🌟We suddenly care about history, 'cause this is where we wanna be! What almost became Disco High somehow had Van Halen & Todd Rundgren attached! What did Julie London & Joe Dante have to do with it?
I love reading your stories, and I echo the comments from your other readers: what a time to be where you were, and also, if I may add, what a way to seize the day! I think I once said, when describing your experiences, that you didn't just exist through those golden years, but you were living and breathing music everywehere you went. What's more, it's that shrewdness, that astuteness (which is evident from your line of thinking at the time) that sets you apart, in my view. I like the fact you're very frank when, for example, you admit (and I'm talking more generally here) that certain encounters or events happened by mere chance or coincidence. While I don't believe anything happens ONLY by coincidence, you make it clear that sometimes certain things took you by surprise. Fair enough. What I find particularly interesting is how you recount, for example, that you knew a certain label was located X miles away, and therefore there was a reasonable chance that Mr So and So would do XYZ, or that this other thing woud probably happen in the vicinity. It's not just the knowledge, for which we all praise you: it's the systematic and intelligent use of the information available that blows my mind every single time. It's this holistically integrated pool of music industry knowledge, and the decisions you were able to make at the speed of light using that information, that I find absolutely fascinating. I want to be like you when I grow up!
Thank you, Andy! I think, with the steady stream of records Dad brought home, mid-'60s thru '73 (and then, my promos in radio and retail thru early-'80s), plus my reading all about the biz in the trades and rock press, I certainly wanted to belong to it all, and felt I could....somehow! The move to L.A. was just a way to see if I could find out how and where!
Here's one I've never told before: Shortly after arriving in early-'80 (I was 25), I tried to "force the issue," and got an app't with a bigwig at Scotti Bros. Records (which, at the time, was distributed by Atlantic Records, and part of the WEA conglomerate...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotti_Brothers_Records). I got all dressed up in a (likely) silly-looking suit, and went to their Sunset Blvd office. They placed no ad, and I didn't do anything but call and say "I'd like to work there!" and the guy set a day and time! Figured I'd start small and work my way up to Warner Bros.!
I had no idea of what I'd do, and no confident way to sound like I could offer them anything! It was really a pitiful showing, but my talents, I think, were so broad, and they wanted/needed someone who was focused on finances, actively musical (A&R, say...whatever), had biz experience, already...but, I'm glad I did it, but it was ultimately humbling and because so many musicians before me had made a similar bold effort on that same hallowed boulevard, I thought (without a guitar in hand), I'd try MY "audition"!
I think I'm working out my 30,000-ft view of the biz/that era right here, and all the stories that I was accumulating found a place to be filed in my noggin til now when they can all be laid out, FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE! I thank you for your unbridled praise and consistent and reliable readership and appreciative comments! Thankfully, my brain's not yet empty!
This is amazing, Brad. Also, your gut feeling and your fearlessness are, on top of everything else, impressive! This story you’ve just told is a perfect example of what I was saying earlier: seizing the day. Using your resources. Making every second count. Not just “being there”, accidentally, coincidentally, or fortuitously. It’s the daring to go further that makes you a hero! 😎
As always, a delightful trip down (your/some of our) memory lane! I watched RRHS again on late night TV, I want to say about a year or two ago and although incredibly dated, held up amazingly well.
I can only imagine Van Halen being chosen instead of The Ramones....Ha -- I kinda like that version as it appears in my loopy brain!
Had no idea Joe Dante was involved. That guy had his fingers in a lot of classic films!
Thank you, Steve! Certainly a film that doesn't age well, but as a nostalgia piece (and remembering its shoestring budget and AIP/'50s biker film aspirations!), it's fun to step into that snapshot again!
As for Dante, he's heavily influenced by cartoons (Warner Bros/Chuck Jones, in particular, if memory serves), and he directed 1/3 of the 6 "Police Squad" eps, the sitcom I've revered for decades, so even beyond his blockbuster movies, I've appreciated his talent and output!
As The Ramones were so easily depicted as "living cartoons" (IMO), it's hard for me to imagine the far more "serious" rockers, Van Heflin (😂) as stepping into the Lombardi hallways! Even so, the tone, I think, would've been far different (y'know, "Hot for Teacher" and all). Plus, The Ramones had room for all of us....the hardcore rockers as well as the "loveable goofs" with no one standout member....VH were all about the rock star ethos, whose "stars" often couldn't get out of each others' way! Oy. But, I hear ya!
