Month: May 2020

More Fun in the Quarantined World

97X, Concert Listings, Music, podcast, woxy.com

Hola, amigos, how’s it going? I know it’s been a while since I rapped at ya… (that’s my tribute to one of my favorite columnists in The Onion.) I know I’ve been pretty dour lately, so I’ll try to keep a PMA (positive mental attitude) today, just like Jesse Malin encourages everyone to do during his brilliant weekly live stream concerts.

Now available in Jesse’s merch store

Alrighty, let’s get into it.

There is nothing like the energy and atmosphere of live music. It is the most life-affirming experience, to see your favorite performer onstage, in the flesh, rather than as a one-dimensional image glowing in your lap as you spiral down a midnight YouTube wormhole.

That’s Mr. Dave Grohl, from an article he wrote for The Atlantic.

Speaking of energy and atmosphere, yesterday’s live stream from Dropkick Murphys at Fenway Paahhrk is pretty lively:

https://youtu.be/VzkMA_1NbfY

And here’s some pure joy for you, marimba style:

As mentioned previously, the Broken Record podcast is a great listen. Their last two episodes have been superb: Jason Isbell and Nick Lowe

Under the covers

Speaking of Nick Lowe, here’s a cool cover of his most famous (and most covered) tune, from Sharon Van Etten and Josh Homme:

Several local luminaries got together to do Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me” for Cincinnati Children’s (HT to list member Keith Neltner for the link)

Tanya Donnelly (founding member of Throwing Muses, Belly and the Breeders… can anyone top that?) covers this great song from Yazoo

Here’s Whitney and Waxahatchee doing classic John Denver

And Caroline Spence (whose album Mint Condition was one of my faves from last year) puts her own spin on a Jimmy Eat World tune:

Great news for Americana fans

Kathleen Edwards (to whom Caroline Spence has been compared) is back! Her 1st album in eight years is due out in August. Read more in this Rolling Stone article and check out a new tune here:

The Jayhawks have a new album XOXO due out July 10. A couple of tunes from it are below, and hat tip to list member Bruce Frasure for tipping us off to the fun quarantine series from Jayhawks’ leader Gary Louris called “The Sh*t Show.”

Quaran-tunes

DBT created a new song for these times:

And Wilco created a song that made its debut on Colbert:

https://youtu.be/ZxnVYd3TpJs

Jeff Tweedy played Jesus, Etc. too!

https://youtu.be/MJF6BunIdF0

Calling all vinylheads: to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Yo La Tengo album Electr-O-Pura, Matador is releasing it on two LPs. Here’s the original video of a tune from that album, as well as a nice cover from Lucy Dacus.

Wha’ happened?

I know I wanted to stay positive, but I have to mention the passing of comedy genius Fred Willard, whose 75-second appearance in This is Spinal Tap is one of the most memorable scenes ever.

Harry Shearer worked with Fred on the woefully underappreciated Fernwood 2 Night TV show and in several movies (including Spinal Tap). Listen to the three-minute opening of Harry’s Le Show podcast from 5/17 for this heartfelt tribute.

Worth another look

Billy Bragg’s home show was lovely. Check it out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=176421906998317&external_log_id=954427e51f78d3b249aa6e79ec7f2104

Jesse Malin’s newest live streams are multi-camera gigs done in an NYC basement bar, with Rob Clores adding great licks on piano… and the first episode of “Season Two” also features a long interview with Lucinda Williams.

Here’s Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires playing his new album in its entirety.

Shameless self-promotion

The latest episode of the “97X Rumblings from the Big Bush” podcast features Joe Long, an early music blogger (Each Note Secure, The Futurist) who joined the station during the woxy.com era.

Have a great week!

Episode 36: Joe Long, Dot-Com Dude

97X, podcast, woxy.com

Joe Long grew up a 97X fan and started his “Each Note Secure” music blog in 2004… right about the time the terrestrial station signed off. But when woxy.com got its second wind in 2006 (the Lala era), he joined as an on-air personality. He revived Local Lixx, started The Futurist blog, and uprooted his family to stay with the station as it moved to to Austin in the summer 2009. He was still on board when woxy.com ceased streaming in March of 2010. We caught up with Joe to talk about the dot-com era, his Frank Black shuttle service, and his current gig as “Vices Editor” for Uncrate.com.

woxy.com videos galore!

Joe shot a lot of quick videos during his tenure at woxy.com — an in-studio appearance from The Breeders, Lounge Act clips from bands such as Portugal the Man and the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, backstage interviews with These United States and Antlers, and more. You can find all of them on this YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/woxyvideo/videos

Here are a couple of clips documenting the station’s move from Cincinnati to Austin.

Joe’s current gig involves curating content about “vices” such as beer, bourbon, coffee and cigars. Good work if you can get it… and get free samples.

