The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion was fresh on the racks, and the Black Crowes were hitting the charts for “round two”. With a plane to catch, Chris Robinson still had time to stop by the MuchMusic studios for a live chat with Natalie Richard. If you’ve never heard a French Canadian accent before, prepare to swoon.
Live phone calls are answered and Chris does his best to explain what The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion is all about.
“If somebody woulda told me what this business was like before I got into it, I still woulda done it.” — Blackie Lawless
The MuchMusic personality here is as yet unidentified (best guess is Angela Dohrmann; help anyone?), but that is definitely Blackie Lawless. The W.A.S.P. mainman (and only remaining member at this point) looks to be in England, judging by the red double decker busses behind. His new album, The Crimson Idol, was the reason.
The Crimson Idol is a concept album about the hazards of the music business, and Blackie offers his perspective. His beloved horses are discussed again. He also speaks of W.A.S.P.’s past as a shock rock group in an interesting way. Check it out.
MuchMusic’s Denise Donlon asked Steven Tyler of Aerosmith about their brand new video, “Dude (Looks Like a Lady)”. This broadcast was the first time my friends and I ever heard the song!
Set your time machine back to fall 1987 and check out this funny interview.
This one goes out to good pals Mars and Sarca Sim! I know they love the nostalgia of old MuchMusic bumpers. Here’s a collection of them that I assembled into one mega-bumper!
The bumpers are generally somebody saying, “Hi, I’m [insert name] from [insert band], and you’re watching the Power Hour on MuchMusic!” Some flub their lines (Craig Goldy), some put in that extra 10% (Poison) and some do both (Anvil).
It’s either they got only one take, or these are the best ones!
Check out these hilarious rock star ads below, including (in order): Mark Metcalf, Motorhead, Poison, Lita Ford, Anvil, Dio, Rik Emmett, David Coverdale and a couple surprises.
GETTING MORE TALE #740: Things I Wish I Recorded, But Didn’t
Regrets? I’ve had a few. I think I have a pretty cool collection of videos, but at the same time, there are tons of things I wish I’d taped. I remember them all clear as a bell, but have no way of showing you. Instead, you can only read about these bizarre MuchMusic events. Fortunately, I have a really good memory.
Here are the things I wished I recorded but didn’t.
1. Randy Bachman on MuchMusic – Canadian Federal Election 1993
Much had a unique idea to get young people engaged with voting. They brought in music stars to interview the politicians that were running for Prime Minister in 1993. Additionally, they didn’t talk to just the “big three” parties, but invited plenty of second and third tier candidates as well. 14 candidates in total.
Neil Peart from Rush interviewed the eventual winner, Jean Chrétien of the Liberal party. I have that on tape. What I don’t have on tape is the schmuck they stuck poor Randy Bachman with!
Bachman did the best he could, but the candidate was really flakey and wouldn’t stop mentioning how his platform was all on a floppy disc. Get the floppy disc and read the full platform! He gave one to Randy, which was utterly pointless. Poor Bachman and the Floppy Disc Guy!
2. Vanilla Ice interviewed by Natalie Richard 1991
Totally out of my wheelhouse. Turned out to be pretty funny. Vanilla Ice was on his way out. This interview did not help. Natalie asked him “Where do you fit in the stratosphere of music today?” His answer was to laugh and say, “Wow, that question went right over my head, I don’t even know what that means!”
3. Daniel Richler hosting the Power Hour 1987
Daniel Richler is the adopted son of the famous author Mordecai Richler. I grew up with his dad’s books, so I was thrilled when he got to host the Pepsi Power Hour one time in ’87. I said at the time it was the best episode they ever did. I loved all the songs (not always the case with an hour long show) and recorded five of the videos.
Unfortunately, I didn’t record Daniel’s segments between the songs, which was a shame. The guy was hilarious and I remember he did one entire segment with the camera upside down. I tended to record only music and interviews to save tape.
4. Living Colour with Michael Williams 1988
They had a Living Colour contest. All you had to do was guess the number of braids in Corey Glover’s hair! He shook his hair around for the cameras. It didn’t help with counting, but it was funny and cool!
5. Thelonious Monster 1989
I’m not particularly a fan of the punk rock pioneers, but I was intrigued when they played a song live at the Much studios called “Sammy Hagar Weekend”. “He actually liked the song!” said the Monster. “That’s how dumb he is. He didn’t know we were making fun of him.” One of those moments I wish I had recorded.
6. Lemmy and Philthy Phil
Motorhead were too scary for young me! But they were funny. I wish I had this one on tape. “What do you think this is, a holiday?!”
7. The Def Leppard Pepsi jacket
Finally, not just a video I wish I had, but also an article of clothing.
