Bands Around the World: Week 17

Hello, its week 17 of my ongoing series where I talk about different bands from around the world. I know it’s been a while but this one needed extra time in the blogging oven. This week’s band is no exception to that rule as I grew up listening to this artist with my mom. David Bowie (aka Ziggy Stardust) was an influential glam rock singer from the UK that skyrocketed into stardom in the early 70s. He had produced a few albums before coming up with his iconic persona including “Hunky Dory”(1971), “The Man Who Sold the World ” (1970), and two self-titled debut albums (1967 and 1969).

In 1972, Bowie came up with his on-stage persona Ziggy Stardust (1972-1974), where he rose to fame with his album “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” in 1972 (also known as “the Ziggy Stardust album”) with the song/single “Starman” that sky rocked him into the main stream media with most of his fanbase out of the UK. The album describes Ziggy Stardust, a bisexual and fictional androgynous, who is sent to Earth as a savior before an impending apocalyptic disaster. The persona was mainly inspired by numerous musicians, mainly Vince Taylor.

I mainly remember him for his Ziggy Stardust album along with the collaboration he did with the UK band Queen for the song ‘Under Pressure.’ That album from 1972 is what got me into alternative rock/pop and other genres during a time when all I was hearing was either country or upbeat pop music.

In 1975, Bowie shifted his style and created his next album with a very unique sound that he characterized as “Plastic Soul.” This only grew his popularity and even got him more fans outside of the UK with another album title, “Young Americans” that same year.

Over the years, his popularity only grew and even did come collaborations with the band Queen (with the song ‘Under Pressure’), Brian Eno with three albums (‘Low’ (1977), ‘Heroes’ (1977) and ‘Lodger’ (1979)) that would eventually be known as the Berlin Trilogy.

I had heard of these albums before and never gave them a listen till about a few weeks ago when I was looking through my mom’s collection of records and happened to stumble upon his 1977 album ‘Low.” Gave it a listen and… it was pretty good and found out recently that they were three of these albums that were produced by the same guy, so I gave those two other albums a listen to, and I very much enjoyed them.

Bowie was also a renowned actor as well staring in many films including “Labyrinth,” (1986), ‘Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrance’ (1983), ‘Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me’ (1992), ‘Basquiat’ (1996) and ‘The Prestige’ (2006). In 2004, Bowie announced his departure from the music industry and remained out of the spotlight for almost a decade till he returned with his second to final album in 2013, “The Next Day.” Three years later he released his final album, “Blackstar” that was created in secret in NYC with local jazz performers and not even three days after the release of that album, Bowie passed away at 69.

I could go on and on about all the things that Bowie did throughout his career, but what he was able to give us was nothing but amazing and it changed how people perceive different genres of music. He is and always will be a legend to me and to millions of people around the world.

The Daily Life of a Professional Newscast Producer: Week One

This is going to be an ongoing series (maybe) where I will be updating you, my lovely viewers and bloggers, on how my new job as a newscast producer goes. It’s only day three (as of the writing of this) and I’ve learned a lot since I started on Tuesday (yeah, I would have started on Monday, but it was a national holiday go figure) and everyone has been extremely nice and helpful with my training since I don’t know how to use some of the programs that this particular station uses but while the progress might be slow, its going better than I thought it would. This may not be the dream job (that being a multimedia journalist for a radio station), but it’s a start in the right direction.  

Anyways, I came in on Tuesday for my first day of training and got to sit in with one of the producers, (let’s call them Matt). He showed me how some of their programs work and how to build a show for the station. (note this is a TV station so how a show would be built for a radio station would be a bit different) Matt even showed me how one of the programs the use (called iNews) and how they use it to build their shows manually (think of it as Adobe Premier Pro but more dated) it’s almost the same as when I used Adobe Premier Pro to edit and create videos for the campus newspaper and for classes but the way they have it set up is more user friendly but only to a certain degree. It’s still a complicated mess, but it’s an organized mess (I think). After showing me how that program works (I still might need a little more training on that program), I got to finish my orientation stuff (spoiler alert; it was completely boring) with two meetings and a LOT of videos on the workplace and how things ‘work’ around a TV station.  

Besides all that boring stuff, things around here are quiet and nothing crazy has occurred. Had a journalist start talking about doing a story about Roblox and I chimed in saying that I could help with that story since I’ve played on the platform of almost a decade at this point and I know a thing or two about the gaming world plus I love writing stories and I’ve missed doing it at this point since I’ve graduated. She was thrilled that someone on staff could help her with this story and I’m more than happy to give my insight/knowledge on this story.  

