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
Monday, Incubus plays Taft with Le Butcherettes as the opening act. Jay Madera is at MOTR with Kaitlyn Peace & the Electric Generals.
On Tuesday, Ludlow Garage hosts Rising Appalachia, The Neighbourhood plays the Short Vine neighborhood at Bogart’s, and Ben Levin tickles the ivories at Arnold’s.
Wednesday marks the return of the band whose name sounds like an dark web site that sells cut-rate ED remedies: Bonerama!
They’re playing Riverfront Live, which used to be Annie’s. (If you’re keeping score at home, yes, that means Bonerama will be performing on Hump Day.)
That same evening, Chris Thile plays Memorial Hall, Marcia Griffiths plays Ludlow Garage, the Dallas Moore Band plays Southgate’s main room and Michael Nau is upstairs in the Revival Room.
On Thursday, The Marcus King Band is at Bogart’s, and Dylan LeBlanc and Night Moves play Southgate.
Friday, the Commonheart plays Taft’s Ballroom, The Rippingtons play Ludlow Garage, and Ambrosia is at Memorial Hall. Jesse Malin will NOT be playing Southgate, much to my dismay.
Saturday is quite busy:
Daniel Martin Moore plays the final Parlor & Patio house concert of 2019 at the home of list members Dave and Jacqui.
Gregory Alan Isakov is at Madison Theater
Jake Book plays Camp Springs Tavern
The David Bromberg Quintet is at Miami U-Hamilton
Melody Guy and Steff Mahan play the Downtowne Listening Room
Last but not least, the old Annie’s will still have a Bone… Thugs-N-Harmony
On Sunday, you can catch Hobo Johnson & the Lovemakers at Bogart’s, or see some NWF Wrestling at Bircus Brewing in Ludlow, KY.
Hot ticket alert
Shovels & Rope is playing Ludlow Garage on 4/8/20. Get tickets here.
Clarification Department
List member Rob Ervin, formerly of the Chris & Rob Late Night Talk Show on WAIF-FM, let us know that when Ben Folds stopped by their show lo those many years ago, he was playing a melodica (not a recorder as originally reported here), and it was Ben’s first interview west of the Appalachian Mountains.
Lipstick on a Pig Department
The Riverfront Coliseum has yet another corporate name. Doesn’t matter, it’s still a dump.
Heritage Bank better order 20 cases of this:
Video of the week
This clip was brought to my attention by list member Dave Tellmann… it’s smokin’ hot.
Shameless self-promotion
Speaking of Dave Tellmann, the latest episode of the 97X Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast that I co-host with Dave is live now, right here. It’s a two-parter with Kevin “Couche” Couch, who worked at 97X in the mid-90s and went on to host the National Lampoon Comedy Radio show on Sirius XM and produce the top rated morning radio show in L.A. He also had a neighbor in the apartment upstairs from his who was dead for two months before being discovered, but that’s a story for another day.
Live shot
I snagged the extra Wilco ticket from Dan “Reds above .500 in 2020!” Lewis. Birthday Boy Danny (his wife calls him a sexagenarian now… and he’s never been to see Bonerama!) had great seats about 8 rows from the stage, and it was an excellent show.
Kevin Couch, a.k.a. Kevin Couche, was an Indiana kid who tuned in to 97X early and never looked back. He wound up working at the station, and later headed to Hollywood to work for the top ranked morning show, do interviews for other radio stations, host a comedy show on Sirius XM, do publicity for Death Row Records and a comedy club… the list is endless.
We had so much fun chatting with Kevin that we made it a two-parter. Check out both episodes as we talk to Couche about his 97X payroll windfall, the Dayton band Brainiac, his many gigs, plus-sized lingerie, Steve Baker, Robyn Hitchcock, Nerf Herder, the Rugburns, Hollywood Hamilton, Sirius XM Comedy, and his current gig in PR.
Couche with Bob Pollard of Guided by VoicesKevin (right) with John Schmersal of Brainiac
Former 97X DJ Brett Heartz needs our help. About a year ago, he was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD), which is incurable. He’s currently on “the list” of folks who need kidney donors, and it could be years before a suitable donor is found.
In the interim, his wife Wendy has given up her management role for an hourly, overnight position so she can help with home dialysis, doctor appointments, treatments, etc. And the medical bills are mounting.
