Musical musings from aging hipsters
“The Lovely & Talented Elizabeth Cannon™” started working at Riverbend Music Center (Cincinnati’s 20,000-person capacity outdoor concert amphitheater) as an usher when she was 16… and wound up staying there for nearly 15 years. For…
Continue Reading Episode 58: Elizabeth Cannon, our Riverbend Friend
Doug and Linda Balogh bought 97.7 FM in Oxford, Ohio in July of 1981, adjusted the format to modern rock in September of 1983, and spent 23 years giving their heart and soul to a…
Continue Reading Episode 56: Doug & Linda Balogh, the First Family of 97X
In the mid-80s, Terrence Burke came to Cincinnati from Boston, where he was weaned on a steady diet of Beantown’s finest alternative/indie/college rock stations. He quickly discovered 97X and was hooked. After a few years…
Continue Reading Episode 54: Terrence Burke, from Screed Zine to Master of Puppets
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…
Continue Reading Episode 52: Brian Ewing, an Overnight Success
If we’re being pragmatic during this pandemic, I suppose the only thing we should ask the Jolly Old Elf for is good health. But as fans of live music, we sure do miss concerts. Hey,…
Dorsie Fyffe worked at 97X from 1993 to 1998, eventually winding up as Music Director (nominated by Billboard Magazine for “Music Director of the Year”) and afternoon host. During that same era, he led the…
Continue Reading Episode 51: Dorsie Fyffe, the Freest of Free Spirits
We continue our conversation with Mark Messerly, a key player in the Cincinnati music scene. In this episode, he talks about the genius of his Wussy bandmates Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker, and pays tribute…
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,…
Continue Reading Episode 49: Mark Messerly, Music Maker For Life
From 1991-1999, Dan McCabe booked local and national bands (and tended bar, and cleaned the washing machines) at the late, great Sudsy Malone’s on Short Vine, fronting his own money to book the national acts.…
Continue Reading Episode 48: Dan McCabe, Cincinnati’s Premier Promoter
In this podcast episode, we continue our chat with Phil Manning, who joined 97X in the summer of 1988 and was with the station until December of 1994, spending most of those years in the…