Brian Ewing spent the early to mid-90s on the air at 97X, including three full years doing the overnight shift, which surely must be a record for “the cave.” During that same time, he was also playing in the local band Messerly & Ewing, so music ruled his life. We talk to Brian about his 97X days, including party patio drunks, open mike nights, long-distance tea-brewing, and rocking the vote.
Phil Manning, Damian and Brian “Rock the Vote” Ewing at the 97X 10th Anniversary Show at Bogart’s.
After leaving 97X, Brian still performed as part of Messerly & Ewing. They won the 97Xposure band contest in 2002, and continued to release new music and play gigs through 2014. Here’s their 2011 release on Bandcamp:
And here’s Messerly & Ewing performing live in July 2009 with their full band, featuring MPMF co-founders Sean Rhiney (bass) and Bill Donabedian (drums).
Brian on stage at an Earth Day eventMesserly & Ewing & Woman with Feather BoaMesserly & Ewing performing live on the Fox19 Morning ShowTakin’ it to the streets…Midpoint Music Festival 2009Brian when we chatted via Google Meet last month
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.
