Last modified: Friday, March 16, 2007 1:10 AM EDT Foxboro's Matt Leonard is still reveling in his DJ gig with WAAF. (SUBMITTED PHOTO) 'It blows my mind' BY MICHAEL GELBWASSER SUN CHRONICLE STAFF FOXBORO -- Matt Leonard says his hometown friends may remember him best as "the nerdy guy in high school." But that geek factor - and plenty of enthusiasm and persistence - have helped the Foxboro native land a weekend and fill-in DJ gig on WAAF-FM, the rock 'n' roll radio station he's listened to since he was a kid. Leonard, 35, got the job after AAF's program director at the time, Keith Hastings, spoke during a radio programming course that Leonard was taking through Emerson College's continuing education program. "The first thing I shouted out was, 'Give me a job!'" Leonard recalled. "The program director pointed at me and said, 'That's the kind of people we look for at AAF.' I think he was really impressed with what I was asking." Leonard started working for AAF in August 2004. You can catch his show from 6 to 10 a.m. Sundays. "Those that are up are usually hung over or still partying," Leonard said. "They want rock 'n' roll, and they want something else to motivate themselves." Leonard, who earned a bachelor of arts degree in radio and audio production from Emerson in 2005, says he still "can't believe" he is hosting a show on the popular rock station. "It blows my mind," he said. "Even after being on the air for this length of time, I'm still like, 'Wow! I'm on WAAF. I'm in the big leagues.'" The station's studio is a far cry from the first one Leonard worked in: his parents' living room. He recalls sitting in front of his parents' record player and "trying to emulate the DJs." "My parents would get mad at me a lot because I would have records all over the place," he said. As a junior at Foxboro High, Leonard got a gig "playing the old standards" at WJCC (1170 AM) in Norfolk. From there, he got his first paid FM job: three days a week at the rock radio station at Dean College in Franklin. "They needed people to operate the station during the summer hours," said Leonard, who earned an associate's degree in communication from Dean in 1992. Leonard said experience has polished his inflection and tone. "You get into a groove after a while. It's like a needle on a record - it fits right in the groove." Pink Floyd also gets Leonard in the groove. He said his podcast featuring that band averages 2,000 to 3,000 listeners per episode. New shows air every other Friday. "Whenever Pink Floyd comes up to be played, I've always got it cranked up in the studio," he said. However, Leonard's fame hasn't cost him his anonymity. He said he can still visit his parents, George and Roz Leonard, in his hometown and walk around without anyone but his old friends recognizing him. "One of the benefits of being on the radio," Leonard said, "is you can be this guy somebody listened to on the radio five minutes ago and stand right next to them, and not have them know that it's you." MICHAEL GELBWASSER can be reached at 508-236-0372 or at mgelbwasser@thesunchronicle.com.