The staff here are just as friendly as my co-workers at my other job and have the exact same sense of humor as well. When one of the staff members was making a comment that the news director looked very similar to this actor in a show that I had not heard of before, he told me to look it up and he was right. Also, when he mentioned that the same guy looked almost identical to a villain from Pixar, I was laughing my head off at how much they looked alike. I chimed in and said the one the sits behind me looks almost identical to a character from Modern Family, the one started to chuckle, and I was just laughing since it was the only thing that came to mind since we were comparing ourselves to actors or characters from film medias. I also got to meet another member of the team; I think his name is Darren, but I’m not 100 percent sure. He was nice and seemed excited to meet me so there’s a plus. Also, the snow is blowing so crazy here that my car is completely covered in frozen accumulation after I got off work.

Back on track, my boss/co-worker said that I’ll be helping him with the noon show on Monday. Basically, I’ll be fed to the ‘TV news wolves’ but with a safety line. He’s shown me all that he thinks that I need to know and thinks I’m ready to help more.  I can’t wait to put my skills to the test on Monday! 

Until next week, same time, same blogging website.

Ad Astra Per Aspera.   

Broadcasting or Bust

As a recent graduate, it’s the duty of any recently-out-of-school student to get a job in their field (or at least something very close to it). For me, that journey comprised of many hour searching the internet, doing interviews and sending out more applications than humanly possible.

In December of last year, as I was searching for something that would give me a foot in the door to the career of my radio dreams; I was scrolling through ‘Handshake,’ a job searching website for college students, when I stumbled upon two job openings for the same station. One was for a multimedia journalist and the other was for a newscast producer position.

I was interested in both so with a resume and cover letter in hand for both positions, I submitted my applications and kept searching for another position to apply for.

A few days later, I receive an email from one of the news directors for the station and asked me if I would be interested in a quick phone call if I was interested in the position(s).

I didn’t read the email right away as it was currently the week before finals so I sent them a quick email saying I was still interested the position(s) and if the position(s) were still available, I would be more than happy to do a quick phone call.

I didn’t get a response right away, in fact, I didn’t hear back from that same news director till almost A MONTH LATER!?!

Anyways, it was early January 2026, when I got an emailed response back saying that if I was still interested in the position(s) that I could contact them via their phone number or email. So, I emailed them back setting up and date and time for the phone call.

The day arrived and the phone call lasted less than 10 minutes. They asked about my experience in my field, and I gave them a brief description about everything I know how to do and how long I’ve been doing it for. Before long, the news director asked if I would want a tour of the station before making my decision since I was a little hesitant to agree so quickly. I agreed and set up a time to visit the station that same week.

When the day arrived, I was both nervous and excited since this was my first time getting a tour of a local TV station. The building itself wasn’t much too much to look at with how dated the building was and it showed with the logo that was broken with pieces missing near the front door. The inside was a different story as it was more modern than I thought it would be given the state of the outside. The News Director greeted me and gave me a small tour of the building including the production room, the recording studio, their office and the main area where most of the staff work on their stories or other tasks that are given to them.

During the tour, I got to meet two other employees of the station and they seemed nice. I ended up have a very long chat with one of them as I was sitting in with them to get a feel of what exactly I would be doing. That conversation lasted over an hour and it was mainly us just either geeking out over our respective industries or just over topics that we both enjoy.

After over an hour of chatting, I was asked if I wanted a tour of where they record the news, weather and their specialty shows. So, as he showed me around the studio, giving me an idea of how thing work, including the lights, the sound booth and the cameras. As we neared the end of the tour, the big question was about to be asked, and believe me or not, I was still hesitant on accepting the position since I was waiting to hear back from another job that I did an interview with last week. So when the question was asked, I gave them an honest answer that I would have to think about it and that I would give them my answer by Monday.

After talking it over with my family, a few friends and receiving an email from the other job position that I applied for with they basically saying I didn’t get the job, I agreed to the newscaster position at the local TV station outside of my hometown.

Getting the job was a long two-month road but it was worth the wait (and the headache). I’ll keep you posted on how the job goes from here until then…

Ad Astra Per Aspera.

Super Bowl 60 was a let down

Aw yes February, the month of love, romance and the Super Bowl. Yep, it’s that time of the year again where two of the US best football (soccer for my non-American audience) teams compete for the title of Super Bowl Champion.