It was the Hysteria era, and MuchMusic were giving away a hell of a prize. I wanted it so badly. All I got on tape was the address to enter the contest, and a very brief grainy view of the Def Leppard jacket. It was a white jacket, unlike any I’d ever seen before. It came fully equipped with a speaker system built into the jacket! You could walk around, play your music and have it coming right from your body. The jacket also came fully stocked with a Walkman and all the Def Leppard albums on cassette.
I really, really wanted that jacket, but even some video footage of it would be cool today. I pictured myself walking around in my Leppard jacket, with “Pour Some Sugar On Me” coming from somewhere in my chest. How could the ladies possibly resist?
“The object of being an artist is to stir the minds of men…Unless you’re saying something musically, lyrically, or you’re touching people emotionally somehow, you are not an artist. You are a factory that makes records.” — Blackie Lawless
Erica Ehm was never gun shy about her distaste for W.A.S.P., yet she helmed the best interview I’ve ever seen with frontman Blackie Lawless. It’s not a shorty either, so grab a beverage.
Blackie was doing press for W.A.S.P.’s “get serious” album The Headless Children. He was invited to co-host the Pepsi Power Hour (live!) in 1989. Erica wasn’t about to throw softball questions, but it’s quite clear that Lawless wins her over. Blackie is remarkably forthright, with a dash of humour. He also picked the tunes for the show, and you’ll find out what songs he chose and why.
The myriad subjects discussed:
What “Headless Children” means
What led to Blackie’s change of lyrical direction
The P.M.R.C.
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II and Chris Holmes
Being shot at
The Who’s reunion tour
Responsibility
Helix
Horses
Nazis
and much, much more.
The Headless Children is the main focus, and for good reason. It’s an amazing record, and a terrific interview.
MuchMusic introduced me to Sword when they premiered the white hot “F.T.W.” back in 1987. When Rick Hughes stopped by the Pepsi Power Hour a few months later, I was ready to record!
With sometimes-host Christopher Ward, Rick discussed touring with Motorhead and what Lemmy’s really like. He also touches on the long awaited second Sword album, on-stage injuries, and what the metal scene was like in Montreal at the time.
Check out this smashing live interview with the always cool Rick Hughes!
I am fortunate, oh so very fortunate, that I still have my old VHS tapes. Watching them again, over 30 years down the road, has been the closest I’ve ever come to real time travel. These tapes were my childhood! I sat in the basement, remote control in hand, recording as much music as possible from, well, MuchMusic!
The Pepsi Power Hour was in its infancy, with J.D. Roberts in the hosting chair. One by one, each video rolls out in the order I recorded them. In many cases that means the order in which I first heard them!
The good fortune that I even have these tapes goes further, back to my parents. They had pay TV, meaning we had MuchMusic when it first began, not when it became free in the late 80s. They bought a VCR and pretty much let me monopolise it when the Power Hour was on. Even though it was the middle of the big “Satan scare”, they let me watch the Power Hour, unlike the Dolphs, the weirdo neighbours across the street. They didn’t even let their kids watch Dr. Who. Here I am watching Ronnie James Dio slaying people with his sword in “Holy Diver”. A few clips earlier, a bathing suit clad teacher was dancing on desks in a Van Halen video. Then there was Kiss. Were they really “Knights in Satan’s Service”? My mom asked me that question, but she didn’t stop me from watching. That couldn’t have been easy, considering the subject matter of “I Love It Loud”.
So I kept recording videos, and stored the tapes safely, as if knowing that 30 years down the road I’d be wanting them again. Iron Maiden came up frequently on the earliest tapes, and I can’t help thinking of my dad.
The only Iron Maiden videos my dad liked were “Aces High” and “The Trooper”. He approved of the lyrics and explained them to me in historical context. I knew all about the Battle of Britain long before I hit the age that they teach you about it in school. I knew the Charge of the Light Brigade, what a “Cossack” was, and where it happened. That’s because of Iron Maiden and my dad! He used it as educational material. He really seemed to like those lyrics.
Today, my friend Tom who is a teacher uses rock music in the same way — to teach.
“Aces High” was always a personal favourite. Not only was it a great song, but also a great video. The single had some of the best cover art you could find on a Maiden vinyl. “Aces High” received many spins, on the turntable and the VCR alike. At that age, my sister was like a little shadow, and copied me with everything. We watched videos together. We also went to the same school. In one class, she and her friends were asked about their favourite songs. My sister said “Aces High” but they wrote down “Ace Is High”. Come on, people! It’s not that kind of song! She was in the 4th grade.
Now I sit, watching my tapes, reliving old memories fresh and new once again. What a lucky guy I am.
I always liked this interview clip. Jeff Pilson seemed so friendly and enthusiastic. Don, meanwhile, didn’t even know how many songs were slated for the Back for the Attack album! I think he forgot “Mr. Scary”.
Back for the Attack wasn’t out yet, so Laurie Brown asked Dokken about Under Lock & Key. Check it out!
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