Tune Taggin' with Ryan Mac, a guy who digs hard rock and pro wrestling! As long as he doesn't slam me into the turnbuckle, we should be OK! Speaking of buckles...do that to your seatbelt!🎢Here we go!
What a fun read, gents. I enjoyed the Kiss/NY Dolls bit and being directed to Brad's article on his glam Brimstone days! Regarding that cool Flint poster (and the old photo of Kiss without makeup doing their best Dolls impression, which I have never seen before), Kiss opened for many, but legend has it that many bands started to refuse to play with them as they simply couldn't compete with the opener's theatrics. When I finally saw them at ten years old (1979), their creative peak may have been waning, but they still blew their opener, Uriah Heep, off the stage.
Thanks, Michael! Unbeknownst to Ryan, his picks would send me into many avenues and alleyways I've not spoken much about, FR&B! Led Zep chief among them!
The Kiss/Dolls story is not only the stuff of legend, but their joined-at-the-hip "upbringing" is still eye-opening to me....grown in the same NYC "garden," and the radically, wildly divergent paths they ended up taking! Not knowing Criss had auditioned for the Dolls only makes their "brotherly" relationship that much more evident:
A bitter disappointment, perhaps, for Peter, that one weekday, managed to turn into a golden rocketship ride to to the stars he (no one!) could've foreseen!
If you'll pardon my loose use of the "a" word, your seeing Kiss at 10 is adorable! I don't mean that derisively....a perfect rock'n'roll moment for you (you needed to be absolutely NOWHERE else at that moment!), and it pinpoints, again, at the beautifully perfect merchandising magic the band, the label, the music came together to produce! A machine easy to snub from afar (and many jealous types have), the '70s career of Kiss is (or should be) the stuff of textbooks, essays, and college classes!
I had heard, over the years about that Kiss legend of bands not wanting to share the stage with them, just for fear of being overmatched. Not to take anything away from Kiss (creatively waning or no, they were always a SHOW), but a '79 Heep was a much easier beast to top than, say, a '72-era Heep (at about the time Kiss was born). In fact, Heep's 1980 album wasn't even released in the States!
Glad you had fun with this one, Michael....so did we! Your Kiss at 10 was like my Zep at 15 ('course, I also saw The Supremes open for Judy Garland at 10)! Our individual rock paths were, seemingly, ordained! I know I'd have it no other way!
If you mean the second one (without the classic make-up we all came to know and love), Amy, that was simply the glorious result of creative Googlery! I was going to mention that that pic MAY be the tail end of their Wicked Lester days, but I couldn't find confirmation.
But, I'd also have to look at just who was in WL...just Paul and Gene? With Frehley? I know Criss was a late add-on....as the piece mentions (and, it was news to me), Criss actually auditioned for Murcia's replacement in the Dolls.
Yes, it seems the b&w looks like the tail end of WL and the beginning of KISS. As someone who has only a fleeting interest, these images always prove fascinating... and hilarious!
That Jonathan Ross interview with Syl and David was great fun. You're always finding the best photos and vids, Brad.
All I can say is that was a testosterone-drenched Tune Tag from the pro wrestling biographical start to the Led Zeppelin finish. I'm not complaining at all with all those shirtless hot dudes and such great tunes (several produced by the masterful Todd), but for some reason I am feeling like throwing back some brews and getting into a bar fight!
That's hilarious, Ellen! Yes, the testosterone was definitely waist-deep on this one....a lot to wade through! For Andy's and my "Boys Cover Whitney Houston" tomorrow (Friday), we hope to increase the estrogen content just a tad!
Plus, it won't air for another month or so, but I just signed up another wrestling writer for a future Tune Tag! Judging by our first couple songs, I'm guessing this'll have its fair share of overgrowth, too! I may sub-title it, "Hirsute Yourself Today"! I sense there are a lot of non-#MusicStack writers out there who'd love to share their love of music, even as they're writing about self-improvement, kitchen cabinetry, and romantic fiction!
Thanks for the photo/vid compliment, too! I figure there's so much that's gotta be "out there," I try to challenge myself to search for the obscure, using not-often-considered search terms, too! Creative Googlery, I calls it! And, as a UK show, most of us stateside (myself included) had never seen Jonathan Ross at all, much less this nifty clip!
Looking forward to more Whitney and another wrestling writer. I would love someone who really goes full-on head-banging metal on TT!
I used to watch Jonathan Ross's chat show in the UK, but I don't remember that episode with the Dolls. (Don't think I knew who they were back then!) Keep Creative Googling as you come up with really fun and off-the-beaten-path stuff.
