The podcast about rock and/or roll.
Barry and Dorothy were an HVAC installer and a waitress until they decided they were the reincarnations of Egyptian gods and embarked upon an ill-fated music career. Two albums later one of them was dead.
Pavlov's Dog was a seven piece quasi-prog band from St Louis, managed by a crook, who made a few interesting records before its members scattered. Singer David Surkamp resurfaced in Seattle where he formed an exciting but short-lived band called Hi-Fi with a founding member of Fairport Convention, Ian Matthews.
Doctors of Madness formed in London in late 1974 and flamed out by the end of 1978, releasing three diverse albums that bridged the gap between glam and punk, but very few people seemed to notice.
Stray formed in the late sixties when it's members were barely teenagers and they landed a record deal before they reached adulthood. Ahead of their time, they found little success, even with help from multiple mobsters, but the catalogue of albums they left behind speak for themselves. Even Iron Maiden cite them as an influence. This is their story.
The Heavy Metal Kids only existed for a brief few years (they released three albums), but they were almost perfectly placed to serve as a sort of bridge from glam to punk. This is the story of the band and the tragic fate of their flamboyant frontman, Gary Holton.
BJ only just recently discovered that there's a lot more to Brewer & Shipley than "One Toke Over The Line."
BJ is joined by Bob Gifford from the Boston band The Rings for another tale of the trials and tribulations of flirting with success in the music industry in the seventies going into the eighties. The episode includes great music, as usual.
Unicorn were a UK country rock band produced by Pink Floyd's David Gilmour who made great records but failed to break through. Hear their story (and lots of their music) on this episode.
It's a power pop triple threat as BJ talks to Scott Krueger from The Shivvers, John McMulln from The Trend and Vance Brescia from The Mosquitos.
Scottish singer-songwriter Brian Spence shares the story of his musical journey, from a seventies glam rock band called Bilbo Baggins to a pair of classic AOR albums in the late eighties and beyond. Lots of fantastic music included.
As a member of Weapon, Jeff Summers wrote a NWOBHM classic called "Set the Stage Alight" which influenced, among others, Metallica. He later joined the bands Wildfire with original Iron Maiden frontman Paul Mario Day and Statetrooper with former MSG vocalist Gary Barden. Hear him share his metal memories.
An hour of cartoon theme songs from the eighties (with commercials).
M.A.S.K.
JAYCE AND THE WHEELED WARRIORS
ULYSSES 31
THE ADVENTURES OF THE GALAXY RANGERS
ROCK LORDS COMMERCIAL
DEFENDERS OF THE EARTH
POLE POSITION
SABER RIDER AND THE STAR SHERIFFS
SPIRAL ZONE
RING RAIDERS
MIGHTY ORBOTS
GOBOTS COMMERCIAL
DINOSAUCERS
RUBIK THE AMAZING CUBE
ROBOTIKS COMMERCIAL
JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS
THUNDERCATS
SLIME PIT COMMERCIAL
MACRON 1
DANGER MOUSE
TIGERSHARKS
CHUCK NORRIS KARATE KOMMANDOS
SATURDAY SUPERCADE
Q BERT
GALAXY HIGH SCHOOL
KIDD VIDEO
THE VISIONAIRIES
AERIAL BOTS COMMERCIAL
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
TEEN WOLF
SILVERHAWKS
HEATHCLIFF
INHUMANOIDS
CROSS BOSS COMMERCIAL
SNORKS
THE PODDINGTON PEAS
DENVER THE LAST DINOSAUR
DENNIS THE MENACE
KOOL AID COMMERCIAL
CHIP 'N' DALE RESCUE RANGERS
THE CHIPMUNKS
THE ADVENTURES OF THE GUMMI BEARS
TEDDY RUXPIN
TOXIC CRUSADERS
MAD SCIENTIST
CAPTAIN PLANET
G.I. JOE SERPENTOR COMMERCIAL
MR. T
C3POs COMMERCIAL
STAR WARS: DROIDS
DRAGONBALL
DRAGONBALL Z
DRAGONBALL Z KAI
Hear conversations BJ had with Coleman York from Canadian power pop band the Numbers and Graham "Kidder" Hammonds from punky UK power poppers the Incredible Kidda Band. And the songs on this episode? Proof positive that even the highest quality material may not bring a band success.
Legendary Dead Boys guitarist Cheetah Chrome (second from left) graces Rock and/or Roll with his presence. Listen to hear Cheetah discuss: the evolution of punk rock, Peter Laughner, Cheap Trick, Stiv Bators, GG Allin, Ron Weasley...all this and more.
Continuing the power pop series, BJ presents conversations he had with
Brent Hoad from Kansas City's The Secrets* and Jeff Root from Boston's
Hot Dates. Whose alibi was opening for Pat Benatar? Who helped launch the comedy career of Steven Wright? Who watched Michael Jackson practice his choreography at a diner? Listen and find out.
It's called This band has no past: How Cheap Trick Became Cheap Trick, published by Jawbone Press.
http://jawbonepress.com/this-band-has-no-past/
For this very special, one of a kind episode, BJ presents various clips from some of the many interviews that he conducted for the book.
Where to order:
https://www.amazon.com/This-Band-Has-No-Past/dp/1911036874
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/this-band-has-no-past-brian-j-kramp/1140676941
https://www.target.com/p/this-band-has-no-past-by-brian-j-kramp-paperback/-/A-85836563
BJ is joined by Arthur Alexander, guitar player and singer/songwriter from the classic power pop bands the Poppees, very early purveyors of the style that became power pop, and Sorrows, whose album Teenage Heartbreak is one of the greatest power pop albums ever released. We also learn how the band's second album, Love Too Late, was hijacked by a legendary producer.
BJ presents an interview with Jonathan Paley, who recalls unwittingly wandering into some dive called CBGBs along with Jonathon Richman, auditioning for the Heartbreakers (Johnny Thunders, Richard Hell and Jerry Nolan), recording with the Ramones, being produced by Phil Spector, not to mention the story of the band he had with his brother Andy, the Paley Brothers, who recorded a power pop classic for Sire in 1978. The follow up would have been even better, but it never happened. Find out why...
For this episode, the first in what will be an extended series about the development of the power pop genre, BJ presents a brief overview, including interviews with Bob Jackson, who joined Badfinger towards the end of that legendary band's original run, and Cyril Jordan, who wrote the iconic "Shake Some Action" for The Flamin' Groovies.
Originally recorded in 2018 as a Rocknpod exclusive:
BJ is joined by Craig Smith from the Pods & Sods Network, Ian Wadley from Rock & Metal Combat, Steven Michael from Growin' Up Rock and Wallygator from the CGCM Podcast for a roundtable discussion about Warrant's unfairly maligned 1990 album Cherry Pie.
