Kevin Couch, a.k.a. Kevin Couche, was an Indiana kid who tuned in to 97X early and never looked back. He wound up working at the station, and later headed to Hollywood to work for the top ranked morning show, do interviews for other radio stations, host a comedy show on Sirius XM, do publicity for Death Row Records and a comedy club… the list is endless.
We had so much fun chatting with Kevin that we made it a two-parter. Check out both episodes as we talk to Couche about his 97X payroll windfall, the Dayton band Brainiac, his many gigs, plus-sized lingerie, Steve Baker, Robyn Hitchcock, Nerf Herder, the Rugburns, Hollywood Hamilton, Sirius XM Comedy, and his current gig in PR.
Couche with Bob Pollard of Guided by VoicesKevin (right) with John Schmersal of Brainiac
Former 97X DJ Brett Heartz needs our help. About a year ago, he was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD), which is incurable. He’s currently on “the list” of folks who need kidney donors, and it could be years before a suitable donor is found.
In the interim, his wife Wendy has given up her management role for an hourly, overnight position so she can help with home dialysis, doctor appointments, treatments, etc. And the medical bills are mounting.
Aaron Borns started at 97X as a student intern (a.k.a. “co-producer”) for the Breakfast Club in 1993, then worked part-time shifts, answered the phones and worked with Julie Maxwell doing promotions. He wasn’t at the station long, but the lessons he learned there served him well during a 20-plus year career doing promotions and marketing at RCA Records. Dave and Damian talk to Aaron about his 97X days, his record label roles… and how he got a free car while he was at 97X.
Aaron is in the top row, far right, in this photo from the 1993 (or 94) Day in Eden concert featuring The Judybats and the Goo Goo Dolls. Promo t-shirt from the 1993 Modern Rock 500
Howdy kids, I’m back from the City of the Big Shoulders, the Windy City. I’d like to propose a toast to my wife, who ran the Chicago Marathon yesterday.
And I’d also like to propose a toast to my Chicago-dwelling friend Jessica, who hooked me up with an extra ticket to the Luna concert at Lincoln Hall last night, where they played their album Penthouse in its entirety.
OK, short week, short post.
Tuesday, Macy Gray plays Ludlow Garage. All That Remains and Lacuna Coil are at Riverfront Live. Capstan plays Top Cats and local musician Zapruder Point is at the Brew House.
On Wednesday, Just Friends, Save Face, the Sonder Bombs and Pool Kids play the Southgate House; Andy Frasco and the UN are at Madison Live; The New Mastersounds are at Ludlow; Sarah Asher plays MOTR with Mavis Guitar, Billy Alletzhauser and Beth Harris; and list member John Sandman’s Tye Dye Band plays Tina’s downtown from 4:30-8 p.m.
Della Mae is at Memorial Hall on Thursday, Charlie Parr has a CD release show in Southgate’s Revival Room, and Brit blues artist Joanne Shaw Taylor is in Southgate’s main room. Brand X is at Ludlow Garage that evening… not to be confused with Kroger’s old generic brand.
Mmm, tasty!
Friday, you can enjoy Cigarettes After Sex… at the Madison Theater. Or you can go to the zombie party hosted by 500 Miles to Memphis at Southgate, in the Sanctuary. The Minks and the Nailers are in Southgate’s Sanctuary, and Arlo McKinley & the Lonesome Sound play Madison Live.
Murphy’s Pub is celebrating 30th years with Dirty Thirty gigs on Friday and Saturday. You can read more in CityBeat.
Taking Back Sunday kicks off a two-night stand at Bogart’s on Friday. Apparently they are trying to corner the market on weekends.
Mmm, tasty!
On Saturday:
Warrick & Lowell play Neltner’s Farm Fall Fest
Rickie Lee Jones is at Ludlow Garage
the father-son duo of Ritt & Wilder Dietz plays the Parlor & Patio house concert in Ft. Thomas
Maurice Mattei is in Southgate’s Lounge
Rob Harris & Marcia Ramirez play a special Downtowne Listening Room show at Covenant First Presbyterian Church
Rhonda Vincent & The Rage are at Miami U – Hamilton
The Cliftones play MOTR
Comedian John Mulaney is at Miami’s main campus
Sunday, John Morgen plays Neltner’s Farm, the Aquadolls are at Top Cats, and the Q102 Bosom Ball is at Madison Theater, with Ingrid Michaelson as the headliner and Maddie Poppe, the Season 16 winner of American karaoke Idol, also on the bill.
My Favorite Record Label
Merge Records was founded by Mac & Laura from Superchunk, so naturally I’m biased, but they have a stellar stable of artists. This year, they were celebrating their 30th anniversary and I subscribed to their “Born Under A Good Sign” promo, which got me a quarterly shipment of surprise/limited edition tunes and some other swag. This quarter, it was a Polvo reissue on green vinyl and a Holiday Sampler on peppermint vinyl.
Mmm, tasty!
Dude to follow on the socials
Speaking of Superchunk, if you’re not following Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster (also drummer for Bob Mould and The Mountain Goats and co-star of The Best Show), you’re missing out. On Insta, he does a “new worst friend” thing when someone sends him a weird photo:
The latest episode of the 97X “Rumblings from the Big Bush” podcast features our chat with Rik Helton, the former owner of CD World, who used to promote his record store by attending indie rock concerts dressed in superhero tights. We also play some other throwback commercials from the 97X airwaves.
97X had dozens if not hundreds of part-time DJs over the lifetime of the station, but no one else can top the tenure of “Gentleman” Jim Mercer, who worked weekend and vacation fill-in shifts for a whopping 14 years, from 1990 through 2004. His dedication and professionalism made him the ultimate weekend warrior. Dave and Damian talk to Jim about his day job, how he got the DJ gig, and how he made his shifts sound so smooth.
