MORNING SHOCK TALK/ DJ TAKES YOUNG LISTENERS ON A ROMP ON THE FAR SIDE OF THE RADIO DIAL.(Stars)

Publication: Herald American (Syracuse, NY)

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COPYRIGHT 2001 All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of The Herald Co. by the Gale Group, Inc.

Byline: William LaRue

Bill Curry arrived as the new morning disc jockey on Hot 107.9 in June 2000 after the radio station aired promotional spots declaring it was pregnant.

As if having a DJ nicknamed "Dakota" isn't memorable enough, WWHT-FM introduced Curry to listeners by announcing it was giving birth to a new Syracuse morning show, and it followed that with recorded cries of a woman in labor.

"It was a tasteless beginning to a tasteless morning show," Curry recalls, acknowledging with a loud laugh that he loved it.

Nearly a year later, Curry is standing in the top-40 station's Bridgewater Place studio, just off Franklin Square, plotting a prank so "obnoxious," he tells listeners, he predicts someone might get arrested.

Curry is on the telephone with his producer, Matt Johnson. He sent Johnson to Wegmans supermarket in Cicero to sneak over to a store telephone and read song titles and gibberish over the public address system.

If Johnson can do it for 30 seconds without getting stopped by an employee, a listener wins a couple of concert tickets.

Johnson is on a cellular phone talking to Curry as he walks through the supermarket, his voice cracking, until he grabs a store telephone. Curry has put Johnson on the air live.

The producer's voice echoes through the supermarket. He reads his lines for about 20 seconds until an unidentified store employee grabs the phone and demands to know what's happening.

"We were doing a little radio thing."

"You're doing a little radio thing? I think you're coming with me."

Curry is silent for a few seconds, then starts yelling at Johnson, telling him to run. The connection ends with a soft burst of static.

"OK, we lost him," he tells listeners. "Now I'm upset. Hopefully, they (Wegmans managers) have a sense of humor about it."

A stillness sets over the studio, where Curry is standing alone behind the microphone, hands stuffed into the pockets of his khaki shorts. Then he plays a...

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