Dress to Impress

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey everybody, and welcome, Welcome to Oh my gods, the seventies.

(00:05):
You know, OMG, the seventies. What a wild, colorful, and
sometimes downright outregished, outrageous decade that was. From bell bottom
jeans to platform shoes, disco fever, roller rinks, and hair
so big it deserves its own zip code. All of
that was me, except for the hair. I was not,

(00:25):
you know, graced with that kind of hair. The seventies
had it all, didn't it. It was a time of bold, fashioned,
funky music, social change, and more than a few what
were we thinking moments here on OMG, the seventies. We're
taking a groovy trip back to the unforgettable era, laughing
at the trends, reminiscing about the good times, and appreciation,

(00:48):
appreciating how it all shaped who we are today. So
grab your mood ring. You know you can get those
for like two dollars. Now, crank up the eight track
and let's boogie down memory Lane seventy style. Hey everybody,
and welcome to the seventies. We're going back in time
to like one of the most fun, strange, rebellious times

(01:11):
of American history.

Speaker 2 (01:13):
I think, I really do. I think it's amazing.

Speaker 1 (01:15):
I wish that I had a song that I could
play for the intro that was just a great seventy song.
But if I do that, then the powers that be
at Spotify or Serious or Pandora whatever, they will yank
it down immediately because of you know, contract rights and
all that kind of stuff. You know, I just want

(01:36):
like thirty seconds of a song. I've done it before
and yanked. I mean, it's absolutely insane, and now I'm
not going to pay that much money for thirty seconds
of your song. I'm sorry, even though it might be
one of my favorite songs, not going to go that way.

Speaker 2 (01:50):
I'm sorry.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
Oh maybe if I had millions and millions and millions
of dollars, which I do not have. That's why I'm
doing these wonderful podcasts. Actually, I enjoyed doing these, and
I hope that you guys enjoy listen to a little bit.
So we're doing the seventies. Oh actually, o MG, the seventies.
Oh my god, who the seventies? What a time man?

(02:12):
So last time we were just going down right. We
hit we hit the disc, we hit hit the Jackson five,
we hit all the hair and the glitter and the
platform shoes and the polyester sweat and smell that that
led to the jewelry and the big chains, and oh man,

(02:34):
what a time. I used to love the disco thing.
But you know, I was like kind of split. I mean,
I was just developing. I was a young teenager twelve, thirteen,
fourteen when all this was going on, and actually born
in sixty six, so I was kind of getting the
tail end of a lot of it. But I was
just developing my music taste, all right. I mean, when

(02:55):
do you really know? I mean, my daughter, my thirteen
year old's all over the place. You know, one day
it's some kind of like gangster rap, and the next
day it's it's some kind of like awesome country song
that you never thought she'd listened to. The next time
she wants, you know, she wants to go to a
Kenny Chesney song. And then she's telling us we listened
to cheesy country music. And now she's into the weekend,

(03:18):
and I know what the weekend is. I thought that
was a time. Evidently it's a dude, and he seems
to be talented, but the first few times I heard
him sing, I thought it was a woman singing. I
was like, there's this chick singing. I got scolded. I
got really scolded, and I had to buy two what
do you call it posters to hang up on the
wall because I, you know, I disrespected the weekend.

Speaker 2 (03:42):
I said, you know, go back.

Speaker 1 (03:43):
And listen to lover Boy right in the eighties working
for the weekend. That that was a good song right there.
So anyway, the icons and the anthems, we're gonna leave
the disco behind because that wasn't the only sound that
was shape in the soundtrack of the seventies. I mean,
it just wasn't, and not by a long shot. While

(04:06):
some were busy bogging down and I was, I was
bogging down in private, but I just couldn't dance in public.
I'm still not very good at it. My wife calls
me the best worst dancer in the world, and I
take that as a compliment because when I'm out there,
I'm having a good time. I mean, I might knock
some people down by accident, but that just goes with it.

(04:28):
Just clear the dance floor.

Speaker 2 (04:29):
Here it comes. So while.

Speaker 1 (04:34):
You know, so while we were bugging down in just
like the haze of litter and sweat, right the polyester
you know I mentioned that, Oh my gosh, Pollia, it
makes me just like itch and feel burning sensations and
smells just for thinking about it. I don't even think
polyester has come very far since then either. Maybe a

(04:55):
little bit to make something stretchy, I don't know. So
another revolution was brewing, and this one had a lot
more staying power with me right and it was louder,
more rebellious. It was the rock and roll Revolution. You
know what I'm talking about, brother, You know what I'm

(05:16):
talking about, And what a revolution it was. It wasn't
just about the music. It was about attitude or rebellion
and a healthy dose of long hair.

