Melanie Vammen, Karen Basset and Sheri Kaplan Weinstein join us for a talk about their band, The Pandoras. They share their experiences as a young Southern Californian band coming of age in the 80s music scene and keep the memories of Paula Pierce and Kim Shattuck alive. These women are still the best of friends and it certainly shows in this episode. We made a Spotify playlist of some of our favorites. A free Audible book available to you courtesy of What Difference Does It Make Get three FREE ...
Jul 10, 2020•38 min•Season 6Ep. 15
Sure he's directed videos for Kylie Minogue and Bon Jovi (just don't tell Thom Yorke) but Nick Egan takes a punk rock approach to his videos. This leads to some clashes (pun intended) with Oasis and memorably Alanis Morissette; Nick dives deep into what went down which makes for a great listen. Get three FREE months of Amazon Music courtesy of your 80s music aficionados at What Difference Does It Make Get a free audiobook compliments of What Difference Does It Make. Learn more about your ad choi...
Jul 03, 2020•42 min•Season 6Ep. 14
Self-proclaimed "creative vandal" Nick Egan has created some of the most iconic 80s album artwork from The Clash and Bow Wow Wow to INXS and Duran Duran. In part one of our two part interview, we discuss how Nick got his start, all the way to working with Bob Dylan for his Biograph retrospective. Great stories are told and Nick made us this amazing Spotify playlist.Enjoy! Get three FREE months of Amazon Music courtesy of your 80s music aficionados at What Difference Does It Make Learn more about...
Jun 26, 2020•53 min•Season 6Ep. 13
We talk with director Alison Ellwood to discuss her latest documentary centered around the Laurel Canyon music scene of the 60s and 70s. Alison provides some great insight into what it takes to bring a documentary such as this to life. It's a really great film that is now available to view on the EPIX channel Get three FREE months of Amazon Music courtesy of your 80s music aficionados at What Difference Does It Make Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 19, 2020•49 min•Season 6Ep. 12
Our conversation with Kathy Valentine continues as she looks to the future as a Mother, Musician and Go-Go. We start off talking about the music she composed for her book "All I Ever Wanted", which leads to family life and the future of the Go-Gos. If you want to hear the Audible book for free use this link Get three FREE months of Amazon Music courtesy of your 80s music aficionados at What Difference Does It Make Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 12, 2020•51 min•Season 6Ep. 11
Anyone that has listened to our podcast for even a short period of time would probably recognize that we are huge fans of 80s music icons: The Go-Gos. You can imagine how much of a thrill it is to talk to Kathy Valentine, bassist of The Go-Gos. Kathy co-wrote "Can't Stop The World" and "Vacation", two songs that are easily in our top ten Go-Go favorites. Kathy's memoir is "All I Ever Wanted". It covers her childhood up to the early 90s and we try to cover as much as we can in our two-part interv...
Jun 05, 2020•49 min•Season 6Ep. 10
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Doug Clifford joins us at What Difference Does It Make. Our discussion starts with the Golliwogs, the band that eventually morphed into Creedence Clearwater Revival and leads into Doug's solo album, Magic Window, an album created from recently located tracks and recorded back in 1985. Get three FREE months of Amazon Music courtesy of your 80s music aficionados at What Difference Does It Make Sign up for our monthly newsletter Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...
May 29, 2020•36 min•Season 6Ep. 9
It's another great talk on What Difference Does It Make as Glen Sobel tells us the secret to getting into Alice Cooper's Band, his experience on a major label with Beautiful Creatures and we go way back to Glen's high school days to hear how he won the talent show with his percussive unit Offbeat. We highly suggest you check out Glen Sobel's Spotify Influence playlist Get three FREE months of Amazon Music courtesy of your 80s music aficionados at What Difference Does It Make Check out past episo...
May 22, 2020•37 min•Season 6Ep. 8
Glen Sobel, drummer extraordinaire for Alice Cooper and Hollywood Vampires tells us about his start in the business and the prep that needs to be done to make a show seamless. We had some much fun talking with Glen, so enjoy part one of this two part journey with one of the finest rock drummers working today. Follow our podcast Get three FREE months of Amazon Music courtesy of your 80s music aficionados at What Difference Does It Make Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoice...
May 15, 2020•37 min•Season 6Ep. 7
We got the opportunity to talk with Producer Steven Wolfe and Director Rachel Lee Goldenberg for the just released re-imagining of the 80s film, Valley Girl. This jukebox musical version is set in the present and Alicia Silverstone plays the grown up character of Julie originally played by Deborah Foreman. Her daughter is Jessica Rothe and her Randy, originally played by Nicolas Cage, is now played by Josh Whitehouse. Get three FREE months of Amazon Music courtesy of your 80s music aficionados a...
May 08, 2020•47 min•Season 6Ep. 6
Our talk continues as Leslie Kogan Gold tells us all the exciting ideas she has to keep Andrew Gold's music fresh and exciting. Besides the new album "Something New" out now via Omnivore Recordings, Leslie discusses the possibility collaborations, a Broadway musical and of course the viral sensation that is Spooky, Scary Skeletons. We also try to figure out which Golden Girl would be Andrew's favorite. Thanks to Leslie and Omnivore Recordings for giving us permission to play Andrew's amazing mus...
