Stephanie Harty and Chris Frank have both ascended the major label ranks over the years to the national promotion chairs in very different ways, and have done it in a diligent, hyper-focused manner. We recently caught up with Alternative’s newest dynamic duo and got the breakdown on how they operate, how they got to where they are and what’s coming down the pike

Stephanie Harty & Chris Frank

Stephanie Harty & Chris Frank

Stephanie Harty and Chris Frank deserve kudos. Both have ascended the major label ranks over the years to the national promotion chairs in very different ways, and have done it in a diligent, hyper-focused manner. The pair also operate from home bases smack dab in the middle country, a unique situation that, while challenging to some, has paid dividends for both of them. We recently caught up with Alternative’s newest dynamic duo and got the breakdown on how they operate, how they got to where they are and what’s coming down the pike

 eQB presents excerpts from the September FMQB magazine
Modern Rock Up Close with Universal Motown VP/Rock & Alt. Promotion, Stephanie Harty and Director of Rock/Alt. Promotion, Chris Frank

Stephanie Harty:  “At Nasty Little Man, I had the pleasure of working with some very big artists including the Beastie Boys, Foo Fighters and one of my personal favorite bands, The Afghan Whigs.  I got to be a part of the Tibetan Freedom Concert with the Beastie Boys; just a lot of really cool things, and I was way too young to appreciate how awesome that time in my life was… Later I became a New York regional at Columbia and was then sent out to Los Angeles to be the regional there, and about nine months later I was promoted to National Director of Alternative Promotion… From there I met this guy (WLUM/Milwaukee PD) Jacent Jackson and decided to move to Chicago to start my life with him in 2005.  I had at that point left Columbia to be Co-Vice President of Promotion for Universal Motown.  Recently, the company made some changes, and now I find myself running the department solo from Wauwatosa, WI with Chris Frank as my right hand man.”

Chris Frank:  Mine’s not nearly as involved, and has pretty much two straight lines that run through it and that involve the city of St. Louis and KPNT.  I started off as a morning show intern in 1997 at KPNT.  Alan Fee hired me and gave me the nickname “Hoss,” which I’ve never outgrown in this city as much as I wish I could, and later worked for Tommy Mattern.  I did some on-air and promotion stuff, and got to run the local show which was great… In 2001 a job in Chicago opened to be the promotion assistant for Tom Schmall, Tom Martens, and Chris Moradi at Interscope. I jumped at the job and did that for two years… I eventually landed there as Robbie Lloyd’s assistant, did that for a few years, and got to the point where I realized I didn’t want to be having Robbie throw staplers at me when I was 30.  I interviewed with a couple of labels and ended up at Universal based back in St. Louis.  I was the Mid-West local until a couple of months ago when all the shakeups happened here, and Steph literally offered me a job in front of the entire company in their conference room in New York.

Stephanie:  What we don’t do in this department is the “I do all the major markets and you do all the secondaries.”  It’s not like that.  What we’re trying to do is find a nice role for the two of us, according to who we have our best relationships with.

Stephanie: We have a huge advantage because we don’t have people walking into our office every five minutes interrupting our flow.  We’re very focused; we are very intense on the phones.  We don’t have to worry about impromptu meetings that tend to take up a lot of time when you’re in the headquarters. We put our noses to the grindstone and crank it out. .. We have to be on our game. You have to pick it up and you just have to go.  We’re able to do that.  We don’t have to worry about any of the office politics and any of that stuff.  We just call radio and get records played.

Chris:  Amen!

Stephanie:  I’m extremely proud of the job that we were able to do with The Veer Union at Active Rock, taking it, a debut song from a baby band, Top 10… The record proved to be a hit from an unknown band and it has legs.  We’ve been on the chart for twenty-plus weeks, and that’s a testament to our field staff’s incredibly diligent work in keeping the record alive.

Chris:  That was probably the record that in the last year-and-a-half I’ve been the most excited to work.  I don’t think it’s a shock to anyone that I’m a Rock guy, and it was nice to have a real Rock record.

Stephanie:  The other record that a lot of people are paying attention to is After Midnight Project — a record that we charted really quickly.  There’s no real story on this band other than radio’s belief that this could be a hit.… Of course, our cornerstone artist for our Motown Rock Department is Blue October. 

Stephanie:  My husband, Jacent Jackson, has taught me more in the three years that we’ve been married about how to do my job than I ever could have possibly hoped to learn… He’s given me perspective, and made me realize that I need to chill out and realize that I’m not the programmers’ priority.  There are so many other things that are on their minds including being in ratings wars. Their daily routine can’t revolve around a record person’s agenda. It just really opened my eyes and let me realize that our agendas can match so long as I am willing to listen, as opposed to barking about what it is that I want to put on their plates.  He’s amazing.  The pillow talk at home is pretty cool. 

Chris: I got a dog.

**QB content by Mike Bacon**

Also in the FMQB September Magazine:

Q&A with WKQX/Chicago MD/Afternoon Host Tim Virgin

Tim Virgin has worked at some of the best stations in the Alternative format. He’s worked out west, on the east coast and in the heart of the country. At each stop he’s grown a loyal following and has earned the respect of programmers, rock fans, doormen and dancers alike. He lives the lifestyle of the listener and puts that straight on the air. No big secret, no big act, he’s just himself… and it works. We touched base with Virgin as he was setting up shop in his new/old digs at Q101 in Chicago and got the latest on his next venture, the reason for his successes and longevity and why the Midwest is where he truly calls home.

**Interview by Mike Bacon**