97X - Rumblings from the Big Bush

Jae Forman just couldn't quit radio - although she did take a 23-year "gap year" after her long stint at 97X back in the 90s and a few stops at other stations in Nashville and Albuquerque. Now she shares her energy, enthusiasm, and golden ear for great tunes on the air Tuesday afternoons (3-7 p.m. Eastern) on Inhailer Radio. We talk to her about Boston, Beastie Boys, boxcutters, music festivals, the grunge-splosion, and... reptiles.

After discovering 97X as a Miami University student and interning for Barb Abney, Rob Mason channeled his love of music into founding and running a record label. Old Flame Records featured releases from a slew of bands, including Cloud Nothings, Twin Tigers, and Cincinnati artists such as Carriers, Moonbeau, Frontier Folk Nebraska, and Dawg Yawp. And he's our only guest (so far) to have released music from a group that won a Norwegian Grammy. Rob shares his stories (including babysitting Kings of Leon) and talks about how he's still helping cool bands get their music heard.

Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker of the band Wussy are two of the best songwriters in the known universe. They're also an absolute blast to talk to about (in no particular order): music, their Forever Sounds radio show, bad movies, Swedish Eagle, the Eagles, TV show filling station characters, ball peen hammers, ascots, super-glued teeth, and other important matters. Oh, and fecal matter too - because we're erudite! Wussy is doing a full band show at The Woodward Theater on Friday, February 27. Get tickets here.

97X superfan (and self-professed "data nerd") David Groff crunched the numbers on all* the Modern Rock 500s from 1989-2009 and in this episode, he quizzes Dave and Damian about it. How many different songs were #1? What band had the most different songs on the MR500 through the years? How many songs made the countdown every single year? How can Damian be so dense? Find all the answers --and a listener quiz too! David's year-by-year Modern Rock 500 uber-list is here. And if you'd like to listen to the songs in chronological order from oldest to newest, check out the playlist Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. *the list for 1998 is missing - please help us find it!

DJs in PJs. Wiener dogs in chariots. Bowling in a pool. A surprise birthday party. Crab crawl contests. Jart dangers. A bogus wedding. And of course, Rictile in a Speedo. The 97X Breakfast Club "Home Invasion" live broadcasts were a way to take the insanity of the 97X DJs out of the studio and onto the road. Havoc and hilarity always ensued. We talk to former 97Xer Rictile -- who originated the Home Invasion idea at the station -- and longtime listener Todd Butler, who hosted one of the early home invasions. They share their memories from the live broadcasts - and once again, havoc and hilarity ensue.

Chris DeVille is the managing editor of Stereogum and the author of a new book called Such Great Heights: The Complete Cultural History of the Indie Rock Explosion. He joins us to talk about his book, aptly billed as "the definitive history of 21st century indie rock—from Iron & Wine and Death Cab for Cutie to Phoebe Bridgers and St. Vincent—and how the genre shifted the musical landscape and shaped a generation. We discuss what "indie" means, the effect of easier access to music via streaming, how Stereogum is a kindred spirit of 97X, why the book title works on multiple levels, and the ongoing need for music curation.

The Undertow Collective helps people make music and tour in a very indie way. They manage artists like David Bazan (Pedro the Lion), Will Johnson (Centro-matic), and Bad Bad Hats, and promote house concert tours for folks like Wussy, The Mynabirds, and Kevin Devine. Undertow partners Bob Andrews and Jayne Ballentine join us to talk about how they got started (Uncle Tupelo was involved), how house shows happen, and why their model feels like "the future of rock and roll."

Legendary musician Freekbass got his start in Cincinnati bands like Sleep Theater and Shag. Both got airplay on 97X, and Sleep Theater played the 97X 10th Year concert at Bogart's with Barenaked Ladies, Too Much Joy and the Royal Crescent Mob. We talked to Chris about his roots (and The Roots), his friendship with Bootsy Collins, his Times Square billboard, the freek-y way that Jimmy Fallon wound up impersonating him on The Tonight Show, and his current gigs on TikTok and YouTube.