500 Reasons to Remember This Weekend

97X, Music

Memorial Day Weekend was a big deal back in the 97X days… it was Modern Rock 500 time!

I can still hear Bakerman’s great liners in my head… and of course the Indy 500 race car sounds… It was a big deal for listeners too – here’s Howard Cohen talking about the MR500 in his college days:

Robin James’ article in Belt Magazine is well worth a read… or re-read.

The Modern Rock 500 was an evolving canon defined not by critics, but by listeners and fans. As longtime employee and former Music Director Matt Shiv explains, every year, staff “looked at how long songs were on the People’s Choice Countdown (weekly request Top 10) and the year-end Best Of countdowns” to determine which new tracks should be added to the MR 500. According to Shiv, “it was never trying to be anything other than representing the songs that built WOXY and were favorites of our listeners.” Listener demand, not expert taste, was in the driver’s seat.

Robin James, in the Belt article linked above

Robin (a recent guest on the Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast) is also slated to give a talk about the Modern Rock 500 at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame next May. A draft of her presentation is here.

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, in the Belt Magazine article

If you’ve got some time to kill this weekend (hello lockdown), perhaps you’d like to “return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear” as the announcer used to say on the old The Lone Ranger TV show.

Pick a year, any year… other than 2004

Kudos to John Spurlock for creating Spotify AND Google Music playlists for each year of the Modern Rock 500, from 1989 through 2009. (The terrestrial station signed off in early May

And James Brubaker crunched the numbers from Craig Froehle’s lists of MR500s through the years, and came up with an overall Modern Rock 500 Top 500.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend, and Happy Listening!

Station owner Doug Balogh’s old license plate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj0cI3XidFo

2 Kool 2 B 4-gotten

97X, Concert Listings, Music, podcast

Sorry to start on a few sad notes, but John Erhardt of Wussy/Ass Ponys passed away last Monday. His longtime friend and bandmate Chuck Cleaver wrote a very loving tribute to him on Wussy’s Facebook page.

John gave us a beauty that we’ll never see again. A combination of love, friendship, stability and that amazing swirling sound. Truly a wonder. A backdrop to everything that we are, in the band and in life.

Chuck Cleaver

You can read more in this blog post. I did want to share a couple of comments from friends of mine who knew him personally:

A very lovely man. Present, mindful, caring. A supportive person to be around. Hearts will ache.

Phil Roberto

John Erhardt was a fabulous DP (Director of Photography) and cinematographer, as well as a phenomenal musician. He shot film and video, and has been a fixture in Cincinnati’s film community for decades. A joyful, humble, talent, with a wonderful personality. Losing him has been a shock to our community.

Beth Fowler

Friends of John have organized a memorial fund:

The untimely and sudden passing of our friend John Erhardt has us all asking, “What can we do to honor his memory? How can we continue John’s legacy to have a positive and lasting impact on others?”

As John’s wife, Denise, and his daughter, Elizabeth, experience their grief, they are determined to channel what they are feeling into a way to help those who struggle with mental health, as John did.

To support the cause, a fund is being established to assist organizations whose focus is advocating for and helping individuals and their families who contend with the disease of mental illness.

Below is a link to the GoFundMe – please donate if you can. Thanks.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/john-erhardt-memorial-fund?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=m_pd+share-sheet

Speaking of untimely deaths and mental health struggles, Sunday marked the 2nd anniversary of the passing of Frightened Rabbit lead singer Scott Hutchison. We still miss him dearly.

Scott’s family established the Tiny Changes charity focused on mental health among young people in his native Scotland. Please donate if you can. And if you’re not familiar with Frightened Rabbit, you need to listen to their magnum opus album The Midnight Organ Fight right now!

We also lost “The Innovator” and “The Originator”… Little Richard. Check out this NPR tribute for 10 songs that showcase his genius.

2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten | Lucinda Williams | Photos by Birney Imes from Katy Clune on Vimeo.

The hope that is left after all your hopes are gone — that is pure hope, rooted in the heart.

Brother David Steindl-Rast

On a brighter note…

Per Rolling Stone, Jason Isbell is doing an acoustic live stream of his new album Reunions on Friday at 8 p.m. EDT via fans.com. It’s a freebie but donations for Jason’s crew and MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund are encouraged.

Bands in Town has a very robust list of live stream concerts, and you can filter by date, genre and popularity. I’ll be tuned in for the Japanese Breakfast gig on Thursday night. (That’s a ticketed show.) Here’s another Thursday night show:

https://youtu.be/KRa8ZH_iOXo

Tunes I’ve been digging

Lost in the Country is the solo debut from Dave Benton, who goes by the name Trace Mountains. A very War on Drugs vibe to it. Good stuff.

