In the second part of our interview with 97X station owners Doug & Linda Balogh, we find out why Steve Baker was the soul of the station, Dave was Mr. Sunshine, and Linda was the lady behind the curtain. Doug also talks about “buyer’s remorse” at his welcome BBQ and Linda recalls the 97X mission statement and the baby in the file cabinet. Oh, and we hear about how the Rainman movie appearance happened… and how legendary record exec Howie Klein freaked out about it.
Photo from a 1997 article about 97X in Spin magazine.
Doug and Linda talked about how indispensable Steve Baker was. Bake could — and did– do it all for the station for more than 20 years.
The Bakerman in the old 97X studioGentleman Jim Mercer with Bake at a Miami University football game
Nowadays, Steve Baker is the Assistant Athletic Director/Director of Broadcasting for Miami University. Please read this post to learn more about just how amazing “The Bakerman” truly is. (Also, our interview with Steve is in Episode 4 of the podcast.)
Dave Tellmann in the production studio
Doug and Linda also talked about how Dave was always in a good mood. I couldn’t agree more. We had as much fun off the air as on, thanks to Dave, who was (and still is) always making us smile.
Kathie Lucas at right with her “baby in the file cabinet” daughter SophieAd from Everybody’s News
The famous scene from Rainman:
Linda and Doug (center) with their children Marty (left) and Kristy (right). The award referenced above was presented by Ron “Jetson” Poore and Phil Manning
Doug and Linda Balogh bought 97.7 FM in Oxford, Ohio in July of 1981, adjusted the format to modern rock in September of 1983, and spent 23 years giving their heart and soul to a “mom and pop” radio station. 97X’s signal was tiny, but its impact was mighty, and Doug and Linda guided it every step of the way. In the first of a multi-part interview, Dave and Damian talk to Doug and Linda about why they got into the radio game in the first place, and the station’s formative early years.
Doug & Linda from the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Enquirer Magazine article published June 2, 1985
In our interview, Doug mentions the significance of a cover story about 97X in June 2, 1985 edition of the Cincinnati Enquirer‘s Sunday magazine. Thanks to 97X superfan (and Episode 25 guest) Mark Griffin, you can read the entire article here — complete with 1985 ads!
World-famous cover model Danny Crash (a.k.a. Dan Reed)
Mark Griffin’s heartfelt tribute to 97X can be found on his blog. We highly recommend it.)
Unlike corporate-owned commercial stations where music is chewing gum and DJs’ on-air personalities range from vapid to outrageous, family-owned WOXY drew in people devoted to the best in new music.
Mark Griffin in his blog post about 97X – linked above
Ad for 97X’s move from High Street in uptown Oxford to 5120 College Corner Pike.
Dayton native Dan Bockrath left San Diego in the mid-90s, returning to southwest Ohio and joining forces with editor John Fox to publish CityBeat, Cincinnati’s alternative weekly newspaper. One of the first media partnerships they formed was with 97X, because championing local music, arts and culture was their raison d’êtra and 97X listeners were open-minded and adventurous. We talk to Dan about that synergy, CityBeat’s sponsorship of Midpoint Music Festival (MPMF), and his ongoing love affair with live music in local clubs.
Dan was the publisher of CityBeat from its inception in November of 1994 until December of 2015.
CityBeat sponsored MPMF for many years, and Dan McCabe (at right in the photo above with Dan Bockrath) was responsible for booking the amazing lineup of up-and-coming bands/artists. (We spoke to Dan McCabe, now co-owner of MOTR Pub and The Woodward Theater, in Episode 48.)
Dan backstage at a Los Lobos show in 2011… we’re very jealous!
