1985: Music defined by radio and siblings

105.7 WAPL - The Rockin Apple

I grew up with nothing around my house but cornfields. This area of the boondocks was called Darboy USA, a "suburb" of the city of Appleton. Appleton was a city of 66,000 at the time. One thing I could see from my yard was the radio antenna for 105.7 WAPL, The Rockin' Apple. "The best classic rock, the best new rock." When you are a child, you see this long radio antenna with flashing red lights. Being on the gullible side, I didn't have a frame of reference for size... it could have been an antenna or a tower! I had just assumed that EVERY song on the radio was being played LIVE inside that tower somewhere, hence the flashing lights - that's where the bands play! I don't know if I imagined the radio antenna was like a big elevator shaft, with rooms to perform going all the way up or what.

For example, if "Walk This Way" by Aerosmith was playing on the radio, I assumed Aerosmith was in town playing it live inside that radio antenna. It's funny because I don't remember anyone ever telling me this... it was just one of those early creative theories I had as a five year old that couldn't be further from the truth.

As I grew up, 105.7 WAPL wasn't as cool as I thought it was. It was just the coolest available. My gripe is this... they played a TON of Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Beatles, Grateful Dead and The Eagles constantly. Nothing against these bands, but I grew an distaste to them over time. Tommy and Mike even helped coin a saying "if Bruce is 'the Boss,' then I QUIT." Haha.

Nowadays, the only one I can really stomach of the bands I mentioned above is the Rolling Stones and some Springsteen. This overplaying of music was the first sign that radio stations can RUIN good bands for you. In these days of the mid 80's, they wouldn't play "heavy" music, even if it was popular. They wouldn't play Metallica during the day. If you called in to request it, they wouldn't even take that as a request until after 10:00pm. It was considered way too heavy for daytime airplay. The heaviest you could get during the day was probably Hendrix. Thank God for Jimi. To their credit, they played a lot of other good stuff too. This is where my musical tastes started to develop.

I was just really lucky to have an older sister and two older brothers. Being the youngest came with all sorts of perks. I wasn't "up to me" to seek and find what was cool. I was able to soak up what my siblings liked and usually that's what I liked to. I had my own identity since all kids a certain age like certain things... like He-Man and Star Wars and such. But when I was little, my older brothers had a rock cover band when they were in HighSchool. It was called Defiance.

Defiance

Their shows were often really elaborate with lots of speakers, pro sound, and stage lights... just crazy. They practiced in my basement and my mom & dad would buy Darboy Fried Chicken (not to be confused with KFC) and they'd stay for dinner. My dad helped out with a Keyboard, PA and other essential equipment... and supported them with funds to get started. The next thing you know they are playing bars all over... even opened for Ratt and Lita Ford at Green Bay's Brown Country Arena! My oldest Brother Tommy wielded this white Gibson Explorer, while Mike did lead vocals and played keyboards. That's the music.. how about the dress? We are talking about leather pants, bandanas, 80's sunglasses... the works. They covered all sorts of Bon Jovi, Ozzy, Judas Priest, Van Halen, Rush, Loverboy, Prince, etc. A great party band indeed.

Their guitar player was this kid named Michael Boyle from Appleton. I looked up to Michael Boyle quite a bit... all of them really. But I always wanted to play the guitar. He was a flashy player... had really puffy hair, and my brothers would jokingly call him Buckwheat after the Little Rascals. So that's what Tommy and Mike called him all the time. After HS, Defiance fizzled out... and I wouldn't see Boyle again for about ten or so years. So let's fast forward to 1994. He was working at my favorite guitar store when I was a teenager, Henri's Music in Appleton. I recognized him and said "Buckwheat!" You should have seen the look on his face. Saying that meant I was old school, but I looked too young to know him from that time. I'm Tommy & Mike Bongers' little brother. Being known as one of my "siblings' little brother" was usually a good thing, so it never bothered me one bit.

