As The Lost Boys begins, the Emerson family has just moved to fictional Santa Carla, California (really Santa Cruz, CA), the self-titled “murder capital of the world” after a bitter divorce. Mom Lucy, and sons Michael and Sam move in with Grandpa, hoping for a new start, and it doesn’t take long to see just how bizarre it’s going to get.



Oldest son Michael (Jason Patric) immediately falls in with the wrong crowd. His first night out at the Boardwalk, he meets Star (Jami Gertz), and is immediately smitten. What he doesn’t know is Star is a part of a vampire cult, although not a full-fledged vampire. She leads him to the rest of the “lost boys,” David (Kiefer Sutherland), Marco...

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Many a Gen Xer grew up on a steady diet of heavily laugh-tracked sitcoms. Flashback to 1987, I am in my room surrounded by pinups torn from sundry teen magazines featuring the likes of Michael J. Fox and Kirk Cameron. How could you not fall for the devilish and still kind-hearted Mike Seaver. The Seavers, along with the Keatons, and also the oddly blended Tony Danza/Judith Light family combo, gave us what I like to call “family-light.” Sure, there were more serious moments—they tackled topics like underage drinking, birth control and anorexia. That “very special episode” tag an indicator that the canned laughter might be somewhat less prevalent during that particular evening’s show. Yet still, these sitcom families managed to turn even the tougher moments into...

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Think of the word “psychedelic” and what is apt to come to mind? Most likely you conjure images of long-haired, bell bottomed, barefooted hippies, of course some tie-dye thrown in for good effect. Music that ran the gamut from acid rock, to folk songs, to more classic and iconic rock-n-roll. And interwoven through all of it: drugs. LSD to weed, the flower children comprising a generation living in ostensible defiance were open to anything. In fact, the sixties in many ways started to normalize some of these mind-altering substances—particularly marijuana.



Especially in the latter half of the decade, pot became not merely a recreational drug, but it stood for a way of life, a movement toward freedom from authority, freedom from heavily regimented obsolete ways of thinking, freedom from the stifling confines that a mind trained by polite society sometimes imposed.



Timothy Leary encouraged those comprising this pot smoking counterculture to “turn on, tune in and drop out.” And...

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It’s Woodstock, fifty years later—the convergence of 60, 70 and some 80-year-olds onto an iconic bowl-shaped venue as they try to buck themselves out of skin that’s liver spotted and crepey in order to make the wry prick of time not feel so poignant or so permanent.



It rains.



Cold rain and hot earth create a sauna effect in which old hippies sweat out their today in favor of a wistful yesterday. And when the steam rids them of their cell phones and tablets. Their outrageous Medicare bills and unfairly taxed social security. Their Facebook-feed envy and partisan news wars, that same steam reaches inside and puffs them up like adders, but without the serpent and sting, just light, love and letting go.



I got tickets…my 70-year-old mother in tow. We can barely see the stage from our lawn seats—seats, a pretty fast-and-loose term. Our blanket, soon drenched—more so by spilled twenty-two-dollar cups of unidentifiable daiquiri than rain—is abandoned as we walk away, feigning...

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If only the building at 9015 Sunset Blvd on the Hollywood Strip could talk … oh, the stories it could tell. The Rainbow Bar & Grill, owned at that time by Elmer Valentine, Lou Adler, and Mario Maglieri, opened in April 1972 with a party for Elton John. The location was the former Villa Nova Restaurant, owned by director Vincent Minnelli while he was married to Judy Garland.



After opening, the bar and grill very quickly became known as a hangout for celebrities, particularly rock stars. And where the famous musicians are, the groupies will surely follow. Among those who were regulars in the 70’s were Keith Moon, Alice Cooper, Micky Dolenz, Harry Nilsson...

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Born Keith John Moon, he was the explosive, eclectic, and highly entertaining drummer for the band The Who. He was often noted for his unique style and even more so for his eccentric, and often self-destructive behavior. He was also described by friends as “the man who took sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll to raging new limits of madness and insanity.” His nicknames were many, and included the very apt, “Moon the loon.”



Moon was a very bright, albeit, hyperactive child who was easily bored. He taught himself to play drums at an early age to help combat his hyperactivity, and to give himself focus. He took drum lessons at 14 from renowned drum teacher, Carlo Little, who was considered one of the best in London at that time. Little taught Moon many things, including hitting the drums with the reverse end of the stick to achieve a louder sound. He described Moon as “a natural”...

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St Elmo’s Fire is an angsty post-college drama about 7 close college friends, and their forays into the adult world with varying degrees of success. This film is co-written and directed by the late Joel Schumacher and is a great one to put into a time capsule – it’s held up very well.



Centered around their favorite college bar, St. Elmo’s, this movie is chock-full of brat-pack stars such as Emilio Estevez as Kirbo, Andrew McCarthy as Kevin, Demi Moore as Jules, Judd Nelson as Alec,  Ally Sheedy as Leslie, Mare Winningham as Wendy, and Rob Lowe as the scampish, yet loveable Billy...

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What do athletes and prom queens have to do with geeks and stoners? The Breakfast Club suggests the answer is this: a lot more than you might think.



It’s Saturday, March 24, 1984 at Shermer High School in Chicago. At a little before 7:00 a.m., five high school students arrive to serve a day of detention for crimes and misdemeanors committed at school. There’s pampered Claire ( the “princess”), star wrestler Andrew (the “athlete”), over-achiever Brian (the “brain”), oddball Allison (the “basket case”) and, finally, the classic rebel without a cause, John Bender (the “criminal”).



Teacher-in-charge, Richard Vernon struts in to sternly give them explicit instructions on how they are not to talk, or otherwise engage with each other. No seat changing, and absolutely “no funny business.” He tells them to write a 1000 word essay on “who they are”, then he leaves the room. (I always thought it was odd he never...

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This ’80s coming-of-age tale, while thoroughly entertaining, is a movie of somewhat lost or unrealized opportunities. Unlike other 80s teen movies, this one lacks substance or really any admirable characters.  Julie’s (the female protagonist) ex-hippie parents are the closest thing to ‘role models’ because they want their daughter to make her own decisions uninfluenced by social pressures.



It’s your typical “boy meets girl” movie plot, but more along the lines of a disjointed Romeo & Juliet. The movie starts with the Julie and her close friends at the mall (the mall was the old Sherman Oaks Galleria for those who recall that long gone Icon to 80’s retail therapy), shopping. Then Julie breaks up with her egotistical boyfriend, Tommy, on the escalators as she’s exiting the mall. Julie seems almost cruel when she breaks up with him. The break seems to mean nothing to her, and even less to her friends.



The girls head to the beach, where Julie first encounters Randy, the hot...

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When we think about the 80s, one of our entertainment favorites are the police procedural shows of that era. Today we fondly remember things like European styling, “teenage” cops, male and female detective pairs, and a crime-solving mystery writer. These were the shows that bring the 80s back to life for us.



Remington Steele



Remington Steele was a television series co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. The series, starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan, was broadcast on NBC from 1982 to 1987. The series blended romantic comedy, drama, and police procedural. The show’s premise was a woman named Laura Holt starts a detective agency, only to find that no one wants to hire a woman, no matter how qualified she is. She then invents a fictitious male superior she names “Remington Steele” as a creative solution to her dilemma. Enter Pierce Brosnan’s character, a former thief and con man (whose real name even he proves not to know and is never...

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Madonna, the artist often referred to as the “Queen of Pop,” was born Madonna Louise Ciccone (see she came by her stage name legitimately!) on August 16, 1958, in Bay City, Michigan. From relatively humble beginnings, Madonna approached the music industry on her own terms and ended up, well… “The Queen of Pop!” To a degree, she followed the advice of P.T. Barnum in that she used the media to create exposure for herself and ignored the controversies that she often left in her wake. She became an international icon in the ’80s with her hit songs, style trends and controversial music videos. Known for pushing boundaries and reinventing her music and image, she was considered one of the most provocative figures of the ’80s.



Madonna moved to New York City in 1978 to pursue a career in dancing. Instead, she established herself as a singer and was signed by Sire Records in 1982...

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REM: The Unheralded Instigator of Grunge



In the Beginning



As we moved past the middle-80’s, we saw a shift from the artistic creativity of earlier in the decade, to a what many felt was a blander and formulistic approach to pop, rock, New Wave and dance music. Many bands continued to pursue their music ambitions by caving into music executives demands for “more of the same.” And yet, there were a few, brave artists that refused to give up their dreams of creativity, innovation, and self-determination. The youth of the late 80’s often felt that music no longer represented the angst, insecurity, and rebellion that they were experiencing as they moved towards adulthood. It was this dichotomy between what music labels thought would make money and what much of the younger fanbase wanted that helped lead to the sudden, revolutionary explosion out of the Pacific Northwest that would become Grunge.



