flashbackfriday! – The Boring Old Man

Concert Review: Thomas Dolby at the Guild Theater, Menlo Park, CA

Imagine if you will, a 15 year-old Boring Old Man, in the winter of 1983. My Sophomore year in high school, and I’d had my musical world turned upside down the previous year being introduced to a plethora of punk rock and early “new wave” bands like B-52s, Talking Heads and Wall of Voodoo.

The house I’d spent most of my life in ’til then didn’t have Cable TV, much less MTV, so aside from college radio my introduction to unusual music came from places like Friday Night Videos, or a weird American Bandstand-type show called MV3 that played on broadcast stations.

It was here on a gloomy winter afternoon that I first heard (and saw) Europa and the Pirate Twins by a Mr. Thomas Dolby.

I was completely floored. I had never in my life heard music like that. Not even close. And I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea of ONE GUY making all this music by himself. Now, of course by this time I knew what synthesizers were and I was aware that drum machines existed (though I hadn’t yet seen one, let alone put my hands on one!), but I had no Earthly idea of what could be done with them. I didn’t know anything about sequencers or any of the technical stuff behind the music. I had never seen a computer in real life and didn’t know they could be used to make music. It honestly just seemed like magic. It’s really difficult to get across just how ground breaking this stuff was unless you lived through it. Not only were there new styles of music popping up, seemingly every week, and new technologies at work, but there were new SOUNDS being invented and put on records that had never been heard before. I think it did something to my brain, hearing all these new sounds and musical textures. Once I had been exposed to it, I was never the same. And to this day I hold a certain reverence for this era and style.

All of which is taking the long way around to say, I’ve been a fan of Thomas Dolby literally since the very first time I heard him. I also consider him more than simply an innovator, he leans toward genius in my opinion. And honestly if all you’ve ever heard from the man is She Blinded Me With Science, you’d likely think this statement is simple hyperbole. You have to look at how and when he made his music as much as the music itself to recognize the genius.

I have no idea how often he toured back then, but I never once saw him billed to play anywhere near me. I’m sure he must have at some point, but we didn’t have the interwebs and e-mailing lists like we do today, so it was a lot easier and much more frequent to miss out on shows up until 10-15 years ago. But at long last, I saw the advertisement for the show, I didn’t have a scheduling conflict AND I had the money for tickets. The stars had aligned! And the cherry on top was his show was in Menlo Park at a great venue! Once again avoiding San Francisco, which is always a bonus in my book!

The opening band was Halou, whom I’d never heard of. The Mrs. looked them up and deemed their sound “music to cut yourself to”, which made me laugh but also piqued my interest. I looked them up myself and found a clip of them at the same venue from this past December… The Mrs was spot on. I got through a single minute and had to shut it off. I’m sure it appeals to someone, but not me. Not by a long shot. So I went to the show late and thankfully missed their entire set. Sadly, the Mrs wasn’t feeling well and at the last minute decided not to attend, saving her diminished energy to make it to work on Friday.

Mr. Dolby got started late due to technical difficulties, which was a bit of a drag. We were packed in like sardines in a can and it seemed as though the AC wasn’t working, and I started wondering if I hadn’t made a mistake coming to this show. But finally, after what seemed an eternity, the House lights dropped and the man himself came on stage and launched into…Blue Monday by New Order. “What the Ham Sandwich?!?”, says I. A very curious decision to say the least.

Next up was Europa, the one song above all others I’d hoped he’d play. At that point, I figured I was good and could leave at any time. But then a funny thing happened – I became, somehow, mesmerized.

I’ll admit, for the first 10 minutes or so of the show, I was a little disappointed. The energy was a bit low. Watching one guy on stage behind a bank of gear is not terribly exciting. It was somewhat akin to watching a DJ “perform”. But then I kinda dropped my hyper focus of what the man himself was doing and took in the big picture . He essentially was running a full on multimedia show. He was building songs on the fly, using loops and samplers and keyboards, while simultaneously synced video clips were running behind him with a full light show as the cherry on top. And this turned out to be a show whose sum was greater than its parts. When taken in whole, it was very creative and interesting.

