Some Time With...Gary Griffin (Part 1)

Hey, Fanorrito's welcome back to how Rude Tannerito's Our guest today is a delightful surprise. We have been talking about the Rippers and the Mullets a lot on this podcast, and today you get to meet one of the most influential rippers. He is a keyboardist and a vocalist who was not only a member of Jesse and the Rippers, but also performed with the Beach Boys. He has been a part of Full House ever since the beginning season one, episode two, and we are so thrilled that he has

Whoo Hi Gary, look at us old.

Forever forever.

Oh God, so good to see you. Oh my goodness. We're so excited to have one of the Rippers on the show. And you know, we're going back and watching this from the beginning, and we didn't watch it really like as kids, we didn't watch the show. We were like, glad we did it, it's over, you know, right, and I did not. We both were talking about like we didn't realize how integral the Rippers were to the first

Pictures of that episode, which I should send to please. Yes, Oh yes, Unfortunately miss miss Kimmy Gibler is not in the picture.

There's plenty of Kimmy to come. Yeah. Now, I remember I had like purple spray painted hair in the front. Yeah, it's probably like before they made like hair spray paint. It was probably just actual spray paint in the eighties, lots of toxic chemicals. Yeah. Yeah, they were like, nah, you'll be fine, just don't breathe in you know. I guess we should tell Gary that we we just kind

They're on their phones playing games, that's what they're doing.

They're ignoring all of us. They're yeah, yeah, yeah, they're ignoring us, and they're just like hoping. They're hoping for the best, and we don't get threw it up, Sweeten.

So Andrea, I haven't seen even you know, it's been like thirty years.

Since far well, since it's ended. Yeah, since it ended. That's wild. I know, it's so fun.

It's so fun getting to go back and watch all of the rippers and their mullets, Like there's so many mullets in the thirty years.

That puts me in my mid forties, I believe.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you were obviously, I mean you were about DJ Kimmi's age. You're a very tall child star. He had a growth spurt early. It was yeah, yeah, you had a fake ID. You were playing with the Rippers. You were like, nobody knows I'm ten. Yeah, no, it's fine.

The thing I didn't realize about those episodes. I didn't know it at the time, but I had a mullet and I didn't even.

The red mullets. Yeah yeah you did.

Later people saying you did you had a mullet. You know, I did not.

You know, they were sneaky, they were sneaky, they were they were just sort of omnipresent. You didn't even like you had a mullen. You didn't even know it. You wouldn't even like they were. They were just sneak up on you. And then only in hindsight do you realize, Oh my god, I was a victim.

Of a mullet. There's no problem with that now, it's no.

Thank goodness, thank goodness. We were so glad when when John finally cut his hair in season two or like, blessed, thank you, mullet.

You look in the encyclopedia on your mullet, it says see also stamos commet.

Yeah, absolutely true. It's true. It's not it's more than a mullet. It's just a stamele.

But it was cool.

It was more than a mullet, and all.

The guys that's what we aspired to. We thought, God, if I had hair like stainless meant right, this whole thing would be so easy. That would be styling.

But seeing you like and like realizing how much the rippers were involved and on set and with us, like, how did how did the rippers come to be? What is the origin story of If we don't know, if we don't, this actually too Yeah.

Be tired, I'll tell you nippity all right. Prior to Full House, John was on General Hospital, of course, and he his character Blacky Parrish. They wrote him a storyline where he had a rock and roll band, Blackie in the Riff Raft, and I had just met John just prior to that. He was, Oh, the backstory is kind of cool. He was a teenager and he would come to see our band at not very fair yes, and he was an Aspire actor and he said, I've got an audition this week for General Hospital. And we were

Of wow intimidation.

And page see I go.

Oh my god. Yeah. Soap operas are super hard too, because it's like, hey, here you arrive at this time in the morning. Here's ten pages. Learn them now see see you in an hour.

Like I had no idea what I was doing, but I didn't know enough to not say anything like what do you guys? Are you guys nuts? Why are you speaking? I don't know what I just said. Well, I'll just give it a try and let's see how it works out. So I would have, you know, scenes with John long extended scenes, but I was just like the what do

And right right right, let me tell you all the reasons why we're having this conversation.

That's never like, hey, Blackie, let me tell you how I feel about.

Things, for sure. But you know, they almost made your character die and then come back to life with an evil twin, so it's it could have.