In the mid-80s, Terrence Burke came to Cincinnati from Boston, where he was weaned on a steady diet of Beantown’s finest alternative/indie/college rock stations. He quickly discovered 97X and was hooked. After a few years back in Boston, he returned to Cincinnati in 1993 and was so enamored with how the Cincinnati/Dayton music community had blossomed that he published a ‘zine about it called Screed. (He made several appearances on 97X’s Local Lixx during this time.) Terry also hosted a show at WAIF and worked at CD World, so he was fully immersed in the music scene. After his father passed away suddenly in 2001, Terrence decided to pursue his life’s calling of bringing joy to kids via his Wump Mucket Puppets shows. Terry’s a DIY guy to the core, and it was a real treat to catch up with him.
Here’s Terry joining 97X DJ Dan Cromer on the Local Lixx show on January 18th, 1996 -this episode features songs from Brainiac, Throneberry, The Wolverton Brothers and Stitch.
Local Lixx on 97X, Jan. 18, 1996 with host Dan Cromer and guest Terry BurkeTerry at Screed Zine world headquarters97X ad in ScreedTerry and Shawn Riggs, co-workers at CD World. Check out the new release board in the background. Terry on the air at WAIF-FM. He hosted Dr. 13’s Audio Lab and also appeared on the local music show Kindred Sanction
Terry with Carol Spinney (puppeteer for Big Bird and other Sesame Street characters)
Here’s a profile of Terrence and Wump Mucket Puppets on PBS.
Stase worked weekends at 97X in 1995-96, and then handled the midday shift in 1997. She got the gig partly due to the fact that her previous job was working alongside Rictile (in his side hustle) at GE Credit… and partly because she went to the same high school as 97X co-owner Doug Balogh. But what sealed the deal was her effervescent personality, which remains intact 25 years later. We chat with Stase about super-deluxe parties on the party patio, unbreakable piñatas, the Michigan Mafia and pandemic parenting.
Stase commandeered her daughter’s room for our video chat
We challenged Stase to track down a high school yearbook photo of 97X co-owner Doug Balogh, and she came through with flying colors… or flying black and white, actually:
The pride of Edsel Ford High School in Dearborn, MichiganThe mascot for Doug and Stase’s high school was Thunderbirds, but Doug will always be “The Falcon” to us.
Stase worked middays during the “Station of the Year” year.
Brian Ewing spent the early to mid-90s on the air at 97X, including three full years doing the overnight shift, which surely must be a record for “the cave.” During that same time, he was also playing in the local band Messerly & Ewing, so music ruled his life. We talk to Brian about his 97X days, including party patio drunks, open mike nights, long-distance tea-brewing, and rocking the vote.
Phil Manning, Damian and Brian “Rock the Vote” Ewing at the 97X 10th Anniversary Show at Bogart’s.
After leaving 97X, Brian still performed as part of Messerly & Ewing. They won the 97Xposure band contest in 2002, and continued to release new music and play gigs through 2014. Here’s their 2011 release on Bandcamp:
And here’s Messerly & Ewing performing live in July 2009 with their full band, featuring MPMF co-founders Sean Rhiney (bass) and Bill Donabedian (drums).
Brian on stage at an Earth Day eventMesserly & Ewing & Woman with Feather BoaMesserly & Ewing performing live on the Fox19 Morning ShowTakin’ it to the streets…Midpoint Music Festival 2009Brian when we chatted via Google Meet last month
If we’re being pragmatic during this pandemic, I suppose the only thing we should ask the Jolly Old Elf for is good health. But as fans of live music, we sure do miss concerts.
Pernice Brothers last album “Spread the Feeling” was fantastic!
Hey, at least we can still hunker down in our own private Idaho bunker and curl up with a good book… about music. Jeff Tweedy has a new one out. Bob Mehr’s book about the Replacements (Trouble Boys) is top-notch. Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Debbie Harry, Chrissie Hynde, Chris Frantz (Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club), Bob Mould, Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth), John Doe (X), Kristin Hersh (Throwing Muses), Viv Albertine (The Slits), Kathy Valentine (Go-Gos)… they’ve all written their musical/life story. Patti Smith’s books aren’t really about music, but they’re great. I’ve read a metric ton (or is that tonne?) of these tomes, and the only one I wouldn’t recommend is Mark Lanegan’s Sing Backwards and Weep — unless you think you’d enjoy 400 pages of him describing the various and sundry ways he tried to score drugs and/or got dope-sick. (Spoiler alert: pants-pooping is involved… multiple times.)
