So what's the story behind "The Ridge?"
Hi, Tom Weeden here, a guy who's always been fascinated with the technical and production aspects of radio and television. I was that kid who would listen to music and voices originating from studios hundreds of miles away and coming out of a little hand-held transistor AM radio in his bedroom. I'm a Wisconsin native, originally from Beloit, graduated from
high school in Brodhead, then spent 4 years earning a degree in Radio-Television Broadcasting at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in the late 70s. For most of my life I've lived and worked in broadcasting in Wisconsin, from UW-P's campus radio station WSUP, to WEKZ in Monroe, WDBQ in Dubuque IA, WSWW in Platteville, KIXL in Austin TX, and WNWC in Madison. On the television side I worked briefly at WTVO in Rockford IL, and most recently, an almost 34-year stint at WMTV/NBC15 in Madison where for most of that time I served as Chief Engineer, making sure that channel 15 made it to your TV set. Early on in my career I found an awesome girl from Fennimore who had also attended UW-P. Lesa and I got married, had two kids, and she still patiently puts up with my broadcasting fascination. And she knows how to work the system too...once while I was hosting the Trading Post on WSWW, she called in from a garage sale and tried to sell my golf clubs. I retired from WMTV in April, 2020. Wanting to get back to my radio roots, I began working on an online station that I thought could meet a need for people around my age. OK, I'll say the word: Boomers. People who came of age anywhere between the late 1960s and the mid-1980s. People who associate the music of that era with their grade school, high school, and college memories. People who got busy with life after that time and don't really relate to music of the 90s and later. People who are tired of 5-minute-long commercial breaks on radio stations. People who want something reasonable to listen to for long periods at work or while driving or doing chores at home. That's what I wanted to listen to. So I created The Ridge. Musically, The Ridge features recognizable artists and songs mainly from the 1970s and early to mid-1980s, with a few late 60s thrown in, plus some newer songs that have the same feel as the good stuff from the 70s and 80s. It has an easier sound than classic rock stations, but not sleepy. Think of Chicago, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, Toto, The Eagles, Dire Straits, Billy Joel, The Carpenters, America, Phil Collins, you get the idea. "The Ridge" gets its name from both the terrain in Wisconsin's Driftless Area and from the original Military Ridge Road built by the US Army in 1835 connecting Fort Crawford in Prairie du Chien to Fort Howard in Green Bay. Ridge Radio is based in Dodgeville, but its focus will be all over the southwest corner of the great State of Wisconsin. The logo for The Ridge is inspired by the memorable yellow-and-black Wisconsin license plate from the late 70s/early 80s, coinciding with the era of the music. It was designed by graphic artist Tom Morrison whose art deco designs you may have seen around. https://morrison-art.com/
The Ridge isn't an FM or AM radio station (at least not yet), but you can get it online, on your smartphone, and on your Alexa-enabled smart speaker. On your computer, just go to http://RidgeRadio.us and click on the LISTEN NOW button. On your phone you can also go to the web site, or even better, download the Live365 App and search for "The Ridge." It sounds great in your vehicle when you pair your phone with your radio via Bluetooth. Alexa-based smart speaker users can listen in just 2 easy steps. You only need to do the first step once to set it up.
> “Alexa, enable Live 365 skill.” (“three sixty-five.”)
> “Alexa, play The Ridge from Live 365.” (I’m told the word FROM is important.)
"The Ridge" is classic tunes from the 70s, 80s, and more, from Southwest Wisconsin's Military Ridge I helped put WIXL-LP in Madison on the air in 2007. Enjoy!