I’m going to be honest, I’m not a football fan, I don’t fully understand the game, but I can appreciate a good game between good teams, but this wasn’t one of them.

Both teams have a 14-3 record for this current 2025-2026 season and both teams have been playing very well up to this point but after the first quarter of game, it was clear how the game would play out.

From the beginning of the game, it was unanimously determined that the Seattle Seahawks would be the underlined winners of this year’s Super Bowl. They played well and gave it well over 100% while the Patriots were struggling to keep the ball while they watched the other team get touchdown after touchdown after touchdown.

The whole thing was brutal to watch with the Seattle Seahawks getting every opportunity to score while the Patriots struggled to get even one touchdown which they did manage to do in the fourth quarter. It was hard to watch at times since I wanted it to be a closer game than it ended up begin.

But that wasn’t the only thing that made me upset about this game. The half-time show performance with Bad Bunny was… okay to put it lightly. It wasn’t the songs nor was it that the singer is a Porto Rico Rapper (I have no problem with that), it was that the choreography that made me visibly gag. I basically just watch a rapper touch an area on live TV multiple times that shouldn’t ever been touched unless you’re in a private setting. It was hard to watch and even harder to get those images out of my head.

Besides the disappointing half-time show, the remainder of the game was almost one sided up till the fourth quarter where the patriots final scored two touchdowns and two field goals with a grand total of 13 points but it wasn’t enough of a comeback to make a difference with the final score being 29-13 with the Seattle Seahawks earning this year’s Super Bowl Championship trophy.

While this win didn’t come as a shock to me in the slightest, I was very disappointed in the game itself. As I stated before, the whole game was one-sided and it was more of a pity party for the Patriots than a game that was worth watching. In the end I am but one blogger that stands against an army of football fans and they will surely have my digital hid for this, but I just wanted to get my thoughts out on this. As someone once said,” With great power comes great humility and sportsmanship towards others.” I hope that both teams learned more about themselves and had fun doing so.

New Year, New Challenges

It’s the start of the new year. The winter weather has come to claim its victory over the nice weather we were getting for a few weeks, spoiling this mid-westerner for a while.

But with a new year comes new challenges and over coming obstacles that were once as short as a rock on the ground but are as a tall as a sandhill overlooking a snow covered prairie.

These last few weeks in the new year have been nothing but excitement and dread at the same time. I was able to secure a job in my field as a News Producer in my area with much difficulty as I was searching my corner of the world for a job that fit my field of study that was also close to home and not out of state. With failed interviews and no callbacks I was lucky enough to find something that was close by and with great pay/ benefits.

So, for those that don’t know what a new producer is, basically they make sure that the videos that you see on the news are edited, recorded and produced under the main news director that tells producers what should be put on air and what can’t be put on air. they also get to make their own news if they have time otherwise that goes to the reporters or multimedia journalist. (They are the ones that you see on the news.)

I know its a lot but that’s what I’ll be doing once I start the job. The reason I say ‘once I start,’ is because its been almost two weeks since I accepted the position and I haven’t gotten an official start date yet. I’ve been getting pretty concerned about if I’ll still get the job or not at this point since I haven’t heard much back from the station or the News Director of that particular station.

But this is only part of the post that I wanted to inform you my lovely viewers. You’re friendly internet blogging girl has been going through an existential inner crisis (kind of). I’ve been showered with lots of love and support over my recent graduation and getting a job in my field in less than a month of looking has been great and I’m more than grateful for what I’m going to be doing but a part of me thinks I didn’t fully earn it all (at least just yet).

Last year was a bumpy ride for me, in more ways than one. For every up or positive feed back I received from those around me, thoughts of ‘I’m not good enough’ or ‘I should have done better’ or ‘ Do I really deserve all of this kindness’ lingered especially when those around me kept pushing me or ‘used me’ for personal gain. While my mind is in a better place thanks to some close friends, it didn’t stop those thoughts from coming around every now and again.

But thanks to those same close friends, I’ve pushed past some of the stigma that’s been hurled at me and found ways to express those feeling in a healthy way.

The year has only begun so weather it goes up or down I’ll face it head on with those I trust and love along the way. So happy belated New Year and lets make 2026 the best year it can be!

Bands Around the World: Week 16

I’m back! Sorry for the wait but I wanted to take a break from writing on my blog due to getting burnt out but what better way to kick start this new year than with a Bands Around the World post! This week’s band is one that I’ve had on my list for a while and I’m so excited to share it with you all and it’s one that I personally grew up listening to. ‘Huey Lewis and the News’ is an American pop rock band that formed in the late 70’s in San Fransico, Cal. They were originally called ‘Huey Lewis and the American Express’ before they changed the name to what it is today.

