Matt Connarton Unleashed 11-29-25 hour 3

0:26 Speaker 1: Welcome everybody. We have entered our number three newmerow trace

0:31 Speaker 1: Matt Connorton Unleashed and we are live from the studios

0:34 Speaker 1: of wm NH ninety five point three FM and Glorious Manchester,

0:38 Speaker 1: New Hampshire. Of course, you can stream the show from anywhere.

0:41 Speaker 1: Go to Matt connorton dot com slash live for all

0:43 Speaker 1: your live streaming options, social media links, contact info, show archives, etc.

0:48 Speaker 1: Et cetera. Today is Saturday, November twenty nine, two thy

0:53 Speaker 1: twenty five. Hello everybody. We have a great guest we're

0:56 Speaker 1: going to be introducing in just a moment who will

0:58 Speaker 1: be familiar to some of you because he's kind of

1:01 Speaker 1: a member of the extended family here at WM and H,

1:04 Speaker 1: but it's his first time appearing on this program, so

1:07 Speaker 1: very very excited about that. But before we do that,

1:09 Speaker 1: just quickly, if you are listening live on Saturday, we've

1:12 Speaker 1: got a big event tonight, the Pop Punk Pop Up,

1:16 Speaker 1: Live Music and Arts Market. This is happening at Terminus Underground,

1:21 Speaker 1: presented by New Hampshire Underground at one thirty four Haines

1:24 Speaker 1: Street in Nashua. And part of the reason we're talking

1:27 Speaker 1: about this it's a great event of course, and there's

1:29 Speaker 1: gonna be some great bands there. Let's see, We've got

1:32 Speaker 1: Island of Alaska, grim on what You're on. They're all

1:38 Speaker 1: gonna be playing. But also Jenny's art will be Jenny's

1:41 Speaker 1: gonna have a table there. Jenny and I will be there,

1:42 Speaker 1: so come say hello. The art vendors include not only Jenny,

1:46 Speaker 1: but Dennis Layton of course from the band The Gray Curtain.

1:50 Speaker 1: He's also a visual artist Let's see with Love from

1:53 Speaker 1: Faith Elements and Fantasy, Brenda Drew Designs, Cosmos Creations, Andre

1:58 Speaker 1: Dumont of course from Dead Harrison Prospero's paintings, Mystics, and

2:04 Speaker 1: Chelsea Purington photography. They will all be there tonight as well,

2:09 Speaker 1: So doors open at seven. It's all ages fifteen dollars

2:12 Speaker 1: entry twenty for the VIP lounge and that is tonight,

2:16 Speaker 1: so that starts at seven pm, So come see us.

2:19 Speaker 1: Jenny and I will be there. I believe it goes

2:22 Speaker 1: until ten, I think so. But yeah, come down, say hello.

2:27 Speaker 1: I've got my brand new business cards. I'll hand one

2:28 Speaker 1: to you if you come see us. No, but Jenny's

2:30 Speaker 1: gonna have her amazing artwork there, so please come tonight

2:33 Speaker 1: and again the band's playing Island of Alaska, gr im

2:36 Speaker 1: and on what You're on will all be there as well,

2:39 Speaker 1: so it's gonna be a great night. One thirty four

2:41 Speaker 1: Ain Street, Nashua, New Hampshire. You can find out more

2:43 Speaker 1: information go to New Hampshire underground dot org and they're great.

2:49 Speaker 1: We love Eleanor and Andre and everybody involved in that.

2:51 Speaker 1: So come see us tonight and let me get this

2:55 Speaker 1: microphone up here. Let's see because he's got his guitar

3:00 Speaker 1: with him. Brooklyn Mike is here. Hello, Brooklyn Mike, and

3:04 Speaker 1: I can't hear you. Let me let me figure out

3:06 Speaker 1: why think I figured out? Why still can't hear you?

3:13 Speaker 1: Why can't I hear you?

3:14 Speaker 2: Six?

3:15 Speaker 1: I think, oh, I think I hear you a little bit.

3:18 Speaker 2: Check check there we are. Good morning, Matt and everybody.

3:22 Speaker 2: Good morning.

3:22 Speaker 1: Let's see. I'm gonna turn that down and turn that

3:24 Speaker 1: up and it's uh yeah. Mike's got his guitar with him,

3:28 Speaker 1: so he's gonna play. So this is exciting because again

3:32 Speaker 1: for those who are not familiar, Brooklyn Mike has been

3:36 Speaker 1: well this morning on the Morning Show because every Saturday

3:40 Speaker 1: morning Peter plays a classic episode of the Morning show.

3:43 Speaker 1: This Morning Show was from twenty eighteen. It was from

3:45 Speaker 1: the end of twenty eighteen, and you were.

3:46 Speaker 2: On it, Yeah, twenty eighteen. And at that point I

3:50 Speaker 2: had been already listening and participating with the Morning Show

3:54 Speaker 2: for probably at least a year or two at that

3:57 Speaker 2: point already. Yeah, so I know it was you know,

3:59 Speaker 2: when Moose was still and Moose was off the show

4:03 Speaker 2: at that point in twenty eighteen, Jaral was there. So

4:06 Speaker 2: at the very least twenty seventeen. Yeah, so we go

4:08 Speaker 2: back good eight years, eight nine years something like that.

4:12 Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, So this is the first time. So you've

4:15 Speaker 1: been on the Morning Show many times. Have you ever

4:16 Speaker 1: been on a Rob's show, Robber's Video show?

4:19 Speaker 2: In fact, I've never had the good fortune to meet

4:21 Speaker 2: Rob yet.

4:22 Speaker 1: Oh okay, so you haven't even met Rob yet. I'm

4:23 Speaker 1: sure you will at some point. Yeah, but you've been

4:26 Speaker 1: on so you've been on Retrospection Radio obviously recently for

4:29 Speaker 1: the first time.

4:29 Speaker 2: So that was that was a lot of fun.

4:31 Speaker 1: That was great.

4:31 Speaker 2: I look forward to coming back in next Friday.

4:33 Speaker 1: Absolutely, And this is your first time on this show,

4:37 Speaker 1: so welcome.

4:39 Speaker 2: Thanks, well, you know, being I retired from my regular

4:43 Speaker 2: job at the beginning of this year. And so this

4:45 Speaker 2: is affording me, you know, time to do things that

4:48 Speaker 2: have been back Bernard for a quarter century. Yeah, so

4:52 Speaker 2: including you know, performing and playing music. You know. I

4:57 Speaker 2: moved here January of two thousand in one from New Brooklyn,

5:01 Speaker 2: New York, and you know, got it, you know, started

5:05 Speaker 2: working and had to pay bills and be an adult.

5:08 Speaker 2: So I kind of back burned the music. I didn't

5:10 Speaker 2: really have the time and the energy. I was working nights, so,

5:15 Speaker 2: you know, working weekends, so my schedule was not conducive

5:18 Speaker 2: really that much to to playing out and yeah, I

5:22 Speaker 2: mean certainly if you could always find the wherewithal to

5:26 Speaker 2: do it, yeah, but I just didn't have it in me.

5:28 Speaker 2: I was more focused on, you know, just building a

5:33 Speaker 2: new life here in New Hampshire.

5:34 Speaker 1: With my wife.

5:35 Speaker 2: Yeah, which has worked out beautifully.

5:37 Speaker 1: No, that's wonderful. We have a call. Oh no, nobody there.

5:40 Speaker 1: Someone was calling the studio line. All right, I thought

5:42 Speaker 1: it was one of your fans, but whoever it was,

5:44 Speaker 1: they hung.

5:44 Speaker 2: Up, Yeah, well one of them. Yeah, Daryl the Dragon's

5:49 Speaker 2: Ion should be listening this morning. If you're listening, Daryl,

5:51 Speaker 2: good morning.

5:52 Speaker 1: Oh excellent, good morning, Daryl. Yeah, I haven't spoken with

5:55 Speaker 1: him in a long time, but you had lunch with

5:56 Speaker 1: him recently, right at breakfast or something. Yeah, yeah, we're

5:58 Speaker 1: good friends. Now that's X. That is excellent. He's a

6:01 Speaker 1: good man. Yeah, absolutely, Well, he's a musician himself, he is.

6:03 Speaker 1: You guys are gonna do? Uh?

6:06 Speaker 2: We were we know, you know, we we totally had

6:09 Speaker 2: plans because in additions playing guitar and bass, my first

6:15 Speaker 2: instrument was trumpet and I love jazz and uh. Darrell

6:22 Speaker 2: plays saxophone and uh and clarinet.

6:27 Speaker 1: Uh.

6:27 Speaker 2: And we had plans. We had it all mapped out.