Yet, while we credit the “Seattle Scene” for this genre of music...

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When we typically think of Cannabis usage, we normally go back in time to the 60’s or perhaps a bit earlier, to the Prohibition era, when it was sold quietly in speak easies focused on weed, called “Teapads.” But human culture has been intertwined with Marijuana for far longer. 



We can find evidence of it usage long before we had modern nations. The first definitive evidence of people getting high was around 1500 BCE, to give you context, this is about the same time that farming was spreading throughout the eastern US, the first truly sophisticated civilization had arisen in China and it was the bronze age throughout Europe. So who was getting stoned back then? The Celts, the Germanic peoples, the Chinese, the Africans, pretty much everyone!



 Now if you think that criticism of weed is a more industrial age thing, you couldn’t be more wrong. We have ample evidence of Hashish usage in Medieval Egypt. Many reported that the drug made them high, hungry, and a bit lethargic...

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Ask any drummer for their top 5 favorite drummers, and Neil Peart’s name will pop up on a larger percentage of those lists for a variety of reasons.  Peart was a “drummer’s drummer,” so technically spectacular that he was nicknamed “The Professor” for his pure mastery of the craft.



Peart elevated expectations for proficiency of the drums and soloing, often crediting his biggest influences Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich for his inspiration and sheer drive to take his ability to the very top.  While most rock drummers refrained from jazz and opted for louder and heavier beats, Peart trained himself in traditional jazz. However, he was also influenced by the incomparable Keith Moon of the Who, and John Bonham of Led Zeppelin. His drumming was renowned for its technical proficiency and his...

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What can I say about the late, great John Lennon that hasn’t already been said numerous times? He was a brilliant musician, an Avant Garde poet, an outspoken, and sometimes, rebellious visionary, and most certainly, an icon. He was a husband, a father, a lover, and an idol. He was a million different things to a million different people.



But more than that, he was a man. He definitely had his faults, no doubt there. His son Julian Lennon has often been quoted as saying he was a rather poor excuse for a father. In 1998, Julian said “Dad could talk about peace and love out loud to the world, but he could never show it to the people who supposedly meant the most to him: his wife and son.” (speaking of the relationship between John, Cynthia, and Julian). Since that interview, Jules has made inner peace with his father’s memory.



Son, Sean Lennon, on the other hand, has many wonderful memories of the man they both call ‘Dad’. “For me, John is still alive. I believe he’s...

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Elton John (“EJ”) is an artist that almost everyone recognizes. But there’s another side to the singer’s success, and that’s his long-time lyricist partner, Bernie Taupin, or the other half of Elton John. Taupin has been writing the lyrics for one of music’s greatest showmen for over half a century. Yet, to many, he is a virtual unknown.



The pair met in 1967, when each of them replied to an advertisement placed in the music magazine NME by Liberty Records searching for singer/songwriter artists. Taupin, who was a farmer’s son, was only 17 at the time, and EJ (who still went by the name Reg Dwight) was 20.



Though they were relatively close in age when they first met, 17-year-old Taupin was in awe of EJ. “I was the quintessential country bumpkin and he was sophisticated,” Taupin told the Daily Mail of their early years together. “He lived in London and played in clubs! So, he looked out for...

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When I started working on this article, “Women of Soul,” I was initially doing research on another article, “Women of Motown”. To my surprise, I discovered that many of the women who were on our most popular soul music singers list were not signed to this top-selling funk and soul music label. In order to make this a more comprehensive and complete article, I had to widen the parameters a bit. After all, what would a “Women in Soul” article be without Aretha? Or Etta James? Or Patti Labelle? Along with Diana Ross, these were the women who broke down the barriers for females in soul music genre.



Etta James



Upon hearing the first powerful notes of “At Last”, you just knew Etta James (born Jamesetta Hawkins) was going to be a force to be reckoned with. James received her first professional vocal training at the age of five from James Earle Hines, the choir director of her church in Watts. Allegedly...

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One question we often hear from fans at Pop Daze is “Whatever happened to XYZ band or artist?” Sometimes seemingly successful bands suddenly disappear or fade quietly away. Often members of a band go on to very successful solo careers, while others move forward to have success with other bands. In our quest for knowledge of everything pop culture, let’s explore a few of these missing-in-action bands from the 60’s.



