RADIO-FREE TUCSON: Several years ago, my sister and I were heading back to Tucson after a fun-filled weekend in Los Angeles. The Space Age Lodge coffee had worn off somewhere around Casa Grande and the only thing keeping us awake was the loud, juicy splat of bugs on the windshield. I turned the radio on and started dialing for a station. Between the snap, crackle and pop we heard that hoary rock and roll chestnut "Stairway To Heaven" telling us that Tucson was on the horizon. After the demise of the original KWFM, Tucson radio slid into the hopper and stayed there for nearly a decade. The sorry state of local radio brought about the unlikely pairing of Paul Barrington, a truck driver, and Roger Greer, a former Mormon missionary, both of whom, along with Frank Milan, championed the cause for community radio. No easy task, the process took five years to nail down all the details concerning incorporation and FCC licensing along with training volunteers in broadcast skills. Finally, KXCI-FM signed on November 12, 1983, offering a music mix that defines the word eclectic: jazz, blues, urban, world beat, international, country, folk, Bluegrass, acoustic, Latin, Native American and local artists. KXCI has been chosen Tucson's Best Radio Station in Tucson Weekly's Best Of Tucson readers' poll every year since 1988. KXCI staff will be conducting their annual on-air fundraiser beginning Friday, July 12, and continuing through Sunday, July 14. They've picked the theme "Crazy 8s" this year, in keeping with their $8,000 goal to finance a translator that will expand the station's current listening area to include northwest Tucson. Tune in to 91.3 FM and call 623-1000 to pledge your support of community radio--or risk the chance of returning to the dark days of dino-radio. WHO NEEDS SHERMAN? Southern Culture On The Skids returns to Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St., at 9 p.m. Sunday, July 14. This North Carolina trio has launched the biggest assault on Southern living since the burning of Atlanta--in fact, they might have burned down Tara themselves just because it would have made a bitchen dirt bike track. SCOTS conjures up a highly combustible cocktail of punk, country, R&B, and rock--guaranteed to melt your Dixie Cup, darlin'. Fred Mills loves 'em and you know cotton don't grow no higher than that. Backcomb your hair and don't spare the Aqua Net for this one. Tickets are $6 in advance, available at Club Congress. The price jumps to $8 day of show. LAST NOTES: America rides their horse with no name into the Outback, 296 N. Stone Ave., at 9 p.m. Thursday, July 11. Tickets are $10, available at the Outback. Doors open at 4 p.m. Call 622-4700 for information. Representing the edge of the local underground music makers is Cortex Bomb, scheduled to drop a jazz-punk explosion at the Sixth Street Pub, 1029 E. Sixth St., on Saturday, July 13. Unthinkables, a quirky little outfit straight outa Chandler, opens the show at 9 p.m. This is a good time to party on the north side of Sixth Street before the UA rips it all down for--what else--a parking lot. They might want to consider making their existing parking lots multi-level before they start tearing down local businesses. Just a thought.... For all of you kids looking for a way to burn off those summertime blues, the Youth Storefront presents an all-ages show featuring rock bands The Blue Flames and Wondertime from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, July 13. Call 882-4471 for location and cover charge. Roots rockers The Inheritance make a stop at Borders, 4235 N. Oracle Road, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 16. The duo is on the road promoting their new album, SouthWest, which contains impressive harmonies and accomplished guitar work. They'll be playing a variety of guitars from acoustic and bottleneck slide to electric and lap steel. This event is free to the public. For more information call 292-1331. BAND NOTE: Fluxnet (http://www.fluxnet.com), is currently seeking bands with CDs, cassettes, or seven-inch singles for review in its monthly on-line E-zine. The site features music reviews, arts and culture and submission will also be considered for Luminous Flux Records' ongoing CD sampler series, which is distributed to college and commercial radio stations throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe. Bands are asked to submit a copy of their work plus a press kit to: Luminous Flux Records, ATTN: Fluxnet A&R, 8 Forest Ave., Glen Cove, NY 11542. Deadline is Friday, July 26, and materials will not be returned. --Jennifer Murphy

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