Shame on Local Radio, Part 1

It's hard to say where the line is between "edgy" and "offensive," especially in the increasingly no-holds-barred world of local rock radio. But 94.3 WNFZ managed to cross it recently with an on-air contest asking listeners to call in and guess how many days it would be before the next kid walks into a school somewhere and starts shooting people. The DJ promised to keep track of the guesses and give a CD to whomever got the closest. Both the station and the listeners who called deserve a dunce cap. Memo to local jocks: There's a difference between hip cynicism and dumb cruelty. Learn it.

Shame on Local Radio, Part 2

Tommy Boy Records signees Boy Genius didn't have to wait long to make their first splash on the national music scene. Upon releasing their inaugural EP Last Grand Experiment on July 7, the band landed at number seven on the College Music Journal "adds" chart. According to Tommy Boy radio promotions rep Liz Koch, that means the band's eight-song CD (with its Knoxville scene-mongering single "My Girlfriend's in Love with Superdrag") was added to the playlists of some 50 college and community radio stations nationwide.

On the down side, says Genius bassist Scott West, no Knoxville station has yet placed the band in its regular rotation. "We're hoping to change that soon," he says with a wry chuckle.

One station that has featured the band's music (if only on its local music show) is rock monster 98.7 "the X." Look for the band to play a July 29 show at Rudy's on Cumberland Avenue in conjunction with the club's weekly Wednesday 98.7 "X night" promotion.

With a Banjo on My Knee

The great-trailer-radio-station-that-could has scored a few hours with bluegrasser Doyle Lawson. He'll be talking about his latest CD with the WDVX jocks from 7-11p.m. on Tuesday, July 21, during WDVX's usual bluegrass spot—"Soppin' the Gravy." Tune in to listen to Lawson and find out if members of Quicksilver have also dropped in to set a spell.

Public Service Messages for the Musically Inclined

* Can you carry a tune? Do you pen free verse in your off moments? Do you yearn for some creative freedom? Alicin's Journal needs you. Desperately. Call Tré Berney at 623-9535 if you think you are what they have been looking for.

* If you dig Agatha Christie, Zippy has the job for you. Two hot—hot as in stolen, not hot as in groovy—guitars are floating about this fine city. Both are Strats, one has a red body with a black pick guard and maple neck, the other is white, looks like it was painted with a healthy coat of Sears Weatherbeater, and has a whammy bar. If you see them, either in your local pawnshop or on a local stage, call Richard Puncsak at 558-5743. He'd really like to have them back and to catch the low-lifes who decided to liberate them from his abode.

And Puncsak, of the currently hiatus-ing and drummer-less Coma Toaster, would love to know who is playing his little-known hit, "Leave Your Name and Number." Puncsak keeps receiving checks from BMI, indicating that the song is being played once a day on a radio station. Funny thing is, no one can figure out which one. Again, if you are in the know on this particular mystery, please give him a call. We now return you to your regularly scheduled reading.

From the Mailbag

Eye disappeared last week while Zippy sorted through all of the mail, because Zippy appreciates and cherishes every last insult. This little missive, however, seemed like something y'all might love as well:

Wowsers!

I left town a year ago, and State Champs are still being used to make waves in the pages of the Pulse! I don't have much to comment on about the state of the Knoxville music scene, because (mercifully) I don't live there anymore. I broke the bonds of the Sunsphere tractor beam and headed northeast my friends! But for some reason, I felt compelled to look at the Pulse Web site and what do I see in the Eye on the Scene column, but my ol' pal G Leather's name getting slung through the mud. All so some hipster schmucko can plug what is in all probability his or her roommate's band.

It's nice to know that a year and half after our demise, the Champs are still a bitter taste in some cool kid's mouth. That was the entire intention of the band to begin with. Here we thought we were "fly by nighters" but we've got staying power after all. Maybe, I shouldn't be as ashamed of my past as I am. Thank you my friend.

But in response to the rest of the letter, there is a sad element about being in the entertainment industry—self-promotion. Why should anyone care to write about your music if you don't care enough to try to get their attention in the first place? I really doubt someone like Mike Gibson has the time to go sit in every garage in town and listen to 100 crappy bands just so he can write about one decent, passable attempt at rock. He already did that with the Champs and it about killed him to lie so much about how "ok" we were.

Also, maybe the Eye on the Scene should just change its name to something else...and drop the word "scene" altogether. "Scene" implies something of merit. Hard-core bands playing in your kitchen and people doing whip-its and sucking on helium tanks in the basement is not something of merit. So a word of advice for all you emerging scenesters: Get outta town. You don't have to move, just leave for awhile. Superdrag gets attention in this paper because they actually went on tour and got people's attention. Hopefully the rock tour de force that is Cat O'Nine Tales will do the same thing. After all, if they're that good, their entire fan base shouldn't consist entirely of the moron that wrote last week's letter.

Sincerely,

The Artist formerly known as Sweet Bobby

P.S. State Champs' coasters are still available at your local Disc Exchange. They will strangely resemble compact discs, but do not be fooled by their appearance. And for the love of all things good on this planet, do not attempt to play the coaster in your CD player. Evil entities are unleashed when this happens.

—Zippy "What's a whip-it?" McDuff