1986: The Outfield - Your Love

This band called The Outfield was all over the radio. I remember hearing it in the car on 101.1 WIXX, GreenBay/FoxCities. It was a cool song for being a ballad. Their big hit was "Your Love." It was and is still a great song. It was only years later I found out they were British! With a name like The Outfield, you'd think they were baseball playing Americans. Not the case. I came to find out later on in college (via VH1's popup video) that they named their band the Outfield on purpose to appeal to the American audience.

Why the Outfield you ask? There were three guys in the band, and there's three outfielders in baseball (unless you're in Pee-wee league, like I was in 1986). So I guess it made sense to a certain extent.

Here is where it gets weird. Music videos and Mtv was big in the 80's and band were still sort of trying to figure out how to maximize their popularity with music videos. The Outfield, again took a trail of pesky deception! The video for your love included two musicians that were actors. I'm not talking about two replacements to the original three, we are talking about five - yes - FIVE Outfielders. An extra guitar player, and a keyboard player were just tossed into the video. Looking back, they stick out like sore thumbs.

How could it be? How does this make sense? Again it was a ploy to fit in with the American market. Apparently, many bands at that time had five members. So if the Outfield made it look like they had five members in the band, perhaps they could better fit in. If you ask me, between the name of the band and having fake members in their videos - they were trying a little too hard to be cool. I still like more than a couple songs of theirs.

This is one of those songs that sounds really good when played acoustically on guitar. Since 2012, I've been performing this song as open mic nights and acoustic gigs that I'm offered to play. It's slowed down, and the Outfield do a version of it this way, and it's just as good if not better than the original.

The Outfield had another big hit that I really liked. All My Love in the World. "Your Love" peaked at #6 on the Billboard charts. "All My Love in the World" peaked at #13.

1983 - Kiss: Lick It Up

Kiss took off their makeup? I couldn't believe it!

I knew of Kiss because I had an Ewok movie (Star Wars) on the same VHS tape as Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park. The Ewok movie was a Lucas Film afterthought... a "made for TV" movie that had the little bear looking creatures from Return of the Jedi. Kiss Meets the Phantom of The park was another "made for TV" movie from 1978 that featured Kiss as a rock band/super heroes that saved a theme park from an evil and maniacal roller-coaster and prop engineer. It's a lot like a Scoobie Doo episode! That was one of my favorite VHS tapes growing up.

In 1983 Kiss released Lick It Up. My brother Tommy had the record, and I was shocked. I readily noticed the KISS logo on the album cover, but there were no comic book-like superheroes on the cover! What happened? I couldn't fathom it. I remember going to the basement and seeing my brothers' stack of records, and Lick It Up was in the front for a while. I would walk past it and stare at Gene Simmons long tongue.

My previously favorite KISS member Ace Frehley wasn't even pictured. Where was Space Ace? He had left the band, and they replaced him with this Randy Rhoads/George Lynch type (read fast) guitar player named Vinny Vincent. It would be years later when I found out that Vincent wrote many of the songs on the Lick it Up album. From a "guitar history" perspective, Jackson guitars were made for Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Randy Rhoads. Randy died in a plane crash in 1982. Vinny Vincent would go on playing the same Jackson "offset V" guitar prototyped, developed, and named after Randy Rhoads. Vincent was one of the few to want to play the guitar and keep its popularity strong in the guitar industry. I think without Vincent's and a few others' desire to play the guitar, the Jackson Randy Rhoads model might have disappeared.

In 1983, Ace Frehley started a band called Frehley's Comet. His drummer Anton Fig would appear later in 2009 in one of my favorite blues/rock bands. It's actually really funny to see photos of him in a metal outfit next to Ace Frehley.

I also came to find out what Ace looked like without makeup. The dude is UGLY. Not that it mattered. His face was banged up from fights and car wrecks he'd been in. Although I missed the makeup, Frehley's Comet still featured a lightning bolt outfit not entirely different than something Jimmy Page would have worn in the 70's, and Ace's signature Smoking Les Paul guitar.



