97X

This Week in Live Music: March 2-8

97X, Concert Listings, Music, podcast

Howdy, gang! You’re probably saying “what’s the buzz, tell me what’s a-happening”… perhaps you’re even singing it…

Well, I’ll tell you what’s a-happening. More live music.

Tomorrow, the Fairmount Girls kick off a four-week Monday residency at MOTR. Tomorrow’s special guest: Slutbomb. Yes, you read that right. Slutbomb.

Wednesday, Dave Mason brings his Feelin’ Alright tour to Memorial Hall for a sold-out show, and Ricky Nye and Matt Wiles play two sets at MOTR.

On Thursday, Daniel Donato plays Southgate’s Revival Room, and River Snout plays Big Ash Brewing.

Friday has a slew of shows:

  • Wussy plays the Woodward,with Vacation as the opener. I’ll be at that gig, along with a host of list members.
  • Donna the Buffalo stomps into Ludlow Garage.
  • The Comet Bluegrass All-Stars are actually playing a different bar: Big Ash Brewing
  • The Brook & The Bluff is at Madison Live
  • Maurice Mattei & The Tempers play Wiedemann’s Tap Room
  • The Harlequins are at Northside Tavern
  • Matt Waters & the Recipe play Southgate’s Revival Room

Saturday‘s busy too. Southgate hosts Rock n’ Revival for a Cure – doors at 3, show starts at 3:45.

Other Saturday shows:

  • A.J. Croce plays the songs of his father Jim at the Fairfield Community Arts Center. (That show is sold out… but you can get in if your name is Slim or if you are the jealous husband of a Southside Chicago resident named Doris.)
  • Ohio Valley Salvage plays Bircus Brewing
  • 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.

Recommended Reading

Hat tip to list member Howard Cohen (of the Cereal Killers) for bringing this article about They Might Be Giants major-label debut Flood to our attention.

Recommended Listening

Throwing Muses and Archers of Loaf have new music out. Read more about Throwing Muses in Rolling Stone and check out the new tunes below.

Just for Fun

Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers play production assistants to Conan O’Brien… hilarious.

Shameless Self-promotion

The newest episode of the 97X Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast features an interview with Timothy Hiatt, who was only at 97X for a year back in the late 80s, but has carved out a very cool career as a live music photographer in Chicago. Here are a few of his concert shots:

Have a great week!

Episode 30: Tim Hiatt – The Kid Stays in the Picture(s)

97X, Music, podcast

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. Vincent
Flaming 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.

The Bakerman: Man of Many Talents

97X, podcast

Steve Baker was THE Voice of 97X for 20 years, from 1984 all the way through the bittersweet end in 2004, when he provided the poignant sign-off for the terrestrial station.

Steve also was — and still is — THE Voice of Miami Redhawks sports. He’s done play-by-play for Miami football and basketball broadcasts for 31 years. (In fact, he’s done it so long that he was THE Voice of the Miami Redskins back in a less enlightened time.) In my humble opinion, he’s one of the best play-by-play people in the whole wide world.

At 97X, Steve wore many hats: newsman, Breakfast Club host, station manager, engineer… if it needed to be done, Bake did it.

Baker at upper left… total (soft)baller! (front row is Rictile, Julie Maxwell and Jae Forman, back row is Bake, Bill Douglas, Phil Manning, listener Dan Mabry, and some ringer I can’t identify.

He’s still wearing many hats in his gig at Miami University, serving as Assistant Athletic Director/Director of Broadcasting. In addition to his play-by-play duties, Bake also coordinates all the broadcasts for MU sports, including tons of online programming.

But wait, there’s more… Bake’s so talented that he occasionally will sing the national anthem at Miami b-ball games, then do the play-by-play. Here’s photographic proof from a week ago, courtesy of former Breakfast Club co-producer (and now MU professor) Mighty Joe Sampson:

Killer pipes on the court
Killer pipes on the sidelines

Now that’s talent!

