woxy.com

Episode 93: Memories of the 97X station signoff in 2004

97X, Music, podcast, woxy.com

It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly two decades since that fateful evening when Steve Baker said “goodbye to the future of rock and roll.” For current and former staffers and loyal listeners, it was like the death of a loved one. We reunited an all-star cast of folks who were at the station at the bittersweet end (Bakerman, Shiv, Barb, Mike Taylor, Sledge, Bryan J., Gentleman Jim Mercer) to share their memories of that time.

But we’re not just here to rue the day and mourn once again. There’s actually a future for “the future of rock and roll.” We’re getting the gang back together for one last heist Modern Rock 500 this May.

Read more here.

It’ll be just like old times. Maybe even better. It’s like getting a present from your old friends, in the present day. We can’t wait to share the music and the love with you!

Speaking of love, you gotta love the Bakerman’s “now and then” coda for the episode:

Start spreadin’ the news – 97X is back (for a limited time)!

97X, Music, podcast, woxy.com

97X, BAM, THE FUTURE OF ROCK AND ROLL RETURNS WITH THE 2023 97X MODERN ROCK 500

(Oxford/Cincinnati, OH) – March 9, 2023 – It’s been 20 years since the legendary Oxford, OH-based alternative radio station WOXY FM, aka “97X, BAM! The Future of Rock and Roll” first left the airwaves. Celebrating what would have been its 40th anniversary, 97X makes its triumphant online return in May 2023 with the 2023 97X Modern Rock 500 countdown.

In partnership with Cincinnati-based streaming station Inhailer Radio, 97X and WOXY.com present the 2023 97X Modern Rock 500, airing May 22 – 29, 2023 on Inhailer Radio, also available on the Inhailer Radio app and WGUC 90.9- HD3 in Cincinnati.

The 2023 Modern Rock 500 will air on Inhailer Radio in five 100-lap segments from May 22-26, 2023, and repeat in the 500’s traditional Memorial Day weekend timeslot from May 27-29, 2023. Plans are in the works for an on-demand archive of the broadcast. 

As a special treat, the broadcast is hosted by over 30 station DJs sharing memories from WOXY’s 40-year run. From its fledgling 80s days to the explosion of the format in the 90s and its time as an online entity in the early 2000s, the 2023 Modern Rock 500 is represented by the people who were there making it happen.

If there was one signature program that became synonymous with 97X, it was the annual Modern Rock 500. Borrowing thematically from the nearby Indianapolis 500 and broadcast over Memorial Day Weekend, the 97X Modern Rock 500 counted down the best alternative songs as “laps”. The Modern Rock 500 aired on 97X from 1988-2003 and continued on WOXY.COM from 2005-2009. 

Now it returns for one final countdown.

The broadcast also serves as a wrap-up of the 97X-focused podcast Rumblings from the Big Bush (a reference to a distinctly large shrubbery located on the station’s Oxford, Ohio property), hosted by former DJs Dave Tellmann and Damian Dotterweich.

“Rumblings over the last few years has caught up with former air talent, station employees, fans of the station, and some of the artists that we played at 97X. It’s been a blast! The podcast has about run its course; but the idea of capping it with the Modern Rock 500 couldn’t be a better way to sign off,” said co-host Dave Tellmann.  Rumblings… episodes can be found on all major podcast player sites and on 97Xbam.  

“We here at Inhailer are honored to hand over the airwaves to the people of 97X who influenced our own musical journeys and the music we play here”, adds Taylor Fox, Founder and Program Director at Inhailer. “We’re downright giddy with excitement!”

“This new Modern Rock 500 will be limited to those songs that landed on the countdown in the past.  It’s taking a look back from a present-day point of view”, states Mike Taylor, 97X Program Director from 2001 to 2010.  “Any way you slice it, it’s gonna be 500 great tunes.”

The 2023 97X Modern Rock 500 is a love letter to its loyal legion of listeners and to station owners Doug and Linda Balogh, for giving the world something super special. We’ll see you at the starting line…

Full list of featured talent:

Aaron Borns

Ali Castellini

Barb Abney

Bill Douglas

Brian Ewing

Bryan Jay Miller

Damian Dotterweich

Dan “Danny Crash” Reed

Dave Tellmann

Dorsie Fyffe

Forrest Griffen

Julie “Jae Forman” Clay

Jeff Rohrs

Jim Mercer

Joe Long

John Jesser

Julie “Maxwell” Argonis

Keri Valmassei

Luann Gibbs

Matt Shiv

Matt “Sledge” Waller

Matthew Harris

Mike Taylor

Mike Winstead

Nick Pleimling

Phil Kollin

Ric “Tile” Cengeri

Rob Ervin

Robin Plan

Stase Wendland

Steve Baker

Tina Kristina Mueller

If all the old bands can reunite, so can we. Long Live 97X – The Future of Rock and Roll!

Barb is Back!

97X, Music, woxy.com

Former 97X/woxy.com DJ Barb Abney will be back on The Current in Minneapolis St. Paul this evening!

You’d be hard pressed to find a radio host more dedicated and more engaged with listeners than Barb. She was a fast friend to anyone who tuned in, at 97X, at woxy.com, at The Current, and at the other radio stations where she worked after being unceremoniously and undeservedly being let go at The Current back in 2015.

Barb spent nearly 10 years as the midday host on The Current before the rug was pulled out from under her.

The headline and content above are from this article about Barb’s radio odyssey – well worth a read.

We’re thrilled for Barb, and happy for The Current listeners – some of whom have already voiced their approval in the comments section of The Current’s announcement.

Seven years seems like a lifetime, and it’s clear from the comments that these listeners still feel such a strong connection with Barb. There’s no better testament to her dedication. And no better argument for why radio still matters.

Barb at 97X

[We interviewed Barb for our 97X podcast back in 2019 and again late last year (part 1 and part 2).]

Episode 74: Anthony Hartke comes full (vinyl) circle

97X, Music, podcast, woxy.com

Anthony Hartke was really into music even in grade school. He discovered 97X around 6th grade and stuck with the station throughout its existence. (He even tuned in to woxy.com when he was deployed overseas in the Army back in 2005-2006.) When woxy.com sold off vinyl LPs from the original 97X music library, Anthony picked up several albums that still contained an old school “grid” on the cover for 97X DJs to mark the date and time that they played a track. We talk to Anthony about his love for the station, and Dave explains what the heck “ultracore” meant.

Here are the 97X artifact albums that Anthony picked up at Shake It Records in Northside:

Story behind my acquisition: sometime after the terrestrial station went off the air, the station sold off old vinyl since everything was going CD or digital.  Maybe it was to raise funds?  I don’t remember.  Anyway, the sales all went thru Shake It Records.  I was at UC at the time and stopped in and found a milk crate of them in the basement of the store and pulled out a few.  Looking back, I wish I would have bought the entire milk crate!

Anthony Hartke

The albums that 97X DJs played in the studio contained a grid that listed the suggested tracks to play, and spaces for the jocks to write down the date/time that they played a particular tune, to help the station avoid playing the same song or artist too frequently.

At some point, the vinyl grid on the album was replaced by an index card in a old-school “recipe box.” The intent was still the same: to ensure variety instead of repetition.

On the one album, there is a hand-written date of 5/17/1989 … it’s really cool to think that some of the DJs you have had on your podcast would have touched these exact albums back when I was listening to the station as a kid.  And seeing the handwritten notes like “Ultracore” are just awesome.  “That’s Entertainment” by the Jam is a quintessential 97x song in my head; I remember hearing it on the radio as a kid and it was probably from this exact album.

Anthony Hartke

I remember the 2004 shut down vividly and getting really emotional.  No one understood it. No one understood why a 21 year old guy would cry over a radio station.  But it was really like losing a friend…

When WOXY shut down March 23rd, 2010 (9 days after my 27th birthday) I was devastated again. Painful to this day thinking back on it (tearing up thinking about it now), but I’ll be forever grateful to 97X/WOXY for all that it gave me.

Anthony Hartke

Thanks to YOU for listening, Anthony. It was passionate music lovers like you that made our time at 97X/woxy.com so rewarding, and it’s why we do our “Rumblings from the Big Bush” podcast.

(Anthony reached out to us via email at 97Xwoxy@gmail.com. We welcome your notes as well.)

Episode 72: A Second Serving of Barb Abney

97X, podcast, woxy.com

Here’s more from our chat with 97X/woxy.com alum Barb Abney. In this episode, Barb discloses her 97X souvenirs, we try to solve the mystery of where 97X’s music library wound up, a secret prankster is revealed, and we get more scoop on Barb’s new podcast called “Tied to the Tracks.”

On Barb’s Tied to the Tracks podcast, she and co-host Augustus Watkins are joined by a different guest each episode and they dive deep into one of their guest’s favorite albums, song by song. Tied to the Tracks is available wherever you get your podcasts, including on Spotify, Apple Music and iHeart.

Barb’s come a long way since that fateful day when she interviewed for a job at 97X… here’s the outfit she wore that day:

If you miss hearing Barb on the air (don’t we all?), you can tune in to the morning show she co-hosts on KFAI-FM in Minneapolis (it’s on the interwebs).

We first interviewed Barb back in 2019, on Episode 18. Check it out here.

Episode 71: Talking Tracks with Barb Abney

97X, podcast, woxy.com

Barb Abney, who was on-air at 97X and woxy.com from 1994-2006, returns to talk about weird promotional giveaway items, why corporate radio still sucks… oh, and her great podcast “Tied to the Tracks.” Barb has some excellent podcasting pointers for Dave and Damian… which we will probably ignore.

On Barb’s Tied to the Tracks podcast, she and co-host Augustus Watkins are joined by a different guest each episode and they dive deep into one of their guest’s favorite albums, song by song. Tied to the Tracks is available wherever you get your podcasts, including on Spotify, Apple Music and iHeart.

In our interview, Barb also mentioned some of the more unusual promotional giveaway items from 97X. Here’s her “vintage” Blur condom:

And here are several more choice items from Barb’s swag collection:

Can’t finish your soda? Why not use your Squirrel Nut Zippers can cover…
We wonder if that phone number is still active…
Band-Aid dispenser from Stanford Prison Experiment… makes perfect sense.

Here’s a shot of the woxy.com crew: Shiv and Barb up front, Mike Taylor and Bryan J. in the back.

And here’s one of Barb’s handwritten playlist from the woxy.com era, along with her “DJ Princess” business card:

If you miss hearing Barb on the air (don’t we all?), you can tune in to the morning show she co-hosts on KFAI-FM in Minneapolis (it’s on the interwebs).

We first interviewed Barb back in 2019, on Episode 18. Check it out here.

Episode 68: The Legacy of 97X

97X, podcast, woxy.com

This is a shorter episode, but it’s deep. The culmination of our conversation with 97X station owners Doug & Linda Balogh includes Doug’s “big thought” about the legacy of the station… and how the listeners and the station alums will always be a connected community. 97X Forever! 

In this episode, we reference a recent letter from Jen L., who grew up “in the cornfields of Crosby Township”… she had such kind words to say about the station, and we think her feelings reflect those of many listeners:

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! 

I remember the summers in high school listening to 97X. I always had leftover notebooks at the end of the school year. So I ripped out all my biology and algebra notes, and used up the remaining pages keeping lists of songs I heard and liked on the radio. I filled pages and pages. I hung on every note, counted each song, waiting for you to backsell what you just played so I could write it down. (Gosh I wish I still had those lists!)

Whenever I could, I kept a Memorex 90 minute cassette in the player so I could spring from my bed in time to hit record/play and catch those songs and make mix tapes. And I waited all week for Saturday overnights when you’d play an album in its entirety. I struggled to stay awake til midnight just to hit record, then turned the volume low so I could sleep. In the morning I rewound to listen back, and was either happy or bummed to find out if the entire album fit on one side. I remember getting XTC “Apples and Oranges” that way, and The Indigo Girls and The Smithereens. Then later I would make my own album covers from a collage of pictures and patterns I’d find in magazines.…

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.

Jen L.
Why yes, that is MTV VJ Alan Hunter with station staffers.
97X alums at a station reunion.
More alums.
97X sticker on the wall at Canal Street Tavern in Dayton.
page from a 1996 radio industry publication

Episode 63: Robin James is writing the book on 97X

97X, Music, podcast, woxy.com

Author and college professor Robin James is a self-described “philosopher of popular music.” She grew up in West Chester, Ohio listening to 97X and is writing a book about the station and the community that formed around it. She’s also going to give a talk about the Modern Rock 500 at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame once we get through the pandemic phase. In this episode, Robin gives us an update on when the book will be published… and turns the tables by interviewing Dave and Damian for that book.

Robin James, the coolest college professor ever!

We first chatted with Robin a year ago, on Episode 34. If you missed that show, it’s well worth a listen.

Here’s Robin’s page on the UNC Charlotte website. She also co-edits the Journal of Popular Music Studies. And here’s her blog, It’s Her Factory.

On her blog, here’s how Robin summarizes the 97X book project:

The Future of Rock and Roll: 97X WOXY and the fight for true independence. (Under contract with UNC Press). This is a book about the philosophy behind former modern rock radio station 97X FM/woxy.com. The station and its programming was driven by the idea that true independence is possible only when practiced with and for other people. The book argues that this idea of independence is what we need to fight the 21st century corporate mainstream, which is driven by the false idea that real independence is being left to fend for yourself.

Here’s a link to the draft version of “What was the Modern Rock 500?” – the talk Robin will be giving at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The date for that presentation is still TBD due to pandemic restrictions, but we’ll let you know when it’s happening.

My dad didn’t like music, and I didn’t have older siblings, so the Modern Rock 500 was the curriculum I used to educate myself about cool music and its history.

Robin James

Rumblings from the Big Bush mailbag

Hey guys,

I’ve been a big fan of the show. For years I’ve enjoyed listening to a playlist created from an old Modern Rock 500, and every year I think, I should contact some of the old radio guys and see what would be on the list today. I always think of this leading up to Memorial Day weekend. It would be great if you could get some of the old crew together and make an updated list.

Keep up the good work!
– Nick Frisch

That’s a great idea, Nick! Unfortunately, it’s also a rather daunting task, and we have our hands full with the podcast (and our day jobs). We tried to strong-arm longtime 97X PD Phil Manning into creating an updated MR500, but to no avail. If anyone has any suggestions, we’re all ears.

In the interim, the Cincinnati-based online radio station Inhailer recently counted down their Top 500 Albums of All Time, and you’ll find plenty of 97X artists on that list. Former woxy.com DJ Luann Gibbs (a.k.a. “Miss Kitty” – we chatted with her on Episode 43) does weekend shifts on Inhailer, and Taylor Fox, who was quite active on the 97X message boards, is the Program Director and hosts the morning show Tuesdays thru Thursdays, so the station is a kindred spirit of 97X/woxy.com. They play a great mix of music, including a healthy dose of local bands, and have specialty shows on weekends and in the evening. Check it out!

Modern Rock 500 playlists

Nick’s email above mentioned playlists created from old Modern Rock 500 countdown lists. Kudos to John Spurlock for creating Spotify AND Google Music playlists for each year of the Modern Rock 500, from 1989 through 2009.

And James Brubaker crunched the numbers from Craig Froehle’s lists of MR500s through the years, and came up with an overall Modern Rock 500 Top 500. (Read more about how James created this meta-list in this post.)

This post on The Cincy Vinyl Trail website also has a nice tribute to the Modern Rock 500.

Traditionally, Memorial Day weekend has always been the unofficial beginning of summer. Schools close, pools open, we honor fallen heroes and the Taste of Cincinnati takes center stage. Memorial Day weekend of years gone by also brought us the 500. No, not the Indy 500, that’s still running. To die-hard music fans, it was the 97X Modern Rock 500. The start of every summer the radio would be tuned to 97.7. 

From a 2018 post on The Cincy Vinyl Trail website

Episode 44: The Fun Stuff between the Songs

97X, podcast, woxy.com

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.

Episode 43: Luann Gibbs – Miss Kitty Forever!

97X, Music, podcast, woxy.com

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.)