Howard Cohen, lead singer of the "Rumblings from the Big Bush" house band Cereal Killers, joins to talk about a fun gig the night before Thanksgiving, when he and his bandmates will be covering Elvis Costello & the Attractions songs as "The Distractions." And they'll be joined on the bill by the band Dot.Dot.Dot. covering R.E.M. tunes, and Chalk Eye. Howard also talks about 97Xposure and why he and his bandmates keep on keepin' on.

Tim Quirk and Jay Blumenfield of Too Much Joy also perform as Wonderlick, and Wonderlick's songs as just as catchy, witty, and entertaining as TMJ songs are. And Tim and Jay clearly still enjoy engaging with fans - in fact, they see many advantages to the house concert shows they've done of late. Tim and Jay joined Dave and Damian to talk about Wonderlick's new release Wonderlick Goes to War, share road stories, and reminisce about 97X and their appearance at the 97X 10th anniversary show.

Dave and Damian were excited to chat with Seinfeld star Jason Alexander... but they had to settle for Jayson Alexander, a longtime 97X listener, and perhaps the only person who has listened to every single one of our podcast episodes (although he's reluctant to admit it). Find out what old-time baseball, Ozomatli, and Swedish newscasts have in common when Jayson shares tales of his 97Xplorations.

Julie Maxwell worked at 97X from 1988 through 1999, including a long stint as the co-host of the Breakfast Club. But after she moved from on-air to promotions manager, she really elevated 97X's game with all sorts of great giveaways and fun contests and promotions... all on a shoestring budget. If you ever scored concert tickets, prizes or station swag, Julie probably had a hand in it. She also spearheaded 97X's charity efforts through the Modern Rock Auction and the 97X Celebrity Cookbook. Julie joins Dave and Damian to talk about how she used her ingenuity and creativity to maximize 97X promotions. Please visit https://www.97xbam.com/2025/08/24/the-97x-rumblings-from-the-big-bush-podcast-is-back-baby/ for photos from Julie's promotions scrapbook.

Your affable (and somewhat addled) co-hosts Dave and Damian have been trapped inside the Big Bush for many moons (and a few Moonpies) but we broke free to chat with Nils Illokken, Music Director and DJ for Inhailer Radio, about the upcoming Inhailer Indie 500. If you remember the 97X Modern Rock 500, Inhailer's Indie 500 is an updated version of that annual Memorial Day Weekend countdown. We chatted with Nils about process for selecting the Indie 500, his background in broadcasting, how Inhailer got started, how he finds the artists that Inhailer plays, and much more.

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, before buying the station in 2011. 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 the"Ran-sanity" of his radio career, how WWCD 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.

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! 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.

After nearly 100 episodes, and a gazillion great memories, it's time for "97X Rumblings from the Big Bush" to rumble off into the sunset (or be devoured by the Big Bush in the station's old parking lot). Dave & Damian reflect on the podcast and "the voice" of 97X returns to bring it home. Thanks so much for listening!

It sounds like the setup to a joke: "A punk rock guitarist and a preacher's daughter walk into a theater..." But when Billy Alletzhauser and Beth Harris starting singing songs together in 2004, the result was pure magic. Their band, The Hiders, is the Kevin Bacon of music, with connections to Ass Ponys, The Afghan Whigs, Throneberry, Wussy, Heartless Bastards, Band of Horses, Plow On Boy, Comet Bluegrass All-Stars, Pearlene and more. And their sound is an amazing amalgamation of folk, country, rock, psychedelia, bluegrass, and indie rock. We talked to B & B about their start, the band's evolution, Billy's Ass Ponys tenure, Beth's harmony vocal work with Erika Wennerstrom and Heartless Bastards, the Hiders most recent album (2021's Forever at the End) and their plans for the year ahead.

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.

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.

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.