the stranglers

Episode 39 of Season 6 went out live at 19h00 on Rebel Rock Radio on 28 Sept 2023.  It was a great show, we had a good few new listeners tuning in which always makes it flow better.   

This week's Immortals feature was awarded to Ted Nugent and his masterpiece ‘Stranglehold’.  It sounded excellent and went down very well.  hat's off to the bassist, check out what he is doing, it makes the song.  

The Diabolical Challenge really tested us, we looked at 1972 and had:

Deep Purple Machine Head

Black Sabbath – Vol 4

Uriah Heep – Demons and Wizards

The Rolling Stones – Exile on Main Street

Artists featured:  The Stranglers, W.A.S.P, Skid Row, Airbourne, The Angels, UFO, Scorpions, Queen, Buckcherry, Red Fang, Green Day, Five Finger Death Punch, Metallica, Python Lee Jackson, Pop Evil, My Chemical Romance, Mercyful Fate, Hell yeah, Pantera, AMH, Chrome Division, The Darkness, The Clash, U2, Drowning pool, Ted Nugent, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep, The Rolling Stones, Accept, The Union Underground, hales Storm, Vandenburg, The Burning, Roan Ash, Piet Botha.  

The Story of Rock and Roll. TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

It’s late Summer here in the deep south of the USA, and Robert has informed us that it’s so hot that even the swamps are catching on fire! So with that, we bring to you some swampy, creepy, backwater blues and southern gothic goodness that runs the gamut of rock n’ punk n’ metal! Go sit out on your front porch, grab your Sunday paper for fanning yourself, swat at those giant mosquitos, and turn this episode up to 11. Get your swamp on!

What is it that we do here at InObscuria? Well, we exhume obscure Rock n' Punk n' Metal in one of 3 categories: the Lost, the Forgotten, or the Should Have Beens. This episode covers all 3 genres and all 3 categories. You could say this is a well-rounded and slimy episode. As always, our hope is that we turn you on to something new.

Songs this week include:

1. Mr. Deadly – “Seven Years” from Violentiam Vulgares (2021)
2. Froglord – “Wizard Gonk” from Sons Of Froglord (2023)
3. Marcus King – “Rescue Me” from Young Blood (2022)
4. Hogan’s Goat – “Shit Kicker” from Hogan’s Goat (2017)
5. Wailin Storms – “Rattle” from Rattle (2020)
6. Folk Devils – “Forever” from Forever EP (2020)
7. Jhett Black – “Wayward Son” from Babel (2023)

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If you’d like to check out Kevin’s band THE SWEAR, take a listen on all streaming services or pick up a digital copy of their latest release here: https://theswear.bandcamp.com/

If you want to hear Robert and Kevin’s band from the late 90s – early 00s BIG JACK PNEUMATIC, check it out here: https://bigjackpnuematic.bandcamp.com/

Check out Robert’s amazing fire sculptures and metal workings here: http://flamewerx.com/

Witchfinder General,
Minor Threat,
Affront,
Capital Punishment,
Asher D, Daddy Freddy,
Jurassic 5,
Bandgang Maseo,
Knowital,
Rev Gary Davis,
Cypress Hill, Fugees,
Los Crudos,
Ultimatum,
Chokecherry,
Cat Party,
Erick Sermon,
Sean Price,
The Stranglers

This week we travel back in time to the radical 80s when the 2nd British Invasion hit the States in the form of New Wave! However, we are exploring the true background of all these big pop hit makers; when they were PUNK! Whether you like this style of music or not, this is a fun exploration of the seedy underground beginning of some of the biggest 80s pop stars. 

This episode features songs with short track lengths and lots of, “No way! I can’t believe that’s ____”! It’s PUNK ROCK people! It’s fun and filthy and is where Kevin started down his path of music fanaticism. These songs are all firmly in the category of “Forgotten”. We hope we introduce to some tunes you may not have heard from these big New Wave hit makers.

Songs this week include:

1. Neon – “Information Of Death” from Obsessions EP (1982)
2. The Cure – “I Dig You” from I’m A Cult Hero (1979)
3. Beastie Boys – “Ode To…” from Polly Wog Stew EP (1982)
4. Joy Division – “Warsaw” from Substance 1977-1980 (1978)
5. The Go-Go’s - “Party Pose” from Return To The Valley Of The Go-Go’s (1979)
6. Generation X – “Ready Steady Go” from Generation X (1978)
7. Bananarama – “No Feelings (Sex Pistols)” from Party Party – The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1983)

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Visit us: https://inobscuria.com/

https://www.facebook.com/InObscuria

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https://www.instagram.com/inobscuria/

Buy cool stuff with our logo on it!: https://www.redbubble.com/people/InObscuria?asc=u

Check out Robert’s amazing fire sculptures and metal workings here: http://flamewerx.com/

If you’d like to check out Kevin’s band THE SWEAR, take a listen on all streaming services or pick up a digital copy of their latest release here: https://theswear.bandcamp.com/

If you want to hear Robert and Kevin’s band from the late 90s – early 00s BIG JACK PNEUMATIC, check it out here: https://bigjackpnuematic.bandcamp.com/

The Clash got their start as a punk band, though they would move through elements of reggae, ska, funk, and new wave over time.  The debut album eponymously titled The Clash would stay solidly in the punk movement which began trending the year before.  Lead vocalist Pete Strummer and lead guitarist Mick Jones would write most of their original songs.  Other personnel on this album included bassist Paul Simonon and drummers Topper Headon and Terry Chimes (listed as Tory Crimes).

