‘Southside’ Steve Rickman loses morning show on Fox FM

“Southside” Steve Rickman, a veteran radio personality who was part of the once-popular Regular Guys show, has lost his morning host job at the Fox FM network of classic hits radio stations in multiple cities in Georgia. He was there for two and a half years.

Rickman, in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, said station owner Chris Murray gave him the bad news last week, telling him Fox FM needed a lower-cost, music-oriented host, not one focused so much on talk and personality like Rickman’s’ “Southside Ride” show.

“It hit me hard for five minutes, but I’m OK,” Rickman said. “I’m not upset with him. That’s where his head is at.”

At the same time, Rickman said he was surprised. “It was like having the rug pulled out from under you,” he said. “I always like to think everything is great until it’s done.”

His co-host and producer Geoff Cole, who also lost his job, felt the same: “We thought we were humming along doing the best we can.”

"Southside" Steve Rickman (right) stands with Fox FM owner Chris Murray who used to be general manager at Rickman's former employer Rock 100.5. (Courtesy)

Murray, under the corporate name Georgia Radio Alliance LLC, has purchased several small stations in Atlanta, Macon and Warner Robins. He cobbled together a network of stations calling it Fox FM, “Georgia’s Greatest Hits,” with a heavy dose of rock songs from the 1970s and 1980s by everyone from David Bowie and Styx to Whitesnake and Bon Jovi. He plans to add more stations in Augusta and Savannah to create a statewide network.

In metro Atlanta, the FM signals are 102.1 near downtown Atlanta, 100.1 in Smyrna, 99.3 out of Newnan/Peachtree City and 100.9 in Marietta. Each covers a relatively small geographic footprint, but combined provide passable coverage of metro Atlanta.

“I need a more music-oriented station that would appeal to the entire state,” Murray said.

This particular Fox has no affiliation with Fox 97.1, an oldies station that aired in Atlanta from 1989 until 2003.

Murray said he will soon name a replacement for Rickman and Cole. He will maintain his mid-day host Jeremy “Hawk” Hawkins and former Star 94 host Tom Sullivan in the afternoons. He said Fox’s goal is to be “anti-iHeart,” referencing the largest radio station owner in the country that relies heavily on syndicated hosts, by ensuring each jock provides localized content for each city.

Rickman made his mark on Atlanta radio from the mid-1990s through the early 2010s as part of the Regular Guys, an edgy, testosterone-fueled morning show led by Larry Wachs and Eric Von Haessler on 96 Rock, then Rock 100.5.

An indefatigable pitchman for advertisers, Rickman happily made multiple remote appearances a week at car dealerships, bars and concerts. With the catchphrase “Yeah C’mon!,” the ponytailed, Journey-loving playboy of the show bragged about sleeping with hundreds of women, tracking the number as it steadily rose.

But in 2014, Rickman married nutritionist Amanda Bakalar and settled down. He now has two kids.

After the Regular Guys ended in 2014, Rickman stayed with Rock 100.5, working with Jason Bailey for seven years, then briefly had a morning show with Axel Lowe. When Atlanta-based Cumulus decided to kill Rock 100.5 in favor of a resurrection of 99X, Rickman landed the Fox job.

DJs Jason Bailey (left) and Rickman work a Rock 100.5 radiothon Friday afternoon on Dec. 11, 2015. (Rodney Ho/AJC)

Murray knew Rickman well since he previously worked as a general manager for Cumulus and Rock 100.5.