In the late 70’s, Lewis had already been a part of two different bands (Clover and Thin Lizzy) but decided to form his own band in 1978 with Sean Hopper (a friend and fellow bandmate), Bill Gibson, Johnny Colla and Mario Cipollina and formed ‘Huey Lewis & The American Express.’

After playing a few gigs and releasing one single with record company Phonogram Records and under that particular name, they were joined by lead guitarist Chris Hayes and signed a deal with Chrysalis records in 1979. But the name of the band had to change since the record company didn’t want the credit card company (of the same name) for trademark infringement they changed it to what it’s known by today, ‘Huey Lewis & The News.’

In 1982, they released their first self-titled studio album and while it originally went largely unnoticed, it wasn’t until they released their second album. ‘Picture This,’ in 1982 that the band got some traction. That album became certified gold that same year and fueled the success of their hit single, ‘Do you believe in Love,’ from that same album and it stayed on the Billboard 200 album charts for 35 weeks (it peaked at #13).

When the band released their third album, ‘Sports,’ in 1983, it initially ross on the Billboard 200 album hit charts at number 6 but in 1984, the album hit the number one spot and went multi-platinum in 1985 thanks to frequent touring and several music videos playing on MTV. That same year, the band participated in the USA for Africa charity single with ‘We are the World,’ with Lewis taking a solo vocal and the song topped the music charts all over the world and became the fasters-selling American pop single in history period.

That same year, their song, “The Power of Love,’ was the #1 U.S hit thanks to them recording the song for the film, “Back to the Future” which became so popular that Lewis himself made a cameo in the film as a faculty member that rejected the main character’s band audition for the schools “Battle of the Bands” concert and as an inside joke, the piece the band plays during the film is the instrumental hard rock version of that same song and Lewis response in that same scene goes as followed,” Hold it fellas… I’m afraid you’re just too darn loud.”

That same year in 1984, Huey Lewis sued Ray Parker Jr. for the similarities between the songs ‘Ghostbusters’ and the bands earlier hit, ” I Want a new Drug.” They tried going to court over the similarities and stated that the song was damaging their song since “Ghostbusters” was so popular that the matter was settled out of court and it is one of the reasons as to why he got involved in the film, “Back to the Future.” Although this isn’t the first time this has happened to music artist in the 70s and 80s but that is a topic for another post. (One that I will write about in the future)

Huey Lewis and the News hold a place in many people’s hearts for it upbeat and rocking music and for inspiring a generation of pop/rock lovers including myself that grew up listening to their album, “Four Chords and Several Years Ago” which I still have and listen to. I would recommend this series to anyone that love pop/rock music and enjoys a band that will make you happy every time you listen in.

Bands Around the World: Week 15

It’s that time of the week again as we wrap up another week of amazing posts. This week’s band is one that I have been meaning to talk about for a while and its one that has made a very large impact on our society and our vernacular. Styx is an American rock band that has (in a way) rocked the entire music world with its melodic hard rock and powerful ballads. This band was comprised of Dennis DeYoung (lead singer), James “J.Y.” Young, John “J.C.” Curulewski and bothers Chuck (guitar) and John Panozzo (drums).

During a concert in DeYoung’s hometown, they were spotted by a talent scout and signed their first contact with Wooden Nickel Records. They decided that the band needed a new name and after several suggestions were given, they chose the name Styx because it was, according to DeYoung, was “the only one that none of us hated.”

They released four albums under Wooden Nickel Records including Styx (1972), Styx II (1973), The Serpent Is Rising (1973) and Man of Miracles (1974). These albums may have not gone mainstream but thanks to the song, “Best Think,” it did end up on the Billboard hot 100 for 6 weeks at number 82 and the powerful ballad, “Lady,” it earned some time on the radio and soon the band was mainstream thanks to the song ‘Lady’ which hit number 6 on the billboard hot 100. The song that album was on, “Styx II,” soon went gold not long after being out for two years.

Later on, they left Wooden Nickel Records and signed a contract with A&M records and produced more albums that got more radio recognition which helped them become more mainstream and get their name out more. When they released their 1979 album, ‘Cornerstone,’ it hit the number 1 spot and they soon became superstars in the rock world.

