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WOXY.com - R.I.P to "Bam! the Future of Rock and Roll"

Posted at 10:52 AM on March 23, 2010 by Jim McGuinn (11 Comments)

Back in the '80s, the idea of a radio station playing alternative indie music was so far outside the prevailing wisdom of radio operators that few dared to be so different. While commercial stations like KROQ built up major brands in places like LA, they did so with Top 40 rotations of mostly major label acts. But a few maverick and passionate owners launched true "alternative" radio stations. Usually equipped with lower wattage, poor antenna placement, or other broadcasting difficulties, these stations survived on passion - from the owners, staffs, and listeners - in order to stay alive. Most built rabid followings, but found it difficult to succeed from a business perspective, and eventually went away. REV105 and KJ104 being the best local examples. Another of those stations was WOXY (97X), which broadcast from Oxford, Ohio, close enough to Cincinnati that their signal penetrated some of the population, but far enough that there was no way they would ever be a ratings leader in town. So instead they built up an audience so dedicated that they would stick aluminum foil on coat hangers out the window, attached to their stereos from the highest point in their houses just to get reception. The most famous point in WOXY's life was when Dustin Hoffman quoted their catchphrase throughout Rain Man - "bam! The Future of Rock and Roll."

For over 20 years WOXY was a bastion for progressive music, and iconic hosts, and when a lot of "alternative" stations tightened up their playlists in pursuit of higher ratings in the mid-'90s, WOXY stuck to their eclectic guns - never wavering in their commitment to the new, the nearly forgotten, and the classic alternative music of the past 30 years.

Then in 2004 the longtime owners sold the station to a corporate radio company - one that operated purely from a bottom line perspective. WOXY at 97.7fm was to be no more. But with the help of some longtime listeners, the station was re-born online as an internet only outlet. More than any of their peers in the online radio world, WOXY managed to form a strong community of listeners that spanned the globe, and kept up a lively discourse on their message boards. Through several business models and owners in the past five years, the small, dedicated staff of WOXY.com (including for 12 years our own Barb Abney!) keep things going, even uprooting just six months ago to relocate their operations from Cincy to Austin.

Now today we are saddened to hear that the music has stopped at WOXY.com. With respect and admiration for our friends and peers that always stood up for the music, and the audience that followed their ears to a great musical destination and community, we share the sadness that a great voice has been silenced, and this time it appears for good. When the history books are written on the evolution and innovation of radio and culture, WOXY and other groudbreaking outlets like it will deserve a chapter of their own. With a tip of our hats to staffers Mike Taylor (Program Director), Matt Shiv (Music Director), Brian Jay (Station Mgr), and Joe Long, and the listeners who counted on WOXY for the music that moved them for so many years.

Thanks for all the music WOXY - we will miss you!

Comments (11)

Very sad. I remember getting to listen to WOXY while driving through Ohio shortly after Rev105 went off the air, and being excited to get to hear great alternative music on the FM. I've listened on and off online for the last several years.

Posted by Andy | March 23, 2010 1:44 PM

Definitely a sad day for music. WOXY has turned me on to so many new artists I couldn't even count them. Those DJ's are some of the best in the game, and their talents will be sorely missed. As a long time listener to WOXY, though probably not as long as some, I've stumbled across The Current to fill the WOXY void. I've liked what I've heard thus far, so hopefully you all will provide a welcome home for the WOXY refugees.

RIP WOXY

Posted by Jason | March 23, 2010 1:47 PM

As a former WOXY staffer, thanks for this post. It's great that there are still stations like The Current willing to take a chance on this kind of music.

Posted by Matt Sledge | March 23, 2010 1:51 PM

Thats such a shame!!!! =(

Posted by MN Roofing 2010 | March 23, 2010 2:19 PM

Lovely post, Jim. As much as I love The Current, WOXY was always my first choice. I first tuned into WOXY in 2005 based on a tip I had mentally stashed away from a former co-worker who was a Cincinnati transplant. This was a time when I was really starting to be bored with music. Suddenly music was new and exciting again and I quickly was hooked on stuff like Ted Leo, Bloc Party, and The Hold Steady. I've tuned in nearly every day since. I soon would start listening to The Current more as well. Not only was it a simply fantastic station with terriffic DJs, but there was (and still is) a unique and special online community built around the station. It's a testament to how special WOXY was that I was able to meet and become friends with other listeners around the Twin Cities, and even Brazil, and can consider Barb a friend. The Future of Rock and Roll will live on in it's listeners.

Posted by Josh | March 23, 2010 2:22 PM

This is truly sad. I love WOXY, and agree with Josh's sentiment about meeting friends via WOXY. While at Lollapalooza nearly 3 years ago, I ran into a number of people with WOXY t-shirts or stickers. It automatically felt like a community - I would simply go up to them, see where they were from, and strike up a conversation about the best radio station out there. When they shut down a few years ago (only to be brought back with the help of lala.com), they sold t-shirt's with the tagline "This WOXY's Gone To Heaven". Let's hope they find a way to bring it back again.

Posted by Sara | March 23, 2010 4:11 PM

Viva la WOXY. Since it's early days, 97X has been about more than music. It has been about that intangible "ah-ha" that you get from discovering a band and sharing that inside scoop with other music lovers. 97X proved that in the online radio world that DJs mattered. WOXY DJs created connections to the listeners and the music. WOXY DJs brought insight, passion and relevance to the music they were playing. WOXY DJs brought all of us together.

So, if 97X/WOXY is gone for good this time, I imagine that we listeners will go to another place where DJs create the relevance to music that matters. If 97X was essentially about relationships being formed around music, then we listeners are going to flock to our favorite ex-pat who is broadcasting.

Barb, don't forget the alcohol.

Posted by Josh from Hamilton | March 23, 2010 4:18 PM

Excellent post, Jim. I actually remember reading about you on the woxy boards back in the day. ;) All good, I promise.

woxy really restirred a passion for music and great radio when I first stumbled across it in 2001. I even have a woxy.com bumper sticker on my car. Sad day for radio and I hope someone can come through again with funding to keep them going.

Posted by Nate | March 23, 2010 5:27 PM

A very sad day indeed! I remember being close to tears the last time Woxy.com went off the air and then being overjoyed w/ its resurrection. I have it to thank for shaping my taste in music. Heck I even have a Woxy shirts framed on my wall! I'm not giving up hope though, perhaps something will come through with funding.

Posted by Shelly | March 23, 2010 8:33 PM

This is a loss that will impact all of us music fans and djs and programmers. If a station like woxy with its history can disappear what hope do others have. I propose its time to set up a foundation for the preservation of independent radio and collect funds from people from all walks of life that wiuld allow stations like woxy to survive. If Harvard can have a one billion dollar endowment why can't public radio? It's time to do something good for radio.

Posted by Ram | March 24, 2010 8:37 AM

I spent one miserably lonely winter working for a baseball team in Richmond, Indiana and besides my love for baseball and looking forward to the season (I was laid off three days into the season) the only thing that really got me through the days was listening to 97X all day long. I was deeply saddened when it went off the terestrial airwaves not only for them but for all the people I met in the area that were like me and needed a station like that to keep them company. Now I'm saddened again, it's such a bummer.

Also, I only recently discovered The Current and Barb Abney's voice has been driving me crazy because I knew I had heard it before. Yes! She was on 97X. I knew I had heard her before.

Posted by Brandon | March 24, 2010 9:25 AM

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