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Pittsburgh, PA (October 7th and 8th, 2005)—Fans of alternative music will pay long-overdue tribute to the finest
radio station to ever grace the airwaves of Pittsburgh, the late, lamented WXXP — a/k/a 100.7 "Double X."

The tribute will be held over two nights, October 7-8, 2005, at the Rex Theatre on Pittsburgh's South Side. It's no
coincidence that the date of the first show is 10/07 — the date was chosen to correspond to WXXP's old location
on the FM dial: 100.7. Tickets for the show, also not coincidentally, will be $10.07.

"People don't realize the impact that this radio station had on Pittsburgh," says Rod Schwartz, one of the shows'
organizers. "No major-market station in this area has been brave enough to commit exclusively to what we now
call alternative music, before or since. And in those days, it wasn't even called alternative. This was before
Nirvana, before Radiohead. The music didn't have a name. We all just thought of it as good music that no one
else was playing."

Indeed, WXXP-FM was a pioneer, credited with breaking bands like They Might Be Giants on the national level,
thanks to a strong signal that could be picked up throughout the Tri-State area. The station's lifespan was short, just
two years, 1986 to 1988. But those two years had a lasting impact.

"Their slogan 'Dare to be different' wasn't just a catch-phrase," says Schwartz. "It was a literal description of what
they were doing. It was defiant. It reflected the fact that they were really sticking their necks out, taking a risk.
They really were daring to be different. And in the end, they got burned. It was too much of a gamble to sustain.
The listenership was there, but the advertisers and station owners got cold feet. I mean, everyone I knew listened to
WXXP. Everyone. But the Arbitron ratings somehow didn't reflect the numbers. Maybe too many listeners were
teenagers and college students who didn't qualify for the ratings surveys. Who knows? But Double X had a huge
following, and the official numbers somehow didn't reflect that. So the owners lost faith and pulled the plug at the
height of the station's popularity. It was a real tragedy."

Though the WXXP DJs are now scattered across the U.S., many have committed to coming to Pittsburgh to attend
the tribute. When the idea was hatched last fall, the first call Schwartz made was to WXXP alumnus Cris Winter,
currently on the air with Pittsburgh's 94.5 3WS. Winter was receptive to the idea and has since played an active
role in organizing the event.

"The response to this show from the old gang has been really gratifying," Winter says. "All the people we've
contacted, no matter where they are now or what they've moved onto, have been overwhelmingly responsive and
enthusiastic about coming in to Pittsburgh for this. There's a real sense among all of us of having been involved
with something special, something that ended too suddenly, and there's a lack of closure for many of us. This is
the chance we never had all those years ago: to have a big party for the station that changed all of our lives. It's
going to be a really joyful weekend."

Winter's prediction has an official stamp: The Mayor's Office has declared October 7, 2005 to be WXXP Day in
Pittsburgh.

"That just blows my mind," says Schwartz. "And it validates this project in such a huge way. This October 7 and 8,
this long-lost radio station, that had such a positive impact on so many people, will have the keys to the city. That's
something those DJs deserve. It's a real honor, but I think it's entirely appropriate. It's been a long time coming
and that makes it all the sweeter. Pittsburgh has a way of always doing the right thing in the end."

The shows will be a music-filled journey back to the late '80s, a loving odyssey through songs that the station made
popular. A live band, consisting of members of some of Pittsburgh's best-known groups past and present, will play
over 50 songs each night. Rehearsals began in February.

"It's not exactly a chore to learn these songs," says Schwartz. "These are the songs we loved during some pretty
crucial years in our lives. We started rehearsing so early because we want the music to sound as close as possible
to the songs people remember from the radio. We want people to be able to close their eyes and imagine it's 1987
and they've got their radio tuned to WXXP. Of course, if their eyes are closed, that could be a problem because
they're going to be dancing!"

The set list is being kept under wraps, Schwartz says, so that there are as many surprises as possible on the two
nights of the shows. When pressed, though, he suggests that people shouldn't be too surprised to hear their favorites
by bands like New Order, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Cure, and many others. "If you were alive between 1986
and 1988, you can count on hearing some of your favorite songs being played. And played by musicians who love
that stuff as much as you do!"

Schwartz says there is one further motivation for he and his cohorts to "play tribute" to WXXP:

"It's easy to forget this now, but there was little or no local music scene in Pittsburgh prior to that station. That
scene didn't exist until WXXP created it in 1986. Double X played local bands in the same rotation as national
acts. You can't overstate what an effect that had. It created an instant live music scene. Groups like The
Affordable Floors, The Clarks, The Sponges, 11th Hour, and The Spuds couldn't get arrested before Double X went
on the air. Suddenly we were packing them in, selling out clubs like Graffiti, the Upstage and the Decade. There
was electricity in the air. Practically overnight, Pittsburgh became a music town with any number of local bands
that had a big following. All because of this one radio station that had the guts to put local bands in rotation. And
it's no coincidence that that scene as we knew it dried up shortly after Double X went off the air. There have been
a lot of great local bands since then, and some have done really well, but they've had to do it without the benefit
of a vibrant scene like we had for a while during the Double X era. A whole generation of Pittsburgh musicians
owes a huge debt to WXXP. These shows are our way of saying thanks."

Ticket proceeds will benefit the Western Pennsylvania Area America Diabetes Association and the Mercy Hospital
Amputee Program. Auction and merchandise proceeds will benefit the Persad Center of Pittsburgh
A portion of the proceeds with be donated to the American Red Cross for the Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort

The Rex Theatre is located at 1602 East Carson St., Pittsburgh, PA. Tickets are $10.07 and will available via
Ticket Master. Admission is 21-and-over only. Showtime both nights is 7:00 p.m. The Rex Theatre box office can
be reached at 412-381-6811.

For updates and further information, please visit www.wxxp.com.