"We are strong No one can tell us we're wrong Searching our hearts for so long Both of us knowing Love is a battlefield
You're begging me to go Then making me stay Why do you hurt me so bad It would help me to know Do I stand in your way Or am I the best thing you've had
Believe me Believe me I can't tell you why But I'm trapped by your love And I'm chained to your side."
Pat Benatar is a female rock legend by probably just about anyone's standards, but believe it or not my favorite song by her features that nifty drum beat. Of course, I'm talking about "Love Is A Battlefield" (which is still fantastic to this day if you're lucky enough to hear it live). The 1983 hit is one of Benatar's best charting songs and it also earned her a fourth Grammy. The video also helped to put her into MTV's record books because it is the first one ever aired that featured a real storyline, with speaking parts.
Now the video is really well down but watching Benatar dance has always seemed a bit odd to me. But the song itself is really pretty fantastic. A great rock song with a beat that makes it hard to stay still and lyrically, well, we have all been there. Love is hard. Check out the classic video below!
Pay attention, are you listening? You're my favorite girl Excuse me for the moment, I'm in another world On a mountain, by a fountain, flowers blooming everywhere With Venus and cupid, the picture's very clear
It's strange how I can hear a song and easily remember the time of year that it first became popular. The summer of 1987 was loaded with great music and there was one little song that seemed to follow me everywhere that I went. The System's "Don't Disturb This Groove" eventually became know as the official song of that summer but that was after it followed me to the Jersey Shore, to Six Flags and it played in the background no matter what store I shopped in at the time. I affiliate "Don't Disturb This Groove" with car windows rolled down and sunshine. And maybe a bit of Sun In and my big boom box as well.
I love when songs are kind of timeless in that you really can't tell by listening what era that are from. This is one of those so check it out below!
When I think back, 1987 was really as big a year for dance music as it was for hair bands. I mean, for every Def Leppard or GNR there was a Lisa Lisa or an Expose`. Pretty Poison was part of that syth-driven vibe that permeated top 40 radio at the time. "Catch Me I'm Falling" quickly became a favorite song during the summer of 1987 and I can remember the group popping up everywhere from American Bandstand to Soul Train. I also feel like they may have been a part of the final season of Dance Fever.
Everywhere I looked I saw Jade Starling and the rest of the group and I loved them. What was there not to like? The song was great and I was kind of obsessed with the whole bustier-tutu look (that was first made popular by Jody Watley). Truth be told, even thirty years later, "Catch Me I'm Falling" still has the kind of energy that gets me moving in the morning. Hopefully it'll have the same effect on you. Check out the video below!
"Cross my broken heart, boy Swear, I'll never part from you I want you to be mine I know you think I'm not Your picture-perfect jewel And let us break apart When everything was cool I needed to explore And open up the door But now I need you more"
Today we're going back in time to the summer of 1987. Beverly Hills Cop 2 had just blasted into theaters and while it may not have been as fantastic as the original, it did serve up a great soundtrack. The Jets, a family band out of Minnesota had already had a string of hits when they brought us "Cross My Broken Heart". It was the first single off of their second album and did really well, reaching number seven on Billboard's Hot 100.
More importantly, the song got tons of radio play and was a really big dance hit. While the Wolfgramm family eventually became best known for some of their ballads (like "Make It Real"), songs like "Cross My Broken Heart" were really a lot of fun and still get plenty of play on satellite radio. As for The Jets, they are still performing together and you can often catch them out there as part of the Freestyle Explosion tour.
Valerie Day and John Smith, the masterminds behind the music of Nu Shooz, are always looking for creative ways to involve their fans in whatever they're doing and that certainly includes an active presence on social media. The band was first formed way back in 1979 and they were playing live gigs for years before that big breakthrough finally came. Back then Nu Shooz found it self working several nights a week onstage as part of Portland's pre-synth raging music scene. While the synth sound eventually was the catalyst that brought the bands' music to the masses (and earned them a Grammy nomination in 1987 for Best New Artist), their love for organic music and using real instruments runs deep. 1986's Poolside may be considered the most successful album for the Shooz, but their journey certainly has encompassed decades.
(Photo: Phil Isley)
While on paper it may seem that Valerie and John dropped off the radar for years, just the opposite is actually true. Valerie has performed with the Oregon Symphony Pops, several celebrated jazz artists and she has co-created a show called Brain Chemistry for Lovers beside Darrell Grant. John has been equally busy and his musical genius has kept him working in the commercial industry for more than twenty years. The 80's are one of the hottest genres out there right now and last Christmas Target decided to use "I Can't Wait" as part of their holiday advertising campaign. Admit it, you were singing along every time the commercial came on, weren't you?
