The Secret History of Rock Show 023: Coffee or Cream First? (YouTube Version)

We tend not to give radio that much thought, do we? But how much do you know about the thing you use so often? We’re going to spend some time on that subject—and I think you’ll find the history of radio rather interesting.  

For our look back this week, it’s 1987. We’ll also get to our usual dose of useless information, and I start the show with some legal troubles. Not me or you—but musicians who have ended up in strange legal situations, often not of their own doing. All that and more on today’s show.

Disclaimer:  Due to legal issues, we are not (yet) able to stream/podcast the shows. But we've got it covered: go here and click on the Secret History of Rock playlist (not the individual videos) that you would like to watch. We have every single episode available (complete with the appropriate music videos!). Click here for our Secret History Archive. 

Going to Ireland This Summer?

If you’re ever going to be in Ireland you want to know where all the famous people live, let me tell you now because once you get to Dublin, you’ll have a hard time finding out. 

That’s because most Irish are very respectful of other peoples’ privacy, so you’ll get a pretty good glare if you walk up to someone and ask where Bono and the rest of the guys from U2 live.  So let me save you the aggravation. 

Bono and a ton of other celebrities live in the village of Killiney, a coastal enclave on the Irish Sea outside of Dublin that’s studded with state-of-the-art homes as well as Irish castles that are hundreds of years old.  The cool thing is that once you get there, everyone seems to be, well, cool about it. 

It’s not uncommon to see Bono at the local convenience store or someone else at the local pub having a pint.  Just try not to stare.

You Have to Take Care of Yourself

If musicians are to have a long career, they have to take care of themselves. Sadly, they often don’t.

Liam Gallagher sings with his throat instead of his diaphragm, which has caused him all kinds of voice and throat problems.

Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers once came down with a nasty case of chronic fatigue syndrome which kept him out of action for nearly a year in the middle 90s. And then there’s the dread carpal tunnel syndrome.

Jonny Greenwood, guitarist for Radiohead, often has to wear a brace on his arm because of a repetitive strain injury.

And Mike Dirnt, bass player for Green Day, has a major carpal tunnel problem with his left wrist. He had to have surgery to correct the damage cause by years of running his hand up and down the fret board.

Musicians and Hearing Loss

Which kind of musician suffers most from hearing damage? You’ll probably say the metal guys? Nope.

It’s CLASSICAL musicians. Rock music has been long demonized as the music that makes people deaf. But if you want the truth, it's the members of symphony orchestra that are in the greatest danger of losing their hearing.

Anywhere from 5 to 30% of rock musicians will experience hearing problems----but up to 52% of classical musicians have problems. That's because when you spend your living sitting in an area surrounded on all sides by loud instruments 8, 10, 12 hours a day (as many classical musicians do), the sound begins to take its toll on your ears.

For example, if you're near the brass section, you will experience the government's maximum weekly noise allowance for industrial noise in just 10 hours.

Unexpected Songwriting Inspiration

Sometimes inspiration hits when you least expect it.  You can spend hours, days, weeks, months trying to write a song–and then there are times when BAM!  It just pours out of you with no effort at all. 

Lenny Kravitz is a good example.  The song “Fly Away” from his 5 album wasn’t even going to be on the album.  The record was done and he was just testing out a new guitar and amp in the studio one day when he chanced upon those opening chords. 

An hour later, the song was done.  When he played it for a friend, this friend convinced him to put it on the album.  Lenny actually had to call the pressing plant to stop them from making copies of 5 without “Fly Away.”  “Are You Gonna Go My Way” happened in a similar way. 

It came together so fast that Lenny wrote all the lyrics on a paper bag.