He managed to pull together an on-the-spot “mash up”, layering Gary Numan’s Cars on top of One of our Submarines… and then added a melody from The Cure on the same song. It was pretty impressive.

In another artistic intersection, he had a perfectly synced Jason Mraz doing a vocal track on video to My Brain is Like a Sieve, which was performed flawlessly.

After that Mr. Dolby put forth a bit of a tribute to David Bowie, covering Heroes instrumentally, with spliced in video of Mr. Bowie at the Live Aid concert from 1985.

He ended his set with a double- whammy of Hyperactive and She Blinded Me With Science. The former was a little lackluster if I’m being totally honest – without the female vocal parts and the horns, it didn’t have the same impact as the recorded version of the song. But the latter fused in a bunch of cameos and clips pulled from TV and the News with a bunch of famous faces and voices adding “Science!” at the appropriate spots. Again, unexpected and very creative.

And before I knew what hit me, the show was over…

He came out for an encore and pulled out one more song for the crowd, a very down tempo number, Airwaves. Again, a curious choice. But it was done very sincerely and well.

All in all, I can say wholeheartedly that it was a good show. Great? No, not really. But very creative and unique. I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything quite like it, and I’m glad I went.

Mr. Dolby sounded great – all his years of work have turned his once quirky and kinda weird voice into something of a crooner’s voice, and while the edges may have been softened, he still sounded fantastic. And I must add, he looked great too. I hope to hold up as well when I’m in my late 60s!

It’s not every day you get to see a living legend in the flesh and I’m grateful that I finally got the opportunity to see Mr. Dolby do his thing in front of an audience.

He stated that this was the first night of a “mini tour” (hence the technical problems that delayed the start of the show), and I don’t know how many more opportunities there will be to see him on stage, but if he’s coming to your town I’d say his show is definitely worth the price of admission.

Thanks to the Guild staff and Mr. Dolby for the fun and unique night of sights and sounds!

Thank you reader, for stopping by!

Desert Island Discs

Way back when, in a time where there were these places called “record stores”, one of the greatest amongst them were Tower Records. Tower Records used to print a monthly magazine

noun

1.a periodical publication containing articles and illustrations, typically covering a particular subject or area of interest.

that was all about bands and Records and whatnot. One of the things I used to love about that magazine were the letters section where readers would send in things to the magazine – sort of a “comments” section, but it actually took effort and had to be chosen by the editor for print…

Anyhow, one of the reader driven things was called “Desert Island Discs”, essentially a list of the 10 albums you’d want to have if you were stranded on a desert island. I guess if the Professor on Gilligan’s Island could make a radio out of coconut shells, then we could figure out how to make a record player… But I digress.

I used to love that feature and it helped me discover a lot more new music. Either someone would list a record you loved, and that would pique your interests toward other albums on their list, or there would be an overwhelming amount of people that would list the same record over and over (the Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd or the Beatles White Album for example)

Back then I was discovering so much new music – having discovered punk rock and new wave – that my Desert Island Discs would change from month to month, if not day by day. It was impossible to pick a Top 10 because I’d hear stuff for the first time every week that just blew me away. (Thank you college radio!!!)

But now I’m old, and while I still search out and love new music, it doesn’t generally hit me in the same way, where it just knocks my socks off. I mean back then (say from 1978 – 1990) not only were you hearing new styles of music, we were getting SOUNDS that had never been heard before thanks to synthesizers and drum machines, and then turntables were being used as instruments which gave way to digital samplers, not to mention new, wild guitar effects coming on the scene, electronic drums and sequencers. It was the Wild West of music in those days and I was captivated. Obsessed, really.

Anyhow, something I came across online recently triggered the memory of Desert Island Discs and I thought I’d put mine down for posterity. While this is a vastly different list than it would have been in, say 1982, certainly a few of these albums would have been on my list back then too. Perhaps I’ll come back and revisit this in a few years to see how it’s held up.

