SO, WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?

AH YES, A GOOD QUESTION.  ONE THAT HAS DIFFERENT ANSWERS ON MANY SPIRITUAL LEVELS.   LET'S TAKE A LOOK SHALL WE?

MIKE STEPHEN (HOST)

    WHERE DO I BEGIN?  I WAS BORN IN A CROSSFIRE HURRICANE...NO, WAIT, THAT WAS JUMPIN' JACK FLASH.  IN REALITY I WAS BORN IN ELMHURST, IL.  I THINK I WAS PART OF A GOVERNMENT EXPERIMENT GONE AWRY.  ANYHOO, I'M AN ELMWOOD PARK NATIVE.  HEY, WE'VE GOT JOHNNIE'S BEEF.   IT'S THE GREATEST BEEF IN THE WORLD!   

    I'VE KNOWN PRODUCER NICK FOR A LONG TIME.  WE MET THROUGH HIS BROTHER, T-BONE.  NICK HAD THE PRIVILEGE TO WITNESS THE DEVELOPMENT OF MY STRANGE MIND.  WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT YEARS IN THE FUTURE, HE'D BE PRODUCING MY RADIO SHOW?  NOT I!   HOW DOES HE PUT UP WITH ME ANYWAY?

    I'VE ALWAYS LOVED MUSIC, THAT'S PART OF THE REASON I DO WHAT I DO,  I GREW UP ON ROCK AND BLUES AND IT HAD A HUGE IMPACT ON ME.  IN FACT, I'VE BEEN PLAYING HARMONICA FOR ABOUT FOUR YEARS.  YES, I'M A FIRM BELIEVER THAT THE HARMONICA IS A COOL INSTRUMENT!  WHEN I WAS LITTLE I TOOK SUZUKI PIANO, WHICH WAS A GREAT FOUNDATION FOR LEARNING MUSIC.  PLUS, THE CHICKS DIG MUSICIANS.  AT LEAST THAT'S WHAT VINCE NEIL FROM MOTLEY CRUE TOLD ME!

    I STARTED WORK AT WLUW IN THE FALL OF '98.  BACK THEN I WORKED IN THE NEWS DEPARTMENT.  I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE ON THE AIR WITH MY OWN SHOW, SO I WAS TRAINED AND IN THE LATE FALL OF '98, I DID MY FIRST ON-AIR SHIFT.  BOY WAS I NERVOUS!  HOWEVER, I WAS HOOKED.   I LOVED IT AND I STILL DO.  HONESTLY, IT SEEMS LIKE THE PAST TWO YEARS HAVE FLOWN BY.  THAT'S PROBABLY FROM DANNY CARLINO'S LONG-ASS SPORTS REPORTS.  WE'VE DONE SOME REAL GOOD THINGS IN THE PAST AND THERE'S MORE TO COME.  WLUW IS A FANTASTIC RADIO STATION.  NOWHERE ELSE ON THE DIAL WILL YOU FIND A STATION THAT SUCCESSFULLY COMBINES PROVOCATIVE AND INTERESTING COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING WITH MUSIC THAT ROCKS.   YOU WON'T FIND SOME OF OUR MUSIC ON ANY OTHER STATION IN THE CITY!  WHAT CAN I SAY, I LOVE WORKING HERE!  YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE SHOW UNDER "SHOW STUFF."  I HOPE THAT YOU, THE LISTENER ARE ENJOYING THE SHOW AS WELL AS THE STATION ITSELF.  WELL, THAT'S ALL FOR ME.  NOW I'M OFF TO THE BRITTANY SPEARS WEBSITE...

"PRODUCER NICK" TRISTANO (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER/CO-HOST)

    WELL, WHERE TO START...I WAS BORN IN CHICAGO AND HAVE LIVED IN THE CHICAGO AREA ALL MY LIFE.  AS MIKE SAID, WE HAVE KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR A LONG TIME AND I GUESS THAT'S WHAT MAKES US WORK SO WELL TOGETHER.  WE'VE HAD A WHILE TO GET USED TO EACH OTHER, MAINLY FOR ME TO GET USED TO HIM.  WE LIKE TO CARRY OUR OFF-AIR FRIENDSHIP ONTO THE SHOW.  WE THINK IT GIVES THE SHOW A RELAXED FEELING LIKE YOU'RE JUST HANGING OUT WITH FRIENDS, BECAUSE THAT'S JUST WHAT WE'RE DOING.  I DON'T THINK THERE'S REALLY ANYTHING THAT COULD MAKE MIKE AND I MAD AT EACH OTHER.  SURE WE DISAGREE SOMETIMES, BUT WE ALWAYS REMAIN FRIENDS.  

    I'M A HUGE MUSIC FAN AND I'VE ALWAYS LOVED MORE "ALTERNATIVE" MUSIC.  I REALLY STARTED GETTING INTO MUSIC IN THE 80s AND I'M STILL A BIG 80s MUSIC FAN.  I DON'T JUST LIMIT MYSELF TO THE 80s, HOWEVER.  I LIKE ALL KINDS OF MUSIC.  ROCK 'N' ROLL, JAZZ, BLUES, COUNTRY, CLASSICAL.  IF IT'S GOOD, I'LL LISTEN TO IT.  

