Trying Not To Go Nuts In A Restaurant, Soup To Nuts, People Who Are Nuts, & Jello for Dessert!

Here's a stupid statement - I like being vacation! Well, duh... who doesn't? The key is here, is to enjoy what you are doing. Sounds easy enough. But how many times have you seen "folks on vacation" who are still stressed out to the max, arguing, or worse.

And how does this tie in with music? Here we go! You didn't think you'd get off that easy, did you? My wife & I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary yesterday and we have this restaurant where we like to go when we want a quiet meal. It's usually lunch on a weekday. The place is nice, the staff is friendly & it's rather low-key... works for us.

Also, the tunes the restaurant plays are pretty cool. The owner has a yen for some fairly obscure tunes, which also include the occasional rock songs you almost never hear. It's not obnoxious, but refreshing none the less. Being a severe music buff, sometimes I get distracted by a particular song. Yesterday was no exception. The original version of David Bowie and "John, I'm Only Dancing", came on & it took almost all my strength not to totally go nuts with that feedback guitar at the very end! It also got me to thinking how ahead of the curve that tune was. That song came out years before that type of shit was cool.

But anyways, we were just about finished, when another customer, an elderly gentleman whose also a "regular", walked in & he took his usual spot. He also likes doing lunch there, mainly for the same reasons as we do, except he also "likes all the pretty waitresses". While we were wrapping up our meal, and while he was waiting for his, he was humming along to the music. I thought, "Cool... he doesn't know the song, but a good beat & arrangement can transcend the generations." Turns out he's on vacation from Florida.

As my wife & I are walking through the hostess area, in walks another couple (also on vacation), who's already complaining about "the owner of the car with Florida plates who left his car running with the A/C on so his dog could relax in the passenger front seat". They also wanted a seat away from the music, because "it was annoying". I felt sorry for the staff already!

My thoughts were "Relax... who cares" and "If you don't like it, move on". I guess that attitude has spilled over into my station and the music that I feature. Some people who have emailed me have taken this station way more seriously than I ever have. I've replied to them, "you need to relax or chill out more. You are way to serious or overkill."

It also got me to thinking about the more under-lying reasons why I started and why I do what I do... I hope the music and format is enjoyable. Enjoyable enough where it will make someones day better or it will uplift their mood. That, my friends, is priceless. In my humble opinion, there are very few things in this world that can turn someones attitude, mood, or whatever around in less than 5 minutes than a song that that person really likes.

Ever hear of the term, "From soup to nuts"? Well, this next guy is not soup, but he has been called nuts. This week in 1958, Jello Biafra was born in Boulder, Colorado, given name was Eric Boucher. He fronted The Dead Kennedys for a decade and also founded the Alternative Tentacles record label. His later bands included Lard and The Melvins. He became a political activist during a 1979 run for mayor of San Francisco, and has been heavily involved in Green Party politics for the last decade.

Until next time, keep listening!
Peace out,
Dave

The Ramones Top The Charts (... Well Almost), What's In A Band's Name, & The Clash Make Me Feel Old!

Being on vacation (from work) has a way of putting things into perspective. My 2 week stint officially started last night and I've been basically decompressing for the past 24 hours. Oh, I've got things planned - so don't worry about that. It's just nice having more than one or two days off... there's no "I've only got 2 days - I gotta get all this done" type of scenario.

Before I hit the blog, I checked the station's email. I always get a number of requests from people, as well as bands, to play certain songs or in some cases, entire CD's. If I decide to feature the band or a song, I always let the person know what we're doing and to thank them for the suggestion. If I don't decide to feature their suggestion, I still send them a reply anyway, but it's a little more generic, but still positive.

All in all, it's worked out very well, except for one, maybe two cases. In those cases, I've received an email or two back stating I don't know a thing about music, or I'm missing out on the next Nirvana, etc., etc., blah, blah, blah. These emails never bother me & I don't shoot back a reply. Mainly because it's not worth it.