1984: Happy Rock Pt.2 - Bon Jovi

Ritchie Samboa and John Bon Jovi (still) have some of the best vocal harmonies in music (see Mtv Unplugged video at bottom.) "ooh She's a Little Run Away" was the first song I really heard from Bon Jovi. Wanted Dead or Alive was a great one too. These bands came out at a time where as a kid I never really SAW who did these songs. You would hear them on the radio. I was SO young I thought that all songs on the radio were performed live at the radio station. Didn't quite put it together that the radio stations were playing the same records we had in the basement. Somehow, the radio was just different.



Album covers didn't always have their faces on the artwork... and I was too young to pay that much attention. The advent of Mtv, rock magazines and advertising really put a FACE on rock and roll. Bon Jovi had one of the faces that smiled and was really inviting to his music.



Yeah, the "chicks" really dug Bon Jovi, but I didn't think about that stuff. I just thought he'd be a nice guy. And happy all the time. Again, rock with a smile! It was just a stray from the norm. Is the the start of "hair bands?" Or did Bon Jovi just perfect it?

Tommy and Mike's band Defiance covered "Runaway." The keyboards in it sort of remind me of "chopsticks" so I was able to recognize it quickly as a child. I got to see Defiance shows when I was little. I remember sitting on my dad's shoulders and watching them. It was really REALLY loud. There was a wall of speakers, spot lights, and a crazy rock show. It was seemingly the closest you could get to "big time" for high school kids. It really made me wish I was older so I could have been in the band too.

Another interesting thing to note as long as I'm talking about Bon Jovi, I can say that Mtv's inspiration for their Unplugged series came from this (below). There would be many defining moments with Mtv Unplugged... and one of best things Mtv ever did.

Wham! And Toys R Us

The first dose of George Michael came in Wham! This music is now what I like to call "mall" music. It gives you a little spring in your step while you're shopping. When I was little, we went to the mall. KayBee Toys was the LAST place we would go before we left for home. I remember walking past it umpteen times while my mom and sister go to all these clothing stores. It wasn't until years later when I discovered HotRocks... the rock t-shirt store in the center isle of the mall.

Toys R Us had not yet made it to Appleton, it was in Green Bay at the time. The drive was probably a 30 minutes north. This was around a decade before the "441 bypass" was put in, that basically cut the bottom way around the outside of Appleton. We had to drive to Little Chute and take N to 41 North to get up to Green Bay. I thought that Green Bay was like heaven. It had a) the Green Bay Packers, and b) Toys R' Us!

In my 20's, I figured out that my Mom had the perfect scam. Step one: take my sister and I to Toys R Us. My cousin Ben and I are only about three months apart in age. At Toys R Us, my Mom would say "do you think Ben would like THIS for Christmas?" and of course if I liked it I would say "yes." So we put it in the cart thinking that's what we were getting my cousin for Christmas. We got him a ton of stuff for some reason... and I would forget all about this. Christmas day comes later in the year and I am opening up the EXACT same things. Santa brought them for me!




The Toy's R Us theme song was addictive. "I don't want to grow up, I'm a Toys R Us kid..." even adults sang that song. We tend to make fun of titles and slogans. Our family ended up calling the store Toys are NOT Us. But it didn't stop there... we renamed the grocery store Pick 'N Save "booger bank," KMart "KFart," ShopKO "snotKO," and Burger King "booger fling." It's likely I'm forgetting a long list of other examples. This was way before people started calling Taco Bell alternative nicknames! This behavior was not considered naughty, my parents got a big kick out of it. Perhaps these were just early displays of creativity. Thank God these flashes of fun were not squandered by strict child rules & "proper" manners.


By the time Toys R Us came to Appleton in the late 80's early 90's, there was no more Wham!, there was only George Michael. I'll talk about those albums later on. Can anyone even name the other guy in Wham! without Googling it??? I would only get to enjoy the benefits of a local Toys R Us for about 5 or so years. After that, CD stores and guitar shops became more interesting than a toy store. That's what happens when you grow up.... even if "you don't want to grow up."