The Music Industry Rant


Today on Back to the '80s radio, Toscano & Chang go off on the music industry, in particular, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame!
Special guest today is, Victor Levine of ForceField Studios in Los Angeles. Victor is, among other things, a music business insider - studio manager, personal manager, music supervisor, producer, engineer, songwriter, musician - whose survivor skills and knowledge of sound recording are the basis for writing the Spec Time Trilogy.
A big thanks to ForceField Studios for sharing the music of Jon Cells with his hit:
'Wild Dreams in July'- A James Stroud Production
Jon Cells- guitar and vocals
Warren Rider - vocals
James Stroud- drums
Kathy McKee- harmony vocals
Adam Taylor- engineer
Produced by James Stroud and Alex Major.
Mixed and mastered by Robert Margouleff and Aaron Zepeda.
Produced by Nashville Producer/Drummer, James Stroud
(Marshall Tucker Band)
Mixed and Mastered by Grammy-winning Producer, Robert Margouleff
(Stevie Wonder, DEVO, Oingo Boingo)
Recorded at Northstar Studios, Boulder, Colorado 1980.
All rights Reserved ForceField Studios
Listen to 'Wild Dreams in July'
https://www.facebook.com/362418250622621/videos/303495570
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFoHZxt4OjM
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back. Oh anyway, this is
the one and only back to the Eighties
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Radio show, and I am Tuscano. We are here introducing the eighties to
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a whole new generation, reminiscing on
the memories that made that generation the best.
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Ladies and gentlemen. We're here every
single Friday for you and for us,
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reminding you to please like our fake
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It's low. Like our Facebook page where
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you can drop us a note and
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you would like to hear. We
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to the Eighties. All do we
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leave us to comment on any platform
that you listen to, because it
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helps. It does help us out
with me today as he is every single
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Friday, is a man and that
goes to malls and Jess hangs out at
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sparrows waiting for the eighties to come
back once again. His collection of members
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only jackets can only be seen on
display at the Smithsonian Museum. But here
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at Back to the Eighties Radio,
we call him the Chang. How the
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heck are you my friend? Well, my brother, my partner in crime.
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I am always at the top of
my game. And yes, my
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collection of members only jackets are not
all mine. No, no, no.
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I went through the high school lockers
and stoled as many members only jackets
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at Montabella High School. I did
that. I did that all by myself.
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Did you know, Chang, that
the members only jackets have never stopped
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being in production. They still make
them and they still sell them. Are
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you serious? And not only Yeah? Absolutely? And I actually saw somebody
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on TV, a younger, a
millennial, wearing a bright yellow one to
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go with his outfit. Wow.
Now, I have not seen a bright
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yellow members only jacket since my uncle
was alive, and he used to sport
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a yellow, a very light kind
of a pistal yellow members only. Yeah,
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that's that's exactly what it was like. Yeah, and I recall going,
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uncle Vic, you know I love
you while yes, ma, huh,
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but why the hell are you wearing
such a hideous looking jacket? And
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the question to you, tuskanto win
all our listeners members only? But yeah,
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they were sold in such an abundance
there couldn't have been the stars.
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Yeah, who No, how could
you get a membership by wearing this ugly
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jacket? Is that the whole pitch
of members only? However, let's be
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honest, all right, anybody who's
ever worn a members only jacket can tell
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I mean, this is a fact. Those jackets are some of the most
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comfortable jackets known demand. Come on, let's be honest. They are some
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of the most comfortable and comfort wise, the most comfortable jackets ever made.
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Well, we gotta give me that
one, at least, well, I'll
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give you that one. Now.
The chang never sported a member's only jacket,
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now I remember I Come on,
I told you on a pass show
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and and gave me a members only
jacket, and U I felt like Sli.
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I just felt like Smack. I
was like, do you understand I've
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got long hair, I'm a rocker. I don't wear members only jackets,
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and I don't wear windbreakers like the
Falsie. No, I don't. We
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have a fantastic show today, and
if you just joined us, we're gonna
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be talking about the music industry,
what the heck is going on with it?
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And we're gonna be talking to Victor
Levine from force Field Studios in Los
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Angeles, producers, studio manager,
engineer, and much more so. Stick
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around because back to the Eighties radio
is coming right back. We're coming for
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your heads and your soul. Lay
that's because we had live through this decade.
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You're welcome back to Back to the
eighties. You are listening, hopefully
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with a friend, if not a
friend of family member. Tonight we are
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going to talk about music of the
past and the present to a certain degree,
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because our show is not about the
present. And bear with me,
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but a lot of the music nowadays
sucks all in all in a handbasket,
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toscanell I want to bring up I
want to bring up a topic, and
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this is very dear to my heart, okay, and I'm sure it's very
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dear to your heart. Now,
what is the ridiculousness of the Hall of
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Fame of rock and Roll? Why
is it that we are seeing more artists
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that are not of the rock and
roll genre being inducted into the Rock and
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Roll Hall of Fame when we've had
such great bands that have not even gotten
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enough votes to be grinned upon this
last in duction election, Iron Maiden was
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not put in it, but yet
the Foo Fighters were nominated, which personally,
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I think the Foo Fighters are not
that great of a band. I
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think they're a little bit poppy,
and I think they're a little bit too
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modern to even be thought of to
join the rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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I mean, come on, roll, it's a hall of shame,
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not a hall of fame, and
it has nothing to do anymore with the
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term rock and roll. Would you
not agree? You know? As with
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recent years, once again the fan
voted ballot hasn't reflected the final outcome,
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you know, for metal fans and
real rock fans. Here we go again,
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Iron Maiden left out, left out
of the rock and Roll Hall of
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Fame, Judas Priest left out once
again, left out of the Rock and
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Roll Hall of Fame. What happened
with other members of bands of let's go
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back to bands from the seventies and
eighties. Of course one of those bands
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in particular. Now, regardless of
whether you like them or not, this
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is not what we like or not. It's about justice to these bands,
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because there have been tons of bands
sitting on the sidelines since the eighties and
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they've been left sucking their thumb.
And one of those bands is Motorhead.
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Metallica's induction makes the emission even more
glaring, since they've never hid. Motorheads
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huge influence on their music, you
know, the late Lemmy brilliant mixing of
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punk and metal with a double based
kick drum to keep things, you know,
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charging forward, steal sounds brown new. Come on. Then we've got
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Iron Maiden, which have never having
crossoverhead it seems to have doomed Iron Maiden
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from the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame, and this is something that really
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ticks me off. And then you
have bands like Pantera, Judas Priest and
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guess what bro Megadeath not in there. And then of course Ronnie James Dio.
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You know, yeah, he was
a legend. But you know what
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he's saying for Black Sabbath. So
you know, since Black Sabbath's already in
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oh, well, you know,
James Dio doesn't deserve to be there.
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And bands like V fifty twos and
some other bands, Now, like I
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said, regardless if I don't like
them or not, it's not about that.
