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A Real Voice on Krater 96.3

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I haven’t been listening to Krater 96.3 in the mornings recently due to the loss of voices. In place of the daily performances of Gregg, Shawnee, and Wayne, there’s now a constant drone of music. Normally, hearing uninterrupted music isn’t a bad thing, but I admit it gets boring fast. Especially in the early hours that sets the day, I don’t mind getting information about what’s to come.

So anyways for about a week since the end, I happened to hear a real (non-recorded) voice on Krater 96.3. Didn’t catch a name, and initially, I thought it was a broadcast from the mainland (like what I think 101.9 does). But the Kona Chang clone mentioned something about Pearl City so he’s in Hawaii it seems. Haven’t heard the voice again for about 20 minutes, got boring once again…

The Silencing of Hawaii Radio Voices

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Wow, I did not see this coming and was very confused when I saw Daniel Tucker tweet this:

Then I listened to KRATER96 on Thursday morning.

When did “Hammertime” just become “Time” as I listened to Zip Recruiter ads and Traitor by Oliva Rodrigo.

When did “your pal” become “your memory?”

Where was “Traffic on the 5” as I waited 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 minutes?

Then I understood. There was a mass firing aka workforce reduction of on-air personalities including my longtime favs, Gregg Hammer and Danielle Tucker. A sad day indeed for all those affected by this change and for us, the listeners who spent many years on the Hawaiian roadways with these voices.

Update 01-07-2022: Thanks to Claire for this Star Advertiser article about the layoffs. From my point of view, it did seem like a cost cutting measure with the more experienced (and assumedly higher paid) employees predominantly getting released.

Update #2 01-07-2022. Thanks to Matt for this larger view of the cuts by SummitMedia.

Six Years of Hammertime on Krater

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Well, I don’t know how to approach this other to say it’s been an awesome six-year run of Hammertime on Krater when Davey, Gregg, and Shawnee debuted their morning show on Tuesday, October 22, 2013. As all us fans have noticed, Davey D, the facilitator of the morning mayhem, has been absent from the air since the beginning of the month. All-hours deejay, Wayne Maria, has been filling in as the non-Hammer in the Hammertime Ohana. And this change will continue as Davey won’t be returning.

I don’t know the details, and really it’s “noneya.” Suffice it to say, it’s been a great, great run of Hammertime that’s evolved since day 1 and saw the OG trio bond and develop the show’s format. The early day’s staccato is now a harmonious flow. Even with the replayed content, the dialog, transitions, music, and yes, even those teasers, seem effortless and help us morning commuters keep our sanity with the hilarity. Everyday’s broadcast is similar but different, giving us listeners a calming regularity but with an anticipation of that laughable Hammertime moment. Yes, Hammertime will go on just with a new (and very capable) member.

The OG Hammertime Trio

If you want to remember how it all started for Davey, Gregg, and Shawnee, take a look back to October 2013 and listen to Hammertime’s five minute early launch.

Where’s Davey D?

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For about two weeks now, Davey D of Krater 96 hasn’t been on Hammertime in the mornings. Where’d he go?

For a brief moment, both he and Shawnee were off-air, but Shawnee’s since returned. The crew might have mentioned why Wayne is now coordinating the show, but I missed the reason.

Anyone know where’s Davey D?

9/13 Update: Another week on air without Davey. I still don’t know what happened but to lighten the mood as Hammertime does, here are some possibilities.

Theory 1: The Happiest Place in a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Maybe Davey didn’t have enough of the new Star Wars experience in Disneyland and went for an extended hana hou.

View this post on Instagram

I cried. For real. So happy! ???

A post shared by Davey D (@daveydhawaii) on

Theory 2: Supporting the Mauna

Or Davey could have had a calling, took a leave of absence, and is now supporting the Mauna?

9/14 Final Update: Here’s the final update for this post. Davey is not returning to Hammertime.

Why Danielle Tucker Is the Best Traffic Reporter

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Yup, Danielle is definitely the best traffic reporter on Oahu. Not only are her traffic reports detailed, understandable, and extremely useful, but she interacts with her audience, helping them through their commute. Case in point was Tuesday’s traffic debacle. Leaving work almost immediately I ran into a backlog of cars, and time ticked by trying to make the short drive to Kamehameha Highway in Pearl City. I mean I didn’t mind hanging out with Big T for a few minutes but try 20 minutes…

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Being at an essential standstill, I figured I’d ask Ms. Tucker what’s up with the local area traffic. The Twitterverse being the Twitterverse I never expected any kind of response but then came this online conversation.

