Signs & Wonders Blog

All my life I’ve been a cat lover but in recent years developed an increasing appreciation for dogs. One in particular that I grew fond of recently passed away. When I first stayed with my friend Lorvin in 2013, he had two beagles named Rocky and Scooby. I noticed Scooby’s bark sounded like a seal. So we started calling him Seal Dog. I never got tired of hearing his “seal squeal.” Scooby wagged his tail while barking and howling for me. I believe he enjoyed the extra attention. Rocky usually wouldn’t bark when I tried getting him to do so. Seal Dog always responded instead. Lorvin got the idea of turning Scooby into a superhero . He ordered a Superman outfit for dogs since the “S” could also stand for Seal Dog. An Underdog outfit was ordered for Rocky who I nicknamed Überdog. Just for fun, I created videos of these characters. One of them was for a song I composed. “ Seal Dog Theme ” got played on the Dr. Demento radio show. Later when Lorvin got married, his wife Tanya insisted on...

This past Friday, a well-known radio announcer turned 80 years old. I emailed him a birthday greeting that day but then felt inspired to write this tribute since he helped get my music heard by a wider audience. Barret “Barry” Hansen was born on April 2, 1941, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After graduating from Reed College in Portland, Oregon, Barry moved to California and earned a master's degree at UCLA plus worked a variety of jobs in the music industry. Eventually, he created a radio show featuring novelty songs and other unusual recordings. A colleague who called Barry “demented” for playing stuff like that inspired a new nickname. The Dr. Demento Show was soon heard throughout the United States and abroad on Armed Forces Radio. It’s probably best known for launching the career of parodist “Weird Al” Yankovic. The first time I heard of Dr. Demento was in 1982. I became an announcer for KMSC, the radio station at Moorhead State University in Moorhead, Minnesota. During my shif...