6:30 Speaker 2: We were going to do a duet. We had a

6:32 Speaker 2: name for the duet, and we had repertoire ready to go.

6:36 Speaker 2: And then he took an unfortunate fall and he's recovered

6:41 Speaker 2: quite well, but he feels he doesn't have the proper

6:44 Speaker 2: dexterity in his fingers in his hands anymore to play.

6:48 Speaker 2: So we had to kind of shelf that that project.

6:51 Speaker 1: Yeah. Fortunately, let's see it. Oh, I think our caller

6:54 Speaker 1: is online. Hello caller, who's this.

6:57 Speaker 3: Ricky?

6:58 Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, Ricky Man Simpleton? Hello are you so?

7:02 Speaker 1: Are you familiar with Brooklyn?

7:03 Speaker 2: Mike I'm yes, I am a big go ahead.

7:11 Speaker 3: I'm I learned about in front of your show.

7:13 Speaker 1: Oh wonderful, wonderful. So see you already have a new fan.

7:16 Speaker 2: Hopefully it will be disappointing. Good morning, rick Yeah, morning.

7:21 Speaker 1: Ricky Mapleton is gonna be on with us in the

7:23 Speaker 1: uh in the not too distant future. So and it's

7:25 Speaker 1: been on the show many times.

7:26 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I think I'm coming on in February.

7:31 Speaker 1: I think so. I don't have it in front of you,

7:32 Speaker 1: but that sounds right.

7:33 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, yeah, Well I'm good to have you. Thanks.

7:36 Speaker 3: I was starting to call up with thanks, give me

7:38 Speaker 3: to you guys, Oh, thank you. Yeah, just a big,

7:42 Speaker 3: big fan of the show. I'm glad you're still rocking.

7:44 Speaker 1: And rolling absolutely well. Thank you very much. We appreciate

7:47 Speaker 1: that and we look forward to, uh look forward to

7:48 Speaker 1: seeing you in February and with your new project.

7:52 Speaker 3: Ah, I got a project coming up called The Breadman Cometh,

7:56 Speaker 3: a rock opera.

7:58 Speaker 1: Add Yeah, very excited about that. I'm a big fan

8:02 Speaker 1: of sandwiches myself in French doasts, so you know I

8:05 Speaker 1: like bread.

8:07 Speaker 3: Oh well, I'll bring some in and have a great

8:10 Speaker 3: show and I'll talk to you guys, let keep going.

8:14 Speaker 1: Thank you so much, by bye.

8:16 Speaker 2: It's funny that he mentioned bread, because you know, the

8:18 Speaker 2: first thing you think of is you know bread that

8:20 Speaker 2: we eat. Yes, And I think I only learned recently

8:22 Speaker 2: that the band bread, uh, which I always thought, you know,

8:27 Speaker 2: bread that we eat, but it was actually you know bread,

8:29 Speaker 2: the nickname for money. Yes, I think that's that was

8:34 Speaker 2: the the meaning of the band.

8:36 Speaker 1: You only learned that recently?

8:38 Speaker 2: Yeah about Wait about uh that that the name bread

8:43 Speaker 2: of the band?

8:43 Speaker 1: Oh? Oh, I thought you meant No, No, I knew

8:45 Speaker 1: that that was that was I was confused.

8:48 Speaker 2: No, no, we yeah, amen, let me some bread solid No, No,

8:53 Speaker 2: but I only learned learned recently that that that was

8:56 Speaker 2: the meaning of the of the name of the band.

8:58 Speaker 1: Oh. I got you, I got you. Yeah either way. Now,

9:01 Speaker 1: you had said, I don't remember if this was an

9:03 Speaker 1: on air or an off air conversation during Paul's show,

9:07 Speaker 1: but you mentioned back in New York you had worked

9:09 Speaker 1: with Walter Egan.

9:10 Speaker 2: Correct, we didn't work Yeah, actually we did work in

9:13 Speaker 2: New York. Walter Egan is originally from Queens from Forest Hills,

9:18 Speaker 2: Queen's same town. Coincidentally as Simon and Garfunkle and I,

9:25 Speaker 2: you know, I was playing in many, many bands, and

9:28 Speaker 2: he wound up working with one of the bands that

9:31 Speaker 2: I was working with, not on a permanent basis, a

9:37 Speaker 2: little bit more than subbing, but we we would go

9:43 Speaker 2: up to that band. The band leader, so to speak,

9:46 Speaker 2: Ray Passenen, is from East Millinocket, Maine. Okay, yeah, so

9:52 Speaker 2: we would he booked us. Ray would book us at

9:55 Speaker 2: this in Brewer, Maine, at a uh kind of a

10:00 Speaker 2: motel that would have a lounge there and we'd play

10:02 Speaker 2: there for the whole week. It was called Stacy's. Doesn't

10:05 Speaker 2: exist anymore, it's gotten torn down, but this was in

10:08 Speaker 2: the nineties and when we'd go up for the week

10:11 Speaker 2: to Maine, Walter would would go with us and play

10:14 Speaker 2: for the whole week. And in fact he would he

10:17 Speaker 2: would carpool like I would drive, and he'd carpool with me,

10:20 Speaker 2: so I'd have his guitar and his amp in my

10:21 Speaker 2: car and it was a lot of He's he's a

10:23 Speaker 2: lot of fun. But he lives in Nashville now, Yeah,

10:26 Speaker 2: so yeah, Walter is a fun guy, is very talented,

10:29 Speaker 2: very talented guitarist. So his biggest hit was Magnet ste

10:34 Speaker 2: pretty much a one hit wonder, but very very good songwriter. Yeah,

10:39 Speaker 2: great guitarist, good singer, just all around good guy.

10:43 Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, that was fun. Is there anyone else like

10:45 Speaker 1: that that you worked with back in the I.

10:47 Speaker 2: Don't remember the guy's name. It was only one night.

10:52 Speaker 2: Again with a lot of the bands that we you know,

10:54 Speaker 2: you were mentioning earlier about you know, one of one

10:57 Speaker 2: of the downfalls of being in a band is when

11:00 Speaker 2: somebody can't make it. But we were fortunate, you know,

11:04 Speaker 2: in in New York City. I mean there's I mean,

11:06 Speaker 2: there are a lot of musicians everywhere, right, but we

11:09 Speaker 2: had quite quite a circle of bands that we all

11:15 Speaker 2: knew each other on the on the circuit, so to speak.

11:18 Speaker 2: So if like if we if our drummer couldn't make it,

11:23 Speaker 2: we had our pick of drummers. Same thing with guitarists

11:26 Speaker 2: and all that. So there was one one night where

11:29 Speaker 2: our drummer couldn't make it, and I don't know how

11:32 Speaker 2: our band leader, her name was patients More, she found

11:36 Speaker 2: this guy but he was again I don't remember his name,

11:40 Speaker 2: but he was the drummer for Paul McCartney and Wings.

11:44 Speaker 2: So we worked with him for one night oh yeah,

11:46 Speaker 2: English guy, super super nice. Of course, great drummery.

11:51 Speaker 1: There. I don't know.

11:53 Speaker 2: There was a guitarist from the Left Bank, you know,

11:56 Speaker 2: walk Away Renee that song. Just every now and then

12:00 Speaker 2: we'd come across, you know, we'd wind up working with somebody. Yeah,

12:03 Speaker 2: and it was just you know, main job, main thing

12:06 Speaker 2: was to get the job done right. But it was

12:08 Speaker 2: all it was all a lot of fun, right right.

12:10 Speaker 2: There was never a lot of money in it. I

12:12 Speaker 2: mean yeah, you know, for many years and it's still

12:15 Speaker 2: my approach where whether it's right or wrong, I'm happy

12:19 Speaker 2: with it. Where the music that I decide to perform

12:24 Speaker 2: or do this is when I'm doing solos. But or again,

12:27 Speaker 2: back in New York, all the bands I was in

12:29 Speaker 2: I played bass.

12:30 Speaker 1: Okay, So we were doing.

12:32 Speaker 2: Cover music mostly believe it or not, because it was

12:35 Speaker 2: in the nineties, mostly country bands really.

12:37 Speaker 1: Yeah.

12:38 Speaker 2: So and we were super busy. I mean there was

12:42 Speaker 2: a month I remember we did like thirty two jobs

12:44 Speaker 2: in one month.

12:45 Speaker 1: Oh my god. Yeah, wow, like doubles.

12:47 Speaker 2: You know you do an afternoon and you know, on

12:49 Speaker 2: a Saturday afternoon at like a fair or something, and

12:51 Speaker 2: then yeah, play a bar at night.

