Fred Hopengarten snagged a T-shirt for the best band name.
Readers enjoyed the photos that I shared here of Willie Barnett’s component sculpture.
Ralph Haneman of WDAC(FM) in Pennsylvania told Willie in an online post that his little masterpiece “will gain more interest than the pieces of equipment from which the parts were taken. Good job.” Barnett told him that most of the parts had been diverted from the trash bin after being removed from Krell audio amplifiers sent in for repair.
The band photos reminded Bud Aiello of the creations of Petra Mayer, who worked in NPR’s Engineering Services Shop and “proved to be pretty good with a soldering iron and lots of old parts.” Her “Zords” still line the tops of desks at NPR. (You can find photos of her creations via radioworld.com/links.)
Willie and his wife Kim named their creation “High Capacity & the Resistors,” though they also liked the band names “High Fidelity,” “Clear Circuitry” and “The Components.” The name “L.E.D. Zeppelin” is my fave, though not original to this project.
I invited you to suggest others.
“So many good names,” replied Kenneth Raisanen of WOAS(FM) in Ontonagon, Mich. “I wish I had paid better attention in Mr. Adamson’s physics class.”
Kenneth suggested “Resistance” (a choice that would provide its own “runic” symbol for ohms, a la Led Zeppelin). He also likes “Borg” (“resistance is futile”), or “The Circuitones,” or “The Ohmanators.”
Karl DeMay of WOTC(FM) in Edinburg, Va., favors “Modern Circuitry.” Jon Vaught of WFIF(AM) in Milford, Conn., wrote, “How about The Short Circuits?” Rick Heerema of EMF Broadcasting in Sacramento suggested “Basik Electroniks,” while Barton Jones of KFKX Radio in Hastings, Neb., offered “LED Hedz” or perhaps “Passive Componentry” (featuring special guests P.C. Board and I.C. Keyes).
And the winner of the coveted Radio World T-shirt for best name goes to (electrolytic drum roll please): Fred Hopengarten of antennazoning.com, for his simple and classic choice:
“The Radio Band.”
Ah, what I do for my art…
It’s hard to retain your dignity while wearing a cheesehead but who can say no to the good folks at the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association?
Congratulations to WBA for its recent successful Broadcaster’s Clinic, including leaders Michelle Vetterkind, Leonard Charles, the clinic planning committee, Mandy Endicott and the indefatigable Linda Baun. Their event is a model of a successful regional conference; I recommend it highly.
With the end of another year upon us, I want to wish happy holidays to the advertisers, contributors and staff who help make Radio World such an important part of our readers’ lives.
RW celebrated our 35th birthday this summer, a notable milestone in any regard but particularly so in the fast-changing spheres of radio (which we cover) and business media (of which we are a part).
In 2013 we will continue to explore the ever-changing nature of the radio business through our unique editorial mix — exploring the impact of new technologies and business models while encouraging active reader participation and also honoring radio’s rich and varied history. This balance of “new and old” is meaningful, as is our emphasis on reader opinion and involvement. I want RW constantly to be asking, “Where are we going?” … while also remembering where radio has been.
Most of all, happy holidays to you, and thank you — for your loyalty to RW, for your patronage of our advertisers, for willingly trying out the new forms of publishing we have explored … for reading us, questioning us and contributing your comments, letters and other forms of opinion.
For 35 years, Radio World has been the focus of a real community; and that’s worth celebrating. You make it possible for us to be here.
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