Def a hill worth fighting for, Jim! I'd never really paid that much attention to it before, but it's quite the bitchin' solo! I do love, too, how he comes out of that break and does a figure that recalls the melody to lead them back to the verse!
I've never said this in print, but I have talked to many about it: "My Sharona" and "Don't Fear the Reaper" (there are others I'm sure I could name, but these come to me now) are two incredibly unique songs that simply could not have been duplicated by their respective bands.
I don't at all mean to equate them to all of rock's expansive pantheon, but only within each band's catalog: The Knack were as hand-cuffed by "M.S." as BOC was with "The Reaper."
In other words, each song was so monumentally distinctive and different, they'd be fools to even TRY to replicate each's sound on other songs they'd each record, and no one else, of course, could create each of those songs or sounds. Kudos to each band, yes, but while BOC (of the two) made several other memorable and "good" songs, nothing came close to the singularly riveting sound of "Reaper." Song, yes, but mad props to each producer for the sound they ended up with for THAT PARTICULAR TAKE that made the record.
I think I can say something similar for the studio recording of "A Million Miles Away" by Plimsouls. The song and production (regardless of other takes) and performance of what made the record so arresting....no way they could top it! So, the mountaintop of these songs IMO, ends up also making it so difficult to meet or eclipse the total package of each of the three songs for each of the respective artists: song, performance, production.
Thanks, Hugh! I know, right? How can you spend a short week in Hollywood, and, without doing anything, you just run into those 3!?! I couldn't NOT move there after THAT week! It'll be fun to see the flick again!
More great stuff from Brad! The Ramones were pretty cool. And you know who else was cool? My next song for Tune Tag Fridays is "Jump" by Van Halen. Because Ron Howard> Fonzi> Jump the Shark. Oh, you mean we're not playing Tune Tag right now? (https://bradkyle.substack.com/t/tune-tag) - Scuuuuzzzze me!
So much history in this post. Loved all the connections to your past and between the Hollywood and music industry folks. You have a knack for uncovering these things!
Little bit o' digging, but from 45 years ago, an awful lot of right place/right time! Back in '79, every night was going to Madame Wong's or The Whisky, and of course, you might run into someone whose pic you've seen in that month's Hit Parader! I had to move there and become a part of that!
Don't blame you, especially at that age. Terribly exciting and stimulating place to be, and now you get to revisit it and enjoy your knowledge and memories.
Love those names too, so evocative -- The Whisky and Madame Wong's. Ripe for setting a mystery or comedy there.
You nailed it, Ellen! It's so great that I A) love writing, B) have 'Stack as a venue, and C) have the long-term memory, still, to "leave all this as my legacy" aka my little, tiny corner of rock history!
All from hearsay ('cause I never met her, but I think she was pointed out to me at one point), I recall Madame Wong as being described as being a really tough lady, either as a club-owner/operator, or as a restaurant owner (which is what I believe the club was before it was a club).
Nice thought, Steve....and, the guys would've appreciated that! I remember sorta gloating to some, at the time, "Ha ha! Your favorite band doesn't have a movie out!"😂
Oh no, trust me - there was a time for shoestring-budget punk rock films, but those decades are behind me. My brain rebels against that horrifying of a waste of its time.
Yeah, I think it'd be hard to watch now from anything except a nostalgic romp down memory lane; and, even then, it'd need a few drinks to endure! But, as a 24-year-old, and of (and in) its time, it was, as they say, a "hoot"!
Ha! Dude, I'm right there with you. I was so very hungry for stuff like this in my 20s. I found some stuff that was gold back then, but it has alchemied its way to dookie today. :)
As it should, I suppose. It’s not only called growth, but I love having this and that “compartmentalized” with my age and needs at the given time. Long-term memory, y’know!😁
ah, what a time it was to be young and in love with music!
And, having such a fun and favorite band on the big screen?!? Amazing!