The debut album was recorded in three weeks in February 1977 for a cost of 4,000 pounds.  It was released in the UK in April 1977, but would be released in the US in 1979 as their second album.  The US release would see a different track listing, and some songs would be swapped out.  

Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", The Clash had signed a record deal with CBS Records in January 1977, and the organization pushed for a cleaner sound on their subsequent albums.  This debut album represents the most consistent punk rock album The Clash would produce.  However, The Clash would also have a staying power which was unusual in bands coming out of the punk movement.

Janie Jones
The first song on the album is short, as are most Punk songs and most songs on this album.  The name of the song comes from a minor English pop singer in the 1960's who scandalized the nation in 1973 when she was convicted of running a prostitution ring.

White Riot
The idea of this song was to encourage whites to join in with black rioters to fight the establishment.  The Clash was upset when the extreme right wing took this song as an anthem.

I'm So Bored With the U.S.A.
This is a response to the influx of American TV and culture.  At the time a lot of American shows, particularly detective dramas, were on British TV.  The song was used regularly as a set opener on American tours to (in Strummer's words) "find out if they had a sense of humor." 

London's Burning
The song is mainly about the punk scene's main choice of drug at the time:  speed.  It can also refer to the city lit up by headlights and streetlights of traffic, and people driving around or watching television with no real purpose in their lives.  The guitar solo near the end of the song is unusual in punk rock, where a more minimalist attitude was typical.

ENTERTAINMENT TRACK:

Chevy Van by Sammy Johns (from the motion picture "The Van")
The Van was a low-budget teen comedy released in April 1977 that would kick off the genre which would include "Porky's," "Up the Creek." and "Caddyshack."

STAFF PICKS:

Hotel California by the Eagles
Bruce leads off the staff picks with the iconic title track to the Eagles' biggest studio album.  It won the Grammy Award for record of the year in 1978.  The band says the song is their interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles - the idea of moving from innocence to experience.  Felder, Henley, and Frey get writing credits, though Joe Walsh came up with the dual-guitar part at the end. 

Cherry Baby by Starz
Rob's staff pick is a deeper cut by and American heavy metal band from New Jersey.  Starz never developed a lot of commercial success, but they had a cult following and were influential for a number of bands including Poison, Bon Jovi, and Twisted Sister.  Several of the band members were from the band Looking Glass.

Do Ya by the Electric Light Orchestra
Brian brings us a hit that Jeff Lynne originally wrote in 1971 for a band called The Move.  Todd Rundgren also recorded this song before ELO's version came out on their album "A New World Record."  This version has a nice balance of rock guitars and symphonic elements typical of ELO.

(Get a) Grip (On Yourself) by The Stranglers
Wayne closes out the staff picks with another band that came up in the Punk scene but bridged to a more new wave sound.  The band is unusual for punk bands because of the presence of keyboards.  The song is based on the band's life in Chiddingfold, Surry England.  It is about understanding who you really are and being true to your identity.

INSTRUMENTAL TRACK:

Spring Rain by Bebu Silvetti
We finish off with a disco-infused instrumental piece that was on the charts in this month.

Thanks for listening to “What the Riff?!?” 

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**NOTE: What the Riff?!? does not own the rights to any of these songs and we neither sell, nor profit from them. We share them so you can learn about them and purchase them for your own collections.

To say that being in South Africa right now is difficult is an understatement.  The continuous load shedding is playing havoc (hammock :-)) with the broadcasts, you never know when you are going to get cut off or if the cell towers are going to work.  Episode 23 of Season 4 went out on 10 June at 7 pm, load shedding kicked in one minute after the show ended, score one for Rock and Roll.

We started with W.A.S.P.  and ' The Invisible Boy' off their masterpiece, The Crimson Idol. Next, it was the turn of Great White off their '91 album hooked and I highlighted just what a great year 1991 was for new releases.  The show was light on both Australian and South African artists, with only Cold Chisel, ACDC, and Fokofpolisiekar getting a slot this week, I will put in some extra SA next week.  Cold Chisel's 'Yakuza Girls' off The last Wave of Summer went down very well.  We checked out Die Toten Hosen with 'Liebeslied' which just made it impossible no to follow up with The Damned and 'Love Song'.   

