PURPLE STUFF PODCAST EPISODE 41: SHARKSTRAVAGANZA!

LISTEN HERE!

It’s officially summertime, so let’s make the best of it. For those of us yearning for those gloomy Autumn days spent watching horror movies and crisp moonlit nights waiting on line for a really bad haunted hayride, we do have minimal opportunities to capitalize on certain scares that summer actually provides. One of the most terrifying aspects of the summer is the possibility of a shark attack if you happen to go in the ocean. I easily dodge that risk by skipping the middleman and just watch JAWS and call it a day.

Aside from the most famous onscreen appearance of a shark in history, there’s so many more instances of Sharks in pop culture. On the latest episode of The Purple Stuff Podcast, Matt and I bring up all of that whacked out shark stuff! Our mutual fondness for sharks lead us to talk about their pop culture counterparts for a whole hour. As always, we’ve got some outstanding nostalgic choices as well as a few modern ones! It will fill the void as we approach the best time of the year.

We’ve been away for a bit, but we’re excited to be back! If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can do so through iTunes, Stitcher, and Podbean. Please leave us some stars and tell your like-minded friends that you listen to a podcast that they will dig! We can’t thank you enough for all the amazing feedback you’ve given us…it’s truly appreciated.

*You’ll definitely be familiar with the majority of our selections , but feel free to leave us some of your shark picks in the comments that didn’t get mentioned on the show! I’m sure I’ll get threats for not mentioning King Shark, but there’s always a sequel.

A View From The Cassette Deck

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Who says you need a DeLorean to time travel? Lately, my various former jobs in radio have given me the ability to relive past times in my life. I never realized how weird it is to listen to old shows of mine where we discussed stuff that is now extremely dated. Listening to these recordings is sort of like time traveling.

It all started when I noticed that there were about 30 cassette tapes in my closet (yeah kids, I said cassette tapes, look it up on Wikipedia) collecting dust and begging for attention. I was finally able to connect my old Aiwa stereo to the computer properly and started plowing through some of these tapes. Hearing these shows and clips have been quite a trip. Some of the highlights I had completely forgotten about and some of the low-lights still stick in my head.

Some of the guests were sort of depressing. One guest author talked about his recent book all about “new” digital music technology including mp3s and Napster which made me feel super old. Another guest, a lead singer of a band that was signed nationally, was promised the world by their label, but their CD tanked and they were never heard from again. Aside from this, much of the banter was fun to listen to, in fact, the best parts came when my co-host Sharon and I discussed the news. Even listening to old news is still entertaining if it’s broadcast by hosts engaging in whacked-out conversations. Even the most ridiculous back and forth couldn’t stop me from thinking how time really makes such a difference. Back then I taped these inconsequential shows for no other reason other than to make more clips for use in future shows, never thinking that I’d be going back and listening to them so many years later.

The content of these old tapes made me wonder, “am I where I’d like to be in my life?” I followed the radio career as long as it took me, but ultimately I wound up in a completely different field making an adequate salary. I figured that not everything in life could be as fun as goofing off on a radio show. Life is what you make of it, and a lot of people do indeed LOVE their jobs, one of whom is a former classmate. He was just an all around good guy and I admired his positive outlook on everything. It was because of his hard work and positive attitude that he accomplished his goals.

I thought of him because he popped up on a random installment of my old college radio show that I had been listening to. Before I went on the air one day I asked one of the younger DJ’s if he wanted to stop in and plug his own show that he had recently started. Justin was sort of an odd man out because he had no shame about his love for pop and dance music at a station that was crammed with hard rock tunes and WSOU wannabes.

Justin did his radio show because he was motivated and because it was fun, but his main goal was being a weather man – a feature he incorporated into his show. As we fast forward to present day we can see Justin’s progression. The young college DJ playing mainstream music in a world of rock went on to work as an actual TV weather man for FOX 2 in Detroit! He no longer works for them, but basically lived his dream and he told me he’s still pursuing it. Will he still be a weather man when he’s 55? Who knows, but he can still go back and smile at the fact that he did it, and he did it well! The Sexy Armpit is very proud of you Justin! Perhaps you could use his success as inspiration in your life. Now to continue my cassette tape trip back in time!

“Walk This Way” NY Style: The Dirty Pearls and DMC

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Occasionally The Sexy Armpit visits New Jersey’s wise ass older brother, New York. I went to check out The Dirty Pearls concert at Webster Hall which was also broadcast live on New York’s Rock station 101.9 WRXP. New York City is not only The Dirty Pearls home, but it’s aura gets them high as they immortalized in their last single “New York City is a Drug.” (They love New York as much as The Sexy Armpit loves Jersey.) That track ended their abbreviated set, but they also ripped through songs from their forthcoming album Whether You Like It or Not including their new single “Who’s Coming Back to Who?” and closed the set with a seismic rendition of The Ramones’ “Do You Remember Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio?”

No question, the highlight of the night came when they invited their much buzzed about “special guest” up on stage to perform with them. Lead singer Tommy London introduced none other than Darryl McDaniels, aka DMC from RUN f’n DMC!!! The crowd went ballistic when they heard the familiar guitar riff from “Walk This Way” as The Dirty Pearls mixed it up and shuffled back and forth on stage with the hip hop legend.

