texile wrote on Feb 21^st, 2011 at 6:51pm:


What about stuff like Aerosmith, Zeppelin, etc? Like the movie Dazed & Confused is set in Texas in 1976 (yes I know it's a movie but it was based on the directors' own experiences) and all the teenagers love those bands and even KISS.

I hated it, At the time I was playing music., for a buck.  In order to get jobs through the booking agency and to get paid we had to learn the songs that were popular.Songs that  the agency thought the audience wanted to hear. There were many fight in the band. We also had to change or appearance, clean up the act!  The only good thing about it was ,we decide, comprimised to play some of the good stuff. Some of the stuff on these albums not being played on the FM radio.  Filling some of  the spots in the song list we used songs by bands like "Tower of Power" and "The Average White Band". We got good and were allow to play A 50 50 ratio, even being allowed to play originals and rearranged songs. "Play that Funky Music White Boy" end with the Edgar Winter's  Still Playin that Rock and Roll the grouping of the 2 songs was a crowd pleaser. No fights except in the rehearsesal room, and with the the agency. Looking back now I loved playin music, I played all types , and would not change a thin, at the time I felt I was a sell out. Now I realize I was doing what had to be done to Keep Playin. I see now in order to get to play "Johnny B Goode" we had to play "Bad Luck". I love you Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes Now, sorry for the hate in the 70's. I grew up. The kids and my much younger wife listen to the crap on the radio now and I cringe, I try my hardest to shut up, but it really reminds me of those God awful Disco days when the music really  DIED! IMO, One of the reasons I was and am so happy to hear anything new by The Stones. they save me, from the dismal static air waves playing on the radio Today.  Playin music for a livin sucked or I gave up. I could not make it, I was not good enough, I got tired of fighting the battle.I'd like to think I gave up because of the  lack of creative acceptance, I call it now the "WalMart Mentality" all plastic and  cheap and it's what everybody else has..But in truth I gave up.
I went to Nashville once and the weird thing is  most of the good players were not in the studio they were in the gas stations. They all wanted to be the next hit so did I. I hope some of them did not give up like I did. I'm not burning an old cross anymore, very happy to play for the crowd I have, no cover charge, no line at the bathroom and the beer is cheap, almost free!
By the way I always thought a great Name for a Bar Bad was "FREE BEER"
I love this place and the chance to answer this question, now back to work!

To me, disco was just a little less lame than the countrified West coast sound. Alot of American music was incredibly dull. Not just that, the artists were dull too. Being in Oz, we really had a different experience than American or English. We got a mix of both. I dont recall many English bands being huge in the U.S. circa 77. I mean, not any new bands anyway. Am i right there? I think i am. But down here, we had glam and smooth sounds like Ronstadt, James Taylor, Eagles etc. Plus as i said, we had our own stuff. Hard pub rock like Rose Tattoo, Ac/dc. Glam bands like Skyhooks. Pop bands like Sherbet. And until INXS, our two most successful exports from that era were Air Supply and Little River Band. Yeah, disco sucked. But some of it was ok. I hated the early drum machine Euro stuff like Bony M. i didnt get into the Stones until Miss You.

yeah, disco sucked. But lame ass soft rock was way, way worse.

Except for Pablo Cruise's "Love will find a way".

For some dumb old reason, i bloody LOVE that song!!!

"I see now in order to get to play "Johnny B Goode" we had to play "Bad Luck". I love you Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes"

I love that song!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR8KfMTmPRQ

There's a saying that Bruce Springsteen & Punk Rock saved us from Disco taking over.

I also might point out that both Mick and CHarlie have said repeatedly that they liked disco music, as did Mick Jones and Joe Strummer, who all saw it as an extension of funk and latino-based music that had been percolating in New York clubs since the early 70s. Mick has also talked about how he would go unrecognized in underground latino clubs in NY in the early 70s....there's a line in one of the Miss You outtakes, where he says,
'Remember when we used to go those clubs and the girl turned out to be a man in the end...?'

I got no natural rhythm