When they released the album ‘Kilroy was here,” the album sky-rocked on the billboard hot 100 with one song in particular that has become a part of the English vernacular. Mr. Roboto was written by Dennis DeYoung after the band’s tour of Japan a year prior and DeYoung noticed how much Japan loved robots and when it came to creating their next album they decided to make it a rock opera. The album is about a world where rock music is outlawed with the name coming from a famous WWII graffiti tag, “Kilroy was here.” It was also the last album that the original lineup of band members that worked on the album and it would be their last top 5 US hit for over 8 years.

As for the song, Mr. Roboto, the song took inspiration from Japan’s love of robots with the first set of lyrics being in Japanese. The song goes, ‘Dōmo arigatō misutā robotto, Mata au hi made, Dōmo arigatō misutā robotto, Himitsu o shirtai’, which translates to, thank you very much, Mr. Roboto, Until the day we meet again, thank you very much, Mr. Roboto, I want to know your secret. With these lyrics being so popular that both the US and Canada integrated those words into our vernacular.

The music video that was produced after the release of the song which aired on MTV, tells part of the story of Robert Orin Charles Kilroy (ROCK), which takes place in a futurist prison for rock and roll misfits by the anti-rock-and-roll group, Majority for Musical Morality or triple m for short. The robot in the music video was created by Stan Winston who is best known for his costume designs in The Terminator, Aliens, Iron Man and Jurassic Park just to name a few.

While the band isn’t as well-known as it used to be, it still holds a special place for may rock fans that grew up listening to them in the 70s and 80s especially me.

I always love the songs ‘Come Sail Away” and “Mr. Roboto” as those were always my go to songs when I would play their album on my stereo at home. I would recommend this band to anyone that loves rock and has a soft spot for songs that defined a generation for how these songs came to be a part of our vernacular.

A Year of Writing in Review

The end of the year is closing in and what better way to celebrate than to reflect on both the good and the bad that is my life in 2025 in writing of course.

Let’s start near the middle of the year (okay I know it’s a weird place to start but just trust the process) as I was excited to finish my last semester of college and get a job that reflects my degree. A lot happened in those five months including how I write and produce content for any form of audiences (including this blog).

Writing has almost always come easy to me, but it depends on the subject at hand. If it’s a topic that I enjoy, my ‘entries’ will be much longer than ones where the topic isn’t something that I want to write nor talk about. It also depends on where I write, if I’m at home, my writing tends to be more of what I want it to be rather than if I’m doing it in a public space or at school since my peers or my teachers would either push me to write something else entirely or it needed to be (even if I thought what I had was better than what they were ‘suggesting). While I’ve been writing for a long time it was never easy to show off my writings to others as I feared how others would judge me for my writings. But in the last few months, I’ve been able to push past that, get out of my comfort zone and write articles, blog post and more.

I’ve been able to tell some stories that I might not have done, including my most recent post about my blue Christmas(es), my changes I’ve gone through, my misadventure at Epcot and my love for Pokémon. So, if not for my friends and classmate’s support I don’t think my writing would have improved as much as it has. Having their support gave me the courage to do things that were out of my comfort zone and now I’ve become not just a better writer but a better person as well.

This blog is the first time I have put my work out for the public to see (not including my time working for the school newspaper). It’s been a major learning experience for me especially since my classmates have been doing the same thing this year with their own blogs. We’ve all learned from each other and have become better writers because of our own and shared experiences that we’ve been sharing with each other.

If I had to pick someone that I’ve gained a lot of my inspiration from for (a particular series of mine) would me my friend/classmate, Mario.

Mario has inspired me to be a better writer and I’ve improved my writing skills a lot in the last few months thanks to him.

He has written some great posts about multiple topics and one of his first post gave me the idea for my continuing Bands around the world series called ‘Food around the states’. When I was reading that very short post, I thought, ‘what if I took this idea but did it with music bands?’ I worked shopped the idea with my friends and the series was born.

It’s been one of my favorite series to write and it’s given my classmates (and myself) something to look forward to each week especially since I get to show off some of the bands that I grew up listening to.

I’ve learned a lot over the last few months and I wouldn’t change a thing. After this week, I’m going to be putting the digital pen down for a while to get my ideas strait, but I will be back to write more as I’ve some to enjoying putting my thoughts on the internet. Thanks for everything and thanks to my classmates and my friend Mario for making me a better writer and a better person.

Sayonara, until we meet again.

Pokémania

I’m going to be blunt; I’m a Pokémon fan. It may sound surprising, but I’ve been a huge fan of Pokémon since 2016 when I bought my first pack of XY Evolutions at Target.

