[Speed Gibson,
Tuesday July 12, 2005 at 12:00am]
Next Big Thing - Week 19
We heard a familiar voice today, Kelly Gunderson aka NASCAR Kelly when she calls Joe & Pat. She's a frequent caller and recently filled in for Krok a couple of nights. That's not enough to take away her amateur standing, however.
Let's start with Kelly's voice. Like Barry ZeVan, Gunderson's voice isn't exactly made for radio, which has always preferred the baritone to the soprano. She's 31, but sounds half of that, and it simply doesn't compare well with the other women of talk radio, like the Poli-Chicks. After half an hour, though, I got used to it.
In fact, it was easy to get used to, because of her bubbly personality. More so than anyone in this series to date, I heard someone who lives and breathes talk radio and wants this gig. She was a delightful blend of energy and personal excitement at the opportunity, even if sprinkled with a few Norm Crosby-style word substitutions.
The first hour was a segment about Kelly herself, then about the Next Big Thing series to date. At first, I didn't see this as much of a topic until she asked: why so few women? This helped but still didn't justify the time allocated. But all in all, a good hour.
The second hour was on how many medical procedures can now be done in places like India for pennies on the dollar. This was partly personal for her as she explained, and I found it quite informative. I love it when I learn something, be it talk radio, books, church sermons, even TV. Then she moved on to the budget shutdown/solution, seemed a little down as many of both parties are right now. Finally, we heard about how she's having twins, and I couldn't help but be interested and happy for her.
Kelly really shined when she took a vicious lefty call. You could picture the little horns rising out of producer Jason's head. Kelly was polite, listened, then disagreed, then found both passion and courage to win the point as later callers agreed.
I'm happy to give Kelly Gunderson a solid A, only my second I believe, the first going to Brad & Greg last month.
Really well done, Kelly!
Let's start with Kelly's voice. Like Barry ZeVan, Gunderson's voice isn't exactly made for radio, which has always preferred the baritone to the soprano. She's 31, but sounds half of that, and it simply doesn't compare well with the other women of talk radio, like the Poli-Chicks. After half an hour, though, I got used to it.
In fact, it was easy to get used to, because of her bubbly personality. More so than anyone in this series to date, I heard someone who lives and breathes talk radio and wants this gig. She was a delightful blend of energy and personal excitement at the opportunity, even if sprinkled with a few Norm Crosby-style word substitutions.
The first hour was a segment about Kelly herself, then about the Next Big Thing series to date. At first, I didn't see this as much of a topic until she asked: why so few women? This helped but still didn't justify the time allocated. But all in all, a good hour.
The second hour was on how many medical procedures can now be done in places like India for pennies on the dollar. This was partly personal for her as she explained, and I found it quite informative. I love it when I learn something, be it talk radio, books, church sermons, even TV. Then she moved on to the budget shutdown/solution, seemed a little down as many of both parties are right now. Finally, we heard about how she's having twins, and I couldn't help but be interested and happy for her.
Kelly really shined when she took a vicious lefty call. You could picture the little horns rising out of producer Jason's head. Kelly was polite, listened, then disagreed, then found both passion and courage to win the point as later callers agreed.
I'm happy to give Kelly Gunderson a solid A, only my second I believe, the first going to Brad & Greg last month.
Really well done, Kelly!