We are proud to announce that The Summit FM has been awarded an operating grant from the Ohio Arts Council for the very first time. This landmark achievement affirms our artistic merit and community impact while providing crucial unrestricted support to sustain our daily operations and ensure the station’s long-term future.

Summit FM General Manager Tommy Bruno adds:
"The loss of federal CPB funding was a major challenge for us, and it made us take a hard look at how we could continue delivering the kind of local, independent programming our listeners count on. Receiving this support from the Ohio Arts Council is not just financial help—it’s recognition that what we do matters to the cultural fabric of Northeast Ohio. This grant helps ensure that The Summit can remain strong, independent, and community-focused."

For more information on the Ohio Arts Council, visit oac.ohio.gov

By Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor

"Tamacun," the instrumental tune that kicks off the official debut from Rodrigo y Gabriela, startles as it shows off what this Mexican duo was all about. There is power in the acoustic side of music, and these two were dead set on proving that. Shards of classical, flamenco, folk, Latin and rock all come crashing together in a perfect storm you can't help but react to.

They began a musical life playing a heavier style of music in their native Mexico City before packing up and moving to Ireland. It was then that they became fixated on the idea of musical worlds colliding. As the acoustic guitar served as the driving force, their early heavy metal influences were never too far from reach, as proven later in the album by covers of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" and "Orion" by Metallica.

"There was always music in my home," Gabriela recalled in a 2006 interview. "My mum was a music lover and her collection of music was fantastic. She had jazz, classical, the Beatles, Rolling Stones; to salsa (very good salsa), to Mexican boleros." This melting pot of sounds and styles hit her hard, and by age 11 Gabriela had decided she wanted to learn an instrument.

From "Diablo Rojo" and "Vikingman" through to "Satori" and "Ixtapa," the album flows like a mighty and exotic river, with each wave different from the last as it crashes. Their take on "Orion," originally from Metallica's Master of Puppets album, is a perfect fit. In fact, after it plays out, it makes more sense in the setting they create here than it did on Puppets. They truly made it their own.

Producer John Leckie added just the right amount of polish to the recordings here. His flair for beauty with such bands as XTC, Magazine, Radiohead, the Verve and many more works perfectly in this setting, creating an album that pushed beyond the NPR-type walls a lot of records like this seemed destined to stall behind. They worked out their unique direction in front of live audiences.

"We then moved to the beach and we were playing different styles of music even though we didn’t have any material to play for romantic, candlelit dinners for tourists at the beach," Gabriela recalled. "We were so desperate to work we agreed and did two sets of 45 minutes in which we played Metallica and Slayer, and people said, ‘What sort of music is that?’"

The album was released in February 2006 and, incredibly, shot to No. 1 in Ireland. It also led to a career that continues to this day, along the way scoring a couple of Grammy Awards and providing a unique and interesting soundtrack for anyone who listens.

Welcome to Fantasy Football, Public Radio style! If you’re a sports nut, or maybe just stuck with one, a minimum $25 donation earns you a Summit Fantasy Football team!

We have space for up to 100 Summit Fantasy Football teams, split into up to TEN leagues that will play each week throughout the NFL football season. 

Each league will be joined by at least two Summit artists or staff members. Compete and encourage…or smack talk with your new league frenemies and Summit FM Personalities!

If you want, can donate up to $50 for two teams - playing in separate leagues.

League winners will DJ their personal victory song and their league’s “least-winning team song” - LIVE ON AIR - Plus have their team name emblazoned for eternity on the Summit FM Fantasy Football Champions Plaque!

Each League’s worst record team at end of season must select from the “least-winning team” songs - not their own - that each player submits at sign up to be DJ’ed by the league’s champion (with permission of course).

The deadline to sign up is Labor Day, Monday, September 1^st*:

*Beyond basics we just need your team name(s), as well as your personal championship song and your league’s “least-winning team” song selection

Hopefully a live draft event will be held on Wednesday, September 3^rd, at 7:30pm, location TBA depending on response.

Players do not have to attend or draft their fantasy team(s) live. Those teams will be computer auto-drafted by ESPN, but may or may not look great at the draft’s end.

More details to follow your registration!

San Francisco singer-songwriter, bandleader, and 30-year TV newsman Dan Ashley joined Brad Savage for an interview and a couple live acoustic songs, performed remotely. Dan Ashley is the nightly news host on ABC-7 (KGO-TV) in San Francisco for many years, and is well known for his excellent band. It's super cool that the anchorman also has a live and active indie band. "Keep it classy, San Francisco!"

By Chad Miller - Summit FM Music Director

What's everyone been listening to out there? So much new music coming at us, so little time... However, these songs that might fly under the radar to most are what I've been diggin' these past few weeks!

Like what you hear? Please email me at chad@thesummit.fm and let me know what you think!

By Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor

Tattoos, piercings, heroin, dreads, distorted drum machines, noisy guitars, a gallon of angst and dirt all made up the Ministry that wandered out of the Lollapalooza Generation. But in the beginning, there was a "kinder, gentler" Ministry, much more in tune with the synth-pop sounds of the early ’80s. In fact, that's when their debut album, With Sympathy, was released—1983, to be exact. After many years of poking fun at and ignoring this first step, band leader Al Jourgensen has finally embraced his “controversial” debut LP.

It's a different animal altogether from later dark entries like The Land of Rape and Honey and A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste, but as a jumping-off point, it worked—and still works. In fact, I'd wager that it holds up better all these years later than some of the angry stuff!

Far from being a hit, it was one of many synth-driven bands and records of the time. This was prime time for Bronski Beat, Ultravox (phase 2), Depeche Mode (already off and running), and of course chart successes like The Human League, Thomas Dolby, and A Flock of Seagulls. It was “the future now,” so to speak.

Ministry threw their hat in the ring with other hopefuls and actually came up with an interesting take on synth-driven pop that also mixed in funk rhythms, urban landscapes, and slight nods to rap—with a production style that was far less British than many were aiming for at that time. In fact, 40+ years later, it stands as not only a brave move by a new band, but one that sounds less dated than many others from the era.

“Work for Love” and “Revenge” were big college radio hits that also found their way to dance clubs via the almighty 12" singles and dance mixes so popular at the time. While lighter in tone than the aforementioned later albums, it still chugs along with an anger of its own. Tracks like “Here We Go” and “Effigy” realize that side of the band, while “What He Say” almost sounds like a pissed-off Tom Tom Club. “Should Have Known Better” and “Say You’re Sorry” hold down the more expected sounds of 1983, but never in a generic way.

Jourgensen would move away from the pop leanings with each successive release. The next album, 1986’s Twitch, along with a handful of 12" singles, landed the band where they were destined to be, and by the time of The Land of Rape and Honey in 1988, they were all but unrecognizable from their debut.

Finally, the dust has settled, and With Sympathy can be seen for what it was—not a misstep at all, but a unique slice of synth-pop that not only holds its own with others of the day, but rises above most of them. Dance on, kids—dance on!

By Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor

It didn't take long for Paul Westerberg to prove he was more than a drunk punk. From those very first Replacements records, songs like “Kids Don’t Follow,” “I’m in Trouble,” and “Color Me Impressed” all showed the guy knew how to write a good song. By 1984's Let It Be, the high praise was being tossed around at every turn over the likes of “I Will Dare,” “Unsatisfied,” and “Sixteen Blue.”

Soon after, the major labels came calling, and it seemed the Replacements were going to hit the big time. What turned out, in part, to be a career full of self-sabotaging, Westerberg and company had other things in mind. After signing with Sire Records and releasing the album Tim, things were looking up and our guys were invited to Saturday Night Live. Now, first off, let me say it is probably one of the greatest SNL music spots ever. Second, for anyone who has seen the Nirvana appearance from a few years later and thinks that is the be-all, end-all of ramshackle middle finger to the machine—do yourself a favor and search out the 1986 Replacements clip. It's a chaotic mess in the best way—raw and rev’d up without a care in the world. They were scolded for not “playing the game,” and let's just say, were not frequent visitors.

A couple more albums would follow before the band fell apart in an alcoholic identity crisis. Critics and fans had been heaping praise upon Westerberg in particular as the next great songwriter. Upon going solo, he focused more on that task of songwriting with the album 14 Songs in 1993—ironically at a time when the raw rock and roll of the Replacements could have been more at home. However, Westerberg was off and running in another direction, focusing on the song. 1996 would bring album #2, Eventually, which featured Paul playing a myriad of instruments and trying on a variety of styles.

From the folk pop of opener “These Are the Days,” it was clear he was more focused than ever. “You've Had It With You” harkens back to the more ragged Replacements vibe, while “MamaDaddyDid” and “Once Around the Weekend” were somewhat paint-by-numbers alt-pop for the era—radio-friendly pop songs, perfect for a soundtrack near you. “Time Flies Tomorrow” is a beautiful song that ends the album in high style.

The album is full of these mid-tempo, melody-driven adult pop songs that, while fine, fail to really catch fire at first. But listen upon listen shows the layers underneath. A half dozen albums later, and he’s been pretty quiet ever since. Oh Paul, where'd ya go!?

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By Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor

The Bangles were, in many ways, a textbook example of a great rock and roll band who got sucked into the corporate system and drained of all that made them so special.

Following the death of John Lennon in December of 1980, guitarist Vicki Peterson became fast friends with guitarist Susanna Hoffs, bonding over their love of all things Beatles, Byrds, and Buffalo Springfield—and pop music of the 1960s in general. Vicki's sister Debbie played drums, and the trio began working on songs and, in short order, headed into the recording studio to record their debut single in 1981. A lawsuit prompted the name change to the Bangles as the trio added bassist Annette Zilinskas. After some heavy local airplay, they signed with I.R.S./Faulty Products—at the time home to everyone from R.E.M. to Dead Kennedys.