You know, well, you remember Blackie John's character, he caused the death of his girlfriend. Oh, that's how they wrote him out of the show because he had to go off to prison because I didn't know that.

I see, I didn't watch General Hospital. My parents were g H fans, but I don't know this backstory. And I did not know that you were a General Hospital star.

You were about you're about one at the time.

Yeah, and I was on Days of Our Lives, so I was on a competing, competing show.

Yeah, I didn't watch General She also has a soap background. I feel so left out.

So we're written out of the show finally because Blackie goes off to prison and we were and we you know, just that storyline.

Ended at least of your riff raft duties.

I was relieved Riff. So then Full House comes along and this character, uncle Jesse's going to have a band. So John comes back to me. He said, well, we're gonna have a band again. Jesse and the Rippers want to do that one. So yeah, I want to do that. Of course, I go from a being, you know, a number one daytime TV General Hospital, number one daytime showing to Full House, which turned out to be extremely successful too, but who knew at the time, right, So that's how

Wo oh my god. I didn't realize that either. I mean, I knew you were on a bunch, but like I.

Said, eight seasons, about four or four to five per season, which was like, I was down there a lot because John and I worked on a lot of music scenons, so way more than that to work on stuff. But being on the shows on like thirty something episodes, that's and.

They gave you lines on our show too, like in season one in the in the cabin and then up Inake Tahoe or whatever, when Jesse goes to get away from the kids, you have lines there.

Oh I had lines.

I wouldn't know that you aren't or it was all that experience on General Hospital.

My biggest regret was I never got to do a scene with Andrea.

I know this is a tragedy. I hear that there's a there's rumor that this particular ripper could be actually related to the Gibler.

Just tell me that's what that's what we decided. We decided Uncle.

Gary Gibbler is the relation here?

Yeah, it tracks.

So proud of that. But I did. I don't know if Maddie got the picture, but I did send a picture of when we did Fuller House. Yeah, Rumber Jody, but we you we did a scene with the rippers. You guys were going to buy back the Smash Club or that's.

Right, the Smash Club had been turned into a laundromat.

So the rippers are in the launch have to be there.

All of them, right, like they've never left the Smash Club. There, they're trapped forever in those walls.

And you say to me, what are you guys doing here? And I say something, guy, Well, it's Friday night. We're doing our laundry for the last twenty years.

Yeah, yeah, to night. It's not a club anymore. I guess we do the loan right now.

I thought that was a great So.

How did you put how did you put these particular rippers together? How did John who put them together? How'd you find them? Were they friends?

You know? There have there have been so many rippers through the years, there have been a.

Lot of you know, sure there have been a there's been some. I've definitely noticed some cycle through, but I also know there's like, you know, two or three that have been pretty consistent, right.

Oh. Yeah, And Roger Lodge was in there a lot, and uh my buddy Tony Shooto from Baltimore, and Mark Vogel was one who was in. But we were going through it the other day because Dave is going to do a podcast also.

Yeah, yeah, he's doing. He's doing as he came on as a guest to ours, and then we're gonna gonna go do his as well.

He wants to try try to assemble as many rippers as he can. Quite a challenge because everybody's everywhere else these days. Ray Yeah, he's in Pakistan.

Believe I know, he's doing some really incredible work over there.

Yeah, there's quite a struggle keeping them safe. I do. He'll send me every couple of weeks, He'll send me, Hey, can you do a piano? Can you do a piano part on this song I'm working on? So yeah, yeah, I go down to my basement where I have a studio, work for an hour, push a button. And it's in Pakistan.

Amazing. Yeah, it's really cool. He is working on bringing music education to young people in Pakistan and was in Afghanistan, but obviously they've now had to across the border into Pakistan after the Taliban because he also there's the school I think teaches a lot of young women music, which is forbidden obviously under the talban. So they had to go to Pakistan and do some stuff. But it's really the miraculous love kids is Lanny's.

Yeah, they're really great. The girls can play guitar quite well.

Yeah, yeah they done. They released videos they're like of these young women singing and like it's really incredible.

Yeah.

Do you remember a ripper?

Okay, this has a been a We've talked about this a lot.

This is gonna seem really weird.

There's a one particular ripper in a recent episode we watched Who's got a rat tail that he has a ponytail, the bullet's and a ponytail, but then he has a rat tail that kind of comes around his neck. I don't know if you remember this ripper.