I love reading your stories, and I echo the comments from your other readers: what a time to be where you were, and also, if I may add, what a way to seize the day! I think I once said, when describing your experiences, that you didn't just exist through those golden years, but you were living and breathing music everywehere you went. What's more, it's that shrewdness, that astuteness (which is evident from your line of thinking at the time) that sets you apart, in my view. I like the fact you're very frank when, for example, you admit (and I'm talking more generally here) that certain encounters or events happened by mere chance or coincidence. While I don't believe anything happens ONLY by coincidence, you make it clear that sometimes certain things took you by surprise. Fair enough. What I find particularly interesting is how you recount, for example, that you knew a certain label was located X miles away, and therefore there was a reasonable chance that Mr So and So would do XYZ, or that this other thing woud probably happen in the vicinity. It's not just the knowledge, for which we all praise you: it's the systematic and intelligent use of the information available that blows my mind every single time. It's this holistically integrated pool of music industry knowledge, and the decisions you were able to make at the speed of light using that information, that I find absolutely fascinating. I want to be like you when I grow up!
Thank you, Andy! I think, with the steady stream of records Dad brought home, mid-'60s thru '73 (and then, my promos in radio and retail thru early-'80s), plus my reading all about the biz in the trades and rock press, I certainly wanted to belong to it all, and felt I could....somehow! The move to L.A. was just a way to see if I could find out how and where!
Here's one I've never told before: Shortly after arriving in early-'80 (I was 25), I tried to "force the issue," and got an app't with a bigwig at Scotti Bros. Records (which, at the time, was distributed by Atlantic Records, and part of the WEA conglomerate...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotti_Brothers_Records). I got all dressed up in a (likely) silly-looking suit, and went to their Sunset Blvd office. They placed no ad, and I didn't do anything but call and say "I'd like to work there!" and the guy set a day and time! Figured I'd start small and work my way up to Warner Bros.!
I had no idea of what I'd do, and no confident way to sound like I could offer them anything! It was really a pitiful showing, but my talents, I think, were so broad, and they wanted/needed someone who was focused on finances, actively musical (A&R, say...whatever), had biz experience, already...but, I'm glad I did it, but it was ultimately humbling and because so many musicians before me had made a similar bold effort on that same hallowed boulevard, I thought (without a guitar in hand), I'd try MY "audition"!
I think I'm working out my 30,000-ft view of the biz/that era right here, and all the stories that I was accumulating found a place to be filed in my noggin til now when they can all be laid out, FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE! I thank you for your unbridled praise and consistent and reliable readership and appreciative comments! Thankfully, my brain's not yet empty!
This is amazing, Brad. Also, your gut feeling and your fearlessness are, on top of everything else, impressive! This story you’ve just told is a perfect example of what I was saying earlier: seizing the day. Using your resources. Making every second count. Not just “being there”, accidentally, coincidentally, or fortuitously. It’s the daring to go further that makes you a hero! 😎
As always, a delightful trip down (your/some of our) memory lane! I watched RRHS again on late night TV, I want to say about a year or two ago and although incredibly dated, held up amazingly well.
I can only imagine Van Halen being chosen instead of The Ramones....Ha -- I kinda like that version as it appears in my loopy brain!
Had no idea Joe Dante was involved. That guy had his fingers in a lot of classic films!
Fun piece, Mr. Kyle.
Thank you, Steve! Certainly a film that doesn't age well, but as a nostalgia piece (and remembering its shoestring budget and AIP/'50s biker film aspirations!), it's fun to step into that snapshot again!
As for Dante, he's heavily influenced by cartoons (Warner Bros/Chuck Jones, in particular, if memory serves), and he directed 1/3 of the 6 "Police Squad" eps, the sitcom I've revered for decades, so even beyond his blockbuster movies, I've appreciated his talent and output!
As The Ramones were so easily depicted as "living cartoons" (IMO), it's hard for me to imagine the far more "serious" rockers, Van Heflin (😂) as stepping into the Lombardi hallways! Even so, the tone, I think, would've been far different (y'know, "Hot for Teacher" and all). Plus, The Ramones had room for all of us....the hardcore rockers as well as the "loveable goofs" with no one standout member....VH were all about the rock star ethos, whose "stars" often couldn't get out of each others' way! Oy. But, I hear ya!
This was fun to put together!
Berton Averre's guitar on "My Sharona" is one of the greatest solos ever put down on vinyl.
I'll die on that hill! ;-)
Def a hill worth fighting for, Jim! I'd never really paid that much attention to it before, but it's quite the bitchin' solo! I do love, too, how he comes out of that break and does a figure that recalls the melody to lead them back to the verse!
I've never said this in print, but I have talked to many about it: "My Sharona" and "Don't Fear the Reaper" (there are others I'm sure I could name, but these come to me now) are two incredibly unique songs that simply could not have been duplicated by their respective bands.