Aaron Borns started at 97X as a student intern (a.k.a. “co-producer”) for the Breakfast Club in 1993, then worked part-time shifts, answered the phones and worked with Julie Maxwell doing promotions. He wasn’t at the station long, but the lessons he learned there served him well during a 20-plus year career doing promotions and marketing at RCA Records. Dave and Damian talk to Aaron about his 97X days, his record label roles… and how he got a free car while he was at 97X.
Aaron is in the top row, far right, in this photo from the 1993 (or 94) Day in Eden concert featuring The Judybats and the Goo Goo Dolls. Promo t-shirt from the 1993 Modern Rock 500
Howdy kids, I’m back from the City of the Big Shoulders, the Windy City. I’d like to propose a toast to my wife, who ran the Chicago Marathon yesterday.
And I’d also like to propose a toast to my Chicago-dwelling friend Jessica, who hooked me up with an extra ticket to the Luna concert at Lincoln Hall last night, where they played their album Penthouse in its entirety.
OK, short week, short post.
Tuesday, Macy Gray plays Ludlow Garage. All That Remains and Lacuna Coil are at Riverfront Live. Capstan plays Top Cats and local musician Zapruder Point is at the Brew House.
On Wednesday, Just Friends, Save Face, the Sonder Bombs and Pool Kids play the Southgate House; Andy Frasco and the UN are at Madison Live; The New Mastersounds are at Ludlow; Sarah Asher plays MOTR with Mavis Guitar, Billy Alletzhauser and Beth Harris; and list member John Sandman’s Tye Dye Band plays Tina’s downtown from 4:30-8 p.m.
Della Mae is at Memorial Hall on Thursday, Charlie Parr has a CD release show in Southgate’s Revival Room, and Brit blues artist Joanne Shaw Taylor is in Southgate’s main room. Brand X is at Ludlow Garage that evening… not to be confused with Kroger’s old generic brand.
Mmm, tasty!
Friday, you can enjoy Cigarettes After Sex… at the Madison Theater. Or you can go to the zombie party hosted by 500 Miles to Memphis at Southgate, in the Sanctuary. The Minks and the Nailers are in Southgate’s Sanctuary, and Arlo McKinley & the Lonesome Sound play Madison Live.
Murphy’s Pub is celebrating 30th years with Dirty Thirty gigs on Friday and Saturday. You can read more in CityBeat.
Taking Back Sunday kicks off a two-night stand at Bogart’s on Friday. Apparently they are trying to corner the market on weekends.
Mmm, tasty!
On Saturday:
Warrick & Lowell play Neltner’s Farm Fall Fest
Rickie Lee Jones is at Ludlow Garage
the father-son duo of Ritt & Wilder Dietz plays the Parlor & Patio house concert in Ft. Thomas
Maurice Mattei is in Southgate’s Lounge
Rob Harris & Marcia Ramirez play a special Downtowne Listening Room show at Covenant First Presbyterian Church
Rhonda Vincent & The Rage are at Miami U – Hamilton
The Cliftones play MOTR
Comedian John Mulaney is at Miami’s main campus
Sunday, John Morgen plays Neltner’s Farm, the Aquadolls are at Top Cats, and the Q102 Bosom Ball is at Madison Theater, with Ingrid Michaelson as the headliner and Maddie Poppe, the Season 16 winner of American karaoke Idol, also on the bill.
My Favorite Record Label
Merge Records was founded by Mac & Laura from Superchunk, so naturally I’m biased, but they have a stellar stable of artists. This year, they were celebrating their 30th anniversary and I subscribed to their “Born Under A Good Sign” promo, which got me a quarterly shipment of surprise/limited edition tunes and some other swag. This quarter, it was a Polvo reissue on green vinyl and a Holiday Sampler on peppermint vinyl.
Mmm, tasty!
Dude to follow on the socials
Speaking of Superchunk, if you’re not following Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster (also drummer for Bob Mould and The Mountain Goats and co-star of The Best Show), you’re missing out. On Insta, he does a “new worst friend” thing when someone sends him a weird photo:
The latest episode of the 97X “Rumblings from the Big Bush” podcast features our chat with Rik Helton, the former owner of CD World, who used to promote his record store by attending indie rock concerts dressed in superhero tights. We also play some other throwback commercials from the 97X airwaves.