Jim nearing the end of a Saturday shift in 2004. This photo was taken by Luann Gibbs.
Like most radio stations, 97X typically had five full-time shifts: mornings, midday, afternoons, evenings and overnight. Having Jim as a part-timer for more than a decade was a luxury. He could — and did — handle any weekend shift, and was always willing to fill in on the evening and overnight shifts to cover vacations.
The NBA gives out a Sixth Man of the Year Award for someone who is the best performer coming off the bench. Gentleman Jim was the 97X equivalent of the Sixth Man of the Year for 14 years running.
Left to right: Jim Mercer, Julie Maxwell, Bakerman, Sledge and Kathy Lucas, at a 97X reunion in 2009.
When Bakerman did the final break on 97X, he gave a special shout-out to Jim.
Jim and Steve Baker in the press box for the Miami-UC game in 2016.
Craig later worked at EMI (shh, don’t tell Johnny Rotten) and is now Director of Music Partnerships at ReverbNation. Please read the entire piece. I love Craig’s passion for the music, and how he’s encouraging all of us to rage against the machine(s):
Amen to that, Brother Craig! Taking his cue, I’ll mention yet again that the new album from Jesse Malin is fantastic, and I’m offering my Double D Money Back Guarantee™ for his show at Southgate House on Friday, November 15th. If you go to the show and aren’t completely satisfied by Mr. Malin’s music and stage presence, I’ll refund your ticket price out of my own pocket.
97X was a small but mighty station in many ways. Being in the outskirts, in the fringes, left of center, off of the strip (to paraphrase Suzanne Vega) with a small (but dedicated) listener base allowed us to get away with stuff that other stations couldn’t or wouldn’t do. Not just with our music playlist (or lack of a playlist, really), but also with the other stuff that made its way to our airwaves, like having a 5th grader do the weather report…
… doing live “remote” broadcasts from the lobby, throwing birthday parties for Abe Vigoda, and sharing secrets from romance novel cover model Fabio.
Sexier than Fabio
In this episode of the 97X Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast, Dave and Damian chat with the 5th grade weatherperson, play some bits, and also announce the winner of the 97X 10th Anniversary “Name the 4th Band” contest.
“Others”?
Congrats to Colin Miller for winning the trivia contest by correctly identifying the 4th band: Sleep Theater.
You can listen to the latest episode via the player above, and you’ll find all the episodes on Podbean, Spotify and iTunes.
Louie Pérez gets it. He knows what being in a band and making music are all about. I’ve been reading the book More Fun in the New World, co-written by John Doe of the band X. It features essays from several early 80s luminaries from the L.A. punk/cowpunk scene: Dave Alvin (The Blasters), Jane Wiedlin and Charlotte Caffey (The Go-Gos), Keith Morris (Black Flag, Circle Jerks), Mike Ness (Social Distortion), Maria McKee (Lone Justice), Sid Griffin (Long Ryders), Peter Case (Plimsouls), Chip Kinman (Rank & File), plus contributions from now-famous fans such as Shepard Fairey and Tony Hawk.
Louie Pérez of Los Lobos wrote about how they became part of that scene. On May 4th, 1980, they opened for Public Image Ltc. and got pelted with spit, beer bottles, loose change… whatever the punk fans could get their hands on. But they didn’t let that dissuade them. Shortly thereafter, they met The Blasters, and became friends with that band. Their big break came when they opened for The Blasters at the Whisky a Go Go. According to Louie, there was a bit of hesistation from the audience, but at least there were no projectiles:
Community… spirit… a good vibe. Yeah, that’s the stuff. Tell us more, LP:
Having a great time with new friends, bonding over a shared love of music. Man, I totally understand that. I feel like the community he’s describing in L.A. in the early 80s also existed among the people who worked at and/or listened to a tiny radio station in Oxford, Ohio, from the early 80s through the mid 2000s.
Our humble abode
That’s why Dave Tellmann and I do our podcast – to share stories, reconnect with the tribe, and keep the flame alive.
The book is well worth a read. And the music made by those bands is certainly worth revisiting.
John “J.J” Jesser worked side by side with The Bakerman on the original Breakfast Club morning show in the early days of 97X… and he’s got the coffee mug and t-shirt to prove it.
JJ started out as a part-timer during his Miami University undergrad days, and did news, DJ shifts, production… and played in local bands like The Vagrants as well.
JJ on the left, his friend, roommate and bandmate Mr. K on the right
In this podcast episode, Dave and Damian talk to him about those early days, find out what he’s up to now… and discuss his “metal name” and pet poop.
These days, John works for a company that makes an app that connects patients with doctors for live online visits. He’s still rocking too, playing guitar and singing in the Cleveland band Verve Daddy.
Barb Abney spent more than a decade at 97X and woxy.com, starting in the summer of 1994 and doing middays from 1998 through 2006, when she moved to Minneapolis to work for The Current for 8+ years as woxy.com moved to Austin.
In this podcast episode, Dave and Damian talk to Barb about dressing for success, her collection of 97X paraphernalia, stalking the Afghan Whigs, and lessons learned in the station’s bathroom.
Barb continues to play great music and support local bands as the morning show host at KFAI-FM in the Twin Cities. You can stream KFAI, so check out Barb’s show weekdays from 6-8 a.m. CDT (7-9 EDT). You can also connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.
Barb on the air at 97XBrian J., Mike Taylor, Shiv and Barb on the final day broadcasting from Oxford. Here’s Barb in the outfit she wore to her 97X interview… which she described as “VIP at Lilith Fair”
