My Musical Evolution – Page 12 – Mapping Influences Over Time

My Musical Evolution – Part 303 Roach Days Revisited The Joshua Tree

U2 was coming to Indiana. They were scheduled to play at The Hoosier Dome in November of 1987. Tickets went on sale months in advance. Their new album The Joshua Tree was amazing and vaulted U2 into phenomenon status. Keith and I decided to camp out at Karma records were the tickets were going to to be sold. Karma records used to be on North Anthony near Zollner Stadium.

There were already quite few people there by the time we arrived. The way that Karma managed it was really client friendly I thought. We wer each assigned a number which was written on the backs of our hands. We didn’t have to stand in a line, we could do what ever we wanted but when they called a check in, we had to line up in order and verify that we were indeed there. If you missed check-in, you were out and had to go to the back and get reassigned.

Normally, North Anthony is a high traffic area but at 3 in the morning, we played a game of kickball in the street. It was fun, maybe not as fun as holding Lisa while wrapped in a blanket like I did for Van Halen three years prior. It seemed like such a long time ago and so much had happened since then.

After 12 or 14 hours in line, the tickets went on sale and I bought 6. I figured that the demand for U2 tickets would make this a good investment. Keith asked me what I was going to do with my 6 tickets. I told him that I would sell 4 of them and keep to for myself. Then he asked me who I was going to bring to the show. I was kind of thinking that I might bring this girl I knew that worked at Pier One Imports but I wasn’t sure so I said “The woman that will change my life.” That is an exact quote. It seems story bookish and maybe it is.

Where The Streets Have No Name

I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For

With Or Without You

Bullet The Blue Sky

Running To Stand Still – This quickly became a favorite of mine. Maybe it was forshadowing but doesn’t much of life feel like you’re running to stand still?

Trip Through Your Wires

My Musical Evolution – Part 302 Roach Days Revisited More Mozart

Over the course of 1987, my vices began to diminish and fall away. I was 22 and the previous 5 years had been a string of epic parties. It was starting to get old, or maybe I was. It sounds ridiculous when I read that back. Old at 22? The past few years were my Barney Stinson years although my approach didn’t allow the use of alcohol to gain advantage and lying was prohibted. I had 4 rules that I followed. It kept everything civil. 1. No alcohol to cloud her judgement. Not saying she could have any but no drunk girls. 2. No lying. No telling her what she wants to hear or misleading in any way. Example: She said “Will you still respect me in the morning?” My honest response “I don’t respect you now?” 3. No initiation. This made things much more challenging. I never made the first move. I had to convince her to kiss me first before I could reciprocate. 4. No escalation. She always determines how far it goes. She has to take it to the next level before I can reciprocate.

The rules made it infinately more challenging and kept all those “releationships” amicable. After all, the girls were always in the driver’s seat. Any what does this have to do with Mozart orMy Musical Evolution?Nothing really, just trying to demonstrate the mental shift that was occuring. I was driving home from Woodburn at sunrise on a Sunday morning. I had spent the night at the home of a young lady who shall remain nameless because frankly, I don’t remember it.

I was driving over some really cool country roads out there as the sun rose in my rear view. I was listening to this CD that I had committed to Maxell for road use. It was really early and the roads were mine alone. As I drove and enjoyed these classical pieces, it occured to me that it was in fact Easter. A quick look at Bing.com tells this day was in April 19th, 1987. A month ago I was in Indy seeing Iron Maiden and today I held an informal sunrise service in my car. I won’t go as far as say that I had some kind of religious revelation but I did have a serious discussion with myself regarding where this would all lead or what it meant.

So I decided to scale back on everything. I still liked to party and loved the ladies but I felt that it was time to move on. I wanted something else and it would be quite a while before I could figure out what that might be.

Theme From Elvira Madigan

Overture To The Marriage Of Figaro

First Movement From Sonata No. 15

Third Movement From Divertimento N0. 17

Rondo Alla Turca

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik

Variations on Ah! Vous Dirai-je Maman – Did you know that Mozart did the Alphabet song?

My Musical Evolution – Part 301 Roach Days Revisited Background Sound

1987 was a year of change. I sold my 1963 Ford Galaxie 500 and got a 1978 Comet. It may not sound like much of an upgrade but it got double the miles per gallon and was 15 years newer. It still didn’t seem to have seat belts. For the all important car stereo, I decided to simplify. I tinkered with the Galaxie until it had 6 speakers, a graphic equalizer and multiple amps. It seems silly to me now to think how important we thought car stereos were. Aric had a Datsun 200sx that we called the Alien Craft. He had some really amazing Pioneer speakers and EQ/Amp inder the dash. It was built for high end guitar solos and really sounded good until somebody stole his speakers.

I decided to keep it simple and just get a nice cassette deck and speakers. I was very happy with my Technics home stereo so I went with some Technics car speakers. They were 6×9’s with a wedge shaped grill that lifted the mids and tweeters and agled them toward the front. I went with a really nice sounding Fujitsu cassette deck that had all the features of the day. It really sounded crisp and clean, particularly on something acoustic or classical.

Like Aric and I, MTV was evolving too. I feel that they were encouraged by their experimentation with The Young Ones and The Monkees. They had proven to themselves that the audience was willing to accept non-music programming on a Music Television Station. As I’ve discovered with so many things on this journey, I have to wonder if it was all just a timing issue. In 1987, I was 22 and beginning to shift out of party mode and towards something else. Did I leave MTV because music was becoming less important to me or did I leave MTV because music was becoming less important to them?

Janet Jackson – What Have You Done for Me Lately

Howard Jones – No One Is to Blame

Eddie Money – Take Me Home Tonight

James Brown – Living In America

Lionel Richie – Dancing On the Ceiling

John Cougar Mellencamp – R.O.C.K. In the U.S.A.

Mike + The Mechanics – All I Need Is A Miracle

Huey Lewis and The News – The Power of Love

U.S.A. For Africa – We Are the World

Whitney Houston – Saving All My Love for You

My Musical Evolution – Part 300 Roach Days Revisited U2

A friend of mine called Keith got me started on U2. He was crazy about them. Their album The Joshua Tree had just been released and it was really getting them noticed. I admit that I was reluctant at first. I can’t remember why. It was kind of like Green Eggs & Ham. He was always talking about how good they were and I would not listen in a box or with a fox. I would not listen on a train I would not listen in the rain.

At some point I finally tasted and found that I liked them. With Keith’s guidance, I picked up The Joshua Tree and this one Live Under A Blood Red Sky. Out in the real world, the U2 wave was just building. Keith was ahead of the curve, within what seems like minutes, everything was about U2. They were suddenly the hottest ticket around.

What is it about U2? Their music is so basic and easy. I remember seeing an interview with them on TV back then. Bono said that they all wanted to be in a band and they ended up being forced to write and perform their own songs because they weren’t good enough to play cover songs. As I began to play U2 on my bass, I found that many of the songs from The Joshua Tree could easily be played using only one string. Still I admire the honesty.

This live set is a really good album. It has good stuff from their early albums and the live versions have the benefit of that concert energy. I didn’t know it then but U2 would be a catalyst in some major life changes that would take place over the following year.

Gloria

I Will Follow

Party Girl

Sunday Bloody Sunday

New Years Day

40

My Musical Evolution – Part 299 Roach Days Revisited Doobies With Skip

If you have been following along from the beginning, you’ll know that up to this point, The Doobie Brothers were limited to What A Fool Believes and Minute By Minute. That isn’t too bad and I’m sure that I was aware of some of these other Doobie classics even if they didn’t find their way into mom’s Scratchy 45’s. I owe my fondess for the old school Doobie Brothers to a singer I know named Skip.

The first time I saw Skip, he was singing. He Was still in High School. This goes all the way back to the College Intermission era when I was dating Penny. She dragged me to a high school musical that fall and to be honest, I can’t tell you anything about it except a guy named Skip took a song a knocked it out of the park.

You know how the typical high school musical plays out. A bunch of kids going through the motions doing what they can but most often nothing to write home about. Then there was Skip. His voice was brilliant. He was confident, not an ounce of that nagging teenaged self consciousness to hold him back. I swear, if American Idol existed in 1985, you would all know Skip.

Anyway, I’m not sure how it ended up that Skip and I formally met but he ended up a frequent guest at The Roach Motel. One summer day, Skip was over and somehow we ended sort of jamming together. The song was Black Water by The Doobie Brothers. Skip guided us through it and maybe it was just the Doobies talkin’ but it sounded amazing. A side effect of that afternoon was a new enthusiasm for this CD and these great classic Doobie Brothers songs.