The only thing bigger than the 80's right now are the tours circling the country that feature large roster's of some of the biggest names in old school music and so when the Freestyle Explosion show came knocking, Day and Smith were thrilled to jump on board. "It's amazing how strong the love for music from way back then still is. Social media also helps to keep us connected with our audience on a regular basis. It's neat to see fans from the 80's at our shows and they're now bringing their kids with them. We actually have different generations of fans waiting for autographs at meet and greets- that's a little surreal! We were told about a fun little tour (Freestyle Explosion) that would reunite Nu Shooz with a whole roster of other performers from the 80's and it's something that we've really enjoyed doing." explained Day in a recent interview with The Daily Boom.
(Photo: Mike Hipple)
Ironically enough, according to Smith, reconnecting with the diehard 80's fan base is what helped to breathe life into their latest album. "It was doing that tour that actually made us want to consider coming back with another Nu Shooz album. The love for that era of music is pretty amazing and the rush for us is still the same as it was back then. We decided that it was time to take ourselves maybe a little less seriously. We're definitely more confident both as artists and as people. Plus we have a really great band to play with. We have alumni band members now that have played our style for years. The cohesive mix makes for many “Life is good” moments. It was fun to have radio hits but nothing beats playing live."
"After making ourselves miserable musically we decided to make a record aimed at having fun and it has really worked for us. At one point John and I went to dinner with our good friends, Marv and Rindy Ross (of Quarterflash) and we were all feeling similarly about where we were at musically at that point in time. They were coming off the release of a more serious record (as were we) and Marv mentioned wanting to create an album that was just fun to play live. That idea really clicked with us and it felt like exactly what we needed to do as well." explains Day while contemplating why making this record has really worked for them.
(BagTown Cover Art: Malcolm Smith
The key to the magic that has unfolded really seems to be the fact that they have absolutely enjoyed the process. According to Smith, "BagTown is the funnest (yes, 'funnest' and 'funner' became the descriptive words for BagTown) album that we have made, maybe ever. With every record, the process of creation is different. Sometimes it's lyrics first, other times the music is written first. We made a city of bag people and started drawing on them and all of a sudden these bags were partying. The songs from BagTown actually came from creating this city and bringing it to life in our minds. Of course music for us is a two-way relationship and so the audience ends up being an equal partner in the whole experience."
So, are you ready for a preview of BagTown? Of course you are! You can check out an album preview right here,
Also, the first video off ofBagTown, "Real Thing" is available here,
Connect with Nu Shooz below so that you're kept up-to-date on everything that they're doing!
"I want to play with you tonight Hold me, that's all that's on my mind Baby, something feels so right Maybe we could play tonight I want to be so in love with you I want 2 do just what you want 2 do I want to be all that to you I got a dream, and you can make it true 'Cause I, I'm fascinated by your love boy And I'm fascinated by your love toy I'm fascinated by the way you make me feel"
Company B was one of many all girl groups that arrived on the Latin freestyle wave of the mid-80's. They had one huge song, "Fascinated" that ruled the dance charts and made it to #21 on Billboard's Hot 100. I think that they kind of unraveled themselves with their second album. By 1989 they had reinvented themselves and also dropped the Latin vibe. The result was a sophmore effort that tanked. It doesn't take away from their classic hit though so check out the video for "Fascinated" below.
"Who's gonna pick you up when you fall Who's gonna hang it up when you call Who's gonna pay attention to your dreams Who's gonna plug their ears when you scream You can't go on thinking nothing's wrong Who's gonna drive you home tonight?"
1984 was a huge year for a 19-year-old model named Paulina Porizkova. After working the Paris runways for a few years she landed the cover of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition. She also played the crazy girl in The Cars video for "Drive". It wasn't a typical tune by the band because, while Ric Ocasek wrote the song, it was Benjamin Orr who sang the lead vocals.
It climbed the charts quickly and became The Cars biggest hit to date. At the time of filming Ocasek was married to his first wife and Porizkova was just a teen. Fast foward five years and the two ended up getting married. The cool thing is that they still are, almost 30 years later.
"Drive" is one of THOSE 80's songs. It's kind of a familiar comfort whenever it comes on the radio. Even if you don't love it you'll probably find yourself singing along.It made an impression back in 1984 and still resonatestoday. Check out the video below.