May 01, 2020•36 min•Season 6Ep. 5
To celebrate the release of "Something New: Unreleased Gold" by Andrew Gold, we got the opportunity to talk with Leslie Kogan Gold. It was a real treat to learn all about this amazing musician Sure, he had hits with "Lonely Boy" and "Thank You for Being A Friend" but he also was able to steer Linda Ronstadt's musical direction from Country/Folk to Rock.. He has composed music with 10CC, Leo Sayer, Juice Newton, Nicolette Larson and the list goes on and on.. Thanks to Leslie and Omnivore Recordin...
Apr 24, 2020•35 min•Season 6Ep. 4
We talk to Craig Rosen, the man literally wrote the book on Number One Albums and R.E.M. We dig into Craig's origin story as a Valley Boy Hebrew School rebel cruising around in his Karmann Ghia. Craig not only loved The Clash and The Buzzcocks, but wanted to write about them. Hear how he got to do this and all his exploits on the What Difference Does It Make Podcast. A free audible book is available to you. Thanks for listening. Get three FREE months of Amazon Music courtesy of your 80s music af...
Apr 17, 2020•53 min•Season 6Ep. 3
If you've listened to our show at all you know that Holly and Dave ask each other music trivia questions at the end of each episode. JC Douglas from C100 in Nova Scotia wanted to be a part of the fun, so we drilled him on some questions. Turns out, each question was just another excuse to go into more stories about the artists he has met...just don't ask him about Bryan Adams. We also learned how to tell the difference between an accent from Nova Scotia and one from Maine. Get three FREE months ...
Apr 10, 2020•27 min•Season 6Ep. 2
We are thrilled to get the opportunity to talk to Nova Scotia radio legend, JC Douglas. We talk about all things radio including first jobs, favorite Canadian bands and a few 80s hijinks involving David Letterman and another with Tom Snyder. Of course we talk music and apparently JC is not afraid to bust out a tune or two. . JC made a Spotify playlist for us. It contains at least 35% Canadian content. It's all great fun. Enjoy! Sign up for our monthly newsletter on our website Get three FREE mon...
Apr 03, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Season 6Ep. 1
Please, please tell me now! What was the number 1 song on the World Famous KROQ's, Roq of the 80s 1983 countdown? Well you'll just have to listen to the podcast because I think it is something you should know, but I'll say no more. In this episode we count down the top ten songs as determined by Los Angeles radio station KROQ from 1983. We talk about two different dances, "Safety" and "Let's" and the crazy dance attached to Tears For Fears "Mad World" video. We also talk creepy songs from "Every...
Mar 27, 2020•57 min•Season 5Ep. 13
Well in this time of social distancing we heed the words of David Bowie, "I don't want to go out. I want to say in. And get things done". We do our best by consuming bagels and talking about haircuts, the German language and Weird Al. It's Madness from these two Talking Heads! Yes, both these bands are also on this ten song chunk of songs played in 1983 on KROQ Roq of the 80s. May I suggest you follow along on our Spotify playlist which can be found on our What Difference Does It Make website. S...
Mar 20, 2020•54 min•Season 5Ep. 12
Did you see the video? Holly continually swats away the question. Okay maybe she didn't see the videos, but she knows the songs. We discuss the most popular songs played on 106.7 KROQ in the year 1983. This episode we discuss songs 30 to 21 on the countdown. We discover some high school wordplay from The English Beat's "Save It For Later", the awkward publicity photos Tears for Fears seem to embrace and recognize the concern of the parents in the song "Institutionalized". Check out the Spotify p...
Mar 13, 2020•52 min•Season 5Ep. 11
This week's episode feels just like the video for "The One Thing by INXS as we devour Randy's donuts and try to figure out how to pronounce the dessert known as blancmange. In between donuts, there's talk of South Park's Randy Marsh, the proliferation of lingerie wearing models and Paul Anka. Listen up as we carefully dissect songs 40 to 31 from the KROQ Roq of the 80s playlist of 1983. To learn more about all our shenanigans sign up on our website Get three FREE months of Amazon Music courtesy ...
Mar 06, 2020•49 min•Season 5Ep. 10
This episode includes talk of cover songs, alcohol and break-ups. No we have not switched formats to country music but each song we discuss this week seems to be centered around those topics. It's a fun talk and Holly and I are proud to be associated with it. Alan Smithee will not be a part of this podcast, although he is discussed. Sign up for our email list and listen to our Spotify playlist on our What Difference Does It Make website. Get three FREE months of Amazon Music courtesy of your 80s...