It never ceases to amaze me how little events can have such profound results. Even though I didn’t run out and jump on the Doobie bandwagon, I really got into Best Of and listening to it right now, every track connects to my soul and leaves me grooving inside. Thanks Skip!

China Grove

Long Train Runnin’

Listen To The Music

Black Water

Jesus Is Just Alright

Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While)

My Musical Evolution – Part 298 Roach Days Revisited Evolution

Journey, Styx and Kansas got early Compact Disc upgrades. I’m not sure how I feel about buying Departure 3 times [cassette, vinyl, CD] in a 5 year span. One of my favorite albums to be sure but 3 in 5? While I was scooping up the Journey CD’s I picked up a new one. An old one really, Evolution.

It rasies an interesting idea about the ways music travels regionally. I was out east living in Vermont when I was introduced to Journey. I had throughly enjoyed Infinity, Departure, and Escape. Surprisingly, I had never anything from Evolution until I got back to Indiana. Out east, when a radio station played old Journey it was always Wheel In The Sky, Lights, or Any Way You Want It. For some reason Indiana stations always went for Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’ and almost always followed up by City Of The Angles. Another duo of songs that always seemed to travel together was Queen’s We Will Rock Rock You followed by We Are The Champions. I used to always mixe them up on my tapes. Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’ followed by We Are The Champions.

Evolution is a good Journey album yet it never got the attention that I gave to my first three. I’m not sure why that is. Chronologically, it fell right between Infinity and Departure both of which I love. What does Evolution lack that the others didn’t? I’m glad I own it but I just don’t reach for Evolution as often as Departure, Escape or Infinity. It could be a timing issue. By this time, I had really begun to invest my energy in mix tape creation. I had discovered a “feature” in my dual cassette deck that basically allowed me to overdub or mix multiple tracks in a limited way. I began to make mix tapes for all kinds of situations. My fictitious radio station was ressurected. WIRD, Weird 108FM was what I listened to in the car.

Too Late

Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’

City Of The Angels – I really had to fight the urge to put We Are The Champions here.

Just The Same Way

My Musical Evolution – Part 297 Roach Days Revisited Animal House

If you have been following along, you know that My Musical Evolution features many movie soundtracks. From the adapted to record moves if the Dinsey era to the full symphonic splendor of Star Wars, Star Trek and Close Encounters to the popular music compilations like Heavy Metal. I’ve always been a fan on the movie soundtrack. That love continues with this one, Animal House.

The movie had been out for a number of years already but it was making its way into people’s monds again via television and this fairly new concept of Video Tape Rental. I was familiar with the movie. I saw it back in The Academy Days heck I even went to Vermont Academy with the little brother of the guy that played Hoover.

Animal House had become synonymous with parties and I felt compelled to get this soundtrack in order to inject some of that atmosphere into my party mix tapes. What started out as the pursuit of Shout by Otis Day and the Knights turned into a treasure trove of cool songs that combined the raucous party environment with a nostalgic late 50’s early 60’s musical sensibility.

Dream Girl became my absolute favorite here. I included it on my party mixes and used the opportunity to sing it to whichever was the special girl of the moment. It was kooky, silly and worked more often than not. Shout always got the party launched into that next level. Twistin The Night Away also appealed to the party goers and got people dancing. There was always dancing at the Roach Parties, it wasn’t just a handful of dudes sitting around getting drunk. It was dancing and connecting with the girls and getting drunk.

Louie Louie

Twistin’ The Night Away

Shama Lama Ding Dong – what the heck does that mean anyway?

Let’s Dance

Dream Girl – It is an awesome song.

Shout

My Musical Evolution – Part 296 Roach Days Revisited More MTV

I know that I keep circling back to MTV and I know how silly it sounds given what it has devolved into today but back in the 1980’s, back in the MTV’s first decade, it was important in an inexplicable way. It was still ground breaking radio for your eyes as well as your ears. It was CNN for the music industry with a 24 hour news cycle reporting on the bands and the music of our age. It was what you watche dwhen you didn’t know what you wanted to watch. It was on in the background piped through the stereo. Back in the 1980’s MTV really meant something.

