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Saturday, September 13, 2008
9/14: Visiting Leslie Fram and Steve Craig in New York City
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ABOVE: Leslie Fram with Steve Craig. 99Xers reunited at 101.9/WRXP-FM. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com, Sept. 12, 2008
I visited former 99X program director and morning cohost Leslie Fram and mid-day host Steve Craig on Friday morning Sept. 12, 2008 at their new home WRXP-FM, a new rock station in New York City.
Ensconced in the West Village, WRXP-FM plays an intriguing blend of classic rock, alternative rock and new rock. Fram joined the station in June as program director and co-hosts the morning show with Matt Pinfield, best known nationally as former host of MTV’s “120 Minutes.” Craig jumped aboard about a month ago as mid-day host.
Fram, a workaholic, is at the station from 5 a.m. until 8 p.m. some days. She said there are three or four rock concerts a night she could go to. Her first week, she went to five in a row including R.E.M., My Morning Jacket and Steely Dan and realized she has to be more selective. “I can’t do this every day,” she said she thought. “I’m going to die!” Yet you know she’s like a kid in a candy store.
Craig is enjoying the music mix, too, the ability to blend the Stones and the Who with the Ramones and the Clash, along with Nirvana and Green Day, plus the Strokes and the Killers, as well as new bands such as Kings of Leon and the Hold Steady. I don’t know of a station that goes as broad as this one. Will it work? Time will tell.
Both Craig and Fram were let go from 99X back in January when the station was taken off the Atlanta airwaves and sent online. (Craig did some work for 99x.com until his contract ran out over the summer.) Fram and Craig helped launch 99X back in 1992 and lasted more than 15 years.
Fram hasn’t forgotten Atlanta. Her husband Lanny manages her stores here and flies up to New York a couple times a month. She still has commitments here, including three events this month: a benefit for P.A.L.s, helping pets for the elderly and disabled Sunday called Rubbing Noses with Holly Firfer. Then Friday Sept. 19, there’s Fram Jam, an Americana showcase at the Atlantis Music Festival at Smith’s Olde Bar. Then she co-hosts the Georgia Music Hall of Fame Sept. 20 with Monica Pearson at the Georgia World Congress Center.
The WRXP studio is modest since it used to house a smooth jazz station. She wants to rejigger the space to give visitors more space to hang out. Pinfield stands in the main spot, with the producer Matt Iannik next to him. Fram stands near the window facing Pinfield. Pinfield is very smooth, very lively and plays off Fram well. The pair are both into the music. They recently spent 50 minutes with Brian Johnson with AC/DC, a band Fram never had a chance to deal with at 99X.
This particular morning, they interviewed a new band called Pure Essence and actor Jamie Kennedy. They did a daily bit called “local licks” featuring a song from an act with ties to the tri-state area. On Friday, they chose a duet with New Yorker Regina Spektor and Ben Folds “You Don’t Know Me.” While many DJs turn the sound down in between songs, they kept this song up and Pinfield noted, “I really like this song!”
Steve Craig, who just moved his furniture up to Forest Hills, NY, says he’s still getting into gear but is loving every minute of it.
Athens native Matt Pinfield, former host of MTV’s “120 Minutes” is the lead morning guy at WRXP-FM,