12:53 Speaker 1: Wow.

12:55 Speaker 2: So where was I going with that? Oh, my choice

12:59 Speaker 2: of music that I play, So back home again. I

13:02 Speaker 2: was playing in these cover bands, and family members and

13:06 Speaker 2: people I knew would say, you know, why don't why

13:08 Speaker 2: don't you join a wedding band? You can make so

13:11 Speaker 2: much money. I'm like, I'm not doing that music. I

13:13 Speaker 2: don't really care at this point about the money. I

13:16 Speaker 2: should have cared a little bit more about the money, honestly. Luckily,

13:19 Speaker 2: you know, my wife was very patient with me, and

13:23 Speaker 2: you know, she worked, and I worked the day job too,

13:25 Speaker 2: but I'd work part time jobs, full time jobs, depending

13:29 Speaker 2: on how busy I was with music at any given point.

13:32 Speaker 2: So as a result, I worked a lot of different

13:34 Speaker 2: types of jobs I can imagine in my life. And

13:39 Speaker 2: so yeah, so still to this day, like the repertoire

13:43 Speaker 2: that I do is not primarily songs that people know.

13:49 Speaker 2: I mean, there are a fair amount of those songs.

13:53 Speaker 2: But for example, everybody, anybody who knows me through the

13:57 Speaker 2: station knows Gordon Lightfoot is like my hero, and I

14:01 Speaker 2: don't really do his.

14:02 Speaker 1: I do.

14:03 Speaker 2: I think two songs of his, well, now three, because

14:06 Speaker 2: I learned sundown I do, so I do three songs

14:11 Speaker 2: of his that were popular songs that were hits that

14:15 Speaker 2: people would know. But then I'll do ten songs of

14:18 Speaker 2: his that unless you're like a Gordon Lightfoot fan or

14:22 Speaker 2: had his albums or have his albums and were really

14:25 Speaker 2: into his music, you wouldn't know them. But I love

14:28 Speaker 2: the songs. And it's a little bit selfish on my part.

14:31 Speaker 2: It's like three parts to it. Part of it is

14:33 Speaker 2: selfish because I enjoy it. Yeah, okay, And I think

14:37 Speaker 2: that if a performer is doing songs that he or

14:41 Speaker 2: she enjoy really enjoys, you're going to get the best

14:44 Speaker 2: result usually, you know, because it's it's from the heart.

14:48 Speaker 2: So that's one thing. And the other thing is I

14:53 Speaker 2: think it's a little more interesting for audiences unless they

14:56 Speaker 2: just want to hear songs that they know. And that's

14:59 Speaker 2: why it really want to play like primarily like in

15:03 Speaker 2: a bar setting because people are drinking, you know. I

15:06 Speaker 2: did that for years and years and years, even my

15:08 Speaker 2: first band with my brother, which was all classic rock,

15:11 Speaker 2: and it was fine, you know, because people are drinking,

15:14 Speaker 2: you know, they want to sing along and they want

15:16 Speaker 2: to know the songs. But hopefully I could find some

15:20 Speaker 2: venues a little more low key where it's more of

15:23 Speaker 2: a listening experience. So I could do these songs, for example,

15:27 Speaker 2: by Gordon Lightfoot and my other hero Dan Fogelberg that

15:32 Speaker 2: the people might not necessarily know, but I think they'll

15:36 Speaker 2: wind up really enjoying it hopefully. And the third thing

15:41 Speaker 2: is that at any given point, if I'm performing and

15:44 Speaker 2: somebody is in the audience or more than one person,

15:47 Speaker 2: let's take Dan Fogelberg for example, that is a Dan

15:50 Speaker 2: Fogelberg song. And then I'm doing these cuts like off

15:53 Speaker 2: albums that when never on the radio, I'm hoping they'll

15:58 Speaker 2: be like really happy about it, that it's like, oh

16:00 Speaker 2: my god, he's doing For example, it was I used

16:03 Speaker 2: to play this place in Greenwich Village called the back Fence,

16:06 Speaker 2: and I played their solo many times with many bands

16:10 Speaker 2: over the years. And my favorite America song is Daisy Jane.

16:17 Speaker 2: And it got some airplay, but it wasn't like, you know,

16:21 Speaker 2: it wasn't Ventura Highway for example. You know, it wasn't

16:24 Speaker 2: like a huge ute hit and there. So I was

16:27 Speaker 2: at the back Fence one night and played Daisy Jane

16:30 Speaker 2: and there was this guy there just at the bar,

16:32 Speaker 2: and he loved the song and he went nuts, and

16:35 Speaker 2: he said, every I'm gonna make sure i'm here every

16:37 Speaker 2: time you're hear just because I want to hear that song.

16:39 Speaker 3: Wow.

16:40 Speaker 2: So to me, that's like it's not even about the money,

16:43 Speaker 2: Like that's the payoff right there. You know, it's like

16:45 Speaker 2: mission accomplished.

16:46 Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely absolutely. You mentioned your brother, so you were

16:50 Speaker 1: in a band with your brother, and then.

16:52 Speaker 2: My brother he passed away, unfortunately a couple a couple

16:55 Speaker 2: of years ago, passed away. But he's seven years older

16:57 Speaker 2: than I am. And I you know, I know you're

17:02 Speaker 2: an only child, but I think it's kind of normal

17:05 Speaker 2: for let's say.

17:06 Speaker 1: Especially, I should just clarify, Mike, I'm not an only child,

17:09 Speaker 1: just in case any of my siblings are listening. I

17:12 Speaker 1: often feel like I.

17:13 Speaker 2: Will sorry, sister, right, it's okay, okay, yeah, I have

17:17 Speaker 2: I'm just remembering.

17:18 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, it's okay. I have two half sisters and

17:20 Speaker 1: a half brother. I'm sorry, and everybody scattered. And I

17:22 Speaker 1: was already yeah, I was already older when the first

17:26 Speaker 1: one was born. So I often feel like I grew

17:29 Speaker 1: up like an only child. Okay, So that's okay. Just

17:31 Speaker 1: I'm only correcting you just in case any of them

17:33 Speaker 1: are listening, which is unlikely, but I don't want anyone

17:35 Speaker 1: to be mad at me. I apologize. It's all good.

17:38 Speaker 2: I did know that and I forgot totally okay, but

17:42 Speaker 2: the reference is it's still relevant in that. So my brother,

17:46 Speaker 2: being older than I am, I always kind of looked

17:50 Speaker 2: up to him. I just wanted to like emulate him. Yeah,

17:53 Speaker 2: And he was a musician from early early on. First

17:56 Speaker 2: played drums. We had a drum kit in the basement

17:58 Speaker 2: and I'd go down and play the drum, you know,

18:00 Speaker 2: just by ear. That was actually the first instrument.

18:02 Speaker 1: That I played.

18:03 Speaker 2: Yeah, and then he was a great guitarist and keyboard

18:08 Speaker 2: player and singer. My sister is a singer. My father

18:11 Speaker 2: was a singer, and so my first band when I

18:15 Speaker 2: started studying guitar, and my brother had already been playing

18:20 Speaker 2: for years and he was in a band. Then that

18:23 Speaker 2: band split up, you know the way it goes, and

18:25 Speaker 2: then he and the lead singer rhythm player wanted to

18:29 Speaker 2: form another band, and I was just learning to play,

18:32 Speaker 2: and I joined them, and we were three acoustic guitars

18:35 Speaker 2: at that point. And then about a year later we

18:39 Speaker 2: had the idea I started studying bass, and then my

18:43 Speaker 2: friend John Sheridan, who I played with in like a

18:47 Speaker 2: ton of bands. He's like my best friend back home

18:49 Speaker 2: in New York while he's in New Jersey now. So

18:52 Speaker 2: then I then my brother went he Like I said,

18:56 Speaker 2: we started out as three acoustic guitars, and then when

18:59 Speaker 2: we supplemented the band with the drummer, my brother went

19:02 Speaker 2: to electric guitar and I went to bass. Okay, and

19:05 Speaker 2: then we were like a legit four piece, you know,

19:08 Speaker 2: with acoustic rhythm.

19:09 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, and it was great. Yeah.

19:11 Speaker 2: The name of the band was County Line, and I

19:16 Speaker 2: came up with the name for the band from a

19:19 Speaker 2: song by the Poussett's Art band, John Poussett's Art Who

19:23 Speaker 2: you interview was a great interview. That was a great

19:26 Speaker 2: feather in your cap.

19:27 Speaker 1: Oh thank you. Yeah.

19:28 Speaker 2: And if you ever get the chance to see him,

19:30 Speaker 2: he plays over at the Rex. I've seen him there

19:32 Speaker 2: a number of times. You will not be disappointed. He's great.

19:35 Speaker 1: Yeah, the last time we had him on. That's why

19:36 Speaker 1: it was because he's great.

19:38 Speaker 2: I've seen him a few times.

19:39 Speaker 1: Yeah.

19:41 Speaker 2: So anyway, that was my first band that was all

19:45 Speaker 2: classic rock.

19:46 Speaker 1: And then and then what why did that end?

19:51 Speaker 2: Work started drying up?

19:52 Speaker 1: A little bit. Yeah, So that we.

19:55 Speaker 2: Started that band County line. That was about nineteen eighty

20:00 Speaker 2: six or seven, and we went strong for a good

20:03 Speaker 2: three or four years, and then in nineteen ninety but

20:09 Speaker 2: we're going we're going one hundred and eighty on this one.

20:11 Speaker 2: In nineteen ninety, my wife and I bought a pizzeria. Okay,

20:15 Speaker 2: so I started working when I was eight years old.

20:17 Speaker 2: I'm going to backtrack real quick a little bit. I

20:20 Speaker 2: started working I was eight years old in pizzerias.

20:22 Speaker 1: Wow.

20:23 Speaker 2: And I know it's not legal, but it was a

20:25 Speaker 2: pizzeria and it was in Brooklyn, so it was okay.

20:28 Speaker 1: Okay, gotcha.

20:29 Speaker 2: So eight years old, I started working in pizzeri's. I

20:32 Speaker 2: did that straight through thirteen years until I was twenty one,

20:34 Speaker 2: through all pretty much all my school years.

20:36 Speaker 1: Wow.

20:38 Speaker 2: And then then I wasn't working in pizzer anymore. So

20:41 Speaker 2: from twenty one that was whatever year that was nineteen

20:46 Speaker 2: eighty two, and I was a bank teller and I

20:49 Speaker 2: did a whole bunch that worked for coffee company, industrial

20:52 Speaker 2: hardware company, all kinds of stuff. But in nineteen ninety

20:55 Speaker 2: an opportunity came up in our neighborhood. Actually a block

20:59 Speaker 2: from my mom's house. There was a pizzeria for sale.

21:02 Speaker 2: And I wasn't really involved in a career or anything,

21:06 Speaker 2: and I knew how to do the you know, run

21:07 Speaker 2: the business. I did it pretty much all my you know,

21:09 Speaker 2: thirteen years, all my young life, and my wife and

21:13 Speaker 2: I decided to buy the buy the pizzeria. So then

21:15 Speaker 2: I couldn't play music anymore because I was there like

21:17 Speaker 2: seven days a week.

21:18 Speaker 1: Oh yeah.

21:19 Speaker 2: And then we got rid of the pizzeria in ninety two,

21:22 Speaker 2: and I mean I didn't even lock the door the

21:26 Speaker 2: last day, and my friend John Sheridan and it's like, okay,

21:28 Speaker 2: you're ready to join the band again. And then we

21:31 Speaker 2: were off and running. And then, like I said, country

21:33 Speaker 2: music was like really up and coming then with you know,

21:36 Speaker 2: the coming on the scene of like the likes of

21:39 Speaker 2: Clint Black and Garth Brooks and Brooks and Dunn and

21:43 Speaker 2: you know, Dwight Yoakum and all these guys, and it

21:46 Speaker 2: just country music exploded, and believe it or not, in

21:49 Speaker 2: New York City and Long Island and New Jersey, you know,

21:53 Speaker 2: all the line dancing and all the you know, all

21:55 Speaker 2: the bars and clubs were doing it.

21:57 Speaker 1: Oh I believe it because I remember that super busy

22:00 Speaker 1: wave in the nineties wave a lot of country was huge,

22:02 Speaker 1: and it was very very mainstream in that in that sense.

22:06 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, but it's you know, my kind of one

22:09 Speaker 2: of my running jokes is, yeah, what you'd expect, you know,

22:11 Speaker 2: nice Italian boy from Brooklyn playing country music, you know,

22:15 Speaker 2: but you know, I have all the accouterment, you know,

22:16 Speaker 2: the Western boots and the Western shirts, and I never

22:20 Speaker 2: want I have a couple of stetsons. I only wore

22:22 Speaker 2: I think once when we played. We actually did do

22:24 Speaker 2: a wedding. But they were country music fans, so we

22:27 Speaker 2: were to our country music. That's what they wanted.

22:29 Speaker 1: By the way, I'm curious about the pizzeria. Why so,

22:31 Speaker 1: so you owned it.

22:32 Speaker 2: For a couple of years and yeah, three years, ninety

22:34 Speaker 2: ninety to ninety two, and then why did you give

22:36 Speaker 2: it up?

22:36 Speaker 1: It failed? Oh?

22:37 Speaker 4: Really?

22:38 Speaker 2: Yeah, we were a small guy in town. You know,

22:39 Speaker 2: there was a pizzer on every block. And there were

22:42 Speaker 2: two main drags in our neighborhood, Manhattan Avenue and Nasa

22:47 Speaker 2: Avenue that kind of intersect at one point. Yeah, and

22:50 Speaker 2: all the pizzeris and businesses are on that on those

22:53 Speaker 2: two streets. We were on a boulevard. Parking was hard,

22:57 Speaker 2: there were no other stores there, and you know, we

23:00 Speaker 2: were a new guy in town. Yeah, we you know,

23:02 Speaker 2: we made enough just like to pay the bills. But

23:05 Speaker 2: after three years, I'm like, I'm not doing this. I'm

23:08 Speaker 2: marking like ninety one hundred hours a week. I can imagine, Yeah,

23:11 Speaker 2: I'm done. And we couldn't even say I'm like I said,

23:14 Speaker 2: I'm an open book. I'm honest. We couldn't even sell

23:17 Speaker 2: the business because we couldn't show a profit. Yeah, so

23:19 Speaker 2: we just we we sold whatever, liquidated whatever equipment we could,

23:23 Speaker 2: yeah ours, and said, you know, just chalk it up

23:26 Speaker 2: to experience.

23:27 Speaker 1: Right right, you know, yeah, yeah exactly.

23:30 Speaker 2: And life went on. Yeah yeah, you know. But I

23:33 Speaker 2: always say, you know, if we hadn't done it, we'd

23:35 Speaker 2: always be kicking ourselves in the butt, saying, what is

23:38 Speaker 2: exactly what could have happened?

23:39 Speaker 1: So absolutely it was.

23:40 Speaker 2: It was a great learning experience, which what I took

23:43 Speaker 2: away from there is I'll never own my own passess again.

23:45 Speaker 1: Ever. No, thank you, I don't blame you, by the way,

23:49 Speaker 1: So should we talk about where the name Brooklyn Mike

23:50 Speaker 1: comes from? Because you weren't always Brooklyn Mike.

23:54 Speaker 2: No, I've always been Mic from Brooklyn, So it's got

24:00 Speaker 2: to be over it's got to be over fifteen years ago,

24:03 Speaker 2: because I know when we moved to New Hampshire, we

24:06 Speaker 2: lived on the East side. We were on Harvard Street

24:09 Speaker 2: and we lived there for about ten years, and then

24:12 Speaker 2: we moved to the West side, which that's where we

24:14 Speaker 2: are now. We're just like a couple of blocks from

24:16 Speaker 2: the Bedford border. So I know this came up. This

24:23 Speaker 2: Brooklyn Mike nomenclature came up when I was still at

24:27 Speaker 2: the old house, So I know it's more than fifteen

24:29 Speaker 2: years ago. So I say between maybe seventeen eighteen years ago,

24:32 Speaker 2: something like that. Well, I used to watch this show

24:36 Speaker 2: on Manchester Public Television called Norman Friends, which was on

24:41 Speaker 2: the great late Norm Moody was the host, and even

24:45 Speaker 2: greater than Norm was his co host, which happened to

24:50 Speaker 2: be mister Matt Connerton. And so that's where how we

24:55 Speaker 2: you and I first met, not in person, but we

24:58 Speaker 2: came to know each other because Norm would take calls

25:04 Speaker 2: on you know, while the show was going on. He

25:07 Speaker 2: would take phone calls, which was fun, and you know,

25:11 Speaker 2: no big surprise, I called in, which you know, that's

25:14 Speaker 2: how I came to know Peter and I started calling peters.

25:17 Speaker 2: And it's kind of funny because when I think back

25:19 Speaker 2: to it, I would do it in New York too.

25:21 Speaker 2: I would call in like I've won some like prizes

25:24 Speaker 2: on radio shows. Like I wasn't like a prize hog,

25:27 Speaker 2: but every now, if it was like something that interested me,

25:30 Speaker 2: I'd say I won like two or three things in

25:32 Speaker 2: New York over the years. So it was always kind

25:35 Speaker 2: of fun to like connect with the disc jockey. I

25:37 Speaker 2: thought it was always fun, you know, because I wanted

25:39 Speaker 2: to hear myself on air. I couldn't care about that.

25:42 Speaker 2: So so anyway, I called in Norman friends the first

25:45 Speaker 2: time that I called in, and you know, you'd say,

25:47 Speaker 2: you know, oh who's online? Or what's your name? Actually

25:49 Speaker 2: you would answer the phone, and so I said, oh,

25:53 Speaker 2: my name is Mike. And I don't know if it

25:55 Speaker 2: was right right on the spot or eventually I just

25:59 Speaker 2: I guess I didn't feel comfortable giving my last name.

26:02 Speaker 1: Yeah.

26:03 Speaker 2: It was either that or I remember saying, well, you know,

26:06 Speaker 2: there were so many mics and there are other mics

26:09 Speaker 2: probably that do call in, so just to make it

26:11 Speaker 2: easy and differentiate. I'm from Brooklyn, so just call me

26:14 Speaker 2: Brooklyn Mic. Yeah, and that's how it started. Yeah, you know,

26:17 Speaker 2: I kind of gave myself, you know, you know, my

26:20 Speaker 2: own stupid nicknames.

26:21 Speaker 1: It works, it works. Yeah, you've been Brooklyn Mic ever

26:23 Speaker 1: since Peter asked me.

26:25 Speaker 2: Peter asked me recently, says, you know, when hopefully you

26:29 Speaker 2: start performing out places, are you, you know, going to

26:32 Speaker 2: book yourself as Brooklyn Mike.

26:33 Speaker 1: I'm like, no, no, it's like.

26:34 Speaker 2: Why not. Yeah, it's kind of it's kind of pretentious.

26:37 Speaker 2: I think, I think, I think you should. I don't know,

26:40 Speaker 2: I said, I'm going to think about it. A funny

26:42 Speaker 2: little anecdote about that is that I did one another

26:47 Speaker 2: place in Greenwich Village that used to do plenty of them,

26:50 Speaker 2: that would do open mics, and I only did an

26:52 Speaker 2: open mic one time in Greenwich Village. Again, this is

26:54 Speaker 2: like mid eighties, and like, I'm gonna do it. It's

26:58 Speaker 2: gonna be kind of fun. I even played on the

26:59 Speaker 2: street one time with the guitar case open in the village.

27:02 Speaker 2: It's just a fun experience. So it's something I made.

27:05 Speaker 2: One thing I never did though. I never played on

27:07 Speaker 2: the subway that I wouldn't do. Okay, So I played

27:11 Speaker 2: this open mic once at this bar in Greenwich Village,

27:16 Speaker 2: and again, my last name is like very ethnic, not

27:20 Speaker 2: that it's that difficult, but my joke was always, you know,

27:25 Speaker 2: usually when people get married, the woman takes the husband's name,

27:29 Speaker 2: and I always said I would have preferred to take

27:33 Speaker 2: my wife's name because I just like it better, you know.

27:36 Speaker 2: And so I booked myself as Mike, and then I

27:39 Speaker 2: used her last name.

27:40 Speaker 1: Oh no, kidding, interesting, Oh that's funny, that's funny. Well,

27:43 Speaker 1: do you want to play something for us? Yeah, okay,

27:46 Speaker 1: if you're just joining us, Brooklyn, Mike is here with us,

27:49 Speaker 1: live in studio. He's got his guitar, and I'm going

27:51 Speaker 1: to bring the level up on that guitar, and uh,

27:56 Speaker 1: you know we're already live, so no chance to do

27:58 Speaker 1: a proper soundcheck.

27:59 Speaker 2: But I have the level set right at midway, both

28:03 Speaker 2: volume and tone, so I could always adjust it if

28:06 Speaker 2: I that's great. It's plenty of plenty, plenty of loud.

28:10 Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, okay, yeah, sounds good in the headphones.

28:15 Speaker 2: Make it a little less bright here, okay, yeah.

28:25 Speaker 1: So.

28:28 Speaker 2: Not to be redundant, but Gordon Lightfoot. I just feel

28:31 Speaker 2: I have to start with a song of his. Okay,

28:34 Speaker 2: So here's a song again. This is a real old one.

28:37 Speaker 2: This goes way back, I don't know, sixty eight, sixty

28:41 Speaker 2: nine and certainly not a song anyone would know unless

28:46 Speaker 2: you know you're a Gordon Lightfoot fan or have his

28:48 Speaker 2: albums and you know, would be familiar with it. Even

28:50 Speaker 2: if you're not a fan, if you have the album,

28:52 Speaker 2: you might.

28:53 Speaker 1: Know the song. Yeah, but I'm gonna start this one.

28:56 Speaker 2: I played this once years ago on Peter's show. He

28:59 Speaker 2: really liked it, and I think it's apropos for today

29:03 Speaker 2: because it's entitled Saturday Clothes and it's a little tale

29:08 Speaker 2: about I kind of envision a young guy going out

29:12 Speaker 2: to live on his own for the first time, maybe

29:15 Speaker 2: going going away to college, and having his own little

29:17 Speaker 2: place and really kind of something I think a lot

29:21 Speaker 2: of us could relate to, like learning how to do

29:24 Speaker 2: things on your own for the first time, you know,

29:26 Speaker 2: away from mom and all that good stuff, you know.

29:29 Speaker 2: And so he's really going through that process in his

29:34 Speaker 2: own place here, and every Saturday he has a gathering

29:38 Speaker 2: at his home or his apartment, whatever it may be,

29:41 Speaker 2: and his old friends come over every Saturday night, you know,

29:45 Speaker 2: and at the end of the night, everybody leaves, and

29:51 Speaker 2: he's already looking forward to the next Saturday.

29:53 Speaker 1: You know.

29:53 Speaker 2: He's like cleaning up after the mess that they've left.

29:56 Speaker 2: And that's kind of what this little tune is about.

29:59 Speaker 2: And it's called, like I said, Saturday clothes.

30:14 Speaker 5: I feel a little blue because I can't sew. There's

30:20 Speaker 5: still a lot of things that I should know. Anyone

30:27 Speaker 5: can guess. I don't know how to press my Saturday clothes.

30:37 Speaker 5: Everyone who's going home. I feel a little sad to

30:43 Speaker 5: watch them be. But I'll be cool because I don't

30:50 Speaker 5: believe the happy times are gone. I could still put

30:57 Speaker 5: on my Saturday clothes. Every warmbody knows I've got two

31:14 Speaker 5: That was a swell time. So now we'll take the

31:21 Speaker 5: bucks away and put the glasses on the train. I'll

31:25 Speaker 5: see you all next Saturday, two three. I feel a

31:46 Speaker 5: little off because they're gone, and if my own work here,

31:53 Speaker 5: i'd still be full. Put in a week or two.

32:00 Speaker 5: There's lots of things to do in my Saturday clothes

32:07 Speaker 5: and everyone's gone home.

32:12 Speaker 2: I've got to.

32:18 Speaker 5: Bad was a swell time. So now'll take the butts

32:25 Speaker 5: away and put the glasses on the tray. I'll see

32:29 Speaker 5: you all next Saturday Tuesday.

33:08 Speaker 1: Hmm, that is wonderful. Wonderful Brooklyn. Mike is here with

33:22 Speaker 1: us a live in studio and uh so that was

33:26 Speaker 1: Is Gordon Lightfoot your your favorite Did you say he

33:28 Speaker 1: was your favorite.

33:29 Speaker 2: Favorite singer songwriter? Absolutely?

33:32 Speaker 3: What what is it like? Is it?

33:34 Speaker 1: Is it possible to sort of describe what it is

33:38 Speaker 1: about him that connects with you so much? Yeah?

33:40 Speaker 2: This has been asked of me. Well, on the surface,

33:45 Speaker 2: I love his voice, his singing style, but just his

33:51 Speaker 2: the music in general. I mean, uh, you know, he's

33:55 Speaker 2: the consummate storyteller people usually refer to him.

34:00 Speaker 3: Is that.

34:02 Speaker 2: And there's something about Uh It's kind of funny because

34:06 Speaker 2: many of my favorite musicians singer songwriters are Canadian, and

34:13 Speaker 2: I think it's something about, you know, you're from a

34:15 Speaker 2: different place. Wherever you're from, you kind of have different

34:20 Speaker 2: sensibilities and I think it comes out in the songwriting.

