Personality Profile: Ron "Mr. Wizard" Spain

Personality Profile:
Ron "Mr. Wizard: Spain

by Lisa Hummel

As the only local urban station in the Harrisburg area, The Touch 1400 AM is known for more than just its music. In its nearly eight years in existence, the station has come to act as a service of sorts for the community, offering a message, and serving as a familiar face amid the crowd of FM channels delivering pop and rock. Operations Manager Ron “Mr. Wizard” Spain is that face.

A Harrisburg native, Spain graduated from Bishop McDevitt and attended Harrisburg Area Community College before enlisting in the Marine Corps, where he served seven years, spending seven months of that time in Saudi Arabia. While in the desert, Spain incurred a back injury and was released on a medical discharge, a move that brought him home to Harrisburg. And for the past 17 years, Spain has been spinning records across the globe, from the clubs and bars and college radio stations of Harrisburg and — thanks to his years in the service — in California and in Hong Kong. He’s traveled the world, he’s seen the sites — so why come back to Harrisburg?

“One, this is home and Harrisburg, although small — and folks will sometimes say almost backwards compared to Philadelphia, New York, D.C., the major markets — Harrisburg still has a quality of community and a place to raise your children without having to worry about the extremely high crime rate and this, that, and the other. There’s a real sense of community around here and that’s one of the main reasons I’m still here,” said Spain. “I’m not in a hurry to leave, this is where I was born and raised I have family here. I can see raising a child here because there are still folks who believe in such old school beliefs as your neighbor is allowed to correct your child if they see him our doing something wrong.”

That sense of community is one that weaves through much of a conversation with Spain. Among his many duties at The Touch, the one he takes most joy in is the opportunity to interact with the people he speaks of with such fondness. Spain takes part in numerous at local events, anything from concerts and charity functions to the annual Black History Showcase at The Forum, of which he is host. “I enjoy dealing with the community, being hands-on with the pulse of the city, getting the feed back of what people are looking for, what they expect, and hopefully providing to the Central PA area what they hope to hear,” said Spain. “Every time I’m out, my name is automatically attached to the station and it’s become apparent to me that I’ve become a role model for the youth. At first I was a little hesitant, but at the same token I’m glad about it now I still don’t look at myself as a celebrity, but they do…and that’s great, knowing the station can have a positive effect on somebody’s life.”

Eight years old in October, The Touch is an AM station in an FM world, playing music on a frequency monopolized by news and talk. And still it succeeds, despite the fact that the majority of the station’s staff has never set foot in Sixth Street studios. “We’re a satellite station, so we retransmit music from ABC radio networks in Dallas and then we take that signal and localize it,” explained Spain. “On the music end, most of the personalities that you hear — including one of the most popular urban jocks in the country, Tom Joyner — are in Dallas.” The on-site staff is comprised of Spain, a healthy sales force, Jimmy Castro host of “The Latin Touch” and the Gospel Cavalcade Team. “That’s something I find folks still don’t quite grasp,” said Spain. “That our personalities are three thousand miles away.”

And while the station’s AM location might make the station harder to find initially, Spain is eager to note the loyalty and passion for the station that does exist in the area, particularly from the African American community. And Spain hopes that loyalty will transcend across race in time, especially with the successful crossover of R&B and rap artists to mainstream radio formats.

“Hip Hop is still a young music genre. It’s evolving, it went from the basic just rhyme to a beat to what it’s evolved to now. We had our period when gangster rap was really popular and not necessarily putting the best face on the community and I think it’s coming back around to a more mature style that gets more crossover appeal,” said Spain. “I believe that the younger generation that will be running the country very shortly is embracing it whole-heartedly and I think sooner than later it will become part of mainstream radio.”

“Basically folks haven’t really begun to pay attention to music, they still attach color to music, race to music, and music has no color or race or nationality, and while urban music is predominantly seen as being African American, which to a degree is true — the majority of our listeners are African American — at the same time we have a huge crossover listenership and I don’t think that’s noticed as much, being that we are a small station and we are on AM,” Spain added.

Still involved in DJ-ing and an avid fan of music — his tastes range from Tina Marie to Prince — recently Spain took a chance and reunited with a former love: bowling. An avid bowler before his injury with thoughts of attempting a professional career, Spain has just recently been able to return to the sport, playing with a station team in a local league …and loving every minute of it.

And while he is just as comfortable behind the microphone as he is on the bowling lanes, Spain admits to getting nervous, even at this point in his career. “I’m always nervous. Every time I’m on with Tom Joyner, I shake because I get that pumped up. Every time I do weddings or other gigs, I still feel the butterflies in my stomach,” he said. “In fact, the first time that I go to do a function or a gig as I call them that I’m not nervous, then I retire, because that’s when I’ve obviously grown too full in the head and I think I’ve got it in the bag — and nothing is ever in the bag.”

What is in the bag thus far is the success of The Touch and its place in local radio. Spain and The Touch crew hope to someday — sooner than later — wean the station off of the satellite, just one of many goals on the horizon. “Eight years seems like a long time,” he said. “But we’re still a young station, we have a lot of potential and a lot of room for growth.”

For now, The Touch will continue to play the music and act as the familiar face in the crowd for the listeners. And Spain couldn’t be any happier. “We are the voice to the community, but not necessarily the voice of the community,” he said. “We can’t speak for everybody but we try to provide as much info about events and programs as we can to keep folks informed and hopefully improve their quality of life.”