WFNX
Encyclopedia
WFNX is a New England
commercial alternative rock
radio station. The station began broadcasting on Monday, April 11, 1983. It was one of the first American commercial stations to play alternative rock
and has become a leading radio station for breaking new alternative music.
WFNX broadcasts on 101.7 MHz
from atop One Financial Center in downtown Boston, and is simulcast
on another New England radio station, WFEX in Peterborough, New Hampshire
(serving Manchester, NH
), at 92.1 MHz. Simulcasting on another 92.1 MHz station, WPHX-FM in Sanford, Maine, ended in August 2011.
WFNX is owned by the Phoenix Media/Communications Group
and promoted as the broadcast cousin of the Boston Phoenix
, the Boston area's long-running alternative media
newspaper.
in November 1947. WLYN-FM for years simulcast WLYN during the day and had its own programming after the AM signed off at sunset.
By the late 1970s, WLYN-FM had begun broadcasting ethnic programming in the midday hours, with drive times still simulcast with the AM. In 1981, WLYN-FM began broadcasting a nighttime block of new wave music
which eventually became a 24/7
alternative music format in 1982, known as Y102. The midday ethnic programs were moved to the AM where they continue to air to the present day.
In the spring of 1983, WLYN-FM was sold to the Phoenix Media/Communications Group and became WFNX, retaining for the most part the format that had been launched by the previous owners.
The station sponsored a free Green Day concert at the Hatch Memorial Shell in Boston, MA on September 9, 1994.
WFNX has a long history of breaking new bands and being the first in the country to play artists such as Nirvana, The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, Florence and the Machine, Foster the People, Mumford and Sons, and many more. Since day one, WFNX has been all about new underground music, whether it’s local or national, and tries to balance them both and help the music community.
began simulcasting 101.7 WFNX. Previously WFEX was WNHQ, simulcasting 105.5 WJYY
of Concord, New Hampshire
.
began simulcasting of 101.7 WFNX. Previous to the simulcast, WPHX-FM was WCDQ, playing classic rock
as Mount Rialto Radio. The WFNX simulcast on WPHX-FM ended in August 2011, when WPHX-FM switched to a simulcast of WXEX
1540 AM, Exeter, NH.
in downtown Boston. To promote its signal upgrade in downtown Boston, WFNX sold all of its commercial ad time to beverage maker Snapple
from Memorial Day
, May 29 through Independence Day
, July 4, 2006 (both are national holidays
in the United States). The unique deal allowed the station to eliminate traditional commercial breaks for that time.
The combination of WFNX's signal upgrade and the departure of Howard Stern from WBCN resulted in a significant ratings change in the core rock 18-34 demographic in Boston starting in 2006. Arbitron Ratings four ratings books in 2007 (Fa06, Wi07, Sp07, Su07) showed that WFNX's weekday 18-34 audience share had increased by 43% over 2005, while WBCN's 18-34 share decreased by 39% from 2005.
's 1993 Nevermind It's an Interview
limited-edition promotional release on Geffen Records was produced and engineered at the station by Kurt St. Thomas
and Troy Smith. The original interview sessions were recorded by St. Thomas the night of Nirvana's first appearance on NBC
's Saturday Night Live
in 1992.
Julie Kramer, Weekdays 10am-2pm (includes "Leftover Lunch," which features tracks from the 80s and 90s starting at noon)
Adam 12, Weekdays 2-7pm
Specialty Programming:
The Nightly News with Paul Driscoll, features local, national, and international artists on the brink of stardom, Weeknights from 11pm-1am.
Boston Accents, hosted by Michael Marotta, featuring the best local bands from New England, every Sunday night from 8-10pm
London Calling, hosted by XFM personality Ian Camfield, Sunday nights 10pm-midnight. Added to lineup in September 2010.
The weekend air staff includes Christine, D-Tension, DJ W No Name, Jason Layne, Jim Ryan, Kaya and Mike Logan.
