On May 11th, author Robin James discussed her new book The Future of Rock & Roll: 97X and the Fight for True Independence at The Mercantile Library, with your friendly neighborhood podcast hosts Dave and Damian. The event was streamed via Crowdcast, but due to the dreaded technical difficulties, the first 10 minutes of the discussion have been lost to the ether. However, we reconnected with Amy Hunter from the Mercantile Library staff so she could reprise her intro and then this episode picks up the discussion when the audio came onto the Crowdcast feed.
The event was co-sponsored by Downbound Books and Shake It Records. Approximately 200 folks were in attendance, many sporting their vintage 97X and band t-shirts:
Amy B. Hunter gave the intro. Learn more about The Mercantile Library here.
Dave – the James Lipton of modern rock.
Many 97X staffers and loyal listeners were in attendance. L to R above: Gentleman Jim Mercer, Dave, Robin James, Damian, Matt Harris.
Bill “Billy D” Douglas and his lovely bride serve as book models. (If you’d like to order a copy or three of Robin’s book, you can do so here through Downbound Books.)
Howard Cohen from Great Lakes Brewing supplied the adult beverages. (Howard also is lead singer of the local band Cereal Killers.)
If I told you that I’ll be co-hosting a book discussion at The Mercantile Library, you’d think it was some sort of early April Fools’ Day joke, right?
Can’t blame you for that. But it’s legit:
You can register here and pre-order the book here.
Speaking of books, let’s see who has booked a gig in this area over the next fortnight.
On Wednesday, The Queers play Madison Live, with Suzi Moon and The Raging Nathans also on the bill. And a Frank Zappa tribute band called The Furious Bongos will be playing Joe’s Ludlow Garage.
Thursday, Sonny Landreth and Cindy Cashdollar play Southgate, and Beth Harris wraps up her March residency at The Loon, with Abiyah and Heather Redman.
Thursday also is Opening Day for the Cincinnati Reds. List member Dan “Laying the groundwork for 2024” Lewis will be throwing out the first pitch… to companies who haven’t purchased any Reds advertising yet!
Friday evening, Steve Forbert plays Southgate, Leggy has a free album release show at MOTR (10 p.m. start), Emmaline is at Ludlow Garage, and Orleans is doing a 50th anniversary acoustic show at Memorial Hall.
Guess what happens on Saturday?
Oh, and an Irish band called Seafoam Green is playing Camp Springs Tavern that evening.
The band is highly recommended by the tavern’s proprietor, Keith “Smoovie” Neltner. Irish folks in a tavern… what could possibly go wrong? (Don’t tell Liam Neeson I said that.)
Also on Saturday, Jim Messina will be at Ludlow Garage.
Next Monday, April 3rd, Combo Chimbita plays the Woodward Theater.
On Wednesday, April 5th, Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers hit Southgate.
Great news for my inner teenager: Rush is playing Memorial Hall on Thursday, April 6th!
Wait, upon further review, that’s TOM Rush. The good news is he’s not a fly-by-night artist. The bad news for teenage me is he’s also not a “Fly By Night” artist.
Another 4/6 gig of note is Fantastic Negrito at Ludlow Garage.
Friday, 4/7, Ellis Paul plays a 30th Anniversary Tour show at the Redmoor in Mt. Lookout, and Molly Hatchet tears up Ludlow Garage.
A different Ludlow takes the spotlight on Saturday, April 8th. Bircus Brewing in Ludlow, KY has music from the Tom Petty cover band Tom the Torpedoes.
On Sunday, April 9th, after you find all the Easter eggs, Ben Levin plays Schwartz’s Point.
Ahead of her time
Given what we know now about clergy abuse scandals, isn’t it time to reexam Sinead O’Connor’s Saturday Night Live appearance back in 1992? This episode of the Sound Opinions podcast weighs in, and cohosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot (two longtime Chicago music writers/critics) interview Kathryn Ferguson, the co-writer/director of a documentary about Sinead.
https://youtu.be/-VLy1A4En4U
An artist’s job is sometimes to create the difficult conversations that need to be had.
Sinead O’Connor
Alright, sorry to get so serious on you. Let’s lighten the mood with two of the absolute best SNL character actors, Jan Hooks and Phil Hartman, playing Sinead and Sinatra.
Mark your calendar… better yet, Howard your calendar!