    I'VE BEEN WORKING IN THE RADIO/TELEVISION INDUSTRY IN CHICAGO SINCE 1995.  I STARTED DOING THE SHOW WITH MIKE JUST EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE.  WELL, THE ONCE IN A WHILES KEPT GETTING CLOSER AND CLOSER UNTIL I WAS DOING EVERY SHOW WITH HIM.  THAT WAS ALMOST THREE YEARS AGO, AND WE'RE STILL HAVING A GREAT TIME.  WLUW IS A GREAT STATION TO WORK AT AND I'M GLAD I'VE BEEN GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK THERE.  THE STAFF IS GREAT AND WE ALL GET ALONG LIKE THE BEST OF FRIENDS.  IT'S ALSO THE ONLY STATION WHERE YOU'LL HEAR THE TYPE OF MUSIC WE PLAY.  THERE REALLY SHOULD BE MORE STATIONS LIKE IT, BUT UNTIL THEN WLUW IS THE ONLY PLACE TO BE FOR THE BEST RADIO IN CHICAGO.   

DANNY CARLINO (SPORTS GURU, SOCCER HOOLIGAN, WILD THING)

   HERE'S THE STORY YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR...MY LIFE! ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT I HOPE YOU WEREN'T WAITING TOO LONG AND, IF YOU WERE, I HOPE I MADE IT WORTH YOUR TIME. I AM DANNY CARLINO, A.K.A. "THE WILD THING." THE BEST PART ABOUT THAT NAME IS THAT I'M NOT WILD AT ALL...EXCEPT WHEN A SOCCER GAME COMES ON OR WHEN ONE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ON TELEVISION AND ISN'T. THEN, I NEED TO BE CAGED. I AM THE SPORTS DIRECTOR AT WLUW, AND DURING MY CURRENT ONE-YEAR REIGN IT HAS BEEN MY RESPONSIBILITY TO KEEP OUR LISTENERS INFORMED OF THE SPORTS NEWS BOTH IN THE CHICAGOLAND AREA AND AROUND THE WORLD. ALSO, I LIKE SOCCER.

     I WAS BORN ON MARCH 27, 1977, IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. I THINK THAT DAY'S A NATIONAL HOLIDAY SOMEWHERE. I'LL HAVE TO LOOK THAT UP OR MAKE ENOUGH MONEY TO BUY AN ISLAND NATION AND MAKE IT TRUE. DID I MENTION THAT I LIKE SOCCER?

     SOCCER CAME INTO MY LIFE AT ABOUT AGE 5. IT WAS 1982 AND THE ITALIAN NATIONAL TEAM HAD JUST WON THE WORLD CUP IN SPAIN PROMPTING A PARTY AT MY HOUSE WITH MY GRANDPARENTS FROM ITALY WHO WERE STAYING WITH US THAT SUMMER. OH, BY THE WAY, I LIKE SOCCER.

     I'VE PLAYED SOCCER IN SOME FORM OR ANOTHER EVER SINCE AND I'VE LOST MOST OF THE GAMES I'VE PLAYED. MY MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT ON A SOCCER FIELD, OTHER THAN PLAYING WITH ALEXI LALAS, WAS THROWING MY SHOE AT MY COACH AFTER A GAME MY SENIOR YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL BECAUSE I DIDN'T GET TO PLAY MUCH...AGAIN! WHEN I SAY I DIDN'T PLAY MUCH, I'M NOT EXAGGERATING! MY BUTT WAS NUMB FROM RIDING THE BENCH DURING MY TWO-YEAR VARSITY STINT, BUT I STAYED ON THE TEAM ANYWAY BECAUSE I WANTED A UNIFORM AND I LOVED THE GAME. YOU KNOW I LIKE SOCCER, RIGHT?

     THINGS HAVE BEEN LOOKING UP SINCE THEN. I'VE BEEN AT WLUW IN ONE CAPACITY OR ANOTHER FOR OVER TWO YEARS. I LOVE WORKING HERE AND THE PAST YEAR WITH MIKE STEPHEN HAS BEEN A BLAST. ALL I CAN SAY IS THANK GOD THE ORIGINAL FRIDAY SPORTS GUY DIDN'T COME IN ANYMORE, OTHERWISE MY LIFE WOULD BE EVEN MORE BORING! ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT I'M A PROUD MEMBER OF THE FULL ON FRIDAY SHOW TEAM AND I HAVE ENJOYED JUST ABOUT EVERY MINUTE OF IT, EXCEPT WHEN MIKE READ THAT WEIRD "LOVE-LETTER" SOUNDING NOTE TO ME ON THE AIR. THAT FREAKED THE HELL OUT OF ME. THANKS TO THE LISTENERS FOR ENCOURAGING MIKE AND HIS CRAZY ANTICS. WITH YOUR SUPPORT, MIKE, PRODUCER NICK, MYSELF, AND WHOEVER DOES THE NEWS, ARE PART OF A WINNING TEAM!

BROOKE KELLEY (NEWS DIRECTOR)

    THE NEWS DESK ON THE STEPHEN IN THE EVENIN' SHOW IS A VIRTUAL REVOLVING DOOR.  EVERY FRIDAY YOU CAN GET THE LATEST BREAKING STORIES FROM ANY NUMBER OF PEOPLE.  IT MAY BE BROOKE, NIKKI, CLAUDIA, JOHN, LIZ, OR EVEN OUR VERY OWN WILD THING DANNY CARLINO.  NO MATTER WHO IT IS, YOU CAN BE SURE THEY'LL TELL YOU WHAT'S GOING ON IN THIS CRAZY WORLD OF OURS...OR AT LEAST WHAT THE WEATHER'S LIKE AT O'HARE.  REGARDLESS, YOU'LL GET SOME INFORMATION.  BE HAPPY WITH THAT. 

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