Would you still remember me
For I must be traveling on now
There's so many places I gotta see"
Merry Holidays and Happy New Year! I hope most of you are enjoying some downtime after another "interesting" 12 months. Wanted to treat everyone to one more post before we head off to the unexpected (and hopefully less germy) 2022.
Did you ever think to yourself, I really wish some band would mash up Peter Frampton and Lynyrd Skynyrd? I too felt the same way and lucky for me and the universe, Will to Power made this dream come true back in August of 1988. I always assumed Will to Power were African American till one fateful day a few months back when this delicious meal of sound and vision popped up on my beloved 80's music video channel on Pluto TV. I suppose it's the time of year for lists and discoveries and I'll say my favorite vocal discovery in 2021 is the male backup singer in Will to Power..aka Bob Rosenberg. Bob has passion, sweet locks, a fantastic mustache and digs sunsets. Just watch for yourself.
I also have a special memory from my high school days with the OG version of Freebird. After graduation, people around my town would head south to Myrtle Beach, SC to participate in Beach Week. I suppose a right of passage before going away to school and seeing what it's like to exist without parental supervision. Well guess what? Bad decision are a plenty! One night after a few beers (most likely Milwaukee's' Best Red aka The Beast) I visited one of my friends rental houses who decided it was a good idea to split a bottle of Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum on their roof. The only other companion was a boombox with a CD player (fancy) and Lynyrd Skynyrd's greatest hits. For some reason he thought it was a good idea to hit repeat on Freebird and let it roll. Once the rum disappeared I found myself back to my house (dismissing drinking Captain Morgan's Spiced rum to this day) while my friend fell asleep on the roof, waking up to a CD skipping version of Freebird hours later. Happy to say we're all still alive and well.
Oh as far as other favorite's for the year...my favorite record I purchased was a reissue of the John Coltrane Quartet called Ballads.(pictured above) A perfect soundtrack to help get through those dark winter nights. My favorite book , Nothin' But A Good Time: The Uncensored History of the 80's Hard Rock Explosion by Richard Bienstock and Tom Beaujour. If you wanted to know what the Sunset Strip was like in Hollywood in the 80's, this one's for you. I didn't see many 2021 movies but I have to give it up for ole Nick Cage again. I loved his performance and the movie Pig...a bit of a tearjerker.
Thanks for reading again this year. Cheers, Prost, Slainte, Salute. Happy New year!
