Only Three Lads - Classic Alternative Music Podcast

Brothers! Sisters! Comrades! You say you want a revolution? Alright, shoo-be-do-wa. Well, you can count us out…in…cuz this week we're talking about songs of revolution!

For example, how about the 1980 debut single by New Orleans band Red Rockers, “Guns of Revolution”? And the band does indeed come out guns ablazin…it’s a sub-2 minute blast of resistance, rebellion, and a call to action to shake things up. It's a fiery anthem that captures the frustration, idealism, and spirit of the era, a track that had the punk rock press falling over themselves to dub Red Rockers as America’s answer to The Clash. Red Rockers would aptly open their explosive 1981 debut album, Condition Red, with the track, and now it serves as the fitting closer to out the brand new live album It’s In Our Blood, out now on Liberation Hall - which documents our heroes reunited for a powerful hometown gig in 2023, performing the Condition Red album in its entirety along with choice covers. Of course, after the debut, the powder keg punkers would go on to release two more polished albums, receiving radio and MTV exposure with hits like “China”, “Good As Gold” and their cover of “Eve of Destruction.”

So, it's only fitting that our Third Lad this week is none other than Red Rockers' lead singer and guitarist John Thomas Griffith! Following the band's initial split, JTG released a string of Americana-tinged solo records and as a folk duo with guitarist Paul Sanchez. He also co-founded another alternative music institution, one that has been going strong for well over three decades now and who still provides one of the best live experiences in all of music, the mighty Cowboy Mouth.

Special thanks to Randy Haecker from Prime Mover Media for his introduction and coordination.

P.S. Some episodes earn that "Explicit" tag more than others. Just fair warning in case you're listening whilst taking the kids to soccer practice or something.

It's In Our Blood: https://redrockerslive.bandcamp.com

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It's time for another Weekend Six Pack bonus - the show within the show where we bring you half a dozen new tunes, including:

Taxi Girls - 'Midnight Mixtape' (from the LP Static, Stomp Records)

My Raining Stars - 'Fine' (from the album Toy Club, Too Good To Be True)

The Prongs - 'Stanley Milgram Says' (single)

Fuses - 'Garden of Ashes' (from Sawdust in the Transmission, Having Fun Records)

The Pretty Graves - 'Walkin'' (from their self-titled debut LP)

Tangients - 'The Ether' (from the album Embers)

Proud members of the Pantheon Podcasts family.
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This week, we place our focus on songs that one established artist wrote for another artist. And what better ceremonial Third Lad than Robert Ellis Orrall, a songwriter who has not only penned his own hits ("I Couldn't Say No" with Carlene Carter - #32 Pop, 1983; "Boom! It Was Over" - #19 Country, 1992; "A Little Bit of Her Love" - #31 Country, 1993) but has also written many hits for other artists like Shenandoah ("Next to You, Next to Me" - #1 Country, 1990), Clay Walker ("What's It to You" - #1 Country, 1993), Reba McEntire ("What If It's You" - #15 Country, 1997), Olivia Newton-John ("I Don't Wanna Say Goodnight", 1998), Lindsey Lohan ("Ultimate", from the 2003 Freaky Friday soundtrack), and many more. What more, you ask? Oh yeah, REO was also instrumental in the formative years of an up-and-coming artist named Taylor Swift (you may have heard of her), co-writing and/or co-producing a number of songs including "A Place in This World" and "I'm Only Me When I'm With You" from her 10x platinum debut album.

Even with all of the great songs he's written for other artists, Orrall's latest album, Wonderland, is a vital reminder that he's saved plenty of great songs from himself. The album collects nine previously unearthed unrequited love songs from his seemingly endless creative vault, plus an introspective new version of "I'm Only Me When I'm With You," performed through the lens not of a teenage girl, but as a man 45 years into a loving marriage.

REO continues to record and tour with the same band he had on his string of '80s albums for RCA - which featured an eclectic bunch of new wave songs inspired by Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Todd Rundgren, and Joe Jackson, and found them opening for U2, The Kinks, Psychedelic Furs, and countless others. He also co-founded the label Infinity Cat Records with sons Jake and Jamin, who make up the beloved indie rock band JEFF the Brotherhood.

Plus, REO comes with a bonus Top 5: the Top 5 Songs He Wishes He Had Written.

It's O3L...in Wonderland!
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This week, we're slaying the proverbial demons of jangle pop with Andy Jossi (Switzerland) and Gretchen DeVault (USA) from transatlantic "jangle gaze" duo The Blue Herons!

The Blue Herons create wistful dreampop with a cinematic sense of space and emotion, lit by sparkling layers of guitars and clear, expressive vocals.

Since their debut in 2020., their music has drawn comparisons to The Sundays, Alvvays, Hatchie, and Sea Lemon.

Their latest album, Demon Slayer (Shelflife Records), broadens their sonic palette and emotional range. Written over the course of a year, the album took shape through an inspired back-and-forth between two prolific songwriters trading sketches, melodies, and ideas across time zones. The result feels immediate and deeply collaborative: two distinct musical voices weaving texture and melody into something greater than the sum of its parts. What emerges is a sound rooted in melody but driven by feeling.

Plus, join in on a brand new O3L game - "Jingle Jangle" - in which your favorite jangle pop artists meet commercial jingles. Not to give any spoiler alerts, but...point for Andy!

Thanks to Ed Mazzucco from Shelflife Records for the introduction.

Jangle on, friends!

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Are you ready to rumble?!? Very few topics seem to provoke as much heated debate as power pop - what (and who) is power pop? This week, we dare tackle our Top 5 Power Pop Songs of the '90s. Raise your pitchforks!

Nah, we're not worried...because, truth be told, power pop during the decade would have looked drastically different without our Third Lad this week, Dean Brownrout. As the co-founder of the crucial indie label Big Deal, Dean is responsible for releasing some of the greatest power pop records of the era, including The Wondermints, Gladhands, The Vandalias, the indispensable four volume compilation series Yellow Pills, and many more.

Dean recounts his quarter century’s worth of adventures in the music business in his witty, nostalgic, honest memoir No Big Deal (Guernica Editions Inc.). From his beginnings promoting metal and hardcore shows to running pivotal labels, No Big Deal offers a revealing glimpse into the triumphs, tribulations, and tragedies of the last of the record industry’s glory days.

No big deal, eh? It's a REALLY big deal 'round these parts, buddy!
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