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- Arkansas Broadcasters Association
- On Air Magazine
- Scottsdale Tribune
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- Atlantic City Press
Watch your thoughts! Mentalist to boggle your mind.
Hot Springs, Arkansas-The mentalist Christopher Caldwell, who has been peering into the minds of thousands of men, women, and children in theaters, conference rooms and auditoriums all over the country will appear at the ABA convention in Hot Springs August 8.
Caldwell promises to baffle and thrill his audience with a series of astonishing experiments in though-reading, similar to those with which he has been mystifying audiences for the past eight years.
In an energetic display of showmanship, Christopher will attempt to reveal birth dates, names of pets, names of children, important events and thoughts known only to members of the audience.
Volunteers will seal his eyes shut with large coins, duct tape and a thick cloth. Christopher will then describe objects people freely select from their own pockets or purses.
Caldwell accomplishes the seemingly impossible at corporate events across North America. His phenomenal power of thought-reading has baffled thousands of people, including noted authors, scientists, news anchors, engineers, and celebrities from the world of sports and television. A delegation of Arkansas broadcasters saw Caldwell perform at the NAB Leadership Conference earlier this year and they were astonished at his performance.
“He was just phenomenal,” said ABA president Gordon Heiges. “I just couldn't believe some of the things he was doing. We are very fortunate to have been able to get Christopher to entertain at our Friday night dinner.”
Caldwell has the reputation of being one of the most requested corporate entertainers in America.
“There's nothing strange or supernatural about telepathy,” says Caldwell. “You experience it yourself often. Count the number of times that you have been thinking of a song, the name of a person, or a number. How frequently have you hear somebody beside you speak out that very song, name or number! That’s telepathy. A child of three can do what I do--with 30 years' practice!”
Headlines are old news for Mentalist
Scottsdale, Arizona–Christopher Caldwell says he combines his five senses to create the illusion of a sixth. It’s an unusual talent, and it’s helping to make him one of America’s top corporate entertainers.
Caldwell’s amazing feats include predicting the number someone will choose from a phone book, identifying objects while blindfolded, instantly divining the birth date of a total stranger, and causing the time to mysteriously change on a person’s wristwatch–without coming near it.
Is it for real? “I don’t make claims either way. I’ll just say that I use a variety of methods to create the illusion of mind-reading,” explains Caldwell.
However he does it, it is impressive. Appearing on KTVK Phoenix’s “Good Morning Arizona,” Caldwell stunned viewers by predicting the headlines of the Arizona Republic. Host Dan Davis received a notarized envelope two weeks prior to Caldwell’s appearance. It was opened during the live broadcast. Caldwell predicted the words “Wall”, “Rattle,” and “Street” would appear on the front page of the August 5th newspaper. The headlines that day read “Doubts Rattle Wall Street.”
Is he just incredibly lucky, or does he have ESP? “Sometimes I’m amazed, too, he says. “What I can tell you is that people need all the magic moments in life they can get. My goal is to bring them these moments.”
Mind Games. His mental tricks will boggle you.
Scottsdale, Arizona–Christopher Caldwell’s instructions were very explicit.
Thoroughly shuffle a jokerless deck of cards. Without looking--preferably behind your back--remove one card, turn it upside down and replace it anywhere in the deck. Return the deck to its box, seal it with tape and bring it to the interview.
For the better part of two hours, the box lay untouched at the end of a restaurant table. Caldwell placed his own boxed deck at the other end, amidst the salt and pepper shakers and napkin holder. Finally, Caldwell asked the interviewer to spread his deck across the table. All cards were face down except for one. The 5 of Diamonds.
One balky card stuck in the box and an admonishing Caldwell said to include that card, the deuce of hearts, face up with the rest. Then he opened his deck, also spreading the cards in face down fashion.
Voila! There was the 5 of Diamonds-face up. And the deuce of hearts, too.
How'd you do that?
Caldwell wouldn’t say, but he can regale audiences for hours with similar feats.
“Certainly some of what I do is extra-sensory ‘deception,’ but at the same time there is a lot of psychology in what I do.”
How else can he explain enticing the interviewer to pick black over red, the spades over clubs and finally the jack over the ace, king, and queen? It's more than a hunch, intuition, or even coincidence.
