Bill donated $ from the tip jar to Partners in Health, an organization fighting coronavirus in impoverished countries.
The documentary about Chuck Prophet doing a live performance of his album Temple Beautiful with an orchestra is here:
And Bob Dylan released a 17-minute tune about the JFK assassination…
The new album from Waxahatchee, Saint Cloud, is heartily endorsed by list members Rico, Bruce and yours truly. An early contender for album of the year.
New releases from Lilly Hiatt, Clem Snide and Cable Ties are also worth a spin or three.
Tanya Donnelly has a new album coming out with the Parkington Sisters as her backing band. Here’s a nice video from the Parkington Sisters:
The Broken Record podcast is one of my favorites – so far this season they’ve chatted with legends such as Bob Weir, Robbie Robertson and Booker T, as well as whippersnappers like Run The Jewels. And the 97X Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast has a new episode out too.
On a sadder note, John Prine is in critical condition.
Joe Sampson joined 97X as a Miami University student intern (a.k.a. “Breakfast Club co-producer”) in 1993 and stuck around as a weekender after he graduated before moving on to short stint as a writer for CityBeat, and a 12-year career as a news producer at Channel 19 and later Channel 9 in Cincinnati. He now has come full circle as a Miami U. professor. We chat with “Mighty Joe” about his late nights with “Mama Jazz,” 97X softball teams, and his undying love for both Steve Baker and another 97X student intern.
Day in Eden: Joe is in the 3rd row, in the red hat… next to Dave, who is doing his best “Schneider from One Day at at Time” impersonation. Joe in his MU dorm room, circa 1992. He wanted us to note the presence of both Foghat and firehose posters…
Joe is now a Senior Clinical Professor of Journalism (sounds fancy!) at Miami University. His students have won several regional and national journalism awards over the years.
“It’s a major award!!!” Joe is back row center… back row right is Ringo Jones, lead singer of the band Mad Anthony.
As far as we can tell, Joe and his wife Alison are the only former 97X Breakfast Club co-producers who are now married to each other. Alison was a co-producer for Dave and Rictile in the mid-90s as “Connie Consuelo.”
Rumblings from the Big Bush was NOT Joe’s podcast debut. He and another MU prof created a podcast about “being Muslim in the Midwest” as part of a cultural exchange program with the Goethe Institut in Germany.
Lest you think Joe is all work and no play, here’s a photo of him posing with a bunny.
This coronavirus lockdown is a real kick in the trousers for fans of live music. Yes, it’s flattening the curve, but it’s also flattening the hearts of music fans everywhere, and flattening the already-skinny wallets of many performers.
Several artists are turning to “virtual concerts” to raise funds for themselves, raise funds for charity, or just to keep from going stir-crazy.
I’ve tuned in to a few: Lucius with Courtney Barnett, Josh Ritter, Indigo Girls, Orville Peck, Julia Steiner (lead singer of Ratboys – check ’em out), Bill Janovitz from Buffalo Tom, Liz Longley… not the same as being at a club, but better than sitting in your basement staring at the same four walls.
Check out Orville Peck’s version of “Islands in the Stream” – video is cued up to that spot
In case you missed it (and there’s a 99.9% chance you did miss it), the podcast that I co-host is yesterday’s news! Er, I mean, it was in yesterday’s Cincinnati Enquirer. What do you mean you don’t subscribe to a newspaper? What do you mean you don’t even know what a ‘newspaper’ is?
Full disclosure: Luann Gibbs used to work at 97X. But neither Dave nor I knew that she was going to mention us.
“Extra, extra… two old guys talk about a radio station that died a decade ago!”
It was our “the new phone book’s here” moment.
Actually, Dave and I don’t harbor any delusions of grandeur. (Occasionally, we do have delusions of adequacy, but we lie down until those go away.) Our podcast is extremely niche. Some podcasts have thousands of regular listeners, some have hundreds… we have “tens” of listeners. As I often say, “we’ve made about 50 people very happy” by bringing back fond memories of a small-but-mighty and much-beloved indie rock radio station. But it’s always nice to get a bit of recognition for the hard work you’ve done.
