Gothamist remembers the day well. We were rolling out of bed, late for a meeting and still longing for more sleep. We flipped on the Weather Channel to help us decide what grade of heavy jacket we were going to need for the mornings blustery walk to work. The clock struck 8 after, and we focused our attention on the accurate and dependable local forecast greeting us with a pleasant familiarity. But as the forecast began, we lost all focus. What was this??? Is this Phish on the Weather Channel? Surely not. They would never play this Indeed, they did. The Weather Channel, long known for its dreamy, mind numbing elevator music landscaped local forecasts, had made a noticeable change. That change was Steve Hurst.
Steve Hurst is becoming more and more famous for being "that guy who picks the music for the local forecasts at The Weather Channel". After all, he has a larger daily audience than any DJ has had in the country. Even Howard Stern. Hurst, 36, started working at the Weather Channel answering phones and eventually worked his way up to producing and also DJing the local forecast. He was nice enough to take some time off from spinning and being a new dad to chat with Gothamist for a while.
Hey Steve, thanks for taking the time to fly up to NYC in the Gothamist jet to do this interview. I trust the cocktails and caviar were okay?
Nothing like a cocktail at 30,000 feet but a fish egg is still a fish egg even on a private jet.
So what exactly is your job at TWC?
I am a Producer on the weekend afternoon shows. I am also a part-timer. Im a stay-at-home dad during the week and am only in the office on Saturdays and Sundays. Monday through Friday its poop, Price is Right, and Buffy re-runs. I program the music from home as well.
How did you become the guy who picks the music?
It was quite random. I walked into the VP of Programmings office one day, and he said "youre doing the local forecast music now." It was that simple. I dont know why he chose me.
Before you came along, the music was more like Muzak, although we enjoyed hearing an occasional Jean Michelle Jarre track. Did TWC give you any grief over inserting more "real" music?
Actually, the reaction was the exact opposite. The first month I programmed the music, a lot of people in the company came up to me and said how much they liked the new songs. I also started playing almost twice as many songs as before, and changed the playlist every month instead of every quarter. A few months later, I put The Allman Brothers Jessica on the air. So many people asked me "dude, thats great but can we play that on The Weather Channel?" I said, "We can now."
Was it your decision to move more mainstream?
Yes. The Weather Channel has access to the entire BMI catalogue, so we might as well play the good stuff. Greg Piecuch, who was in charge of the music before me, did an incredible job. However he was given no budget to buy music, and no real time to dedicate to the job. I am amazed he was able to find any music at all. A few years ago, the company got new leadership and these folks really "get it." They understand that there is nothing wrong with playing the theme song from Shaft on the local forecast. They totally leave me alone to do what I want and thats rare in TV.
How much do your personal tastes leak into your choices?
About 100%. If I like it, we use it.
What music do you listen to on your own time? I mean, driving home, windows down, cranking the tunes...
When driving, its mostly classic rock
Stones, Doors, Eagles, Zeppelin, Allman Brothers, Sex Pistols. However, some of the newer groups are good while on the road, i.e. Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age
even Eminem and 50.
What about when you're unwinding?
Whatever works
Floyd, B.B. King (who blessed my marriage by the way!) [ed. See photo], Johnny Cash, Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, and a guy I play on the Local on the Eights. His name is Ryan Farish and he is amazing.
The interview will continue later this week on Gothamist Weather. Youll start paying even more attention to the music now wontcha?