Wow. Not only did she respond, she actually acted on my question, looking into the problematic intersection. And then, it was like she was actually watching the situation asking me if I made it through the last light (which coincidentally felt longer allowing more cars to proceed). Was Danielle working some Traffic Management Center magic like a traffic guardian angel? Who knows. All I know is that Danielle Tucker is the best traffic reporter on Oahu.

Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that she can take a joke being the target of Gregg Hammer’s Two Voice Tuesday impersonations.

Two Voice Tuesday Challenge

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This morning on Hammertime, Two Voice Tuesday took a slightly different direction with a creative challenge. The fan who proposed the most creative combination for Gregg Hammer would win a prize. Listen to the two finalists of a duet of David Ige and Linda Lingle or JrKJr’s sister as the Swedish Chef espousing fast food.

While the contest is for the most creative, I gotta give it to the duet. Oh, the image I used is from the Lilly Pulitzer line at Target that’s just a time reference.

Hammer for Hawaii on April 1

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Are you fed up with what’s happening in Hawaii? Are you fuming about the #carmageddon caused by the #zipnado failure? Are you willing to step up and do something about it? Gregg Hammer is and announced his (early) candidacy to run for Governor for the state of Hawaii.

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Here’s to H4H on April 1st!!

Poor Radio Reception

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Any Lexus owners out there have poor radio reception with the stock deck? We got a used Lexus that’s newer than our (former) Toyotas, but the radio reception is so bad.

Driving my normal routes, the FM radio reception is staticky and even drops out at certain spots. This didn’t happen with the Toyota stereos. I figured this wouldn’t have been an issue for the luxury Lexus line, but it is, and it’s real bothersome. 

I talked with Bill at Progressive Auto Sounds in Aiea, and he said changing the deck wouldn’t necessarily improve radio reception. It may or it may not. An alternative is to stream radio broadcasts via a smartphone and apps like Tunein or iHeartRadio. But then, I’d still need to change the deck with a newer one that can connect to my iPhone. Guess I’ll be listening to static…

meeting-hammer1

A Shoutout from Gregg Hammer

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What a way to start Thursday morning! I had just pulled out of my driveway for my morning commute with the radio tuned to KRTR 96.3. Aunty Mildred Kaneakala was kicking off the morning’s Story Time when I heard my name on air. Wait, what was that? Did I hear Gregg Hammer as Aunty just give a shout out to his/her favorite blogger?!? Why yes I did (see the Instagram comments)!

Wait what? Did I hear @the.real.gregg.hammer mention my name this morning on Story Time?

A photo posted by @geewhy on

Sadly, I wasn’t ready to record the audio or fast enough to get the delayed playback on the Tunein app. So no recording, just memories of this special good morning! Thanks Gregg and keep everyone laughing in the mornings.

HD Radio in Hawaii

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So I just learned that HD radio is indeed available in Hawaii and has been in the islands since 2007. Without HD radio compatible gear, it never mattered to me. But now that I can tune into HD broadcasts, I was looking for tunes in HD. Sadly, there’s not much. Can you tell what music genre is popular?

  • 92.3 KSSK. Adult Contemporary Music
  • 93.9 KHJZ. Rhythmic Adult Contemporary
  • 97.1 KORL. Japanese – J-Pop Music
  • 98.5 KDDN. Island Rhythm 98.5. Island Music
  • 100.3 KCCN. FM 100: Island Music & Reggae
  • 101.5 KORL. K-Rock: Hawaii’s Real Rock
  • 101.9 KUCD. Star 101.9. Hawaii’s New Music Alternative (not working for me)
  • 105.1 KINE. Contemporary Hawaiian Music
  • 107.5 KORL. Hawaii’s K-Pop on FM (Korean)

There’s always Pandora and iTunes Radio…

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Two Voice Tuesday: President Obama and Tweetie Bird

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Did you catch Danielle Tucker wondering what a mashup of Tweetie Bird and President Obama would sound like? After her traffic report, Gregg Hammer made it happen.

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