Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 93

 
Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 93 

Hosted Live/Produced/Recorded by: Andru Valpy, Natty Somers.

Air Date: 09/16/2011 6:00 PM on UMFM 101.5 FM 
Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes. 
Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/ 
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Rebroadcast: 09/21/2011 on CJUM 101.5 UMFM - 6:30 AM

The inspiration for this week's show comes from a conversation I had with a friend of mine who shares a love and passion for radio.

Our generation has (in my honest opinion) become dependent on technology. Now I'll be the first to admit that I am quick to jump on the digital bandwagon. I am always watching the internet for the latest trend in communication or electronics and I would be lying if I said I haven't waited in line to be one of the first to purchase a cellphone or gizmo or gadget.

But having said that I'm old enough to say that I've watched technology change rapidly over my 27 years of existence.

Being raised under the roof of a corporate IT Director and growing up with a father who loves his gadgets, I was always the first on the block to have what all of the other kids wanted. Yes, I was electronically spoiled.

I can recall being the first on the block to have internet in 1992. My friends would come over and we would spend hours playing text based games through Prodigy, my old Internet Service provider. True, it may have been nerdy at the time but we at the time accepted it as part of an everyday activity. A treat. A mental escape from reality.  In those days, It was funny or weird to spend hours in front of a computer for leisure. Who knew that it would have amounted to become something that we would depend on in our daily lives.

Those kids who laughed at us are certainly not laughing now in fact I dare say that in today's day in age it's almost joke worthy if you don't have a computer. . .

Today, I have the luxury of downloading TV shows and movies on demand when it's convenient for me. I depend on iTunes to deliver a wide variety of media whether it be music, movies, tv shows or those once hard to find rarities that are quickly becoming easier to find.

I think these days we take for granted what's given to us. We've become overwhelmed with options and outlets. We've come to expect that no matter where in the world we will have the luxury of digital convenience. If we don't like what we hear on one radio station, we can change it to another one. If we don't like commercials, we can purchase a subscription for commercial free radio. 

I'm not saying anything we don't already know but what I am saying though is that sometimes we, as digital revolutionists, should stop and appreciate the history of entertainment and pay homage to its noble uprisings.

We should familiarize ourselves with the art that the early pioneers of entertainment worked hard to produce in a time where technology wasn't as convenient or as easy as it is now.

Today a 30 minute radio episode can be recorded and produced in a real-time environment but If a mistake is made all it takes is the swift hit of a backspace key and with a click of a mouse, we can pick up where we left off.

In the early days of radio it wasn't so easy.

Live orchestras were brought in to record musical interludes, actors were hired and arranged in recording rooms to read off scripts and sound effect members sat at long desks with props in hand and followed along watching for audio ques.  Drama's were produced for radio just as you would expect to see them live in theaters. If a mistake was made, the audience heard it. Those involved in the production of radio drama's where responsible for painting a picture for their listeners using only audio and challenged their listeners to use their imagination to follow the storyline as the story played out.

While everyone would hear the same story, each listener may have visualized or interpreted the story differently in their head. The drama would have to be read just right in order for the desired effect on its audience. 

Today, laugh tracks can be imposed, audio can be imported from a CD and actors and narrators can be anywhere in the world and record their voices without ever having to meet the others in person. 

So tonight I wanted to bring you our listeners back in time and pay my respects to the early days of radio with a recording of a radio drama entitled The Phones Die First. The recording was produced in 1956 by a west coast character actor by the name of Harry Bartell.

Bartell hailed originally from New Orleans Louisiana, but moved over to Houston Texas where his radio career started at KRPC.  He later moved to California where he quickly befriended local producer and director Norman MacDonnell. Throughout his life Bartell worked on a variety of radio dramas including westerns, suspense dramas and situational comedy's. As technology changed, Bartell adapted and went on to become involved in such television productions as Get Smart, I Love Lucy, and The Twilight Zone. Bartell passed away in Febuary of 2004 at the age of 90.

As Bartell had made such an impact in the entertainment world, it only seemed fair to showcase one of his earlier pieces which truly captures the spirit and passion of Bartells radio dramas.

Tonight it was my pleasure to bring you the 1956 recording of Harry Bartell's The Phones Died First.

-Av