Oh sure, any hipster worth his/her fedora/cutoff mom jeans can cite chapter and verse of the Pitchfork list. But what about the favorites of this august group, the music cognoscenti of Cincinnati? (Also known as “the people who used to get a weekly spam email from some Damian dude.”) Kudos to “This Week in Live Music” (remember that?) list member Dan “The Reds are going to win it all in 2021!” Lewis for getting the (base)ball rolling on favorite albums of annus horribilis that was 2020. The good news is that the music wasn’t as horribilis as the annus. (That’s not nearly as dirty as it sounds!) Dan’s list is below, along with one from Dan’s way cooler son Cullen, and Dan’s way lamer friend (c’est moi). Note: if you really want to go down the “best of” rabbit hole, the Album of the Year site features links to dozens of year-end lists from all the usual suspects*. If you’d prefer a very succinct summary instead of a labor-intensive litany, list member Kevin Sullivan has you covered:
Short, sweet… and correct!
*For an unusual suspect (a Finnish guy with a predilection for folk/Americana music) with a very good list, check out One Chord to Another – HT to list member Rico for tipping us off to this site, which also features a nice weekly playlist of new tunes.
If you’d like to weigh in with your own “favorites of 2020” list, send it my way via email and I’ll create a Google Doc with everyone’s choices.
Is it live or is it Memorex?
Live gigs are in short supply, but every artist and their brother (this means you, Jim Belushi) has hopped on the livestream bandwagon. Most are now paid-ticket gigs, and several have taken a page from the Ticketmaster “charge ’em as much as you can” playbook with “front row” seats (basically a better camera angle, and sometimes a chance to have an awkward Zoom group chat with the artist before or after the show). A few shows are fundraisers — like this Facebook show from The Connells (love them!) that raised money for the National Independent Venue Association and the staff at the legendary Cat’s Cradle club in North Carolina. Very few virtual gigs are completely free – so let’s give it up for the local band Wussy, whose members have done a brilliant livestream show (on Facebook) nearly every Friday night for nine friggin’ months, and rarely, if ever, mention their tip jar. Ditto for Rob Fetters and his 23 “Fetters is Cheap” shows. [BTW, my ol’ radio pal Dave Tellmann and I have interviewed Rob Fetters, Mark Messerly from Wussy, John Curley from the Afghan Whigs, Dan McCabe (MOTR, Woodward Theater) and many more local luminaries on our “97X Rumblings from the Big Bush” podcast. If you’ve got two “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” worth of time to kill (each episode is ~20 minutes) why not give it a spin?]
Now for the sad interlude
We’ve lost a lot of great artists this year – John Prine, Neil Peart, Little Richard, Bill Withers, Adam Schlesinger, et al. And now Rita Houston, the legendary DJ and music director for WFUV in New York, has passed away after a six year battle with cancer. She turned on so many folks to so many great artists over the years, championing emerging artists on her station. The music was an eclectic mix of songs — the common denominator was Rita’s impeccable taste.
“Rita was the very first person to play my music on the radio. The only reason that matters is that it’s so important for a young person to know that someone they look up to believes in them. For me, she was that person.”
This is about the only way I can tolerate traditional Xmas music:
Lou Barlow covering Kacey Musgraves (with choreography by Lou’s daughter) is super-sweet, but not in a hyperglycemic way like Grandma’s Christmas fudge.
And finally, this gem of a video comes courtesy of list member Rob Ervin, who describes it thusly:
The ascots, the flared pants, the hair, the smiles, the choreography, the synth, the SG, the Tele, the big padded amps, the P bass, the abandoned drum kit. Please watch this on a device that you can crank the hell up. It has changed my life. This is a spiritual experience. Bethesda North is bursting at the seams with Covid patients, yet in the pharmacy we stay on our toes by playing this over and over and over. Actually, I’ve never been less popular with my co-workers since I discovered this song. They are weak and can not hang with the raw power of Crazy Horses.