I would grow through my childhood years really liking the band Kiss even without makeup, but always wishing that they would get Ace back AND put back on the makeup.

I won't lie, I've blown out birthday candles wishing for that to happen... so I can say some birthday wishes come true! (eventually) Conan O'Brien announced the press release in 1996... it was SO cool. But I will be talking more about this later.

Movies, TV Shows, and movie soundtracks of the early 80's

Movie soundtracks & TV Shows were big in the 80's, from what I could remember.

When I was very little, these were movies floating around our house: Mel Brooks' History of the World Pt. 1, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas starring Dolly Parton, Porky's, and Tom Hanks in Bachelor Party. This is a musical autobiography, but there is something to be said about movie soundtracks... they were really good for the time. With exception to music, my parents were pretty strict about TV & movies; but I ended up being exposed to some of it in small doses regardless because my older brothers played them. My family was strict on values, trust, and responsibilities

VHS rentals were on the cutting edge of technology and my family slowly embraced it. Eventually going to a Catholic grade school must have evened out any mind tainting I could have received from watching VHS tapes and/or my older brothers. I was a good kid. Plus, from what I've heard... the tighter the leash, the louder it snaps. I've seen it happen. Metaphorically, I was the youngest of four - so I don't think I had a proverbial "leash." My parents knew what was going on, I mean they already had three kids more than likely go through whatever I was at the time... so from my perspective, they let me slide because my older siblings broke them in. In my siblings' eyes, I just never got in trouble.

The Incredible Hulk TV Show

I used call him the "credible Hulk" ... which sort of make him sound like he would be a good witness in court. I used to REALLY like the show with exception to one part. When Lou Ferrigno turned from human to the incredible hulk, it TOTALLY freaked me out. I used to run up and down the hall screaming until it was over. Then I'd sit back down and watch the Hulk kick butt and take names! I remember having Incredible Hulk pajamas and whatnot.

Dukes of Hazzard TV Show

The "Good old Boys" from Hazzard County were ALL the rage when I was really little. So much to the point where I had tons of Dukes of Hazzard "General Lee" matchbox cars. I would lose them constantly, so my mom would just keep an extra in her pocket for when I'd freak out. Bo and Luke Duke were fun to watch, but why did they never opened their doors? I saw it had door knobs, so I thought they were just being cool. Story is they were welded shut because it's a racecar, but then why have door handles on it? I digress.

The characters on this show were priceless... a corrupt fatman running things that constantly eats, a long legged damsel named Daisy Duke who popularized very very short jean shorts. And a father figure in Uncle Jesse. Even the town mechanic Cooter was a great character on the show. Most memorably, the sheriff's name was Roscoe P Coletrane, and he weilded a revolver and a hound named Flash. We had a doberman named Flash.

The one thing that lives in our family to this day is a deviation of one of Roscoe's sayings... his laugh actually. Although it sounds like "goo-goo!" We heard it as "Q-Q." Whenever Roscoe did something sneaky, fun, or feels accomplished for whatever reason, he would say that. We took a cue from that and started saying "Q-Q!" whenever we did something worthy. Texters and bloggers of today would instead say FTW or "for the win." Same thing. :) Q-Q!

Introduction

How many bands that came out since 1979 are still around?

It seems that as time goes on, twenty and thirty year reunions are becoming more of the norm. As my autobiography filled out, I was impressed that I associated both one hit wonders AND what I consider more legendary bands equally as part of my life's experiences.

I remember where I was, what I was doing... and the people I was around so vividly just by hearing certain songs. Everybody has songs like these and "where were you" memories. Whenever I hear a song that reminds me of something, I tell someone who was there about "that one time." Their reply is usually something to the effect of "man, I totally remember that... but I wouldn't have unless you brought it up." This is a collection of said memories.