Wildman Steve is the brain behind Auburn's only Internet radio station, WildmanSteve Radio, which premiered in 2008. Wildman Steve also opened Auburn's first independent record store in 1987.
Wildman Steve, as he prefers to be called, is an University of Florida graduate who majored in music composition. He decided to move to Auburn to open his store after doing market research on 16 college towns.
"Because of economic factors, Auburn won out, especially since they didn't already have an independent record store," Wildman Steve said.
The store closed in 2001 when records became a technology of the past. Wildman Steve then decided to try out radio, where he proved to be wildly talented. He ran a self-proclaimed, very successful morning show on 99.9, where he was promoted to the position of program director in 2003.
Wildman Steve's show won six national awards in the four years he was there, including Program Director of the Year.
"I was born into music," Wildman Steve said. "My father was a college band director and trombone player, and music has been ingrained in me since I was young. I could probably read music before I could read anything else."
Wildman Steve said he has been a drummer all his life. He grew up in Michigan and Pennsylvania, and after moving to West Virginia upon the completion of high school, he added another talent to his musical resume: the washboard.
"I've been playing washboard with Rolling in the Hay and about a half a dozen other bands in Auburn in the last 15 years," Wildman Steve said of his musical career while in Auburn. "Music has been my whole life. If I'm not playing music, I'm turning people on to good music, and that's what our station is all about. It's commercial-free and has a lot of syndicated shows."
Wildman Steve's wife Laura also describes herself as an active music advocate.
"Music has been the driving force in my life since I was a teenager and figured out that allowance money could be spent on records and such," she said.
Laura has her own radio show on WildmanSteve Radio called Lola Palooza.
"I'm still active in finding new music. I'm still active in going to concerts, and I would be even if I didn't have a part in this radio station," Laura said.
With all of this common ground, it should come as no surprise that music played a part in the meeting of this husband and wife.
"We met through a mutual friend, who wasn't necessarily setting us up," Laura said.
One night while Laura was a student at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Steve was playing a gig with his band Rolling in the Hay.
"He and his band had nowhere to stay because it was a football weekend and all of the hotels were full, so my friend called me and told me she had given him my number and said he could probably stay with me. So later that night, him and his band came over and stayed there," Laura said.
Laura and Wildman Steve will be celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary this October.
"I've got no complaints," Laura said of her marriage.
"He's my second pea in the pod, and each and every day is better with him," Laura said. "I'm a lucky lady!"
Wildman Steve's Web site can be found at www.wildmansteve.com.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