34:26 Speaker 2: Joni Mitchell is my favorite female vocalist. She's Canadian. Another

34:31 Speaker 2: one of my favorite songwriters singer songwriters is Bruce Coburn,

34:35 Speaker 2: also Canadian. Dan Hill. I don't know it's just something

34:41 Speaker 2: I've just always loved his music and just something different

34:48 Speaker 2: about it. Certainly, you know, started out as straight folk,

34:55 Speaker 2: but then like a lot of music.

34:58 Speaker 1: Of that was coming.

35:01 Speaker 2: Folk music that was popular in the sixties and those

35:06 Speaker 2: singer songwriters and bands that carried through into the you know,

35:11 Speaker 2: late sixties into the seventies.

35:13 Speaker 1: You know, there was a change.

35:14 Speaker 2: There was like an infusion of country, and so then

35:19 Speaker 2: we get you know, country rock. And it's also kind

35:23 Speaker 2: of funny because growing up, when I was really young,

35:27 Speaker 2: there was an elderly woman we had. We lived in

35:30 Speaker 2: a six family apartment house that my parents owned, and

35:33 Speaker 2: downstairs from us, we were on the second floor, and

35:35 Speaker 2: the first floor there was elderly woman and she lived

35:39 Speaker 2: with our son, and we'd go down when we were

35:41 Speaker 2: really really young, like you know, five, six, seven years old,

35:45 Speaker 2: and we just like spent time down there because we

35:48 Speaker 2: were just like friendly with the neighbors. And she would

35:51 Speaker 2: have I don't remember what program it was on TV,

35:55 Speaker 2: but she loved country music, but I mean country western.

35:59 Speaker 1: And I hated it.

36:00 Speaker 2: It's just I just felt like it was just so corny,

36:03 Speaker 2: you know, because you know, I wanted to hear the

36:04 Speaker 2: Beatles and you know all that, and so I was

36:09 Speaker 2: always in the back of my I think subconsciously thought

36:12 Speaker 2: I don't like country music. I hate country music, right,

36:15 Speaker 2: And then the evolution of I should say, the infusion

36:20 Speaker 2: of country music into rock, so many of the bands

36:24 Speaker 2: that we grew up with that I wound up loving.

36:26 Speaker 2: I'm thinking, oh, these are great rock bands.

36:28 Speaker 1: I love them.

36:29 Speaker 2: Yeah, But looking back on it, there was like a

36:32 Speaker 2: lot of country influence, so Eagles, Poco, even Crosby Stiel's nesh.

36:37 Speaker 2: You know, you went from folk, you know, and then

36:39 Speaker 2: there was rock elements. But then and even if you know,

36:42 Speaker 2: when you see videos and pictures of these guys, they

36:45 Speaker 2: were wearing like country outfits, Like the shirts were like

36:49 Speaker 2: all deck down and stuff.

36:50 Speaker 1: It was.

36:51 Speaker 2: It was a style, you know, and so unbeknownst to me,

36:55 Speaker 2: it was like I was absorbing that, you know, and

36:58 Speaker 2: not really putting a label on it, you know what

37:01 Speaker 2: I mean, Not that that's necessary. It's just kind of

37:04 Speaker 2: funny how things turn, you know, Oh yeah, absolutely, and

37:06 Speaker 2: then how wind up being a country bands? Figure we

37:10 Speaker 2: have we have a call Hello, call her? Who's on

37:13 Speaker 2: the line.

37:15 Speaker 4: Good Gene Simmons, Gene Simmons.

37:21 Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, Jean Simmons of Kiss, Welcome, sir.

37:26 Speaker 4: I was just doing in doing my early Christmas shopping

37:29 Speaker 4: for and I it unleashed. Wow, and I heard Mike

37:35 Speaker 4: on your show? Is that correct?

37:37 Speaker 1: Brooklyn Mike is here, you know, Gene Simmons of Kiss,

37:40 Speaker 1: another real New Yorker.

37:42 Speaker 3: Yes, yes, that's right.

37:45 Speaker 4: In fact, that's why I was calling. I know that

37:48 Speaker 4: Brooklyn Mike is a very humble guy and he will

37:51 Speaker 4: never admit. They actually said it with Wicked Lester for

37:55 Speaker 4: four shows.

37:57 Speaker 5: Wow.

37:57 Speaker 1: Yeah, he left that out. He did not mention that

38:00 Speaker 1: earlier when he was talking about his will.

38:02 Speaker 4: He'll he will deny it.

38:06 Speaker 2: Jean, I you know, I'm I'm I'm humbled by your

38:08 Speaker 2: call this morning, but.

38:11 Speaker 1: I don't know if you're.

38:13 Speaker 2: At first, I was thinking, this is the first time

38:15 Speaker 2: you and you and I have ever spoken, But now

38:17 Speaker 2: it just you just sparked the memory that one night,

38:21 Speaker 2: way back in the good old days, you and I,

38:23 Speaker 2: uh spent a fun evening at Studio fifty four. Wow,

38:29 Speaker 2: oh the memories.

38:31 Speaker 4: That was the night that you and I were doing

38:33 Speaker 4: lines off the smaller Carlyons bat Hey.

38:35 Speaker 2: Well she didn't mind, so I mean, you know, get it. Well,

38:40 Speaker 2: the getting's good. I guess it was consensual, right mm.

38:45 Speaker 1: Memory memories. Wow, well, this is amazing. It's wonderful to

38:51 Speaker 1: have this kind of reunion happening. Geene Simmons of Kiss, Well, Mat, I.

38:55 Speaker 4: Am absolutely mess Maris that I have my old friend

38:59 Speaker 4: Brooklyn Mike the studio. I hang up now and continue

39:03 Speaker 4: my Christmas shopping, all right, And I just wanted to

39:06 Speaker 4: point out that for the next fifteen minutes, if you

39:09 Speaker 4: go to Kiss online dot com, fifteen percent of all

39:13 Speaker 4: coffee monks.

39:14 Speaker 1: Wow, by one at Kiss online dot com only for

39:18 Speaker 1: the next fifteen minutes.

39:19 Speaker 4: Wow, for the next fifteen minutes, by one coffee munket

39:23 Speaker 4: full price. Get the next.

39:26 Speaker 1: Oh that's a deal. That's that's fantastic. Wow.

39:29 Speaker 2: As amazing as we New Yorker say, such a deal.

39:32 Speaker 1: Wow.

39:34 Speaker 4: And we do have the four cups where false Stanley's

39:38 Speaker 4: on Wanton, Gene seven Kisses on another, uh huh ay,

39:45 Speaker 4: and of course Peter Chris from Chills.

39:50 Speaker 1: Wow. Well that's amazing. So you can get all four,

39:54 Speaker 1: that's that's great. Collect them all, Mat, that's wonderful. Got

39:58 Speaker 1: to collect them all professional math.

40:01 Speaker 4: But I will say that if you buy the Paul,

40:05 Speaker 4: you will get the Ace and Peter at the next

40:08 Speaker 4: fifteen minutes.

40:09 Speaker 1: Wow, oh boy, it just gets better. I hope you'll

40:13 Speaker 1: extend that, because you know, I am doing a radio show.

40:15 Speaker 1: I don't think I can make that purchase in the

40:17 Speaker 1: next fifteen minutes.

40:21 Speaker 4: That's something you're gonna have to work out with your people.

40:23 Speaker 1: Math, I understand. Jean Simmons of Kiss, I.

40:27 Speaker 4: Am taking up Brooklyn Mike's time. Nice to hear your

40:31 Speaker 4: voice again, Brooklyn Mike.

40:33 Speaker 1: Thank you, my friend.

40:34 Speaker 4: Maybe you can make a stop on that nighttime show

40:37 Speaker 4: there on Friday night.

40:39 Speaker 1: Thank you, Thank you. All right? Oh wow, he's gone,

40:42 Speaker 1: Gene Simmons of Kiss.

40:44 Speaker 2: Yeah, he mentioned Peter Chris. Peter Chris is from my

40:47 Speaker 2: neighborhood in Brooklyn Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Oh yes, yeah, actually the

40:50 Speaker 2: same street that might that I lived on for a

40:52 Speaker 2: little while that my brother lived on. Oh o kidding,

40:54 Speaker 2: and on the same street also down the other end

40:58 Speaker 2: Barry Manilow.

40:59 Speaker 1: Oh no, kiddyest wild wow that is yeah. So did

41:01 Speaker 1: you ever interact with Peter or what about Barry? No, no, no,

41:07 Speaker 1: It's nice to be able to reunite, reunite you with.