Oh yeah, Mormons rock!
Putting a pretty bow on it
As Dickens wrote in A Christmas Carol, “2020 sucks! Hard!” (Wait, maybe that was some graffiti I saw on an overpass… I get those confused a lot.)
But 2021 will be better – or your money back!
All the best to you and yours during this holiday season, and best wishes for a fun 2021!
2020 Favorites
Dan “the Man” Lewis:
1-3 (cant choose my fave)
Waxahatchee – Saint Cloud
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Sideways to Italy
The Mavericks – En Espanol
4) Dehd Flower of Devotion (thanks for hipping me, Cullen)
5) Drive By Truckers The New OK
6) The James Hunter Six Whatever It Takes
7) Car Seat Head Rest Making a Door Less Open
8) Khruangbin Moedehai (love that guitar sound)
9) Nick Lowe Walkabout
10) The Ar-Kaics Ar-Kaics Volume 1
Also liked:
Arlo McKinley Die Midwestern (Cincy Boy)
FC Fontaines Hero (I didn’t think it was close to their last one)
Kevin Morby Sundowner
Fleet Foxes Love Can I Believe You and Sunblind
Cut Worms Nobody Lives here Anymore
Bob Dylan Rough and Rowdy (still has the lyric thing going on)
Chris Stapleton Starting Over like You should probably leave
Sturgill Simpson like both of the Bluegrass albums
Songs
Dawes IT Didn’t Fix Me
Westerman Confirmation
Cameo Rolling Blackouts
Nicole Atkins Captain
Day Wave Starting again
Honorable mention:
Futurebirds Teamwork listed as my fave from 2019 but the full album wasn’t released until Feb 2020 so will list again. Give it a shot.
Cullen “Son of The Man” Lewis
1.) 2nd Grade – Hit to Hit (Favorite of the year, an incredible debut that reminds me of Guided by Voices, Teenage Fanclub etc.)
2.) Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Sideways to New Italy
3.) Kiwi Jr. – Football Money (Another amazing debut – was independent but signed to Sub Pop after the success of this record. Pavement reincarnate)
4.) Dehd – Flower of Devotion
5.) The Strokes – The New Abnormal (An incredible return to form)
6.) Pinegrove – Marigold
7.) Pure X – Pure X
8.) Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher
9.) Touche Amore – Lament
10.) Nation of Language – Introduction, Presence
Honorable mentions: Waxahatchee – Saint Cloud, Jon Mckiel – Bobby Joe Hope, Perfume Genius – Set My Heart on Fire Immediately, Kelly Lee Owens – Inner Song, Tennis – Swimmer, Empty Country – Empty Country, The KIllers – Imploding the Mirage
Songs:
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Cars in Space (3 guitars that go from 0-60 MPH from beginning to end. Nothing better!)
Dehd – Desire (Album opener of the year)
Caribou – Home
Kiwi Jr. – Murder in the Cathedral
2nd Grade – Velodrome
Waxahatchee – Can’t Do Much
Jeff Tweedy – Love is the King
The 1975 – If You’re too Shy Let Me Know
The KIllers – My Own Souls Warning
Pure X – Middle America
Damian “Barely a Man” D.
Waxahatchee – Saint Cloud
Lucinda Williams – Good Souls, Better Angels
2nd Grade – Hit to Hit
dehd – Flower of Devotion
Pillow Queens – In Waiting (HT to list member Dave Purcell for this one)
Kiwi Jr. – Kiwi Jr.
