For Gene Mueller - It's all about the music ...

Gotta adjust the microphone between auditions.

"What I Need Is A Good Defense, 'cause I'm Feeling Like A Criminal ..."

- Fiona Apple

The judges compare notes.

All auditions are recorded in digital audio.

Good luck to everyone waiting to Audition. We'll see you again Thursday night at the Brass Bell in Glendale.

Get Out The Vote - THIS WEEKEND!

This weekend, you have the chance to vote on Nelly Furtado's latest single "Say It Right." Go back to our main page at http://www.wkti.com/ and tell us whether or not you want to hear this song on 'KTI.

What a whirlwind 8 months it's been for Furtado. Her first two singles were big - but not mainstream smashes. This one could be it - Tell us what you think beginning Saturday morning @ 6am.

If you want to hear the single ON-DEMAND, go to:

http://www.nellyfurtado.com/

BTW: Our INSIDER music surveys have been kicking butt in '07. The current "Back to the 90's" survey was so well received, that I will have an encore 90's survey ready to go for INISDERS on Monday - fresh new 90's songs for you to vote-on.

It's just like politics - if you don't vote, you cannot complain ...

Second Hand Stress?

Can someone else's stress be stressful? Apparently so ... says this week's Lady's Home Journal (and yes - I'm okay with my manhood in reading LHJ...)

At first you try to be understanding,

If there's no improvement, you probably end up feeling the strain yourself.

In effect, another person's stress can spread like secondhand smoke: It becomes your problem because you're there. According to researchers, other people's excessive or ongoing stress pollutes the environment. It erodes civility and causes anxiety. A stressed person is a loose cannon. You never know what is going to set him off when, and that's enormously unsettling.

This may be even worse than your own stress (firsthand stress). On that you can act -- confront your problems, attempt a resolution, count to 10.

In living with someone else's stress, there isn't much more you can do except stand there and take it. So combine the stress ... feeling of helplessness ... and inability to escape ... and you have a very unhealthy situation.

Second Hand Stress.

Need A Valentine?

How can a man increase his sex appeal?

Just in time for Valentine's Day, here is the secret to male sex appeal as copied from the current issue of Best Life:

"He should learn how to tell a funny, self-deprecating story. Researchers from McMaster University found that 62 percent of women want a man who makes them laugh rather than one who can bench his body weight. But remember that guy humor is different than girl humor. Men laugh at a guy who can make fun of others; women are attracted to a man who can make fun of himself."

All the proof you need is below ... Happy Valentine's Day!

But it's too early ...

The male of the species did not invent Valentines Day. He is just along for the ride. So please - I am asking the 'fairer' sex to have mercy on us again this year.

Try this ...

Stop at any Walgreens in SE Wisconsin tomorrow night on your way home from work. The aisle with the cards and chocolate hearts will be lined with men in sport coats grabbing for that last candy heart.

Man - that is risky ... What if they are all out?

In 'man-land,' stopping by tonight is not only safer - it's considered thinking ahead. See you in the aisle!

RS Project Audition # 1

The line forms at the NE entrance to the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

The judges take their place and fans begin to gather behind them to watch.

Time to begin - "What are you going to sing for us today?"

Everyone brings a support group - here they line-up to watch.

Singing something original ...

More fans gather to support their favorite ...

Let me sing Edwin McCain's "I'll Be" for you ...

Every moment is captured in digital audio.

The judges are impressed.

The line wraps out into the lobby - everyone will be heard!

See you next Saturday in New Berlin ...

What's that song that goes "Woo-Hoo ?"

I get a lot of calls from 'KTI listeners wanting to know artists and titles of songs. Most of the time they will have picked up the 'hook' ... sometimes referred to as a 'refrain' in the music world. They will sing us a line or two:

"To the left, to the left," - Beyonce / Irreplaceable

"It just takes some time ... da, da, da...." Jimmy Eat World / The Middle

"I said Woe hoe ... woe hoe ... woe how ... you're not the one for me." KT Tunstall / Black Horse and the Cherry Tree.

As much as we want to help - when listeners call and can't sing any lyrics - it gets tough. I always make sure callers know I am not insulting their humming ... but I usually cannot make it out.

Thank goodness for the Internet. Here is a site that should do it for you:

http://www.midomi.com/

I have yet to try it - so if you do: let me know if it works.