The way I see it, and not to be crass, but it's my station... period. That's the reason why I started the bloomin' thing in the first place. I get to play what I want. I will always take suggestions and ideas. I will always respond to emails. It may take a while, but I will respond. Another footnote - I also pay the bills for the station. I pay royalty fees every month, as well as other expenses. If someone thinks this is something like $10 a month, think again. I'll be more than happy to show you my expense report. We've been on the air for 3 months - 2 out of 3 months, we actually made some money... not much, mind you, but hey - a win is still a win!

I feel the station is doing well. We have a total (as of this writing) of 1,089 listeners who have 360 Degrees as a dedicated preset... and listeners are only allowed a few. We have 147 listeners who have us listed as "their favorite" out of all the thousands of stations out there on line. I'm still hoping to finish the website soon. I know, I've been saying this for months. Unfortunately, some things are out of my control. We just roll with it...

I still get questions, but mostly positive comments, about the "mix of music" we play to coin a radio phrase. I have all those songs in there, because for one reason or another, I like them... a lot. I'm glad many people like the variety. I added more tunes today; everything from The Specials, Squeeze, Voyager One, and lots more.

Speaking of Squeeze, I was reading an article about the "early" years of this band. I was surprised to find out that "early" went as far back as 1974! Even back then, they were an old band with a new name (this was even before the name of Squeeze). Band members Difford & Tilbrook first got together when 15 year old Glenn Tilbrook saw an advertisement that Chris Difford put into a shop window in Blackheath Village. It read something like "Lead guitarist wanted for band. Recording soon." The two dubbed their band Cum and were among the 100 bands who played at the Windsor Free Festival. Even though the duo liked the band name, they eventually concluded that a group with the name of Cum, would have a snowballs chance in hell if they wanted to get on the radio or on TV with shows like Top of the Pops. So they changed their name to Captain Trundlow's Sky Co. (or Skyco for short). Ya know... I'm glad they eventually settled on Squeeze...

This past week I was discussing some Ramones history with a co-worker. He mentioned that in June of 1979 Sire records released the double album live set, "It's Alive". The 28 song set was recorded on New Years Eve in London back in 1977. The album was said to contain their best material to date and was an excellent performance. The album sells for only 4.99 (in English currency) which is an absolute bargain! Ironically, the album charts in the UK at #27 - and will be the highest charting album of their career. It's not available in the US. I can remember buying this album back in 1980 - I had to order it from a record store, it took 2-3 weeks to arrive, and it cost about $25. The record store clerk thought I was nuts... I told him it was worth every damn penny if not more so. I still have that piece of vinyl history although it's been put away for safe keeping. I have the same recording on CD. Sometimes, technology is good...

My wife and I were driving around town last Saturday, and as usual, I was occasionally changing radio stations whenever a commercial came on the one I was listening to. I came across a preset that was playing The Clash & "Rock The Casbah". After the song was over, it was to my horror that the station I was listening to was an "oldies" station... except they disguised themselves with a "classic hits" identification. Later on, I was browsing through some Clash history, and sure enough, back in June of 1982, The Clash released that song... 28 years ago... ouch! Believe it or not, that song broke the usual mold of charting here as opposed the UK. The Clash always charted better in England, but in this case, the song did far better here than across the pond. In fact, it reached #8 here in America, the biggest hit they'd ever have here. It was also the start of the bands demise. As the late Joe Strummer said in an interview in the 90's, that "success was the main thing that killed the band."

Finally, we'll close with a birthday & two moments of silence...
- Patrick Waite of Sonic Youth was born on this day back in 1958.
- James Honeyman-Scott of the Pretenders passed away on this date back in 1982.
- Kristen Pfaff of Hole also passed away on this day.

Until next time, keep listening & keep the suggestions coming!
Peace out,
Dave

Conquering Fear, Finding a Balance, and Other Alternative Tidbits... And All This Goes Together How??

I have to admit... for the first time since starting this blog, I drew a blank when it came to the title and what to write about. I try not to go off on some rant or off the deep end. But at the same time, I try to get out of my comfort zone, by not writing the same thing or in the same "formula" every time. Face it, for those of you who know me, have been following, or at least been reading my blogs, know how I dislike concepts like "labeling", "conformity", or "the same thing, different day".