I'm only happy when it rains I feel good when things are going wrong I only listen to the sad, sad songs I'm only happy when it rains
I only smile in the dark My only comfort is the night gone black I didn't accidentally tell you that I'm only happy when it rains
If you've been reading DailyBOOM for any real length of time then you already know that I absolutely love Garbage. I'll worship at the feet of Shirley Manson and praise the talent of the rest of the band each and every chance that I get. Finally getting to see them perform live last summer was absolutely everything that I had hoped for and more. It's always risky when you wait years to see a band that you love for the first time. Especially more than 20 years. You run the risk of voices fading, vocal range diminishing and fingers just not playing the way that they once did.
Not the case with Garbage. I can't imagine them ever sounding better than they currently do. And Shirley has certainly gotten better with some good years under her belt. The performance anxiety she once had has been traded in for a sense of authority and control as she stalks the stage. There have been so many great tracks over the years but since it is currently pouring I'm going to make a fairly obvious choice.
Is "Only Happy When It Rains" their best song? Maybe. Is it their best song played live? Definitely maybe. It has always created or (embraced an already existing) mood. It described the 90's angst perfectly which is, I'm sure, why it became such a huge breakout (and breakthrough) hit for Garbage. I also think it has one of the best videos of the entire decade to accompany it. Check it out below! Fabulous stiil, isn't it?
I've spent the last month looking for unique sponsorship/partnerships for DailyBOOM & Boom Radio. Opportunities that not only help to support this brand but also benefit the large audience that we love so much. This week a unique opportunity with BackersBox presented itself and I couldn't be more excited to share it with you.
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Every time you order a box we immediately make $5. It's that easy to help us while spending less money too.
Check out the BOOM Radio Backersbox to see what goodies we'll be sending out this month!
Believe it or not, there was a moment in time when women couldn't get enough of Loverboy's lead singer, Mike Reno. I know this for sure because my mom appeared to be one of them. Was it the red leather pants? Was it the bandanna tied around his head? Was it his aggressive lyrics that did it? Who knows maybe it was a combo of all three. All that I'm positive of is that something that he did worked because the band was hot and nearly forty years after they first got together, here we are still mentioning them.
1981's Get Lucky album really put Loverboy on the musical map here in the states and the string of singles that it produced was the proof. "When It's Over" was a breakup anthem with a twist. It was told from the perspective of a man watching another woman's relationship crumble. In other words, Reno was the best friend, would be lover or older brother trying to save you from yourself and your own bad judgment. Who doesn't need one of those? Check it out for yourself below!
"It's too late to stop Won't the heavens save me? My daddy said the devil looks a lot like you Take me to the edge of heaven Tell me that my soul's forgiven Hide you baby's eyes and we can... Take me to the edge of heaven"
This morning MTV Classic reminded me of one of my very favorite songs
by Wham! "The Edge of Heaven" was originally touted as the duo's farewell single and in many ways it may have really been one of their best. During the summer of 1986 when it was released, George Michael was already enjoying a super-successful solo career and he was totally ready to move on.
When asked about the obviously sexual lyrics Michael had said that he believed that he and Andrew Ridgeley had gotten away with them because at that point in time no one paid much attention to what they were saying anyway. "The Edge of Heaven" is one of the first black and white videos that I really remember and the guys looked like they had a blast making it, or at the very least they pulled off faking the fun vibe.
And let's celebrate (celebrate) the love we got (stop)
Say you're coming home."
Luther Vandross might have one of the most soulful voices to listen to ever. He is quite obviously best remembered for his ballads ("Here and Now", "Superstar", etc.) so I wanted to share something a little different. "Stop To Love" was the first single off of Vandross' fifth album and it was also his first top 20 hit on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. The video from 1986 shows a fun side to Vandross, one that those cloesest to him often talked about. Sadly, the singer's life was cut short after a massive stroke left him comatose for two months in 2003. While Vandross did recover somewhat he never performed in public again and eventually died in July of 2005.
(Reb Beach, Robin McAuley, Jeff Pilson & Matt Starr- Black Swan Official)
The last time that I spoke with Robin McAuley he was as busy as ever, performing several nights a week in Raiding The Rock Vault (a popular Vegas all-star production) while touring the world with Michael Schenker's Schenkerfest. He also teased about a (not so) little side gig with Jeff Pilson (Foreigner & Dokken) and Reb Beach (Winger & Whitesnake), plus Matt Starr on drums. That little project has morphed into a thunderous labor of love called Black Swan.
