New Idea Magazine

NEW IDEA MAGAZINE

New Zealand Rock Music DJ Tracey Donaldson on the men in her life and why she's a Courtney Fan.

She's one of New Zealands premiere rock chicks and reigns as the beauty amongst the beast at nationwide radio station, The Rock FM, Tracey Doanldson began her career at The Rock FM and has come full circle to be back in the studio over 12 years later. “I started at the station a few weeks after its inception way back in 1992. I was straight from school and working in rock radio was all I’d ever really wanted to do.”
At 17 she was consigned to the midnight to dawn graveyard shift but quickly progressed to a 10am – 3pm slot, exactly the same hours she works today.
After four years working at the Rock FM, she left to travel overseas. After working on radio in the United States she ended up on the airwaves in London, before deciding to try her hand with a record company. She ended up becoming gamekeeper turned poacher as her job was Radio Co-ordinator. “I planned on being away from home for about 6 months but came back 5 years later” she laughs.
While in London she also met her partner Ashley who worked for a Record Company. She returned with Ashley to New Zealand to find her old workplace a totally different beast. “It had gone from being this tiny struggling station broadcast out of Hamilton to a nation-wide hugely popular media force” she says “and I knew straight away I wanted to get back in there and be involved in some way” However she was not optimistic, surely a bigger better organization would be harder to penetrate but she was pleasantly surprised. “Amazingly all my old friends still worked there and PD Brad King was sweet enough to give me some weekend shift and part-time newsreading. I’ve now found myself back in the 10-3 slot again – my life has come full circle and I think its just brilliant!”.

Tracey says the highlight of her career to date was meeting singer Courtney Love. “She’s one of my absolute heroes”. Tracey met the troubled singer after one of her concerts in London. “I had a ticket to the after-party but I really didn’t expect her to be there. My boyfriend was telling me to go and say hello to her as he knew I was a massive fan, but I was like “No Way!” Love noticed her looking and walked straight up to the awe-struck fan. She said “don’t just stare at me, if you want to come and say hello just come and say it” I was speechless! “When I told her I was from New Zealand she told me how much she hated it here, but then came and joined me for a cigarette” she says.
Another great moment was seeing Aerosmith play at Wembley Stadium and realizing I was sitting 2 seats over from Led Zeppelins Jimmy Page. “I had the honor of shaking his hand and then when he left I stole his beer glass he left on his seat – and I still have it!”

Tracey is passionate about her job and still likes to check out bands on a regular basis, though her future may not always be in rock music. “I’m aware of the fact that I’ve just turned 30 and a lot of my listeners are younger than me. I know I can’t do this forever, so I’ve also trained as a newsreader and can definitely see a future in that”.

Tracey hasn’t found it a problem being a woman in the male-dominated radio industry, but is only too aware of how few females have fulltime jobs in the area. Infact she is the only damsel at The Rock besides newsreader Leah Panapa. “It’s scary that women are generally relegated to the side-kick role” she says. However she loves working with a big bunch of guys. “It’s such a cliché” she says “but coming here isn’t like going to work at all. Its like hanging out at your friends place listening to music and having a laugh” The only downside “would have to be the smell” she jokes. “Working in a studio with no windows where the only other inhabitants are boys….I use a lot of air freshners and spray and wipe!” she laughs.

By Helene Ravlich.