Speaker 2 (05:27):
Now.

Speaker 1 (05:27):
I never could grow long hair matter. I don't have
any hair right now. I look like stone cold Steve Austin.
By the way, if you're into wrestling, if you're in
a wrestling I mean we could be twins.

Speaker 2 (05:40):
Anyway.

Speaker 1 (05:40):
I've signed autographs and stuff on his behalf. I don't
think that's legal. I didn't get paid for anything, so
think about it. The seventies were a time of upheaval,
social change, and a growing sense of disillusion in rock
and roll became the perfect soundtrack for all that angst.

Speaker 2 (06:01):
That's a good word, angst.

Speaker 1 (06:03):
So I always think of the Forrest Gump right when
he got back from Vietnam and it was this whole
other country, just all the protests, and I think of
the soundtrack of Forrest Gump because I think, to me,
that kind of defines that era. That's kind of what
I remember. I remember that music, you know, Don't Fear

(06:24):
the Reaper. There's some really good music that I still
listen to. And my son, who's eighteen, totally embraced a
lot of those songs and types of music, and I
think that's amazing. His play list is better than mine,
and it's more people my age that would enjoy it.
So it's kind of cool. I mean, kids are cool

(06:46):
most of the time, so think about it. So it's
funny how you remember certain moments with such just like
crystal clarity, Like.

Speaker 2 (06:57):
The time.

Speaker 1 (07:00):
That I saw led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden. I
didn't really see him, but I'm doing this and like,
what is that second person? But I'm setting a stage air.
The air thrumbed, not drummed, but thrummed with a raw
electric energy. It wasn't just the music though, that was

(07:23):
phenomenal plants, just soaring vocals, pages of the worldly guitar riffs.
No one was the collective experience, forty thousand people united
by a shared love of this incredibly powerful music. I
still remember the sheer volume, the way the sound physically

(07:45):
vibrated in your chest cavity. It was almost primal, and
we were all part of something bigger than ourselves. Doesn't
that sound like the seventies and all the things that
were going on in the seventies, And slightly deaf for
a week afterwards, but worth it, absolute worth it. And
then there was the Rolling Stones. I went to a

(08:07):
Rolling Stones concert. This was in the eighties, maybe the
late eighties. It was the Steel Wheels tour. And I
went in Death Valley Clemson Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.

Speaker 2 (08:19):
And I'm not a big concert guy.

Speaker 1 (08:21):
There was a lot of people there because that's a
big place holds, you know, eighty five thousand people. It
was amazing. I got thrown out. I actually got thrown
out of that concert because I broke up a fight.
Why they threw me out, I don't know. I mean,
I was actually helping the security guards because they were
overwhelmed and looking like stone cold Steve Austin, I just

(08:41):
came in off the top rope, stunned a couple of people,
and I was going to go back on my merry way,
but no highway patrol and caught me from the from
the rear, and first he tried to tell me I
was going to jail, and I said, no, you know,
I don't think that's going to happen today. And he
said why. I said, well, because my father's the judge

(09:02):
of the city and he has been for twenty years,
and going to jail is not an option. But I'll
leave if you want me to. So he took me
to the gate and I went on my merry way.
I think I found Tigertown Tavern and it was still
standing in good shape, and it's still there. So anyway,
that's a personal story. You don't have to repeat that.
You don't even have to like it. But I felt

(09:23):
good I got to share something. So the Stones were
already legends by the seventies, but they somehow managed to
reinvent themselves, remaining eternally cool, I mean and eternally rebellious.
And they still are I think, I mean, they're getting
up there though man in age. They were the soundtrack

(09:44):
of the counterculture, the anti establish feeling that permeated the decade.
Their concerts were legendary. Just don't get thrown out, A
potent mix of swagger, charisma, an incredible musicianship. Do you
just describe me mine is the musicianship. That's a joke too.

(10:07):
You felt a raw, just visceral energy in their performance,
a sense of danger, of recklessness. It was oddly comforting,
and it really was. It was a feeling of belonging
to something raw and real and, like we said earlier,
bigger than yourself. I remember one particular concert I think

(10:28):
it was around seventy five, Yes, I was nine years
old then, where Jagger actually jumped into the crowd created
an absolute pandemonium. People were screaming, security guards were scrambling,
and the Jagger just grinned, stuck his tongue out, that
mischievous grin of his, soaking it all in pure rock

(10:49):
and roll, total anarchy, and it was fantastic. I wish
I had been there. But the seventies weren't just about
the establishment Titans are the establish titans of rock. This
was a decade of incredible creativity, and innovation.