12.85 Seconds ...

Someone sent me this game - and it's been driving me absolutely crazy. My best time: 12.85 seconds ... Try it - it will occupy your weekend!

http://members.iinet.net.au/~pontipak/redsquare.html

The Game Is On!

Want to bet on a long-shot? Forget horses. Bet on anyone who wants to make it in the music biz.

I cannot imagine a tougher career choice.

You may not see it that way when you read about LeAnn Rimes cranking out hit songs at 12. Or Kelly Clarkson going from nobody to mega-star in 6 months.

They are the exceptions. They are the 4 leaf clovers. For every new star you hear on the radio, see on TV, or download on iTunes ... there are hundreds of thousands who never got that far.

All of this is why the Rockstar Project was formed 5 years ago as a partnership between Kevin Sucher of the Laboratory, Neil Willenson of Camp Hartland, and WKTI. We thought it would be interesting to find someone in whom we all believed - and push them to the front of the line.

The hardest part for our young talent is that the lines to musical success are set-up like the lines to Space Mountain in Disney World ... The first thing you see when you get to the front of the line - is that there is another line ahead - and you are now at the back of that line.

This is where we pick-up in 2007. Our three past winners have each recorded a single, produced a video, performed all over Wisconsin and had their song played on the radio over 250 times.

This year we wanted to help them move up that next line - and that takes cash. So we are proud to welcome Verizon Wireless as the presenting sponsor of the RS Project ... and this year we are offering a 10-thousand dollar signing bonus.

With the song ... airplay ... and $10K in cash: the rest is up to them. More to come ...

Attack Of The Giant Jellyfish!

I was in the beautiful Pabst Theater about noon yesterday and witnessed an amazing site. The crew was cleaning that giant chandelier above the center of the theater.

I guess I never thought about it being cleaned. And I'm not sure I ever looked directly up at it. Surely there are no ladders that tall ...

So down it comes.

Of all the gadgets I have ... I think the camera phone is my favorite. You just never know when you're going to stumble across something cool like this.

Ramblings From Out In The Cold ...

• When I was a kid they never cancelled school because it was cold … (they should have! My feet hurt by the time I got to school. There was two heating vents on the bus … and only the bullies got vent time)

• The Country Springs indoor water park pool temperature? 80 degrees

• How about those people getting off their charter from Mexico … from 85 to minus five in a few hours …that’s gotta hurt. Welcome to Milwaukee - claim your bags on carousel three before it freezes ...
  
  


• We’re not going to keep playing Cold as Ice. It really wasn’t that clever the first time and you’re not being clever requesting it.
  
  


• Since crime comes to a stop in sub-zero weather … and I’m afraid my locks will freeze: it’s another leave the car unlocked day.
  
  


• I laughed when I heard the weather guys say it would feel warmer this morning. After all what’s the difference between a -30 and a -20 wind chill. But I swear – it did feel warmer. The mind is powerful.
  
  


• You would think that only Chicago and NY are sub zero if watching the networks (Minneapolis if you watch CNN).
  
  


• That ground hog was full of crap.
  
  


• Hard to believe we have to warn anybody about using the oven as a space heater …
  
  


• Why do dogs take 3 times a long to do their ‘business’ when it’s 10 below?

• The steam coming off Lake Michigan was beautiful. The steam coming off my hand was scary.

• Why didn't I spring for seat warmers in the car?

• Tomato soup rules ...

• Remember last month's heating bill? Those days are over.

• I'll bet even Britney would wear long underwear in this weather.

• I bet it felt colder in Chicago today ...

Leave Superbowl Sunday Guilt Free!

I was thinking about how much we American's love Super Bowl Sunday. It's a holiday without guilt.

• We're not expected to be in church.


• We're not expected to drive across the country to see in-laws


• We don't have to go to a parade.


• We don't have to worry about the implications of wishing one a happy Superbowl Sunday.

We can just throw a party - guilt free. Right?

Not so fast.

I saw a story on the news about Superbowl Sunday and all of the bad things associated with this day of male gluttony. This wasn't Lifetime TV or The View - it was a mainstream network program and they were actually trying to make me feel BAD about enjoying Superbowl Sunday.

They used a correspondent from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution who has been researching ways to make Superbowl Sunday less destructive. After seeing the story, I Googled the article on-line - and of course it wasn't as anti-superbowl as the TV story (on a network which did not have the superbowl). But it was kind of goofy: .

Starting the day with a healthy breakfast and avoiding going hungry to a Super Bowl party can reduce the temptation to gorge on junk food during the game, experts say. And to avoid over imbibing when the beer starts flowing, they suggest alternating drinks with glasses of water.

The game is at 5:35pm. Do you think something I ate at 8:30 will make a difference? Also - who over imbibs?

If you're the party host, place the food beyond the reach of those on the couch, ideally in a different room. If you have to get up to get your food, you're being a little more active and it cuts down on unconscious gorging in front of the TV.

Sure - why not let the ground-in crumbs and chips spread to your carpet in the living room, family room and the den.

For every cookie …eat a carrot.

I had some carrot-cake ...??

Try spending a quarter of the game on a treadmill or, put out weights, resistance bands and balance balls for your party guests. If you're going to sit and watch the game, you're actually going to develop more muscular toning by sitting on a fitness ball rather than a couch.

Maybe you can receive your worst-superbowl party ever trophy at half-time ...

During half-time, encourage everyone to take a walk – the fresh air will do you good.

Those who aren't killed by the 40 below wind-chill can have an extra turkey burger!

Don't you think better advice would be to have fun without making a total pig out of yourself ... Then substitute a few salads for burgers ... fruit for fries all this week?

Tell me you didn't reach for something greasy when the Bears ran back the opening kick-off for a TD ...

http://www.ajc.com/health/content/shared-gen/ap/Health_Medical/Diet_Super_Bowl.html

Now What?

"Brett Farve saw his shadow today - and will be returning to the Packers in 6 weeks." - Lips Labelle on 94.5 WKTI.


What exciting news - Number 4 is coming back for another year. It's all anyone wanted to talk about today. Not the bitter cold ... not the Superbowl ... even Joe Biden fell off the radar.


Now what?


Not for the Packers. It will be a glorious season with lots of press for # 4. But I kind of have this empty feeling - like when you're flying stand-by and you clear the first leg of your trip. That doesn't guarantee you're going to make your connection.


Don't get me wrong: I am excited about seeing Brett for another year in Lambeau. But I still wonder - What is next? Are the Green and Gold good enough to make the post-season this year? The sports radio crowd says they were a game out. But the NFC stunk last year. Maybe it will stink again next year - let's hope!


So John Jagler's tractor watch is over. Maybe he can begin a Jenkins watch. How many days until the Brewers announce they have solved their outfield problem? Since Lance Allen never got a chance to stake out the Waffle House for Farve information - maybe he can scour the desert for someone to take Geoff?


Hey - there is still a long chuck of winter ahead (Groundhog's are usually wrong). We need some burning question to keep us warm.

Two Winners Last Night

Some of the auditions on last night's Idol were so preposterous that I couldn't tell at first if Brandon Rogers (the 28 year old from Hollywood) was simply the only one who didn't suck - or if he was good. But before Randy, Simon, Paula and Olivia even spoke - we backed up the DVR and watched - or should I say more importantly listened - again.

He was good. Really Good.

He was the one who sang Always On My Mind (Willie Nelson and the Pet Shop Boys each had a hit with the song). I really hate to root for somebody from Holly-weird. But he seems more like one of us than one of them.

I admit - I loved the old dude who sang You Belong To Me. At first I was skeptical of his story(c'mon it's reality TV!). I thought he might just be trying to meat Olivia Newton John. I love how Simon asked him about being over 28.

But the minute he started ... "See the pyramids along the Nile..." I knew it was legit. I was all goose-bumps before he got to "Nile." That is one my my 'top 5' favorite songs of all time and Sherman did it justice.

He's right. He was a winner.

Ugly Betty - Fired?

You can't fire someone just for being ugly ... Can you?

Turns out ... You Can.

Unlike religion, national origin or disability, discrimination based on looks is legal in most states say employment law experts. Washington, D.C. and Santa Cruz, California are two of the only municipalities with laws explicitly protecting workers against discrimination based on physical characteristics or personal appearance.

(From CareerBuilder.com)

Thank goodness for radio - huh?

You only have to watch a one episode to know that Betty is beautiful. Her website:

http://www.bettysuarez.com/