WNNX (FM)

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WNNX FM ("99X") is a radio station in the city of Atlanta, Georgia, USA, that plays modern rock. Its frequency is 99.7 MHz.

99X is owned by Susquehanna Radio. Their sister station in Atlanta is Q100 (WWWQ FM 100.5), broadcasting from the same building. 99x also broadcasts in IBOC digital radio, using the HD Radio system from iBiquity. On October 31, 2005 Cumulus Media, Inc. announced that it, in partnership with a group of investors, had entered into an agreement to purchase WNNX's parent company Susquehanna. The acquisition is pending FCC approval.

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History

For most of its early years, 99.7 played host to an easy listening format. In 1983, buoyed by the surprise success of WSB 99 FM's adult contemporary format, the station shifted in a less "lite" direction, becoming "Warm 100". (By 1985, the station was ID-ing as "Warm 99".) In mid-1986, the station went head-to-head with dominant local Top 40 station Z-93, becoming Power 99. Z-93 eventually lost their lead, and attempted to shift to a more urban-oriented format (as "Hot New Z-93") to compete, but conceded the battle in January of 1989 by flipping to classic rock.

By the turn of the 90s, Power 99 was the dominant Top 40 station in the southeast. However, the success of Nirvana at the end of 1991 and the subsequent rise of "alternative" music gave station management pause. In early 1992, KEDG-FM debuted in Las Vegas as an alternative station and immediately moved to #1 in the ratings. In early September 1992, Power 99 brought in Will Pendarvis to host an all-alternative program on weeknights called "Power 99 On the Edge". After receiving a solid amount of positive feedback, the station decided to make the full switch. On Monday, October 26, 1992, at 12:00pm, 99X made its debut. (The last song played on Power 99, which aired a couple of hours before the switch, was Charles and Eddie's "Would I Lie to You".) Initially, the station stuck with Power 99's WAPW, but soon acquired the call sign WNNX from a Nynex oil rig off the coast of Corpus Christi, Texas.

During the first couple of years of the format, 99X maintained a surprisingly wide playlist, including songs from the previous fifteen years of modern rock radio, almost in the style of college radio. They also opted to play album tracks that were not necessarily singles, often to the chagrin of the major labels and their marketing strategies. However, realizing that their ratings were flagging, the station moved to tighten the playlist and act as more of a "Top Alternative" station.

99X played a key role in breaking numerous acts during its early years. MD Sean Demery's push behind The Cranberries' "Linger" in 1993 helped earn the band national attention. On a trip to Australia in early 1995, the program director at the time, Brian Phillips, brought back a copy of fledging band Silverchair's debut EP, which the station began to spin. The day after the release of their debut album Frogstomp, the band played its first US show at the Roxy in Atlanta as a 99X Freeloader show.

99X spent the end of the 1990s playing a fair amount of "lighter" alternative fare, such as Tonic and matchbox twenty. However, with the turn of the century, the station turned heavier, nearly crossing into active rock territory. The station also began targetting a younger male audience, pulling the focus away from recurrents and more toward the latest tracks from Limp Bizkit, KoЯn, and Kid Rock. This change brought 99X the highest ratings of its existence, yet arguably became the station's most critically derided period. Within a few years, the station's ratings began to erode as the edgier fare waned in popularity and as those who enjoyed the more "classic" alternative sound turned elsewhere.

In 2004, the station underwent another change, moving from strictly modern rock to "New Rock and 90's Alternative", a reference to their days in the early 1990s when they played alternative rock. In 2005, the station unveiled a new slogan - "99X - Everything Alternative". Today, the station attempts to balance new and old, loud and soft, covering all of the eras of its history.

In 2005, following Hurricane Katrina, 99X staged a weekend promotion in which they sent all their DJs out to help with relief efforts and had their music played by Jay Haren's iPod. This promotion was popular enough that it has continued over the weekends since.

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Disc jockeys

The Everything Alternative 99X Morning Show

  • Axel Lowe, who previously worked afternoon drive. Also hosted "Southern Home by Design" on Turner South.
  • Jimmy Baron.
  • Leslie Fram, also 99x's program director. Was a member of Power 99's "The Breakfast Club" before the station's transition to 99x.
  • Mitch Evans, sports/traffic.