I don't at all mean to equate them to all of rock's expansive pantheon, but only within each band's catalog: The Knack were as hand-cuffed by "M.S." as BOC was with "The Reaper."
In other words, each song was so monumentally distinctive and different, they'd be fools to even TRY to replicate each's sound on other songs they'd each record, and no one else, of course, could create each of those songs or sounds. Kudos to each band, yes, but while BOC (of the two) made several other memorable and "good" songs, nothing came close to the singularly riveting sound of "Reaper." Song, yes, but mad props to each producer for the sound they ended up with for THAT PARTICULAR TAKE that made the record.
I think I can say something similar for the studio recording of "A Million Miles Away" by Plimsouls. The song and production (regardless of other takes) and performance of what made the record so arresting....no way they could top it! So, the mountaintop of these songs IMO, ends up also making it so difficult to meet or eclipse the total package of each of the three songs for each of the respective artists: song, performance, production.
Golly, I hope that's clear!
Amazing! Thanks for this post!
Thanks so much, Nat! Glad you enjoyed! And, thanks so much for subscribing! Happy to have you!
Terrific post Brad - What a first week in LA: Doug Fieger, Kim Fowley AND Rodney B? Talk about elbow-rubbing!
Gotta watch R'n'R HS again soon, it's been too long. . . and that Ramones promo standup is one awesome piece of merch. Those were the days!
Thanks, Hugh! I know, right? How can you spend a short week in Hollywood, and, without doing anything, you just run into those 3!?! I couldn't NOT move there after THAT week! It'll be fun to see the flick again!
More great stuff from Brad! The Ramones were pretty cool. And you know who else was cool? My next song for Tune Tag Fridays is "Jump" by Van Halen. Because Ron Howard> Fonzi> Jump the Shark. Oh, you mean we're not playing Tune Tag right now? (https://bradkyle.substack.com/t/tune-tag) - Scuuuuzzzze me!
Jump the shark, indeed! Nice leaps from Ron to da Fonz to🦈! Thanks for the Tag link, too!
So much history in this post. Loved all the connections to your past and between the Hollywood and music industry folks. You have a knack for uncovering these things!
Little bit o' digging, but from 45 years ago, an awful lot of right place/right time! Back in '79, every night was going to Madame Wong's or The Whisky, and of course, you might run into someone whose pic you've seen in that month's Hit Parader! I had to move there and become a part of that!
Don't blame you, especially at that age. Terribly exciting and stimulating place to be, and now you get to revisit it and enjoy your knowledge and memories.
Love those names too, so evocative -- The Whisky and Madame Wong's. Ripe for setting a mystery or comedy there.
You nailed it, Ellen! It's so great that I A) love writing, B) have 'Stack as a venue, and C) have the long-term memory, still, to "leave all this as my legacy" aka my little, tiny corner of rock history!
All from hearsay ('cause I never met her, but I think she was pointed out to me at one point), I recall Madame Wong as being described as being a really tough lady, either as a club-owner/operator, or as a restaurant owner (which is what I believe the club was before it was a club).
Straight from central casting!
Keep writing and eat a balanced diet, including your broccoli, you should keep that memory for years to come (says Dr E!).
Will do, Doc! Thank you!😁
I've never seen Rock 'N Roll High School...
Well, then.....it's a good thing I showed up! The whole thing, free with ads......'cause it's YouTube!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDsRvxV-B4M See whatcha think!
I'll check it out! Thanks.
Wonderful! Gone by but not forgotten.
Nice thought, Steve....and, the guys would've appreciated that! I remember sorta gloating to some, at the time, "Ha ha! Your favorite band doesn't have a movie out!"😂
Gabba gabba hey! I somehow managed to avoid seeing this film, and I'm afraid it's too late now. :)
Dood, I didn't hear the bell ring........it's never too late!
Oh no, trust me - there was a time for shoestring-budget punk rock films, but those decades are behind me. My brain rebels against that horrifying of a waste of its time.
Yeah, I think it'd be hard to watch now from anything except a nostalgic romp down memory lane; and, even then, it'd need a few drinks to endure! But, as a 24-year-old, and of (and in) its time, it was, as they say, a "hoot"!
Ha! Dude, I'm right there with you. I was so very hungry for stuff like this in my 20s. I found some stuff that was gold back then, but it has alchemied its way to dookie today. :)
As it should, I suppose. It’s not only called growth, but I love having this and that “compartmentalized” with my age and needs at the given time. Long-term memory, y’know!😁