And now that we’re all under house arrest, there’s never been a better time to check out some new podcasts.
This post originally appeared on my personal blog, but I’m re-posting here because it’s about music… and music posts are pretty scarce these days..
Back in my Catholic grade school days, the nuns talked about the Corporal Works of Mercy, one of which is “feed the hungry.”
William Shakespeare said “if music be the food of love, play on!”
Bill Janovitz, the lead singer of my favorite band, Buffalo Tom, hosted a “Virtual Happy Hour” this past Saturday afternoon, via the band’s Facebook page. After mixing himself a martini in his kitchen, he headed down to the basement to play songs from throughout his career, usually on acoustic guitar, occasionally on piano. It was like manna from heaven. A feast for the music-starved masses.
I’ve seen Buffalo Tom several times — in Cincinnati, in New York, L.A., Chicago — and have loved every second of every show. But last night’s solo gig was not just something I wanted to see, it something I desperately needed after a long, long week of work and worry and weirdness. And it wasn’t just me that needed this catharsis — a thousand folks tuned in from around the world. Australia, Italy, England, Abu Dhabi…
I’m not big on the FaceGrams and the InstaTweet and the other social mediums, but yesterday, it sure came in handy as a way to bond with like-minded fans. It provided a true sense of close connection in a social distancing world.
Bill was in his basement, sipping a martini and playing his songs. 800 miles away, I was in my basement, singing along at the top of my lungs (something I’d never do at a regular Buffalo Tom concert – I respect the other fans too much to torture them with my off-key warbling) and crying in my beer at the sad songs. It was more than music, it was magic.
Fancy suit. Sensible footwear.
In addition to being a fabulous songwriter and performer, Bill is also a caring dude. He’s heavily involved in the Hot Stove Cool Music fundraisers that provide scholarships for kids and families in disadvantaged neighborhoods in Boston. Yesterday’s gig raised more than $4,000 (via Venmo and PayPal “tip jars”) for local venues, promoters and musicians who are out of work during the coronavirus lockdown.
Bill’s already booked another “Virtual Happy Hour” gig for this Saturday, March 28th, at 4:30 EDT. Grab a beverage and belly up to the basement bar for some musical salvation. This go-round, the donations go to Bill, because he was originally scheduled for a gig that evening. So tip generously.
Until then, why not use a bit of your “house arrest” free time to check out Buffalo Tom’s most recent album Quiet and Peace. It’ll be good for what ails you.
Kathie Lucas went from fast food to “Fast Times at WOXY.” She worked at 97X for a decade, yet was never live on the air. Instead she handled a number of crucial behind-the-scenes roles from 1994-2004… “Director of First Impressions,” Traffic Director (i.e. scheduling the commercials), Promotions Director… she even raised her daughter Sophie at the station! We chat with Kathie about her many roles (including a starring role in a commercial), her Harlequin romance moment, the infamous “butt coolers” at Lollapalooza, and her amazing warehouse stash of 97X promo items.
Kathie and Bryan J. outside the station, with the giant wood-carved Elvis looming in the background Kathie savoring her Dave Matthews moment. 97X staffersJulie Maxwell, Susan Schreiber and Kathie Lucas
Here’s just a sampling of the type of promo items that 97X gave away back in the day:
Ah, the days of floppy discs…
“Gonna be another hot one… better get your ass to the butt cooler!” Kathie with her husband (and Dave’s man-crush) MikeKathie with her daughter Sophie, who spent her baby/toddler years at the station. Both Dave and the Farrah poster are scheduled to appear at the 97X reunion at Bake’s house this summer
Hey kids, let’s Spring Forward into some live tunes (see what we did there?)
On Monday, you should get to bed early to make up for lost time.
You’ll need the extra rest, because it’s a very busy week of music.
Tuesday gigs:
Fruition plays Madison Live, with former Houndmouth member Katie Toupin as the opener
Bear Hands plays Riverfront Live
Ms. Lauryn Hill is at the Taft Theater
Jerry Springer records another batch of podcasts at Folk School Coffee Parlor in Ludlow, KY.
On Wednesday, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong (they’re a jam band, in case you couldn’t tell by their name… “I’ll see your String Cheese Incident and raise you 200…”) will be at the Madison Theater, with Goose as the opener.
Instead of “say ‘cheese'” it’s “say ‘Duuuuuuude!'”
Other Hump Day gigs:
Theo Katzman plays 20th Century Theater
Ladysmith Black Mambazo is at Memorial Hall
MammaBear plays MOTR
Thursday shows:
Whiskey Myers plays Taft with The Steel Woods
Melvin Seals and the JGB play Ludlow Garage (Jerry Garcia will NOT be there… well, I suppose it depends on what sort of mushrooms you have for the pre-show dinner)
Kelly Richey and Sherri McGee play Dead Low Brewing
Fea, Patsy, and Megahussy are at Southgate
Death Hags and Brindle play MOTR
Ben Levin is at BrewRiver
This coming weekend is close enough to 3/17 to serve as a handy excuse for a “St. Patrick’s Day Weekend” at every bar in America. Please be careful out there.
Friday is busy night for gigs too:
of Montreal plays the Woodward, with Lily and Horn Horse
Caamp plays a sold-out show at Madison Theater
Tommy Emmanuel plays Taft with opener Sierra Hull
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram plays the Mad Frog
Motherfolk and Bad Bad Hats play Southgate’s Revival Room
Lost Dog Street Band plays Southgate’s larger Sanctuary
Culture Queer plays MOTR with Disaster Class and Quotah
Saxy man David Sanborn has a sold-out gig at Ludlow Garage
Here’s your Saturday smorgasbord:
Guster plays an evening of acoustic music and improv at Memorial Hall
Kasim Sultan’s Utopia plays Ludlow Garage
Dermot Kennedy is at Taft
The Nude Party and Boa (seems like a fitting pairing) play Southgate
Anna Burch and Carriers play MOTR
The Ark Band is at Fretboard Brewing
Georgia Middleman and the Ruby Green Duo play the Downtowne Listening Room
Ben Levin and Noah Wotherspoon play Mansion Hill Tavern
Camp Springs Tavern (co-owned by the extremely talented designer/artist Keith Neltner) hosts a 4-Year Bash and Print Trader art show, with a nice music lineup:
On Sunday, Bogart’s has a nice double bill: Anderson East and Foy Vance. And Southgate has a four-band lineup of Tiny Moving Parts, Belmont, Capstan and Jetty Bones.
Recommended Reading
This Robbie Robertson interview (with video clips) about the new movie about The Band called Once Were Brothers is worth checking out. I hear the movie is quite good too.
Recommended Viewing
If you weren’t alive when Battle of the Network Stars was on TV, have you really ever lived? Feast your eyes upon the glory of this clip:
Wussy crushed it, as always, at Woodward this past Friday. Such a fantastic band! In my next life, I want to be married to Chuck Cleaver and/or Lisa Walker.
Album Cover of the Week
Ach du lieber!
Shows that I’m attending
A recurring theme in the tons* of emails we get every week is: “Hey TWILM Editor, you seem like a really cool person. What shows are you attending?”
Why, thanks so much for asking! Here are the shows for which I have tickets in hand (I type with my other hand):
Rob Fetters at Roebling Point Books in Covington on Saturday, March 21
Bob Mould at 20th Century on Sunday, March 22
Shovels & Rope at Ludlow Garage on Wednesday, April 8
Watkins Family Hour at Memorial Hall on Saturday, April 11
Liz Longley at Parlor & Patio on Friday, April 17
Robyn Hitchcock at Southgate House on Sunday, April 26
Greg Dulli with Joseph Arthur at Woodward Theater on Wednesday, April 29
The National’s Homecoming Festival on May 8-9
Andrew Bird, Calexico and Iron & Wine at PNC Pavilion on Saturday, June 20
16 months ago, Dave and I launched the 97X Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast. We had absolutely no experience in the medium (it showed… still does) and zero expectations. We just liked getting together and talking about the great memories that were formed during our time at 97X, and we thought we’d get the old gang back together, press ‘record’ and put these stories out into the ether, just for kicks.
Over those 16 months, we’ve rediscovered something that we always knew back in our radio days: 97X listeners are a very loyal bunch. Somehow, some way, despite our complete ineptness at self-promotion, the folks who loved 97X/woxy.com found us. I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised — after all these are the same people who had to stick a aluminum-foil-wrapped boombox antenna out their window to tune in back then. But when we get emails at 97Xwoxy@gmail.com like the ones below, it gives us our own Sally Field moment.
From Fred G.:
Hi guys, LOVE the podcast thank you for doing this. I could write an extremely long email trying to explain how much 97X/WOXY meant to me but I would most likely ramble on and on. The reason I am writing, outside of wanting to share me praise is I had a WOXY related memory come up on Facebook today from 2013 and thought I would share it. Here goes:
Was listening to NPR’s “Talk of the Nation”, in the car, on the way home from work. There were talking about personal important moments in radio in response to World Radio Day. The moment that came to my mind was not a big national event. It was the last terrestrial broadcast of Oxford’s Ohio’s 97.7 (97X) (WOXY) “BAM The Future of Rock n Roll”
WOXY was not only one of the first independent “Modern Rock” radio stations in the country but they were OUR station. In a local market that was and is dominated by big Clear Channel cookie cutter stations and talk radio, this was something cool and oh so local. The station started in 1983 and I stumbled upon it in high school around 84 or so and my outlook on music was changed. Not only was there great music but there were the DJs themselves, the quirky self-produced commercials and so much more.
When it was announced in 2004 that WOXY would be ending all broadcast (including internet as far as we knew at the time) I was devastated. 97X went out in style though, which brings me to my whole point: I was trying to listen to the last minutes of the broadcast over the internet on my home computer. Technology was not cooperating, so I had to drive my car to the top of the hill in Mariemont in order to get a signal. (97X was notorious for not having the strongest signal in the Cincinnati area.) So I sat in my car in the dark of an empty parking lot as Steve Baker does his poignant and heartfelt final sign off and then silence…. The internet stream was revived. It was awesome and I loved it so until it too came to an end in 2010, but 97X truly died for me that night in 2004.
Thanks again!! And keep up the great work. Fred Gumbert
Thanks so much for this podcast! It really has made me so nostalgic for my childhood. I grew up in Oxford and religiously listened to the station until I left for college… There are so many bands and songs that make me think so fondly of 97X. 97X will forever have a place in my heart.
From Aaron Borns, former 97X employee later interviewed in Episode 22:
Loving the podcast! Great to hear your voices…and so cool you’re doing this. I discovered them last week…going through them in order and just finished listening to Julie’s episode.
I am so incredibly grateful for being given the opportunity to work at the station for the time I did….I can’t believe my good fortune. It truly was something special, and for you guys to bring those memories back to life in the way that you are is just too much fun (joy? 🙂 ).
From James Brubaker (his research was later featured in this 97Xbam post):
I’ve really been enjoying the podcast. I actually stumbled across it while doing some research for a project I was working on, and figured I’d share it with you guys. Here goes… I recently came across the archive of Modern Rock 500 lists on Craig Froehle’s website, and thought it would be fun to crunch some numbers and come up with a Modern Rock 500 Top 500. So, with the caveats that I had to do some data entry that might have some mistakes, and that Froehle’s site is missing lists for 94 and 98 (well, lists are there, but they appear to just be the 95 list repeated), here’s a ranking of the Modern Rock 500 Top 500: https://jamesbrubaker.net/the-modern-rock-500-500/
Anyway, the podcast is a nice mix of nostalgia and fun behind the scenes info. I’m really digging it. Keep up the awesome work.
