In 1991, Randy Malloy started as an unpaid college intern at WWCD-FM in Columbus, an independent, alternative rock radio station cut from the same cloth as 97X. He held a variety of positions at the station, including promotions director, marketing director, and operations director. In 2011, Randy purchased the station. Together with a dedicated band of staffers, they kept the independent/alternative flame alive for 33 years as the station moved around the radio dial from 101.1 (“CD101”) to 102.5 to 92.9 before eventually signing off on February 1st of this year.
We talked to Randy about his “Ran-sanity” career, how they looked up to 97X, how they programmed the music to let the listeners “pass through them” and why being part of the community was so important to them.
“No one told us that we couldn’t.”
Randy’s passion for the station and the community is patently obvious. Unfortunately, the station went off the air earlier this year when Randy couldn’t reach a workable financial agreement with the station’s corporate owners.
Headline above is from this article in the Columbus Navigator.
Much like 97X, WWCD-FM has a fond place in the hearts of music lovers who craved something more satisfying than mainstream music.
“And yet you could tune in to this radio station where they were playing The Cure and T. Rex and Adrian Belew and Marshall Crenshaw and Siouxsie and the Banshees, and all this other stuff that you couldn’t hear unless you owned the records.”
Like 97X/woxy.com, the station had several brushes with going off the air, somehow surviving… until earlier this year.
Ultimately, what killed WWCD is what made its existence so unlikely back in 1990: Independent radio is more of a labor of love than a business strategy.
We have so much for be grateful for this summer, especially if our cars don’t have vinyl seats.
Let’s peel our butts off our chairs and head to some concerts, shall we?
Tuesday:
Band of Horses plays Bogart’s (I’ll be there with list members Deuce and Matt V.). Maybe I’ll run into BoH drummer Creighton again like I did outside the Ryman in Nashville in 2013.
Former Tom Petty Heartbreaker Mike Campbell and his band The Dirty Knobs play the Taft
Old Crow Medicine Show is at the Rose in Dayton, with Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway also on the bill
Norah Jones plays the Rose on Wednesday.
Thursday gigs:
The Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band and The Tillers play Memorial Hall
Sungaze and Sylmar will be “Rockin’ the Roebling” at Smale Park
Blueswoman Lauren Anderson plays a free show at the Levitt Pavilion in Dayton
The Artimus Pyle Band (“honoring Ronnie Van Zant’s Lynyrd Skynyrd”) plays Ludlow Garage
Whoops, wrong Pyle.
On Friday, Arlo McKinley will headline the “Indie Friday” free show at Fountain Square. And Tye Dye Band (featuring list member John Sandman) will play Carriage House Farms.
Other Friday night gigs:
Riverbend hosts a tribute to Planes, Trains and Automobiles…
OK, actually it’s Boats (Yacht Rock Revue), Train (the band) and Automobiles (REO Speedwagon).
Old Crow Medicine Show will be roosting at the Cindy Brady, with the Del McCoury Band – Tiger better behave himself!
Whiskey Myers plays the Rose, with Whitey Morgan & the 78s and Reid Houghton
The Samples play Ludlow Garage
Whoops, wrong Samples. Wrong band too!
On Saturday, there are two festivals of note(s):
Or you can head to the Madison Theater to catch Genesis ReTouched – a Cincy band that claims “our live shows capture the aural and visual essence of Genesis between the mid 80’s and late 2000’s.” So go to the (Tony) Banks to get money for tickets, then treat yourself to a Tom Collins at the show while the ersatz Phil Collins steps up to the Mike (Rutherford). Gotta be better than the other Genesis gig in the area:
Next Sunday (7/14):
Lake Street Dive plays the Bobby Brady, with The Lemon Twigs as the opener
Southgate House hosts The Good People Festival, a benefit for the Incubator Kitchen Collective. Featured acts include: The Local Honeys, Maria Carrelli, Ben Knight & David Faul, Stephen J Williams & The 1865, Ray Vietti, Tinfoil Hat Cowboys, Chelsea Ford, and Adam Lee
And Ludlow Garage has the “We Love Zappa” tour:
On Monday, 7/15, Hurray for the Riff Raff will play the Woodward, with Hannah Frances. I’ll be there… mostly because I’m riffraff, but also because the last H4TRR show at the Woodward gave me all the feels.
