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 to John Erhardt, who passed away earlier this year. We also talk about his tour blogging (Robert Christgau loves it and we do too!), his day job as a music teacher… and Superchunk.
Mark’s tour diary entries are profound, poignant… and often hilarious as well. (Who doesn’t love a good Snack of the Day review?) The archive is on Wussy’s website here. Robert Christgau, “the dean of American rock critics” loves Mark’s writing. He loves Wussy too – you can read his brief reviews of each Wussy release here.
Mark and Chuck Cleaver both wrote fond tributes to John Erhardt, who played in both the Ass Ponys and Wussy. Read them here.
Yes, you read that right, it’s the 32nd livestream from Wussy band members… each one is a true gem, showcasing brilliant songwriting and playful banter. Check them out here and if you can, cough up some cash for the tip jar.
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, which won 97Xposure in 2002, and he joined Wussy as their bassist that same year when they expanded from a duo to a full band. He also released a 2018 album under the INERT moniker, and his day job is working as a music teacher in the Cincinnati Public Schools district. In this first of a two-part interview, we talk to Mark about INERT, the perks of winning 97Xposure, and what 97X meant to local bands and true music fans.
Mark Messerly and Brian Ewing
Here’s the Messerly & Ewing song “Shallow Grave” which got plenty of airplay on 97X as part of their 97Xposure win.
Messerly & Ewing “Shallow Grave”
Messerly and Ewing-Shallow Grave
“With Pixies/Nirvana-esque dynamics, clever lyrics and giant sized hooks, these supposed Folk rockers teach the world to sing the best local Pop song of the year.”
CityBeat Cincinnati
Check out this CityBeat Local Roots Music Primer from 2001 for a mention of M&E and several other great local bands, including a couple with 97X connections (Big in Iowa featured Mr. K, and Monkey Biscuit was led by Rob Ervin). And here’s a nice M&E CityBeat feature from 2015.
Messerly and Ewing Band, Bunbury 2012 with MidPoint found Sean Rhiney on bass and MidPoint and Bunbury founder Bill Donabedian on drums. Photo credit: Michael A. Kearns
Three Messerly & Ewing albums can be found on Bandcamp.
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. Decades later, he’s still promoting great live music, as co-owner of MOTR Pub and the Woodward Theater in Over-the-Rhine. Dan shares some amazing memories from his Sudsy’s days (Morphine, Jesus Lizard, Mercury Rev… and Reverend blood on the sidewalk), and talks about why indie venues are crucial to up-and-coming bands. (Oh, this live episode also features special guest appearances from Rictile and Howard Cohen of The Cereal Killers.)
MOTR and The Woodward, like many indie venues across the country, have been shuttered by COVID-19 and need our help. All of us can #SaveOurStages by taking action (writing congresspeople, donating to an indie venue emergency relief fund, etc.) at NIVAssoc.org.
MOTR Pub’s credo sounds a lot like the way 97X operated back in the day.
The building that housed Sudsy Malone’s (daytime laundromat/bar and nighttime rock club) was recently knocked down. Dan McCabe shared some Sudsy’s memories in this interview with Chris Varias (also a partner in MOTR and the Woodward Theater) on Cincinnati.com.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity I was given there to work with local music and music fans. It was fantastic. The ‘90s were pretty crazy. The ‘90s were when music became accessible. There was no longer this magical laboratory on a hill. Live music and clubs like that were where the bands would bubble up from. You would see them at Sudsy’s one day and MTV the next. It was pretty fun that way.”
Dan McCabe in the Cincinnati Enquirer article linked above
Dan also has played in several Cincinnati-based bands, most notably Roundhead. Here’s a Roundhead reunion panel from earlier this year:
Another partner in MOTR and the Woodward is Chris Schadler, who booked bands at Southgate House starting in the late 90s.
We all miss live music… and we need these great venues to still be in operation when the pandemic has passed. Please visit NIVAssoc.org and do what you can to help #SaveOurStages.
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 program director role. This episode features stories about Bob Mould, Richard Thompson, comedian Chip Chinery, angry Goo Goo Dolls, Folgers coffee, fax machines, Hawaiian honeymoons and a great promo featuring Phil doing his Morrissey impersonation. And somehow we manage to squeeze in some serious thoughts from Phil about the things that made 97X so special.
Phil’s in the front row, 2nd from left, at the infamous Day in Eden outdoor concert at Eden Park.
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.)
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:
The snippet above is from the most recent Facebook live stream from John Doe (of the 97X “house band” X). The gig is great – he even does a Replacements cover. You can watch the whole thing here.
John Doe totally gets it… “put a freakin’ mask on!” That way we can all have more fun in the new world.
Billy Zoom’s mask is not CDC-compliant… in his defense, it was in 1983.
Bill Douglas (a.k.a. “Billy D the Fresh MC”) spent most of the 90s working at 97X, starting out as a weekender back in 1990 when he was still in school at Miami University, and continuing on (in two stints) through December of 1998. We chat with Bill about the Free Music Break that gave him his 97X break, as well as his current radio gig(s) and his longtime side hustle with the Cincinnati Reds (trust us, you’ve heard him).
Billy D. cited the 97X 10th Anniversary Show at Bogart’s (Barenaked Ladies, Too Much Joy, Royal Crescent Mob and Love Cowboys) as one of his favorite live shows. Here’s a shot from that evening:
L to R: Mike Taylor, Dave Tellmann, Damian Dotterweich, Brian Ewing, Bill Douglas, Phil Manning (manning the microphone), Julie Maxwell, Rictile, Laura Kim, Jae Forman and… Kristin Smallwood perhaps?
Billy D. also has fond memories of playing softball for the 97X squad.
Front row: Rictile, Julie Maxwell and Jae Forman Back Row: Steve Baker, Bill Douglas, Phil Manning… and two ringers.
Here’s a shot of Bill as part of some sort of Scentiments/Rock City fashion show. Note Dave giving his best “Blue Steel” look.
L to R: Laura Kim, Dave Tellmann, Julie Maxwell, Bill Douglas, Phil Manning and Jae Forman
Corona-cooking with Billy D… coming soon to The Food Network.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Websites store cookies to enhance functionality and personalise your experience. You can manage your preferences, but blocking some cookies may impact site performance and services.
Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website.
Name
Description
Duration
Cookie Preferences
This cookie is used to store the user's cookie consent preferences.
