JosephBurke.com

B.O.U.N.C.E. Radio, Creepy Locales & More

// February 21st, 2007 // Joe's Blog

So I am now a disc jockey in two locations now which boggles my mind to this day. It’s no well kept secret that I DJ in Whitesburg, Kentucky at WMMT FM where I do a weekly show on Friday mornings called Crossroads (10AM-1PM EST). Now, thanks to my buddy Paul Fix out in Arizona, my voice is now being heard literally worldwide again on B.O.U.N.C.E. Radio. The station is founded out of pure fun, and is strictly and online radio station with several streams to choose from, and the schedule is always changing up. They even made me my own message forum on their new Forums community called PULSE. It’s wild I tell ya! So here’s the scoop on B.O.U.N.C.E. Radio and when you can tune me in; Mondays 9PM-Midnight EST. I play pretty much a close format to what I play on WMMT, which is many genres, eras and styles of music ranging from rock, pop, oldies, classic country to bluegrass. I also do live interviews, call-ins and request line music via the Yahoo Messenger, just add “rotcav.” So, if you’re bored on Monday nights and need an extra boost to help jumps start your weekdays, B.O.U.N.C.E. Radio is your ticket to ride. Be sure to check out the new site at BounceRadio.net.

So I was roaming around the Appalshop grounds today with camera in hand. I was accompanied by Appalshopper Bethany Baxter who is in charge of this year’s Seedtime on the Cumberland Festival and the complete renovation project of the old Boone Motor Building in downtown Whitesburg, KY. I was out taking pictures of the progress of the renovation when I noticed the little road beside the building kept going on past a curve just a short walk away. I asked her, “Where on Earth does this road lead to?” She said, “A very creepy place that used to be Whitesburg’s old water treatment plant.” I was sold at that moment and I said, you mind if you accompany me up to the site, and she had no hesitation in declining.

So this is the first thing you see when you walk up to the old building, which kind of reminds me something out of a horror movie in many, many ways. Strangely enough, and you can’t see it in this picture, US 119 runs directly behind this building which is the main bypass around Whitesburg, and you can see this old facility from the highway when the brush is dead, like in the winter.

So I had Bethany take a picture of me and the old pipes, which has this eerie Texas Chainsaw, Sawmill type feel to it that is just freaky, for lack of a better word. And you can barely make it out in this picture, but to the right is a square metal structure that has a hole and steps leading down to a giant chamber. DEEP!!! Bethany picked up an old plastic bottle that was lying around the rubble and dropped it straight down. In all honesty, it seemed like 3-4 seconds passed before we heard the loud thud below our feet and realized the entire floor area was a giant concrete slab covering this chamber below us and the hole was just an entry point. The thud literally sent chills down my spine it was so deep and bassy.

Now let’s back up to the entry to the old building where off to the left was a another room that led to this amazing graffiti of rock legend Joey Ramone. Pretty cool eh? Some local kids have talent and good taste in music, that’s for sure.

As Bethany and I were walking back across the street to the Appalshop, I happened to notice this on spray painted on the back side of the Boone Motor Building. You can see this if you just pull in with your car because it’s so close to the road where the building resides. This is a famous disc jockey on WMMT who has since retired called Rockin’ Marvin or Starvin’ Marvin. I think they tested some screens for t-shirt silk screening here or something, but it’s kind of a neat find. It’s sad this will little art piece will be history when the building’s exterior gets a power wash to clean the paint glaze of the bricks.

So, here we are back at the building where I can be a total geek and not worry about what others think of me. This is the one the only, the Appalshop on Madison Avenue in downtown Whitesburg, Kentucky.