CORNDAWG CO.

Hello, my name is Connor Newell, but otherwise known as “CornDawg” I was born on the Hilltop in Columbus, OH. I am a cartoonist, amateur photographer, and a lover of all things music.  

I began my career in art and music at a legendary independent radio station in town known as WWCD aka CD101, CD102.5, CD 92.9 FM, and eventually WWCD Radio. It was there I learned about the importance of doing what you can to help your community. There we focused heavy on aiding not only the local music community, but Columbus community as a whole. I realized while working there that I seldom met people from my side of town working in the entertainment industry and always made sure that I represented the Hilltop the best I could to prove (and to inspire) to the rest of the city good things can come from my side of town if you just work hard enough. I cut my teeth there working as an intern starting at the age of 19 years old working initially unpaid and eventually to a full-time position as their I.T. guy, graphic designer, and finally found my way onto the airwaves as a DJ. Being a DJ was never really the goal but a pipe dream that I thought wouldn’t or couldn’t happen. Though public speaking was something I was absolutely terrified of for most of my life I had found that sharing music on a larger scale was scary but something I enjoyed a great deal. Music to me is a cultural window into someone else’s world and I personally find that in concept is a beautiful thing. Dedicating the last portion of the stations existence in sharing other people’s story through the music scenes they were passionate about was something I became very proud of helping with, providing a space for those who were not often heard on the regular airwaves. 

After the station closed it’s doors in early 2024, I decided to try to focus on my own art. Something I hadn’t done in any kind of regularity creating cartoons to help battle the empty hole that was left. I also began going to more local music shows, to find and be able to continue to share the things I found with anyone who would listen.  Though I no longer had that platform to share from at my core is a love and deep passion for community, music, and art.