Once again The Doors sounded amazing and clearly, I need to play a bit more of them.  Amazing to think Jim Morrison only made it to 27, so young, imagine what he would be putting out these days.  Other than that Halford was great and so was Kid Rock, in fact, everything was good, just as it should be.  Check it out, i am sure you will find something in here.  

Artists featured: W.A.S.P., Great White, Soil, Cold Chisel, ACDC, Jorn, Overkill, David Lee Roth, Chickenfoot, Rammstein, Filter, Billy Idol, The Cult, Ivan Ivankovic, The Doors, Pearl Jam, System of a Down, Kiss, Guns 'n' Roses, Accept, The Stranglers, Die Toten Hosen, The Damned, Halford, Dio, Kid Rock, John Mellencamp, Red Dragon Cartel, Mammoth WVH, My Chemical Romance, Staind, Testament, The Horrible Crowes, Halestorm, Foo Fighters, Fokofpolisiekar. 

The Story of Rock and Roll. TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Episode 8 of Season 4 aired at 7 pm on 25 Feb 2021.  I am very thankful to see the back of February, to be honest, it's been a really crap month.  I was on my last 24 hours of Covid quarantine and I find this shit really affects my mood.  This show was a good bit of medicine for anyone who is feeling a bit down.  We got straight into it with System of A Down and a wonderful cover of Sabbath'sSnowblind' and no it's not about the weather.  Next up we got into some ACDC and worked our way through some good up-tempo rock.  Ivan Ivankovic's demonstrated once again what a great guitarist he is,  The Dead Daisies took care of some new stuff, and then we went all the way back to '73 for a dose of The Rolling Stones off Goats Head Soup.  

We took in some metal nice and early in the form of Parkway Drive and let The Clash and The Stranglers do the UK Punk honours.  Stevie Ray Vaughan made a rare appearance with 'Cold Shot'and it was fitting to follow Stevie with one of the only guys who can play Stevie like Stevie, South Africa's own Dan Patlansky.  

I felt the need to stick the knife into Coca-Cola after this week's judgemental piece of wokeness and dedicated Fokofpolisiekars 'Vernietig Jouself' to them.  Other than that it was business as usual, with a nice little 3-play near the end featuring  Johnny Thunders, Asylum Kids & Matthew Good Band.  

Artists featured:  System of a Down, Brides of Destruction, ACDC, Ivan Ivankovic, The Dead Daisies, The Rolling Stones, Thin Lizzy, Parkway Drive, The Clash, The Stranglers, Black Sabbath, Royal Blood, Megadeth, Dio, Accept, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Dan Patlansky, The Gaslight Anthem, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Killswitch Engage, Those Damn Crows, Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band, Van Halen, Airbourne, Austin Gold, Gov't Mule, Pearl Jam, Fokofpolisiekar, Iron Maiden, Foo Fighters, The Pretty Reckless, Johnny Thunders, Asylum Kids, Matthew Good Band, Arch Enemy, Michael Schenker Group, Live.  

The Story of Rock and Roll. TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Episode 7 of Season 4 aired at 7 pm on 18 February 2021.  It kicked off with Badlands and 'High Wire' off their stunning debut album released in 1989,  Jake E. Lee on guitar, and what an amazing job he did.  He should possibly rethink his Red Dragon Cartel and establish a solid blues-rock outfit like Badlands again.  Just my view :-).  We followed that with Whitesnake, Doug Aldrich, and Reb Beach on guitar and Doug Aldrich featured again later when we took a listen to the brand new Dead Daisies with Glenn Hughes on vocals. 

2021 is kicking off with some good new releases, other than the Dead Daisies there is a new Michael Schenker Group and a new The Pretty Reckless.  The MSG is getting excellent reviews from the rock press and The Pretty Reckless is getting rave reviews from me.  The track played off the new Pretty Reckless was 'And So It Went' featuring Tom Morello.  We stayed with Tom and caught 'Exploder' by Audioslave. Last week's dabble into prog continued with some more Porcupine Tree and Forty Six & 2 by Tool.  

You should find a lot to get your teeth into.  Later in the show, I did alert listeners to the fact that I am on Day 3 of testing positive for Covid as it explained a few glaring balls-ups. I have left the show as it is in the interest of accuracy.  There are one or two long pauses and memory lapses that can only be attributed to what I call Covid brain.  If you have had it you will know.  I found a few instances where the song ended and for a few seconds I couldn't remember how to play the next one.  I am sure that next week's show will be a bit sharper.  

Artists featured:  Badlands, Whitesnake, King Kobra, Extreme, Foghat, Cold Chisel, Rose Tattoo, Stiff Little Fingers, The Stranglers, W.A.S.P., Skid Row, Onslaught, U.D.O, The Temperance Movement, Porcupine Tree, Tool, The Pretty Reckless, Audioslave, Iron Maiden, Scorpions, Motor Sister, Michael Schenker Group, Rainbow, dead Daisies, The Lazys, Asylum Kids, Sugar Drive  Ruff MajikTom Petty & the Heartbreakers, John Mellencamp, Chickenfoot, Adrenaline Mob, Lita Ford, Kid Rock, Led Zeppelin, Rammstein, Joe Satriani.  