Thanks for the pod. It is like finally being able to talk with someone about the treasure that was WOXY. I was overjoyed the times I went back to Oxford to visit old professors (handful of times only) and even more so when I accessed the stream and saw WOXY was still the best station in the universe. It’s absence is a very felt presence still. Thanks for the pod and for the WOXY spirit in which it is produced. Eagerly awaiting each episode!
Thank YOU for listening!
Folks are thanking us when really we should be thanking them for tuning in. As 97X station owner Doug Balogh liked to say, “without listeners we’re like one hand clapping.” Emails like the ones above really warm our hearts (and Dave is one cold-hearted SOB most of the time).
Grumpy Dave
Connecting with you makes us do our happy dance.
Sure, we’re not exactly conquering the podcasting universe… Serial and Joe Rogan don’t need to worry about us overtaking them anytime soon. But I like to think that Rumblings from the Big Bush is the Velvet Underground of podcasting.
“My reputation is far bigger than my sales,” he said with a laugh on the phone from his home in Manhattan. “I was talking to Lou Reed the other day, and he said that the first Velvet Underground record sold only 30,000 copies in its first five years. Yet, that was an enormously important record for so many people. I think everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band! So I console myself in thinking that some things generate their rewards in second-hand ways.”
Brian Eno, in an interview published in the Los Angeles Times in May 1982
We may have only a handful of listeners, but for those dedicated folks, we’ve given voice to the songs in their hearts. We’ve helped them reconnect with some old friends and fond memories, and we’ve had quite a few laughs along the way. That’s success in our book.
Heavy Hinges and 3 other bands play Urban Artifact
Hot Magnolias are at Big Ash
Dave Webster is at Camp Springs Tavern
The Indiana casino circuit is busy with “heritage” acts: The Little River Band is at the Lawrenceburg (IN) Event Center and Blue Öyster Cult plays Belterra in Florence (Indiana, not KY y’all). B.Y.O.Cowbell.
Last but certainly not least, the Warsaw Falcons play Weidemann on Saturday Night as they celebrate the 70th birthday of local legend David Rhodes Brown. Check out this article about DRB.
Left and right photos by Lisa Duesing
On Sunday, Big Ash hosts an Irish Music Jam Session (B.Y.O.Bodhrán) and Geldings play MOTR with El Chapo.
Hot Ticket Alert
The Record Company plays 20th Century Theater on Tuesday, May 19th. Maybe not the hottest of hot tickets, but I thought I’d mention it because 20th Century shows can slip through the cracks.
A self-proclaimed “bit player” at 97X in the late 80s, Timothy Hiatt joined the station fresh out of high school, stayed for only a year, and has gone on to a great career as a world-renowned photographer based in Chicago. Tim talks to Dave and Damian about how 97X still influences his life, his gigs as a music photographer, and how he came full circle with Bob Mould.
Tim at far left, with Mr. K, Kurt Neumann of the BoDeans, Jetson and Sammy Llanas of the BoDeans. Tim chats with John “JJ” Jesser.
Timothy’s clients have included heavy hitters such as Rolling Stone, MTV, VH1, NBC, SiriusXM, Pandora Music and Entertainment Weekly. His work has appeared in dozens of major magazines and newspapers around the world. In 2012, he was #9 on Complex Magazine’s 50 Greatest Music Photographers Right Now list.
Here are some of the amazing shots Tim has taken at shows:
[Iggy really needs no caption] St. VincentFlaming Lips… but of course. Patti Smith. Powerful.
Most of the images on Tim’s website are available as a print – contact him about sizes and pricing. Follow him on Instagram @timothy_hiatt.
Tim went on tour with The Joy Formidable.
Here are videos from two bands Tim has joined on tour.
