Music

All We Want for Xmas is…

Music

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.)

One of my favorite SNL fake commercials… but the older I get, the less funny it seems.

‘Tis the season for year-end lists

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.”

Brandi Carlile, in her Instagram tribute to Rita.

Let’s lighten things up

This Hater’s Guide to the Williams-Sonoma Catalog doesn’t have anything to do with music, but it’s hilarious, and we all could use a few more laughs.

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

Episode 51: Dorsie Fyffe, the Freest of Free Spirits

97X, Music, podcast

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.
Nashville Skyline (not the chili)

Episode 50: More Mark Messerly

97X, Music, podcast

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.

Mark and his wife Hollie will be doing an episode of the Wussy livestream on Facebook this Friday (11/27).

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.

Episode 49: Mark Messerly, Music Maker For Life

97X, Music, podcast

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.

“Stay classy, Mark!” Photo credit: Merilee Luke-Ebbeler

Read this 2018 “Spill it” feature from CityBeat’s Mike Breen about Mark’s INERT release, a very cool collaborative project with dozens of Cincinnati musicians, writers, poets, and visual artists.

The INERT album can be found (and purchased!) on Bandcamp (link below) and on Wussy’s website.

In the second part of our interview with Mark Messerly (coming soon!), we’ll chat about his work with the brilliant Cincinnati-based band Wussy.

Photo credit: Sean Hughes

Episode 48: Dan McCabe, Cincinnati’s Premier Promoter

97X, Music, podcast

From 1991-1999, Dan McCabe booked local and national bands (and tended bar, and cleaned the washing machines) at the late, great Sudsy Malone’s on Short Vine, fronting his own money to book the national acts. Decades later, he’s still promoting great live music, as co-owner of MOTR Pub and the Woodward Theater in Over-the-Rhine. Dan shares some amazing memories from his Sudsy’s days (Morphine, Jesus Lizard, Mercury Rev… and Reverend blood on the sidewalk), and talks about why indie venues are crucial to up-and-coming bands. (Oh, this live episode also features special guest appearances from Rictile and Howard Cohen of The Cereal Killers.)

MOTR and The Woodward, like many indie venues across the country, have been shuttered by COVID-19 and need our help. All of us can #SaveOurStages by taking action (writing congresspeople, donating to an indie venue emergency relief fund, etc.) at NIVAssoc.org. 

MOTR Pub’s credo sounds a lot like the way 97X operated back in the day.

The building that housed Sudsy Malone’s (daytime laundromat/bar and nighttime rock club) was recently knocked down. Dan McCabe shared some Sudsy’s memories in this interview with Chris Varias (also a partner in MOTR and the Woodward Theater) on Cincinnati.com.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity I was given there to work with local music and music fans. It was fantastic. The ‘90s were pretty crazy. The ‘90s were when music became accessible. There was no longer this magical laboratory on a hill. Live music and clubs like that were where the bands would bubble up from. You would see them at Sudsy’s one day and MTV the next. It was pretty fun that way.”

Dan McCabe in the Cincinnati Enquirer article linked above

Dan also has played in several Cincinnati-based bands, most notably Roundhead. Here’s a Roundhead reunion panel from earlier this year:

Another partner in MOTR and the Woodward is Chris Schadler, who booked bands at Southgate House starting in the late 90s.

We all miss live music… and we need these great venues to still be in operation when the pandemic has passed. Please visit NIVAssoc.org and do what you can to help #SaveOurStages.

Episode 46: More Phun with Phil Manning

97X, Music, podcast

In this podcast episode, we continue our chat with Phil Manning, who joined 97X in the summer of 1988 and was with the station until December of 1994, spending most of those years in the program director role. This episode features stories about Bob Mould, Richard Thompson, comedian Chip Chinery, angry Goo Goo Dolls, Folgers coffee, fax machines, Hawaiian honeymoons and a great promo featuring Phil doing his Morrissey impersonation. And somehow we manage to squeeze in some serious thoughts from Phil about the things that made 97X so special. 

Phil’s in the front row, 2nd from left, at the infamous Day in Eden outdoor concert at Eden Park.

Episode 43: Luann Gibbs – Miss Kitty Forever!

97X, Music, podcast, woxy.com

Luann Gibbs started listening to 97.7 FM in Oxford in the pre-97X/Dr. Demento days of the late 70s. When 97X debuted in 1983, she became an avid listener. When the 97X message boards started, she was quite active on them (as “Miss Kitty”). Eventually, her college friend Mike Taylor recruited her to do on-air shifts at 97X/woxy.com. Luann’s been with the Cincinnati Enquirer for 15 years (she’s the queen of “Things to Do”), and also does weekend shifts at Inhailer Radio. We chat with her about college radio, internet radio, her message board “family” and her ongoing promotion of new music.

As we mention on the the podcast, Luann is our #1 hype person – her March 18th Cincinnati Enquirer article entitled “Top 10 ways to practice social distancing” featured a shout-out for Rumblings from the Big Bush:

You can peruse Luann’s most recent articles and lists for the Cincinnati Enquirer here.

Luann also does weekend DJ shifts for Inhailer Radio, which is carrying the 97X/woxy.com/WNKU (R.I.P. X 3) torch by promoting local and national indie music. Not only can you tune in online or on your smartphone, but Inhailer was recently added as WGUC’s HD3 channel.

“Miss Kitty” also posts a monthly collaborative playlist of cool new music (curated by 97X/WOXY fans) on Spotify. Here’s a link for the August edition.

Luann stays connected with her old 97X/woxy message board friends on the WOXY Forever! Facebook group. (You’ll also find links to the monthly playlists here.)

Episode 41: David Groff, a 97X Lifer

97X, Music, podcast

Geography, fate — and a cool dad — turned David on to 97X in his preteen years. He never stopped listening, through high school (he and his dad went to a PiL show at Bogart’s together!), his college years at Miami University and afterward when he moved back to Cincinnati. We chat with David about how he got hooked, and his 97X memories of college concerts, Oxford bars, local bands and dorm room hijinks.

David in his home office with the old school 97X logo

On our podcast, we’ve talked to a lot of college professors who have Masters and PhDs, but David might have them beat in the “letters after your name” category:

What, no REM, KMFDM or UB40?

After he graduated from Miami U., David got a job at a local insurance company as an actuary… and he’s never left. Actuary is consistently ranked as one of the best jobs in the U.S. (David blogs about it here.) We’d like to think that listening to 97X for all those years made David a lot cooler than Ben Stiller’s character in Along Came Polly:

A Public Service Announcement from a member of the 97X house band

97X, Music

The snippet above is from the most recent Facebook live stream from John Doe (of the 97X “house band” X). The gig is great – he even does a Replacements cover. You can watch the whole thing here.

John Doe totally gets it… “put a freakin’ mask on!” That way we can all have more fun in the new world.

Billy Zoom’s mask is not CDC-compliant… in his defense, it was in 1983.

How we remember 97X these days

97X, Music

Friend of the 97X “Rumblings from the Big Bush” podcast Daniel Cox sent along this note to 97Xwoxy@gmail.com:

Sad but true, Daniel!

Dave and I welcome your emails at 97Xwoxy@gmail.com. (I’ll try to check it more consistently.)

And just for kicks, how about some pissed off Bob Mould:

And some youngsters called the Ass Ponys (not Ass Ponies):