Will do, Ellen…..as for full-on bed-hanging metal 😂 on a Tune Tag, I think I’m working on one, now! Sometimes I’m playing two or three at a time, with songs going back’n’forth to several folks, and it’s tough to get a bead on one particular Tag!
It’s not until the week before it drops do I see the songs we sent to each other (and tie them to that one guest) and put our notes together that I get a sense of the theme and flow!
Great piece. I've only recently somehow discovered Kiss and Led Zeppelin and the stuff written here was very informative for a "newcomer" like myself. The other pieces here gave me some new groups to seek out. Also, I liked Ryan Mac's tie into the legendary late Steve Williams and enjoyed reading Ryan's writing outside the excellent stuff he does on the wrestling side here on Substack.
Thanks so much, Russell! Ryan certainly "brought the pain" (the good kind) with his music choices! All the great things you're saying about Ryan is all of what I hope for the guests who are gracious (and brave!) enough to do a guest turn on Tune Tag! Sharing the music they love, and we end up finding out more about who they are when they do!
Plus, we always hope the music and info you find FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE may be new and certainly a new favorite! If you'd like to consider a future guest spot for Tune Tag, Russell, let me know! We'd love to have you share the music and artists you love from your wrestling-expertise perspective...plus it's a great way for new eyes to see your 'Stack!
Feel free to peruse a couple more Tune Tags to get the flow, and DM me if you're game to give it a go! You can DM your first song, too! I'll DM you back some brief process info, as well as my first song "connecting" to your song! Talk soon!---Brad
Fun tag! I loved the What Is This tune, where have they been all my life?
The obsessive trainspotter in me can't resist throwing out this tidbit - "Dancing Days" was not in the set for Led Zep's 1973 Kezar show - they had been playing it live in 1972 and on a European tour earlier in '73, but dropped it from the US sets because [imo] Page almost always struggled with the solo! The gent from STPs did a nice job.
Cool……thanks, Hugh! I appreciate the on-the-ground Zep update! So much for my guess based on logic! They about played it at every show extant BUT the Kezar!!!😉That’s funny.
As I mentioned elsewhere, I’d not heard of What Is This, and if I’d have seen it on a list of Todd productions, I don’t recall…I imagine I’d remember that, ‘cause I’ve read a lot of lists of Todd prods! But, no recollection of WIT!
This was so much fun. Ryan has a very interesting background with his wrestling expertise, but he’s been an extremely solid “fighter” in this duel with the King of Tune Tag!
I love how you guys took that electric, contagious energy from the intro all the way through a very interesting journey tagging people, places, sounds and vibes!
Of course my favourite track was from What Is This because #SoulBaby. 🤣
Still, I enjoyed this hard rock fueled, make-up donned journey you took us on, and particularly all the stories (both personal and “academic”) you both shared!
Thanks, Andy! I had never heard of What Is This, but they happened during my college/career-change '80s, plus with their connection to the Chili Peppers (whom I failed to follow), that's understandable! And, the Kiss/Dolls and Led Zep stories were fun to compile! Ryan does have quite the colorful musical background, colored as it is by the "squared circle"!
By the way, Ryan....my bro, Dad, and I used to frequent Houston's cavernous Sam Houston Coliseum in the late-'60s (when I was a pimply, chubby junior higher) to go see wrestling (let's see how many ole school names you know!....I think Paul Boesch (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Boesch) was an announcer for local TV. Some of the greats we saw were Wahoo McDaniel, Johnny Valentine, Ernie Ladd (who, I think had just finished his stint with the Houston Oilers), and others who escape me!
Great to hear! One of the things that brought Dad, Clint & me together....going to those wrestling matches (on nights we didn't go to the Dome for Astros games....more Dad freebies)! If we stayed home, we'd all likely be playing Strat-O-Matic Baseball, with the annually-computer-updated cards (and dice) with fairly current production based on previous years' stats!
Again, all thru about 1970 or so, 'til I got into high school. Once I got a car, if I wasn't at the Dome, I was at a rock concert (only to one of those would I bother taking homework)!
In about '71, throw in my rehearsals and gigs as lead singer (and flutist) of 6-piece Brimstone, my rock band based at Houston's Bellaire High School (I was a year behind Dennis Quaid....my bro's class...they took acting classes together...he said Dennis was a bit of a flake; didn't give a s***, generally). Clint also took dance lessons from Patsy Swayze, who was a local teacher (and, Patrick's mom). Just noticed she has her own Wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patsy_Swayze
What a fun read, gents. I enjoyed the Kiss/NY Dolls bit and being directed to Brad's article on his glam Brimstone days! Regarding that cool Flint poster (and the old photo of Kiss without makeup doing their best Dolls impression, which I have never seen before), Kiss opened for many, but legend has it that many bands started to refuse to play with them as they simply couldn't compete with the opener's theatrics. When I finally saw them at ten years old (1979), their creative peak may have been waning, but they still blew their opener, Uriah Heep, off the stage.