So, without further delay, here are my Desert Island Discs, as of January 2026. In no particular order…

London Calling by The Clash
Look Sharp! by Joe Jackson
Tropical Gangsters by Kid Creole and the Coconuts
Spring Session M by Missing Persons
Bloodletting by Concrete Blonde
Music by 311
Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too by New Radicals
Ten Women by Wire Train
Tim by The Replacements
Dancin’ Undercover by RATT

Ok, this was considerably more difficult than expected… here are some honorable mention albums I must include:

Hippie Castle by Magic City Hippies, Diamond Life by Sade, The Knife Feels Like Justice by Brian Setzer, Who’s Next by The Who, Love by The Cult…

Who am I kidding? I could do this all day. I suffer from acute music addiction I’m afraid!

Anyhow, everything I’ve mentioned above comes highly recommended. Go check something out you’ve never heard before, who knows, you just might find a new favorite! And please, as I am a FIEND for new music, drop me a suggestion in the comments to check out. I like stuff all the way from Chick Webb in the 1930’s up to Sombr’s latest release from 2025, and tons of stuff in between. I’m all ears, so let me have it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday: Paul Siminon

Paul Gustave Simonon was born this day, December 15, 1955. Not a well known name, but profoundly influential in my life as the bassist for my favorite band of all time, The Clash.

The folklore of the Clash says that Paul was chosen for the band simply because of his look. When he joined the band, he didn’t even play bass. In fact, it’s been said that guitarist Mick Jones actually wrote the notes on the fretboard so Paul could find his way around. True? Who knows? Suffice it to say, he BECAME an outstanding bassist over the years and had a hand in making some of the most important records of my lifetime.

Paul always seemed to simply exude “cool” to me as a kid. He wasn’t particularly flashy, he wasn’t often in the spotlight, but he was a presence. There was just something about him that was magnetic. I don’t know what “it” is, but he had it!

It is startling to see he is now 70 years old! It makes sense, seeing as I was only 9 when the first Clash album came out, and I was 12 when I first heard them with the release of London Calling. I was positively obsessed with the Clash in my teens and 20’s, and I still listen to them quite often in my late 50’s. As most of my readers will know, I’m a huge music nerd and music has been the biggest thing in my life for the last 4+ decades. I love lots of music, I’ve been influenced by countless bands and artists, but if I had to pick one band to listen to for the rest of my days, undoubtedly it would be the Clash.

So, cheers to you Mr. Siminon! Without you and your mates, my life would be immensely different. Thank you for your work all those years ago, and for the lasting, profound impact you had on this (formerly) young musician. I owe you a debt of gratitude. You may have come from humble beginnings, but you were a giant in my eyes (and ears!). Well done Sir!

Flashback Friday! Springing Forward edition.

In “honor” of Daylight Saving Time happening this weekend, I thought I’d bust out some sunny, feel good tunes. My condolences to all my readers that still have snow on the ground!

I myself (and the Mrs.) will be heading out into the coastal woods for some nature time this weekend, hoping the seemingly non-stop rain gives us a break!

Wishing you all fair skies and easy sailing this weekend!

Turn up the volume and let the happy grooves move ya!

Thanks for stopping by!

Flashback Friday! Roaring 90’s Editon

Despite the fact that I was born in the 60’s, fell in love with music in the 70’s only to become wildly obsessed with music in the 80’s, there were a lot of really original, talented bands in the 90’s that I really dug. There was a ton of crap too, don’t get me wrong. Boy Bands, anyone?

We were fortunate to have one of the earlier “alternative” stations in the Bay Area – the Quake, and then Live 105, but these guys below were all getting the love from college radio first. Ahh, the good old, pre-internet, music discovery days!

Today’s flashback is dedicated to the wild, untamed, bands of the 90’s that continued to blaze new trails in Rock & Roll!

The first song I ever heard from 311 and it knocked me out! Saw them live for the first time touring for the follow up album and I’m still a fan!

These guys got a lot of grief in the press, but if you ask me this was a great song from a great album. Their biggest hit was nothing like the rest of the record, and their one “Pop Hit” bought them a lot of undeserved slagging.

Ok, technically this was released in ’89, but the 90’s were all about NIN. This is where it all started.