Matt Berninger – Serpentine Prison
Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher
Deep Sea Diver – Impossible Weight
Fenne Lily – Breach
Bob Mould – Blue Hearts
Frances Quinlan – Likewise
Honorable mention: Teddy Thompson – Heartbreaker Please, Sunshine Boys – Work and Love, Perfume Genius – Set My Heart on Fire Immediately, Beabadoobee – Fake Flowers, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band- Letter to You, Jason Isbell – Reunions, DBT – both releases, X – Alphabetland, Pretenders – Hate for Sale, Chris Stapleton – Starting Over
Dorsie Fyffe worked at 97X from 1993 to 1998, eventually winding up as Music Director (nominated by Billboard Magazine for “Music Director of the Year”) and afternoon host. During that same era, he led the local band Johnny Smoke, and lived with Tim Taylor, lead singer of Brainiac, and Dave Doughman of Swearing at Motorists. Since then, much like Johnny Cash, he’s “been everywhere, man” – San Francisco, Seattle, Kansas City, Austin, Los Angeles. But he’s still rockin’. We chat with Dorsie about his 97X days and his new Cincinnati-via-Northern California band Beverly Hills Supper Club.
This photo of Dorsie at 97X sums up the inimitable Dorsie vibe quite nicely:
Dorsie’s new band Beverly Hills Supper Club features Cincinnati-based members including Billy Catfish.
You can check out BHSC’s music on all the major streaming services. Here’s their artist link on Spotify and here’s their latest release:
https://youtu.be/1IMi-XhJ3UA
Lydia Loveless loves Dorsie
Dorsie in Lawrence, KS circa 2013. Pants courtesy of the Herb Tarlek Collection.
We continue our conversation with Mark Messerly, a key player in the Cincinnati music scene. In this episode, he talks about the genius of his Wussy bandmates Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker, and pays tribute to John Erhardt, who passed away earlier this year. We also talk about his tour blogging (Robert Christgau loves it and we do too!), his day job as a music teacher… and Superchunk.
Mark’s tour diary entries are profound, poignant… and often hilarious as well. (Who doesn’t love a good Snack of the Day review?) The archive is on Wussy’s website here. Robert Christgau, “the dean of American rock critics” loves Mark’s writing. He loves Wussy too – you can read his brief reviews of each Wussy release here.
Mark and Chuck Cleaver both wrote fond tributes to John Erhardt, who played in both the Ass Ponys and Wussy. Read them here.
Yes, you read that right, it’s the 32nd livestream from Wussy band members… each one is a true gem, showcasing brilliant songwriting and playful banter. Check them out here and if you can, cough up some cash for the tip jar.
Mark Messerly has been a key player in the Cincinnati music scene for decades, and he’s still going strong. (No wonder he calls himself a “lifer.”) Mark was the longtime co-leader of Messerly & Ewing, which won 97Xposure in 2002, and he joined Wussy as their bassist that same year when they expanded from a duo to a full band. He also released a 2018 album under the INERT moniker, and his day job is working as a music teacher in the Cincinnati Public Schools district. In this first of a two-part interview, we talk to Mark about INERT, the perks of winning 97Xposure, and what 97X meant to local bands and true music fans.
Mark Messerly and Brian Ewing
Here’s the Messerly & Ewing song “Shallow Grave” which got plenty of airplay on 97X as part of their 97Xposure win.
Messerly & Ewing “Shallow Grave”
Messerly and Ewing-Shallow Grave
“With Pixies/Nirvana-esque dynamics, clever lyrics and giant sized hooks, these supposed Folk rockers teach the world to sing the best local Pop song of the year.”
CityBeat Cincinnati
Check out this CityBeat Local Roots Music Primer from 2001 for a mention of M&E and several other great local bands, including a couple with 97X connections (Big in Iowa featured Mr. K, and Monkey Biscuit was led by Rob Ervin). And here’s a nice M&E CityBeat feature from 2015.
Messerly and Ewing Band, Bunbury 2012 with MidPoint found Sean Rhiney on bass and MidPoint and Bunbury founder Bill Donabedian on drums. Photo credit: Michael A. Kearns
Three Messerly & Ewing albums can be found on Bandcamp.
