WKLU in Indianapolis (101.9 FM) is now broadcasting The Dr. Demento Show on Sunday nights at 10pm. Write them a letter and let them know you enjoy the show.

[Click on pictures for larger versions.]
The first week in July, 1997, was a banner one for demented Hoosiers.

The weekend prior, Dr. Demento appeared at the Old Songs Festival in Altamont, NY. Since he was scheduled to appear in Indianapolis the next weekend, he decided to spend the whole week in Indiana, rather than flying back to the West Coast.

Tuesday

 First, he spent a few days in Bloomington, home of Indiana University's main campus. Here, he had a whirlwind schedule, beginning with a lecture at the university. IU had one of the first rock 'n' roll history classes in the country. This has now been expanded to no less than five classes. The class that was available in the summer session when Dr. D was here was "History Of Rock 'n' Roll: The 70s & 80s". Dr. D did a lecture on the life and music of Frank Zappa. (There is also a whole class on Frank Zappa, but it was not being offered during this summer session.)

Here is Dr. D with Andy Hollinden (left) and Glenn Gass (right), professors from the IU School Of Music. Glenn is the originator of the rock history classes here at IU, and has been teaching them for over 15 years.

Andy brought along some old 78s for Dr. D to look through, and he found a few interesting ones.

Wednesday

The next day, it was off to Earwax record store, in downtown Bloomington, for a record signing. We can see that Dr. D was overwhelmed by the selection at Earwax!

Many people showed up at the record signing, including Pete Frenzer, nephew of "Dead Puppies" lead singer Bill Frenzer!

The record signing was at lunchtime, and Dr. D got so hungry that he started munching on the merchandise! They say you are what you eat...

Also that day, the good Dr. stopped by Morris Studios to record show #97-30. I had a blast doing the show with Dr. D. Here we are in the control room recording the vocal tracks.

If you've ever wondered what Dr. D uses to make all the weird sounds on the show, here he is displaying his props: the train whistle, noisemaker, and horn.

Even with all this activity, the Dr. still had a little time to take a well-deserved rest.

Thursday

But Dr. D is a hard worker, and bright and early Thursday morning he headed for WFBQ in Indianapolis, to appear on the nationally syndicated morning show "The Bob & Tom Show". On the left, we see Dr. D in the studio with Tom, and on the right we see him with both Bob and Tom, just outside of the broadcast room.

Friday

 Then, he spent the next three days at the InConjunction XVII science fiction convention in Indy. On Friday and Saturday nights he was the DJ at a dance. The second night, The Great Luke Ski showed up, and showed everyone how to dance to his songs. (Picture coming soon.)

Saturday

 On Saturday night, he gave a presentation on science fiction dementia, and closed the show by singing "Shaving Cream", accompanied by Michael Longcor on guitar. (Lyrics coming soon.)

Sunday

 Sunday was the last day of the convention, and Dr. D closed the whole event by holding a panel discussion on novelty records. Luke Ski also told people how he went about releasing his own CDs.
Back to the list of demented pictures

The Petition

 At the lecture, signing, and convention, I circulated a petition to get Dr. D back on the air in this part of the country. I collected over 200 signatures, and sent copies of it to seven different stations in and around Bloomington. So far I haven't heard anything back from any of them. If you would like to personally write them a letter requesting the show, it would be much appreciated. Here are the stations I wrote:

Jim Manion, Program Director
WFHB
108 W 4th St
Bloomington, IN 47404-5100

Rich Anton, Program Director
WTTS
400 One City Centre
Bloomington, IN 47404-4972

WZPL
9245 North Meridian Street # 300
Indianapolis, IN 46260

WFBQ
6161 Fall Creek Road
Indianapolis, IN 46220

John Paul, Program Director
WINN
3212 Washington Street
Columbus, IN 47203

WQRK
PO Box 1307
Bedford, IN 47421

WBWB
Century Village
Bloomington, IN 47407