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.)

Episode 42: Matt Soden, Your Little Green Amigo

97X, podcast

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.

5K is OK by us

97X, podcast, Uncategorized

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.

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Episode 41: David Groff, a 97X Lifer

97X, Music, podcast

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:

Episode 40: Michael Winstead, Modern Rock Stead(y)

97X, podcast

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 band
Mike (standing) “doin’ the claw” in tribute to the King at a Rock & Bowl
Stead or Giovanni Ribisi? You decide.

A Public Service Announcement from a member of the 97X house band

97X, Music

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.

How we remember 97X these days

97X, Music

Friend of the 97X “Rumblings from the Big Bush” podcast Daniel Cox sent along this note to 97Xwoxy@gmail.com:

Sad but true, Daniel!

Dave and I welcome your emails at 97Xwoxy@gmail.com. (I’ll try to check it more consistently.)

And just for kicks, how about some pissed off Bob Mould:

And some youngsters called the Ass Ponys (not Ass Ponies):

Episode 39: Bill Douglas – hot tunes (and Cold Beer)

97X, Music, podcast

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.

Episode 38: Craig Snyder, lifelong promoter of Indie Music

97X, podcast

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.

Here’s the piece Craig wrote for Medium: “Human vs. Algorithmic Recommendations” and here’s an excerpt:

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.

Episode 37: Ali Castellini, from Punk Rock to Professor

97X

Ali Castellini got her 97X gig by accident, when a fellow Miami student phoned her early one Friday morning and asked her to do the weather forecast on the Breakfast Club. She wound up spending a few years on the air at 97X in the early-to-mid 90s before moving on to a station in Virginia Beach, VA, then hosting the nationally syndicated radio show “Today’s Women” and later working as an on-air host and producer for WXPN/World Cafe in Philly. Now she’s “corrupting minds” (her words) as a communications professor at Temple University. We chat with Ali about all the lessons she learned during her radio days… as well as Matchbox cars, Dick Clark and Lenny Kravitz.

Professor Ali, or “Prof C” as her students call her.

Back in the day, 97X staffers had Matchbox cars as their “in/out” indicators (upside down = out of the office). Ali still has hers, on a shelf in her office.

Ali said: I still turn it upside down from time to time when I leave! #97XhabitsDieHard