“The time will never feel right. We will never feel ready and the conditions will never be perfect. Life is short. Take a chance. Even the smallest step in the direction of your dreams can help you come alive.” ~ TinyBuddha
Garry Bibb was my sculpture instructor in college. He was known as a tough and gruff kind of guy. He was also a brilliant artist. I didn’t find him gruff at all. I found him really helpful. He didn’t ask anything of us that he didn’t ask of himself. He has a lot of work around Lexington, but one of my favorites currently stands outside the Fine Arts building. It’s called “WRFL Radio: Thunder of Universal Sound.” WRFL is UK’s student radio station. A group of determined students were deep in WRFL fundraising when I joined a band called Radio Cafe in the summer of 1985. (That band went on to become Stealin Horses). One of my first gigs with Radio Cafe was a fundraiser for WRFL on the lawn beside the student center. By 1988, the station had gotten its license and hit the airwaves. The band had gotten a deal with Arista and released our first album. That album and WRFL will celebrate their 30th anniversary this year. It feels like yesterday. It was a great time for music in Lexington. We were not the only band to land a major label deal, and WRFL wasn’t the only station supporting us all. Rock station WKQQ, itself a national heavy-hitter at the time, was on board, too. The whole Lexington music scene was stuffed with talent, enthusiasm, and support. I guess that’s why I’ve been a little perplexed at the lack of mention this period gets in books on Kentucky music and musicians. Maybe we were just too cool. It was punk and pop after all (mostly punk). Whatever the case, it was a great time to be in the music scene in Lexington and I’m grateful to have been part of it.
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