The Story of Rock and Roll. TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

The thoroughly enjoyable Episode 3 of season 4 went out live at 7 pm on the 21st of January 2021.  It was great right from the start, there were plenty of people tuned in and from Boston’s opening track ‘Don’t Look Back’ all the way through to Parkway Drive it was a cracker.  A listener highlighted the fact that at 21h21 we would be 21 hours, 21 minutes, 21 seconds of the 21st day of the 21st year of the 21st century.  That created some pressure to find a suitable song to play at the time.  Even more so because before I found this out I had already played Green Day’s 21 Guns which would have been good.   

We ran through a lot of 80’s metal;  Ratt, Mr Big, Skid Row, Lita Ford, Tygers of Pan Tang, Slaughter, and Keel and we checked out 70s giants The Sweet and the inimitable Ted Nugent.  The punk section was covered by the Sex Pistols and The Stranglers and Aussies were represented by Wolfmother, Cold Chisel, and The Lazys.  Special mention here for Cold Chisel, I played Bal-A-Versailles and the feedback was instant, “what a great track”!  Usually, I will get a comment about a song but literally, immediately, 4 comments came in about it.  Another crowd-pleaser was SA’s own The Black Cat Bones with ‘Don’t Wake the Scarecrow', again, to all-round approval, it’s a song that raises goosebumps every time.   

Other than that we checked out the remarkable rebranding and rebuilding of the career of Ron Keel and we sorted out the 21 hours, minutes, and seconds thing by being able to say that at the exact time we were listening to The Story of Rock and Roll Radio Show and being blasted by a suitable bit of metal which was fitting in many ways.   

Artists featured:  Boston, ACDC, Godsmack, Ratt, Mr Big, The Sweet, Hinder, Paragon, Green Day, The Rolling Stones, System of a Down, Skid Row, Lita Ford, Halestorm, Sex Pistols, The Stranglers, Wolfmother, Cold Chisel, The Lazys, Ted Nugent, Static-X, Seether, Black Star Riders, Mustasch, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, John Cougar, Metallica, Tygers on Pan Tang, Avenged Sevenfold, Rammstein, Machine Head, Slaughter, Aking, The Diamond Dogs, The Black Cat Bones, Keel, Ron Keel Band, Parkway Drive

The Story of Rock and Roll. TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Merry Christmas to all of you and thank you for the support throughout 2020.  There is no question that it's been tough :-).  The X-mas eve edition of TSORR went on air at 7 pm on 24 Dec 2020.  It wasn't particularly Christmasy as I generally am not overly Christmasy myself and especially when it comes to music.  I wasn't a total grinch though and did play 'Christmas in Hell' by Sixx A.M.

The show kicked off with some Whiskey Myers and then hit stuff like Slash, Ozzy Osbourne, and Animal Drive.  My daughter was in the house and she is a big part of why TSORR exists as both a book and a Radio Show so I played a couple of tracks and explained how all of this came about.  Kiss - Destroyer, John Paul Young's Yesterday's Hero, and The Boomtown Rats' masterpiece the Fine Art of Surfacing, all have a special bearing on the show as do Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and The Stranglers.

There was a short tribute to Leslie West, a giant of a man both physically and as a guitarist.  He sadly passed away last night (23 Dec) and so, it was fitting that we played 'Legend' off his Unusual Suspects album.  Leslie's tone and feel were indeed extraordinary and he will be missed.  That's Leslie in this episode's thumbnail for those who may not be familiar with the man (perish the thought).

Highlights for me included Tom Petty with 'Have Love Will Travel', Machine Head with Bastards, Tom Waits with Mr. Siegal, and Rammstein with Deutschland.  

Artists featured:  Whiskey Myers, Slash, Quiet Riot, The Lazys, Animal Drive!, ACDC, Ozzy Osbourne, Arapaho, POD, Rammstein, System of a Down, Australian Crawl, Kiss, John Paul Young, Sixx AM, Mötley Crüe, The Boomtown Rats, The Stranglers, The Clash, Seether, Clutch, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Dire Straits, Tom Petty, Leslie West, the Killers, The Longshot, Cold Chisel, the Mayfield Four, Machine Head, Megadeth, Rival Sons, Airbourne, Prime Circle, Bad Company, Tom Waits, Iced Earth, Halestorm, Tesla & Slade.

