WHFR "Behind The Mic": Tom Wilson & Dan Karpinski

⮕ Today is the third day of WHFR's once-a-year pledge drive, RADIOTHON. Full story here! ⬅

As a highlight of our 2024 "Spotlight on Our Volunteers" Radiothon theme, we're thrilled to present "Behind The Mic," our WHFR Volunteer Spotlight Series where you, our Loyal Listener, can get to know a little bit more about your favorite WHFR personalities!

They'll be sharing their passions, memories, and unique perspectives, responding to some fun and thought-provoking questions we've posed to them. Today you get “Two for Tuesday!!!” with two participants!

First up: Tom Wilson
Host of: Space Is The Place
Fridays 6:00-8:00pm
Avant Garde / Experimental

1. What's your earliest memory of listening to the radio? Paul is dead.

2. What is/was your all-time favorite radio show or DJ? What makes/made it special? None in particular; the public radio stations since about age 20 but the very earliest were CKLW, WKNR and WDRQ. 20 years coming up in May!

3. What do you do at WHFR and how long have you been involved with the station? I have great fun while trying to educate the listening audience in the history of Avant Garde music and its many sub genres.

4. What drew you to become a WHFR volunteer? The WHFR newsletter and listening to Pat Frisco.

5. What impact do you think WHFR has on the local or global community and why is local/independent radio important to you? One of too few needed outlets for independent artists who make up about a third or more of the market share. I like independent artists.

6. First album (or CD/cassette) you ever purchased? Joe Walsh "The Smoker You Drink The Player You Get"

7. Favorite song/artist right now? Sun Ra

8. If you could play an instrument at expert level, which one would it be? Why? The Trautonium, so I could perform the works of Oskar Sala.

9. In the “jam session of life,” are you more the Lead Vocalist commanding the stage,
the Background Singer/Musician weaving in harmonies/melodies, or the Behind-the- Scenes Mastermind making it all happen? Resident Sound Technician.

Our second participant for “Two for Tuesday” is: Dan Karpinski
Guest co-host of: The Jump Button
Thursdays 8:00-11:00pm
Soundtrack/Gaming/Animation

1. What's your earliest memory of listening to the radio? Probably listening to Oldies 104.3 with Dick Purtan.

2. What is/was your all-time favorite radio show or DJ? What makes/made it special? I always liked Dick Putan, with the oldies he played and Alan Almond for his amazing vocals.

3. What do you do at WHFR and how long have you been involved with the station? I have been on and off with WHFR for almost 20 years. I used to host Nice N' Easy, a big band and swing show, I also used to host a short lived Roots Project that was early Rock n' Roll show. Plus, I hosted The Jump Button for a spell.
You can currently find me making a few cameos in the peanut gallery on The Jump Button Thursday nights from 8pm-11pm with Robb with 2 Bees.

4. What drew you to become a WHFR volunteer? When I started going to school at Henry Ford Community College (as it was known at that time), I was in the Student Center and noticed a radio station. I thought it looked pretty cool. Decided to join.

5. What impact do you think WHFR has on the local or global community and why is local/independent radio important to you? I think WHFR has had a positive impact on the community. Whenever I get to attend a WHFR event, I always hear how much people enjoy our station.
Local and independent Radio is important to me because our DJs get to hand pick the music they play on their shows, making each show unique and more personal to listen to.

6. First album (or CD/cassette) you ever purchased? The first album that I picked up was Danny Elfman's Batman score on cassette.
The first CD I remember buying was probably Weird Al Yankovic's Bad Hair Day Album.

7. Favorite song/artist right now? Kung Fu Panda 4 soundtrack that features Tenacious D's cover of Baby One More Time.

8. If you could play an instrument at expert level, which one would it be? Definitely my Acoustic guitar.

9. In the “jam session of life,” are you more the Lead Vocalist commanding the stage,
the Background Singer/Musician weaving in harmonies/melodies, or the Behind-the- Scenes Mastermind making it all happen? In the “jam session of life,” I’m behind the scenes type of player for sure.

Don’t forget to check back tomorrow to read about another WHFR DJ, and be sure to listen to our broadcast as we will air many more WHFR Volunteer Spotlight Series "Behind The Mic" recordings all week long throughout Radiothon!