Love me some early Van Halen.
Pasadena’s Finest!
There was a time when David Lee Roth ruled L.A.
Check out this mp3 of his isolated vocal track from Van Halen I.
Yeah, baby!
A ringtone this shall be.
(O.K.—so some parts will need editing...but the howls alone should cut through the din of a loud restaurant.)
Let the festivities continue...
When I was a kid—board games were the shiznit.
Of course, we didn’t say that back then.
In fact, most of my board game bonanza occurred between the ages of 6-12
Which would have been…1967-1973.
At Christmas time, you could always tell what boxes held board games.
Their shape under the tree was unmistakable.
Check these out….courtesy of Games Gone By
What is it about girls and horses?
Even in first and second grade—I distinctly remember a group of girls who spent every recess pretending to be horses.
And we lived in the 'burbs—not a horse for miles!
Memory lane seems especially fun around the holidays.
Face it—it’s fun to reminisce about one's youth.
My lifelong pursuit of music was galvanized during these years.
I remain a rock & roll soldier to this day.
Semper Fi…Baby!
I’d love to tell you that I was solely a die-hard rock head in my youth.
But it just ain’t so.
One of the things I loved the most about 70's music was the cross-pollenization that occurred at radio.
Rock, Soul, Pop—all formats on one station.
70’s Top 40 was pretty darned interesting.
And...as much as I’d like to go on curmudgeonly rant about how bad radio is today…I won’t
Because the one encouraging nugget is that once again—you can hear rock, rap and pop on one station.
Granted—I wish the songs were better.
But it's great to see Top 40 once again being stylistically diverse.
But I digress...
As much as I loved my 70’s hard rock…
I listened to everything.
Even the sappiest of Pop.
A good song is a good song is a good song.
I recently came across a poppy gem that I must confess to really liking in my youth.
It’s amazing how music can so powerfully evoke certain memories...
I used to ride the bus to school.
Our bus driver would play Top 40 radio oh-so quietly as background music.
I have a distinct memory of a girl who rode my bus.
A song was playing on the bus radio
She was looking wistfully out the window.
But I could see the reflection of her face in the glass.
Tears were streaming down her face as she sang every word.
To this day, I can still see her face in the glass.
I’m willing to bet that this one song alone evoked more tears out of more adolescent girls than all others combined in all of the 70’s.
It’s nice to see Michael Martin Murphey still making now-grown women cry.
Jamie Rowe and I have vowed to one day cut a Guardian cover of this song.
A great song is a great song is a great song.
April 6th, 1974. A day that will live in infamy.
The concert that got away.
I was supposed to go to this show.
How I hoodwinked my parents into even considering it—I can't remember.
I was only in 7th grade but my friend’s older sister—who was all of 17—was supposed to take us.
But they got into a sibling spat the day before the show—and his sister bailed on us.
My friend and I ended up working in a neighbor’s yard all day—pulling weeds for pocket money.
I remember listening to the live radio commentary on KMET—furious that we didn’t get to go—and green with envy at those who were watching all my favorite bands play.
You see, even by junior high, I had become a terminal musical freak.
Yes—hooked on that dreaded record needle!
I liked every band on the bill.
From Earth Wind & Fire to Sabbath.
From Deep Purple to Seals & Crofts.
Like I said—I can still remember stewing in the hot sun—lamenting my misfortune at missing the landmark concert of my young adolescence.
Of course, I did not have that kind of foresight then.
I was just plain mad.
I really wanted to see Deep Purple—who had just released “Burn”—which I had promptly gone out and bought—replete with that awesome album cover of the band members as candles.
Another cool thing about growing up in So Cal was the sheer concentration of record stores back then.
There was one in particular in Orange County…Beggars Banquet.
They sold bootleg live records in a special bin in the back.
How sweet it was!
Truthfully, the records usually sounded horrible.
But bootleg vinyl was bragging rights heaven.
Fortunately, I had Cal Jam audio within weeks of the show.
I got to hear Deep Purple after all—who were sporting another early bass hero of mine…Glenn Hughes—as well as a young and then unknown David Coverdale.
And of course…I had bootlegs of me beloved Sabbath.
People have told me that I used to bang my head in Guardian just like Geezer did in Sabbath.
I resemble that remark.
Dig those silver boots, Ozzy!
4 years later—in 1978—I attended Cal Jam II under my own volition.
It was just OK.
Even then, I still knew I had missed out.
Vintagerock.com is a cool site for any of you fellow 70's burnouts.
Found these great newspaper ads there from Southern California concerts back in the day.
I went to all of these shows!
Sept. 1978. This was one of the first concert dates I went on with the girl who is now my wife.
Van Halen blew everyone's doors. It was their first major tour and they were on fire!
Sabbath—who I loved—was sad and coked out this time around. I had seen them better previously.
I had seen Boston the year before at UC Santa Barbara—where they were much better. (Starcastle was the opening act at that UCSB show—the keyboard player wore a cape. I would copy him years later and even top him with the addition of stage body armor!)
Sammy was OK—these were his best years as a solo artist.
I was actually more into Thin Lizzy than Queen back then. Phil Lynott was bad to the bone!
This was the mother of all bragging-rights shows!
They ended up playing 7 nights at the Forum.
I saw them opening and closing nights—a rare coup with tickets that were like gold!
In retrospect—they were sloppy.
But I loved every second of it!
My lasting memory is the long acoustic set where John Paul Jones played a triple-necked acoustic guitar and sang the high part in "Battle of Evermore".
This was a great show. They played some new songs from Technical Ecstasy—still one of my favorite less-popular Sabbath records.
I loved Sabbath. Geezer Butler was my early bass hero. I never could master that english moustache though!
Point Blank was the opening act. I remember they had a song called "Mean To Your Queenie".
This was the first time I ever heard Rush. We came to see Ted. I thought Geddy Lee was a girl when he first started singing. Almost bought a Rickenbacker bass because of him. Glad I didn't. They are actually crappy basses.
I loved this Moodies record. It was a step toward a new sound for them back then. Great show. I remember being bummed out because my girlfriend had broken up with me. Fortunately we got back together—and celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary next September!
The 70's in Southern California was a special time. I have no regrets.
...But for the grace of God go I.
The van was the fulfillment of a pimped-out ride back in my day. If you had the fully rocked-out version with captains chairs etc.—then you were indeed the Man! My friend Doug actually had such a van when we were in high school. It definitely became our rolling party headquarters. Many a great surf trip was had in that baby. I have distinct memories of surfing and then scarfing out on cheap chocolate donuts—you know the kind I’m taking about—where the chocolate has that waxy consistency. To this day, I bite into one and it takes me back to Newport Beach. A guilty pleasure—for sure.
Check out dude waxing his board. These were the guys who would always upstage our game. Guys who were 25—but would still mack on the high school girls. Dang, it was hard to compete with guys who had their own apartment and could grow a real moustache. Nowadays, these guys are called "perverts".
Gotta love that black van with the yellow graphics. They just don’t champion hedonism quite like they used to.
Long may she wave! (sorry…couldn’t resist this caption)
This one speaks for itself. I’ll say it again…cars and chicks have always been a guaranteed advertising formula!
This was true even pre-70’s. Check out dude in the tux in the blue van. You know he’s saying “Wuzzup, ladies!”
And finally, don’t tell me that you would not love rolling through town in that red Falcon!
All van pics courtesy of this great gallery.
I’m on a hell-bent nostalgic tear right now. It doesn’t take much to set me off. Once the weather gets warm enough to skate or bike here in NashVegas—I drift away. What really got me going this time was an e-mail I got yesterday out of the blue from a girl I went to school with. We used to ride the bus together—talking about everything and anything. She was a year older than me so I never made a move. All these years later, she told me that she had a crush on me back then. Man, was I a dummy. If I only knew how to read women then like I do now! (yeah…right!)
I’m an unrepentant old fart when it comes to pontificating about how great it was growing up in Southern California in the 70’s. It was!—and I wish you could have been there. I can write endlessly about this but here’s some real footage that lets you catch the vibe with your own eyes.
This clip is from a 1978 documentary about skateboarding in SoCal. It’s long but ya gotta at least check out a few minutes of it. Drop me in the frame anywhere…I was there!
| This is a "cult classic" special that is hard to find. Enjoy the flashback! | |
Oh, yeah...here's a pic of me and my little surfer girlfriend in 1978!
And now, 29 years later...she still chuckles when I ride my skateboard.
I mentioned Van Halen in an earlier post this week. Must have been déjà vu.
Yes—it’s true. I’m a 70’s hard rock freak.
I also grew up in L.A. when VH was breaking. My family is originally from Pasadena. Van Halen were the hometown-boys-done-good. I have tons of “my cousin knows so-and-so” stories from the glorious days of 70’s rock in Southern California.
This story in the L.A. Times bummed me greatly. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
I have read more bizarre tales of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame botching up more reunions and pissing off more artist’s than anyone should have to read.
Another sign of the times in the record biz—total disconnect
Of course, Bob Lefsetz had a field day with this.
I love it when he preaches. I sent him an e-mail telling him that I now referred to him as Pastor Bob.
I was sure I offended his Jewish sensibilities but I meant it with love and respect.
He actually wrote me back.
On a completely different note…This video gem was posted on Coudal Partners blog today—without comment. I too am speechless.
This could be used as a PSA today for reasons not to drink. Or perhaps, it may make you want to reach for a bottle…pronto.
But I’d recognize that 70’s vibe anywhere.
