97X - Rumblings from the Big Bush – Details, episodes & analysis

Aaron Yonka tuned in to 97X back in high school, then got a full-blown fever for the station and the music the summer before he started at Miami University in 1991. He became an around-the-clock listener... other than when he was co-hosting a music show on Miami's student radio station. And after he graduated, he still tuned in, especially to catch his college friend Matt Sledge, and joined the 97X message boards to keep a sense of community with fellow listeners and station staff. Aaron shares tales of gift card laundering, grilled breakfast pastries, anchovy pizzas and what makes a tune a "97X song." 

It's been 43 years since 97X first started airing "modern rock for Cincinnati and Dayton" from a nondescript building in Oxford, Ohio. And it's been 22 years since it signed off - and 16 years since woxy.com went silent. Time flies... and the Butler County Historical Society wants to celebrate the station in a fundraising event on June 27, with THE Voice of 97X, Steve "Bakerman" Baker, Jen Dalton, co-host of Good Morning Cincinnati on Channel 12 (she got her media start as a student intern at 97X), Matt Sledge (who worked at 97X, WNKU and Inhailer radio) and your ol' 97X pals Dave and Damian. We talked to Bake, Jen and Sledge about the upcoming trip down memory lane. 

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!