Regulars:

  • Steve Craig, middays. Hosts the "Retroplex" (formerly known as the "Duplex of Retro Pleasure" and "House of Retro Pleasure") during the noon hour.
  • Matt "Organic" Jones, afternoon drive and Sunday mornings. The Sunday morning program "Organic X" features a softer and more acoustic side of alternative music.
  • Dekker, evenings. Worked nights at cross-town competitor WBZY before moving to 99x in 2005.
  • Doug, overnights.
  • Jay Harren, 99x's music director. Hosts "Sunday School" on Sunday nights, featuring off-the-playlist music. As of late 2005, 99x's weekend programming was referred to as "99x On-Shuffle", with the concept being that the music was being supplied by Harren's iPod set to "shuffle". Harren has a neurological condition called synaesthesia. In August of 2004, he appeared in a brief CNN piece about the condition, coincidentally conducted by future All Access host Holly Firfer. [1]


Part-time:

  • Jill. Joined 99x in the early 90s after spending several years at Album 88. Also teaches at Norcross High School.
  • Ben. Was the voice of cross-town competitor 96.7 the Buzz when it went on the air in 2002 under the on-air name "Roach". Joined 99x in 2004.
  • Jeff Woodall. Earned a station shift by winning 99x's "Quit Your Day Job" contest in 2004.
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Promotions and Concerts

  • Music Midtown
  • 99x Freeloader Program
  • 99x Anti-Neck Army
  • Upstart Fest
  • Unplugged in the Park
  • Sinner's Ball
  • Naughty Night
  • Live X concerts and CDs
  • Virginia-Highlands Summerfest
  • On The Bricks (the original)
  • Downtown Rocks
  • The Big Rock
  • Big Day Out
  • Big Day In (2005) - To help with victims of Hurricane Katrina.
  • Chinese New Year
  • Acoustic Christmas
  • I'm with the Band!
  • Brouhaha
  • Mistle Toe Jam
  • Brewfest
  • 99Xpress magazine
  • Project X
  • Get a Life
  • Quit Your Day Job
  • American Idiot
  • The "What Would You Do" $10,000 Dare
  • Celebrity Softball Slam
  • Night of the Living Loud
  • Swingles Party
  • Campus MovieFest
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Former 99X DJs