Musiq Soulchild kicks off a three-night residency at the Ludlow Garage on Tuesday, 7/16.
On Wednesday, 7/17, The Tillers play a free show at the Delhi Park Pavilion, and The SunBurners do the freebie at Burnet Woods. Both shows start at 7 p.m. (although Delhi is so far west that it might be on Central Time).
Jon Spencer plays MOTR on Thursday, 7/18, with IdleAires opening the 8 p.m. show, which, in a concession to the average age of Jon Spencer fans, will offer some seated tickets.
That evening (7/18) also features an overwhelming slate of free shows:
Erin Coburn plays Smale
Carriers play Washington Park
Buffalo Nichols (blues) at Levitt in Dayton
RiversEDGE in Hamilton has Foreigner’s Journey with Draven & the Ravens
Lawrenceburg Civic Park hosts Gone 2 Paradise: the Ultimate Jimmy Buffett Tribute
Fairfield Village Green features The Eagles Project
Marsha Brady (the band) plays the Marsha Brady Ault Park
On Friday, 7/19, Aaron Lee Tasjan headlines the Indie Friday show at Fountain Square. I’ll be there, and you should go too!
“My most effective tool in sharing my music and live performances with new listeners is word of mouth, and you can do so much to support me when you invite people into this lovely little world we’ve built and continue to build.”
Aaron Lee Tasjan
That same evening:
Torres plays the Woodward
moe. plays the Rose in Dayton, with Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country
Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire play Riverbend
Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience will play for free at Levitt in Dayton
Ludlow Garage has Adrenalize: the Ultimate Def Leppard Experience
If you want to catch the band X on their farewell tour, they’ll be at their closest stop to the Tri-state: The Vogue in Indy. Here’s a tune from their new album, out 8/2:
Acoustic Alchemy plays the Ludlow Garage on Saturday, 7/20, and Rick Springfield and Richard Marx play the Fraze in Dayton.
That ageless cat Al Stewart plays Ludlow Garage on Sunday, 7/21 and MOTR hosts Thelma & The Sleaze.
Monday, 7/22, PNC Pavilion hosts Slash’s S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival, with blues stars Keb’ Mo’, ZZ Ward and Jackie Venson on the bill. (In case you were wondering, “S.E.R.P.E.N.T. is an anagram that stands for Solidarity, Engagement, Restore, Peace, Equality N’ Tolerance.” And now you know. Quiz next week.)
The Best Sibling Duo from Dayton ain’t the Wright Brothers
Orville and Wilbur are no match for Kim and Kelley Deal. A Breeders show at the Henry Miller Library near Big Sur got rained out last fall, so they played an impromptu stripped-down gig among the redwoods. Gorgeous!
It’s always a treat to feel the Heat
The Reverend Horton Heat put on a spectacular (free) show at the Levitt Pavilion in Dayton on 6/22 (wrapping up their encore with a killer version of Motorhead’s “Ace of Spades.”) List members Dave Tellmann, El Blanco, Michael T. and I were there, along with list member Gene “The Photo Machine” Dow, who snapped these stellar shots:
You can check out more of Gene’s photos from the show here, and view more from his portfolio here. Gene’s available for weddings, senior photos, and general lifestyle photography, yet he refused to do a bit of boudoir photography for me. I can’t imagine why not.
Valley Heat is a treat too!
I know I’ve sung the praises of the Valley Heat podcast before. It’s the aural equivalent of Fernwood 2 Night meets Arrested Development. Hilarious. In the clip below, the host Doug sings the praises of the lowly 8-track, while also pointing out the challenges of playing an LP … and taking a few spot-on shots at vinyl snobs.
I missed the hottest heat
List member Mighty Joe Sampson pointed out a glaring omission from last week’s heat-related visuals:
Jesse is a friend, with some really cool friends
In December, Jesse Malin will be back on stage for the first time since his spinal stroke in May of ’23. And he has an all-star cast joining him for two benefit shows (read more on Relix). The first gig on 12/1 sold out quickly; the 12/2 show still has a few tickets left.
