'Rock' rolls to new frequency

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By David Burke | Saturday, March 3, 2007 1:04 AM CST | () comments

With the exception of a new frequency, everything at the “Quad-City Rocker” will remain the same, radio station officials said this afternoon.

Beginning at 6 a.m. Monday, KBOB-FM (104.9) will simulcast with WXLP-FM (96.9), or “97 Rock.” On March 12, “Rock 104-9” will complete its transition, and the 96.9 frequency will have a “rebirth” as 97X, said Jack Swart, market manager for the Cumulus Broadcasting stations in Davenport.

The “active rock” format on the 104.9 frequency will replace the “River Country” format that has been in that spot since 2000. In the most recent Arbitron ratings last fall, “River Country” tied for eighth place among listeners 12 years and older for the 11 stations in the Quad-City market.

Dave Levora and Darren Pitra’s morning show will remain the same, Swart said, as will station personalities Goose, Bill State and CJ the DJ.

“Nothing’s changing a whole lot except we’re moving on down the dial,” said Pitra, who is also operations manager of the five-station cluster owned by Cumulus.

The switch was made in advance of the 12-week spring ratings period that begins in early April, Swart said.

“We wanted to ramp up at the new frequency so 97 Rock listeners will know where to find the show and find the brand,” he added.

Levora and Pitra are veterans of the Quad-City radio market. Levora, 34, who is also “Rock 104-9” program director, has been with Cumulus stations since 1995. Pitra, 42, has worked at Cumulus’ Brady Street studios since 1989, except for an 18-month stint in Rockford, Ill. The two were joined for a morning show in April 2004.

“97X,” as WXLP had been known to a generation of rock fans, will begin its “classic hits” format with such artists as The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan and Jackson Browne. For its first four months, it will operate without radio personalities, except for “imaging” sound effects. In July, Bill Dwyer and Greg Michaels will return to the station after completing the terms of the non-complete clause in their contract with former employer KCQQ-FM, which they successfully defended in court this week.

Dwyer and Michaels left Q-106.5, their radio home for about a decade, at the end of 2006. They resumed broadcasting from Davenport studios shortly after that, but they are heard on KRNA-FM (94.1) in Cedar Rapids.

WXLP has 50,000 watts of power; KBOB has 12,500 watts. Swart said the latter station likely will have new call letters in the future, with “KBOB” being used elsewhere in the company.

Ryan Chase, who had been morning personality and program director for “River Country” will have program director duties and be the afternoon host on “97X.” Pippa, the only other on-air personality for the country station, will be working elsewhere in the company, Swart said.

Even though “Dave & Darren in the Morning” had an on-air rivalry with Dwyer & Michaels when the latter duo was working for Clear Channel’s Quad-City Radio Group, Levora and Pitra said that is no longer the case.

“We’ll be as professional with them as we are with everyone else,” Pitra said.

“We have a wealth of great morning talent in this building,” Levora said. “That’s no secret.”

David Burke can be contacted at (563) 383-2400 or dburke@qctimes.com.