As music fans in Columbus, Ohio surely know by now, one of the nation’s longest-airing alternative rock stations, CD92.9 will be disappearing from your FM dial on January 31st. WWCD 101.1 first hit the Central Ohio airwaves on August 21, 1990 and has been carrying the flag for independent commercial radio ever since. It had to dodge some Clear Channel bullets by moving up & down the dial a few times, but it has always survived and remained a fixture in the local music community. Until now. 

The task of saying goodbye on Pencil Storm fell to yours truly but I am at a loss for words. How to sum up 33 years of great music and friendship? It isn’t possible. Perhaps one day a book or podcast will tell the entire story of the station, but until then I will just share a couple of the many reasons why CD92.9 has meant so much to me.

For starters, it was how I met Brian Phillips. I believe Watershed was backing up our pal Pat DiNizio from The Smithereens the night we were introduced backstage at Ludlows, a sadly-missed Brewery District bar here in Columbus . We hit it off and he has become one of my very best friends in the time since. When you hear us together on his Morning Show, that is how we interact over beers at rock shows, at a Columbus Clippers baseball game or our yearly excursion to the Airport Golf Course. Brian is one of the most talented people I know and definitely the nicest. 

When I rode shotgun on the Morning Show last fall for an extended period of time while Colin’s Coffee was in limbo, I cannot tell you how many people came up to me unsolicited and said, “Were you on with Brian Phillips this morning? I listen to Brian every day.” I’m not talking about a handful, I’m talking about 30 or 40 people from all over town. CD92.9 doesn’t subscribe to a ratings service these days but my unscientific survey would indicate he is the Howard Stern of Columbus morning radio. 

As a musician, my band Watershed owes everything to CD101. It is not hyperbole to say that the only reason we are still playing today is due to the longtime support of this station. The big moment occurred in 1998 when new program director Andy “Andyman” Davis (RIP) unexpectedly added the title track from our new record Star Vehicle to regular rotation. Watershed wasn’t exactly a hot commodity in 1998. We had been dropped from Epic Records and our original drummer left the band after an infamous tour opening for The Insane Clown Posse. Even the big local weekly piled on with a gigantic “band o’meter” story putting us as dead last as the most empty band in the city. Hard times. 

But Andy heard something he liked in our new single “Star Vehicle” even if nobody else in the industry did. I would start hearing it driving to my job at Subway and I was confused. I ran into Andy at a bar, as I often did, and said, “Thanks. It’s nice you are playing our record.” I’ll never forget how he responded.

“Colin, though I do like you, I’m not playing the new Watershed song to be nice. I have a theory that we can play local music in regular rotation and not even mention that the band is local. No stigma attached at all. But I need a song I can play right between Foo Fighters and Green Day and it sounds just as good on the radio. I think “Star Vehicle” is that song. And If I can do it with your  song, I will have evidence it can be done and I can do it  with other songs. And if I’m wrong, I’m probably going to get fired.”

He wasn’t wrong, a month later “Star Vehicle” was regularly the most-requested song of the 101.1 Daily Top Five countdown and finished in the Top Ten for the entire year. Not just local music, against every act in the world. Though we lost Andy way too early, that independent spirit has been passed down and survives to this day at CD92.9. Countless bands have benefited from the support of this station and no one has gained more than myself. 

Wait! Another quick story to illustrate how important CD92.9 has been to my musical career. Sometime way back when, both Watershed and Brian Phillips were on an extended hiatus. I was scuffling along trying to get some kind of solo act together. One Friday morning, Andy showed up unannounced at the coffee shop and said, “We have got to get you back on the airwaves, brother. Why don’t you stop by the studio today at 5pm….and bring a guitar.”

So I was suddenly Andy’s sidekick for his Friday drive-time “taking calls” segment where folks could just call in for whatever reason and go live on the radio. Sometimes, I would play guitar and they would sing whatever song they wanted. It was almost a shit-show. It was total radio improv and Andy loved it. And we drank beer. And he always ended his shift with “The Beer Song.”

So one time during a break he asked me if I was working on any new tunes. I said I had a new one that I thought was pretty promising but I hadn’t played it for anyone yet. He said, “play some for me now.” So I played a bit before our break was over. We got back on live and Andy said, “We have a special treat, Colin is going to play a brand new song of his exclusively for CD101 listeners.” Of course, I was horrified. I’m covering the microphone with my right hand making the throat slashing gesture with my left…..”And here he is now with the song…..”Superior.”

So the first time I played that song was live on the radio. Eventually it got recorded and Andy put that version into heavy rotation and it did well. If not for that opportunity, I might never have gotten a weekend booking as a solo artist. I still play “Superior” every single show. And I have Andy and CD101 to thank for that. Oh, and that awesome video for the song…..that was directed by Brian Phillips. I shit you not. And I never asked either one of those two guys for help and nobody ever got more than a couple cheap domestic beers at the Treehouse for payment. This sort of thing just doesn’t happen in the music business.

Anyway, I could attempt to thank everyone I have been blessed to know at the station through the years, but it would take forever and I would surely leave someone out and feel horrible. Just know I will shake your hand and buy you a beer the next time I see you out. Thank you CD92.9/102.5/101.1 for all you have done. Columbus would never have been the same without you. 

Watershed will be playing the CD92.9 Big Room one final time Saturday January 27th at 1 pm. Our set was chosen by CD92.9 DJ Adam Latek. The show is sold out, but if you don’t have a ticket just show up anyway. It’s an all-day event so I’m sure we can get you in at 1 pm. And that’s a Watershed Promise!*

*A “Watershed Promise” does not constitute an actual promise.