I had heard of Pokémon prior to buying my first pack as my cousin was a Pokémon fan growing up and I would play the game with them when they came over once in a blue moon, but I was terrible at the game and still am. We still talk about Pokémon once in a while even though they fazed out of the card game. I wasn’t a full fan of the franchise at that point but once I hit high school, I gave the series a shot.

I didn’t pull anything crazy at the time, but I had so much fun pulling cards from a pack that I ended up getting another pack a few days later and pulled my first full art card, a Dragonite Ex Ultra Rare. At the time, I had no idea of the crazy pulls one could get in a pack of Pokémon cards (nor how much these cards were selling for), but I didn’t care as long as the cards were cool and the art on the regular cards are just as beautiful as the full arts (in my opinion). (I actually own these cards that I’m showing off)

Recently, I haven’t been able to get my hands on the cards since the price of the cards (along with scalpers) have made it harder to get even one booster pack, but I still have the new game to fall back on. The most recent set I’ve been able to get was an elite trainer box for the (was) new card set, Mega evolution and a Japanese booster box of that same set.

I have over 400 cards (and counting) and while I love the cards, I have a soft spot for the games that have come out in the 30 years that Pokémon had been around. I’ve played all of Hoenn, Kalos (three times), Paldea, Kanto, Alola, parts of Unova, Johto, Sinnoh, I have yet to play Galar (but it’s on my list). but this isn’t where my love for Pokémon started.

I first started with the anime with season 1 episode 1 “Pokémon – I Choose You” just to get a feel for the show and although it’s dated, it was a great watch over all and gave me a good idea of what the anime was about. I ended up binging the entire series but stopped around Alola (gen 7) since I wasn’t enjoying the new art style. But I did end up watching that batch of seasons and it was amazing with how they handled the training arcs and the overarching story.

After getting to watch a good chunk of the anime, I played and go my hands on my first Pokémon games, Leafgreen, Ruby and Saphire. I enjoyed playing Leafgreen with my Bulbasaur in Kanto but playing Hoenn with my Torchic (my favorite Pokémon), catching my very powerful bug type, Dustox, was so much fun that I got the updated versions of the games Alpha Saphire and Omega Ruby for the 3DS.

This caused me to play other Pokémon titles including the mystery dungeon series, some fan games and other main line games and most recently my first run of Johto playing Heartgold.

Pokémon has changed me and was there for me when I needed a game where I could just wander around, catch cute and powerful creatures and have an overall good time. I’ve met so many people that love the franchise just as much as I do (including my best friends). I’m glad I gave it a shot when I did, and it has definitely made a huge difference in my life. Thanks, Pokémon for all the amazing memories.

Bands Around the World: Week 14

It’s that time of the week again this week’s band has been one that I’ve gotten the chance to see live a few summers ago. 38 Special is an American rock band that’s been around since the early 70s with multiple members that have been added to their legendary roster including Lynyrd Skynyrd who is the co-founder of the band. For the first several years, the band consisted of Don Barnes (guitar, mandolin, keyboards, harmonica) Donnie Van Zant (lead vocals, guitar), Steve Brookins (drums), Jeff Carlisi (guitar), Jack Grondin (drums) and Ken Lyons (bass guitar).

They released their self-titled debut album in 1977 which gained a lot of attention in the rock and roll space. After the release of that album, the band did go through some member changes, but it only made things better in the end. Not long after the success of their first album, they released their second studio album, ‘Special Delivery’ in 1978. But the bands didn’t fully become rock legends till they released their fourth studio album, ‘Wild-Eyed Southern Boys’ in 1981 with includes some of the bands most well-known songs including, ‘Hold on Loosely,” “Wide-Eyed Southern Boys” and more. This particular album is one of four albums that became certified Platinum by the RIAA including ‘Special Forces (1982),’ ‘Tour de Force (1983),” and ‘Strength in Numbers (1986).” They also have six certified gold albums going all the way back to their fourth studio album in 1981.

They still tour to this day and only one original member is still a part of the band since most have either passed on or have left the band to pursue other music careers.

I grew up listening to this band along with the other bands that I have mentioned on this series. It was one that I would listen to on repeat along with Huey Lewis and the News and it drove my mom nuts every time I picked either one of them to listen to on long car rides. This band will always have a ‘special’ place in my rock n roll heart.

I would recommend this band to anyone that loves rock n’roll and enjoys listening to a band that has over 50 years of memorable music that will give you noting but a good time.