Dave North - WRQR Rock 104.5 - Wilmington, NC

I promised my wife Stacie we weren't moving to Wilmington, North Carolina for my next radio gig; we were moving here for my LAST radio gig. I'd finally made her a promise about radio that I was able to keep. From the instant I arrived in the Tarheel State, I knew I'd found the place I was always meant to live. Didnt take us long to decide that no matter what happened job-wise, we were never leaving.

Rock 104.5 had been a major player with John Boy & Billy in the morning and fewer signals in the market. By the time I arrived, John Boy & Billy had announced they were moving to a brand new station and Rock 104.5 was competing with 3 other stations playing the same music. Corporate gave up and it seemed more and more like I came here to help bury a heritage station. When the ax finally fell, it was no big surprise. As I told my boss at the time "I cleared out my stuff months ago". The gig left such a bad taste in my mouth I decided I never wanted to see the inside of another radio station. That feeling stayed with me for over 3 years until I took a part-time gig at Double-Q 101, a country station here in Wilmington, NC. Today I mostly work in film and video voiceovers, and even some anime' porn here and there just for kicks. I work when I feel like working and make my own schedule. Makes me wish I'd done this years ago.

Rock 104.5 probably could have weathered the storm if there had been any concerted effort to save the station. But with 87 people calling the shots and no one agreeing on anything, it was only a matter of time until it sank itself. The station has changed format and call letters twice since I left.

Here's a clip from spring 2007

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