With that said, I also realized that it's been WEEKS since the time I was on here. I've been adding more tunes to the station & have been doing updates to it as well, but sometimes a thing called life throws a few curve balls and well let's just say it has been a crazy few weeks.

For starters, my wife's job was eliminated from the organization where she used to work. She worked there for years, and was very good at what she did, but apparently the administration thought they could pass all her duties onto other people who are already over-worked. You read about stuff like this all the time, but it still hits hard when it's close to home. Once my wife got through the shock, she has already moved on to newer opportunities & even fulfilling some dreams that have been put off for way too long.

This lead me to the "conquering the fear" portion of the title. When our friends, family & who knows how many other people learned of the news that my wife was now unemployed, they offered support, but were surprised when she mentioned that she was going to do her own business venture. It was the same reaction I got when I mentioned I was going to start 360 Degrees of Alternative. They all said "do what?"

With the right attitude, anything is possible. I'm sure when many of the bands we feature here on the station said the same thing, especially when it came to the DIY spirit of punk rock in the mid 70's, got the same response... "do what?" Even the Ramones have been known to say to who knows how many other musicians, "Look... we're not that great. If we can do it, you can do it. Just go out & play". That same philosophy can be applied to many things, even in toady's unsure world. Who cares if you're not the best at what you do, if you love what you're doing, just go out & do it. You have to always keep in mind one thing - there are lots of other people out there in the same boat as you... they're either venturing out for the first time or they're still learning. Don't worry... you'll be in good company!

With that said, the next part of the equation is "finding a balance". I have to admit, I have to find more of balance between work, the station and other pet projects that I have. It seems my regular job has been on the front burner lately and I need a change. Granted, it doesn't help that other co-workers are either on vacation now or will be shortly, so it will take a few weeks, but the change will come. While writing this, I think I sorta forgot how much fun it is. I, myself, have to take the Ramones logic to heart... I just have to go out & do it.

While we're on the subject of "just going out & doing it", let's check out some alternative music history since it's been a while.
- On this date back in June of 1973, The New York Dolls begin a 17 week Tuesday residency at The Mercer Arts Center in NYC. The center is a catacomb of rooms & the building is literally crumbling. The Dolls play in the Oscar Wilde room, which only holds about 100 people, but it's jam packed with more than that on a regular basis. More people would have shown up, except there was a slight "marketing" problem. Due to a slight misunderstanding with the Mercer staff, the band was billed as "The Dolls of New York". Oops...

- Also on this date back in June of 1974, Patti Smith along with guitarist Lenny Kaye rent 3 hours of time at the legendary Electric Ladyland studio in NYC. She records "Hey Joe" as a tribute to the studios former owner, Jimi Hendrix. At he end of the session, Patti notices they have some time left, so they record a poem called "Piss Factory". The two recordings would comprise of her first 7" single which 1,000 copies are made.

- This week back in 1977, The Police record their 1st single which contains "Fall Out" and "Nothing Achieving" on Illegal Records. Unlike things to come with the band, drummer Stewart Copeland literally did everything with this single. He started the band, composed both songs, set up the recording session and the label with his brother Miles Copeland, and did the artwork for the record sleeve.

- Also this week back in 1980, Joy Division's single "Love Will Tear Us Apart" has started to appear in record shops. This cult band finally has a hit on their hands, but things have already gone downhill for the band. The song will eventually reach #13 on the U.K. charts - not exactly a lucky number - and the lead singer, Ian Curtis, committed suicide shortly before it's release. It has been widely regarded that the song is Curtis' public suicide note.

- This week back in 1989, the song "Veronica", believe it or not, gives Elvis Costello his first top 30 hit in the U.S. Boy, we Americans can be stubborn...

Finally, we'll celebrate two birthdays;
- Eric Kretz of the Stone Temple Pilots born in 1966.
- Dave Navarro of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers born in 1967.

Here's hoping I'll be on here again soon! Until next time,
Peace out,
Dave