Yeah, it was a look if you thought if you thought your surprise mullet was one thing, let me tell you the rat tail just elevated the celebrated rat tail with some beads at the end of it.

I'm sure you remember Randall Curia.

Yeah, Randell, there were a bunch of Yeah. Landy actually taught me to play guitar for an for our episode of of As We Were Girl Talk. One of the rippers taught me to play guitar, and then John would practice remember my.

Home studio to pre record.

Yeah, that's right.

And I was young and with one of the other girls, Marla. Marla and you were young, and I thought, oh, this is going to be torture. These girls would be so this is gonna take forever. It took about this long if you're just singing this song, so good, thank you.

That was the first time I ever recorded music. That was the first time I was ever in like a music studio. That was the first time i'd ever sung in front of a microphone. Yeah, well that's not true. I had sung in front of microphones and like you know, talent shows and pageants. What it but like as far as to be recorded by a professional musician with the headphones, Like I felt so cool?

Well you were, yeah, you both you both were exceptional talents as little tikes. I mean I was. I didn't watch about acting or anything, but I'll watch you guys do it. I thought, God, these kids are good. Everything that comes out of their mouth sounds like it's being processed. Right then, you know, there's no prep, there's no mulling over the lines. Okay, I got a line coming up here, It comes here, it comes here, it comes here. Okay. Do you know? You had every natural as could be?

Thank thank you.

That's why I've become such the great actor that I am today.

Well, you know it's with the award season approaching, I just really want you to remember carry when you're up on that stage, who taught you what?

You know?

We'll wait for our shout out.

People the names again, Angela and what.

Right? So how I would love to know Gary, how you got into music yourself? Like how did how did you become a musician. I love hearing the backstory of this and.

My On my fifth birthday five, my aunt friend said, I'm going to offer you for your birthday one year's with a piano lessons and I was like this excited about it. I don't get a new toy or anything. Analysis Okay, So I said, okay, let me think about it it. So sometime in the next day I consulted my older brother who's five years older, who knew in my mind, who knew everything. You know. John said, yeah, you should do that. You should learn to play the piano.

So actually, I mean not a bad life though, you know that's right, Other than your illustrious soap career.

Called me back at General Hospital. All that may come home.

They never you know, it's once you're in. Once you're in, they never let you go. Gary, don't be modest.

You've performed with the Beach Boys, which is so incredible. How did you meet them?

What to take us through?

That's a good one. That's a good one. I was just I was a big fan all through my childhood, a big fan of Beach Boys, and I would go to their shows anytime they came to the area. I grew up in Cincinnati, which is kind of where I am now, but anytime they would come to the area, I would go to their shows and be one of those you know kids hanging back. Hey, I know all your songs. I should be in your band. You know, you should let me be in your band. I know

He's a great Mike Love and Bresion by the way, perfect, thank you.

We need a keyboard player in the van if you think you'd be interested in doing that. Wow. So that's how it started. That's incredible persistent and they called me and they harm me and I in and out of their world since nineteen seventy seven. Wow. Wow, the last bunch of years, I've been playing with Brian Wilson, touring with him, right, so great, so so great. But he's he's pretty much retired now. He's kind of yeah, unable to get out there. He's you know, eighty yeah, eighty two in June.

I remember, I think when Brian was on the episode of The Beach Boys. Wasn't that kind of the first time in a while that he had done anything?

It was that era. Yeah, he had been brought back, he had been sort of so, he'd lost some weight, he was in better physical shape able to do something like that.

Yeah, And I think because he'd kind of stepped away from the band for a while and then kind of came back, right, So it was, you.

Know, he was in and out. Yeah, his life the fact that he's still going, he's still doing he's still doing well is just a yeah Brothers, which is yeah, so's He's quite a guy.

Such a musical legend though. And you know, Andrey and I were talking about it the other day, how like when we were kids, we were like, oh, cool the Beach Boys and yeah, you know, and like going going on stage at the coliseum with them or whatever, and like, we just watched that episode of US at the Coliseum when the Beach Boys first.

Show it too. I just watched at the guys.

It was so like I watching it back and again, I haven't watched it in thirty some odd years. I haven't watched that. I like, a little fool in my office was like bah bah, like just it was so full of joy. It was so fun, Like the crowd in that episode was, you know, just loving it. The band was having fun, all of us as cast we like. It just was such a great memory and it was something I hadn't watched in such a long time.

And I was like, wow, I remember I was down there that day. I wasn't in the scene, but I was down there hanging out with you all cool and cracks me up. I watched that the other day too, and this scene, you know, they they're panning across the stage while you're singing rob Ran and as they get to one of you guys, they kind of crank up your microphone a little bit like you're here in the band here and everybody got.

Right.

Definitely hear Jody's voice distinctly.

Oh yeah, I man I project. Do you remember the last time he came out to the studio to record just you know, five, six, seven years ago.

Yeah, I came out to record something for Dave. That's right. The h was it legend of Jimmy Booger in.

Your character's name?

Remember, no, what was my I don't remember my character's name.

Look it up because I know it was Emily. It was Jimmy Booger was a little is This is Dave Coulier.

This is right. Dave did that whole series about this little booger that had a whole life and it was it.

Yeah. Yeah, and his girlfriend's was Emily, not Asaki.

That's right. Emily's not a Saki. Emily's not a Saki, which, by the way, like that seems like a You're like, that's so stupid. That's a ridiculous idea about a booger. What I think it's hilarious. But my kids were fascinated with a show from South Korea called Larva that was a cartoon about these two like trash dwelling worms that had no dialogue. It was all like physical comedy, sort of looney tune stuff, but like all bathroom human just

And you did great on sang You remember that?

Oh that's right, there was songs. Do you remember that?

But David and I did four or five comedy albums, you know, since Full House. We did some Weaver Beaver stuff, remember that character, his right, just a whole bunch with all his voices. And as we were making these records, we're laughing so much, laughing our butts off, just and thinking this is we're creating the greatest comedy record. People are gonna love this. We finished it and played it for the general masses. And that's pretty good. Now what

Yeah, when Dave gets going, it's amazing. So but I love that you, like, I mean, you've became friends with Dave and like started recording stuff with him from doing the show, and you know it was you just sort of became a part of you. I mean, obviously you and John have been friends since.

You know, still are we still for the show Once every week or two. We have a group of us, group of or all buddies that has a Zoom call every Sunday night, But not everybody can make it every single right, it's just.

Sort of a standing Zoom call.

Yeah.

Are there wait, other rippers too, or just other rand there are other rippers there. I want to I want to attend a rippers Zoom on a Sunday Night is.

A Sunday night ripper musician reunion. And it's that this brings out so much story.

Well that gives us two nice Friday night we all get together and do our laundry Sunday night with Zoom.

Pretty active lives modern day rippers in twenty twenty four, rippers in their senties. So not only not only were you a ripper and Uncle Gary Gibbler, but you produced music for all eight seasons of Full House. What was that like producing music for a sitcom? Like all the jings that Joey and Uncle Jesse did.

Usually John and I worked on these things together. He would say, we need a little again ten seconds, So I can't even there were so many of us. Can't remember some of them. But if there's a challenge, we just had to write something that fits the show. And it was great. And I still get pennies.

For record yeahs, visuals.

Three hundred dollars maybe every three months, which is fine. I'll take it.

Yeah.

Yeah, we just wrote a bunch of little pieces for the show. I think I counted up the number of musical segments I worked on for the show, and I think it was over one hundred.

Well over, Wow was it? Like? Did you work on like the jingles that like that John and Dave did is when they were doing their jingle writing career. At me? You know, we just watched yep, we just uh watched the episode where they were Jesse finally decides that he's going to be a jingle writer and not an Elvis impersonator or whatever it was or was not an Elvis impersonator an extriminator, and.

Dave or Joey brings out the cats in the.

An Elvis exterminator, right, yeah, that you know what I would hire an Elvis exterminator. Someone's just dressed in an Elvis costume to come and clear your house of bugs. The have left the building.

Oh my god, Jody synapses are firing today, which.

Is shocking that there's any left.

Thank you it next week.

Try the veal. This interview with Gary was so great we had to make it into two parts. So thank you for listening to Part one with an Infamous Ripper. Stay tuned for Part two coming out tomorrow. You're not gonna want to miss it. And in the meantime, make sure that you're following us on Instagram at how Rude podcast and that you're subscribing to the podcast wherever you're listening so you can make sure and get all the