Month: August 2020

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 42: Matt Soden, Your Little Green Amigo

97X, podcast

Matt Soden moved to Oxford on Memorial Day weekend in 1990 and immediately got hooked by 97X’s annual Modern Rock 500. He parlayed his college radio experience into a DJ gig at the station for a year and a half, first doing weekend shifts, then overnights, and eventually evenings. We chat with Matt about crazy callers, drunken door knockers, Kermit the Frog inpersonations, and his massive salary… but can’t figure out how he snuck past Department of Defense screeners.

Before he worked at 97X, Matt had a gig at a Chess King clothing store. He probably can still get you a deal on parachute pants.

Matt has enjoyed reconnecting with his 97X past via the Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast, as well as the WOXY Forever Facebook group.

5K is OK by us

97X, podcast, Uncategorized

The 97X Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast recently hit the 5,000 downloads mark on Podbean, our podcasting host site.

That’s not too shabby for a ragtag duo that started out a year and a half ago with ZERO expectations.

97X era… and now

We’re flying by the seat of our pants (provided Dave remembers to wear them), and working on a shoestring budget, with gear that would make a Mr. Microphone seem high-tech.

Since November of 2018, Dave and I have posted more than 40 episodes, and have interviewed dozens of station staffers and quite a few listeners from back in the day. It’s been a blast reconnecting with all the cool kids.

We’re not setting the podcasting world on fire, but we’re bringing back fond memories for a small squad of dedicated 97X fans (and having a blast in the process).

Hmm, we probably should read that someday…

97X station co-owner Doug Balogh had a list of “Balogh-ages” – simple suggestions for business success. #23 was “Remember to say THANK YOU.”

“The Falcon”

So THANK YOU for listening!

And if you have a friend or three that might enjoy some “Rumblings from the Big Bush,” tell ’em to click the 5K button below to get to our Podbean page. They can also catch episodes on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

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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: