97X - Rumblings from the Big Bush

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Aaron Sharpe, Kindred Radio Spirit Feb 26, 2022

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Aaron Sharpe never listened to 97X... but he wore many hats at WNKU-FM, a station that picked up the mantle from 97X/woxy.com in being a free-spirited, adventurous, community-oriented radio station that introduced many to music they couldn't hear elsewhere -- including plenty of local artists. Unfortunately, WNKU suffered a similar fate to 97X, signing off for good in September of 2017.

In this episode, Aaron talks about how he got involved at WNKU-FM, the bittersweet ending, and what he's up to now.

Jeff Rohrs back for more Feb 06, 2022

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Here's Part 2 of our interview with Jeff "DJ Sloth" Rohrs, where he talks about the community of music lovers at 97X, the great program directors during his tenure, his scary sighting on the Party Patio, his side hustles (DJ... and grocery bagger), and "Balogh University."

Jeff Rohrs, Weekend Warrior Jan 23, 2022

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Jeff Rorhs was hooked on 97X from the very first song he heard on the station. In fact, he attended Miami University mostly because of 97X, and he was so determined to work at the station that he played polka music at his hometown radio station just to get on-air experience. All that polka-playing paid off - he wound up working weekends and fill-in shifts at 97X for his entire college career, from 1987 through 1991.

In this episode, we talk to Jeff about that first song he heard, how he scored the weekend gig, his unfortunate mispronunciation of an artist's name, how he pissed off Doug Balogh, the longest song in the 97X library, the bands he championed both at 97X and on his music video show at Miami U., his MTV regrets, and the Violent Femmes concert at Bogart's when it started raining on the stage.

Anthony Hartke comes full (vinyl) circle Dec 28, 2021

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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.

Joe ”Rock the” Voet, Model Citizen Dec 12, 2021

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Joe Voet was a mild-mannered student in a small Midwestern college town, working at the Miami U. student radio station and listening to 97X... until one day Rictile turned him into Joe "Rock the" Voet, political correspondent. That led to a Breakfast Club co-producer role, with highs (a meeting with The Cure) and lows (reading the news on-air without any prep).

Joe claims he was the worst Breakfast Club co-producer ever, but we beg to differ. We talk to him about his 97X memories, and learn how he's used his IT skills to build a mini-97X radio station that he listens to every day. We also learn that Damian sucks at geography.

A second helping of Barb Abney Nov 25, 2021

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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 "Tied to the Tracks."

Talking Tracks with Barb Abney Nov 13, 2021

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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 great podcasting pointers for Dave and Damian... which we will probably ignore.

On Barb's 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.

Getting (un)familiar with Matt Lacefield Oct 23, 2021

Show notes

Matt Lacefield played cutting-edge music on a Cincinnati radio station... but it wasn't 97X. While Dave and Damian were on the air at 97X in the 90s, Matt was a DJ for Nightwaves, which aired overnights on WVXU-FM. So we were kindred spirits... and still are, because Matt loves discovering new music. He's sharing his favorites via his blog/podcast called "The Unfamiliar." We chat with Matt about his radio days and how he finds and shares the latest and greatest indie tunes.

Jayne Sachs, Stellar Songstress Oct 09, 2021

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Jayne Sachs credits her discovery of 97X (thanks to her now-husband) with putting her on the singer/songwriter path. She's been able to carve out a career in music, and has picked up plenty of accolades along the way, including winning 97Xposure in 1995 and garnering two first place wins (in different years and different categories) in The John Lennon Songwriting Contest. We talked to Jayne about her Xposure spoils, her performing career, record label interaction, and her current songwriting work in Nashville.

You can keep up with Jayne's latest songs on her website and her Facebook page.

The legacy of 97X Sep 19, 2021

Show notes

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!

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97X – Rumblings from the Big Bush

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