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Joe Frank

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For the politician, see Joe Frank (politician).
Joe Frank
Career
ShowWork In Progress, In The Dark, Somewhere Out There, The Other Side
Station(s)WBAI, KCRW, NPR
CountryU.S.
WebsiteOfficial Website


Joe Frank is an American radio personality, known best for his engaging, often philosophical, humorous and sometimes absurd monologues and radio dramas. His radio programs "span contemporary concerns with humor, insight and irony and are matched by a mastery of modern production techniques."[1] He was also known, by his friends, as Frank Frank and Morri.

Early Life

Joe Frank was born around 1939[2] in Strasbourg, France near the border of Germany. Being Jewish, his family fled Nazi Germany and moved to New York City in 1939. His father died shortly after.

In his twenties, Frank studied at Hofstra University in New York and later at the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Frank taught English literature at the Dalton School in Manhattan when he became interested in the power of radio.[3]

Early Radio Career

In the 1970's Frank started volunteering at Pacifica Network station WBAI in New York, doing experimental radio involving monologues, improvisational actors, and live music during late night free-form hours. In 1978 he moved to Washington DC to serve as a co-anchor for the weekend edition of National Public Radio's All Things Considered, his first paying radio job.

During this period he wrote, performed in, and produced 18 dramas for NPR Playhouse which won several awards.

KCRW 1986-2002

In 1986, on the invitation of Ruth Hirschman [Seymour] the general manager of NPR's Santa Monica affiliate KCRW, Frank moved to Santa Monica, California where he wrote, produced and performed in his own weekly hour-long radio program, "Joe Frank: Work In Progress."

While at KCRW, Frank received several awards including a Peabody Award and two Corporation for Public Broadcasting Awards, one for his acclaimed three-part series "Rent-a-Family." Frank was also a Guggenheim Fellow.

Joe Frank continued to work at KCRW until 2002, and his work evolved as evidenced by the diverse series he produced starting with Work in Progress, then In The Dark, followed by Somewhere Out There, and finally The Other Side.

Radio Programs

Frank's radio programs are at times dark and frequently ironic, employ a dry sense of humor, and sincere delivery of ideas or stories which are patently absurd. Subject matter often includes religion, life's meaning, death, and Frank's relationships with women.

Frank's voice is distinctive, resonant, authoritative, and - because of his occasional voice over work - often oddly familiar. At the 2003 Third Coast Festival he explained that he was "recording in Dolby and playing back without it -- which created Joe's now familiar intimate and gritty sound".[4]

Adding to the atmosphere of Frank's monologues are edited loops of instrumental music from sources as diverse as Miles Davis, Tangerine Dream, Air and Antonio Carlos Jobim[5].

The repetitive music and dry, announcer like delivery of Frank are sometimes mixed with recorded phone calls with actor/friends such as Larry Block and Arthur Miller, broken into "acts" over the course of each hour long program.

"The Other Side" series included excerpts from Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield's Dharma talks at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. In an interview on KPFA's the Morning Show, Kornfield was asked about working with Joe Frank. Kornfield explained that although he had never met or talked to Joe Frank or heard his show, he didn't mind Frank using the lectures and that many of his meditation students had found Kornfield through the show.

2002-Present

Since 2002, Frank has performed on stage in Chicago at the Chicago Art Institute, in San Francisco at the Great American Music Hall and in Los Angeles at Largo and other venues.

In 2003, Joe Frank was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Third Coast International Audio Festival.

His body of work (over 230 hours) continues to be aired on many NPR stations in the United States. The entire archives, along with Joe Frank film shorts and other extras, are available by subscription to his web site.

Frank continues to write new work for the stage and his web site. Free stories are podcast weekly.

Inspiration to Other Artists

Franks body of work has inspired a variety of other artists including:

  • Ira Glass of This American Life - "Ira Glass worked under Frank as one of his first jobs in public radio, and credits him as his greatest inspiration."[6]
  • Jeff Crouse, artist and technologist, created Interactive Frank, which uses content from the web to dynamically create a Joe Frank Show. "The user types in a sentence, and Interactive Frank takes over, scouring the web for another sentence that follows a sentence with the last three words. Frank can also find streaming audio to accompany the generated narrative based on a word analysis, and it can read the narrative using an online text-to-speech generator."[7]

Voiceover and Acting Work

Joe Frank has done voice over work for commercials including Zima, and Saturn Corporation. He was the voice of the computer in Galaxy Quest and provides voiceover for:

He also had a small acting role in "The Game" [8]


Awards

During NPR Playhouse[9]

During Work In Progress

  • 1988
    • Major Armstrong Award
    • Corporation For Public Broadcasting Program Award
  • 2003
    • Third Coast International Audio Festival Lifetime Achievement Award[11]

References

  1. ^ Peabody Awards Website - search for Joe Frank
  2. ^ March 7, 2000 Salon.com article by Susan Emerling. Note - the article isn't 100% clear on Frank's birthdate, stating only that he was in infant in 1939. Any verifiable info is appreciated
  3. ^ March 7, 2000 Salon.com article by Susan Emerling.
  4. ^ Joe Frank's site on the 3rd Coast Festival reception
  5. ^ Joe Frank Music Page
  6. ^ The Sound of Young America
  7. ^ Real Time Art Project Site home of Interactive Frank, a project by Jeff Crouse
  8. ^ Joe Frank FAQ on WFMU
  9. ^ WFMU bio
  10. ^ Guggenheim Fellowship site
  11. ^ ThirdCoast audio archive site
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