Get your kicks with Robert Pollard

Uproxx just published this oral history of the 1995 Guided By Voices album Alien Lanes.

Must be the power chords…

I’m with Phil Morrison on this one.

Worth another listen

Horsebreaker Star, the 1995 release from Grant McLennan (Go-Betweens) is one of my go-to throwbacks.

Worth another look

Tom Petty. 1978. ’nuff said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJv2dOWa-3o&feature=youtu.be

Jesse Malin mentioned this clip on his most recent home gig… he was a kid in the audience for this SNL appearance by Fear.

Shameless self-promotion

Via Google Meet, Dave and I chatted with Howard Cohen (lead singer of Cereal Killers) about college parties, wrecked cars, Sudsy Malone’s, 97Xposure, his side hustle as a jingle/voiceover artist (you’ve heard his voice, guaranteed). You can check out the episode on this website for some bonus content including Howard’s book recommendations, or on Podbean, Spotify or Apple podcasts.

  • Howard
  • Socially-distant Dave (NOT the lead singer of Foghat)
  • Damian’s ultra high-tech setup

Weekly warriors

The past two weeks, Jesse Malin had his old buddy Rob Clores on keyboards. So good.

In Episode 7, Jesse opened up his set with a Flaming Lips cover…

Rob gives a nice shout-out to Jacqui and Dave’s Parlor & Patio series toward the end!

And check out Bill Janovitz doing a couple of New Order covers (“Age of Consent” and “Leave Me Alone”) with his daughter Lucy… at about the 1:13:00 mark of his 2-hour-plus show on Facebook!

Take care, my friends!

Episode 35: Howard Cohen, Cereal Killer

97X, Music, podcast

A self-described “97X listener/scenester/scruffy little punky New Wave dude,” Howard started playing in bands as a teenager and has never stopped rocking. His current band, Cereal Killers, played their first gig at Sudsy Malone’s on Short Vine in 1989, and their current set list consists predominantly of songs that graced the 97X airwaves back in the day: punk, New Wave, garage rock… We chat with Howard about dropping The Village People for Generation X, college parties and car wrecks (they go together), what 97Xposure meant to his bands, the Modern Rock 500, and his side hustle as a jingle singer/voiceover artist.

Cereal Killers at their first gig, December 15th, 1989 at Sudsy Malone’s.

Cereal Killers at their most recent gig, at MadTree Brewing in Oakley. [Photos from this gallery by Joe Simon for the Cincinnati Enquirer]

Howard’s on the right in the photo above

If this jingle has ever gotten stuck in your head, blame Howard (and Rob Fetters)

Howard’s day job is Field Sales Rep for Great Lakes Brewing Company, Ohio’s oldest and largest craft brewery. (He’s on furlough at present.) In 2018, Great Lakes announced an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), making every employee a shareholder.

Howard is an avid, voracious reader and has volunteered for several Books by the Banks events. (Read more in this Soapbox Cincinnati feature from 2011). In this short bonus clip, he suggests a couple of recent books that may be of interest to 97X fans.

For this episode of the podcast, as well as all recordings done since March, Dave and Damian have been practicing safe social distancing. Here’s Dave at his home set-up:

And here’s Damian’s janky set-up in the Party Dungeon.

  • Note the books (and cat litter bucket) used for the mic stand.

From Bad to Worse

Music

News broke today that John Erhardt of Wussy (and formerly Ass Ponys) passed away Monday. His longtime friend and bandmate Chuck Cleaver wrote a very loving tribute to him on Wussy’s Facebook page.

John gave us a beauty that we’ll never see again. A combination of love, friendship, stability and that amazing swirling sound. Truly a wonder. A backdrop to everything that we are, in the band and in life.

“Amazing swirling sound” is a great description of what John brought to Ass Ponys and Wussy.

To say we’ll miss him is an understatement. It’s not gonna be the same from here on out nor should it. Death’s like that. We’ll continue to keep making up stuff, play it to the best of our abilities and make more records. There will be a hole and we’ll likely leave it that way. You can’t replace some things.

Well put, Chuck. R.I.P. John.

John Erhardt at far right, with Randy Cheek, Chuck Cleaver and Dave Morrison in the Ass Ponys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i1S6BHwyPk

Not-so-Live music

97X, Concert Listings, Music, podcast

If the world weren’t upside down, I would’ve been at the Robyn Hitchcock show at Southgate this past Sunday, and Greg Dulli’s gig at the Woodward on Wednesday. Instead I was stuck in my basement, staring at the same four walls. #FML.

Oh well, let’s make the best of it. Here’s another grab bag o’ recorded tunes and musical ephemera.

