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!
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…
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:
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.
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.
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
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.
Can’t go wrong with that gif, amiright? Let’s get to the tunes.
Monday is a holiday for most folks… including touring bands, it appears. Also, please note that the Yola show originally slated for Tuesday in the Taft Ballroom has been rescheduled for Sunday, June 14 due to “unforeseen scheduling conflicts.”
On Tuesday, Cheryl Renee plays Bluesday Tuesday at Arnold’s and the Mynah Tones play the Comet.
On Wednesday, Grace Potter plays a nocturnal show (without the Nocturnals) at Taft Theater. Mipso is at the Woodward Theater, with Bridget Kearney (of Lake Street Dive) and Benjamin Lazar Davis (of Okkervil River) as openers. There are a couple of notable local gigs on Wednesday also:
Ben Levin plays the Phelps/Residence Inn downtown. List member Howard Cohen has informed me that it’s a Great Lakes Brewing Company Pint Night from 5-8, featuring Dortmunder Gold Lager, Conway’s Irish Ale, and the new beast in town, Bierwolf Dunkelweizen. A tasting flight is only $10. Ben plays starting at 5:30.
List member Mark Celsor’s band Left of Center is opening for the Blue Eyed Bettys at Urban Artifact. Mark doesn’t work for a beer company, but he will work for beer.
Thursday, 20th Century Theater hosts An Evening with Mike Gordon, he of Phish Phame. All those smelly hippies in Oakley should bring housing prices down at bit.
Sure they misspelled “hobby”… but it’s still phunny.
On Friday, Turkuaz plays Madison Theater, Shiny Old Soul is at Big Ash Brewing, Todd Lipscomb is at Arnold’s and Ben Levin plays BrewRiver.
Saturday shows:
Olivia Jean plays Southgate’s main room, and Ben Levin is in the Lounge
Noah Wotherspoon plays a gig at Band of Helping Hands in Covington
KY Myle is at Camp Springs Tavern
Fretboard hosts ‘Nati Dread Day, with the Quasi Kings as headliners.
On Sunday, The Comet Bluegrass All-Stars play… The Comet.
Action Photos
That’s list member Dale Doyle (the original D2!) on the right, hanging in Cali with Matt Berninger of The National (in a 97X t-shirt!). Dale is doing the artwork/design for Matt’s solo album. The story of how these two hooked up is pretty cool – you can read it on the website here.
The most recent episode of the “97X Rumblings from the Big Bush” podcast features Rob Ervin, who worked at 97X, co-hosted the Chris & Rob Late Night Talk Show on WAIF for years, and worked on the Gary Burbank Show for a decade-plus. You can listen on the website here, or catch all the episodes on Spotify, Apple Music or Podbean.
Oh, and if you enjoyed the annual 97X “Modern Rock 500” countdown back in the day, a listener crunched the data from each year of the countdown to create an overall “Top 500″… check it out here.
The annual Memorial Day Weekend “Modern Rock 500” was always a highlight of the 97X year. Listener James Brubaker decided to crunch the numbers year by year and create a Meta-list… a “Modern Rock 500 Top 500” as he calls it.
James (a.k.a. Dr. James Brubaker, Ph.D.) is originally from Dayton. He’s an author (book links on his website) and teaches at Southeast Missouri State University, where he also serves as editor of the University Press.
Here’s James’ original email to us:
Hi Dave and Damian, 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:
“He was in many ways like an outsider — the guy who was often different from everyone else,” Halper says. “But that was okay with him. He didn’t want to be like everyone else. He just wanted to be Neil. He loved being a rock drummer, but he also loved literature. He loved poetry. He loved the outdoors. He didn’t care what society thought a rock star was ‘supposed to be’ — he wasn’t afraid to be himself, and he didn’t really care about fame. He just wanted to be good at what he did — and he was! — and he just wanted to share his music with the fans.”
I can totally relate to that… well, other than the musical talent part.
It’s a slow week for nationally touring band gigs, so this week I’m going to highlight a few more local artists than usual.
On Tuesday, The Dead South (Canadian folk-bluegrass) hits Bogart’s. And Jerry Springer is doing a live taping (sounds like an oxymoron, I know) of two podcast episodes at Folk School Coffee Parlor in Ludlow, KY, from 7-8 p.m. This isn’t the crazy TV version of Jerry, it’s the politically astute Jerry, along with some live music and a bit of shtick. I’ve been before and it’s fun.
Shiny Old Soul plays the Northside Tavern on Wednesday, and the Blue Wisp Big Band is at Caffè Vivace.
On Thursday, Fuel will make a pit stop at the Ludlow Garage. In addition, the Philip Paul Trio plays Arnold’s, and the Mt. Pleasant String Band plays Southgate’s Lounge — both of those are free shows.
Friday, We Banjo 3 plays a sold-out gig at Memorial Hall. In the cherished tradition of “Wrong Number” bands like the Thompson Twins and Ben Folds Five, We Banjo 3 actually has 4 members… and they play more instruments than banjo, too!
Also on Friday:
Ghost Man on Second plays Lucius Q
Stanley’s hosts an evening with Terrapin Moon
The Ben Levin Trio plays Wiedemann’s Tap Room
This Pine Box has a single release party at MOTR, with Sugadaisy and a great White Stripes/Black Keys type band from Lexington called Johnny Conqueroo (video below).
On Saturday, The Levin Brothers Band plays Ludlow Garage.
Other Saturday shows:
Ben Levin (he’s a Levin brother too!) plays Smoke Justis
Stanley’s hosts the Winter Blues Revival
Nicholas Clay and Kelly Fine (Young Heirlooms) play Camp Springs Tavern (check out this nugget from Nicholas Clay’s music FB page:
On Sunday:
Stef Chura plays MOTR with Leggy
The Boston band called Ripe (“part jam band, part funk, part jazz and part soul”) plays the Madison Theater
The Comet Bluegrass All-Stars do their weekly residency at the bar that gave them their name.
Musical musings
The Parlor & Patio house concert last night was great. Chelsea Nolan has a wonderful voice, and is a fun storyteller. Her TED talk is well worth checking out for inspiration (embedded at the end of this week’s post). If you’ve yet to attend a Parlor & Patio show, you really should check one out. Great songwriters in an intimate setting with a super-friendly and casual vibe… and free pie from Piebird at intermission! The current 2020 bookings are listed here. You can check out the artists on this Spotify playlist. Get tickets early because the shows will sell out.
Hot Ticket Alert
Wussy is playing the Woodward Theater on Friday, March 6th. Tickets here.
Hot No-Ticket-Required Alert
The Cereal Killers are playing MadTree Brewing on Saturday, February 15th, from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Perfect set time for an old fart like me… like a Bob Evans early-bird special, only with beer instead of meatloaf!
2019 tunes worth checking out
Hat tip to list member Michael “Rico” Carrico for directing us to a guy from Finland who has being doing a blog (“One Chord to Another”) covering Americana/folk/etc. for more than a decade. His 2019 favorites list is here and he also does a weekly playlist that’s very cool.
Rob Ervin (also known as “Rowdy Rob” when he hosted Gridloxx) worked as a part-timer at 97X in the 90s. He also co-hosted the Chris & Rob Late Night Talk Show on WAIF-FM and later was part of the writing staff and cast of characters for the Gary Burbank Show on WLW-AM. But wait, there’s more… Rob led the local bands Monkey Biscuit and the High Strung Lifters. Oh, and he wrote for the Hamilton Journal-News, was a substitute teacher, and led historical tours in Cincinnati. Find out how Rob got his 97X gig via a lumberyard, why he once was suspended from the station and much more in this episode.
Rob did a few holiday tunes with the Chris Comer Trio at MOTR recentlyWhen Chris and Rob got married on the air, their wedding registry was at the Norwood White Castle.
Rob and his Chris & Rob Late Night Talk Show co-host Chris Comer also did great radio at WAIF-FM. You can check out talk show segments and their interviews with all sorts of celebrities (Stan Lee, Tim Conway, etc.) and musicians (Adrian Belew, Todd Rundgren, Buck Owens, etc.) right here.
Rob and “Duke Sinatra” from the Gary Burbank Show with “Big Elvis” in Vegas.
Ron Poore, a.k.a. “Jetson” was only at 97X for a year back in the late 80s, but he moved on to record labels, where he has continued to work tirelessly to get great music into people’s ears. Currently Senior VP of Alternative & Rock Promotion for the legendary Atlantic Records, Ron chats with Dave and Damian about how promoting a band called the Red Belly Boys actually got him his first gig at 97X, how a trip to New York City with Rock & Roll Grocer Frank Eavey changed his career trajectory… and how his son saved his life.
As a special holiday gift to you, check out the 97X in-studio performance from the Dave Matthews Band back in 1995, a session that happened thanks to Jetson’s ties to 97X.
Jetson, front row far right, alongside Steve Baker and Julie Maxwell. Jetson (center) and Mr. K (3rd from left) with Mike Peters of The Alarm when they opened for Bob Dylan at Riverbend in Cincinnati.97Xers Tim Hiatt, Ken “Mr. K” Glidewell and Jetson (2nd from right) with Kurt Neumann and Sammy Llanas of The BoDeans during their visit to the 97X studioThe music of the Jetson era.
I’m thankful for tasty tunes and good friends like you! Before we get to this week’s gigs, I must say Elvis Costello & The Imposters were stellar at the Taft last week. Lots of TWILM list members in attendance too…. on a school night! (7:30 show time, no opener… it’s a dream come true for folks of my vintage.)
OK, here’s the Turkey Week lineup:
On Tuesday, Cloud Nothings are at Woodward, with Leggy as the opener. That’s a nice double bill. Jackyl is at Bogart’s, in what feels like a standing monthly gig since 1991.
Wednesday, Dawg Yawp is at Woodward, with Ruby Vileos and Bendigo Fletcher. (Nice to see back-to-back concerts at Woodward… must be a slow week for wedding receptions.) Memorial Hall hosts “Abbey Road: a 50th Anniversary Beatles Celebration.” The complete Abbey Road album will be performed live by The Newbees with the Bee Strings and the Horn-Its.