Thanks, Michael! Unbeknownst to Ryan, his picks would send me into many avenues and alleyways I've not spoken much about, FR&B! Led Zep chief among them!
The Kiss/Dolls story is not only the stuff of legend, but their joined-at-the-hip "upbringing" is still eye-opening to me....grown in the same NYC "garden," and the radically, wildly divergent paths they ended up taking! Not knowing Criss had auditioned for the Dolls only makes their "brotherly" relationship that much more evident:
A bitter disappointment, perhaps, for Peter, that one weekday, managed to turn into a golden rocketship ride to to the stars he (no one!) could've foreseen!
If you'll pardon my loose use of the "a" word, your seeing Kiss at 10 is adorable! I don't mean that derisively....a perfect rock'n'roll moment for you (you needed to be absolutely NOWHERE else at that moment!), and it pinpoints, again, at the beautifully perfect merchandising magic the band, the label, the music came together to produce! A machine easy to snub from afar (and many jealous types have), the '70s career of Kiss is (or should be) the stuff of textbooks, essays, and college classes!
I had heard, over the years about that Kiss legend of bands not wanting to share the stage with them, just for fear of being overmatched. Not to take anything away from Kiss (creatively waning or no, they were always a SHOW), but a '79 Heep was a much easier beast to top than, say, a '72-era Heep (at about the time Kiss was born). In fact, Heep's 1980 album wasn't even released in the States!
Glad you had fun with this one, Michael....so did we! Your Kiss at 10 was like my Zep at 15 ('course, I also saw The Supremes open for Judy Garland at 10)! Our individual rock paths were, seemingly, ordained! I know I'd have it no other way!
Thanks, as always, Brad. Your bottomless well of trivia and knowledge never seems to run dry! I didn't know Peter had auditioned for the Dolls!
All the Young Dudes! Dolls, Kiss, and even Todd Rundgren
This Tag ended up being so up my '70s alley....yours, too, I'm guessing, Lori!
I freakin' LOVE that b&w 1973 image of KISS!! Please say you have more lol
If you mean the second one (without the classic make-up we all came to know and love), Amy, that was simply the glorious result of creative Googlery! I was going to mention that that pic MAY be the tail end of their Wicked Lester days, but I couldn't find confirmation.
But, I'd also have to look at just who was in WL...just Paul and Gene? With Frehley? I know Criss was a late add-on....as the piece mentions (and, it was news to me), Criss actually auditioned for Murcia's replacement in the Dolls.
Yes, it seems the b&w looks like the tail end of WL and the beginning of KISS. As someone who has only a fleeting interest, these images always prove fascinating... and hilarious!
And, stunning these pix still exist....or, at least did until the internet! Now, I think we're good....they won't get lost in a move or a fire!
That Jonathan Ross interview with Syl and David was great fun. You're always finding the best photos and vids, Brad.
All I can say is that was a testosterone-drenched Tune Tag from the pro wrestling biographical start to the Led Zeppelin finish. I'm not complaining at all with all those shirtless hot dudes and such great tunes (several produced by the masterful Todd), but for some reason I am feeling like throwing back some brews and getting into a bar fight!
That's hilarious, Ellen! Yes, the testosterone was definitely waist-deep on this one....a lot to wade through! For Andy's and my "Boys Cover Whitney Houston" tomorrow (Friday), we hope to increase the estrogen content just a tad!
Plus, it won't air for another month or so, but I just signed up another wrestling writer for a future Tune Tag! Judging by our first couple songs, I'm guessing this'll have its fair share of overgrowth, too! I may sub-title it, "Hirsute Yourself Today"! I sense there are a lot of non-#MusicStack writers out there who'd love to share their love of music, even as they're writing about self-improvement, kitchen cabinetry, and romantic fiction!
Thanks for the photo/vid compliment, too! I figure there's so much that's gotta be "out there," I try to challenge myself to search for the obscure, using not-often-considered search terms, too! Creative Googlery, I calls it! And, as a UK show, most of us stateside (myself included) had never seen Jonathan Ross at all, much less this nifty clip!
Looking forward to more Whitney and another wrestling writer. I would love someone who really goes full-on head-banging metal on TT!
I used to watch Jonathan Ross's chat show in the UK, but I don't remember that episode with the Dolls. (Don't think I knew who they were back then!) Keep Creative Googling as you come up with really fun and off-the-beaten-path stuff.