And for those of you who are contending that this post is not related to Jersey in any way – one of RXP’s DJs and hosts of the concert last night was New Jersey native Matt Pinfield, so that counts for something! Oh, and according to the omniscient Wikipedia, DMC currently resides in Wayne, NJ. Maybe The Dirty Pearls could sing “New Jersey is a Drug” for The Sexy Armpit next time they come to Jersey?

The Dirty Pearls LIVE RADIO CONCERT!!!

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On WEDNESDAY MAY 11th 2011 don’t miss out on the chance to be a part of the live audience at Webster Hall in NYC when The Dirty Pearls play 101.9 WRXP’s LIVE radio concert!

I give credit to RXP since they are the only station in the local area (besides The Sexy Armpit’s former station 105.5 WDHA) who attempts to showcase independent and unsigned bands. They are also smart enough to capitalize on the incredible rock scene that resides in New York’s lower east side, headed by The Dirty Pearls.

This historic concert will be hosted by RXP DJ’s including New Jersey’s own Matt Pinfield along wtih Leslie Fram, and Rich Russo. If you can’t make it to Webster Hall you can tune into “Anything, Anything 10 O’Clock News Live Edition” at 10:00 PM on 101.9 WRXP or streaming on their website from anywhere in the world!

This 19 and over event is only $10.19 to get in!
BUY TICKETS HERE
Doors open at 8:30 PM

My Green Hornet Toys from Carl’s Jr.!

Green Hornet Toys

Green Hornet toys at a burger joint? What? Was I reading that correctly? I first heard the news of The Green Hornet toys at Carl’s Jr. via their Twitter account. I immediately tweeted back to them that there are no Carl’s Jr. restaurants in my vicinity for thousands of miles, (which isn’t an exaggeration) but I desperately wanted to get my hands on these toys. I’ve been a Green Hornet fan since my father introduced me to the classic radio shows on his old Philco radio when I was a kid, then by the time I saw the Batman TV series, I was already familiar with the character. Even though there have been a few toys associated with The Green Hornet, there’s just something memorable about collecting movie/fast food tie in toys.

Green Hornet Toys
Carl’s Jr. Green Hornet and Kato Action Figures

The Carl’s Jr. Twitter account told me to follow them and they would try to work something out. I waited a few days and heard nothing back, so I immediately wrote them off as a second rate fast food craphole that for some asinine reason only exists out west. Sorry if you swear by their food, but it must be the same type of feeling if you live in state that doesn’t have a White Castle…you poor thing! I feel for you because that truly sucks.

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About to spring into action wearing Carl’s Jrs.’ Green Hornet Toy Mask

Scouring ebay for these toys at a ridiculous price would probably be my destiny, although I did have an alternate plan up my sleeve. I started to think of people I knew in states that had Carl’s Jr. restaurants to see if maybe they could hook a brother up. Meanwhile, my stealthy girlfriend, who can’t tell the difference between The Green Hornet and The Green Lantern, had a little covert operation of her own going on. She asked her cousin out in California to get me the toys and send them to Jersey. What a girl! So f*ck Carl’s Jr. for not getting back to me and not having a location in Jersey! BOO to them. And thank you to Miss Sexy Armpit and her cousin for confidentially procuring the Green Hornet toys for me!

Click HERE to read more of The Sexy Armpit’s Green Hornet related posts

NJ T-Shirt Tuesday 57: The Shark 103.7 FM

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The Shark 103.7 FM T-Shirts available at their web site

Rock stations in the New Jersey area have become scarce in the past few years. A decrease in ad revenue has forced format changes and even complete shut downs of several Jersey stations. Major market stations such as 92.3 K-Rock were not exempt from the shift into the iPod generation either. Thankfully, my former station, Jersey’s Rock Station 105.5 WDHA FM, is still proudly playing rock tunes for The Garden State. If you don’t live in the area, luckily you’ll still be able to hear rock music 130 miles south of the WDHA coverage area if you tune into Atlantic City’s The Shark 103.7 FM. After several years of operating as an adult contemporary station, followed by a ’70s format, 103.7 sunk it’s teeth into classic rock. In 2000, WMGM-FM took on the The Shark moniker and hasn’t changed since. You can listen live, at their official website: www.1037theshark.com.

The Smithereens: “Time Won’t Let Me” from Timecop

Rarely do I have a hard time finding the right words, but this is one of those occasions. I was alive and kicking in 1994 when Timecop was released in theaters, but for reasons which escape me, “Time Won’t Let Me” remember this video. I also don’t remember much about the Timecop sequel, TV show, or video game spawned from it either. If I wasn’t searching for The Smithereens on YouTube, I wouldn’t have came across this lost treasure of cheesiness.

Straight from the Armpit of New Jersey, Carteret to be exact, The Smithereens formed in 1980 and enjoyed success throughout the early ’90s with several power pop hits. In 2000, lead singer Pat DiNizio was gracious enough to grant me an in-studio interview and performance on my college radio show at WKNJ-FM. At that time, DiNizio was gunning for the N.J seat in the U.S Senate, and although he didn’t win, he made quite an impact with headlines all over the place. I’ll wager that I’m not the only one who doesn’t remember The Smithereen’s cover of The Outsider’s “Time Won’t Let Me” from Jean-Claude Van Damme’s highest grossing movie ever, Timecop, but let’s take a look at the video starring the entire band and Muscles from Brussels himself!

The Smithereens are playing The Stone Pony in Asbury Park on June 27th, 2009.