Two singles, "Shake The World" and "Big Disaster", have already been met with critical praise, leaving rock fans anxiously awaiting the full release of Shake The World, on February 14th. Black Swan is, perhaps, one of the best supergroups to come out of the last decade or so and not even a critical bout with Ecoli Sepsis could slow their momentum. I had the pleasure of catching up with the always gracious and jovial rocker a few days ago. Check it out below!
(Robin McAuley - Black Swan Official)
Robin McAuley on the illness that could have been deadly: "Lord. I’ll make it very brief. I didn’t see this one coming. At all. I stay pretty healthy and I was about to leave my home to catch a flight to Florida. The good Catholic boy that I am, I went to church in the morning, we came home and had a family meal, a breakfast, and about an hour before leaving, I got extremely cold. I had no other symptoms, nothing, it was a great morning, and then in about a twenty-minute window my sorry old ass got hooked up to a gurney and taken to intensive care. One of my sons really jumped on it and called 911, thank God or I may not be here talking to you now.
Everybody was shocked and I really didn’t feel much of it, other than the fact I was really cold. I had a temperature that was over 104 and I was going into shock and had no idea what was going on. You could have fried an egg on my butt (laughing). The diagnosis I finally got after the long week in the hospital was that I somehow had contracted the E.coli virus and it had turned into a bladder infection. That went into my bloodstream, became sepsis, and it was starting to poison me. I was put in a 12-hour critical stage.I have a lot of tattoos but I hate needles. Go figure. Right (laughing)? I’ve never had so many injections and blood and, oh god, IVs, and you know the other things they strap to you but they were able to treat me with the proper antibiotics. It really was a shocker, didn’t see it coming at all! I know what septic means, I’ve heard of septic, but sepsis, not until now (laughing). I was a great believer in the idea that people get sick and then you go, ‘yeah, but there has to be something underlying. you don’t just get sick and you don’t just fall down,’ but, apparently you do (laughing). Thankfully I am now feeling terrific."
Robin on getting better and returning to the stage in mere weeks:
"I was sequestered. The doctor said, ''You might think you are going somewhere, but you’re not going anywhere,’ so I spent weeks on extremely strong antibiotics and strapped to an IV, so I was pretty shitty, to say the least. Even after I got all of this stuff removed from my body, that next week was miserable because I had no strength, at all. The doctors told me that when your body goes into shock, all of these muscles suddenly start to flare up, and my legs were like lead.
The doctors were very funny and they told me, ‘You know, you’re the youngest person in here. You need to get the hell outta here. and… you know, we have more pending cases than yours,’ I mean, they were very encouraging. They encouraged me constantly to get better and go home. Because they said that as soon as I could get home I would then have an immediate turnaround. They were right and my wife was awesome, my boys were awesome and that kept me going. The doctors gave me an extra two weeks off and I started back just last week at Raiding the Rock Vault. Now, when you’re offstage for a whole month it’s a little like riding a bicycle, but it’s also in new venue so I had to adjust to that. Right now, this will be my fifth day in and I’m rockin’. Thank god I feel great and I’ve got my legs back, plus my voice is in great shape. Thereby the grace of God, I am very thankful and grateful."
(Robin McAuley- Official Facebook)
Robin on getting ready for Schenkerfest:
"I have so much to learn for that still (laughing). We leave for Japan the first week of March and Japan is already sold out, it’s amazing. It’s a huge undertaking because Simon Phillips will be a second drummer on this one. Ronnie Romero will be coming in and guesting on vocals. Barry Sparkson was also one of the earlier MSG bass players who will also be coming in as well so it’s a hefty lineup. Then we will leave Japan and we’ll hit the UK and the rest of Europe in April. Then US dates will maybe come at the tail end of the year. I’m waiting for those dates to be confirmed."
