillan, is for the site to obtain legal status as a nonprofit organization.

A more definite step is to use the site as a springboard for event promotion. Already in the works is Rukus Fest, a music festival tentatively planned for September in downtown Youngstown, featuring bands heard on the station.

Also brewing — literally — is Rukus Ale, which will be produced by Youngstown’s Rust Belt Brewing Co.

Ken Blair, owner of the craft brewery, said the beer will be ready in time for Rukus Fest but couldn’t say just yet whether it will be bottled or sold in kegs.

Angelo and Quillan are helping to develop the recipe.

They want to make sure the beverage tastes ... independent.