I love Chuck Cleaver, and I’m not afraid to admit it. I’ve loved him for decades, since his Ass Ponys days. So shame on me for taking so long to let you know that Wussy band members have been doing a weekly stream on Fridays at 7. Hat tip to list member Dr. David Reid for the tipoff. Last week’s show with Chuck and Lisa was exactly what you’d expect from them: weird, wacky… and absolutely beautiful. Lisa’s questions for Chuck were especially enjoyable… and they do a few Ass Ponys songs too!

Chuck Cleaver photo from this CityBeat article, shot by Chuck’s daughter Anna Stockton

The Broken Record podcast is consistently great. I absolutely loved this episode, which features an interview with Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley of Drive-By Truckers and stripped down versions of a few songs from their new album:

Curt Smith from Tears for Fears did a version of “Mad World” with his daughter Diva. Check it out on the Facebooks.

Bert Averre, the guitarist for The Knack, posted a fun video for “Bye Corona” (3 guesses as to the tune…) Bassist Prescott Niles joins him at the end.

I’m going to keep touting Waxahatchee until you admit that her album Saint Cloud is one of the best of 2020. Here’s her Tiny Desk (at home) concert with her boyfriend Kevin Morby, which features two songs from Saint Cloud, a Morby tune and a Songs:Ohia cover.

Billie Joe Armstrong has been doing a cover song every week and posting it on Green Day’s YouTube Channel. He calls it “No Fun Mondays”… and his cover of “Manic Monday” features Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles. He also riffs on Tommy James & The Shondells, Johnny Thunders, The Avengers and Adam Schlesinger.

Shameless self-promotion

Rob Fetters is never boring. I caught up with him to chat about his free house concert live streams (latest edition is below), get some Zen advice on coping with COVID fears, and hear his story about Ted Nugent… you can check out the episode on this website (which features bonus content) or on Podbean, Spotify or Apple podcasts.

“Paul is dead.” But John Curley is alive and well.

True story: a few days ago, the Afghan Whigs promoted our podcast interview with John Curley on their official Facebook page… but the way the photo and podcast description appeared, a few fans feared that it was some sort of obituary:

Sorry to scare you, Prissy! But the inadvertent “clickbait” resulted in a record-setting number of downloads for our podcast. Thanks social media!

Worth another listen

Heard this song on Sirius XMU Wednesday, and it brought back some fond memories of my 97X days:

That song is the title track from Bettie Serveert’s 1993 album Palomine. It holds up quite well. Check it out:

Worth another look

Swedish sisters with angelic voices? Yes please!

You’ve probably seen this video before, of an all-star crew doing “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” at the 2004 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, but watching Prince’s absolutely ungodly guitar work and seeing him play with Tom Petty always makes me smile.

Weekly warriors

Have a great week!

Rob Fetters is Cheap. Free even.

97X, Music, podcast

In this coronavirus “Local Lockdown Lixx” bonus episode of the 97X Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast, singer/songwriter/guitarist Rob Fetters (The Raisins, The Bears, psychodots and solo releases) talks about the free house concert live streams he’s been doing every weekend, provides some Zen guidance on how to cope during COVID craziness… and tells the tale of a time long ago when Ted Nugent brought him from darkness to light. [Back then Ted called himself “The Motor City Madman” but was semi-sane. Now he’s a batsh*t crazy, gun-totin’, Trump-votin’ nutjob. – Ed.]

You’ll find links to Rob’s upcoming house concerts via his website, RobFetters.net. (His next show is Saturday, May 2 at 9 p.m. EDT.) You’ll also find links to the YouTube recordings of previous shows, and a great video for his song “Not the End” — also posted below.

(Due to scheduling conflicts, Dave couldn’t participate in this interview. You’re stuck with the schmuck, Damian.)

Bonus content for the bonus episode: Here’s Rob talking about how the “Not the End” video came together rather quickly a few weeks ago.

Rob’s been writing songs, playing guitar and singing for a looooong time. Adrian Belew produced The Raisins self-titled debut back in 1983. That platter featured the song “Fear is Never Boring” – a perennial 97X favorite. Here’s the original video:

Here’s the same tune, performed at the psychodots farewell show (with Bam Powell sitting in) back in November of 2018. (Shot/edited by Robert Mills, the same guy who did the “Not the End” video.)

2018 Psychodots- Fear is Never Boring from millsfilms on Vimeo.

But Rob was even in bands before the Raisins. In his teens, he was in a band called the Red Hot Tots… which would also be a great name for a side dish at Applebee’s.

Legendary Mad magazine illustrator Mort Drucker, who died on April 9th, did the album cover art for The Bears self-titled debut album. Here’s a CityBeat article about how that happened.

Rob’s house concerts are most assuredly NOT hippie-strumming-acoustic-guitar affairs…

Rob is plugged in and amped up (in more ways than one… the energy of that guy!) and can add backing tracks via his studio-like wizardry. Check out his most recent show below and you’ll see what we mean.