The Story of Rock and Roll. TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

One down 3 to go,  Episode 17 of Season 3 aired at 7 pm on 10 Dec 2020.  It was another technically flawless affair with zero Wi-Fi hassles or presenter bungles.  We kicked off with Dave Lee Roth’s uplifting  ‘Yankee Rose’, the perfect song to get the energy levels up, and followed with a band called Dirty Honey out of L.A.  For the rest, it's pretty standard TSORR fare.  A bit of Punk with The Stranglers and The Sex Pistols,  Scorpions & Devil’s Train out of Germany, ACDC and Jimmy Barnes out of Australia, Rainbow, Deep Purple, Sabbath, Priest, and Maiden out of the UK and everyone else out of the USA.  South Africa got a bit short-changed for some reason Dan Patlansky was the only representative, I’ll fix that next week.  

I thoroughly enjoyed Gov’t Mule's cover of Pink Floyd’s ‘Time’, his version of Dave Gilmore’s solo is perfection.    Asking Alexandria’s ‘Not the American Average’ was brutal, in a good way, and there was a nice little link with Metallica, Volbeat, and Avenged Sevenfold one after the other.  The point was made that those 3 bands toured a lot together in 2019 and would have continued if the Covid thing hadn’t happened.  

Artists featured:  Dave Lee Roth, Dirty Honey, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Devil’s Train, The Temperance Movement, Skid Row, Buckcherry, Accept, ACDC, The Raven Age, the Stranglers, The Sex Pistols, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Jimmy Barnes, Joe Bonamassa, Dan Patlansky, Gov’t Mule, Asking Alexandria, Metallica, Volbeat, Avenged Sevenfold, Scorpions, Twisted Sister, Oasis, Wilko Johnson & Roger Daltrey, Zakk Wylde, Alice in Chains, Linkin Park, Pearl Album, Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, System of a Down &  Little Steven   

The Story of Rock and Roll. TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

29 October 2020 at 7 pm was the date and time that Episode 11 of season 3 of The Story of Rock and Roll aired.   It was quite a show, unusually chatty and with only one little balls-up which I left in there in the interests of reality. Don't adjust your set after Iced Earth's 'Burning Times' it just takes me 30 seconds to twig that the mic wasn't on :-)  The joys of live radio.  

It was a very lively show with plenty of people chatting on the Discord server and on Whatsapp.  We kicked off with 'Majestic' the traditional Journey opener but instead of more Journey, we cracked on with Metallica and Dio.  I started the local stuff early with another track off Johnathan Martin's amazing album Into The Nebulous Night.  Following up with Jack Hammer just made sense.  Punk happened in the form of The Stranglers and The Clash and there was plenty of classic metal and rock such as Iron maiden with 'The Trooper' and Judas priest with 'Hell Bent For Leather'.

The highlight for me was Bruce Springsteen with 'If I Was the Priest', as I said he's not called The Boss for nothing.  We also learned how to pronounce Bonamassa and took a listen to a track off his new album called 'Royal Tea'.   All in all, it was good fun and we had a lot of laughs.  Oh P.S. if any of you eve read this I'd like to know because I am not sure if I am wasting my time :-)

Artists featured:  Ozzy Osbourne, Journey, Metallica, Dio, The Cult, Social Distortion, Wolfmother, White Zombie, Johnathan Martin, Jack Hammer, Iron Maiden, Iced Earth, Audioslave, L.A. Guns, Bullet For My Valentine, the Clash, The Stranglers, Armored Saint, Joe Bonamassa, Blue Oyster Cult, Sixx A.M. Pearl Jam, Zakk Wylde, Bruce Springsteen, The Burning, Cold Chisel, Van Halen, Judas Priest. Jorn, Fokofpolisiekar, Kiss, Hanoi Rocks, the Black Crowes, Motörhead. 

The Story of Rock and Roll. TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Its a brand new Season, welcome to Season 3 of The Story of Rock and Roll Radio Show.  It marks the brand new chapter where I left the radio station and together with 3 other presenters from Mix FM started our very own Rebel Rock Radio.  Its a streaming site and TSORR is now exclusive to Rebel Rock Radio every Thursday from 7 pm until 10 pm.  

There are obvious advantages here, firstly you get an extra hour, secondly I am part of a really good team, thirdly I have pretty much no restrictions on what I say or play.  My commitment is to bring you the best music in the world and to fly the rock and metal flag until the day I die.

The show starts in the middle of Judas Priest with Saints in Hell, there is no Dr Who intro and the opening track Swamp Devil by Circus of Power didn't make the recording.  It's done from home with a brand new set-up including new headphones and mic.  The mic is still not right but its close now, bear with me, you are here for the music anyway I am sure.  Don't adjust your set when there are one or two minor silences while I adjust to the new desk.  


I can't control the end of the show, if I finish early its silence if I run over it cuts me at 10 sharp.  Apologies to The Rolling Stones who were the first victims of that.  There was a lot of good stuff on the show Black Sabbath back to back with Ozzy Osbourne, Van Halen back to back with Chickenfoot, lots of that sort of thing.  We had Seether and Mott the Hoople, some Death Angel and some Ugly Kid Joe.  Anyway check it out, it marks the beginning of an exciting time.  System of a Down with Violent Pornograpy was another good one to hear.  