Tommy James & The Shondells



When you think of 60’s bands, one that often comes to mind is Tommy James & The Shondells. They were a rock band, formed in Michigan in 1964. Surprisingly, they only had two No. 1 singles in the U.S., “Hanky Panky” (July 1966) and “Crimson and Clover” (February 1969). But they also charted twelve...

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From the very first driving notes of the intro to the song “Layla,” written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, you know this tune’s gonna rock. Originally released by their group, Derek and the Dominos, in November 1970, the song initially wasn’t very popular. Two versions later it achieved chart success, the first in 1972 and the second 20 years later as an acoustic MTV Unplugged solo performance by Clapton.



As the story goes, the song was initially inspired by a love story that originated in “The Story of Layla and Majnun” by 12th-century Persian poet, Nizami Ganjavi. The book moved Clapton profoundly, it was the tale of a young man who...

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For a band that almost didn’t happen, the Police were truly outlaws, instead of “Outlaws of Love” by the end of their somewhat rocky road. Formed in London in 1977,the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar), and Stewart Copeland (drums).



Initially considered a “new wave band,” their style was influenced by punk, reggae, and jazz, and was multi-dimensional and transcended traditional genre categorization. Their first album was initially recorded with a budget of £1,500 that the band borrowed from Stewart Copeland’s brother, Miles. The album was recorded over six months, with the band jumping in whenever the studio had free time. Miles agreed to pay additional £2,000 when the album was completed. At first Miles was unhappy with the result, until he...

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“I Want My MTV!” Who remembers the first time you heard that phrase? Did you ever realize the impact those 4 words would make? Today, we interview a true insider on the early days of MTV.



In the beginning:



“On Saturday, August 1, 1981, at 12:01 AM Eastern Time, MTV launched with the words “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll,” spoken by John Lack and played over footage of the first Space Shuttle launch countdown of Columbia (which took place earlier that year) and of the launch of Apollo 11.”And we were lifted off, to a previously unimaginable new world!



Remembering the first video, “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Buggles, the sense of excitement that came with it, and the subsequent videos? It’s mind-blowing to hear the story of how it came to be during MTV’s early days. Almost everyone knows that first video. But do you remember the second one they played? *(answer at the end of the blog)*



Your favorite vintage blogger (that would be me), Tami...

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Gram Parsons’ star blazed bright, but sadly, burned out far too soon. Born Ingram Cecil Connor III in Winter Haven, FL, his early life was badly shaken when his biological father committed suicide when he was 12. His mother quickly remarried, and young Gram took the surname of his step-father, Robert Parsons. For a time, the family found a stability of sorts. They were later torn apart in early 1965, when Robert became embroiled in an extramarital affair and Avis’ heavy drinking led to her death from cirrhosis on June 5, 1965, the day of Gram’s graduation from Bolles Academy in Jacksonville Fl.



Gram Parsons found his salvation in music, which he discovered at an early age after seeing Elvis Presley perform in 1956, when he was 10. After honing his craft, he later performed in a variety of local bands anywhere that would allow them to play – mostly coffeehouses, and high schools auditoriums. It was later, during a short stint at Harvard...

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The Eagles’ first reunion tour was a full-on shock to music fans who never thought they would play together again. After they parted in 1980, Don Henley was categorical all along, stating that the band would get back together “when hell freezes over.” Apparently, everyone was wrong. On Nov. 8, 1994, they released “Hell Freezes Over.”



After appearing together at a charity event, the men realized there was too much left unsaid, and decided to...

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Franco De Vita, the man who would become one of the faces of Latin Rock, is a Venezuelan Latin Grammy winning singer/songwriter whose career mushroomed in the late 80’s. De Vita was born in Caracas, Venezuela on January 23, 1954 and thirty years later he released his first disc “Franco De Vits” as a solo artist in 1984. For wider international exposure, De Vita joined the CBS label. In 2014, he was inducted into the Billboard Latin Music of Fame. As a songwriter, he has written songs for the likes of Ricky Martin and Chayanne. Some of Franco De vita’s international smash hits that lead him to stardom include, “Solo Importas Tu (Only You Matter),” “Te Amo (I Love You)” and of course, my favorite from the 1990 “Extranjero (Stranger)” album, “No Basta (It’s Not Enough)” This song is as timely today as it was in 1990.



It is the story of a father raising his son as best as he can, but the father feels that he can never do...

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