BTOC Behind The Orange Curtain

BTOC Episode 15 The Cure Singles 78-92

Tonights Episode explores the singles released from the Cure and although they are still active and have released music well after this period I want to stay true to the influence that they had during the 80’s here in Orange County and around the world.

Tonights show was purely focussed on The Cure’s released singles from 78-92 and there is no doubt that they have earned a spot as not only one of the most influential bands in rock, fashion and pop culture but their influence here in Orange County is stronger than ever.

BTOC Episode 14 Bauhaus & Beyond

As we enter into October, we will be looking at bands with a darker edge.  Tonights band is Bauhaus.They are an English rock band, formed in Northampton, England, in 1978. The group consists of Daniel Ash (guitar, saxophone), Peter Murphy (vocals, occasional instruments), Kevin Haskins (drums) and David J Haskins, or “David J” (bass). One of the pioneers of gothic rock, Bauhaus were known for their dark image and gloomy sound, although they mixed many genres, including dub, glam rock, psychedelia, funk, power pop and ska.

Bauhaus broke up in 1983. Murphy began a solo career while Ash and Haskins continued as Tones on Tail and, later, reunited with David J to form Love and Rockets. Both enjoyed greater commercial success in the United States than Bauhaus had, but disappeared from the charts in their homeland. Bauhaus eventually reunited for a 1998 tour, again from 2005 to 2008, and once again in 2019.

Bauhaus, Tones on Tail, Love and Rockets, Peter Murphy, The Cure

BTOC 13 The Teen Movie Music of John Hughes

In this episode we are going to look at the world John Hughes, his 80’s teen movies and the music that made an indelible mark on us all during the 80’s, here in Orange County and around the world.  His movies would become the quintessential representation of being a teenager in the 1980’s. Through his love of music he would introduce us to new music that would be forever tied to scenes from his movies but also launch bands into super stardom. So let’s pull back the curtain this evening and start exploring bands and artists that John Hughes saw fit to include into his movies.

Bands Included: The Stray Cats, Altered Images, Oingo Boingo, Spandau Ballet, The Specials, Thompson Twins, Wang Chung, Simple Minds, Killing Joke, OMD, General Public, Sigue Sigue Sputnik, Yellowfins, Psychedelic Furs, Suzanne Vega, INXS, New Order, The Smiths, Charlie Sexton, Billy Idol, Lick the Tins, and Bauhaus.

BTOC Episode 12 Under The Covers

This Episode looks at the world of cover songs where we explore and dedicate an entire episode to current artists covering 80’s artists, 80’s artist covering other 80’s artists, and even 80’s artists covering new artists. So let’s pull back the curtain this evening and start exploring bands and artists that pay homage to one another through the highest form of flattery, the cover song.

Bands Include: Matt Nathanson, The Pretenders, Radiohead, Morrissey, Royal Blood, Dido, Sting, NEIL FINN, Duran Duran, Simple Minds, Violent Femmes, Green Day, Smashing Pumpkins, The Offspring, My Chemical Romance, Duran Duran Ft. Gerard Way, Anberlin, Goo Goo Dolls, and Flesh For Lulu

BTOC Episode 11 Hair Metal

Glam metal, also known as hair metal or pop metal, is a subgenre of heavy metal, which features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, and borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam rock.

Early glam metal evolved directly from the glam rock movement of the 1970s, as visual elements taken from acts such as T. Rex, the New York Dolls, and David Bowie were fused with the decidedly more heavy metal leaning and theatrical acts such as Alice Cooper and Kiss. The first examples of this fusion began appearing in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene.

 

Bands Include:  Van Halen, Mötley Crüe, Dokken, Def Leppard, Night Ranger, Quiet Riot, Ratt, Bon Jovi, Twisted Sister, Stryper, Poison, Cinderella, Whitesnake, Guns & Roses, Warrant, Skid Row, Metanoia, Anthrax

BTOC Episode 10 Influential Women of Punk & Post Punk

Episode 10 will be looking at the influential women of punk and new wave that revolutionized the way women were seen, heard, and represented in the music industry.  Women have made significant contributions to punk rock music and its subculture since its inception in the 1970s. In contrast to the rock music and heavy metal scenes of the 1970s, which were dominated by men, the anarchic, counter-cultural mindset of the punk scene in mid-and-late 1970s encouraged women to participate. This participation played a role in the historical development of punk music, especially in the US and UK at that time, and continues to influence and enable future generations. Women have participated in the punk scene as lead singers, instrumentalists, as all-female bands, zine contributors and fashion designers.