Artists featured:  Mott The Hoople, Seether, Death Angel, Judas Priest, Hell Yeah, Ozzy Osbourne, Sheryl Crow, Charlie Sexton, Skid Row, Desolation Angel, Leslie West, Dirty Honey, The Stranglers, Guns 'n' Roses, Black Sabbath, Pirates of Radio, Foo Fighters, Red Dragon Cartel, Fokofpolisiekar, The Offspring, The Wildhearts, Van Halen, Palaye Royale, Cold Chisel, Stiff Little Fingers, Dirty Shirley, The Defiants, Government Car, Deadline, Chickenfoot, Damn Yankees, Anti-Flag, System of a Down, Seether, Desolation Angels, The Gaslight Anthem, Ugly Kid Joe, The Rolling Stones

The Story of Rock and Roll. TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Season 2 Episode 15 of The Story of Rock and Roll was recorded on Friday 25 July 2020 and then re-recorded on Saturday 26 July.  Since the demise of the Rockfest shows on Mix FM, TSORR has been recorded from Planet Rock my bar in the dark lands of Benoni.  Its challenging but incredibly liberating, to be honest, and it feels like I can finally give you the show the way its meant to be.  The reason for the re-record was the voice parts which distorted badly and all had to be scrapped and redone.  It's all about getting the levels right but each recording gets better.  

This one is definitely special and it's got stuff that would have got me fired on a radio station which means that its a true depiction of what rock and roll is about :-).  The show started with 'The Mermaid' by Dave Hause and then punched into high gear with System of a Down.  We hit the big bands you'd expect ACDC, Metallica, Ozzy but we also spent some time on South African music by Koos Kombis, Piet Botha and Johnathan Martin who has put together the SA rock album of the year in the form of his new release Into the Nebulous Night.

Highlights of the show for me were hearing The Stranglers 'Bring on the Nubiles' and The Sex Pistols with 'Bodies' back to back to remind us just what UK Punk was all about.  Here's to 1977.  Another highlight for me was giving Biff Byfords 7 min long epic Throw Down the Sword a spin.  If you have any comments of constructive feedback let me know on the TSORR FaceBook page, cheers until next week.  

Artists featured include:  Megadeth, ACDC, Metallica, Foo Fighters, Dave Hause, Koos Kombuis, David Lee Roth, Little Steven, Herman Frank, Blue Oyster Cult, UFO, Cold Chisel, Tesla, The Stranglers, System of a Down, John Mellencamp, Piet Botha, Biff Byford, Tesla, Shinedown, Kid Rock, Thunder, Michael Monroe, Sepultura, Johnathan Martin, Judas Priest and Ozzy Osbourne.     

The Story of Rock and Roll. TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Well, this is something totally different.  You may or may now be aware that the Rockfest Radio shows on Mix FM have been shut down indefinitely due to Covid 19.  This is the first episode of The Story of Rock and Roll Radio Show to be recorded from my home studio or should I say bar.  It was a technical challenge of note but I have figured it out.  You may find some odd bits and pieces but it gets better as it goes along.  The big challenge is the volume balance.  Getting the voice to record at a similar level to the music is not easy at all.  And then there is the difficulty of not getting all the dogs barking, pots banging general noise that comes from doing this outside a state of the art studio.  Desperate times call for desperate measures indeed.  

As I mention in the intro it does however mean that the show now gets a bit more sweary, a bit more political and a bit more opinionated, the song, however, remains the same.  Anyway see what you think. 

The show kicks off live with Joe Bonamassa and then we continue with Those Damn Crowes.  Tom Petty makes an appearance a bit later on and I play the Skid Row cover of Little Wing that I have been meaning to play for ages.  Check out those solo's at the end, man Dave and Scotty can wail.  It was great playing George Harris's band the Raven Age straight after his famous dad's band and it sure holds its own.  Quite a bit of SA stuff in the form of Agro and Deadline as well as TSORR stalwarts Fokofpolisiekar.  Santana sounded great, first time on the show and then all the usual stuff you've come to expect, Stranglers, scorpions, Airbourne, etc.  Playing Warren Zevon's 'My Shit's Fucked Up' was liberating. 

Anyway check it out, hopefully, it doesn't disappoint.  One thing for sure I miss the audience and the adrenaline of live radio.  Without the Whatsapp line and all the regulars tuning in its a bit different. Thanks, Covid, thanks a fucking lot.  :-(

Artists featured :  Joe Bonamassa, Those Damn Crowes, Led Zeppelin, The Gaslight Anthem, Five Finger Death Punch, Santana, Scorpions, Black Label Society, Queensryche, Ozzy, Iron Maiden, The Raven Age, The Offspring, The Stranglers, Skid Row, Greta Van Fleet, Agro, Deadline, Tom Petty, Papa Roach, Tom Petty, Asking Alexandria, Blackberry Smoke, Foo Fighters, Pop Evil, In Flames, Airbourne, Warren Zevon

The Story of Rock and Roll. TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Season 2, Episode 13 of The Story of Rock and Roll Radio Show took place at midnight on 3 July 2020.  It kicked off with the stated intent of getting this place Hotter Than Hell.  I think we succeeded but you will have to be the judge.  Metallica set a blistering pace with a live version of Hit the Lights off Hard-Wired to Self-Destruct.  It was pretty much all fast, driving, rock and roll through until we took a brief Punk break with The Jam and The Stranglers.  I say Punk lightly because both bands are prisoners of the genre rather than true examples of the idiosyncrasies of Punk.  That being said it set us up nicely for 11 minutes of Judas Priest featuring Richie Faulkner’s guitar solo at Wacken in 2016. 

