Give it to Me Good

I am a product of the 80's. I was a teenager during the Reagan era, which has colored my world view on so many levels. One of which is my taste in music. It was a decade that allowed for certain genres to go mainstream, and made celebrities out of pretty boys.
The ones with talent still fill stadiums every night, the rest have gone onto other careers or tour the club circuit. I have seen former headliners playing in clubs, and it's a bit sad. Years ago, I saw Quiet Riot in a small NJ club, a decade after they played the Salt Palace. While they put on a good show, you could see that some of the enthusiasm was gone, and that they were going through the motions. 80's rock gods are an endangered species, it seems.
This summer, at the Sioux Empire Fair, a group of some of my favorite hair metal bands will be playing. Part of me is instantly transported back to being a 20 year old, college radio DJ playing this stuff, going to shows and hanging at the shore. The rest of me knows that time has marched on.
One of the bands is Firehouse. They are cut from the same power pop cloth as Bon Jovi, which isn't a bad thing. I still rock out to Don't Treat Me Bad 20 years later (currently on my iPhone l)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAeRkhyEkZk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

At one point in life with the Big Man we had decided on Love of a Lifetime as "our" song, and all these years later my heart still skips a beat when I hear it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL2jXh2fj78&feature=youtube_gdata_player

The "headliners" for this concert are Warrant...but without the lead singer who made them famous. This I don't get. Journey isn't Journey without Steve Perry, Judas Priest isn't Judas Priest without Rob Halford and Warrant isn't Warrant without Jani Lane (who sadly passed away several years ago)

Side note: I remember dressing like the chick in the video, going out to the clubs back in the day. Poor fashion choices (although I'd like that body back please)-the hazards of being 21 back then-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6pEkwJRglw&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Of course, if you were an 80's hair band you had to have a power ballad, and Warrant's Heaven was among the best

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luy3-UiiRDU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

The other band that comprises hair bands past that make the cut is Trixter a/k/a the Pride of Paramus NJ. Once upon a time, there was a show called Dial MTV, and Trixter basically went to the local malls (Paramus is the shopping mall capital of the universe) and convinced the teeny boppers to vote for their videos (or so the story goes). Some video scenes were shot at the Suburban Diner on Rt 17, which had an iconic sign. After the band made it big, the sign changed. Coincidence? I think not...

I did earn my video vixen cred when my best friend (& radio co-host) Jackie the Flash & I scored tickets to the Trixter show in Nanuet NY when they shot the "live" (in about 100 takes) video for One in a Million. You can see my arm and my Jersey girl toaster head guidette bangs in the video, stage left

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2YR8ljHSpA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Deep down inside, I really do love this music, and it has a big place in history & evolution. Back in the day, when I was on the air, this was the format, . I grew to appreciate the nuances of the different bands, and what their schtick. All these years later, many of them are still working the circuit.
I will pay my gate admission & go to the fair with my kiddo and the Big Man, and check out my musical past.