Bands Include: Debby Harry, Chrissie Hynde, Exene Cervenka, Wendy O Williams, Annabelle Lwin, Souxsie Sioux, Dale Bozio, Terri Nunn, Pat Benatar, Annie Lennox, Belinda Carlisle, Poly Styrene, Ari Up, Joan Jett and Lita Ford

BTOC Episode 9 The Music of Athens, GA.

There are those who claim that Athens’ transformation from sleepy hick college town to globally recognized mecca of cool was not slow evolution but the result of a single cataclysmic Big Bang event.

The date of this Big Bang: February 14, 1977 — the Valentine’s night that five hipster kids, dressed in funky thrift-store drag and banging inexpertly on bongos and a toy piano, played their first party under the name The B-52’s. Their combination of retro-kitsch style, outrageous stage presence, and danceable hooks is a wake-up call in those days when Southern boogie was the dominant party music. The local buzz surrounding their performance draws the nucleus of “the Athens music scene” and it is generally agreed upon that this is the beginning of the phenomenon. 

Bands Include: The B-52's, Pylon, The Method Actors, Love Tractor, The Side Effects, REM, Oh, OK!, Guadal Canal Diary, Kate Pierson, Blondie

 

BTOC Episode 8 The Second British Invasion Part 3

This episode will is the third and final part of a series focussed on the 2nd British Invasion. The Second British Invasion consisted of music acts from the United Kingdom that became popular in the United States during the early-to-mid 1980s primarily due to the cable music channel MTV The term derives from the similar British Invasion of the U.S. in the 1960s.

This week we will close out with a 1984 and part of 1985. Again my disclaimer for this show is that I won’t be able to play everything and I won’t always play the hit song from the bands but songs that influenced me. 

Bands included: Roman Holiday, Aztec Camera, Wham, B Movie, Jo Boxer, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, General Public, Bronski Beat, Pet Shop Boys, The Smiths, Band Aid, Howard Jones, Bananarama, Style Council, Ultravox, King, Kate Bush, The Alarm, Wang Chung, The Cult, and REM .

BTOC Episode 7 The Second British Invasion Part 2

the second part of a series focussed on the 2nd British Invasion. I originally said that this was a 2 part series but do to the sheer volume of UK artists during this time we will have to make this a 3 part series. The Second British Invasion consisted of music acts from the United Kingdom that became popular in the United States during the early-to-mid 1980s primarily due to the cable music channel MTV The term derives from the similar British Invasion of the U.S. in the 1960s.

Bands Include: Thomas Dolby, Human League, Talk Talk, The Jam, Haircut 100, Simple Minds, ABC, Big Country, Culture Club, Tears For Fears, The Fixx, Echo and the Bunnymen, Eurythmics, Blancmange, Icicle Works, New Order, Thompson Twins, Soft Cell, and the Psychedelic Furs.

BTOC Episode 6 The Second British Invasion Part 1

The Second British Invasion consisted of music acts from the United Kingdom that became popular in the United States during the early-to-mid 1980s primarily due to the cable music channel MTV.  The term derives from the similar British Invasion of the U.S. in the 1960s. These acts primarily brought with them synthpop and new wave styles of music to the American charts, and according to Rolling Stone, brought "revolution in sound and style". In 2011, The Guardian named the Second British Invasion among their "50 key events in the history of pop music”.

Bands Included:  Elvis Costello, The Pretenders, The Police, Joe Jackson, XTC, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Squeeze, U2, Adam & The Ants,  OMD, Duran Duran, Bow Wow Wow, Spandau Ballet, Billy Idol, The Cure, Killing Joke, Heaven 17, Gang of Four, Depeche Mode, Flock of Seagulls