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
commercial alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
radio station. The station began broadcasting on Monday, April 11, 1983. It was one of the first American commercial stations to play alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
and has become a leading radio station for breaking new alternative music.
WFNX broadcasts on 101.7 MHz
Hertz
The hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....
from atop One Financial Center in downtown Boston, and is simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
on another New England radio station, WFEX in Peterborough, New Hampshire
Peterborough, New Hampshire
Peterborough is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,284 at the 2010 census. Home to the MacDowell Art Colony, the town is a popular tourist destination....
(serving Manchester, NH
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...
), at 92.1 MHz. Simulcasting on another 92.1 MHz station, WPHX-FM in Sanford, Maine, ended in August 2011.
WFNX is owned by the Phoenix Media/Communications Group
Phoenix Media/Communications Group
Phoenix Media/Communications Group is a Boston, Massachusetts corporation with several publishing and broadcasting interests. In addition to the Boston Phoenix, the Providence Phoenix and the Portland Phoenix, the company publishes a biweekly publication about Boston nightlife called Stuff and...
and promoted as the broadcast cousin of the Boston Phoenix
The Phoenix (newspaper)
The Phoenix is the name of several alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts including the Boston Phoenix, the Providence Phoenix, the Portland Phoenix and the now-defunct Worcester Phoenix...
, the Boston area's long-running alternative media
Alternative media
Alternative media are media which provide alternative information to the mainstream media in a given context, whether the mainstream media are commercial, publicly supported, or government-owned...
newspaper.
History
101.7 FM began as the FM outfit of WLYNWLYN
WLYN is a leased-time ethnic station in the Boston market. The station is licensed to Lynn, Massachusetts, and is owned by Multicultural Broadcasting. Its programming is broadcast on 1360 kHz on the AM band...
in November 1947. WLYN-FM for years simulcast WLYN during the day and had its own programming after the AM signed off at sunset.
By the late 1970s, WLYN-FM had begun broadcasting ethnic programming in the midday hours, with drive times still simulcast with the AM. In 1981, WLYN-FM began broadcasting a nighttime block of new wave music
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
which eventually became a 24/7
24/7
24/7 is an abbreviation which stands for "24 hours a day, 7 days a week", usually referring to a business or service available at all times without interruption...
alternative music format in 1982, known as Y102. The midday ethnic programs were moved to the AM where they continue to air to the present day.
In the spring of 1983, WLYN-FM was sold to the Phoenix Media/Communications Group and became WFNX, retaining for the most part the format that had been launched by the previous owners.
The station sponsored a free Green Day concert at the Hatch Memorial Shell in Boston, MA on September 9, 1994.
WFNX has a long history of breaking new bands and being the first in the country to play artists such as Nirvana, The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, Florence and the Machine, Foster the People, Mumford and Sons, and many more. Since day one, WFNX has been all about new underground music, whether it’s local or national, and tries to balance them both and help the music community.
WFEX
In December 1999, 92.1 WFEX of Peterborough, New HampshirePeterborough, New Hampshire
Peterborough is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,284 at the 2010 census. Home to the MacDowell Art Colony, the town is a popular tourist destination....
began simulcasting 101.7 WFNX. Previously WFEX was WNHQ, simulcasting 105.5 WJYY
WJYY
WJYY is a radio station broadcasting a Top 40 format. Licensed to Concord, New Hampshire, USA, the station serves the southern New Hampshire area...
of Concord, New Hampshire
Concord, New Hampshire
The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....
.
WPHX
On July 21, 1999 92.1 WPHX-FM of Sanford, MaineSanford, Maine
Sanford is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 20,798 in the 2010 census, the highest of the York County towns, and the 8th largest in the state. Situated on the Mousam River, Sanford includes the village of Springvale...
began simulcasting of 101.7 WFNX. Previous to the simulcast, WPHX-FM was WCDQ, playing classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
as Mount Rialto Radio. The WFNX simulcast on WPHX-FM ended in August 2011, when WPHX-FM switched to a simulcast of WXEX
WXEX
WXEX is a radio station broadcasting a '60s & '70s rock 'n' roll plus Motown music format. It is licensed to Exeter, New Hampshire, USA, and covers the New Hampshire Seacoast region...
1540 AM, Exeter, NH.
Signal upgrade and ratings growth
On March 30, 2006, WFNX doubled its power after receiving permission from the FCC to begin broadcasting from its new antenna located atop One Financial CenterOne Financial Center
One Financial Center is a modern skyscraper adjacent to Dewey Square in the Financial District of Boston, Massachusetts. Built in 1983, it is Boston's 7th-tallest building, standing 590 feet tall, and housing 46 floors. An unusual 90 ft tall glass-roofed lobby, known as the atrium,...
in downtown Boston. To promote its signal upgrade in downtown Boston, WFNX sold all of its commercial ad time to beverage maker Snapple
Snapple
Snapple is a brand of tea and juice drinks which is owned by Dr Pepper Snapple Group and based in Plano, Texas. The brand was founded in 1972. The brand achieved some notoriety due to various pop-culture references including television shows.-History:...
from Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
, May 29 through Independence Day
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
, July 4, 2006 (both are national holidays
Holiday
A Holiday is a day designated as having special significance for which individuals, a government, or a religious group have deemed that observance is warranted. It is generally an official or unofficial observance of religious, national, or cultural significance, often accompanied by celebrations...
in the United States). The unique deal allowed the station to eliminate traditional commercial breaks for that time.
The combination of WFNX's signal upgrade and the departure of Howard Stern from WBCN resulted in a significant ratings change in the core rock 18-34 demographic in Boston starting in 2006. Arbitron Ratings four ratings books in 2007 (Fa06, Wi07, Sp07, Su07) showed that WFNX's weekday 18-34 audience share had increased by 43% over 2005, while WBCN's 18-34 share decreased by 39% from 2005.
Trivia
NirvanaNirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
's 1993 Nevermind It's an Interview
Nevermind It's an Interview
Nevermind It's an Interview is the only officially released interview CD of American grunge band Nirvana. Released in limited-edition form worldwide in 1992 by Geffen Records, written, produced and engineered at WFNX Boston by Kurt St. Thomas and Troy Smith . The original interview sessions were...
limited-edition promotional release on Geffen Records was produced and engineered at the station by Kurt St. Thomas
Kurt St. Thomas
Kurt St. Thomas is an award winning filmmaker, author, and disc jockey. He can currently be heard on the airwaves of 106.7 KROQ in Los Angeles, California....
and Troy Smith. The original interview sessions were recorded by St. Thomas the night of Nirvana's first appearance on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
in 1992.
Programming
WFNX Breakfast Show, Weekdays 6-10amJulie Kramer, Weekdays 10am-2pm (includes "Leftover Lunch," which features tracks from the 80s and 90s starting at noon)
Adam 12, Weekdays 2-7pm
Specialty Programming:
The Nightly News with Paul Driscoll, features local, national, and international artists on the brink of stardom, Weeknights from 11pm-1am.
Boston Accents, hosted by Michael Marotta, featuring the best local bands from New England, every Sunday night from 8-10pm
London Calling, hosted by XFM personality Ian Camfield, Sunday nights 10pm-midnight. Added to lineup in September 2010.
The weekend air staff includes Christine, D-Tension, DJ W No Name, Jason Layne, Jim Ryan, Kaya and Mike Logan.
Notable former on-air staff
- Liquid Todd (Production Director 1993-96, Assistant Program Director, 1996-97. Created "Spin Cycle" mixshow and did "Product" speciality show on Sunday nights.
- Bill Abbate (1984–88 evenings & weekends); Left to join WBCN & Patriots Rock Radio Network: 1988–2003
- Angie C (1993–2002, evenings 1996–98. Morning co-host 1998 - May 2002). Recently started on-air gig at Indie 103.1 in Los Angeles.
- Duane Bruce 1987–92(Host of "Radio Free Boston","Moods for Moderns" and "X-Nite").
- Nik Carter (Evenings 1988–95, middays September - November 1995). Left to join WBCN FM, Boston. Hosted middays at now defunct K-Rock (WXRK) in New York City. Also did afternoons on "The NY Rock Experience" WRXP.
- Kat Corbett (On-Air Personality) Now middays at KROQKROQ-FMKROQ-FM — branded 106.7 KROQ — is a commercial modern rock radio station licensed to Pasadena, California serving the Greater Los Angeles. The call sign is pronounced "kay rock." It is the flagship station of Loveline hosted by Dr...
in Los Angeles and host of Locals Only. - Cruze (1998–2003, program director. Afternoon drivetime host from 1998 to 2001, 2003).
- Joanne Doody (Evenings 1983–1985, middays 1985–94)
- Laurie Gail (Music Director)
- Mike Gioscia (1992–2000 - Production Director, and DJ/Host of X-Nite @ Axis). Currently an award winning independent filmmaker. Writer and Indie Filmmaker. VO artist. Drummer. Producer.
- Tom Irwin a.k.a. "Morning Guy Tai" for his initials T.A.I. (morning drivetime host 1985 - May 1997)
- Paul Jaxon (Co-host of morning drive time show Jaxon and the Pharmacist August 2000 – August 2001)
- Juanita (host of Boston Rocks - local music showcase)
- Chris Kennedy (June 1989 – April 2001, longtime host of overnight music show Annihi-late Night 1991–2000, producer of Morning Guy Tai morning show as well as brief interim host of morning show 1998–99).
- Kevin Mays (music director and part time on-air talent) Currently the music director and afternoon drive talent at WBTZ-FM in Burlington, VT.
- Bruce McDonald (Music Director, Assistant Program Director air staff 1983–90; evening host, 1989–90. Creator and host of "Moods For Moderns" which mutated into "First Contact"). Later Program Director of WHTG, Asbury Park. Also Polydor Recordss' National Director of Promotion, Restless Records' Vice President of Promotion and Mute Records' Artist Development.
- Brian Mulhern a.k.a. "The Pharmacist" (Co-host of morning drive time show Jaxon and the Pharmacist August 2000 – August 2001. Morning host August 2001 – June 2002)
- Neal Robert (1987?-95, 1998–2000. co-host of morning drivetime show Asleep At The Wheel May 1998–2000)
- Kurt St. ThomasKurt St. ThomasKurt St. Thomas is an award winning filmmaker, author, and disc jockey. He can currently be heard on the airwaves of 106.7 KROQ in Los Angeles, California....
, (Production, music and program director, evening host, 1987–95, award-winning independent filmmaker Co-wrote Nirvana: The Chosen Rejects with ex-FNX jock Troy Smith). Also on air at KROQ and Indie 103.1 FM in Los Angeles. Now runs own independent online radio station, "http://www.houndstoothradio.com". - Troy Smith, a.k.a "Boy Troy" (Production, Music and Program Director, midday show host, 1989–96) Now at WQRC-FM, Cape Cod, MA
- Steven Strick (on-air and music director during the 1980s, before returning to WBCN). Now a business owner in the Los Angeles area.
- Michael Swasey (The Third Shift2003-04 show host), (The Swasey Show 2004-07 show host)
- Max Tolkoff (Program Director in early '90s and then again in 2003) Was the PD for Indie 103.1 in Los Angeles and programming consultant for WFNX.
- Jim "Big Jim" Murray- Production Director and Drive time DJ.
- Dave Duncan - Local Music Director, Host of New England Product/Boston Accents, 2005-2011.
- Chris "Charlie" Padgett - Co-host, "The Sandbox" morning drivetime show, June 2007 - January 2010
- Elbe "Special Ed" d'Oliveria - Co-host/Producer, "The Sandbox" morning drivetime show, June 2007 - January 2010
- Dustin "Fletcher" Matthews - Co-host, "The Sandbox" morning drivetime show, June 2007 - January 2010; Co-host (later host) of the "WFNX Breakfast Show," January 2010 - August 2011