At an age when most people are content to veg out on the couch, the already-busy Bakerman managed to squeeze in college classes, and this past December he earned an Associates Degree in Humanities from Miami University. It was the culmination of a dream that started four decades earlier.

He had begun at Miami in the late 70s, but family circumstances pulled him away from his initial degree plans. Soon he began working in radio stations, leading to positions in Hamilton, Richmond (IN), Virginia, and Florida, before returning to Oxford and working at WOXY, the local station what would emerge as a national presence as “the future of rock and roll.”

Here’s an excerpt from our podcast interview with Steve where he talks about his journey.

Read this article for the full story of Steve Baker’s latest accomplishment. I love this line:

In another Middletown class, The History of Rock and Roll, it was Baker who often led the student discussion based on his years of experience.

It’s great that Steve is now an alum of the school to which he’s devoted countless hours over the past 30+ years.

And it’s totally fitting that the man who was THE Voice of a station that always challenged listeners with new music is still finding ways to challenge himself.

Here’s our Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast episode where we interviewed Steve, from January of last year:

Episode 29: Bryan Jay Miller, Digital Savant

97X, podcast

Bryan Miller, a.k.a. “Funky Fresh” and/or “Bryan Jay, Digital Savant,” joined 97X as a Breakfast Club intern in the mid-90s, and stuck around after graduation, working in sales, promotions and eventually managing the station’s digital presence (website and stream) and serving as the station’s general manager when it went online-only. Dave and Damian talk to Brian about his roles, testifying before Congress, and living on a boat. We also try to figure out where all the music (CDs, LPs, etc.) that woxy.com owned wound up.

Here’s the clip of Bryan’s very heartfelt and eloquent speech in front of the House of Representatives Small Business Committee in 2007:

It’s fun hearing Bryan say “honky tonk”…

And here’s a clip of Bryan on Cincinnati’s Public Television affiliate, promoting woxy.com on WVXU’s HD-2 radio channel. Ah yes, HD radio… the Laserdisc of broadcasting.

This Week in Live Music: February 10-16

97X, Concert Listings, Music, podcast

Hey kids, before we get to the live gigs, we have this public service announcement:

[Crickets]… OK, on with the shows…

If you’re reading this on Sunday, 2/9, Bodega is playing MOTR with Sleepcrawler and The Wants. List member Dan B. is going, and he has it on very good authority (cough… Dan McCabe…cough) that Bodega will hit the stage around 10 p.m. which is basically a matinee show in MOTR-land.

The first part of this week is pretty slow for live music. But Tuesday, you can catch a few tunes as part of the recording of the Jerry Springer Podcast at Folk School Coffee Parlor in Ludlow, KY (7-8:15 p.m). This is smart Jerry, not dumbed-down-for-TV Jerry.

Like a meth-addicted David Carradine

I’ll be there. Please join me. We can have a beer at Bircus Brewing before the show, or after… or both.

Thursday is a busy night. 20th Century hosts “Mike Doughty Tells Your Future.” Here’s the description:

Mike Doughty, the force behind seminal 90s band Soul Coughing, accomplished solo artist and author, will tell your future on tour this February. Doughty, along with long time collaborator Andrew “Scrap” Livingston, will test the limits of their clairvoyance as they interact with the crowd and respond to online submissions unique to each show. Expect an exceptional full set each night, celebrating Doughty’s vast repertoire spanning 25+ years.

That same evening, The Earls of Leicester play Memorial Hall:

Shawn Camp (guitar, lead vocals) – Charlie Cushman (banjo, guitars) – Jerry Douglas (Dobro, vocals) – Johnny Warren (fiddle, bass vocals) – Jeff White (mandolin, vocals) When the Earls of Leicester formed in 2013, their mission was ambitious but exact: to preserve and promote the legacy of bluegrass legends Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, in hopes of reviving the duo’s music for longtime admirers and introducing a new generation to their genre-defining sound.

Southgate has a double bill on Thursday: New Bomb Turks and Nine Pound Hammer play the Sanctuary, and Parker Gispert of The Whigs (the Athens, GA band, not the Afghan variety) plays the Revival Room.

And finally, The Blue Stones (like a Canadian version of the Black Keys) play Top Cats.

Friday is Valentine’s Day! Be sure to spread some VD love around… hmm, probably should rephrase that.

  • Ludlow Garage hosts “A Night of Music and Conversation with Rodriguez.” (List member Ken Laube will be there.)
  • The Infamous Stringdusters play Bogart’s.
  • Highly Suspect is at Madison Theater.

Saturday is the MY Valentine’s Day, because I love, love, love the Cereal Killers (featuring list members Howard Cohen and Matt Hueneman) and they’ll be playing at MadTree, doing covers of 70s British and American Punk, along with a dash of New Wave and a dollop of Garage Rock from 4:30-6:30. (I also love, love, love early shows!) First beer is on me for any list member who shows up, because I love you too (well, except for Dan Lewis… more on that later).

Also on Saturday, Soul Asylum is playing Riverfront Live, although they really shouldn’t be called Soul Asylum anymore without Dan Murphy and Karl Mueller… but “Dave Pirner and Whomever He Can Get to Play With Him” doesn’t fit the marquee as well. Local H is the opener. They’re not local.

Urban Artifact hosts a “Love Hangover” show featuring several local luminaries doing duets, including Billy Alletzhauser + Beth Harris.

Maria Carelli plays MOTR, Ricky Nye, Inc. plays a free show in the Southgate Lounge, and Ben Levin plays the Manor House in Mason as part of the Cincy Winter Blues Fest. Ben is back in action on Sunday at Latitudes in Anderson, and Emily Wolfe plays MOTR that evening.

Recommended Reading

This oral history of Prince’s Super Bowl halftime performance is pretty cool. And you’ll probably want to watch the gig after reading it.

https://www.facebook.com/princepartyuk/videos/1684909648222402/

Recommended Viewing

Here’s a three-minute video from Rolling Stone featuring Gordon Gano and Brian Ritchie of The Violent Femmes talking about “Blister in the Sun”:

Shameless Self-promotion

Check out the latest episode of the “97X Rumblings from the Big Bush” podcast for our interview with Matt Harris, who worked spent a few years at 97X in the mid-to-late 80s and went on to work at Jacor/Clear Channel/iHeart Radio/iHeart Media, including serving as Program Director for Channel Z back when it was on the air.

Letters to the Editor

List member Dan Lewis took umbrage at our portrayal of him in last week’s post:

What have I done to you in the past 30 years I’ve known you???  I’m going through all the shows I’ve seen you at…. maybe I should have bought you a beer??? Offered you my seat? Patch on the grass? I can honestly tell you I NEVER had a mullet.

Remind me to tell you a story about the Motley Crue show and the CEO Of Frisch’s.

Actually excited about the team this year!! Go Reds…..

So let the record show that Dan never rocked a mullet. Let the record also show that he has never bought me a beer or offered me his seat at a show. (Dan knows I’m just messing with him.)

Can’t wait to hear Dan’s story about Mötley Crüe and the CEO of Frisch’s… I hope it involves the phrase “Brawny Lad”… and doesn’t involve the phrase “tartar sauce.”

Videos

Have a great week!

This one’s for Dan Lewis…

Episode 28: Matt Harris (hearts) Radio

97X, podcast

Matt Harris was already a radio veteran when he joined 97X in 1984, having worked in college radio at Ohio U. and the local rock station in Athens, Ohio. He spent a few years at WOXY, doing overnights briefly and then serving as Program Director for a long stint. Matt shares his favorite memories from his 97X days and updates Dave and Damian on his many roles in the radio game.

