Nick Ray - aka the Confirmed Bachelor - is host of the Nü

Nick Ray donned his vintage blazer, gold-rimmed shades and a red silk flower boutonniere.

It’s the uniform of the Confirmed Bachelor – the purveyor of cool tunes for people to chill to after a long work week.

“I have people call up and tell me: ‘I’m sitting on my back porch drinking an iced tea, and you’ve inspired me to put a little whiskey in there,'” the KJHK 90.7 FM disc jockey said. “I get them to relax and let their hair down.”

Ray’s “Nü Jet Set” program is among the nearly 30 radio and talk shows Kansas University’s student-run radio station will launch when it begins fall programming Aug. 14.

The fall lineup offers an eclectic brew – from rockabilly to Afrobeat to the Confirmed Bachelor’s lounge music and Euro pop.

“We want to have something that at some point in the day all students can relate to,” said Andrew Dierks, the station’s general manager and program adviser. “Every semester we analyze things and try to improve and diversify.”

There still will be old favorites on the air such as “Malicious Intent,” the program that has broadcast death metal, thrash and grindcore on Sunday nights for 13 years.

And there will be the start of programs such as “Midnite (That’s When You Fall in Love),” a pop music extravaganza.

Ray will bring back the Nü Jet Set, the program billed as a dip into the cosmopolitan lifestyle for the bourgeoisie. It will air from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays.

Ray, a self-proclaimed “super-duper senior,” is a loyal member of the KJHK family.

“KJ is just this oasis of great college radio,” he said.

Ray’s been known to groggily head to class in the morning after spending a late night at a concert promoting the station. He’ll fiercely protect the station when other stations try to invade an event – ripping down the rival posters if he has to.

And he talks enthusiastically about the station’s promotional gimmicks, everything from cow piñatas to KJHK temporary tattoos.

“If you’re involved with KJ at all, you’re in love forever,” he said.

The station broadcasts roughly from Topeka to Olathe, and its audience is diverse.

KJHK DJ Casey Thornburgh oversees the control booth at the radio station. Thornburgh, Lenexa senior, played music of all genres last week during the Friday

Downtown businesses tune in.

Employees at Wheatfields Bakery and Cafe, 904 Vt., keep the station on most of the time, said Caleb Kelley, pastry chef and server.

“It’s just got a better variety,” he said. “It keeps us busy.”

KJHK DJs get fan mail from inmates at the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth. And wide-eyed junior high school students have been known to jump at the chance to tour the station on career day.

Then there are the regular callers who refer to themselves by mysterious monikers such as “Jazz Guru.” The DJs welcome the calls and sometimes dedicate songs to fans. “This one goes out to the Guru,” they might say.

On the Nü Jet Set, Ray gives cocktail recipes. But he doesn’t drink in the studio.

“I always go out for a cocktail afterward, never beforehand,” he said, playing the part of the Confirmed Bachelor.

What’s the ideal drink for the ultimate chill-out?

“I prefer a simple Manhattan or, you know, a nice dry vermouth,” he said.

Ray has changed his major several times over the years – each time dropping a notch in practicality, he said. But he can’t bear the thought of leaving the station he has given so much time to.

“I keep telling my parents and everyone who expresses concern that my involvement with KJHK will open some doors for a career,” he said. “I can’t see myself doing anything else – anything as engrossing or fun.”