  • Sean Demery. Started at Power 99 as "Shotgun Sean". Co-hosted one of 99X's first morning shows with Leslie Fram. Moved to the afternoon drive, where he at one point hosted the Friday drive-time program the Swinging Velveeta Lounge. During his final sign-off with the station on January 7, 2000, his last words were, "I'm Sean Demery, and I was 99X," a reference to 99x's slogan "I am 99x". (He followed that by playing his last song, "How Soon Is Now" by The Smiths.) Currently Programming Director at Live 105 in San Francisco.
  • Will Pendarvis. Started at Power 99 in September of 1992, hosting a nightly alternative music program called "Power 99 On the Edge", a precursor to 99X's format change nearly two months later . The show continued simply as "On the Edge" following the format change to 99X. Left the station in 1995. Worked mornings at Washington, DC's DC 101 before moving to New York's K-Rock 92.3. Currently works at Sirius Satellite Radio on the "Faction Rock Radio" channel.
  • Keith Eubanks. Occasionally ran shifts on both Power 99 and 99X as "Fast Freddy Luka". Also occasionally appeared as Will Pendarvis' "roommate" Wendell. Best known as the voice of the station throughout the 1990s. His off-the-cuff imitation of 99X's first voice guy (done when said voice guy, who worked out of town, was unavailable) eventually morphed into a famous whisper-spoken delivery that, within a few years, could be heard on stations throughout the country. Passed away in 2002 from complications of pneumonia. (His voice could still be heard on Atlanta radio as late as early 2004 on station IDs for the now-defunct 105.3 WMAX.) Keith Eubanks Tribute
  • Steve Barnes. At 99X from 1992 to 2003. Started in afternoon drive, moved to mornings in August of 1994. Co-hosted "The Morning X". Hosted the weekend Top 30 Countdown. Last song he played on-air was "California" by Phantom Planet. Left the station to produce and act in independent films (assuredly to wait out a non-compete with 99x). Launched a morning show called All Access on 92.9 Dave FM (WZGC) in Atlanta on September 13, 2004, with co-host Holly Firfer from CNN.
  • Christopher "Crash" Clark. Began as a traffic reporter for Power 99, continued on 99x, eventually added to sister station Q100. Was suspended more than once while working at the station. Was fired at the end of November 2005 for a contest gone wrong. According to reports, Crash was hosting a remote at a club and had pairs of tickets to a private 99x concert by 311 to give away. A woman approached and offered to perform oral sex on someone at the club for the tickets. Crash assumed she wouldn't actually go through with it (noting that people had offered to do the same at previous events and hadn't) and was planning to give her the tickets even if she didn't. However, she did go through with it (in the men's bathroom), upsetting the club owners and 99x programming director Leslie Fram. Transcript of Clark describing the event Made a brief final appearance on air near the end of Toucher's final show (on March 17th, 2006), where Clark jokingly asked Fram to hire him back "for the fifth time". Currently developing a radio show with Fred Toucher and Rich Shertenlieb.
  • Tom Clark, aka "Major Tom" (brother of Crash). Worked mornings on Power 99 (as part of "The Breakfast Club"), and continued on mornings after the format change to 99x. Left the station in the mid-90s. Last seen on Atlanta airwaves working mornings on the now-defunct Mix 105.7 / Cool 105.7.
  • Melissa Carter. Currently working at Q100 in Atlanta, and co-host of TWIST syndicated radio program (with Dennis Hensley and Will Wikle).
  • Rich Shertenlieb. Started as an intern for the Morning X, soon turned into the show's stunt guy. Most famous for his protest of Martha Burk at the Masters golf tournament in Augusta Georgia, where he held up a sign that said "Make Me Dinner/Iron My Shirt". This stunt was covered by ESPN and hundreds of other news organizations. Also received recognition for rescuing a carjacking victim. Before 99X, he co-hosted Tech Talk on WREK while a management student at Georgia Tech. After leaving 99X, worked with Kidd Kraddick in Dallas through December 2005. Currently developing a radio show with Fred Toucher and Crash Clark.
  • Carter. Real name, Robert Carter, Bobby to his high school buddies. Worked with Cartoon Network's George Lowe (voice of Space Ghost) to produce the vast majority of commercials on 99X 1994-1996. Stands 6'11.
  • Mark Owens. Currently working at Q100 in Atlanta.
  • Just Dave.
  • Jeff Clark. (Unrelated to the other Clarks.) Hosted a Sunday night free-form music program called "Fear of Music" during the first few years of 99X.
  • Twisted Todd.
  • Cat.
  • Margot.
  • Whip. Covered the evening shift. Left in May 2005. Currently at 105.3 the Buzz.
  • Christopher Calandro. Associate producer, phone screener for the morning shows, charged with "tertiary character casting". Injured during a stunt with Fat Kid on October 30th, 2004, and spent months off the air battling a staph infection in his right knee. Was let go from 99x in June of 2005. Before 99X, did traffic for WSB-AM and WSB-TV. Also produced the Regular Guys' show on Atlanta's 96 Rock under the nickname "Radio Boy" from 1999-2001.
  • Jeremy "Fat Kid" Powell. Cast during the "Toucher 6-Day Morning Show," a precursor to the current morning show. Intern and phone screener for TJL Morning Show. Was once arrested for one of his stunts. Was let go on Friday, January 13th, 2006. In a post to Fred Toucher's message board, Powell wrote, "on friday i got a call from our business manager lady and leslie telling me that due to budget cuts i was being let go. they were really nice about it, i kinda got the feeling that they really didn't want to make that call. leslie told me she would get with me later on and help me find another gig."
  • Fred Toucher. Joined 99x as an intern in 1999. Moved to air-staff full-time, working nights for several years before switching to mornings following the departure of Steve Barnes. Made his last appearance on 99x on March 17, 2006. Currently developing a radio show with Rich Shertenlieb and Crash Clark. Fred Toucher's website
  • Gary "Wally" Wallace, former morning show director. Formerly known as "Zippy" from Radio Disney.
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Former DJs (pre-99X)

These DJs appeared on 99.7 before the station changed to WNNX.

  • Skinny Bobby Harper
  • Gary McDowell
  • Steve McCoy. Did AM drive on Power 99 before moving to Star 94.
  • Vikki Locke. Moved to Star 94 in 1991.
  • Domino. Worked nights on Power 99. Was the only DJ let go when the station became 99X, as management felt his style wouldn't work in the new format. Went to Kiss 106.1 in Dallas. Briefly voicetracked WMAX in Atlanta.
  • Rick Stacy. Worked mornings for Power 99 (on "The Breakfast Club") after Steve McCoy left the station, and was PD of the station during the transition to 99X. Departed 99X not long after the format change.
  • Ron (?). Worked mornings as part of "The Breakfast Club" on Power 99.
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Former 99X shows

  • On the Edge. Will Pendarvis' nightly program, where he mixed up the regular playlist with more classic alternative tracks.
  • The Morning X. Hosted by Barnes, Leslie Fram, and Jimmy Baron. Won multiple industry awards from Gavin Report, Billboard, Radio and Records, Creative Loafing, Atlanta Magazine, and others. Featured recurring characters like "Bertha, the oldest Freeloader", "Gay Bob", "Eric the Web Gangsta", "the Stryper Rules guy", and "Forrest, the listener who couldn't win contests". Some of their elaborate pranks were the underground amusement park Magic Island, giving out Leonardo Dicaprio's home phone number, and firing Leslie from the show because she wasn't pretty enough for the webcam.
  • Resurrection Sunday. Hosted by Axel. A full afternoon of retro alternative songs.
  • Bootleg X. 99X's Sunday night program of concerts by popular alternative acts (usually via Westwood One's archives).
  • The Swinging Velveeta Lounge. Sean Demery's hour-long Friday drive-time program dedicated to quirky and oddball music (aka, "cheese"). Usually broadcast in front of a live studio audience.
  • The Beat Factory, later called Xcellerator.
  • The Pleasure Dome. A sex-education talk show cohosted by Yvonne Monet and Roger Libby.
  • Living Loud. Mon-Fri evening program (7p - 12a) that ran in the early 2000s. Initially hosted by Axel, later hosted by Fred Toucher.
  • Toucher, Jimmy, and Leslie. Started out in October of 2003 as The Don Miller Morning Show, and briefly changed to The Toucher Show with Toucher and Jimmy. The show featured frequent appearances from "Donshay", Louis Perico, "Wade the Drunk", "MC Helium", and the 99X Green-Asses.
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External links


Atlanta metro area FM radio stations

WJSP 88.1 | WRAS 88.5 | WBCX 89.1 | WRFG 89.3 | WABE 90.1 | WUWG 90.7 | WREK 91.1 | WWEV 91.5 | WCLK 91.9 | WZGC 92.9 | WVFJ 93.3 | WSTR 94.1 | WLTM 94.9 | WBTS 95.5 | WKLS 96.1 | WVWA 96.7 | WSRV 97.1 | WPZE 97.5 | WKCX 97.7 | WSB 98.5 | WNNX 99.7 | WNSY 100.1 | WWWQ 100.5 | WKHX 101.5 | WAZX 101.9 | WLKQ 102.3 | WAMJ 102.5 | WCKS 102.7 | WMJE 102.9 | WVEE 103.3 | WPUP 103.7 | WALR 104.1 | WFSH 104.7 | WBZY 105.3 | WWVA 105.7 | WNGC 106.1 | WHLE 106.3 | WYAY 106.7 | WTSH 107.1 | WJZZ 107.5 | WHTA 107.9 | WPCG 107.9

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