CD 92.9 FM signs off Thursday, but fans gather to celebrate station's history.
Wednesday was the last day for alternative rock station CD 92.9 FM, signing off and leaving the airwaves at midnight Thursday and taking its call letters WWCD with it.
But not until fans had a chance to say farewell to a station that has been a big part of their lives for years.
Longtime listeners Casey and Steven Evoy of the South Side asked WWCD president Randy Malloy to open the doors of the Big Room Bar at the station's South Front Street studios so fans could gather, have a beer, share stories, and enjoy music during CD 92.9's last hours.
"We won their Rock Star Wedding Contest," Casey Evoy said. The couple, both 38, were married March 13, 2020 in Las Vegas. "It's sentimental for us."
Her husband said the station created many music memories for generations, since it first went on the air in 1990 as CD 101.
"There are a lot of local bands that we never would have heard if it wasn't for Randy," Steven Evoy said.
So Malloy opened the doors and the bar at noon for anyone who wanted to hang out the last 12 hours. Listeners started to trickle in.
"How are you doing?" Casey Evoy asked Malloy.
"Just super duper," Malloy said.
"I didn't think of this. They wanted to be here," Malloy said. "They wanted to be here."
The station became a soundtrack of listeners' lives, said Malloy, and for years has been his life's passion. The station championed bands and artists from the beginning. Malloy ticked off names including Fitz and the Tantrums and Billie Eilish. British band Wolf Alice gave a shoutout to Malloy from the Newport Music Hall stage in 2022 for the station's support.
Bands from Coldplay to Muse to Nirvana visited the station's studios, he said.
"We had the Ramones back in the day," he said.
The station also featured local artists, including Angela Perley, The Cordial Sins, and CAAMP.
"I'm grateful to the local bands here," Malloy said.
"I'm just P.T. Barnum," he said. "I'm good at marketing."
But the fans of the station feel there will be a void when it's gone.
"It will be different," Malloy said. "We'll lose something."
Taking WWCD's place on that frequency is WXGT — "93X" — branding itself as "a better alternative" including local groups.
In a release, new operator Delmar Media said that the new station's first 10 days will be commercial-free music along with ABC News.
It also said that 93X will be asking local alternative artists to submit music for airplay on the station.
The station also is looking for on-air personalities, and will be asking for input from listeners by email and through a telephone number.
The changes come after Malloy and Delmar Media and ICS Communications could not work out a deal for WWCD to stay on the air. Malloy was in the middle of a six-year lease but failed to finalize an agreement to stay on-the-air the remaining three years.
WWCD called itself "one of Ohio's last independently operated radio stations," beginning in 1990 as CD 101 then became CD 102.5. It went off the air on Nov. 1, 2020 but returned a month later after making a deal with Delmar and ICS Communications.
Earlier this month, Delmar said it planned to continue broadcasting a similar alternative rock format when it takes over Feb. 1, saying it would "continue the legacy of WWCD by debuting a new and refreshing version of The NEW WWCD."
Malloy's legal counsel sent ICS and Delmar a cease-and-desist letter on Jan. 16 that said they could not make any representations that their operations of the station will be a continuation of WWCD's programming, not use any of WWCD's intellectual property, and that they should us different call letters.
Malloy wrote that on Jan. 18, a lawyer for ICS and Delmar responded that they would be changing the call letters.
Delmar also owns and operates WDLR-AM and FM in Marysville, and WVXG-FM in Marion/Mount Gilead.
The Dispatch left a phone message Wednesday afternoon with Mark Litton, an official with the new operator.
Even an Ohio senator is concerned about the changes.
On Wednesday afternoon, Sen. Sherrod Brown, up for reelection this year, wrote Delmar and ICS officials, along with Malloy and Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, urging the parties to "exhaust all options toward a compromise that would keep the station on the air and the workers in their jobs."
"Since early January, Ohioans in the greater Columbus area have expressed concerns about their beloved 33-year-old station’s end of broadcast at midnight on February 1, 2024," Brown wrote.
"For more than three decades WWCD has been an integral part of the independent Columbus music scene and broader listening community," Brown wrote. "Over that time period, WWCD has become ingrained in the cultural fabric of Central Ohio by not only providing the best in alternative rock’s past and present but also in attracting some of the best live acts from around the world to the region’s music venues and stages."
CD 92.9 listeners such as Kristen Holmes said she won't be listening to 93X.
"To be losing this kind of bright spot in my day-to-day life hit me hard," said Holmes, 45, of Upper Arlington, soon after the doors to the station opened, hoping to connect with other CD 92.9 fans. "It's going to be impactful to all the local bands they supported."
Before the doors opened, John Anderson arrived the station with Dairy Queen Blizzards after he heard morning host Brian Phillips say during his show, "Just bring me some Braziers."
"That's code for DQ," said Anderson, 61, of Grandview Heights.
"They've done so much to amplify local music," he said.
By 4:30 p.m. Thursday, the station's parking lot was full and about 50 people were inside talking and listening to CD 92.9 as the station's time wound down.
Malloy said he is still working to keep WWCD going in some way.
Casey Evoy said she wants WWCD to continue to be a part of her life.
"I always hope that it will," she said.
mferench@dispatch.com
@MarkFerenchik
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: CD 92.9 FM signs off as 93X set to begin 'better alternative' rock