List member Howard Cohen and his fellow band members in the Cereal Killers have three – count ’em – three gigs coming up over the next three months:
Author and college professor Robin James is a self-described “philosopher of popular music.” She grew up in West Chester, Ohio listening to 97X and is writing a book about the station and the community that formed around it. She’s also going to give a talk about the Modern Rock 500 at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame once we get through the pandemic phase. In this episode, Robin gives us an update on when the book will be published… and turns the tables by interviewing Dave and Damian for that book.
Robin James, the coolest college professor ever!
We first chatted with Robin a year ago, on Episode 34. If you missed that show, it’s well worth a listen.
On her blog, here’s how Robin summarizes the 97X book project:
The Future of Rock and Roll: 97X WOXY and the fight for true independence. (Under contract with UNC Press). This is a book about the philosophy behind former modern rock radio station 97X FM/woxy.com. The station and its programming was driven by the idea that true independence is possible only when practiced with and for other people. The book argues that this idea of independence is what we need to fight the 21st century corporate mainstream, which is driven by the false idea that real independence is being left to fend for yourself.
Here’s a link to the draft version of “What was the Modern Rock 500?” – the talk Robin will be giving at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The date for that presentation is still TBD due to pandemic restrictions, but we’ll let you know when it’s happening.
My dad didn’t like music, and I didn’t have older siblings, so the Modern Rock 500 was the curriculum I used to educate myself about cool music and its history.
Robin James
Rumblings from the Big Bush mailbag
Hey guys,
I’ve been a big fan of the show. For years I’ve enjoyed listening to a playlist created from an old Modern Rock 500, and every year I think, I should contact some of the old radio guys and see what would be on the list today. I always think of this leading up to Memorial Day weekend. It would be great if you could get some of the old crew together and make an updated list.
Keep up the good work! – Nick Frisch
That’s a great idea, Nick! Unfortunately, it’s also a rather daunting task, and we have our hands full with the podcast (and our day jobs). We tried to strong-arm longtime 97X PD Phil Manning into creating an updated MR500, but to no avail. If anyone has any suggestions, we’re all ears.
In the interim, the Cincinnati-based online radio station Inhailer recently counted down their Top 500 Albums of All Time, and you’ll find plenty of 97X artists on that list. Former woxy.com DJ Luann Gibbs (a.k.a. “Miss Kitty” – we chatted with her on Episode 43) does weekend shifts on Inhailer, and Taylor Fox, who was quite active on the 97X message boards, is the Program Director and hosts the morning show Tuesdays thru Thursdays, so the station is a kindred spirit of 97X/woxy.com. They play a great mix of music, including a healthy dose of local bands, and have specialty shows on weekends and in the evening. Check it out!
This post on The Cincy Vinyl Trail website also has a nice tribute to the Modern Rock 500.
Traditionally, Memorial Day weekend has always been the unofficial beginning of summer. Schools close, pools open, we honor fallen heroes and the Taste of Cincinnati takes center stage. Memorial Day weekend of years gone by also brought us the 500. No, not the Indy 500, that’s still running. To die-hard music fans, it was the 97X Modern Rock 500. The start of every summer the radio would be tuned to 97.7.
Robin James is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at UNC Charlotte and the author of three books… with a book about 97X in the works. She grew up listening to the station from age 11 on, including her time as an oboe major (yes!) at Miami University. Robin still has a fond place in her heart for the 97X/woxy.com music community, and the DIY ethos that made it truly unique. Dave and Damian talk to Robin about her research for the 97X book, the Modern Rock 500 and intersection of philosophy and music.
As a teen, the Modern Rock 500 was the closest thing I had to a catechismic text. I grew up on the other side of Butler County from WOXY, on the outskirts of Cincinnati. Every year I recorded parts of the broadcast on cassette and listened to the top of the countdown late into Memorial Day night. Radio led me to music I would otherwise never be allowed to buy or hear live (if I could even get a ride to Looney T-Birds, Everybody’s Records, Bogart’s, or Sudsy Malone’s).
My dad didn’t like music, and I didn’t have older siblings, so the Modern Rock 500 was the curriculum I used to educate myself about cool music and its history.
In May of 2021, Robin is scheduled to give a talk on the Modern Rock 500 at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland – a draft of that presentation is here.
You can also visit Robin’s Soundcloud to listen to a few of her lectures and some original compositions.
In our podcast, Dave and Robin mentioned the 97X Mission Statement. Here it is, direct from Dave’s basement:
