Well, here I am. I haven’t written anything “for” anyone else since my school days, and I barely did then!

Kim Mason asked me to write a local music column for The Amplifier, which was flattering as hell! Being the vain man I am, I jumped at the chance. Then, the insecure writer I am said, “Way to go dude – Something ELSE for us to screw up!”. So, here we go. I guess I’m qualified to write this thing by nature of my lifestyle and profession. In case you don’t know,

I am an on-air personality for WPTQ, 103.7 The Point. I don’t say “DJ” here because it seems like a bit of a fib, and I wouldn’t fib to you. The “D” in “DJ” stands for disc, and other than rare occasions in which emergency demanded, the “discs” I’ve “jocked” in 12 years of radio are rectangular and say “Seagate” on them. Sorry to de-romanticize my job, but its industry standard.

But, you can call me a DJ for brevity’s sake. It also sounds far less pretentious.

I am as active in the local rock scene as I can be. I say “rock” because frankly it is my life. I would not be qualified to tell you about the local opera scene, nor the local dulcimer club. This is not for lack of respect, but for lack understanding. And, I don’t have anything against a solid cover band. Some of my best buds are in them, but again, I must be frank and tell you that that’s not really part of this column either.

I am an aging punk-rocker, Old-School Funkateer, and my middle name is Aaron because of Elvis. There is ENTIRELY too much great original local rock for me to be able to write about anything else.

I suppose I’ve been given plenty of latitude here by the good people at The Amplifier, so I’ll also tell you up front that this will not be a “review” column. Certainly, I will give my impressions of various shows, CDs, studio experiences, etc. But, like Momma said, “If you can’t say anything good about someone…”

Now, with all my qualifications and disclaimers out of the way, let’s get down to business!

My last few days have been INCREDIBLY exciting! As you may have seen by now, (mainly due to my constant plugging) I made a stunt video at John King’s 4th of July cookout. When you spend all afternoon drinking beer and listening to a Tim Wilson CD in Morgantown, that’s what you get! But more on that jive turkey later! Luckily, I was able to make it to Tidball’s from King’s, arriving in town just in time for the fireworks on campus! Super 8 Bit Bros, Vilejive, and Tubring were on the bill that night.

An ELECTRIFYING performance, to say the least! OK, it would be kind of crummy for me to drop some snide inside joke and not acknowledge that yes, there was an almost very bad electrical issue during Vilejive’s set, and yes, many of us were worried about vocalist Tony and bassist Shep. But, everything is apparently OK. Super 8 Bot Bros were entertaining, Vilejive laid waste as always, and EVERYONE was excited to see Tubring come back to BG!

Thursday, I rather wisely stayed home. Thanks for the couch-time Nick. Sorry about your phone.

Friday, and God Bless Veronkia and Jenn for the lift, it was back to Tidball’s for Lee Harvey, The Lost River Cavemen, and The Fox Cult. That’s one great thing about the scene around here. A solo acoustic honky-tonk troubadour, a punk-influenced acoustic combo, and a kick-in-the-ass electric monster, all on the same bill, all with the same “crowd”, and mostly all at the same party afterward!

Todd, please GOD don’t ever move from behind Tid’s! I sorely missed Lee Harvey, LRC were fantastic, and The Fox Cult, who were beautiful as always, need to play out more often before I whip ’em with a Barry Manilow LP!! Anyway, therein lies our strength. The diversity is to me, a recent insider and still historically ignorant student of these artists, the diversity.

Now, I will talk out both sides of my mouth. I MUST respect the diversity, but Saturday was wall-to-wall blue collar rock-n-roll heaven! Chasing Layne and Sixth Floor on the same bill!?!?! Why YES!! It was the Redneck Apocalypse. Needless to say, it blew up. Chasing Layne is a VERY strong young band, mainly out of Tompkinsville, but with a dash of old-school Barren Co. Dazzle! These guys have a special place in my heart, because they were the first band I ever had on my Local Show (Sunday nights at 9 on the Point) almost two years ago. They have made enormous strides and I have enjoyed every second I’ve spent with them!

I am quite proud of them. They put on their best show to date, according to many Saturday night. Only to have that followed up by the band that has come to be an event in these parts: Sixth Floor. People came from, I know of for sure, Hart, Barren, Metcalfe, Monroe, Green, Butler, Grayson and Ohio counties to see these two spectacular rock bands on one bill! And those Sixth Floor guys are stronger than ever! As much as I have loved (and will continue to love) hearing Sixth Floor through some giant P.A. at a big “national” show, there is something singular to seeing them at Tidball’s. As long as I have John King to give me some verbal jab and a wink, and buy me a (many) Pabst(s), I’ll have something to write about. How ’bout those Cavs, BTW John? It was a memorable night, though I missed the panty-less flash during Chasing Layne’s set, and the guy putting his head through the ceiling!

Finally, between hanging with Saint Phoenix all day Sunday, THEN all of us going to the Black Stone Cherry bonfire, I rubbed enough elbows with Rock Royalty from around here to fill a whole ‘nother column. But, I have gone on too long, and I will see both Saint Phoenix and Black Stone Cherry live soon, so I’ll save my words on them for a later date. The short of it is both bands are full great guys that I consider family.

Come to think of it, that’s just about every local band I know.

Lucky me!

Bratcher can be heard 12n-3p M-F, 9a-2p Saturdays, and Sunday nights @ 9p with Beth Black on

The Local Show, brought to you by Kentucky Music Company on 103.7 The Point. (http://www.1037thepoint.net)