41:10 Speaker 2: G I'm just you know, I'm playing it back in

41:14 Speaker 2: my in my mind that it was quite quite the affair.

41:20 Speaker 1: I can imagine. Well, do you want to you want

41:22 Speaker 1: to play another song for us? I'd love to hear more.

41:24 Speaker 2: All right, do you mind if I keep it a

41:26 Speaker 2: little low key?

41:27 Speaker 1: I don't mind at all if I whatever, whatever you

41:31 Speaker 1: want to play.

41:36 Speaker 2: Okay, here's a song again. Dan Fogelberg is my other

41:39 Speaker 2: singer songwriter hero Man from Peoria, Illinois. And yeah, I

41:46 Speaker 2: mean if I had to describe myself musically and what

41:49 Speaker 2: I do, I'd just say the mellow music man, you know,

41:52 Speaker 2: like it or not. I mean, that's just just what

41:54 Speaker 2: I am and what I do. Sure, but it doesn't

41:56 Speaker 2: mean I don't do any up tempo stuff. But my

41:59 Speaker 2: heart is with like the sentimental, really mellow kind of stuff.

42:03 Speaker 2: So okay, this one's entitled song from Half Mountain.

42:07 Speaker 1: All right, Brooklyn Mike live in studio.

42:12 Speaker 5: Mm hmm sounds good.

42:15 Speaker 1: All right, Okay, here we go.

42:34 Speaker 5: Now the windows. In a moment, it will be raging.

42:43 Speaker 5: Now my sole is young. In a moment, it will

42:48 Speaker 5: be aging and high of the pines. I wrote several

42:57 Speaker 5: lines and left them in a bottle for you to fine.

43:16 Speaker 5: Now the dream is rising. In a moment it will

43:21 Speaker 5: be passed. This breath is my first, it will at

43:28 Speaker 5: you soon be my last, and on me with the coast.

43:37 Speaker 5: I made several toasts to you and me and the sea,

43:44 Speaker 5: and no one heard.

44:11 Speaker 1: M hmm.

44:22 Speaker 5: Nowst In a moment, it will be raging. Now my

44:31 Speaker 5: soul is young. In a moment it will be aging

44:39 Speaker 5: and higher both their pines. I wrote several lines and

44:46 Speaker 5: left them in a bottle for you too, fine.

45:05 Speaker 1: Wow, beautiful, beautiful. So that's uh, that's Dan Fogelberg. Yeah, Fogelberg.

45:11 Speaker 1: What I feel like, I've never really listened to much

45:14 Speaker 1: of him. I mean, what are what are his big hits? Again?

45:17 Speaker 2: I forget, Well, there's the leader of the band, Uh,

45:20 Speaker 2: the one he talks about.

45:21 Speaker 1: His funt leader of the band. Oh yeah, yeah yeah.

45:24 Speaker 2: And then it's longer, longer than anything.

45:28 Speaker 1: Oh that's the big big one is that's actually my.

45:30 Speaker 2: Wife and I and mine. That's our wedding songkidding longer

45:35 Speaker 2: and then uh yeah. But I do like twenty his songs,

45:40 Speaker 2: and wow, none of them are let me see, none

45:43 Speaker 2: of them are really are hits?

45:44 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, No, that's cool though. Actually you know why uh,

45:51 Speaker 1: I mean, why be predictable? Yeah, you know, dude, it's

45:55 Speaker 1: cool that you do some some deep cuts there. Yeah.

45:58 Speaker 2: How about a song by Coburn? Yes, yes, so this

46:02 Speaker 2: is called Lord of the Starfields. Again he was really,

46:07 Speaker 2: I mean, this guy is a prolific songwriter. He is

46:12 Speaker 2: virtuoso guitarist and really a one hit wonder Wondering where

46:15 Speaker 2: the Lions Are nineteen seventy five. I don't know if

46:19 Speaker 2: he had well, Danny rocket, rocket launcher, rocket launcher. Yeah,

46:23 Speaker 2: in the eighties, that's when I first became aware of

46:25 Speaker 2: a right. So yeah, yeah, yeah, and this one is

46:29 Speaker 2: kind of Lord of the Starfields, not really a religious song,

46:36 Speaker 2: but kind of giving acknowledgment or praise to what I

46:42 Speaker 2: would refer to. And it's not my own term source.

46:45 Speaker 2: Everything emanates from. Yeah, yeah, and it's entitled Lord of

46:49 Speaker 2: the Starfields.

46:50 Speaker 1: All right, Brooklyn Mike Livin studio, m hm.

47:05 Speaker 6: Word of the star feels.

47:10 Speaker 5: Ancient of days, you nursemaker. Here's a song in your praise,

47:26 Speaker 5: Wings of the star cloud.

47:31 Speaker 3: Beginning, and then.

47:36 Speaker 5: You made my heart.

47:41 Speaker 2: Like a banner in the wind.

47:46 Speaker 6: Oh the Fire's son keeping Birded, Oh my, the fires

47:59 Speaker 6: of song, be birded, Lord of.

48:17 Speaker 1: The Star, fel souler of life.

48:27 Speaker 5: Heaven under far throt of your life, Voice of.

48:37 Speaker 1: The No smile what you all?

48:47 Speaker 3: The warrior.

48:51 Speaker 7: Only comes home to you on the fire sun keep

49:08 Speaker 7: the fires sun keeping. Oh, the fires sun keeping.

49:39 Speaker 1: Well, that is cool. Yeah, I've never heard that before.

49:42 Speaker 1: That's an old Yeah. Yeah. He's known more for producing, right,

49:47 Speaker 1: He's produced a lot of albums, hasn't he He I'm

49:50 Speaker 1: not certain about that.

49:51 Speaker 2: Yeah, But what I will tell you is his albums

49:54 Speaker 2: are engineered. They're like the finest sounding, like sonically y

50:00 Speaker 2: albums that I that I own, and I own like

50:02 Speaker 2: three hundred albums. They just sound so good, yeah, the

50:06 Speaker 2: way they're produced and engineered.

50:07 Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah.

50:08 Speaker 2: And then it's funny because I saw him a number

50:11 Speaker 2: of years ago and when Vinyl was coming out again

50:13 Speaker 2: and he had a new album and it was on Vinyl,

50:16 Speaker 2: and I bought it, and I'll never buy Vinyl again. Honestly,

50:19 Speaker 2: it just sounded horrible. Really, Yeah. I was really disappointed

50:23 Speaker 2: with it, especially in comparison to like his old albums

50:26 Speaker 2: from the seventies, which sounds so good.

50:29 Speaker 1: I know, I don't know what it is. I know

50:31 Speaker 1: that some vinyl now is it's not like there's a

50:36 Speaker 1: cheaper way to do it where it's not like uh

50:39 Speaker 1: where it's basically just they how do they do it?

50:42 Speaker 1: It's not I don't I don't remember exactly, but it's

50:46 Speaker 1: it's there's a cheaper way to do vinyl now that's uh,

50:50 Speaker 1: it's not like the original. It's it's you're basically listening

50:53 Speaker 1: to a CD, but it's on the record, okay, instead

50:55 Speaker 1: of uh, you know, instead of listening to actual vinyl. Yeah,

50:59 Speaker 1: but uh no, that's interesting.

51:00 Speaker 2: It wouldn't surprise me though, if he were a producer,

51:02 Speaker 2: because the guy's brilliant. Yeah yeah, and I've met him

51:05 Speaker 2: a couple of times. Super nice.

51:06 Speaker 1: Oh yeah. But he's still tours.

51:08 Speaker 2: Yeah, he's still plays Yeah yeah good. I mean as

51:11 Speaker 2: far as touring, I don't know, but he still does

51:13 Speaker 2: shows for sure.

51:14 Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah.

51:14 Speaker 2: But even like Gordon Lightfoot, I mean he died a

51:17 Speaker 2: couple of years ago and he was almost eighty five

51:20 Speaker 2: years old, he's still doing like one hundred shows a year.

51:22 Speaker 1: Oh wow, crazy? Yeah wow. Do you want to do

51:26 Speaker 1: We have time? If you want to do one more,

51:27 Speaker 1: you want to do one more.

51:28 Speaker 2: See what should I do?

51:29 Speaker 1: What should If you're just joining us, We've got Brooklyn

51:31 Speaker 1: Mike here in studio, a long time member of the

51:35 Speaker 1: extended family around here. But this is uh, this is

51:38 Speaker 1: Brooklyn Mike's first time on this show.

51:40 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's fun.

51:40 Speaker 1: I'm very excited about it.

