About The Show

Beginning in the Fall of 2011, Keep Calm and Carry On started was started by Donald Wagenblast as a show that was intended to shed light on the emo genre. A mix of classic tunes, the best of today, and the best of what's to come. Initially hosted by Donald Wagenblast, the show started with a bang by inducting 20 artists/songs into the "Emo Hall of Fame," which featured songs, artists, and albums that have contributed to the advancement of emo as a genre. The show airs weekly from 9-11pm on Friday nights at 91.3fm WTSR, the official radio station of The College of New Jersey.

In the Spring 2011 semester at The College of New Jersey, the show make huge strides of improvement. The first was the implementation of a blog to accompany the show's regular airtime, which you have kindly visited. The second was the addition of Craig Ismaili to the show, which has allowed for the show's air time to be more discussion-based, and has brought about a great deal of content for the blog. Madison Ouellette, our newest addition, joined the show in Spring 2012 and recently began contributing to this blog as well.  With the blog's constant updates and the show's increased level of quality and content (in the form of various artist interviews, which can be found here), we continue to increase the popularity of both aspects of Keep Calm.  Looking forward, Keep Calm and Carry On aims to provide its listeners and readers with as much information, content, and entertainment with as high a quality as possible. If you have any questions, concerns, issues, comments, etc., feel free to email us at keepcalmwtsr@gmail.com, and you can read more about the show's hosts below!

Donald Wagenblast (click my name for my twitter page!)

Hmmm, I honestly have no idea how to start this, so I'll just restate the obvious: my name is Donald Wagenblast, and I'm one of the hosts of Keep Calm and Carry On. I started this show because I felt that emo music, as a whole, was being forgotten. Being that emo music was basically what defined me in high school, I wanted to give the genre an avenue to be displayed for the raw, intense style that it became known for. This show has been such a privilege for me, and I'm forever grateful for the places it's taken me, the opportunities it's given me, and the people it's introduced to me, namely Craig and Madison. I'm looking forward to seeing what the future holds for Keep Calm and Carry On, because I'm sure it will be very bright. With that said, here's a few things I'd like you to know about me:

Favorite bands: Circa Survive, Brand New, The Gaslight Anthem, Jimmy Eat World, Bayside, The 1975.

Favorite Albums (Top 5):
1.Brand New - The Devil and God are Raging Inside of Me
2. Circa Survive - Blue Sky Noise
3. The Gaslight Anthem - Handwritten
4. Transit - Listen and Forgive
5. Jimmy Eat World - Futures

Favorite concert: So many to reflect upon, I'm honestly stumped. One that immediately comes to mind is Circa Survive's Violent Waves record release shows.

Favorite Movies: The Dark Knight, Up, Superbad, Saw, The Avengers, Lord of the Rings, The Wolf of Wall Street.

Favorite Books: Dalton Trumbo- Johnny Got His Gun, Chinua Achebe- Things Fall Apart, Shel Silverstein- Where the Sidewalk Ends

Craig Ismaili (click my name for my twitter page!)

My name is Craig Ismaili.  I was the young blood on the Keep Calm and Carry On staff until Madison came along. And like Dean Youngblood, I am best in clutch situations (Yes, I did just reference obscure 1980's hockey movie Youngblood). I have a weird, neurotic brand of humor that often only I find funny. I joined on Keep Calm and Carry On because I have a huge amount of knowledge and opinion of the "scene" that was basically going unused, and I figured I could help Don make the show even better. We've had the pleasure to interview some of my favorite bands, and I feel we're just getting started. When I'm not writing essays, I'm either at the hockey rink, the nearest Wonder Years show or a house show where a few local bands are playing. Here are a few of my favorite things:

Favorite bands: Taking Back Sunday, The Wonder Years, Motion City Soundtrack, Balance and Composure, Moving Mountains, Thrice, The Starting Line, Anberlin, Switchfoot, Relient K, Brand New, Transit,
 
Favorite Albums (Top 5):
1. Lydia- Illuminate
2. Taking Back Sunday- Tell All Your Friends
3. Relient K- Forget and Not Slow Down
4. Motion City Soundtrack- My Dinosaur Life
5. Moving Mountains- Pnuema

Honorable Mentions: Transit- Listen and Forgive, Anberlin- Never Take Friendship Personal, Brand New- Deja Entendu

Favorite concerts: Bruce Springsteen Wrecking Ball World Tour 2012 (April 4th, 2012), Glamour Kills Tour 2012- The Wonder Years (Suburbia in its entirety), Taking Back Sunday Bamboozle 2011 (TAYF in its entirety)

Favorite Lyric: "Every year November gets closer and every year it gets a little bit colder... One step at a time, one foot in front of the other, I'm gonna get through this one way or another, cause I know it's warmer where you are, and no matter how far the view I still always look up to you." - Four Year Strong's "One Step At A Time"

Favorite Movies: Memento, Fight Club,The Dark Knight, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Inception, Donnie Darko, American Beauty, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Pulp Fiction

Favorite Books: 1984 by George Orwell, Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, Lord of the Flies by William Golding , Harry Potter series by JK Rowling, Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut

Madison Ouellette (click my name for my twitter page!)

My name is Madison Ouellette and I am the newest addition to the Keep Calm team.  I like to think I add more than just a high pitched voice to your Friday night emo binge.  In search for an outlet for my extensive opinions on all things involved with “the scene,” I joined Keep Calm and couldn't be more grateful for the opportunities this show has given me.  Even in the short year that I've been involved with the show, I have had the privilege of meeting some of my favorite artists, which has my middle school self absolutely freaking out.  I seem to find myself at nearly any and every emo show in the Philly/NJ area so if you see me (or anyone on the Keep Calm crew), come say hey! We get super stoked when we hear from you guys! Now let's talk music:

Favorite Bands: Balance and Composure, Circa Survive, Brand New, Touche Amore, Title Fight, The American Scene, The Story So Far, The Front Bottoms, Senses Fail, Defeater, Listener

Favorite Albums (Top 5):

1.Circa Survive- Blue Sky Noise

2. Brand New- The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me

3. Listener- Wooden Heart

4. The Dangerous Summer- Reach for the Sun

5. Taking Back Sunday- Louder Now

Favorite Concerts: The Early November Reunion Show @ Starland Ballroom (November 2011), Anthony Green @ Maxwells (August 2011), The Front Bottom’s Talon of the Hawk Tour (Summer 2013), Circa Survive’s Violent Waves Tour (Fall 2012)

Favorite Lyrics: “Remember not our faulty pieces.  Remember not our rusted parts.  It’s not the petty imperfections that define us but the way we hold our hearts and the way we hold our heads” -La Dispute's "Nine"

Favorite Movies: Going the Distance, Donnie Darko, Bring it On