It was evolving though. We saw them add the British comedy The Young Ones to the line up. We didn’t mind, it wasn’t on all the time and it was an amazing show that had a musical element and appealed to us. I thought it was completely brilliant. They added a latenight weekend Metal show that we rarely missed. They started playing old episodes of The Monkees. I was a fan of the Monkees as a toddler in the 1960’s. I enjoyed seeing those eposides again for the first time. I think the execs at MTV saw the success of The Young Ones and thought is there any other bizarre comedy shows out there that have something to do woth young people and music? How about The Monkees?

We didn’t realize it at the time but Thee Monkees and even The Young Ones were the leading edge of a change in our beloved MTV. It would quietly move away from music videos, concerts and music news and more into a realm of traditional TV with original content. We still had a few good years ahead of us but soon MTV would launch The Real World and reality would never be the same and neither would MTV.

Lionel Richie – Say You, Say Me

Whitney Houston – How Will I Know

Foreigner – I Want to Know What Love Is

Tears For Fears – Everybody Wants to Rule the World

Simple Minds – Alive and Kicking

Simply Red – Holding Back the Years

Starship – Sara

Heart – These Dreams

Genesis – Invisible Touch

Cyndi Lauper – True Colors

My Musical Evolution – Part 295 Roach Days Revisited Van Hagar?

I didn’t know it when I was watching Sammy Hagar jam with Eddie Van Halen at Farm Aid but I was witnessing the roots of the next incarnation of Van Halen. I seem to recall them playing There’s Only One Way To Rock, a Led Zeppelin song, maybe Rock & Roll but I don’t recall them playing any Van Halen stuff.

Watching them live, they did the new stuff really well but when it came to the old Van Halen classics, it was tough to get through. It was like Black Sabbath going from Ozzy to Ronnie Jame Dio. Sammy’s voice is stronger and more capable but those early Van Halen songs were written to draw upon David Lee Roth’s strengths and it just didn’t sound right coming from Sammy’s powerful voice.

I still maintain that Diamond Dave’s live show was considerably more energetic and entertaining than Van Halen on the 5150 tour. Maybe in the following years when they had chance to do more material and sort stuff out. I’m not suggesting that they were bad, just that the ciurcumstances stacked the deck in Dave’s favor.

It was easier for Dave and his band to sound like Van Halen than it was for Van Halen at that time. Steve Vai is an amazing guitarist as well. I would have to suggest that technically, Van Halen with Sammy Hager was musically superior. The music was good and the lyrics benefitted from Sammy’s talent. I would eventually end up with just two albums from the Sammy Hagara era. They really are good but I would eventually end up with all the David Lee Roth Van Halen albums. Does that say anything? Does it provide any kind of insight intoMy Musical Evolution?

When I say Van Halen, what is the first song that pops into your head? Is it Dave or Sammy? I sometimes wish that they would have called the group Van Hagar like so many of us did.

Good Enough

Why Can’t This Be Love

Dreams – Probably my favorite song from the Van Hagar era

Summer Nights

Best Of Both Worlds

Love Walks In

My Musical Evolution – Part 294 Roach Days Revisited The Outfield

Yeah I like The Outfield. I’m fairly certain that I originally bought this Compact Disc so I could put Your Love on a Party Mix Tape. “I just wanna use your love tonight” was a line that supported the theme. The Outfield seemed to have a quick string of hits that came from this album.

I think musically, they reminded me of Big Country only without the bagpipes. They were mostly upbeat and the girls liked them so it was a good investment. It wasn’t one of those albums that I played over and over but several tracks made it to various mix tapes over the following years.

The song Every Time You Cry appealed to me for some reason. I can’t quite put my finger on it. It goes back to that discussion we had earlier about what makes us like certain things and dislike others. With food and tastes, it is typically a matter of chemistry. With music, it seems to be much more subjective.

I’m listening to Every Time You Cry right now. I’m searching, analyzing, trying to figure out just what it is about this song that makes me like it so much. Sure, I think it is a really good song but why? Is it linked to a dear yet long forgotten moment. I can see that happening.

The Outfieldwas part of that next MTV batch of groups that came out of the oven that included groups like Tears For Fears. Actually The Outfield sounds similar to Tears For Fears in many ways.

Say It Isn’t So

Your Love

Every Time You Cry