97X had dozens if not hundreds of part-time DJs over the lifetime of the station, but no one else can top the tenure of “Gentleman” Jim Mercer, who worked weekend and vacation fill-in shifts for a whopping 14 years, from 1990 through 2004. His dedication and professionalism made him the ultimate weekend warrior. Dave and Damian talk to Jim about his day job, how he got the DJ gig, and how he made his shifts sound so smooth.
Jim nearing the end of a Saturday shift in 2004. This photo was taken by Luann Gibbs.
Like most radio stations, 97X typically had five full-time shifts: mornings, midday, afternoons, evenings and overnight. Having Jim as a part-timer for more than a decade was a luxury. He could — and did — handle any weekend shift, and was always willing to fill in on the evening and overnight shifts to cover vacations.
The NBA gives out a Sixth Man of the Year Award for someone who is the best performer coming off the bench. Gentleman Jim was the 97X equivalent of the Sixth Man of the Year for 14 years running.
Left to right: Jim Mercer, Julie Maxwell, Bakerman, Sledge and Kathy Lucas, at a 97X reunion in 2009.
When Bakerman did the final break on 97X, he gave a special shout-out to Jim.
Jim and Steve Baker in the press box for the Miami-UC game in 2016.
Craig later worked at EMI (shh, don’t tell Johnny Rotten) and is now Director of Music Partnerships at ReverbNation. Please read the entire piece. I love Craig’s passion for the music, and how he’s encouraging all of us to rage against the machine(s):
Amen to that, Brother Craig! Taking his cue, I’ll mention yet again that the new album from Jesse Malin is fantastic, and I’m offering my Double D Money Back Guarantee™ for his show at Southgate House on Friday, November 15th. If you go to the show and aren’t completely satisfied by Mr. Malin’s music and stage presence, I’ll refund your ticket price out of my own pocket.
97X was a small but mighty station in many ways. Being in the outskirts, in the fringes, left of center, off of the strip (to paraphrase Suzanne Vega) with a small (but dedicated) listener base allowed us to get away with stuff that other stations couldn’t or wouldn’t do. Not just with our music playlist (or lack of a playlist, really), but also with the other stuff that made its way to our airwaves, like having a 5th grader do the weather report…
… doing live “remote” broadcasts from the lobby, throwing birthday parties for Abe Vigoda, and sharing secrets from romance novel cover model Fabio.
Sexier than Fabio
In this episode of the 97X Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast, Dave and Damian chat with the 5th grade weatherperson, play some bits, and also announce the winner of the 97X 10th Anniversary “Name the 4th Band” contest.
“Others”?
Congrats to Colin Miller for winning the trivia contest by correctly identifying the 4th band: Sleep Theater.
You can listen to the latest episode via the player above, and you’ll find all the episodes on Podbean, Spotify and iTunes.
Louie Pérez gets it. He knows what being in a band and making music are all about. I’ve been reading the book More Fun in the New World, co-written by John Doe of the band X. It features essays from several early 80s luminaries from the L.A. punk/cowpunk scene: Dave Alvin (The Blasters), Jane Wiedlin and Charlotte Caffey (The Go-Gos), Keith Morris (Black Flag, Circle Jerks), Mike Ness (Social Distortion), Maria McKee (Lone Justice), Sid Griffin (Long Ryders), Peter Case (Plimsouls), Chip Kinman (Rank & File), plus contributions from now-famous fans such as Shepard Fairey and Tony Hawk.
Louie Pérez of Los Lobos wrote about how they became part of that scene. On May 4th, 1980, they opened for Public Image Ltc. and got pelted with spit, beer bottles, loose change… whatever the punk fans could get their hands on. But they didn’t let that dissuade them. Shortly thereafter, they met The Blasters, and became friends with that band. Their big break came when they opened for The Blasters at the Whisky a Go Go. According to Louie, there was a bit of hesistation from the audience, but at least there were no projectiles:
Community… spirit… a good vibe. Yeah, that’s the stuff. Tell us more, LP:
Having a great time with new friends, bonding over a shared love of music. Man, I totally understand that. I feel like the community he’s describing in L.A. in the early 80s also existed among the people who worked at and/or listened to a tiny radio station in Oxford, Ohio, from the early 80s through the mid 2000s.
Our humble abode
That’s why Dave Tellmann and I do our podcast – to share stories, reconnect with the tribe, and keep the flame alive.
The book is well worth a read. And the music made by those bands is certainly worth revisiting.
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