Fine Line Between ‘Fantasy’ & ‘Catastrophe’
Leave it to our eternally enterprising wake-up pals Dave Kaelin and Jimmy Jam, longtime hosts of the Dave and Jimmy morning show at iHeartMedia’s WNCI/Columbus, OH to emerge from their top-secret “idea bunker” (men’s room) with their latest semi-hair-brained scheme, born from their sincere desire to 1) Give something positive back to the industry that has given them so much, or 2) generate gratuitous promotional coverage in RAMP.
And with that, we give you “Dave & Jimmy’s Radio Fantasy Camp!” (No. 2). Operating under the inspiring slogan, “Learn From The Worst,” the guys invited a crew of average listeners to come spend a week with them learning all about radio. That’s Kaelin (back row, left), co-host Kelsey (seated, second from left) and Jam (far right), pictured in with their young, optimistic, impressionable “campers,” who were selected from hundreds of entries, “mostly on their ability to shower and be on time — two things we have yet to master,” said Jam, who insists “Everyone had a blast,” despite numerous rumors to the contrary. “We taught them all of the basic elements of morning radio — eating on the air, mispronouncing artist names, and napping during songs.” He added, “We literally had pizza in the studio every day so the campers could see how real DJs work.”
Jam admits the camp’s “curriculum” was sometimes demanding, as he recounted, “We kicked one camper out because she didn’t hit the post.” Of course, the unexpected level of talent within the ranks sometimes lead to the opposite effect, as Jam later admitted, “If a camper was too good, we would kick them out so we wouldn’t be replaced.”
The fact that there were no serious injuries or frivolous lawsuits incurred during this inaugural “camp” has given the guys some positive momentum for the future, as Jam proudly announced, “This is going to be an annual event for the Dave & Jimmy Show! Next year we will teach them how to date interns on the down-low.”