As shows go this one had a pretty good mix of everything, we went back to 1967 for some Jimi Hendrix and also checked out what Leslie West sounded like in Mountain back in 1971 with Nantucket Sleighride, an often neglected rock classic.  There was a nice little bit of nostalgia with The Quireboys and The Dogs D’Amour and the idea of preparing for TSORR 30 years ago.  ACDC and Jimmy Barnes took care of the Australian music and Blue Scream and Fokofpolisiekar did the honours for local content.  Pop Evil made their TSORR debut with an awesome track called 100 in a 55 and then we were into the dying 15 min leading up to what I considered to be the highlight of the show i.e. playing you the track that I have been addicted to throughout lockdown, Killswitch Engage with Bite the Hand That Feeds.  I didn’t dedicate it to Jackson, my beloved Border Collie but I could well have J  

Artists featured:  Blue Scream, Kiss, Ozzy Osbourne, Axel Rudi Pell, Red Dragon Cartel, Fokofpolisiekar, The Stranglers, Mountain, the Jam, ACDC, Pop Evil, The Quireboys, Jimmy Barnes, Black Label Society, Q5, Rainbow, Black Veil Brides, Killswitch Engage, Jimi Hendrix, Mötley Crüe, Billy Squier, Sixx A.M., Judas Priest, Texas Hippie Coalition, The Dogs D’Amour, Metallica. 

The Story of Rock and Roll. TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Season 2: Episode 12.  After a 3 month hiatus, The Story of Rock and Roll Radio Show resumed at Midnight on 26 June 2020.  It was a ripper, and although I felt a bit rusty the show went pretty well.  Apologies for saying that the opening track by Savage was ‘Loose ‘n’ Lethal’ instead of ‘Ain’t No Fit Place’, the album is of course Loose ‘n’ Lethal.  It was a full house on the WhatsApp line so clearly the return of full bore rock and roll is as important to many people as it is to me.  Huge thanks to those who stayed up and listened live.   

Highlights of the show included Marilyn Manson’s cover of ‘You’re So Vain’ and new releases by Catalano and Axel Rudi Pell.  The Axel Rudi Pell is so good one listener suggested “Axel for President” and that got full TSORR endorsement.  I was fortunate enough to have been given a preview of ‘Woman and the Pouring Rain’ off Johnathan Martin’s forthcoming release Into the Nebulous Night by the man himself.  Playing this required some wizardry on the desk that initially didn’t work.  In the spirit of authentic radio, the confusion stands and after an aborted attempt, the track is played after Neil Young.  It sounds incredible, check it out.   

One of the sadder things that happened during lockdown was the passing away of Dave Greenfield, legendary keyboard player for The Stranglers.  We said cheers to Dave by playing the almost 8-minute closing track off Rattus Norvegicus ‘Down in the Sewer’.  It was a fitting send-off for a wonderful musician.  After that, we got back to business with some Overkill and My Chemical Romance.  We checked out a track off another track from F8 the latest FFDP album and easily one of the best releases this year.  

 SA metal stalwarts Agro released The Bitter End while we were off-air so it was a huge pleasure to unleash the beautiful fury of that album on you all.  Clifford Crabb and the lads have created a real work of art here.  It got heavy again with machine Head and then rocky with The Lazy’s and I closed out the show with a track by The Fismits called Questions.  I love it.   

Artists featured:  Savage, Axel Rudi Pell, Marilyn Manson, Texas Hippie Coalition, Five Finger Death Punch, The Stranglers, Boston, Overkill, Machine Head, Neil Young, Agro, Kid Rock, Catalano, Johnathan Martin, Therapy?, Def Leppard, My Chemical Romance, The Pretty Reckless, Accept, Megadeth, The Fismits, Amanda Palmer, Michael Monroe and The Lazy’s       

The Story of Rock and Roll. TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

This episode features songs with the shortest track length that we’ve ever played; it’s PUNK ROCK people! Punk is where Kevin started down his path of music fanaticism. Although, that was more based around the hardcore and 2nd Wave of Punk scenes. We discuss the origins of the movement: the bands that were punk before punk, and the bands that were the contemporaries of the bands that we all know as Punks.