I was lucky enough to know Primus as just another local band trying to make a name for themselves and saw many a live show before they blew up! Incredible live shows, off the charts musicianship!

Another local band I used to see all the time – sometimes WITH Primus! Pure energy, stellar playing, non stop groove. They should have been huge. The world wasn’t ready…

These guys were really unique. Another cool Bay Area band. The Skin album is very eclectic, but chock full of great songs. Rented my drum kit as backline equipment to them for one of their gigs in Palo Alto back in the day… Got a major label record deal but sadly never really caught on.

Have a great weekend y’all.

Thanks for stopping by!

Unearthing Treasure…

Lately I’ve been on a bit of a trip down Memory Lane musically, rediscovering a lot of music from my youth. The stuff I was into before I discovered college radio and got weird in the early 80’s. The staples of FM rock radio, what would be deemed “classic rock” these days.

My very first album as a kid was Aerosmith’s “Toys in the Attic”, followed up by Cheap Trick, Boston, Foreigner, Styx and the like and for the past few weeks I’ve been digging back into those oldies but goodies.

In the course of doing this I got to thinking about how amazing it is these days that you can hear a new song or read about a new band and within minutes (seconds?!?!) have their entire catalog of work at your fingertips. It is phenomenal when you stop to think about it.

For any youngsters out there reading this, you may not know, but up until 25 years ago music acquisition was a LOT different!

Every mall had one, or one just like it!

Up through the 1980s, pretty much the only way to hear new music was either on the radio or weekly TV shows like American Bandstand or Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert, maybe Saturday Night Live. MTV was around, but not everyone had it (nor cable TV!) and they were terribly guilty of HEAVY ROTATION, so it was like the same 8 -10 songs on repeat, for weeks on end. Radio was not quite as bad but new music was slow to break and you might only hear a song you were interested in once a week, if that. From time to time you’d hear a song that grabbed you, but have no idea who it was or what it was called unless the DJ happened to come on and announce the song, which was hit or miss. I probably heard “Walk on the Wild Side” 20 times before I ever heard the name Lou Reed. Which reminds me of another thing about the “old days”…

Every once in a while you’d hear a song that just knocked you out, and you’d save up your money and head down to the record store in hopes they’d have the record. If you were lucky, they would have it and you’d plunk down your hard earned cash and rush home to the turntable to listen to the album. If you weren’t so lucky, you might have to hit 2 or 3 different shops to find it. (No small feat when you’re a kid on a bicycle and the shops are miles away from each other!) Then you’d make the horrible discovery that while the ONE song was great, the rest of the album was trash. THAT was a heartbreaker! Especially if there were two records you wanted, but could only afford one! If you picked the dud it might be a couple weeks before you could scratch together enough coin for the other one.

Between the ages of 10 and say, 23 or so I surely spent in excess of a thousand hours in record stores, pouring through the stacks, trying to whittle it down to which few records I could actually purchase at any given time. And unless you’d already heard the entire record through a friend, every single time it was a crap shoot! Sometimes you get burned – like with that Lou Reed album I mentioned, sometimes you strike solid gold, say London Calling by the Clash.

Now, thanks to the wonders of technology, you can overhear a snippet of a tune, whip out the Shazam app and know what the song is and who’s doing it within about 10 seconds, click a link to Spotify and have their entire catalog right there. Then head over to YouTube and see every video they’ve ever done. Then hit Wikipedia and learn all the details and history of the artist. Nothing could be easier. It really is like having the entire world of music at your fingertips, practically for free!

Now of course, all this awesomeness is a double edged sword. For one thing, it has basically destroyed the music industry. Ironic but true. Unfettered access and free music everywhere has made it so musicians can’t actually make any money with record sales. Well, a few still do I suppose, but most bands these days make more money from t-shirt sales than records. It still costs money to make a record – studio time, engineers and producers, art work and pressing costs for physical product all get paid up front before a band sees a penny. And of course the musicians still need a roof over their heads and a meal every now and again, but I digress.

I might also add that frankly it takes a bit of the mystery out if it all, which was also part of the fun.