Speaker 2 (11:07):
Think about the rise of rock.

Speaker 1 (11:11):
Okay, bands like Pink Floyd, Genesis, Love Me Some Genesis. Yes,
they weren't just playing music. They were creating sonic ah man,
I don't know what the word is, but they were
complex and ambitious works that just challenged listeners to engage

(11:32):
to a more it's just a deeper and more intellectual level.
The albums weren't just something you listen to casually. They
were experiences, often requiring your full attention to concentration. Pink
Floyd Dark Side of the Moon. I mean, my seventeen
year old daughter likes this. You where it's a T
shirt all the time? For instance, it was more than

(11:54):
just an album, right, It was a journey, a mood
piece that transcended genre. The album artwork, the concept, the
sheer sonic landscape they created completely redefined what a rock
album could be. You know, another brick in the Wall.
I mean, I'm talking about Pink Floyd and how many

(12:16):
times have we seen that when we.

Speaker 2 (12:18):
Were in school?

Speaker 1 (12:19):
You know, I was in junior high and we're singing
that thing and probably got in trouble. So anyway, I
remember listening to it for the first time in my
friend's basement. This part's true. We were sprawled across a
bean bag chairs and in that perpetually dim light that
seems to only exist in basements, and this was his room.

Speaker 2 (12:41):
By the way.

Speaker 1 (12:42):
It was utterly captivating by the unfolding drama. It was
a transcendential experience. It really was cool. And we still
talk about that today. And speaking of transcendental experiences, let's
not forget about the Eagles. And you can't forget about
the Eagles. Their blended country rock was uniquely seventies, reflecting

(13:07):
the air's blend styles and influences. We listened to the
Eagles all the time, you know, it's part of yacht rock.
That's when you know you're getting a little bit old
when you have all of these channels on Pandora, our stations,
and what do you go to almost every afternoon yat rock.
I've even been to the bands, you know, the yacht

(13:30):
rock bands just right down here at the Windjammer and
all palms.

Speaker 2 (13:35):
It's a to do. Man.

Speaker 1 (13:36):
Everybody dresses up like captains and it's the cheesiest thing
you've ever seen. But man, that's fun, I mean it
really is. I didn't know it was such a move,
but until I did so, they captured the spirit of
the time, the romanticism, the delusionment, the yearning for something more.

(13:57):
Hotel California still haunts me a little bit, for example,
became a cultural touchdown, its lyrics open to a multitude
of interpretations. To this day, I still catch myself singing
along lost in its atmospheric soundscape. It's almost eerie how
vividly those melodies transport me back to the time. Well,

(14:18):
I mean, I listened to it all the time, and
it doesn't transport me anywhere, but just puts me in
a good mood most of the time. And then there
were the power ballads, right remember those, Oh the power ballads.
The sheer emotional intensity of those songs could bring a
grown man to tears. I think Ario Speedwagon Journey Boston.

(14:42):
I really like Boston in Journey. My son Day is
eighteen just really just digs Journey. So Ario Speedwagon. I
could tell a really crazy story about Rio Speedwagon, my secretary,
who actually my dad's secretary, who ended up doing some
things that weren't really good for our business financially. Not

(15:03):
to go into detail, but I had to go through
her things when she wasn't at the office, and I
found these pictures, and I understand she was married, and
she was pretty pretty unlady these pictures. When I looked
at them, you know, she was just put it this
way in a hotel room with a man that looked

(15:25):
familiar to me. But I wasn't sure who it was
until about two weeks later when I saw I don't
know what TV show I was watching, probably did Clark
or something, and there he was lead singer Ario Speedwagon.
Oh man, that was a tough one. That was a

(15:45):
tough situation to deal with, but we did so anyway.
You know, that was the eighties, So I know some
might cringe at the mention of power ballads, but let's
be honest. Those songs are impossible not to sing along to,
at least once. It's a fact of life. Their impact
on the musical landscape is undeniable, and their culture significance

(16:10):
should not be underestimated. So I'm going to have to
let it go there. I'm getting the red light time
to vacate the studio. So I hope you guys enjoyed.
I mean, I can't wait to get back in the seventies.
This is one of my favorite podcasts. Just brings back
so many memories. But anyway, we'll catch up next time.

(16:31):
I'll see you next time, and God bless