I couldn't stop moving when it first took hold.It was a warm spring night in the ol' town hall There was a group called The Jokers, they were layin' it down. Don'tcha know I'm never gonna lose that funky sound.

Quick Hit

“Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo” by  Rick Derringer (1973)

When I was in my early teens I would babysit the odd time for a bit of spare money. I remember this song was on a K-tel record that I took with me babysitting one time. This couple I babysat for had a grand piano. The guy could play like there’s no tomorrow and I thought that was pretty cool - although you wouldn’t know it from looking at him. He looked like your typical business man.

Anyway he let me use his stereo when I was over babysitting and encouraged me to bring my own albums to play (although he had a few good ones). His stereo was pretty high end. To me this seemed a bit odd. He was paying me to hang out and listen to records while his sons slept and I ate bar-b-qued potato chips and drank 7-Up. Not a bad deal!

Hello Daddy, hello Mom I'm your ch ch ch ch ch cherry bomb Hello world I'm your wild girl I'm your ch ch ch ch ch cherry bomb

70’s Pick of the Week

“Cherry Bomb” by the Runaways (1977)

Long, long before the Donnas, and the so-called Riot Grrl movement of the ‘90’s came the trailblazing, unwittingly feminist band, the Runaways.

When teenagers Sandy West and Joan Jett met, they wanted to form a rock band - not a very popular idea at a very male-dominated time in rock history. The great thing about them is that they wrote, played their own instruments and performed world-wide. The problem was that their audience, also teenagers, could not get into the bars they played in. While they were a great success in Europe and especially Japan, they never really gained anything more than a cult following in North America.

The legendary, bizarre producer Kim Fowley had given drummer Sandy West, Joan Jett’s phone number and told them to get together to see if they could do anything. The group originally started as trio with Micki Steele (later of the Bangles), who toured clubs in Los Angeles.  Steele eventually got fired and was replaced.  Soon after, Lita Ford (lead guitar) and Jackie Fox (bass) were hired to round out the group.

I am waiting for my man twenty-six dollars in my hand up to Lexington, 125 feel sick & dirty, more dead than alive

The origins of “Alternative Music” and the rise of Punk – Part II

“I’m Waiting for My Man”, The Velvet Underground (1967)

Back in New York another very significant artist to contribute to what would become alternate music, was Lou Reed. To think this song came out when I was in grade school is almost creepy. The guy is talking about a heroin deal in Harlem. I was likely making batman puppets, bringing my guinea pig in for show-and-tell, or writing my first poem for Mrs. T.  Who knew?

 Seemingly from a normal Brooklyn Jewish family, Lou Reed learned to play guitar listening to the R&B and doo-wop on the radio. Having received ‘electroconvulsive” shock therapy in his teens to ‘cure’ his homosexuality, things took a different turn for Reed. The appearance of ‘normal’ would continue for a while as Reed completed a B.A. from Syracuse University College of Arts and Science in 1964, where he met John Cale (who is most famous for his song “Cocaine”).

The Velvet Underground who was based on the lower East-side in New York would catch the attention of Andy Warhol who led the visual art movement in the 1960’s. Now considered by some to be the pioneers of Goth rock, glam rock, and maybe even punk rock,  VU’s, 1967’s “The Velvet Underground & Nico” has been called the most prophetic rock album ever made (Rolling Stone).

Hair Band Head-to-Head

Songs Everyone Should Know

“Wanted Dead or Alive”, Bon Jovi, 1987

“Paradise City”, Guns N’ Roses, 1987

Today we put two serious hair bands head-to-head. Look out as they were both at the top of their game when these two beauties came out!

Hair bands were an evolution of glam, hard rock, and heavy metal. The glitzy, but edgy look with fast power chord guitar dominated. Pretty boys with guitars really – but those boys knew how to rock!

Quick Hit for Hump Day

"When you hit rock bottom and you're there to stay......."
 

Mike this one’s for you............

In the seventies when things were starting to get a bit stale, a funky little group out of Detroit changed all of that. The original line up Starchild (Stanley), The Demon (Simmons), Spaceman or Space Ace (Frehley), and Catman (Criss) were about the stage show. 

Kiss first performed in 1973 and rose to prominence in the years 1975-78 when they were at their height. Resurgence in interest in the 1990’s once again had the Kiss Army getting the boots and spikes out of the closet.

The debut album “Kiss”, than “Hotter than Hell” and then “Dressed to Kill” were released as a 3 record set called “The Originals” that arguably saved Casablanca records from falling off the map. This is now a valuable collector’s item and included all 3 albums, stickers, and the coveted kiss army patch. 

Being all about theatrics and the stage show, the first three albums would not go down in history as the greatest songs of all time – but there are some classics now. 

One of the songs that showcase the growing talent in Kiss was “Rock Bottom:” When the craze was on for acoustic acts in the 1990’s there was a lot of 'unplugged’ albums made live. Kiss was ‘unmasked and seated’ for this one. 

Commercial success improved for Kiss after The Originals in the form of producer Bob Ezrin (long time Alice Cooper producer) who helped them to great success with my favourite Kiss album ‘Destroyer” in 1976. 

Enjoy!