Feb 28, 2020•51 min•Season 5Ep. 9
Counting down the hits from 1983 as played on radio station KROQ in Los Angeles entails more rabbits holes to go down. We end up analyzing the number one dance songs from 1983. This segues into stalking rock stars and bands that we thought were going to be arena rocks stars (Big Country) and songs we thought should have been ranked way higher (Blue Monday). Follow along on our What Difference Does It Make Spotify playlist. Sign up on our new website to start getting updates on everything on the ...
Feb 21, 2020•51 min•Season 5Ep. 8
This episode is dominated by Austrian superstar, Falco. We try to talk German, Alles klar? Der Kommissar and fail miserably. Falco talk naturally leads to After The Fire and Laura Branigan. Our favorite bands from Athens are also on this list and then there's Pat Wilson and Jimmy The Hoover?!? As Roman Holiday might say "Don't Try To Stop it!" We got a great ep from the year 1983 based on the ROQ of the 80s music charts from the World Famous KROQ. Follow along on our What Difference Does It Make...
Jan 31, 2020•51 min•Season 5Ep. 7
This episode we debate the significance of the age seventeen and the importance of the marimba. We wonder if Peter Garrett is 8 feet tall (he's actually 6 foot 4) and if "Doot Doot" is the ultimate make out song (It is). Yes, it's another deep dive in which we count down the top 106.7 songs in 1983 from the World Famous KROQ ROQ of the 80s. This episode features songs 80 to 71. Follow along on our What Difference Does It Make Podcast Spotify playlist. And while your at it, get a free Audible boo...
Jan 24, 2020•51 min•Season 5Ep. 6
This week we talk about songs we totally love like Aztec Camera and songs we that left us oblivious. Plus more parenthesis talk! However, instead of being positive like (Keep Feeling) and (Go For It!), the directions are negative (Don't Do It) and wistful (If I Had A Photograph Of You). And we get to talk about 2020 being the year of Sparks. Follow along on our What Difference Does It Make Podcast Spotify Playlist. Get three FREE months of Amazon Music courtesy of your 80s music aficionados at W...
Jan 17, 2020•44 min•Season 5Ep. 5
From haircuts (A Flock of Seagulls vs. Kajagoogoo) to TV and Film actors (Spandau Ballet) to literally parenthesis telling you to (Go For it!) and (Keep Feeling) we discuss it all. We're talking about the top songs from the World Famous KROQ, Roq of the 80s in Los Angeles. These are the most played songs from numbers 100 to 91 in the year 1983. Follow along on our What Difference Does It Make Podcast Spotify playlist. Get three FREE months of Amazon Music courtesy of your 80s music aficionados a...
Jan 10, 2020•50 min•Season 5Ep. 4
We start off our KROQ countdown of 1983 by talking about mullets and the Love Boat. Don't worry it all makes sense. There are some lost classics contained at the bottom of this list including a B-Side from A Flock of Seagulls and one from Australian band Machinations. Get three FREE months of Amazon Music courtesy of your 80s music aficionados at What Difference Does It Make Get a free audiobook courtesy of What Difference Does It Make Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoic...
Jan 03, 2020•39 min•Season 5Ep. 3
The "olds" try not to be poseurs and stay woke in this Part 2 special looking back at Pop Culture of 1983. We are primed and ready as continue to talk about fashion and television and for some reason we talk about promise rings and Peanut Butter & Chocolate Pebbles. Get three FREE months of Amazon Music courtesy of your 80s music aficionados at What Difference Does It Make Listen to our What Difference Does It make Spotify playlist to hear the songs discussed. Learn more about your ad choice...
Nov 08, 2019•30 min•Season 5Ep. 2
We kick off a new season of What Difference Does It Make by diving into the year 1983. Before we do our deep dive into the music we go down the rabbit hole (as we mention that phrase too many time to mention) and talk movies and fashion. Actually, Dave talks movies and Holly talks fashion. It was a good year for pop culture but I'm betting Holly will not like this 1983 movie soundtrack playlist featuring Frank Stallone, Barbra Streisand and Tangerine Dream. The one song she would like "Spring Br...
Nov 01, 2019•36 min•Season 5Ep. 1
Holly and Dave continue their lively talk with Dan McGrath, composer of The Strictly Come Dancing series in the UK and self-proclaimed 80s music nerd. Dan talks about how he was fortunate enough to witness an early performance of Depeche Mode at his school, we learn when it's the best time to interview Trevor Horn, we allow Dan to nerd up a little bit about his love of Roland and Moog Source Keyboards and we also learn a few new British phrases. Dan was not only kind enough to share his time wit...
Oct 18, 2019•42 min•Season 4Ep. 13
The week we talk to Dan McGrath, composer of The Strictly Come Dancing series in the UK and self-proclaimed 80s music nerd. Dan talks about his love of Depeche Mode, Gary Numan and Yazoo and shares a few encounters he's had with Annie Lennox and his ultimate favorite, David Bowie. You can listen to a few of Dan's favorite songs on our What Difference Does It Make Podcast playlist. Get three FREE months of Amazon Music courtesy of your 80s music aficionados at What Difference Does It Make Learn m...
Oct 11, 2019•35 min•Season 4Ep. 12