Will do, Ellen…..as for full-on bed-hanging metal 😂 on a Tune Tag, I think I’m working on one, now! Sometimes I’m playing two or three at a time, with songs going back’n’forth to several folks, and it’s tough to get a bead on one particular Tag!
It’s not until the week before it drops do I see the songs we sent to each other (and tie them to that one guest) and put our notes together that I get a sense of the theme and flow!
Great piece. I've only recently somehow discovered Kiss and Led Zeppelin and the stuff written here was very informative for a "newcomer" like myself. The other pieces here gave me some new groups to seek out. Also, I liked Ryan Mac's tie into the legendary late Steve Williams and enjoyed reading Ryan's writing outside the excellent stuff he does on the wrestling side here on Substack.
Thanks so much, Russell! Ryan certainly "brought the pain" (the good kind) with his music choices! All the great things you're saying about Ryan is all of what I hope for the guests who are gracious (and brave!) enough to do a guest turn on Tune Tag! Sharing the music they love, and we end up finding out more about who they are when they do!
Plus, we always hope the music and info you find FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE may be new and certainly a new favorite! If you'd like to consider a future guest spot for Tune Tag, Russell, let me know! We'd love to have you share the music and artists you love from your wrestling-expertise perspective...plus it's a great way for new eyes to see your 'Stack!
Feel free to peruse a couple more Tune Tags to get the flow, and DM me if you're game to give it a go! You can DM your first song, too! I'll DM you back some brief process info, as well as my first song "connecting" to your song! Talk soon!---Brad
Fun tag! I loved the What Is This tune, where have they been all my life?
The obsessive trainspotter in me can't resist throwing out this tidbit - "Dancing Days" was not in the set for Led Zep's 1973 Kezar show - they had been playing it live in 1972 and on a European tour earlier in '73, but dropped it from the US sets because [imo] Page almost always struggled with the solo! The gent from STPs did a nice job.
Cool……thanks, Hugh! I appreciate the on-the-ground Zep update! So much for my guess based on logic! They about played it at every show extant BUT the Kezar!!!😉That’s funny.
As I mentioned elsewhere, I’d not heard of What Is This, and if I’d have seen it on a list of Todd productions, I don’t recall…I imagine I’d remember that, ‘cause I’ve read a lot of lists of Todd prods! But, no recollection of WIT!
Ryan brought some really tasty tunes!
This was so much fun. Ryan has a very interesting background with his wrestling expertise, but he’s been an extremely solid “fighter” in this duel with the King of Tune Tag!
I love how you guys took that electric, contagious energy from the intro all the way through a very interesting journey tagging people, places, sounds and vibes!
Of course my favourite track was from What Is This because #SoulBaby. 🤣
Still, I enjoyed this hard rock fueled, make-up donned journey you took us on, and particularly all the stories (both personal and “academic”) you both shared!
Thanks, Andy! I had never heard of What Is This, but they happened during my college/career-change '80s, plus with their connection to the Chili Peppers (whom I failed to follow), that's understandable! And, the Kiss/Dolls and Led Zep stories were fun to compile! Ryan does have quite the colorful musical background, colored as it is by the "squared circle"!
By the way, Ryan....my bro, Dad, and I used to frequent Houston's cavernous Sam Houston Coliseum in the late-'60s (when I was a pimply, chubby junior higher) to go see wrestling (let's see how many ole school names you know!....I think Paul Boesch (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Boesch) was an announcer for local TV. Some of the greats we saw were Wahoo McDaniel, Johnny Valentine, Ernie Ladd (who, I think had just finished his stint with the Houston Oilers), and others who escape me!
Recognize any of these names?!
I do! I've seen some Wahoo and Ladd and enjoyed what I saw. They're fun to watch. Haven't seen a ton of Johnny, but I definitely know of him.
Great to hear! One of the things that brought Dad, Clint & me together....going to those wrestling matches (on nights we didn't go to the Dome for Astros games....more Dad freebies)! If we stayed home, we'd all likely be playing Strat-O-Matic Baseball, with the annually-computer-updated cards (and dice) with fairly current production based on previous years' stats!
Again, all thru about 1970 or so, 'til I got into high school. Once I got a car, if I wasn't at the Dome, I was at a rock concert (only to one of those would I bother taking homework)!
In about '71, throw in my rehearsals and gigs as lead singer (and flutist) of 6-piece Brimstone, my rock band based at Houston's Bellaire High School (I was a year behind Dennis Quaid....my bro's class...they took acting classes together...he said Dennis was a bit of a flake; didn't give a s***, generally). Clint also took dance lessons from Patsy Swayze, who was a local teacher (and, Patrick's mom). Just noticed she has her own Wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patsy_Swayze