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.
Phil Manning started at the very bottom of the totem pole at 97X shortly after he graduated from college in 1988. He began with a single weekend overnight shift but gradually worked his way up to program director, and had that role at 97X for nearly five years during the halcyon days of the early to mid 90s. Phil talks about how he got the gig, his interesting side jobs, his roommates, his “whopping” salary and how he became a “radio vagabond” in several major markets after departing 97X in 1994, including spending 10+ years at The End in Seattle and a stint at 91X in San Diego.
Phil at the mic at Bogart’s during the 10th Anniversary Concert (Barenaked Ladies, Royal Crescent Mob, Too Much Joy and Sleep Theater) We’re pretty sure that’s Dave’s hand… Phil and Dave with the B-52s “Cosmic Thing” disc… this must’ve been taken before Channel Z went on the air in Cincinnati.
There’s no denying that the music is what attracted a small-but-mighty tribe of forward-thinking listeners to 97X. But the commercials, promos, contests, station ID liners and DJ breaks helped contribute to the freewheeling, fun-loving, anti-corporate nature of the station. In this episode, Dave and Damian play several bits and breaks from back in the day. We also have a listener who needs your well-trained ears to help him figure out a mystery song from 97X.
The 97X gang at Lollapalooza 1992, Riverbend. Kneeling: Damian and Rictile. Standing L to R: Steve Baker, Linda Balogh, Jae Forman, Julie Maxwell, Doug Balogh, Phil Manning, Joe Throckmorton, Brian Ewing, Dave Tellmann and Chris Adryan. Sitting atop the 97X Blazer: Laura Kim.
Station owners Doug and Linda Balogh were very hands-off when it came to station programming. They didn’t meddle with the music, and they encouraged the on-air staff to be creative. Sure, there were a few swings-and-misses, but the supportive atmosphere they fostered allowed us to screw up and learn from it. Having a audio playground like that was very rare back then. It’s damn near non-existent among commercial radio stations now.
Shout-out to longtime advertisers like Everybody’s Records, too. They supported the station for decades.
Most of the recorded material (commercials, promos, liners) and live on-air DJ talk from the 97X era has been lost to the ether forever. The stuff you hear in this episode is culled from crappy old cassettes that we were able to digitize. If you have any recordings of 97X, drop us a line at 97Xwoxy@gmail.com. We’d love to add to our archive.
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.)
Matt Soden moved to Oxford on Memorial Day weekend in 1990 and immediately got hooked by 97X’s annual Modern Rock 500. He parlayed his college radio experience into a DJ gig at the station for a year and a half, first doing weekend shifts, then overnights, and eventually evenings. We chat with Matt about crazy callers, drunken door knockers, Kermit the Frog inpersonations, and his massive salary… but can’t figure out how he snuck past Department of Defense screeners.
Before he worked at 97X, Matt had a gig at a Chess King clothing store. He probably can still get you a deal on parachute pants.
Matt has enjoyed reconnecting with his 97X past via the Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast, as well as the WOXY Forever Facebook group.
The 97X Rumblings from the Big Bush podcast recently hit the 5,000 downloads mark on Podbean, our podcasting host site.
That’s not too shabby for a ragtag duo that started out a year and a half ago with ZERO expectations.
97X era… and now
We’re flying by the seat of our pants (provided Dave remembers to wear them), and working on a shoestring budget, with gear that would make a Mr. Microphone seem high-tech.
Since November of 2018, Dave and I have posted more than 40 episodes, and have interviewed dozens of station staffers and quite a few listeners from back in the day. It’s been a blast reconnecting with all the cool kids.
We’re not setting the podcasting world on fire, but we’re bringing back fond memories for a small squad of dedicated 97X fans (and having a blast in the process).
Hmm, we probably should read that someday…
97X station co-owner Doug Balogh had a list of “Balogh-ages” – simple suggestions for business success. #23 was “Remember to say THANK YOU.”
“The Falcon”
So THANK YOU for listening!
And if you have a friend or three that might enjoy some “Rumblings from the Big Bush,” tell ’em to click the 5K button below to get to our Podbean page. They can also catch episodes on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
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:
Mike “Stead” Winstead grew up in Oxford, Ohio and dreamed of working at 97X. When he got out of the Army in 1994, he “bugged” (his word) the station until he finally landed a job as Director of First Impressions (“Mike the Modern Rock Receptionist”). He also did weekend and fill-in shifts, and helped out at nearly every on-location promotional event that 97X did during his time there. We chat with Stead about singing the Miami U. alma mater (without knowing the words), pizza payola, his first time on the air, and the sweaty mass of humanity at Lollapalooza.
Stead with Bob Pollard (in the time it took you to read this caption, Bob wrote 3 songs)With Gwen Stefani, back when a relatively unknown No Doubt opened for 311. Stead’s favorite bandMike (standing) “doin’ the claw” in tribute to the King at a Rock & BowlStead or Giovanni Ribisi? You decide.
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.
Craig Snyder grew up in Oxford, Ohio, listening to 97X and making mixtapes for his friends. That love of music stayed with him as he interned at EMI, worked as a producer at Little Steven’s Underground Garage, managed and promoted indie bands, and in his current role at Lyte.com helping venues and festivals get more music fans to shows. We chat with Craig about his how his love of 97X and his mixtape mastery led to his future music gigs, and why human recommendations will always be better than algorithms.
We’re overly reliant on algorithms and while they are good, we’re missing the human element. We’re missing an opportunity to connect. We’re eliminating the social piece from music and no — social media isn’t a replacement. So what can you do? Think about the best song or album you’ve heard recently and call or text a friend about it. Tell them why you think they’d dig it.
Where Craig spent his lawn-mowing income as a kid.
Below is Craig’s 30-song Spotify playlist, which he updates frequently. You can follow Craig on Instagram and Twitter, too.
