Answers to your most frequently asked questions about the broadcast del grande.
Q: Why does Doug informally call Rock 104 RockTrax “the broadcast del grande”?
A: The “Spanglish” term is a mild nod to his days living in San Antonio, Texas.
Q: What is Rock 104 RockTrax?
A: The long-running classic rock by request show of WXRR 104.5FM. It airs Sundays between 10:00 a.m and 6:00 p.m.
Q: You mean he’s on the air for eight hours a week?
A: Yup. Not so bad when you consider a butler waits on his beck and call. And if you believe that, Doug has a luxurious ski resort in his native Wichita, Kansas to sell you.
Q: Wichita? How’d he get from there to here?
A: Long story. While he claims Dayton, Ohio, as his adopted hometown, he’s called the Pine Belt home since the long hot summer of 1992.
Q: What if I call/e-mail a request and the song doesn’t air? What gives?
A: A variety of reasons. Either Doug doesn’t have the song in the library, it’s late in the show and he’s running out of time or it’s on a CD some dingbat borrowed and never bothered to return.
Q: When did RockTrax debut on Rock 104?
A: Depends on how you want to look at it. He started his employment at the station April 1, 1996 — exactly one year to the day Rock 104 first signed on in its present form. RockTrax debuted the following Sunday — April 7 of ’96.
Q: Funny, I remember hearing Doug hosting RockTrax earlier than ’96.
A: You’re thinking of a similar show with a nearly identical title on a rival station. Doug had the privilege of hosting “the old show” for three and a half years of its existence. During Rock 104’s first full year in its present form, Doug was competing against WXRR. Nowadays, he’s never had a reason to look back.
Q: Whenever the time is 2:22 p.m., Doug says, “It’s Karen Valentine time.” Why?
A: It’s a reference, admittedly obscure, to the TV series Room 222. The show has rarely been seen in reruns outside of its original network run from 1969-1974 on ABC. Karen Valentine played the part of Alice Johnson, a student teacher, on the comedy/drama series. Among other cast members: the late Lloyd Haynes (he played Mr. Dixon, whose history class was held in Room 222 of Walt Whitman High School in L.A.) and Michael Constantine (he played Mr. Kaufman, the school’s principal; Constantine is the same actor who played Gus in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding).
Q: Ohhhh, so that explains why 4:44 p.m. is “Brett Favre time.” Right?
A: Of course. You catch on quickly.