Source: www.qconline.com, By Jonathan Turner, jturner@qconline.com Published: Jan 14, 2016.
A new radio station recently launched in the Quad-Cities with “Vintage Radio,” a blend of oldies and classic country.
Based in Erie, Ill., WQUD-FM 105.5 offers a variety of programming including Fox Network News, local news and sports, and a format that plays everything from Johnny Cash to the Beatles to Elvis.
Station manager Aaron Dail said this week that Austin, Texas-based station owner Robert Walker bought the broadcasting license at auction, for the lower-frequency station.
Mr. Dail — who has been a sports correspondent for the Dispatch/Argus, and worked at WXLP, 97X, from 1996 to 2001 — is the first on-air staff for WQUD, handling 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. of the 24-hour station. It can be heard within a 35-40 mile radius of Erie, he said.
While WYEC 93.9 FM is another local oldies station in the area, Mr. Dail said they’re more pop and rock oriented, while WQUD leans more country — back to the ’50s, with old Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard tunes, up to the ’80s.
“I think we’re the only ones specializing in classic country,” he said. “103.7 and 104.9 are more contemporary country.”
Now 37, Mr. Dail started as a WXLP intern for the morning show, and worked a number of years on the overnight shift. “It was great; I loved working there,” he said. “I wouldn’t be able to do this if hadn’t done that.”
For more information on the station, or to apply for a position, call 309-659-7608.