But what really inspired me to write all this in the first place was the discovery aspect. While hearing new bands or songs that turn you on is fantastic, recently I’ve been doing that with OLD stuff and that never would have happened without access to all this technology. Even a dinosaur such as myself that still listens to terrestrial radio from time to time will only hear so much “classic rock” – basically every hit song from 1964 to 1990 on an endless loop. There are no more “deep cuts” picked out by DJs, no full side plays like they used to do on Sunday nights (for the kids – late Sunday nights my local station would play Side A of an album straight through, do a commercial break and a station ID, then play Side B of the record all the way through),there is no discovery. Lately, I’ll read an article about somebody Im interested in and they’ll mention an influential musician they grew up with and I’ll go head down that rabbit hole. Or maybe someone will mention someone I’ve heard of, but have never heard. It’s been really cool to learn of new music, even if it’s 30-40 years old. If I’ve never heard it, it’s good as new to me! Just in the last few month I’ve “discovered” half a dozen artists that have been making records nearly my entire life that I’d never laid ears on, it’s been spectacular!

I’ve been lamenting these last few years on the sad state of music and how you must wade through mountains of garbage to find a gem these days, but recognizing that there is a boatload of as yet unheard music waiting for me has been invigorating! Not that I’ll ever stop looking for new, new stuff (honestly there have been a few “new” artists that have given me some hope for the future of music – looking at you Magic City Hippies, Qveen Herby, DesRocs, KFlay and others!) but discovering something 20, 30, 40 years old that resonates with your soul? That is treasure my friends. Go out and find some for yourself!

Thanks for stopping by!

Concert Review: Foreigner at Shoreline Amphitheater, Mountain View, CA

Ok, flashback time! Back in 1977, at the ripe old age of 9 (!!!) I was turned on to FM radio by my older next door neighbor (my honorary older brother) and my life was forever changed.

Growing up in my house, you got Barbara Streisand and Anne Margaret with my mom, and my pops was fond of the saying “there are TWO kinds of music- Country and Western”. And of course there was the grandmother, the matriarch of the family, that considered anything outside of a hymn to be “devil’s music”. But I digress. Suffice it to say, Rock and Roll radio in the 70’s knocked me for a loop! Until then my only exposure to rock and roll was Elvis Presley and the Beach Boys.

There were a lot of great bands back then making waves – Boston, Journey, Steely Dan, Doobie Brothers…but you simply couldn’t listen to the radio for more than an hour without hearing Foreigner – they were essentially on heavy rotation my entire youth and I was a big fan of the band as a kid.

Fast forward a few years to ’81/’82 and I became fully ensconced in Punk and New Wave music. I gave away all my “old” records and cassettes – stating I’d “never listen to the old crap again”. Yeah, youth and ignorance go hand in hand! But I basically stopped listening to what is now considered “classic rock” for about 20 years.

Ironically it was our daughter who mentioned that she’d really like to see Foreigner and as a surprise, the Mrs. picked up tickets for what turned out to be their farewell tour. I was game, figuring it would be a fun nostalgic night – and it was – but it was so much more than we expected!

For starters, we found out the opening band was to be Loverboy of all bands! We scoffed. We purposely left late for the show, not caring one iota about seeing their set. The Mrs. and I were middle-school aged kids when Loverboy exploded and of course we liked them at the time, same as all our contemporaries, but we never owned any of their records and in our jaded post-punk minds, they were sort of joke band, a caricature of 80’s music. Well, as luck would have it, we just sailed into the venue and despite leaving late we got seated right when they started their set. And boy are we glad we did!

Don’t let the looks fool you, Mike Reno is still an awesome vocalist!

To our shock and amazement, Loverboy were OUTSTANDING! Honestly I’d forgotten how many radio hits they had from back in the day and they just cranked ’em out, one after another. The playing was excellent and Mike Reno’s voice sounded as good today as it did 40 years ago. It was really impressive! I have a new found appreciation for them and I’m frankly still in a bit of shock over how great they were. Who would’ve guessed?!?!

Awesome guitar work and AMAZING tone!! One of the best sounding guitars I’ve heard in a long time!