Christopher Caldwell will appear at the Herberger Theater July 3 through 6.
Mentalist/Disc jockey has perfect mind-set for his station in life
Phoenix, Arizona–KVRY's Christopher Caldwell lives a double life.
When he's not spinning CD's afternoons at the station, Caldwell performs as a mentalist.
That's mentalist as in the Amazing Kreskin, not magician as in David Copperfield.
“Mentalism is essentially mind reading,” he said.
Caldwell appears in his mentalist capacity at station events and independently. His feats include choosing the same card that a subject has picked, identifying a word that someone has chosen from a book and memorizing a long list of words.
Caldwell doesn't predict the future or read fortunes.
“What I do is strictly for fun and entertainment.”
You can watch Christopher Caldwell perform at the Arizona State Fairgrounds on October 18.
A Familiar Voice
Bridgeton, NJ–Chris Caldwell spun his first record at a Bridgeton school dance. Now he's the afternoon jock at a major radio station.
You may not know what he looks like but you've heard his voice on the radio and maybe soon you’ll seem him do a card trick or pull a rabbit from his hat.
Since growing up in Cumberland County and moving to Somers Point, Christopher Caldwell has been working on fulfilling his lifelong dream, of becoming a radio personality.
The afternoon jock on WEAZ-FM, known as EZ-101, has an interesting sideline, he’s a member of the Society of American Magicians, one of magic’s most prestigious organizations.
“I found that magic is a wonderful way to break the ice,” said Caldwell, a twenty-eight year old former Hopewell Township resident.
Caldwell began his broadcasting career at the age of 14 when he took his stereo equipment over to Immaculate Conception School in Bridgeton and spin a few records during his eighth grade dance.
“I wanted to show off my new stereo system. I didn't even have a microphone. I had to shout but the nuns loved it and asked me to play records at the next record hop,” said the son of Nora Balin and Jerry Caldwell.
“Before I knew it, I was reading announcements on the school's P. A. system,” he said. A year later, Caldwell who was imitating radio jockeys like Harry Callas and Joe Simone ever since he knew how to say WFIL, began working at local station WSNJ. From there he commuted to an Atlantic City radio station where he said the radio played “dentist office music.”
“After school, my friends and I would get together and play radio. I would be the sports announcer and they would be the audience.” By the age of fifteen, the enterprising young man had business cards and T-shirts made up to promote his own disc jockey business.
“It was all a fluke. It sort of all came together and before I knew it I had my first radio job,” he said. He found that having a good sense of humor and a deep voice and clean annunciation helped him to get his foot in the door.
Caldwell, a strapping man with light brown hair and a warm mischievous smile, recalls fond memories of his early announcing days when he was a regular sight around Bridgeton High School. His memories of high school before transferring to Holy Spirit High School included a few announcing jobs at the local stadium.
“I filled in for baseball announcer Dean Baker, who was the voice behind Bridgeton's Invitational Baseball games. I got to the point where I was able to volunteer my time to announce the games. It was during my freshman, sophomore and junior years at Bridgeton High School that I really got my start,” said Caldwell.
Progress in the radio business means moving around, getting acquainted with differing radio styles and formats, and most importantly, developing an on-air personality to which audiences can related. Only a few disc jockeys really succeed at developing a persona that makes them stand out. But Caldwell, who has always strived to be himself thinks that he has a personality that is fitted to radio work.
When you hear his voice on the air, you might not catch the real Caldwell, who is more of a mix between a zany John Dibella and David Copperfield.
“A sense of humor helps because you can't take the job too seriously. Radio is famous for a high turnaround, so you have to develop a personality that people will remember.” He admits that working in the Philadelphia market is exciting especially since competition among radio stations is fierce.
“When you consider that most families have 4 to 5 radios in their home, plus their car stereos, that far outnumbers televisions. Radio impacts people...that’s why I have to remember the everything I say on the air can and will be used against me,” chuckles Caldwell, who enjoys what he does despite the two-hour commute from his home in Somers Point to the radio station in Philadelphia.
In the high-tech business of radio, Caldwell says that disc jockeys no longer have to spin the albums or sift through huge numbers of record sleeves to find what they will play. Now compact discs and pre-prepared playlists designed by research analysts are the thing of the nineties.
“Things have changed a lot over the years, as far as the business is concerned. But I still feel I'm going in the right direction. I think my job is the greatest. Four hours a day, I get to play the hits.”
Whether Caldwell is pitching Nutri-System or doing television commercial voiceovers, he knows that someday he will make it to television, hopefully as a late night host. He admits that not too many people have succeeded at it and cites the unsuccessful attempts by Pat Sajak and Joan Rivers. But he feels that he may someday go against the David Lettermans and Arsenio Halls of the industry world.
Until then, you can hear Caldwell’s voice every weekday from 4 to 8 p.m.
Disk jockey's teenage dream comes true at WMGK-FM
Atlantic City, NJ–Bridgeton native Christopher Caldwell says he literally pinches himself every weeknight when he drives across the Walt Whitman Bridge to his on-air shift WMGK-FM 102.9 Philadelphia.
“Soon I'll probably have black and blue marks all over, but that's a small sacrifice for having fulfilled a teenage dream by being hired full time by WMGK Magi 103,” says Caldwell, with a laugh.
“In fact, that' why I pinch myself. To make sure I'm not dreaming because this is big-time radio.”
But it's not fantasy for this youthful veteran broadcaster and aspiring professional musician who, since 1978 has worked for more than a dozen radio stations. Among them: WOBM FM, Toms River, where he was the program director, WJRZ-FM 100.1, Manahawkin, where he was operations manager, WSLT-FM 106.3 Ocean City, WLQE-FM 99.3 Atlantic City, WAYV FM 95.1 Atlantic City, WZUU-FM 95.9 Milwaukee, WOND-AM 1400 Atlantic City, WFPG-FM 96.9 Atlantic City, WIIN-AM 1450, Atlantic City, and WSNJ-AM/FM 1240/107.7 Bridgeton.
Caldwell, 26, says as a youth, he listened exclusively to WMGK.
“Magic 103 had a certain presence that stood out from the rest of the stations,” says Caldwell, a Somers Point resident who graduated from Holy Spirit High School in Absecon and attended Marquette University in Milwaukee.
“It had personality and the jocks were charismatic. But the emphasis was on music and the format featured a blend of acoustic and soft sounds by artists such as James Taylor, Neil Diamond, and Carly Simon.”
Caldwell says that at the age of 15 when he began to consider a radio career, “Magic was where I wanted to be.”
“Eleven years later and I'm here,“ says Caldwell, observing that “the music has changed subtly to suit the times, but the jocks are still as charismatic.”
Caldwell says full-time openings at WMGK are rare.
“I waited over four years for this break, ” says Caldwell, who had “moonlighted” part time at WMGK since 1985.
“Half of the on-air staff has been at Magic for 10 years or more. The lineup includes Harvey in the Morning, Chris McCoy, Mike Bowe, Pete Sullivan, Bill Womack and myself.”
Caldwell’s interest in broadcasting stemmed from a grade school class visit to WSNJ in Bridgeton.
“It was neat to finally associate faces I had never seen with the voices I had heard,” Caldwell says.
“The announcers never look as they sound, do they? I was intrigued by all the gadgets. The tower seemed to go up into the clouds. I never forget that school trip. I was hooked on radio.”
Caldwell began hosting record hops, employing a stereo system he purchased with money earned from raking leaves.
He was the Bridgeton High School public address and sports announcer and through it, landed an after-school and weekend job with WSNJ.
Caldwell, who plays acoustic guitar, says each radio position he held at other stations “was a move up.”
I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve been fired from a few places, but that’s the nature of the business,” Caldwell says.
“You've got to pick yourself up and move forward. I've seen a lot of folks give up the career after being let go. It bruises the ego and you need a combination of humility, self-confidence and drive to make it.”
Caldwell says his desire to become a full-time radio personality at WMGK cost him a great deal.
But he says it was worth it. “Certain sacrifices have to be made if you want to play in the big leagues.”
Caldwell confesses to still being star-struck.
“I share the same coffee pot as such well-known Philly radio personalities as Joe Niagra and Ken Garland of WPEN, and Harvey, Mike Bowe and Chris McCoy of Magic, and to me that’s and incredible feeling,” Caldwell says.
“Someday, I hope to have the same effect as they've had on a young person who is thinking about becoming a radio announcer.”