51:42 Speaker 2: Like I said, I've started saying before being that I'm

51:45 Speaker 2: not working a regular job anymore. Now now it affords

51:47 Speaker 2: me time to do you know, be able to come

51:49 Speaker 2: here in the morning or yeah, you know, because I

51:51 Speaker 2: was working weekends, i was working nights and just wasn't

51:55 Speaker 2: conducive to doing too many other things.

51:58 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, should we do?

52:05 Speaker 2: Would it be crazy to do another Gordon Lightfoot song?

52:07 Speaker 1: Not at all, Not at all. Okay, he's your favorite

52:09 Speaker 1: after all.

52:11 Speaker 2: Again, it's very uh, very selfish of me here.

52:15 Speaker 1: No, that's that's quite all right. Plus, you do you

52:18 Speaker 1: do songs that a lot of us haven't heard before.

52:21 Speaker 2: So well, see that's see, that's my thing. It's like, hopefully,

52:24 Speaker 2: you know, whatever the songs are, you know, people are

52:27 Speaker 2: enjoying them, and hopefully it makes it more interesting rather

52:30 Speaker 2: than hearing a song that you've heard three hundred, you know,

52:33 Speaker 2: a thousand times, like I told Peter, like I do

52:36 Speaker 2: a couple of Eagles songs, but you know, nothing against

52:38 Speaker 2: take it easy. But I'm not doing it anymore now.

52:40 Speaker 1: I know how to do it.

52:41 Speaker 2: If somebody requests it, I could do it, but it's not.

52:44 Speaker 2: My choice is not to do take it easy. Yeah,

52:47 Speaker 2: do we really need to hear it again?

52:48 Speaker 1: I don't blame you, you know what I mean, I

52:50 Speaker 1: don't blame you.

52:51 Speaker 2: So let's see. So this is actually this is kind

52:57 Speaker 2: of a moody song. This is also an old one.

53:01 Speaker 2: This goes back I don't know, sixty six, maybe nineteen

53:04 Speaker 2: sixty six, sixty seven, can remember. I mean Gordon was

53:08 Speaker 2: you know, he was performing way back in the early fifties.

53:11 Speaker 1: I think it was.

53:14 Speaker 2: So this song is about the four seasons, which you

53:18 Speaker 2: know is kind of apropos right now, we're kind of

53:20 Speaker 2: changing seasons here. He starts starts with this. It's four

53:25 Speaker 2: verses and starts with the spring, summer, autumn, you know,

53:28 Speaker 2: ends with the winter, but then by the end of

53:31 Speaker 2: the last verse it's returning to spring again. And he

53:35 Speaker 2: kind of describes it as you could if you really

53:41 Speaker 2: listen to it. It could be related to a relationship

53:44 Speaker 2: between two people. So there's that analogy, so to speak.

53:49 Speaker 2: And this was actually the first day that I started

53:52 Speaker 2: that I studied guitar. I was determined to play a

53:55 Speaker 2: full song the first day. So I had my lessons

54:00 Speaker 2: and I went home and I learned. I played this

54:03 Speaker 2: song the first day. So this is the first song

54:04 Speaker 2: that I learned how to play on the guitar. And

54:07 Speaker 2: it's entitled Pussy Willows Cattails.

54:09 Speaker 1: Okay, so all right, good luck with this one, Brooklyn

54:12 Speaker 1: Mike live in studio.

54:13 Speaker 2: Okay.

54:36 Speaker 5: Pussy whooos, cat tails, soft winds and roses, rain pools

54:44 Speaker 5: in the woodlands, water to my knees, shivery, quivering, the

54:52 Speaker 5: warm breath of spring. Pussy willows, cattails, soft winds and roses,

55:08 Speaker 5: catted birds and corn fields. Day dreams together, riding on

55:15 Speaker 5: the roadside. The dust gets in your rise, reveling, disheveling.

55:23 Speaker 5: The summer nights can bring pussy willows, cat tails, soft

55:30 Speaker 5: winds and roses, slendid rays and colored days, dark blue horizons,

55:52 Speaker 5: naked limbs and wheat bills, hazy afternoons. Voice rejoice, seeing

56:01 Speaker 5: the wine cups still spring, Pussy willows, cattails, soft winds,

56:08 Speaker 5: and roses, harsh nights and candlelights, wood fires, ablazing, soft

56:23 Speaker 5: lips and fingertips, Resting in muscle treasurey, remembering the permise,

56:33 Speaker 5: soft spring, pussy willows, cattails, soft winds and roses.

57:01 Speaker 1: Oh beautiful, beautiful.

57:03 Speaker 2: I'm wondering if I could substitute my music for sedation

57:08 Speaker 2: at the doctor's office.

57:11 Speaker 1: No, you sound great. You sound great, Brooklyn, Mike, thank

57:14 Speaker 1: you so much, my friend. This has been wonderful.

57:16 Speaker 2: It's really been my pleasure to be here.

57:17 Speaker 1: Thank you, Matt. Absolutely, and you're gonna be on Retrospectrum

57:20 Speaker 1: Radio right next Friday. Yeah, it's coming from this coming Friday.

57:23 Speaker 1: I should say very good, very good, by the way,

57:25 Speaker 1: before we run out of time too. I just want

57:27 Speaker 1: to remind everybody for those listening live on Saturday tonight

57:31 Speaker 1: the pop punk pop up at Terminus Underground, of course,

57:35 Speaker 1: presented by New Hampshire Underground. Jenny and I will be

57:38 Speaker 1: there the event doors at seven pm. All ages fifteen

57:41 Speaker 1: dollars entry, twenty dollars VIP lounge. Come see some great bands,

57:45 Speaker 1: Island of Alaska on what You're on gr im and

57:48 Speaker 1: of course some great artwork. Jenny will have a table setup. Also,

57:52 Speaker 1: Dennis Layton will be there with his art with Love

57:55 Speaker 1: from Faith, Elements and Fantasy. Brenda Drew Designs, Cosmos Grations,

57:59 Speaker 1: Andre do My Prospero's Painting's Mystics and Chelsea Purington Photography.

58:04 Speaker 1: That is tonight doors at seven at one thirty four

58:07 Speaker 1: Hayines Street and Nashua, New Hampshire. You can go to

58:09 Speaker 1: New Hampshire Underground dot org for more information. So we

58:13 Speaker 1: look forward to seeing you there and I believe this

58:16 Speaker 1: is part of the Winter Stroll in Nashua, so great events,

58:19 Speaker 1: so come see us. By the way, if you're wondering

58:21 Speaker 1: what happened to Jenny, she went home because we had

58:24 Speaker 1: a very important package delivered, so she took an Uber

58:27 Speaker 1: home microphone, a new microphone for my podcast studio at home,

58:30 Speaker 1: and it's an expensive item, so she went home to

58:34 Speaker 1: make sure that the ports pirates didn't get to it.

58:38 Speaker 1: But Brooklyn, Mike, thank you again, my friend. This has

58:41 Speaker 1: been absolutely wonderful to have you here and we'll do

58:44 Speaker 1: it again in the future. You're coming back in January

58:46 Speaker 1: right to this show. Yeah, I believe we're booked for

58:48 Speaker 1: January twenty fourth, outstanding. I'll look forward to it. Thank

58:51 Speaker 1: you very much. Absolutely anything people should know about where

58:54 Speaker 1: to find you online if they want to book you

58:55 Speaker 1: or now that you're taking bookings or gearing up to

58:59 Speaker 1: do that.

59:00 Speaker 2: You know, I've got a couple of videos on YouTube, okay,

59:03 Speaker 2: but they're under my name, which is Michael Plotino pl

59:07 Speaker 2: O T I n O. Okay, first time I've given

59:08 Speaker 2: it out. Oh yes, but there's just I've just got

59:11 Speaker 2: a couple of videos on there. I'm just starting to

59:15 Speaker 2: try to have some kind of online presence. It's very

59:18 Speaker 2: very new to me. Yeah, you know, I'm still used

59:20 Speaker 2: to recording on a four track cassette, which I love doing, right,

59:25 Speaker 2: you know, so certainly if anybody listening really wants to

59:30 Speaker 2: get in touch with me through any of the radio shows,

59:32 Speaker 2: all you guys know me and have my contact so

59:35 Speaker 2: that would be awesome.

59:36 Speaker 1: Absolutely absolutely all right, Brooklyn, Mike, thank you so much.

59:40 Speaker 1: And of course if you missed any part of today

59:41 Speaker 1: should it will be up in just a little bit

59:43 Speaker 1: at wmnhradio dot org and at my website Matt Connorton

59:47 Speaker 1: dot com. And that's gonna do it for us.

59:49 Speaker 4: For now.

59:49 Speaker 1: We'll talk at y'all a little bit later, Bye everybody,