Foreigner started their set with “Double Vision” and they came to deliver! Much like the Loverboy set, theirs was basically a Greatest Hits collection, and again I had forgotten just how many hits they’d put out over the years.

Now, I realize that this version of Foreigner has none of the original players, but some of the “new guys” have been in the band 15-20 years and the musicianship was simply phenomenal. Seriously. Each and every one of the guys on stage put up a blistering performance and it was honestly one of the best shows I’ve even seen, insofar as the precision and perfection with which they played. With the possible exception of Rush, it was the most “professional” rock show I’ve ever experienced. Just flawless. And what made it even more amazing was that it was ALL live. No backing tracks, no audio trickery, just a bunch of exceptional musicians performing real music at the highest level. Seriously, these guys are world class musicians, and together they were AMAZING. And the icing on the delicious cake was that it was immediately obvious that the band was having a great time doing it!

One of the best front men I’ve ever seen live!

I’m so grateful for our kid bringing this show to our attention and for my lovely wife for snatching up the tickets! This show was SOOO much more than simple nostalgia, it was a reminder of what made me fall in love with music, what made me want to be a musician, what drove me to attend hundreds of shows over the last four decades. It was an absolute blast and a show I’m sure to remember for a long, long time!

If you have the opportunity, I cannot give a higher recommendation for a concert. If you love good, old fashioned, straight ahead rock and roll you’d be hard pressed to find a better band to see live!

Thanks for stopping by!

Flashback Friday! Too Dang Hot! Edition

Summer came late to the Bay Area this year, but it is making up for lost time these last couple weeks!

So the heat is what has been on my mind, since there is no escape. Here are some tunes that popped up in the ol’ brain pan cuz it’s Too Dang Hot!

Ok, so it’s not about the actual temperature, but the maniacal pace sums up the feeling of the inescapable heat!

“Gettin’ hot in here” has been on everyone’s lips for the last two weeks!

Putting a positive spin on the sunshine for a change of pace!

I think of this every time I step out of my (marginally cooled) office into the real world!

Go ahead, steal it! Or throw some clouds over it or something! A cool fog, perhaps?

Not entirely sure this counts as a true flashback, as it’s only 5 years old, but it’s a great song and reminds me of seeing them live, outdoors at a blazing Summer show a few years ago…

Thinking of this one as we’re slated for a trip to Oregon next week, where there is indeed Fire on the Mountain!

Stay cool and hydrated out there folks, and enjoy your weekend.

Thanks for stopping by!

Flashback Friday! In the Beginning edition

I’ve spent a lot of time over the last couple weeks both immersed in music, but also catching up with old friends and reminiscing about the “good ol’ days”. All that put me in a mood to do a flashback featuring songs we used to cover in my first REAL band. And by real, I mean we actually got out of the garage and played gigs, in front of real, live people. Sure, we were only 15 and 16 years old at the time, and were probably terrible, but that band – The Laters – would set a couple of us on a lifelong path of passionate love for live music, writing songs, performing for audiences…all that good stuff.

Ahhh…good times!

More than a couple of these are considered classics now, but this was cutting edge stuff back in 1983/84. Enjoy!

He was right, they DON’T write ’em like that anymore!

Have a great weekend everyone. Thanks for stopping by!

Flashback Friday! Power Pop edition

As I’ve mentioned a few times lately, I’ve been in a bit of a funk and having a heck of a time digging my way out of it. So today, I turned off the news, steered clear of the doom and gloom websites and jumped into some good ol’ music.

Now, I love all kinds of music – from the 1940’s all the way up through new stuff coming out today and across pretty much all genres – but when I really need a boost, when I really want to shut down the niggling voice in my head that won’t shut up about the world at large, nothing and I do mean NOTHING does it for me like Power-Pop from the mid 70’s through the mid 80’s. To this day it still gives me the feelz, in the best possible way! So without further delay, here are a few gems from days gone by. Back when music was played by musicians and vocal harmonies were sang, not multi-tracked and auto-tuned to the point of absurdity. Back when college radio was the BEST thing on the airwaves! Enjoy!