Songs this week include:

1. The Modern Lovers – “She Cracked” from The Modern Lovers (1972)
2. Hollywood Brats – “Chez Maximes” from Hollywood Brats (1973)
3. Death – “Freakin’ Out” from …For the Whole World To See (1975)
4. Radio Birdman – “Burn My Eye” from Essential Radio Birdman (1976)
5. Crime – “Baby You’re So Repulsive” from Hot Wire My Heart 7” (1976)
6. Dead Boys – “Sonic Reducer” from Young, Loud, and Snotty (1977)
7. Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers – “One Track Mind” from L.A.M.F.The Lost Mixes (1977)
8. Richard Hell & The Voidoids – “Blank Generation” from Blank Generation (1977)
9. Destroy All Monsters – “You’re Gonna Die” from Bored (1978)
10. The Alley Cats – “Nothing Means Nothing Anymore” from 7” Single (1978)

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Episode 45 went out live at midnight on 22 Nov 2019.  The show followed the standard TSORR format, plenty of rock and metal, a smattering of punk, some new stuff, some local artists and some unusual stuff.  We had another track from the brand new Equator EP and a track off the new Phil Campbell album, ‘Old Lions Still Roar’, he proved that admirably.  For the first time in a while, I had some technical problems which resulted in 4 tracks in a row and a bit of editing.  It’s a first for TSORR because I don’t edit the show, what gets said and played goes out as is.  In this instance I had to break the rule otherwise you would have had a less than two-hour show.  The joys of modern age internet connectivity, the main thing is that all the songs are there.  

The highlight of the show this week as judged by WhatsApp line commentary was The Stranglers with Toiler on the Sea proving once again how opinions differ when it comes to music.  Asking Alexandria made a welcome return to the show and the current love affair with My Chemical Romance continued.  Piet Botha’s Goeienag Generaal sounded as magnificent as ever, love that sarcastic little chirp where he says “slaap lekker”.  Pat Travis Band with Snortin’ Whisky was a breath of fresh air and, for me personally, I enjoyed my latest discovery The Damned Things with a track called Bad Blood.  All in all, a fairly well-rounded show which felt rushed to me but I was assured didn’t to those listening.  

Artists featured included:  Megadeth, L.A. Guns, Queensrÿche, Scorpions, Pat Travis Band, ACDC, Giant, Thin Lizzy, Red Dragon Cartel, Asking Alexandria, Phil Campbell, Drowning Pool, Tom Petty, Ryan Adams, The Damned Things, Tesla, Animal Drive, Equator, Rancid, The Stranglers, The Black Cat Bones, Piet Botha, The Temperance Movement, My Chemical Romance, Motörhead and Duff Mc Kagan

The Story of Rock and Roll. TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Welcome to the 25th podcast of The Story of Rock and Roll Radio Show, affectionately known as Episode 37.  It aired at midnight on 27 Sept 2019 on a freezing cold night in Johannesburg South Africa.  The first 60 minutes or so was all foot flat,  driving rock and roll.  We kicked off with The Backyard Babies latest album and a track called ‘Good Morning Midnight’, which it was.  Scorpions, ACDC, My Chemical Romance all followed in quick succession and the pace didn’t stop until AX7 gave us some breathing room with their uber ballad ‘Seize The Day’.  I also changed gears for a bit when I dipped into the early 70’s with Bad Company, Deep Purple and The Sweet I then had to use a bit of Pantera to knock the Glam around the side of the head.  The crucial lesson with Pantera was this:  “What do you do 3:55 minutes into ‘Domination’”?  "You…. bang…. your …head for the next 65 seconds".  What a breakdown ! 

The Punk corner was represented by Stiff Little Fingers & The Stranglers, Australia by Rose Tattoo and South Africa by Arapaho & Piet Botha.  For once the ladies didn’t even get a look in and then for the first time we had some Lynyrd Skynyrd on the show which was a shock that will be rectified in coming weeks.  I am not sure how Skynyrd dodged airplay on TSORR for half a year!  There was a nice change of pace late in the show courtesy of Phillip Sayce and his blues instrumental ‘Alchemy’.  The comedic gem in this episode is where Deryck requests Godsmack’s I Stand Alone and I go above and beyond trying to play it.  Needless to say, it didn’t work out and I needed Ozzy Osbourne to wipe up the mess.

Bands featured this week include:  System Of A Down, Piet Botha, Arapaho, ACDC, Judas Priest, John Mellencamp, Stiff Little Fingers, Chickenfoot, Volbeat, Tom Petty, Scorpions, The Sweet, Disturbed, Stone Temple Pilots, Bad Company, Backyard Babies, The Stranglers, Phillip Sayce, Ozzy Osbourne, Rose Tattoo, Pantera, My Chemical Romance, Marilyn Manson, Saxon, Deep Purple, Avenged Sevenfold, Black Stone Cherry & Lynyrd Skynyrd.  

The Story of Rock and Roll. TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock