Musician. Producer. Recording Engineer. Photographer. Non-traditional college student… John Curley is best known for his work with the Afghan Whigs, but he’s also played in a few local bands, and produced and/or engineered music for hundreds, mostly at Ultrasuede Studio. He’s still playing, still producing, but recently went back to college as well. We chat with John about all those things — and the worst radio promotion the Afghan Whigs ever did — in this episode.
John Curley, WXPN/former 97X DJ Dan Reed, and Greg DulliThe Afghan Whigs original lineup. John at Ultrasuede Studio (Photo credit: Anna Bentley, the Cincinnati Enquirer)
After 25 years in Camp Washington, John’s Ultrasuede studio (formerly the historic QCA Studio A) was forced out in 2018 when a new owner bought the building . Check out this CityBeat article about Ultrasuede’s final days on Spring Grove Avenue.
Photo credit: John Curley
At the Spring Grove address, John produced and/or engineered essential recordings by numerous acts, including Joe’s band Wussy, The Greenhornes, White Stripes, Ronnie Spector, Patti Smith, Ass Ponys, Buffalo Killers, Magnolia Mountain, Pearlene, Heartless Bastards and Barrence Whitfield & The Savages. His early production successes include the Whigs’ covers EP Uptown Avondale and album tracks such as Congregation’s “Miles Iz Ded” and Gentlemen’s “If I Were Going.” He even recorded the violin-like whine that opens the Whigs’ Black Love album by ambient mic’ing the railroad tracks that wind past the studio and recording the sound of a freight train’s squealing brakes, which were later cross-faded in the mix with a Hammond B-3 organ.
Bill donated $ from the tip jar to Partners in Health, an organization fighting coronavirus in impoverished countries.
The documentary about Chuck Prophet doing a live performance of his album Temple Beautiful with an orchestra is here:
And Bob Dylan released a 17-minute tune about the JFK assassination…
The new album from Waxahatchee, Saint Cloud, is heartily endorsed by list members Rico, Bruce and yours truly. An early contender for album of the year.
New releases from Lilly Hiatt, Clem Snide and Cable Ties are also worth a spin or three.
Tanya Donnelly has a new album coming out with the Parkington Sisters as her backing band. Here’s a nice video from the Parkington Sisters:
The Broken Record podcast is one of my favorites – so far this season they’ve chatted with legends such as Bob Weir, Robbie Robertson and Booker T, as well as whippersnappers like Run The Jewels. And the 97X Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast has a new episode out too.
On a sadder note, John Prine is in critical condition.
Joe Sampson joined 97X as a Miami University student intern (a.k.a. “Breakfast Club co-producer”) in 1993 and stuck around as a weekender after he graduated before moving on to short stint as a writer for CityBeat, and a 12-year career as a news producer at Channel 19 and later Channel 9 in Cincinnati. He now has come full circle as a Miami U. professor. We chat with “Mighty Joe” about his late nights with “Mama Jazz,” 97X softball teams, and his undying love for both Steve Baker and another 97X student intern.
Day in Eden: Joe is in the 3rd row, in the red hat… next to Dave, who is doing his best “Schneider from One Day at at Time” impersonation. Joe in his MU dorm room, circa 1992. He wanted us to note the presence of both Foghat and firehose posters…
Joe is now a Senior Clinical Professor of Journalism (sounds fancy!) at Miami University. His students have won several regional and national journalism awards over the years.
“It’s a major award!!!” Joe is back row center… back row right is Ringo Jones, lead singer of the band Mad Anthony.
As far as we can tell, Joe and his wife Alison are the only former 97X Breakfast Club co-producers who are now married to each other. Alison was a co-producer for Dave and Rictile in the mid-90s as “Connie Consuelo.”
Rumblings from the Big Bush was NOT Joe’s podcast debut. He and another MU prof created a podcast about “being Muslim in the Midwest” as part of a cultural exchange program with the Goethe Institut in Germany.
Lest you think Joe is all work and no play, here’s a photo of him posing with a bunny.
In case you missed it (and there’s a 99.9% chance you did miss it), the podcast that I co-host is yesterday’s news! Er, I mean, it was in yesterday’s Cincinnati Enquirer. What do you mean you don’t subscribe to a newspaper? What do you mean you don’t even know what a ‘newspaper’ is?
Full disclosure: Luann Gibbs used to work at 97X. But neither Dave nor I knew that she was going to mention us.
“Extra, extra… two old guys talk about a radio station that died a decade ago!”
It was our “the new phone book’s here” moment.
Actually, Dave and I don’t harbor any delusions of grandeur. (Occasionally, we do have delusions of adequacy, but we lie down until those go away.) Our podcast is extremely niche. Some podcasts have thousands of regular listeners, some have hundreds… we have “tens” of listeners. As I often say, “we’ve made about 50 people very happy” by bringing back fond memories of a small-but-mighty and much-beloved indie rock radio station. But it’s always nice to get a bit of recognition for the hard work you’ve done.
And now that we’re all under house arrest, there’s never been a better time to check out some new podcasts.
Kathie Lucas went from fast food to “Fast Times at WOXY.” She worked at 97X for a decade, yet was never live on the air. Instead she handled a number of crucial behind-the-scenes roles from 1994-2004… “Director of First Impressions,” Traffic Director (i.e. scheduling the commercials), Promotions Director… she even raised her daughter Sophie at the station! We chat with Kathie about her many roles (including a starring role in a commercial), her Harlequin romance moment, the infamous “butt coolers” at Lollapalooza, and her amazing warehouse stash of 97X promo items.
Kathie and Bryan J. outside the station, with the giant wood-carved Elvis looming in the background Kathie savoring her Dave Matthews moment. 97X staffersJulie Maxwell, Susan Schreiber and Kathie Lucas
Here’s just a sampling of the type of promo items that 97X gave away back in the day:
Ah, the days of floppy discs…
“Gonna be another hot one… better get your ass to the butt cooler!” Kathie with her husband (and Dave’s man-crush) MikeKathie with her daughter Sophie, who spent her baby/toddler years at the station. Both Dave and the Farrah poster are scheduled to appear at the 97X reunion at Bake’s house this summer
16 months ago, Dave and I launched the 97X Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast. We had absolutely no experience in the medium (it showed… still does) and zero expectations. We just liked getting together and talking about the great memories that were formed during our time at 97X, and we thought we’d get the old gang back together, press ‘record’ and put these stories out into the ether, just for kicks.
Over those 16 months, we’ve rediscovered something that we always knew back in our radio days: 97X listeners are a very loyal bunch. Somehow, some way, despite our complete ineptness at self-promotion, the folks who loved 97X/woxy.com found us. I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised — after all these are the same people who had to stick a aluminum-foil-wrapped boombox antenna out their window to tune in back then. But when we get emails at 97Xwoxy@gmail.com like the ones below, it gives us our own Sally Field moment.
From Fred G.:
Hi guys, LOVE the podcast thank you for doing this. I could write an extremely long email trying to explain how much 97X/WOXY meant to me but I would most likely ramble on and on. The reason I am writing, outside of wanting to share me praise is I had a WOXY related memory come up on Facebook today from 2013 and thought I would share it. Here goes:
Was listening to NPR’s “Talk of the Nation”, in the car, on the way home from work. There were talking about personal important moments in radio in response to World Radio Day. The moment that came to my mind was not a big national event. It was the last terrestrial broadcast of Oxford’s Ohio’s 97.7 (97X) (WOXY) “BAM The Future of Rock n Roll”
WOXY was not only one of the first independent “Modern Rock” radio stations in the country but they were OUR station. In a local market that was and is dominated by big Clear Channel cookie cutter stations and talk radio, this was something cool and oh so local. The station started in 1983 and I stumbled upon it in high school around 84 or so and my outlook on music was changed. Not only was there great music but there were the DJs themselves, the quirky self-produced commercials and so much more.
When it was announced in 2004 that WOXY would be ending all broadcast (including internet as far as we knew at the time) I was devastated. 97X went out in style though, which brings me to my whole point: I was trying to listen to the last minutes of the broadcast over the internet on my home computer. Technology was not cooperating, so I had to drive my car to the top of the hill in Mariemont in order to get a signal. (97X was notorious for not having the strongest signal in the Cincinnati area.) So I sat in my car in the dark of an empty parking lot as Steve Baker does his poignant and heartfelt final sign off and then silence…. The internet stream was revived. It was awesome and I loved it so until it too came to an end in 2010, but 97X truly died for me that night in 2004.
Thanks again!! And keep up the great work. Fred Gumbert
Thanks so much for this podcast! It really has made me so nostalgic for my childhood. I grew up in Oxford and religiously listened to the station until I left for college… There are so many bands and songs that make me think so fondly of 97X. 97X will forever have a place in my heart.
From Aaron Borns, former 97X employee later interviewed in Episode 22:
Loving the podcast! Great to hear your voices…and so cool you’re doing this. I discovered them last week…going through them in order and just finished listening to Julie’s episode.
I am so incredibly grateful for being given the opportunity to work at the station for the time I did….I can’t believe my good fortune. It truly was something special, and for you guys to bring those memories back to life in the way that you are is just too much fun (joy? 🙂 ).
From James Brubaker (his research was later featured in this 97Xbam post):
I’ve really been enjoying the podcast. I actually stumbled across it while doing some research for a project I was working on, and figured I’d share it with you guys. Here goes… I recently came across the archive of Modern Rock 500 lists on Craig Froehle’s website, and thought it would be fun to crunch some numbers and come up with a Modern Rock 500 Top 500. So, with the caveats that I had to do some data entry that might have some mistakes, and that Froehle’s site is missing lists for 94 and 98 (well, lists are there, but they appear to just be the 95 list repeated), here’s a ranking of the Modern Rock 500 Top 500: https://jamesbrubaker.net/the-modern-rock-500-500/
Anyway, the podcast is a nice mix of nostalgia and fun behind the scenes info. I’m really digging it. Keep up the awesome work.
Thanks for the pod. It is like finally being able to talk with someone about the treasure that was WOXY. I was overjoyed the times I went back to Oxford to visit old professors (handful of times only) and even more so when I accessed the stream and saw WOXY was still the best station in the universe. It’s absence is a very felt presence still. Thanks for the pod and for the WOXY spirit in which it is produced. Eagerly awaiting each episode!
Thank YOU for listening!
Folks are thanking us when really we should be thanking them for tuning in. As 97X station owner Doug Balogh liked to say, “without listeners we’re like one hand clapping.” Emails like the ones above really warm our hearts (and Dave is one cold-hearted SOB most of the time).
Grumpy Dave
Connecting with you makes us do our happy dance.
Sure, we’re not exactly conquering the podcasting universe… Serial and Joe Rogan don’t need to worry about us overtaking them anytime soon. But I like to think that Rumblings from the Big Bush is the Velvet Underground of podcasting.
“My reputation is far bigger than my sales,” he said with a laugh on the phone from his home in Manhattan. “I was talking to Lou Reed the other day, and he said that the first Velvet Underground record sold only 30,000 copies in its first five years. Yet, that was an enormously important record for so many people. I think everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band! So I console myself in thinking that some things generate their rewards in second-hand ways.”
Brian Eno, in an interview published in the Los Angeles Times in May 1982
We may have only a handful of listeners, but for those dedicated folks, we’ve given voice to the songs in their hearts. We’ve helped them reconnect with some old friends and fond memories, and we’ve had quite a few laughs along the way. That’s success in our book.
Heavy Hinges and 3 other bands play Urban Artifact
Hot Magnolias are at Big Ash
Dave Webster is at Camp Springs Tavern
The Indiana casino circuit is busy with “heritage” acts: The Little River Band is at the Lawrenceburg (IN) Event Center and Blue Öyster Cult plays Belterra in Florence (Indiana, not KY y’all). B.Y.O.Cowbell.
Last but certainly not least, the Warsaw Falcons play Weidemann on Saturday Night as they celebrate the 70th birthday of local legend David Rhodes Brown. Check out this article about DRB.
Left and right photos by Lisa Duesing
On Sunday, Big Ash hosts an Irish Music Jam Session (B.Y.O.Bodhrán) and Geldings play MOTR with El Chapo.
Hot Ticket Alert
The Record Company plays 20th Century Theater on Tuesday, May 19th. Maybe not the hottest of hot tickets, but I thought I’d mention it because 20th Century shows can slip through the cracks.
A self-proclaimed “bit player” at 97X in the late 80s, Timothy Hiatt joined the station fresh out of high school, stayed for only a year, and has gone on to a great career as a world-renowned photographer based in Chicago. Tim talks to Dave and Damian about how 97X still influences his life, his gigs as a music photographer, and how he came full circle with Bob Mould.
Tim at far left, with Mr. K, Kurt Neumann of the BoDeans, Jetson and Sammy Llanas of the BoDeans. Tim chats with John “JJ” Jesser.
Timothy’s clients have included heavy hitters such as Rolling Stone, MTV, VH1, NBC, SiriusXM, Pandora Music and Entertainment Weekly. His work has appeared in dozens of major magazines and newspapers around the world. In 2012, he was #9 on Complex Magazine’s 50 Greatest Music Photographers Right Now list.
Here are some of the amazing shots Tim has taken at shows:
[Iggy really needs no caption] St. VincentFlaming Lips… but of course. Patti Smith. Powerful.
Most of the images on Tim’s website are available as a print – contact him about sizes and pricing. Follow him on Instagram @timothy_hiatt.
Tim went on tour with The Joy Formidable.
Here are videos from two bands Tim has joined on tour.
Steve also was — and still is — THE Voice of Miami Redhawks sports. He’s done play-by-play for Miami football and basketball broadcasts for 31 years. (In fact, he’s done it so long that he was THE Voice of the Miami Redskins back in a less enlightened time.) In my humble opinion, he’s one of the best play-by-play people in the whole wide world.
At 97X, Steve wore many hats: newsman, Breakfast Club host, station manager, engineer… if it needed to be done, Bake did it.
Baker at upper left… total (soft)baller! (front row is Rictile, Julie Maxwell and Jae Forman, back row is Bake, Bill Douglas, Phil Manning, listener Dan Mabry, and some ringer I can’t identify.
He’s still wearing many hats in his gig at Miami University, serving as Assistant Athletic Director/Director of Broadcasting. In addition to his play-by-play duties, Bake also coordinates all the broadcasts for MU sports, including tons of online programming.
But wait, there’s more… Bake’s so talented that he occasionally will sing the national anthem at Miami b-ball games, then do the play-by-play. Here’s photographic proof from a week ago, courtesy of former Breakfast Club co-producer (and now MU professor) Mighty Joe Sampson:
Killer pipes on the courtKiller pipes on the sidelines
Now that’s talent!
At an age when most people are content to veg out on the couch, the already-busy Bakerman managed to squeeze in college classes, and this past December he earned an Associates Degree in Humanities from Miami University. It was the culmination of a dream that started four decades earlier.
He had begun at Miami in the late 70s, but family circumstances pulled him away from his initial degree plans. Soon he began working in radio stations, leading to positions in Hamilton, Richmond (IN), Virginia, and Florida, before returning to Oxford and working at WOXY, the local station what would emerge as a national presence as “the future of rock and roll.”
Here’s an excerpt from our podcast interview with Steve where he talks about his journey.
Read this article for the full story of Steve Baker’s latest accomplishment. I love this line:
In another Middletown class, The History of Rock and Roll, it was Baker who often led the student discussion based on his years of experience.
It’s great that Steve is now an alum of the school to which he’s devoted countless hours over the past 30+ years.
And it’s totally fitting that the man who was THE Voice of a station that always challenged listeners with new music is still finding ways to challenge himself.
Here’s our Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast episode where we interviewed Steve, from January of last year:
Before I tell you what’s cooking this coming week, I have to give a huge shout-out to all the list members who made the killer Cereal Killers gig at MadTree on Saturday afternoon: Dan, Joyce, Amy, Tim, Michelle, Mindy, Lisa, Phil… and at least three Daves!
He’s at MadTree!
In classic Cincinnati fashion, where three degrees of separation would set a new Tri-State record, my college buddy Tim Condron (who went to high school with Cereal Killer’s guitarist Matt Hueneman) was there with his wife, who, unbeknownst to us prior to the gig, works with the wife of my podcast partner Dave. What are the chances?
OK, better stop reminiscing before I turn into a Little River Band tribute band (name: Tiny Creek Ensemble). Let’s get to this week’s rather sparse lineup of gigs.
Tom Keifer, that fella from Cinderella (the hair band, not the Disney movie), plays Bogart’s on Tuesday.
Wednesday, Memorial Hall hosts the Americana duo Drew & Ellie Holcomb.
On Thursday, Brooklyn band Stuyedeyed plays MOTR with Oregon Space Trail and In The Pines. The Whiskey Wolves of the West play Southgate. American Authors and Magic Giant are at Bogart’s, and Ben Levin plays Smoke Justis.
There are a few gigs of note on Friday:
Twiddle plays Madison Theater
Motel Radio hits Southgate, in the Revival Room, with Calumet and Juno Dunes also on the bill.
All-American Rejects play Bogart’s
20th Century Theater in Oakley hosts An Evening with Suzy Bogguss
“Steady Rollin'” Bob Margolin plays the first of back-to-back fundraisers for the Pinetop Perkins Foundation. He’ll be playing the Phone Booth Lounge (sounds cozy) in Kettering with Noah Wotherspoon, Lisa Biales, James Soiberg (longtime guitarist for Luther Allison) and Joe Tellmann (longtime son of podcast co-host Dave).
The Box Tops play Ludlow Garage. The current incarnation features original members Gary Talley and Bill Cunningham (not the bombastic talk radio host). R.I.P. Danny Smythe and the inimitable Alex Chilton.
Bob Margolin is back at it on Saturday (he comes by his “Steady Rollin'” moniker honestly). He’s hosting the 6th Annual Dayton Blues Society Youth Showcase. 22 youngsters from 10 states will be showcasing their blues chops, including local whippersnappers Erin Coburn, Ben Levin and Joe Tellmann, all of whom have learned from blues masters via the Pinetop Perkins Foundation’s annual summer camps in Clarksdale, MS. Great blues for a good cause.
Also on Saturday, local jam band Spookfloaters will be at Fretboard, playing a full set of Jerry Garcia Band tunes and another set of old favorites.
If that’s not trippy enough for you, Memorial Hall has the Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular that same evening.
And if that isn’t trippy enough for you, consider this: 80s pop starlet Tiffany is still a viable commodity… she’s hosting an “Ultimate 80s Party” at Kenwood Mall Bogart’s.
On Sunday, Kulick plays Southgate’s Revival Room.
Hot Ticket Alerts
Andrew Bird, Calexico and Iron & Wine will be at PNC Pavilion on Saturday, June 20th. Neko Case plays Memorial Hall on Sunday, June 28th. (Here’s hoping that she’s in a better mood than she was when she played Taft a few years back. THE most uncomfortable/disappointing fan experience I’ve ever had.) Dead & Co. waft into Riverbend on Monday, July 20th. And summer festival season is just around the corner. Tickets are on sale now for Bellwether in Waynesville:
And Forecastle in Louisville:
I find both festivals’ lineups a bit underwhelming, but maybe I’m just getting old.
The 1975? Is Patty Hearst in that band?
Speaking of which, Bunbury has a great lineup if you are a tween:
Huey’s more of a risk-taker than his spot in the mainstream would suggest. He convinced his label to pay for an unknown Stevie Ray Vaughan to open for the Sports tour. (The fans weren’t ready for it: “He’d be burning it down, and the crowd would go, ‘Huuuey, Huuuey.’ It was the weirdest feeling, hating your audience.”)
Shameless Self-promotion
Shout-out to the Cereal Killers for the nice plug on their Facebook page about this website and the 97X podcast:
I’m blushing!
Since the Cereal Killers mentioned it, there IS a brand-new, piping-hot episode of the podcast available. Bryan Jay Miller (intern, sales, promotions, digital, woxy.com GM) is our guest. Tune in to find our where all the albums, posters and other 97X/woxy.com paraphernalia might be buried.
Album Cover of the Week
An album so white bread that it should come in a Wonder wrapper.
