The Kallaway Blog

Let's Get Our Plunge On!!!

It's time to do the Wausau Polar Plunge this Saturday! Stac' and I get the honor again of saying "3, 2, 1..Jump" to over 600 people raising money for the Special Olympics. My favorite part of the plunge is the costumes. Participants figure "hey..I'm crazy enough to jump into a hole cut out of the ice in the middle of Man Made Lake at Sunnyvale Park...I can at least LOOK crazy!" And they do! If you ready to brave the waters..there's still time to sign up. Full details here on wifc.com or call us direct during Kallaway on the Rise at (715) 842-WIFC. See you Saturday! (photo of "Zoro" by Dave Kallaway)

Do you vote based on heavy metal band endorsements?

MegaDeath has been rockin' for a long, long, time...you need some metal in your life..you need MegaDeath!!! But my question..do you wait to decide who should be the next president based on MegaDeath saying "we're for that guy?" first? I'm on a search for a person tha admits that. Imagine what kind of person takes direction from a band who sings about "The skull beneath the skin" "Bad Omen" and "Mouth Worms." Well Rick Santorum can rest easy because MegaDeath and few other heavy metal bands have endorsed him. Whew. Not sure what is better...MegaDeath endorsing you or Air Supply...what do you think? Let me know at dave.kallaway@wifc.com

I am NOT a basketball fan, but how can you not know about Jeremy Lin. This grad of Harvard and now "sensation from outta nowhere" is taking the New York Knicks to new heights. First..he's a good player. Second..he puts butts in the seats..more people are coming to their games. Third..merchandise..the dude will help sell a lot of jerseys!! Fourth..he's got us creating a new language with "Linetastic" and "He's a LINderella story"..all that. So what else do you need, right?

I first saw this video from a tweet an L.A. photographer posted. it made him sick and it should make you sick too. But maybe it won't. You'll see the transformation that a model goes through before they ever hit the billboard, the magazine, the poster..to promote a product. and the clear message is right at the end when this model ends up in what photographer's call the "Digital Darkroom. It's Photoshop and it happens on a regular basis. Some, not all, are just sick to their stomachs over having to re-touch the pictures they took. Will a statement ever be made to stop doing this? Or are we stuck with models with E.T. eyes and skinny necks to sell what we're buying?

It's starting to happen. We're getting the hate from listeners who are tired of Adele's voice. Knew it would happen because it happens to all superstar artists. Every..single...one. I've been in radio for about 38 years now and every artist that hit it big..eventually got to the point where their hard work had paid off. They toured. They played hundreds of dates each year. They got radio airplay and then...they were HUGE. The problem is the point where the haters arrive online and trash that artist..saying that "radio" (meaning WIFC) plays certain artists too much..like Adele. And the off shoot of that is others..just because they think it's the hip thing to do is throw out hate as well. And it grows and grows. But next time you see somebody hating on an artist like Adele and thinking that radio plays her too much. Think about anything you've put your heart and soul into..something you've accomplished in life and then have people say "you're too big now..I'm seeing you and hearing you too much." Just think what that would mean to you.

Paul McCartney performed this song on the Grammys this past weekend..cool, bluesy song with Joe Walsh on guitar..gotta love it. BUT...also online..there was this huge surge of tweets and FB posts saying "Whose Paul McCartney??" Makes me sick and I challenge music teachers both old and new. If you're teaching kids about Mozart ,music scales, current music, then the Beatles should absolutely be part of their studies! Paul provides with the hardest thing to do in music..a simple song. Listen, and learn and have a good Val Day!

On "Kallaway on the Rise" this morning..the debate was all about "artist lasting or fading." Are there any current artists like Kesha or Lady Gaga that will be around as long as Bruce Springsteen or Tony Bennett? AND..does that matter when you're buying music? This all came up because of the Grammys this weekend. I for one do not bring "staying power" into my decision to buy a song or album or not. If I like it..I buy it. By the Way...Jennifer Hudson here on video..excellent job paying tribute to Whitney Houston..the woman who handed her her first Grammy...

We had the funniest bit this morning for keywords on 95-5 Rewards. It was from Jimmy Kimmel who aired a conversation from a reporter asking Meta World Peace "what he likes about road trips" but it sounded like she asked "what do you like about ROACHES"...he said "Roaches? I don't like roaches." Funny stuff..sounds like that Meta comes up often in Jimmy Kimmel's comedy! Enjoy...(CAREFUL..if you're listening to this in the office..there's some "bleepin' going on!!)

The Band "OK Go"..to me is really more of a visual band than anything. And wow..for the Superbowl they went to a whole new level with this video. Just think of the set up and what it took to set up the pianos, guitars..all that! Hat's and helmets off to you guys...this rocked!

Can't see anything beating this for "Best Superbowl Commercial." We asked listeners whether they were cool with these ads being leaked early so you don't even need to wait til the game to see them? Most said.."no problem..and besides..a lot of people just wanna see the ads..and don't care about the game."

Don Cornelius, the mastermind behind the classic music tv show "Soul Train" is dead of an apparent suicide. So very sad to hear the news. Don was the super low voice host of Soul Train for years and years. The show had so many elements to it. Don himself. The Dancers. and for sure the amazing talent that would come play! From David Bowie to the Jackson Five..everybody wanted their shot on Soul Train! In this video..Don is pushed into doing "The Line" which was a cool segment where the dancers would form 2 lines and spotlight each amazing couple. In this clip DON HIMSELF actually did "The Line." A rare moment from a musical icon.