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97X - BAM! - The Future of Rock and Roll
In 1983, a couple looking for a new business venture bought a tiny FM radio station in the even tinier college town of Oxford, Ohio. This station, WOXY-FM 97.7, was hardly strong enough to be heard in the nearest big city, Cincinnati, a mere 35 miles away.
And yet, during the stunning 29-year run of WOXY, 97X and woxy.com, this rundown, beat up little runt of a station transformed the very face of American pop music. WOXY was a groundbreaking leader in the birth of alternative, indie rock music, influenced waves of pioneering indie rock acts, and touched the lives of countless millions of listeners around the world.
The story of WOXY is unlike that of any other radio station in the history of broadcasting. Never has such a scrappy group of believers kept a dream alive for so long, and against such enormous odds. This is the story of those who listened, and heard, and bought, and shared that which WOXY gave to our tinfoil-wrapped boom box antennas.
My intention with this project is to travel where needed - Santa Fe, Austin, Cincinnati, Oxford, New York - to interview as many former employees, fans, clients and musical acts that were in some way affected by WOXY and 97X. I want this book to contain pictures of concerts and events, playlists from Modern Rock 500s, as many images as we can find to include that help tell the story.
This isn't so much a story about the station itself - although that will be covered, in great detail, right up past the final air date and where WOXY currently stands. It's a story about the people influenced by the place, and how their lives have been changed by being a part of it. This kind of scattered-family "band of crazies" is unique in the world of broadcasting, and the stories we have to tell are unlike anything you can imagine.
The hope is that this book will help get out the word to the world at large the power that WOXY had over so many, and perhaps show someone with a friendly ear that getting it back up and going in a true 21st-century manner would be a Very Good Thing Indeed. One can only hope...
As 2013 is the 30th anniversary year of the founding of WOXY, it is my hope to have the extensive interviews finished by the end of summer and and the book ready to go to press early this fall. With YOUR help, we can get this story out faster, and let the world know in plenty of time for the anniversary that the Future of Rock and Roll is alive and well!
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Funding period
- (30 days)