Life imitates Art (but not Art Garfunkel)
Album Cover of the Week(s) – Retail Nostalgia Edition
Why yes, that is Bonnie Raitt’s dad John Raitt in the middle… and yes, that’s a Record Theatre 4.99 sticker too!
This band is as-advertised… they look pretty plain to me. And yes, that’s a Swallen’s sticker! Maybe this album was free with the purchase of any white appliance.
Wait a minute, something ain’t right with that button…
There, fixed it!
Friends, we’re gathered together today for a very special episode of “97X Rumblings from the Big Bush” as we pay tribute to the man who saw Jesus at McDonald’s at midnight. The man who impregnated Debbie Gibson. The man whose antipathy for Don Henley knows no bounds, and whose love for Martha Quinn is eternal. The man, the myth, the Mojo-est MoFo of them all. The Bo-Day-Shus Mr. Mojo Nixon!
(Photo above is from Mojo’s last performance, on the Outlaw Country Cruise.)
Dave “The Dick Cavett of Modern Rock” interviewed Mojo in 1990, and that interview clip is part of this episode – and stick around for his live in-studio performance of “I’m in love with Oprah” from 97X back in 1986.
Here’s a recent photo of Mojo with Dave… Mojo’s wearing the same shirt in this photo that he was wearing during his final performance!
Every performance was entertaining. You’d never know he was a double-major (political science and history) graduate of Miami University…
And every Mojo encounter was memorable… here’s 97X super-listener Dave Lenehan’s tales:
Mojo went out in his trademark, inimitable style.
Here’s another song Mojo did in the 97X studios in 1986, with Mr. K.
A Mojo promo liner from the station:
Vinyl album from the 97X studio:
In recent years, many of us have enjoyed listening to Mojo on Outlaw Country. Here’s their blog post interview with him from 2017.
A Mojo documentary came out last year.
Rest in peace, Mojo… you’ll always be on our Wall of Fame.
Nearly five years ago, Dave and Damian started a podcast about 97X. They had no idea what they were doing.
They still don’t know what they’re doing, but they DO know that as they stumbled through nearly a hundred episodes, they had a blast reconnecting with station staffers, listeners, advertisers, record reps, and even some bands that made the station so special.
But now they’ve caught up with nearly everyone affiliated with the station (in both the 97X and woxy.com era).
They had the distinct privilege of co-hosting the Mercantile Library’s event with 97X book author Robin James.
They helped usher the 2023 97X Modern Rock 500 from crazy idea to amazing reality, thanks to more than 30 former DJs, Dave’s son Jack (producer extraordinaire) and our friends at Inhailer Radio.
Dave and Damian sucked at promoting the podcast, but somehow, some way, through the magic that was and IS 97X, listeners found it:
“I am not sure you guys realize just what impact having this modern rock format has had on my life… your podcast has brought about all of these thoughts, feelings, and memories of the soundtrack of 21 years on my life. I thank you for playing your part in it back then and I thank you for creating this podcast to help me process just what those 21 years have meant to me.”
“Anyway, I know you’ve heard it before, but you did a hell of a job preserving the mental health of lots of weird sullen people in our corner of the Rust Belt. I cried real drunken tears from Baltimore when the terrestrial signal died and I’ll never be able to tell you how important you all were in helping me get to adulthood.”
“Thanks for the pod. It is like finally being able to talk with someone about the treasure that was WOXY.”
“There are so many bands and songs that make me think so fondly of 97X. 97X will forever have a place in my heart.”
“That was about the only good thing about where I lived: 97X came in crystal clear and was like an oasis among the fields of corn. The music you played opened my mind and heart to soundscapes so different than anything I’d ever known. You took me to places I was sure I’d never get to go. How lucky was I!… Really I just wanted to let you know how much 97X meant to me in my teen years. You truly saved me. I can’t fully express how much you did. But I am Here in large part because of this station. You gave me hope and an outlet. I heard you, and my spirit felt heard in return.
Thank you, friend, for listening. So long for now…
Did you go to the big show downtown last night? I did! It was everything I hoped for and more!
I’m referring, of course, to the Dave Alvin & the Guilty Ones show in downtown Dayton at the Levitt Pavilion, with Dayton’s own The Mulchmen doing a stellar opening set.
Why yes, that is Jim McPherson of The Breeders on drums for The Mulchmen. I challenged him to an arm-wrestling contest after their set. It did not end well for me.
The Mulchmen and Dave Alvin both sounded great – Dave even busted out a few Blasters tunes. Admission was free, and Levitt Pavilion allows attendees to bring their own food and beverages (cans only). Such a deal!
Alrighty, let’s take a gander at some upcoming live shows in the Tri-state area.
Tonight, it’s The Invasion of the Swifties, Part II. I’m not a Taylor-lover (or ex-lover… no songs about me) but I’m also not a hater. CincyMusic had a great take on Taylor-mania:
Just down the street from Paul Brown Stadium (that payroll company isn’t paying me, so I’m using the old name), local blues wunderkind Erin Coburn will be playing at Sawyer Point at 4 p.m., followed by The Classic Rock Experience (6pm) and the AC/DC tribute band Thunderstruck (8pm).
Greensky Bluegrass is at the Bobby Brady.
Levitt Pavilion in Dayton (perhaps you’ve heard of it?) has another freebie show tonight, featuring Ernie Johnson from Detroit.
Last but not least (except in Liam Gallagher’s rankings), Noah Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Garbage and Metric are at Riverbend.
Then there’s a bit of a lull in live gigs as we celebrate our independence with discount fireworks.
On Thursday:
Tab Benoit plays a free show at the Levitt Pavilion in Dayton (yes, that place again)
Noah Wotherspoon will be “Rockin’ the Roebling” in Smale Park (the stage by Moerlein)
The Harmed Brothers Duo does a freebie at Washington Park
Candlebox is at Bogart’s
Chicago is at the PNC Pavilion
(Yours truly will be at Summerfest in Milwaukee, watching Jenny Lewis, Horsegirl, The Regrettes, The War on Drugs and perhaps a bit of Dinosaur Jr.)
Friday:
Lettuce and Steel Pulse play the PNC Pavilion
3 Doors Down and Candlebox are at the Rose Music Center
The Steve Miller Band will be at The Hard Rock Casino (“Take the money and run”…)
Kansas plays the Taft
The Sunburners play a free show at Stanbury Park in scenic Mt. Washington (a.k.a. “Anderson Heights”)
(Yours truly will still be in Milwaukee, watching the Reds-Brewers game)
Saturday (7/8) shows:
Future Islands are at Bogart’s
Lettuce and Steel Pulse head up the road to the Rose
For those who just can’t get enough T-Swizzle (or couldn’t drain their bank account for tickets), RiversEdge in Hamilton! has Kanin Wren’s Taylor Swift Experience for free.
Dream Theater is at the Ovation in Newport on Sunday (7/9) and Post Malone plays Riverbend.
Belinda Carlisle goes (or Go-Gos) to the Rose Music Center on Tuesday, July 11th.
The High Kings play Memorial Hall on Thursday, July 13th, and RiversEdge has “Nirvani” and “Fooz Fighters.” (Isn’t “Dave Grull” in both of those bands?)
Braxton Brewing in Covington, KY is hosting the Paradise Music and Beer Festival on 7/14-15:
Also on Friday, July 14th, Jessica Lea Mayfield headlines the free show at Fountain Square. I’ll probably make that gig. You should join me, unless you’re the type of person who likes Neil Diamond, then you can catch Super Diamond, the Neil Diamond tribute band, at Ovation.
Other shows on Saturday, July 15th:
Ruby Vileos has an album release show at The Loon in Northside, with special guest Tyler Ramsey (formerly of Band of Horses).
Fall Out Boy plays Riverbend
George Thorogood & the Destroyers are at Fraze Pavilion
The Cincy Blues Fest happens in Fairfield
Jesse is a friend…
… and he needs our help. Longtime “This week in live music” favorite Jesse Malin was climbing onto the bar at Webster Hall in NYC during a concert in late March…
In early May, he suffered a rare spinal stroke, and has been paralyzed from the waist down since. A Sweet Relief fund has been set up to help with Jesse’s medical bills.
“The reports from the doctors have been tough, and there’s moments in the day where you want to cry, and where you’re scared. But I keep saying to myself that I can make this happen. I can recover my body.”
We mentioned the Ruby Vileos album release earlier… Billy Alletzhauser’s other band The Hiders also is working on some new music. Dave Tellmann and I chatted with Billy and his Hiders bandmate Beth Harris about that (and towns in Arkansas… and Ass Ponys… and much more) in the latest episode of the 97X Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast.
Modern Rock 500 heavy hitters
97X superfan Scott Buckley created an interactive data visualization that allows you to get a snapshot view of the various artists in the 2023 97X Modern Rock 500 on Inhailer Radio and quickly see where their songs landed. Check it out here.
Speaking of Inhailer Radio, former 97Xers Matt Sledge and Jae Forman now have weekly airshifts there, along with list member Ken Laube (Fridays 3-7pm).
Album Cover of the Fortnight
Dennis Coffey makes his own Declaration of Independence. He’s a red, white and blue (and maroon and fuchsia) hero!
On May 11th, author Robin James discussed her new book The Future of Rock & Roll: 97X and the Fight for True Independence at The Mercantile Library, with your friendly neighborhood podcast hosts Dave and Damian. The event was streamed via Crowdcast, but due to the dreaded technical difficulties, the first 10 minutes of the discussion have been lost to the ether. However, we reconnected with Amy Hunter from the Mercantile Library staff so she could reprise her intro and then this episode picks up the discussion when the audio came onto the Crowdcast feed.
The event was co-sponsored by Downbound Books and Shake It Records. Approximately 200 folks were in attendance, many sporting their vintage 97X and band t-shirts:
Amy B. Hunter gave the intro. Learn more about The Mercantile Library here.
Dave – the James Lipton of modern rock.
Many 97X staffers and loyal listeners were in attendance. L to R above: Gentleman Jim Mercer, Dave, Robin James, Damian, Matt Harris.
Bill “Billy D” Douglas and his lovely bride serve as book models. (If you’d like to order a copy or three of Robin’s book, you can do so here through Downbound Books.)
Howard Cohen from Great Lakes Brewing supplied the adult beverages. (Howard also is lead singer of the local band Cereal Killers.)
I let you down yet again (you should be used to it by now). I’m tardy with my list of gigs so I didn’t get to tell you about the New Pornographers show at Memorial Hall last night. That said, the show was sold out. Besides, I don’t know why people need New Pornographers, the old ones still work just fine.
Tonight, Southgate House is hosting The Nude Party. (It’s a band, get your mind out of the old pornographers gutter.)
OK, let’s focus on the future. The Future of Rock and Roll, that is. Robin James wrote the book about 97X, and thanks to Northside’s Downbound Books and Shake It Records, she’ll be talking about it with a couple of knuckleheads at the Mercantile Library this Thursday. If you’re one of the faithful 200 who registered for this event, you can hear from Robin, get a book signed and enjoy some tasty Great Lakes Brewing Co. beverages courtesy of our ol’ pal Howard Cohen (Cereal Killers… more on them later).
If you can’t attend in person, you can stream the event on Crowdcast here. (Great Lakes Beer not included.)
Tomorrow night, Richard Thompson plays a solo acoustic show at the 20th Century Theater. I’ll be there, of course. Forget about King Charles III, to me, King Richard is the Brit who rules.
KT Tunstall and Martin Sexton are also playing a double bill tomorrow, at Memorial Hall.
On Thursday, if you can’t make the Merc, Memorial Hall is hosting An Evening with the Cowboy Junkies.
Wait, wrong sort of Cowboy Junkie…
Friday night, Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker from the band Wussy are playing at my house. (Apparently they didn’t learn their lesson from the first time I hosted them back in October of 2022 and totally fanboyed out.)
John “Don’t call me Cougar” Mellencamp also kicks off a two-night stand at the Aronoff on Friday. And The Comet hosts BurritoFest 2023 on Friday and Saturday.
The Taft Theatre has some interesting shows lined up:
An Evening with Natalie Merchant on Sunday
The Wood Brothers with Shovels & Rope on Tuesday, May 16th
David Cross on Thursday, May 18th
Roger McGuinn does a “Songs & Stories” gig at Memorial Hall on 5/18.
On Friday, May 19th, Cereal Killers play at MadTree Brewing in Oakley. 7-11 p.m. First beer’s on me.
I won’t be dressed like that… unless you ask nicely.
That same evening, Frank Turner plays Bogart’s and Leo Kottke is at Ludlow Garage.
On Saturday, 5/20, Dopapod is at the Madison Theater, Steve Goodie and Eric Gnezda play a comedy music show in Florence, KY, and Fountain Square hosts the KISS tribute band Strutter.
The Gem City shines
Dayton, Ohio (birthplace of flight… and the Deal sisters) has some really nice freebie shows coming up this summer at the Levitt Pavilion downtown, including Dave Alvin, John Doe, Tab Benoit, Ernie Johnson from Detroit, and Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys. The first gig is The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band on Thursday, June 1st. Check out the full lineup here.
Mailbag
List member Mighty Joe Sampson, a resident of a posh Cincy suburb, wrote:
This longtime subscriber is formally objecting to your slanderous comment about Madeira aka “the friendly town.”
You’re right, Joe. Madeira is very accepting of strangers… as long as they follow the instructions to leave the DoorDash food delivery on the front porch.
Those wacky Brits… I don’t know how in the heck you can guard a horse when your helmet obstructs 70% of your field of vision and your “chin” strap is well above your chin. But… “tradition!”
After 97X signed off in 2004, “the future of rock and roll” stayed alive as woxy.com – with many fits and starts (and stops) along the way. “Angel investors”… LaLa.com… Future Sounds… Oxford… Longworth Hall in Cincinnati… Austin, Texas. The dot-com version had several homes, and more lives than a cat, before finally ending quite abruptly on March 23, 2010.
We talk to the folks who experienced all those ups and downs, and lived to tell the tale: Shiv, Mike Taylor, Joe Long, Brian Niesz, and Bryan J. Miller share their stories of the woxy.com era.
Matt Shiv (l) (music director) and Mike Taylor (program director) from WOXY.com
One of the highlights of the move to woxy.com (and the move to a former recording studio in Cincinnati) was the expansion of live, in-studio performances – the fabled “Lounge Acts” engineered by Brian Niesz.
And Brian Niesz, who moved back to Cincinnati after the Austin demise of woxy.com, now works at WCPO-TV (Channel 9) and revived the Lounge Acts format.
Kerry Gray was the program director at 97X in the late 80s/early 90s, and a radio “lifer.” He was a real live wire – super-energetic, enthusiastic, funny as heck… and also completely into the music. In fact, Kerry and Phil Manning teamed up to expand the back catalogue of the station, and they also launched the first ever “Modern Rock 500” in 1989.
In this episode, Julie Maxwell, Julie Maxwell, Jeff Rohrs, Mike Taylor and Steve Baker join Dave and Damian to share their remembrances, and the episode wraps up with some archival audio of Kerry and Brett Heartz on-air at 97X back in October of 1989.
Kerry also launched the radio career of “Bubba the Love Sponge” – whom Kerry met at a nightclub in Terre Haute, Indiana, then brought onto his show as an intern. In 2016, Kerry was on his way a new job as co-host of a syndicated morning show with Bubba in Florida when he was in a car accident. At the hospital, testing revealed multiple tumors on his brain… and Kerry battled brain cancer for a year before passing away in March of 2017 at the age of 50.
Very fitting that Kerry’s celebration of life was a dance party.
KERRY began his radio career at 15 and spent 30+ years in radio, which included WEQX/MANCHESTER, VT-ALBANY, NY, KBCO/DENVER, WEDG (103.3 THE EDGE)/BUFFALO, and CJXY (Y108)/HAMILTON, ON.
KERRY had a larger-than-life personality and a really great heart. His presence made people around him want to be better. He was one of the sweetest and weirdest guys I ever knew.” — former WEDG Program Director James Kurdziel
It’s pretty exciting stuff if I do say so myself… granted, I’m not exactly an impartial observer.
Let’s observe the bands who are coming to town over the next couple of weeks, shall we?
Tonight, Southgate has Rock’n Revival for the Cure, with a slew of local bands:
And Ark Band plays Ludlow Garage.
On Sunday, Ben Levin plays Schwartz’s Point, and Ludlow hosts Nektar… no relation to keytar.
On Wednesday, The Dollyrots play Southgate, with The Von Tramps at the opener, and Altan fiddles around at Ludlow Garage.
Thursday evening, Billy Strings kicks off a sold-out three-night run at the Greg Brady.
Greg Brady loved Strings!
That same evening, Kenny Wayne Shepherd will at the Taft, doing a 25th anniversary tour of his Trouble Is… album.
Friday, Billy Strings has a second helping of the Peter Brady.
Don’t Bogart your Billy Strings tickets.
That same day, Ben Levin plays happy hour at Element Eatery, The Huntertones and Doc Robinson play Woodward, and Vanessa Carlton is at Ludlow. Oh, and ’tis St. Paddy’s Day, too.
Next Saturday, Bogart’s hosts Rumours: A Fleetwood Mac tribute. And Billy Strings plays Night 3 at the Marsha Marsha Marsha Brady.
Marsha Brady thinks Billy Strings is hotter than Alice’s pot roast
And NRBQ rocks the Ludlow Garage.
Southgate House has an embarrassment of riches on Tuesday, March 21st:
The Casey Campbell Band and El Dorado play the main room
Adam Weiner (of Low Cut Connie) plays the Revival Room upstairs
On Wednesday, March 22nd, The Quebe Sisters are at Southgate, and Dead Letter Office (yes, an R.E.M. tribute band), plays Ludlow Garage.
On Thursday, 3/23:
Beth Harris and Freedom Nicole Moore play a freebie at the Listing Loon in Northside
Leo Sayer plays Ludlow Garage
Blake Shelton plays the Coliseum
On Friday, 3/24:
Whiskey Bent Valley Boys, Slippery Creek and Mike Oberst are at Southgate
Them Dirty Roses and The Josephines play the old Annie’s
Aronoff Center has The Blues is Alright tour:
Pokey Bear, second cousin of streetwise informant Huggy Bear on Starsky & Hutch
On Saturday, March 25th:
They Might Be Giants play a sold-out gig at Madison Theater.
Florence Dore plays Southgate (her backing band includes Will Rigby and Gene Holder of the dBs, and Son Volt’s Mark Spencer)
Aronoff has The Simon & Garfunkel Story (per the press release: “The show features huge projection photos, original film footage, and a full live band performing all of Simon & Garfunkels’s hits, including “Mrs. Robinson,” “Cecilia,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “Homeward Bound,” and many more.” In other words, since Paul and Artie will never share a stage again, holograms will have to suffice.)
And if the fates cooperate and the stars align, your humble scribe will be in NYC that evening for this show:
On Sunday, 3/26, New Edition (which really should be called Old Edition at this point) will be at the Coliseum, with Keith Sweat, Guy and Tank. Note: “Guy” is a band and “Tank” is another band… in case you were expecting this:
Instant Karma
In our last missive, we mentioned that Dan “Reds: 2027 World Series Champs” Lewis loves Debbie Gibson… right after we listed some incorrect tickets-on-sale info. So who do you think pointed out our error almost immediately?
I’ll refrain from pointing out that we listed TTB, not DTB…
Dan is a superfan of both Dwight and The Mavericks, so the PNC gig is a dream date for him. (So is Debbie Gibson, btw.)
Like father, like son
Dan’s son Cullen also is a music superfan, and in a recent edition of his Substack newsletter he linked to this really cool “Music Map” site where you can type in the name of a band you like and it’ll suggest other bands you may enjoy.
Your own personal hit factory
HT to list member Todd Butler for the link.
Album Cover of the Week
This album came out yesterday. If your band’s name is “The Atomic Bitchwax” you are contractually obligated to play the Freak Valley Fest. It’s a combination as classic as peanut butter and jelly…. or Dan Lewis and Debbie Gibson.
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