A five-song EP was issued, which introduced them to the world outside Los Angeles. It caught on quickly, capturing fans with their mixture of pop, folk, and garage rock—all with beautiful Mamas (no Papas) harmonies full of sunshine. Columbia Records came calling and signed the band, releasing their debut album, All Over the Place, in the spring of 1984. College radio was highly supportive, and soon MTV caught on. By the time they headed back in to record album number two, Columbia considered there could be more here for the masses.

By this time, the Bangles had also gained a big fan in Prince, who took notice and wrote them a song. Manic Mondaywas a huge hit, narrowly missing the top of the charts. The follow-up, Walk Like an Egyptian, would hit that coveted spot and propel that album, Different Light, into big numbers. The problem—if you wish to consider it one—was that neither of those songs were band compositions and were produced in a generic, radio-friendly style. I'm not putting down success, but they had little or nothing to do with what the band was all about. Their image was also altered, and the media focused on the beauty of Miss Hoffs.

Time for album number three, and the label wants more of the same—high-gloss, shiny pop songs, power ballads, direct from that ’80s pop plan. Prior to the new LP, the band released a single from the Less Than Zero soundtrack: a cover of the Simon & Garfunkel classic Hazy Shade of Winter, which not only made it to #2, but it rocked! The guitars were loud, the harmonies were front and center. This was a good sign!

Released in the fall of 1988, Everything was a mishmash of the band trying to break through from under the cellophane while still satisfying the powers that were. The first single, In My Room, had a vague ’60s vibe under its ’80s blanket, while the number-one hit Eternal Flame was a pure “lighters-in-the-air, swaying-side-to-side” power ballad. Most of the album was co-written by band members with outside writers—everyone from former Kiss member Vinnie Vincent to Stiff Records alum (and Akron native) Rachel Sweet.

That's not to say it’s all bad—there are some genuinely good songs here. Complicated Girl, written by bassist Michael Steele, is a jangly gem despite its gloss, while Bell Jar, written by the Peterson sisters, is a great rocker! Hoffs’ I’ll Set You Free is a good folk/pop tune, slightly hampered somewhat by the production. Vicki and Susanna team up for the all-out rocker Watching the Sky, a surprise with its Led Zep-styled riff at the center of the song. Some Dreams Come True, from Debbi Peterson, is a driving pop song, while the Rachel Sweet–aided Crash and Burn recaptures a bit of their garage roots.

The highlight here has to be Glitter Years, another from Steele. Guitars chime as she sings about lost days on the Sunset Strip in the mid-’70s, with references to the original glitter era, Rodney’s English Disco, Bowie, and so on. This is where they should have been. It’s a killer! I guess what this tells me—and my ears—after all these years is, the ladies didn’t need outside help. They were doing just fine. Of course, the hits bring in the money, pay the bills—and I’m all for that—but it’s a high price to pay for one’s identity.

Ultimately, Everything shows a band trying to find their identity in an era where it was all getting lost in corporate sludge. Of course, it’s far worse now and has been for years, but the Bangles were truly special—and as a fan, it was sad to see them get swallowed up by the machine, then spat out when they no longer “fit the suit” (Johnny Bravo reference). It may have been a step up artistically from Different Light, but not good enough for the suits, as it “only” made number 15.

It reminds me of that quote—often mistakenly credited to Hunter S. Thompson: “The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side.”

By Sarah Swirsky, MSW, LISW

Here’s some fascinating news for music lovers: going to concerts regularly might actually help you live longer.

A study led by behavioral science expert Patrick Fagan (in collaboration with O2) suggests that attending live music events every two weeks can boost your sense of well-being by 21%. That includes a 25% rise in feelings of self-worth and connection with others, plus a 75% increase in mental stimulation. Even more intriguing? These boosts are linked to a potential increase in life expectancy — possibly adding up to nine extra years.

Adding to the surprising health perks, live music benefits go well beyond a temporary mood lift. In fact, that 21% jump in well-being outperforms other common activities like yoga (+10%) and dog-walking (+7%) — even with just 20 minutes at a show every couple of weeks. Concerts also lower cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone, and increase dopamine, creating a meaningful emotional high that’s both mentally and physically restorative. On top of that, researchers have found that regularly participating in cultural events like concerts can build stronger social bonds, improve heart health, and even reduce healthcare costs over time.

While the study hasn’t been peer-reviewed or published in a scientific journal, it offers an interesting perspective on the positive effects of live music. The shared experience, the emotional highs, and the sense of belonging that concerts create all seem to play a meaningful role in mental and emotional health.

At The Summit FM, we know music’s value goes far beyond entertainment. Whether you’re in the front row or enjoying a small local show, the benefits of live music are worth paying attention to — for your well-being today and for the years ahead.