The Tillers have a cool gig at Arnold’s on hump day too. Here’s the blurb from Arnold’s Facebook page:
We partnered up with Neltner Small Batch, Otto Printing and Mus-i-col Records to give offer a handmade, one-off, limited edition 7” vinyl record. The album is two live versions of the Tiller’s songs The Boatman’s Dance, Hickory Jack and Down at the Bottom. The records will also be pressed on transparent green vinyl to look just like a Jameson bottle. The awesome part? It’s free! That’s right, we are giving them all away. We have 250 total pressed on transparent hunter green vinyl to hand out and they will be first come first serve. . Drink and Menu Specials run all day, The Tillers take the stage at 9. The Records will be available at 8pm.
Also on Wednesday, Ben Levin plays the lobby bar at the Phelps/downtown Marriott from 5:30-8:30.
Thursday is a day to take a break from the live music and spend time with family… even if they drive you nuts.
On Friday, Pomegranates play… holy crap, the Woodward. Three shows in one week! Sylmar and Grand Ace are also on the bill.
That same evening:
Frontier Folk Nebraska have a record release party in Southgate’s Revival Room
Joslyn & The Sweet Compression play Ludlow Garage
Jordan Smart plays Camp Springs Tavern
Static-X is at Riverfront Live (formerly Annie’s)
the Trans-Siberian Orchestra has two shows at the Coliseum (presently Some-Bank Arena)
Ben Levin performs at BrewRiver
Freekbass plays FUNKsgiving in Southgate’s Sanctuary. That’ll shake you out of your tryptophan coma.
Saturday:
The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band plays Southgate’s Sanctuary. Amen to that! Col. JD Wilkes (of Legendary Shack Shakers fame) opens up.
Sierra Hull is at Memorial Hall
Anna Stine plays Ludlow Garage
Stolen Faces noodle a Grateful Dead tribute at Stanley’s
Fretboard Brewing hosts an “Americana Gives Back” show starting at 5, with RootCellarXtract, Hickory Robot, Jeremy Francis and John Ford. Please bring a gift to donate to Toys for Tots.
Also on Saturday, Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant are at the Coliseum, which I mention merely because it gives me a convenient excuse to play this fantastic tune by the Young Fresh Fellows:
I saw the Young Fresh Fellows opening up for the Red Hot Chili Peppers at Bogart’s eons ago. Which gives me a handy excuse to do a callback to the Abbey Road mention earlier in this post:
Where was I? Oh, live gigs, right…
Sunday, the Ludlow Garage features Poco. The current lineup is sans Richie Furay, Jim Messina, Timothy B. Schmidt and Randy Meisner… but Rusty Young is playing.
The Aronoff Center features “It Was 50 Years Ago Today”… which is billed as “an All Star Tribute to the Beatles White Album – featuring Christopher Cross, Todd Rundgren, Micky Dolenz, Jason Scheff (Chicago) Joey Molland (Badfinger) – performing their greatest hits along with songs from the White Album.” Wow, Christopher Cross, Todd Rundgren and a Monkee together, whodathunkit? Of course, mentioning the White Album merits a shout-out to this:
And now you know how my brain works (or rather, doesn’t work).
Hot Ticket Alert
The lineup has been announced for The National’s Homecoming festival at Smale Park on May 8-9, 2020 and it’s very strong. I got tix for both days.
Video of the Week
The Drive-by Truckers’ new song mentions Cincinnati.
Kids these days (Part II)…
List member Lisa Collins, who works at Great American Insurance, mentioned to her 20-something niece Morgan that Jon Bon Jovi was playing Great American’s annual holiday party, and Morgan asked “What’s the difference between Bon Jovi and Jon Bon Jovi?”
(The one and only time I attended a Great American holiday party was eons ago when Carl Lindner Jr. was still around and apparently picking the entertainment, because the musical guest was… drumroll please… Wayne Newton!)
Mark Griffin tuned in to 97X as a teenager, and “the future of rock and roll” shaped his future. Listen to the podcast to learn how Mark ruled his high school art room with an iron fist… and why that iron fist never had a digital watch on its wrist. And learn why (and how) Mark painstakingly assembled 14 hours worth of song mixes from 97X circa 1985.
We reached out to Mark because he wrote a great post on his website about 97X and the profound impact it had on his life:
In his post, Mark reprints an article that Steven Rosen wrote about WOXY for the June 2, 1985 edition of the Cincinnati Enquirer. You can read that feature in Mark’s blog post linked above, but you should also check out the PDF version for the article as it originally appeared — right alongside ads for cigarettes and bras!
Kudos to Mark for creating such fabulous playlists culled from his 97X memories. All those mixes — 14 hours worth! — are also on his website:
In our podcast interview, Mark mentions mining the annual “97 Best of…” lists to create his mixes. Craig Froehle has compiled those lists for 1984-2009, as well as the Modern Rock 500 lists from 1989-2009, a 97X “A to X” list, and a 97X2K list from 2000. All those links are here: https://www.craigfroehle.com/p/97x.html