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It's about these are great bands that
have meant so much to the world
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of music. They have sold over
a one hundred million albums. I mean,
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come on, and they're not there. You know, talking about that
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Shaka Khan being brought up into the
mix is not rock. The other one
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that that really bothers me. And
I know a lot of our listeners may
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get mad the Go Goes. I'm
sorry, but the Go Goes to me
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did not How could I word this
without pissing anybody off? Deserve The Go
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Goes, in no way, shape
or form, deserve to be called a
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rock and roll band. They were
a pop band. I mean, I
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just I can't understand the reasoning,
the logic that these these people are voting
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these bands. And like I said, the Food Fighters, I just don't
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call them a hard rock band.
I'm sorry, I just don't, you
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know. I look at Dame Grow
and I was like, yeah, you're
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the guy that was in Nirvana.
Okay, but I just find it preposterous.
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I think it's ridiculous. Now.
I read an article earlier today where
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even Gene Simmons of Kids and you
know, I'm not a big fan of
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Gene Simmons the Donald Trump of hard
rock, but even he thought it was
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disgusting that such great rock and roll
bands have been overruked right, and in
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their place, pop culture has put
their groups in L L cool J.
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I can't even stand that. Watching
them on that La Cops show with the
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guy that played Robin in the Weakest
Batman and Robin of all time, Chris
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o'donald, I mean, come on, this is not about the genres that
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we like or not. It's not
about that. It's about an entity,
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an agency being called rock and roll
Hall of Fame. Okay, that it's
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a particular genre that includes many subgenres
within it. However, rap is not
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in there. Okay, it shouldn't
be, just like classical music should not
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be in there because it's not rock
and roll. Country music is another correct.
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Country music should not be in there
because it's not rock and roll.
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Now regardless, we can all say, sure, we can all say,
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you know what, well, the
roots of it are rock and roll.
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The rootsa well, yeah, the
roots are probably somewhere jazz or somewhere in
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the medieval times. And we're not
gonna just go back to playing that kind
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of music. It's not about that. And then you get look who was
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the other one, jay Z give
me a break, I mean, give
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me a break. And then you
got artists of course, like Ozzy Osbourne.
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Right, although when in his situation
there were some personal issues because he
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attempted to remove Black Sabbath's name from
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nomination
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in nineteen ninety nine, he called
it meaningless all right, so you know
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he probably has what is coming to
him. But what about let's go with
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other bands who've expressed, you know, no interest. However, deep down
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inside, come on, these are
bands that would love to be in the
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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and
they deserve it, such bands as Scorpions,
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that has sold over one hundred million
albums worldwide, headlining performances for over
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the last forty years Slayer Sammy Hagar
Okay who had two platinum one goal selling
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album even before joining Van Halen,
and then three more top twenty five solo
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projects afterward. My question is,
bro, who is making the rules?
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Who are these people that they are
allowing to vote? Because whoever it is
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know nothing about rock and roll.
Oh, I agree, and I'm gonna
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go on a limb and I'm gonna
call anybody that is being utilized to vote
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for the inductees to the Rock Roll
Hall of Fame. I call these guys
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a bunch of brain dead ass clowns. Yes, you can bleed me out
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if you want, but I'm gonna
stand by that. It's just ridiculous.
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You know, rock and roll was
one of the first sounds that came out
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here in the States, and if
you remember, we go all the way
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back, brother, we go all
the way back to great bands like Jerry
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Lee Lewis, Little Richard. You
know, some say Alvis Presley isn't really
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the king of rock and roll,
that he did sound steal the rock and
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00:12:28.120 --> 00:12:33.480
roll vibe and sound from the black
black musical culture. But Chuck Barry,
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I mean such greats like that that
started rock and roll, and then you
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have the Fab four and the who
were the Rolling Stones and such great bands
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that came in to the rock and
roll scene and created the rock and roll
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scene to what we have today.
When the Country Music Awards come out,
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all right, and they were to
give their award to Jay Z or L
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L cool J, how would the
rest of the artists feel. How would
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the fans of country music feel?
It's not going to happen, right,
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So why is the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame allowing it? I'm gonna
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tell you why, because they suck? And you know what, I am
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no fan of the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame. They have let me
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down one too many times. Bands
that have been on the sidelines for forty
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years, man, and they're not
in there. And here comes an artist
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it's not even in the genre of
rock and roll and wins it. And
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they barely started in the nineties.
Bro, where's the justice in that?
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Give me a break. They've even
brought up Rage against the Machine, which
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to me, I like rage against
the machine. I'm a hard rock kind
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of guy. Now I do dig
their music, but it's way too early
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for them to be nominated. It's
way too early for them to even be
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discussed as a matter of fact.
Correct. Bruce Dickinson was not surprised that
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they were not in Ductete, and
he said even if they were, his
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band would not attend because they feel
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is
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a mirror joke. That's bottom line. It is a joke, and it's
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just a disgrace to all rock bands
who've tried and have sold and have proved
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and have gathered and gained a reputation
of who they are. A great band,
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and it's just a disgrace and an
embarrassment to everybody who loves real rock
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and roll. This is back to
the eighties radio. We're gonna be right
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00:14:24.679 --> 00:14:30.960
back. Here's John Sells Wild Dreams
in July only on Back to the eighties
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00:14:31.039 --> 00:15:01.840
Radio, Still Life made the same
mistake. It's dreams and you lie,
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cry babe now and cry brck cry
why dreams? You lie? Shryo when
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00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:24.840
you hope it is gone? But
you lie so short? Could you be
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so long? Oh love? Say
you want someone but you're all in love
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00:15:33.600 --> 00:15:43.919
when it comes under? Why basing
you lie? Crying down and cry brck
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cry why dreams and you lie?
Why dream damn you lie, crime being
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now and crack crick cry? Why
dreaming you lie? Dass say love it
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00:16:29.679 --> 00:16:37.960
is gone and you're holding out?
Don't you take too low? Whevery or
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she let me be? Can you
see yourself tending next to me? Why
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dan you lie? Time being down
and crack crack cry, Why dreams and
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you die? Wild Dreams in July
by John Sells, Warren't Writer on vocals,
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James Strout on drums, Kathy McKeon
harmony vocals. Catch your copy of
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John Sells at Forcefield Studios dot com. You're listening to Back to the Eighties
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Radio. I'm Tuscano from Toscano and
Chang and if you've just joined us,
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I want to thank you guys for
making Back to the Eighties radio part of
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your day and want to keep motivating
you guys to head on over to our
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Facebook page, join the group as
well, and please interact with others.
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Leave us, leave us your pictures, your comments. If there's anything that
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you guys want us to talk about
here on the show, we'd be more
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than glad and happy to do it, so leave us those comments. It
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means so much to us. You
know, we were talking about the rock
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and Roll Hall of Fame, and
we're going off on a rant because because
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of so many bands that have been
snubbed out, and you know, there's
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there are bands who you might say, well, they don't be long in
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the Hall of Fame, so that's
okay that they didn't make it. But
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you know what, once they start
letting other genres come in, everything goes.
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Wouldn't you say that? Chang Oh? I would agree. I mean,
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like we're talking to a couple of
seconds ago off there. George Michael
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a great talent, right, one
of the greatest votal is I think of
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his day, of his era of
that genre. But even somebody is great
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with the lyrical content that that guy
have the range, he doesn't deserve to
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be in the rock and Roll Hall
of Fame because Wham and him weren't rock
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and roll. I just I find
it preposterous that we even call it a
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rock and roll Hall of Fame.
Could it should be the rock and Roll
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Hall of Shame? It should be, or it should be just called the
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Music Hall of Fame, right,
And look how long it took Steve Ray
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Vaughan and Double Trouble to be inducted. You know, yeah, and you
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know, I remember in twenty nineteen, in twenty nineteen when they inducted the
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Cure. Okay, now, regardless
of that shouldn't be all I was gonna
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say, regardless of whether you like
them or not. You know, when
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they when they interviewed both, when
they interviewed Robert Smith and when he went
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up there, he was not a
happy guy, no because and he let
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everybody know. I mean, he
was not happy no matter. I know
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they won, but he was not
a happy camper because of everything that goes
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down in the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame. You know that we got
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bands like in Access who don't even
have a chance. Of course, I'm
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so downright pissed off about it every
year. I haven't even looked into the
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scoring issue that they come up with
to induct some of these acts. I
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really don't. I just find it
preposterous. Let's go over some of the
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performers that have been inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Number
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one of the Foo Fighters, followed
by the Go Gos, Jay Z,
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Carol King, Todd Rundgren, Tina
Turner, all Right, Clarence Avant,
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L L Cool, Jay, Billy
Preston, Randy Rhodes, while there's there's
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a good one craft Work Who craft
Work? I don't know, Gil Scott,
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Heron or Heron, Charlie Patton,
Who the hell is it? Well,
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you've been listening to Back to the
eighties Tscanno and Chang. We're going
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to take a quick break here.
Coming back, we have our interview with
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the legendary Victor Legin. Hey,
if you listen to rock and roll radio
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in the eighties, then listen to
this Tescanto and Chang. They will transport
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you back in time, back to
the eighties. If they were a laxity,
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they'd be so powerful you could stand
on your head and on the ceiling.
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That position will not only but also
undignified. And now back to the
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eighties with Toscato and Chang. This
just back to the eighties radio. This
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is disconno from Tchiskonto n Cheng.
I want to keep reminding you guys to
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stick around with us because tis Kanno
and Chang and the manage that we bring
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to you is coming up every single
Friday, but soon to be Eka Hits
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ninety two five online and around the
world. Now, as promised before the
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break, we have a very very
special guest from Forcefield Studios, Victor Levine,
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who is, of course, among
other things, a business insider,
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studio manager, producer, engineer,
songwriter, musician. How do you have
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the time to even spare some time
for us, Mario. It's a pleasure
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to be on and I thank you. I'm so happy that you're following the
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eighties because it was a terrific time, a whole fountain of creativity, and
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I never get tired of listening to
the music, honestly, Well, it's
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great to have you, Victor.
How do you remember the music industry of
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the eighties? And it was really
kind of exciting because technologically, I've owned
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equipment for so long that I tend
to follow the storyline of the electronics and
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from I bought a real to real
tape recorder and had in my bedroom when
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I was in thirteen. So when
the equipment got more sophisticated and the porter
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studio started in the seventies actually,
and the tools eventually became put into the
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hands of the creators, and that's
what happened in the eighties because now instead
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of having to go when I first
had a studio, you wanted to make
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a demo, you had to come
to a studio. By the when the
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eighties started, everybody had their own
porter studio. Then the drum machines came
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in, and the synthesizers became affordable. So it was really an explosion of
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talents because everybody had access to the
equipment and a lot of a lot of
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trends followed in that, and the
record companies got on board, and that's
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what individual what we have today.
You know, everybody that makes a project
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in uploads on Spotify or something.
But but then that was when that first
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started becoming feasible, and it was
really the the records sound on sound,
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Yes exactly. Now, Victor,
I have a question, and it's kind
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of in the same grounds, and
we're talking about the music industry and the
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different styles of genres. Even the
talent I believe has changed dramatically from the
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early seventies and the eighties. I
always consider the eighties as the floodgate of
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music. We had so many diverse
bands, so much different talent, but
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it was sheer, raw talent.
I think MTV killed killed the radio and
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I will stand by that. Would
you not say that the talent pool in
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today's music is very shallow in comparison
to some of the musical talent that we
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have had in the past. And
I ask you this question because user were
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directly in the middle of the swimming
pool of so much talent hitting you.
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It was probably hard to keep track
of and hard to contain to get these
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artists in the studio and playing ice
and play professional to bring out such great
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music. I'm really glad that you
asked me that, because it's really important
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here to define what you mean by
work with So as a studio operator,
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my job was to keep the studio
going, and I was very careful to
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be in the sessions and not in
the sessions at the right time. Most
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of the time, as in ninety
some odd percent of the time, job
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was to be out of the session
in my office taking care of business so
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that everything worked. And especially at
Amigo, where I had seven rooms online
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in fifteen thousand square feet to manage, and you know, going night and
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day, there was a lot going
on. So, in terms of being
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in the studio, what my kind
of creative part of my agenda, Because
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like everybody else that I really met
in the studio world, they started as
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a musician, of course, and
realized that, you know, being in
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front of the camera on stage wasn't
going to be their destiny, so they
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veered off in a different directions.
So I had a fellow that I grew
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up with who was in the career
of world and over time, when I
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had studio time, we would go
in and record and do work on stuff
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for him. That guy is John
Cells, and over the period of twenty
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and thirty years he put out records
with other people, and when he passed,
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I put in all this time.
But you know, he couldn't stay
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straight. Basically he was a wonderful
guy, but he just couldn't, you
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know, couldn't do it. And
and so I was left with all his
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material and so I said, what
am I do? I'm I going to
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throw it away. Put a lot
of work into this, so I started
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to melop it and over time,
So that's the focal point. But besides
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that, I've worked with over the
years. Randy California was a pretty good
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friend of mine from Spirit and I
did wrote and did demos with him.
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Not an amigo at Fidelity, Greg
Reeves from Crosby Stiel's, Nash Young,
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Greave and Paler, Greg and I
did some stuff together. I worked with
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Mila Djobovic that you know, I
got her. She came to us as
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I got her. I did her
demos and I didn't I didn't even know
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that she's saying, well, she
didn't. She was she was when we
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when she came to me and I
management partner, she was about fifteen.
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She kind of had this modeling career, and but she was she had Russian
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her mother was a Russian actress,
very dramatic person, and she knew it
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was very um, dramatic and passionate. And then she had this poetry and
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so they kind of somehow or other
they showed us the poetry and I went
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with her and I showed her how
we wrote her first songs together, and
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then um, we got her record
deal and a publishing deal and she you
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know, but she was already had
this other kind of career. So you
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know, that was a big That
was a big you know thing for me.
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But in terms of circling back with
like the gold records, I have
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like behind me, I'll take a
picture of it. I've got um,
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you know, the David to be
Raw and this is in the Amigo.
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There was Amigo Amigo existed for quite
some time. I told ch I could
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go on for a long time.
Ago was bought by Warner Brothers a year
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or two after Snuff Garrett started it, and over the years it was their
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00:28:07.799 --> 00:28:11.799
studio and we had they had a
mastering studio there too, two mastering studios,
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00:28:11.799 --> 00:28:18.839
so there was recording and mastering and
a huge tape library and the Warner
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00:28:18.880 --> 00:28:22.319
Brothers and it was on the calm
lines of the Warner Brothers building. What
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happened to history of Amiga? Which
I thought, because you know, when
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I heard your podcast at Jang and
I heard you really off these names,
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I was like, wait a minute, I knew every one of those bands.
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We did all of those demos and
and you know, it was just
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like, that's kind of I told
Mario. One of my attractions to the
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show was his voice. And one
of my attractions to you is I thought,
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like, you know, you were
around during those times, so I'm
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sure that somehow we could connect on
some level. I got him, I
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have one for you, Okay.
Frankie Fanelli, the drummer for Pryet Riot.
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He recently died, so anyhow,
so so I was producing. There's
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00:29:02.759 --> 00:29:07.440
this artist named David Della Rosa,
who was, you know, basically a
349
00:29:07.480 --> 00:29:12.599
fringe talented fringe, you know,
but he was really good. So so
350
00:29:14.039 --> 00:29:19.400
somehow or other between his brother and
a Frankie somehow liked him and they wanted
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to put together and make a record
and had a different studio I had Crystal
352
00:29:25.319 --> 00:29:27.440
Studios at the time. They wanted
to make a record, but of course
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nobody really had any money. So
what we used to do, but was
354
00:29:33.079 --> 00:29:38.000
very common in the recording business is
that when people who had somehow been anointed
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geniuses were there, the habit was
for the engineer to school up the tape
356
00:29:45.720 --> 00:29:49.160
and just let it run. Don't
press start and stopped because you'd interrupt the
357
00:29:49.240 --> 00:29:53.119
genius. So the tape just ran
and ran and ran and rand. Well,
358
00:29:53.160 --> 00:29:57.160
the taps cost about one hundred and
seventy five dollars apiece, these two
359
00:29:57.200 --> 00:30:02.799
inch takes, so if and for
nothing. So in the studio world,
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00:30:03.240 --> 00:30:07.359
you would find tapes with like basically
nothing on it, or like like two
361
00:30:07.359 --> 00:30:12.799
seconds of a drum track or somebody
coughing and noodling around, and then eventually,
362
00:30:12.920 --> 00:30:17.160
you know, they'd figure out what
they wanted to record, and that
363
00:30:17.200 --> 00:30:19.920
would be the tape that they'd used
to do the rest of the overdubs on.
364
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But reeling back to the beginning of
the story, there was we didn't
365
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have any money for tape to record
this, you know, fringe artist David
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00:30:29.000 --> 00:30:33.519
della Rossa. So I went into
the tape library and I found the tapes
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that like that somebody had recorded on
which I'm somebody really famous had recorded on.
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00:30:41.000 --> 00:30:44.799
But they didn't make any sounds,
you know, it was like nothing,
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00:30:44.839 --> 00:30:47.559
And I knew that they were never
coming back for it. So that's
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what we used to make his records. I erased what was on there.
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We had a fresh roll of tape. No, that's awesome in your opinion.
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Two major differences one or two between
how music was produced back then in
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the eighties than it is today.
And do those differences make any difference for
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the listener today? Is I mean
is it better now and I don't mean
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technologically, I mean everything else behind
the scenes, or was it better back
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then? For whatever the reason?
The great questions and there's a lot of
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00:31:22.680 --> 00:31:32.559
differences. The primary difference is the
migration of the equipment from needing to work
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with multiple people versus working by yourself. And this is just something I've actually
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written about I write too so.
But the idea is that in the eighties,
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if you wanted to make a record
and you wanted to get signed to
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a record dealing. One group that
I was very involved with, I'm sorry
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changing now your members Reverend David Blaine, and so a physical journey from in
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the eighties to get to a record
deal was you had this guy David Wayne,
384
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who was the lead singer of Lords
of the New Church, which the
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first grunge band out of Seattle.
He came down and somehow record executive Danny
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00:32:14.759 --> 00:32:21.680
gold Bird I think, no,
Danny something I can't remember Goodwin, Danny
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Goodwin at Charisma Records. And at
the time I was doing a lot of
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demos for people, and at the
time I had a deal and suicidal tendencies.
389
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Did this deal? Poison? Did
this deal? I made a list
390
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of all the people because it was
like a thing, and I called it
391
00:32:38.640 --> 00:32:44.960
the three four or five deal.
It was three songs, four days,
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five grands, and I sold a
lot of packages then. But what happened
393
00:32:50.440 --> 00:32:54.440
is the labels called me up with
a project because they on my skill was
394
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knowing which engineer or producer to put
it together, who knew the system that
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we could get a result and get
some demos, real demos, viable demos.
396
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So this was typical at the time, and we had many acts,
397
00:33:08.119 --> 00:33:15.440
including suicidal sentences, go to deal
like this. And so at the time,
398
00:33:15.039 --> 00:33:22.079
you know, I get sent this
tape from the record guy and it
399
00:33:22.240 --> 00:33:25.039
was good, and it's a tape
of them in a rehearsal, and that's
400
00:33:25.039 --> 00:33:30.559
where it started. It had to
be the bandlide in rehearsal. And the
401
00:33:30.640 --> 00:33:35.359
tape sounded so bad that I remember
I said to him. I called him
402
00:33:35.359 --> 00:33:37.559
back and I said, he said, what do you think of it?
403
00:33:37.720 --> 00:33:39.759
I said, well, to be
honest with you, it sounds like somebody
404
00:33:39.799 --> 00:33:46.200
takes a microphone to the back of
an air conditioner. And we had we
405
00:33:46.319 --> 00:33:49.880
had a really good laugh about it. And I said, well, I
406
00:33:49.880 --> 00:33:52.240
got just the engineer who would known
how to deal with this. So I
407
00:33:52.359 --> 00:33:58.759
brought in my good, my top
guy Croyle, who has SCons all kinds
408
00:33:58.759 --> 00:34:02.839
of other things. Was great guy, very talented, and and that was
409
00:34:02.880 --> 00:34:07.880
the start of Reverend's first demo.
And then that went the record deal and
410
00:34:08.239 --> 00:34:13.320
they made four albums and we mound
up managing them because you know, they
411
00:34:13.440 --> 00:34:20.639
trusted us. So that was the
eighties. Today the whole world has shifted,
412
00:34:20.880 --> 00:34:24.679
so that from what I understand and
shifting to a point where I'm I'm
413
00:34:24.719 --> 00:34:30.559
only a spectator from a distance.
But today all the tools to do make
414
00:34:30.639 --> 00:34:35.840
all those sounds and even to make
gold of visuals are in the hands of
415
00:34:35.920 --> 00:34:42.119
everybody with a smartphone. So so
so what you have is and and better
416
00:34:42.199 --> 00:34:45.719
is it? Better is a relative
term because what you have is that people
417
00:34:45.880 --> 00:34:52.320
now their typical attention span is short, So what are they going to listen
418
00:34:52.360 --> 00:34:54.320
to? Are they going to listen
to something that staff and moving like them?
419
00:34:54.480 --> 00:35:00.519
That's why kicktock is so popular,
And you know the on the other
420
00:35:00.760 --> 00:35:07.239
you know, fast platforms, I
mean formont But that's really that's on my
421
00:35:07.320 --> 00:35:12.239
opinion, that's very much in this
culture. We have a lot of fans,
422
00:35:12.559 --> 00:35:15.199
I mean a lot of our fans. Most of our fans are in
423
00:35:15.199 --> 00:35:19.480
the rest of the world, because
the rest of the world still actually listens
424
00:35:19.519 --> 00:35:22.719
to music. Yeah, yeah,
we know what you mean, because the
425
00:35:22.760 --> 00:35:25.960
same thing happens with back to the
eighties, the majority of the country is
426
00:35:27.119 --> 00:35:31.119
listening to to us still listen to
real music. And by real music,
427
00:35:31.159 --> 00:35:35.880
I just mean the way that you
were, you know, without speeding up,
428
00:35:36.079 --> 00:35:38.679
without wanting to go on to the
next thing, fifteen seconds into it,
429
00:35:39.440 --> 00:35:44.639
yeah, or five seconds into it. I mean, kop k pop
430
00:35:44.880 --> 00:35:47.840
is really it's it's an amazing thing, you know. Like I said,
431
00:35:47.880 --> 00:35:51.760
I could talk for a long time
about it. But anyhow, I just
432
00:35:51.800 --> 00:35:54.360
giving you guys some ideas. If
you want to follow up on any of
433
00:35:54.360 --> 00:35:58.320
these, we could give a food
by email or another phone call, but
434
00:35:58.360 --> 00:36:00.199
I don't want to take up too
much your time. But like k pop
435
00:36:00.719 --> 00:36:06.960
and TikTok are really the leading edge
of things. But to me, the
436
00:36:07.039 --> 00:36:10.400
music is only a component of it, you know, so it's not really
437
00:36:12.079 --> 00:36:15.119
music. It's not the star of
it. Yeah. Yeah, it's so
438
00:36:15.599 --> 00:36:20.480
so realistically, and I think the
importance of the music of the eighties,
439
00:36:20.800 --> 00:36:23.760
which is why I think that if
your show is very exciting, is that
440
00:36:24.000 --> 00:36:30.840
if you all the styles, all
of the styles from hip hop to synth
441
00:36:30.960 --> 00:36:37.800
pop to grunge, all of those
things really are represented in the eighties everything
442
00:36:37.159 --> 00:36:43.079
because that was when it became technologically
possible to do all that stuff, even
443
00:36:43.199 --> 00:36:46.880
auto tune and the whole thing.
So the eighties are really they're really like
444
00:36:47.000 --> 00:36:51.840
the flowering of all the styles.
You know. It's interesting because I have
445
00:36:52.159 --> 00:36:55.920
one of my nephews who is in
his mid twenties, you know, college
446
00:36:55.960 --> 00:37:02.880
graduate with today's mentality and only today's
things and whatever. So he mentioned to
447
00:37:02.880 --> 00:37:07.760
me a while back ago during a
little family get together, He goes,
448
00:37:07.840 --> 00:37:12.320
do you realize you're just repeating what
your parents said to you about their about
449
00:37:12.320 --> 00:37:15.679
their music. And I said,
well, actually, let's think about it.
450
00:37:15.679 --> 00:37:21.280
It's not really true because today's music
it's not anything that you haven't heard
451
00:37:21.280 --> 00:37:27.679
before, as opposed to the eighties
where all that music, the glam metal,
452
00:37:27.800 --> 00:37:31.559
the hair metal, the beginnings of
thrash and all that stuff was new
453
00:37:31.599 --> 00:37:37.519
to us. There wasn't anything like
it before. So that's why it will
454
00:37:37.599 --> 00:37:43.880
go on forever, as opposed to
today where you have five hundred million singers
455
00:37:43.920 --> 00:37:47.960
that go to X Factor and America's
Got Talent and all these talent shows that
456
00:37:49.039 --> 00:37:52.480
you'll never hear from again. Mario
brought out that that was a great point.
457
00:37:52.519 --> 00:37:57.639
Bro. Now this is where it
gets crazy where both me and Mario
458
00:37:57.679 --> 00:38:01.440
are on the same page and we've
discussed this. Now. I think see
459
00:38:01.639 --> 00:38:07.280
that the eighties were so close to
the seventies where we had such great music
460
00:38:07.320 --> 00:38:13.760
as Motown, where we had the
rock that was not not classified as classic,
461
00:38:13.800 --> 00:38:17.559
but his acid rock with Aerosmith,
Judas Priest, you know, great
462
00:38:17.639 --> 00:38:22.800
bands like UFO, Thim, Lizzie
Yes, Steely Dan, The Eagles,
463
00:38:22.880 --> 00:38:30.679
Linda Ronstead. I think that the
eighties talent kind of flowered from the early
464
00:38:30.880 --> 00:38:37.800
seventies, late seventies seeds that were
planted in music, and I think with
465
00:38:37.159 --> 00:38:43.480
the decade change in the time that
has passed, the talent of music now
466
00:38:43.559 --> 00:38:47.519
has been a lot more watered down. Then we go back into the eighties
467
00:38:47.519 --> 00:38:53.039
and like Mario said, you know, the the evolution of the grunge,
468
00:38:53.800 --> 00:38:59.679
of thrash metal, of glad metal, which I call pretty metal poser boys.
469
00:39:00.119 --> 00:39:04.880
But what that's on another show.
I think we are so far in
470
00:39:04.920 --> 00:39:09.840
the music industry with talent from when
the necessity it in the early late seventies
471
00:39:10.360 --> 00:39:16.440
that has added to I think a
cheapening of music nowadays. And I also
472
00:39:16.480 --> 00:39:22.320
think that's why terrestrial radio is pretty
much got one foot in the grave and
473
00:39:22.480 --> 00:39:25.480
the other one in the urn.
What do your take? What would your
474
00:39:25.519 --> 00:39:31.039
take beyond that You're one hundred percent
right, and I agree with you that
475
00:39:31.119 --> 00:39:37.000
the talent pool is what I call
talent. The musical talent pool, I
476
00:39:37.119 --> 00:39:43.199
believe is a lot shallower in pop
music. And there's some very good reasons
477
00:39:43.239 --> 00:39:46.079
why. And the principal one is
that you don't actually need to learn how
478
00:39:46.079 --> 00:39:52.679
to play an instrument. And as
somebody who's got callouses for days, who
479
00:39:52.760 --> 00:39:58.639
still plays, whose practice and multi
instrumentalist, I could play a lot of
480
00:39:58.719 --> 00:40:02.199
instruments. Somebody, Oh you want
to you want to base sound here doing
481
00:40:02.800 --> 00:40:07.519
joint. Now, I'm a bass
player, you know, and so so
482
00:40:07.679 --> 00:40:10.679
the idea, you know, to
me, the dividing line is are they
483
00:40:10.719 --> 00:40:16.960
a musician or are they using music
to create sounds? Which is a valid
484
00:40:17.039 --> 00:40:22.760
thing, it's fine. But to
me, I'm a musician and I prefer
485
00:40:22.079 --> 00:40:27.639
music. And you know that.
I guess that's so, and I think
486
00:40:27.679 --> 00:40:31.000
that. And in the eighties,
I'll tell you if it's an I'll tell
487
00:40:31.039 --> 00:40:36.400
you a little side story for that
one. When uh, when I was
488
00:40:36.480 --> 00:40:40.280
when I was recording with Sales in
in Los Angeles, he uh, you
489
00:40:40.320 --> 00:40:46.199
know, was dating somebody which was
a frequent you know, affair would last
490
00:40:46.280 --> 00:40:50.960
for at least a day or two. Anyhow, So he says, if
491
00:40:50.960 --> 00:40:52.960
I said, well, how was
your date last night. He says,
492
00:40:52.000 --> 00:40:57.119
oh, it's okay. Yeah,
But she told me she was a bass
493
00:40:57.239 --> 00:41:00.199
player, and so we went over
and like I gave her you know,
494
00:41:00.360 --> 00:41:05.199
she brought her face over and like
I thought we were gonna jam, and
495
00:41:05.440 --> 00:41:07.800
but she didn't know an he knows. I said, what do you mean?
496
00:41:07.159 --> 00:41:10.119
He says, well, I told
her. I said, let's play
497
00:41:10.119 --> 00:41:14.280
in the key of E. And
she says, what's that? And he
498
00:41:14.360 --> 00:41:16.880
says, you know, like the
Eastern. She goes huh. And then
499
00:41:16.960 --> 00:41:20.320
then he says, and you know
you could play him. And then the
500
00:41:20.360 --> 00:41:23.000
third friend isn't gee, And she's
like, well, why do I need
501
00:41:23.039 --> 00:41:30.679
to know that? So that's that's
I can't contest that and that and those
502
00:41:30.719 --> 00:41:36.559
are the people that actually had have
had success. These people who were not
503
00:41:36.840 --> 00:41:39.639
talented I had. There was another
group, if you want to go back
504
00:41:39.679 --> 00:41:46.079
to the early eighties, it called
the Fools. The Fools and Simone Postuma,
505
00:41:47.079 --> 00:41:52.000
this Dutch guy was the front man
for it. Simone is the famous
506
00:41:52.119 --> 00:41:58.440
character because he brought the colors of
Morocco and influenced the Beatles. Anyhow,
507
00:41:58.440 --> 00:42:00.559
this is a long story. I
go back a long way, as warn
508
00:42:00.639 --> 00:42:06.519
you. So anyhow, uh so
anyhow, so he was just like this
509
00:42:06.639 --> 00:42:09.639
cool guy who would influence the Beatles. So they said, naturally, well
510
00:42:09.719 --> 00:42:14.239
let's make a recording group out of
it. He wasn't a musician. He
511
00:42:14.400 --> 00:42:17.119
was like this thing, you know, a public thing, and so that
512
00:42:17.280 --> 00:42:21.280
was at the time. Everybody who's
like had their eye. I'm like,
513
00:42:21.519 --> 00:42:23.480
what the heck is this? You
know, but it worked because he was
514
00:42:23.519 --> 00:42:29.320
cool. He actually was cool.
But today people are just pos you know.
515
00:42:29.480 --> 00:42:37.760
Posing Posing used to be a pejorative, as we say right now.
516
00:42:40.800 --> 00:42:45.039
So anyhow, so it's really it's
really different, but there's there's a lot
517
00:42:45.039 --> 00:42:50.199
of talents to people. The basic
answer is the basic answer is that in
518
00:42:50.280 --> 00:42:53.280
the eighties you still had to actually
learn how to play an instrument in older
519
00:42:53.320 --> 00:43:00.519
to call yourself a musician or be
able to carry a tune, yourself a
520
00:43:00.519 --> 00:43:04.800
singer. Another we're on the subject
real brief on the technological side of it,
521
00:43:05.000 --> 00:43:07.639
or the hardware side, if you
for a second, go back to
522
00:43:07.719 --> 00:43:14.599
records, cassettes, CDs versus streaming. As a producer. Okay, this
523
00:43:14.760 --> 00:43:19.079
is nothing to do as the listener, but as the producer, in your
524
00:43:19.119 --> 00:43:24.079
opinion, what would be the closest
thing in the recording studio to the real
525
00:43:24.159 --> 00:43:28.599
thing in front of you. You
know, it's a very fair question,
526
00:43:28.960 --> 00:43:32.280
it's a great question, and the
answer is going to surprise you. It
527
00:43:32.400 --> 00:43:39.599
depends on the engineer because a good
because a good engineer can make craps sound
528
00:43:39.679 --> 00:43:45.960
good, and bad engineer can't make
a need sound like a you know anything.
529
00:43:46.280 --> 00:43:52.559
So, but in general, in
general, and I'm there for the
530
00:43:52.800 --> 00:44:00.559
analog digital wars for a long time. In general, analog is as warmer
531
00:44:00.679 --> 00:44:06.239
sound, and it's a more natural
sound, and people, you know,
532
00:44:06.360 --> 00:44:13.119
biological creatures like humans, tend to
like it. You're aware that Vinyl is
533
00:44:13.400 --> 00:44:20.039
making his presence and the technology of
vinyl has has has gotten a lot better.
534
00:44:20.639 --> 00:44:28.119
What's your take on the rebirth of
vinyl and the sound that vinyl put
535
00:44:28.159 --> 00:44:31.400
out then as comparison to the sound
it puts out now. Yeah, so
536
00:44:31.519 --> 00:44:38.119
of course, And again it's so
great that you appreciate sound quality, and
537
00:44:38.440 --> 00:44:44.360
sound quality has to streaming. I'll
tell you something about streaming that a lot
538
00:44:44.400 --> 00:44:51.599
of people are unaware of is that
all streaming is not created equal. Spotify
539
00:44:51.760 --> 00:44:57.719
streams at a much lower bit rate
than Amazon Prime and as a result,
540
00:44:57.840 --> 00:45:01.960
and all the very and they're constantly
changing, and you know, there's all
541
00:45:02.000 --> 00:45:07.719
the compression, so this signal path
to your ear is long and complicated,
542
00:45:07.280 --> 00:45:14.440
and and and when you know,
I upload tracks and all the distributors still
543
00:45:14.480 --> 00:45:20.679
want everything in sixteen forty four so
you know, so forty four bit,
544
00:45:21.000 --> 00:45:25.559
you know, so he's a forty
four kg. So it's this, The
545
00:45:25.719 --> 00:45:30.639
listening experience can be improved at any
level, and getting a good pair of
546
00:45:30.679 --> 00:45:37.679
headphones, getting a good cassette deck, getting a good original medium. I'm
547
00:45:37.760 --> 00:45:40.920
friends with a guy who's um.
You know, I owned blades, so
548
00:45:42.320 --> 00:45:45.079
you know, I actually know a
cutting lacquer. So this fellow who's who,
549
00:45:45.239 --> 00:45:49.400
who's still working now, he's up
in the mountains, um, and
550
00:45:49.480 --> 00:45:53.800
he I digitized some tapes and I
had some of my two inch was really
551
00:45:53.840 --> 00:45:58.000
dicey, so I brought it to
him and he faked them just the right
552
00:45:58.039 --> 00:46:01.199
way and was able to digitize them. What he said in his opinion,
553
00:46:01.320 --> 00:46:06.480
and this is like he's way past
me, and I'm a studio guy.
554
00:46:06.599 --> 00:46:13.960
So he said that the order is
cascepts. CDs are the worst quality,
555
00:46:15.360 --> 00:46:22.400
followed by tape, and the highest
quality is accentate. So that's the pecking
556
00:46:22.519 --> 00:46:27.760
order. And so your ears are
not deceiving you. It's like the Pepsi
557
00:46:27.800 --> 00:46:30.320
and the Coach Challenges. You're listening
to Back to the Eighties if you just
558
00:46:30.440 --> 00:46:35.400
joined us, We have Victor Levine
and we're going to be back with more
559
00:46:35.679 --> 00:46:39.679
back to the eighties radio Tiscanow and
Chang and possibly a hater b to the
560
00:46:39.760 --> 00:46:45.800
Eighties. Let me explain something to
you. I am a vintage, mass
561
00:46:45.000 --> 00:46:54.559
marketed children's toy from the eighties.
Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, boys
562
00:46:54.559 --> 00:46:59.760
and girls, cats and kitties and
all you eighties ladies. We are sitting
563
00:46:59.800 --> 00:47:02.360
here. You're chatting away with the
legend. That's right, the legend Victor
564
00:47:02.440 --> 00:47:08.320
Levine, and we're talking about eighties
production. This guy is all over.
565
00:47:08.679 --> 00:47:14.639
I read over so many acts that
you worked with, and a question comes
566
00:47:14.639 --> 00:47:20.559
to mind. This was one of
my favorite slash punk slash metal bands,
567
00:47:20.559 --> 00:47:27.480
Suicidal Tendencies. What was it like
to work with this band? And could
568
00:47:27.519 --> 00:47:30.800
you maybe explain a little bit to
our listeners who may not be familiar or
569
00:47:30.840 --> 00:47:37.519
who don't understand why I gave them
the slash metal punk rock rating. Could
570
00:47:37.559 --> 00:47:40.280
you dive into a couple of stories
that you might have of Mike and the
571
00:47:40.320 --> 00:47:45.760
Boys. Yeah, yeah, happy, happy to talk about Suicidal Tendencies.
572
00:47:46.000 --> 00:47:50.840
And the first thing is is that
they were one of a couple of bands
573
00:47:51.159 --> 00:48:00.360
there was real killed cult, faster, pushycast rat Poison. I think we
574
00:48:00.440 --> 00:48:05.679
did their demos. So they came
in and the idea was that they want
575
00:48:06.039 --> 00:48:15.119
They came to Amigo Studios because Amigo
Studios had developed a reputation where Metallica had
576
00:48:15.199 --> 00:48:21.920
cut Master of Puppets and Michael Wagner
and I got the record behind me.
577
00:48:22.039 --> 00:48:27.679
So and Michael Wagner was the engineer
producer and he had a string of hits
578
00:48:27.679 --> 00:48:32.760
there. We did dock In,
we did White Lion, and so in
579
00:48:32.840 --> 00:48:38.599
between there all the up and coming
acts like Suicidal Tendencies and the labels.
580
00:48:38.840 --> 00:48:42.559
The labels were the one that kind
of said, hey, you go work
581
00:48:42.599 --> 00:48:50.239
over there, they'll figure out what
to do. So Suicidal Tendencies wasn't that
582
00:48:50.480 --> 00:48:57.880
noticeable to me from my advantage point
of the office where I generally stayed for
583
00:48:58.039 --> 00:49:04.679
my own well being. You know, I wasn't exactly a suicidal tendency guy
584
00:49:04.679 --> 00:49:07.599
who married my whole life. And
you know, we had to make the
585
00:49:07.639 --> 00:49:09.440
equipment work, so you know,
I was very polite and everything, but
586
00:49:09.599 --> 00:49:14.599
I'm not like hanging out drinking fears
with them. So anyhow, which is
587
00:49:14.639 --> 00:49:20.440
a funny story because I remember that
they were in Studio A. And by
588
00:49:20.480 --> 00:49:23.800
the way, I have all the
documentation from my years at Amigo of four
589
00:49:23.920 --> 00:49:30.039
years of every I have a desk
log and a nightlog and the booking calendar
590
00:49:30.639 --> 00:49:35.760
of everything that went on. So
because oh yeah, this is if I'll
591
00:49:35.760 --> 00:49:37.760
talk to you about that sometimes.
But anyhow, and there was and I
592
00:49:37.880 --> 00:49:42.599
told everybody, all the second engineers
and everybody worked at my desk, which
593
00:49:42.719 --> 00:49:45.480
was a man's night and day for
four years. They had to fill out
594
00:49:45.559 --> 00:49:49.599
the daylog or the night loog and
say what happened, who did what,
595
00:49:50.159 --> 00:49:53.199
money in food runs whatever. So
anyhow, so it was and this is
596
00:49:53.199 --> 00:49:57.760
how I would keep an eye on
what was going on. I breathe.
597
00:49:57.800 --> 00:50:00.679
It's like, okay, who's in, who's what time did they get out?
598
00:50:00.760 --> 00:50:02.400
How much? You know was their
building and the engine you know as
599
00:50:02.440 --> 00:50:07.719
a business. And so what I
remember is the suicidal tendencies. I think
600
00:50:08.199 --> 00:50:15.840
they were tracking and we were doing
some kind of construction and in the course
601
00:50:15.840 --> 00:50:20.679
of the construction, there was a
toilet that had been removed and stead aside
602
00:50:20.800 --> 00:50:30.320
on the whole way next to next
to their control room. And I guess
603
00:50:30.119 --> 00:50:32.760
in a in a fit of in
a fit of um, maybe they got
604
00:50:32.800 --> 00:50:38.880
lost at night or whatever, but
that they they they you know, we've
605
00:50:38.920 --> 00:50:44.960
discovered that they had used the toilet, and so I was not I was
606
00:50:45.039 --> 00:50:50.239
not really happy. I don't know
if I I And that's what I remember
607
00:50:50.239 --> 00:50:52.480
about them. And I said,
and I remember the vander said, that's
608
00:50:52.480 --> 00:50:59.719
a good name for these guys.
I mean, they're in a beautiful studio.
609
00:51:00.199 --> 00:51:04.880
And then really they go in the
hallway and take a crap in this
610
00:51:05.039 --> 00:51:10.480
thing. But you know, just
saying, let's let's talk a little bit
611
00:51:10.480 --> 00:51:17.239
about radio, because that is that
is our world and from what it was
612
00:51:17.280 --> 00:51:22.039
to the eighties to what happened in
the nineties and today. In order for
613
00:51:22.199 --> 00:51:28.559
it to get to a point where
it's once again with that same spirit that
614
00:51:28.599 --> 00:51:30.559
it had in the eighties, what, in other words, what would it
615
00:51:30.559 --> 00:51:37.400
take to make radio fun and exciting
again? In your opinion, personalities like
616
00:51:37.519 --> 00:51:44.840
yourself and create appreciate it, create
both of you guys, creative, passionate,
617
00:51:45.119 --> 00:51:51.280
knowledgeable people who want to connect.
We actually are connected to radio stations
618
00:51:51.320 --> 00:51:55.000
all over the world now, and
you guys more resemble the world model of
619
00:51:55.119 --> 00:52:00.760
people who just are telling the truth, believing what they say and going with
620
00:52:00.800 --> 00:52:05.519
it and and not trying to please
all the people all the time, just
621
00:52:05.599 --> 00:52:08.400
being real. So you guys,
have I've heard your skits. I like
622
00:52:08.880 --> 00:52:15.960
I like radio. My my wife
Catherine, she started as a radio producer,
623
00:52:15.159 --> 00:52:21.760
produced the Big Talk show down in
San Diego, you know, all
624
00:52:21.800 --> 00:52:24.960
every day, so we worked way
into radio, and you know, and
625
00:52:25.079 --> 00:52:30.039
to change mind about MTV, I
gotta say I agree with it to some
626
00:52:30.119 --> 00:52:36.880
extent because ray music used to be
something you've listened to. Now it's something
627
00:52:36.920 --> 00:52:40.239
that you watch, which you know, It's just an entirely different thing to
628
00:52:40.360 --> 00:52:46.639
me. Why do you think that
terrestrial radio has taken the dive that it
629
00:52:46.840 --> 00:52:53.159
has? Would you say, where's
a mixture of the was? I was
630
00:52:53.199 --> 00:52:58.280
just going to say that Cumulus.
I was going to ask you, do
631
00:52:58.360 --> 00:53:05.239
you actually believe like I Corporate America
and their greedy little hands stopped caring about
632
00:53:05.239 --> 00:53:08.679
the product and it was more about
the revenue, and they tried to water
633
00:53:08.760 --> 00:53:15.280
down and cheapen the airwaves by giving
everybody less music popular kind of the same
634
00:53:15.519 --> 00:53:21.599
structure of music, and they don't
pay attention to radio personalities anymore now.
635
00:53:21.679 --> 00:53:27.360
Me as you, I grew up
sworn to the radio. The radio was
636
00:53:28.159 --> 00:53:31.280
everything to me, and I grew
up listening to k and Et Kost.
637
00:53:31.719 --> 00:53:37.280
I am a k and AC listener. I grew up listening to k West.
638
00:53:37.320 --> 00:53:43.360
I remember listening to the real Don
Steel on AM radio at ninety three
639
00:53:43.440 --> 00:53:45.960
kge J, and I remember I
looked at my mom and my dad and
640
00:53:45.960 --> 00:53:50.800
I said, that's what I evan
want to do when I'm a big boy.
641
00:53:51.440 --> 00:53:55.280
Music and radio to me are very
I hold them to my heart,
642
00:53:55.320 --> 00:54:00.199
and I know my buddy will attest
to this. I really firmly believe that
643
00:54:00.400 --> 00:54:07.360
music and humor of the greatest entities
of all mankind that can bring anyone of
644
00:54:07.440 --> 00:54:13.840
any color, sexual preference, religion
together at one place at one time,
645
00:54:13.880 --> 00:54:19.800
and that is harmony. I firmly
believe that only through unity are we going
646
00:54:19.840 --> 00:54:23.760
to create prosperity. And I think
with the dying era of radio that we
647
00:54:23.920 --> 00:54:29.840
see and the accumulation of so many
networks that are just going to go ahead
648
00:54:29.880 --> 00:54:37.360
and let you download music, you
nick you miss that neighborhood window that brings
649
00:54:37.440 --> 00:54:42.920
both jock and listeners all together with
not even being in the room together.
650
00:54:43.719 --> 00:54:47.440
I hear you, but I have
some good news for you. The proliferation
651
00:54:49.199 --> 00:54:55.119
of internet based radio, which we
are on hundreds of stations worldwide, is
652
00:54:55.159 --> 00:55:02.760
the antidote to the problems that you
just correctly describe and the idea that corporate
653
00:55:02.760 --> 00:55:09.559
America is taking something and just trying
to make it into a plastic replication faculty
654
00:55:09.599 --> 00:55:15.039
of itself and squeeze out profit.
That's what That's what business often does,
655
00:55:15.159 --> 00:55:21.679
and it's not limited to the record
business, and what the antidote is.
656
00:55:22.159 --> 00:55:27.719
Piscone and Chang, Victor. It's
been a pleasure to have you with us,
657
00:55:27.960 --> 00:55:30.320
and I really appreciate you taking the
time. I know we went a
658
00:55:30.320 --> 00:55:34.920
little overboard, but you know,
it's always when you have a great in
659
00:55:34.920 --> 00:55:37.920
the room, there's nothing better than
to pick from that great mind. I
660
00:55:37.960 --> 00:55:43.480
appreciate it. Guys, Thank you
for doing what you're doing. You're got
661
00:55:43.480 --> 00:55:45.719
a good vibe going and I'm happy
to be a part of it. And
662
00:55:46.039 --> 00:55:50.760
call me again. We'll talk more. I'm sorry I'm so long winded,
663
00:55:50.840 --> 00:55:53.920
but you know I've survived that long
enough. That's a lot of blah blah,
664
00:55:53.960 --> 00:55:57.360
blah, So keep rocking. Thanks
a lot of Victor. If you
665
00:55:57.360 --> 00:56:00.039
don't mind, I may steal some
of your words, something that I think
666
00:56:00.079 --> 00:56:05.320
is very upproposal for the moment,
But to all eighties fans listening, in
667
00:56:05.360 --> 00:56:10.480
spite of the many dramatic and heartfelt
and sometimes tragic moments in different people's lives,
668
00:56:10.880 --> 00:56:14.960
always try to remember that there are
only two things in the universe that
669
00:56:15.000 --> 00:56:17.760
matter, the ones that matter and
the ones that don't, and the ability
670
00:56:17.800 --> 00:56:22.280
to distinguish the difference, to keep
it all in perspective, to laugh as
671
00:56:22.360 --> 00:56:23.239
much as possible,



