Robin on Black Swan: "My favorite band of all time, I want to tell you right out the gate, it’s my favorite. Even the artwork is part of excellence. I just love it, I absolutely love the logo.Jeff (Pilson) came to me with this idea. Frontiers had approached me maybe two years ago about wanting to work with me because I was possibly the only guy left (laughing) just kidding. I was so busy with Rock Vault and Schenker at the time. Plus they wanted to put me in with some of their in-house writers and producers, who are fantastic, but I wasn’t ready to just do a record. It wasn’t right.So anyway, Jeff called me about a year ago and we go back a very long way and he said, ‘well how would you feel to write with Reb Beach?’ Well, who wouldn’t want to write with Reb Beach? I met Reb during my Survivor days when he was with Night Ranger for a short spell, so I already knew him. Jeff and Reb got together at Jeff’s studio and they had sent me sort of a basic idea for a song just to get the ball rolling. I came into the studio and I had a melody and I had a lyric and it was called ‘Big Disaster’, and Reb just looks at me and goes, ‘For a new project, that is probably not the best name.’ (laughing) and that’s kind of how we started. Nobody was thinking it should be a little MSG, a little Dokken, make it White Snakey. Now, why would you ever want to do that? Why can’t we just be what we are and have what we have as Black Swan?" Robin on the writing process with Black Swan:
"Jeff went to see Bohemian Rhapsody and sent me a short note at about midnight saying he got home and set up the piano and wrote something called "Divided". It was this amazing chorus and idea for a verse and I thought wow, people will never expect this. It’s an amazing song.
One of my son’s almost ended up at the Borderline Grill where that massacre in Thousand Oaks took place. I was actually in Poland with Schenker, and I got this text saying he was on his way there, but he got a call to come into work instead. There was this line dancing thing he and his college friends would all do. When we were writing this record, this massacre was weighing heavily on my mind so I had this idea of writing a song around the soldier that comes home from active duty and things are not the same at home as he left. When we think of soldiers we think of men and these are kids. They are kids. Kids with guns and bombs in their hands that are not properly counseled. Unfortunately, it’s a bunch of innocent, beautiful, young kids out at a bar that gets hurt.
Part of what we’re saying with this Black Swan record will shake the world because things are a big disaster and we are so divided. It’s not a political platform because I don’t know politics, but I know my own mind. I don’t like using music as a soapbox, you know for that purpose, but sometimes if something weighs heavily on your mind and on your heart then it just comes out in the writing. We need to shake things up, we definitely do. You know, we have a voice as we always say and we are supposed to be allowed to use it. Um… But, as long as you put up with it nothing is ever going to change."
(Robin McAuley- Official Facebook)
Robin on the name Black Swan:
"Reb came up with the name Black Swan. We were kicking names around and we had some god-awful names and they all got trashed (laughing). Then Reb says, ‘Well, I like-- I like Black Swan,’ and I’m going, ‘Well, isn’t there a movie and a book?’ (laughing). Frontiers actually got clearance because there was a big brass school band, The Black Swan-something or other, and so they had to get clearance on the name. They obviously managed to get it, and it fits perfectly, I think. It fits the music and just sort of gels with everything else."
Robin on how Black Swan is a unique experience for him:
"I’ve recorded a lot of stuff, my name is not a name that rolls off of people’s tongues, but I’ve recorded quite a bit. I will say that of everything I’ve ever had my name on or recorded, I think this is my favorite of everything. I just love the production. It’s real. It’s not processed. It’s exactly like it is in the studio. It’s how we wanted it. And, it was one of my big things like, I just want this to really rock and be powerful.
Jeff did an absolutely monstrous job of it. His playing is amazing considering he didn’t want to play bass. You know, Reb and I had other ideas about that (laughs). He had all of these great bass players lined up for whatever reason, and as we were writing, he’d be laying down his bass tracks just as a guide, and I went, ‘Yeah, some guide. So, are you going to get a bass player in here and show him everything you just played?’ (laughing).Then, of course, Matt Starr came in and completely put the icing on the cake."
Robin on the possibility of live dates:
" (Laughing) It’s the million-dollar, Black Swan question. You know, of course, ideally, with every band, you want to go live. Reb’s schedule is crazy, as is Jeff’s, and then you have Matt and you’re going, ‘How the hell is this ever going to happen?’ So, we’re hoping that a window of opportunity will appear. God, I hope we get to do it. We’ve all agreed, all four of us have agreed, that we’d love to do it."
Robin's thoughts ahead of the Feb. 14th release of the full Shake The World record:
"I’m really happy. I know everybody says that about their record, but I am (laughing). I never thought that at my age, I could actually make something that I could boast about. This is just, I couldn’t be in a better place. I never in my wildest dreams thought that we’d be churning out something of this quality, it’s just great. It’s great. So I’m very happy with it. I hope the listeners are equally as happy and we have a go forward with it. It would be terrific. Not that I need more work, but I love this particular work so much."
Follow Black Swan on Facebook for more news & updates. Grab your Black Swan merch here. Also, check our Robin's official site & Facebook page for updates on everything that he has going on.