Very goth!
Matt is an avid cyclist

The Big Bush lives on…

97X, podcast

The podcast that Dave and Damian co-host is called “97X Rumblings from the Big Bush.” For the uninitiated, here’s a bit more about the legendary “Big Bush” from the Fall 1999 issue of the 97X newsletter:

Like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster, stories abound about the alleged exploits of the Big Bush. Rumor has it that Ol’ BB swallowed up several cars and at least one weekend DJ. They never were seen again.

Hatching a plan to take out the hatchback…

The Big Bush can even be spotted in footage of the demolition of the building in Oxford that once housed the terrestrial station.

They took down the building, but they’ll never destroy the Big Bush!

This Week in Live Music: January 27-February 2

97X, Concert Listings, Music, podcast

Hello, old friend. Another slow week on the live music front. Winter hibernation is real.

Tuesday, California folkie Willie Tea Taylor is doing a free show at Bircus Brewing in Ludlow, KY.

But wait, there’s more: it’s also Taco Tuesday at Bircus, with eats from Django Western Taco and Del Gardo’s Cannoli.

Todd Hepburn plays Arnold’s on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the Freddy Jones Band plays Ludlow Garage. It’s been a hot minute since they’ve come through town. List member Whit Gardner will be there. That same evening, Moon Hooch plays Madison Live… no word on whether or not Moon Turner will be the opener.

America’s favorite Bosom Buddy…

Friday gigs:

  • Wayne “The Train” Hancock plays Southgate, with local band The Tammy Whynots opening the show. That’s a very strong double bill.
  • Jackopierce is at Ludlow Garage
  • Ricky Nye Inc. plays Big Ash Brewing
  • John Morgen is at Camp Springs Tavern
  • Son del Caribe plays Woodward Theater
  • Bogart’s hosts The Iron Maidens “the world’s only female tribute to Iron Maiden” (talk about carving out a niche). The lead singer’s stage name is…

On Saturday:

  • Too Many Zooz plays Urban Artifact
  • Phillip Phillips (I think he used to work at the Department of Redundancy Department) comes to Ludlow Garage
  • Jamey Johnson (he co-wrote “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk”!) plays the Lawrenceburg Event Center.

And if you’d rather catch some ‘rasslin’ that evening, you can head to Bircus for up-close Northern Wrestling Federation action.

Joshua needs a better ring name.

Sunday is February 1st, which means you can check out (or even join in) the First Sunday Bluegrass Jam at Camp Springs Tavern starting at 3:30. BYOBanjo.

Hot Ticket Alerts

The Watkins Family Hour (Sara and Sean Watkins from Nickel Creek) plays Memorial Hall on Saturday, April 11th. Get your tickets here. And Band of Horses plays Bogart’s on Thursday, March 26th, with Pomegranates as the opener. Two things to note about that gig:

  1. Last time I saw BoH at Bogart’s, the sound was absolutely awful. They sounded like they were playing inside a giant oil drum submerged in 10 feet of sludge.
  2. Longtime guitarist Tyler Ramsey and bass player Bill Reynolds both quit the band about a year and a half ago… and BoH hasn’t put out any new music since 2016.

More 97X lists

This Spotify playlist covers all the Modern Rock 500 lists from 1989 through 2009. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0ndUg4bPCgBesDtw8yvYit

And Mark Griffin, a WOXY-FM superfan, created 11 hours worth of playlists from 1985… impressive: 
https://markfgriffin.com/2017/06/sounds-of-woxy-97x-college-rock/

Shameless Self-Promotion

The latest episode of the 97X “Rumblings from the Big Bush” podcast features Dave Tellmann and yours truly chatting with another 97X superfan, Daniel Jones.

Must See TV

This video from 1985 with then-97Xers Danny Crash and Mr. K (interviewed by Brett Heartz, then a high schooler and later a 97X jock) is priceless:

R.I.P. David Olney

He was a songwriter’s songwriter who died onstage last week at age 71.

“Any time anyone asks me who my favorite music writers are… I say Mozart, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Bob Dylan and Dave Olney. Dave Olney is one of the best songwriters I’ve ever heard — and that’s true. I mean that from my heart.” 

Townes Van Zandt

I saw David play live once, opening for another singer-songwriter (whose name escapes me) at Top Cats, of all places. Spellbinding stuff. This article in Variety does a good job covering his career and influences.

The ceiling will fall to the floor
The windows will walk out the door
The old clock will run out of time
And reason will run out of rhyme

The sea will no longer be blue
The truth will no longer be true
And ev’rything left is a lie
The moment I tell you goodbye

Tomorrow will never begin
Forever will come to an end
The sun will fall from the sky
The moment I tell you goodbye

Episode 27: Daniel Jones, dedicated listener

97X, Music, podcast

Daniel Jones was a Cleveland kid attending Miami University when 97X came to life back in 1983, and he was instantly hooked. He tuned in until he graduated and move to New York; his listening got a second wind many years later when 97X started streaming in the internet. Dave and Damian chat with Daniel about the bands he discovered via 97X, his own on-campus radio show (“Off the Wall But On The Air”) and his life after college.

[I originally planned to edit our phone call with Dan but the conversation was flowing so nicely that it made sense to air the full “Double Bela” phone call. – Damian]

After our phone chat, Daniel reached out by email:

Thanks again for the opportunity to talk about the station. The times I went back to Oxford to see former professors or once even to speak on campus about a 9/11 family group I helped found, I was always impressed that the feel of the broadcast stayed the same — good-natured, conversational, like hanging out in a record store talking about music. And the sense of humor was always there especially in the advertising spots. I remember one time driving within range and hearing whoever was on air reassuring listeners they would never hear Hoobastank on 97.7.

Love your podcast and I am sure I am not the only one who hears the back announcing of an imaginary set and wishes it were real.

Take care and please keep up the great work.

Here’s another email from Dan:

I didn’t really have an answer to your question about new music sources of info. The “Sound Opinions” podcast is a good source for new music, week to week and these semiannual best of shows.

One episode of their pod though from a couple of years ago really pissed me off. They interviewed some author who wrote an book about new wave and 80’s music but she really only liked Duran Duran, and their pop shit phase. Reflex and what not, not Girls on Film or Planet Earth. She hadn’t heard of Roxy Music and did not consider the Smiths. WTF?!

I am sending you a link to the Sound Opinions “best albums of 2019 so far” episode, but they do a great deep dive on Rust Never Sleeps which is as much about the advent of punk as it is about Neil Young. They also have a really good history of punk and new wave two-parter, England and NYC, from 2012 if you look back in the archives. [The punk two-parter is here (part 1) and here (part 2). – Damian]

Thanks again for your pod and the opportunity to contribute.

And here’s yet another email from Dan:

Hi, gents
As this is my third email since recording you are likely surmising I suffer under the burden of believing I left out a lot I wanted to say. The question that bugs me is my lack of answer to bands 97X turned me on to. The Replacements, the Smiths, Siouxie and the Banshees, The Cure, The Bangles, Big Audio Dynamite, World Party, The Waterboys, Cactus World News, Bananarama, Talk Talk, the Psychedelic Furs, Echo and the Bunnymen, APB, Big Country, Sade before mainstream got a hold of her first album, Ultravox… Many more. All these great songs especially things like early Bangles like Liverpool or Hero Takes a Fall that I wondered why mainstream stations wouldn’t play. It was straight up rock n roll. But I was glad WOXY was there so I could hear the Bangles before walk like an Egyptian or Manic Monday.

So sorry if I fumbled the handoff. But having lived in NYC as LIR became WDRE then went back again before folding, I have to say WOXY was far superior.

As we’ve said many times over the course of the podcast, it was passionate listeners like Daniel that made 97X so special. Here’s his three-song set, via YouTube:

If you’d like to get in touch with us, drop us an email at 97Xwoxy@gmail.com.