A feeling of pure electricity runs through the air as two brothers sit side by side in the rising sunlight. Each weekday morning, they must awake before the break of dawn and arrive on campus before many people are even up. They fight nerves and the rising pressure of classwork every day to say good morning to WT through pulsing airwaves.
Brothers Robert and David Dueñes are in charge of WT’s own radio morning show. Broadcasting on KWTS’s “The One” 91.1 from 7 to 9 a.m., their morning show began this Monday. “The Handsome Man Show” will be a daily morning broadcast Monday through Friday and will feature guests, news and music.
”First and foremost we cover campus news,” Robert said. “We definitely want to focus on community, the city of Canyon and Amarillo and definitely WT. We will definitely touch on pop culture, entertainment and world news as well.”
“The Handsome Man Show” will feature a daily guest, usually from organizations on campus, which is unlike WT radio shows in the past.
“We are changing it up,” Robert said. “This is the first semester we are going to have a daily guest. In the old morning show, they would have maybe one guest a week. What we are trying to do is get more involved with other organizations here on campus.”
The One plays college rock, alternative rock, indie rock and more. David said the show would mostly be a talk show, but there would be music and they are always looking for something different.
“We definitely want to play some unearthed gems,” Robert said. “We want to play some up-and-coming music that hasn’t been played anywhere else yet and something that is hot as far as college rock goes.”
David and Robert agreed that the fact that they’re brothers really helps the chemistry of the show.
“We have known each other all of our lives and so we already have a rapport,” Robert said. “We can talk about anything for hours at a time. What we normally do is try to have a pseudo competition to try to make the other one laugh. That’s what we love to do.”
The brothers have had experience with radio shows in the past. Robert has been doing radio for two and a half years while David has been doing it for a year and a half. They hosted a radio show at Amarillo College together for a semester.
“We already have a knack for talking to each other over the air,” David said. “We’ve always had chemistry and it’s really natural. It’s not fake; it’s not fabricated. It’s really us. What you hear from us on air is the same as in the hall ways.”
Robert said even though they both have experience, nerves are still present.
“One thing that is always on the back of your mind is messing up,” Robert said. “You just have to get over that. The beauty about radio is if you mess up, it is no problem because in about 10 minutes, you’ll have to do it again.”
In fact, Robert said he loves the mixture of nervous energy and excitement.
“You just get a rush because you know people are listening to what you have to say,” Robert said. “You crack the mic for the first time and you get this nervous energy like you want to throw up but at the same time it is the most exciting feel I have ever had. It is electric.”
Both of the brothers said they would encourage anyone to be on the radio. David is an Advertising and Public Relations major, and he said he never thought he would be on the radio and never wanted to be on the radio until he tried it out.
“Try something new,” David said. “This is the time to figure out what you want to do. See what it’s like, because you may never know what you want to do until you get to have an opportunity to do it. And that’s all this is, an opportunity to do something.”
The One encourages all students interested in radio to become a part of WT’s radio station.
“There’s no discouragement here,” David said. “There is so much support from the faculty and students. This is a way for people to actually transition into doing Podcasts or any kind of online stream. You have to know how to speak well at anything you do really. It is a perfect way to get out there.”
“The One” 91.1 has many different radio programs throughout the week. Anything from sports, cinema, music and news, “The One” has a program for everyone. For more information, go to wtamu.edu/kwts/.
“This is your station, WT,” David said. “This is your station, we’re just the nerds they put in charge of the morning show.”