What Difference Does It Make

Music Industry veteran Lynn McDonnell answers to many names, "Gunga Din Lynn", "Gungolla The Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla", "Lynner, Lynner What's for Dinner" or just plain "Nails". She enters the What Difference Does It Make virtual studio to take us on her career journey, from Doctor's assistant to Life Coach. Oh yeah, in between, she has been one of the most passionate music industry professionals in the business. Lynn shares stories of mall shopping with Gwen Stefani, waiting for Marilyn Manson to apply his makeup, living on Snoop Dog time when you're trying to make an 8AM morning show, and many others. Lynn is currently the Triple A editor for the soon-to-be shuttering All Access, an influential and beloved online radio and music industry source, so we get the inside scoop on what it takes to put out a daily publication. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Annie Zaleski returns to What Difference Does It Make to discuss her latest book, P!NK: Raise Your Glass. Besides being an enormously talented writer, Annie is just a big ol' music nerd at heart. With that in mind, she's more than happy to talk about Chrissie Hynde's jacket, the location of Nate Ruess, and why she has yet to see a P!NK concert. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dean Sabatino aka Dean Clean drummer for The Dead Milkmen steps into our virtual studio to virtually show us around the Quaker City aka Philadelphia. Quaker City Quiet Pills is the latest album from the band and Dean talks us through the process of creating new songs and lets us in on stories behind some of the band's best known songs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"They're here", "Ellll-eeeee-ooooot", "Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!". If you're like us, you immediately recognize these are quotes from Poltergeist, E.T. and Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan.  And they all arrived in the year 1982.  Mark Altman is so aware of what a magical time this was for movies, that he produced a 4-part series entitled Greatest Geek Year Ever: 1982. Mark was all too happy to step inside our virtual studio to elaborate on the films that helped shape who he is today. Greatest Geek Year Ever: 1982 is currently showing on The CW and is available for viewing on the app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emiel Spoelder fell under The Dream Syndicate spell almost by accident. He went to see a Ryan Adams concert and the opening band was Steve Wynn and The Miracle 3. He fell in love with the band immediately, in particular, singer Steve Wynn. He met Steve and his mother, and she “suggests" Emiel make a documentary about her son. And that's exactly what he did! Of course, it wasn't that simple. Emiel lays out all the ins and outs of making an independent film on our podcast. It's a fascinating listen and the good news is, The Dream Syndicate: How Did We Find Ourselves Here? is now available on Amazon Prime Video. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The old saying goes, “We eventually become our parents", but is that really true? Fortunately, we have Ally Probst and Joel Willis to put in print the mandatory laws all Dads must obey when they encounter a certain situation. Their book is entitled Dad Law: The Definitive Reference for All Things Dad. In the book, they answer all our burning questions. Should I really threaten to turn this car around? Should I let my kids beat me at Mario Kart? Should I mention how much cooler music was back in my day?  All will be revealed in this informative episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congratulations are in order for Richard Blade. Los Angeles Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez will introduce a resolution declaring June 9, 2023, “RICHARD BLADE DAY," with the award presented on JUNE 6th for the best-selling author, world-renowned on-air personality and radio show host.  It turns out Richard Blade may just be an "Imposter". Los Angelenos know him as the voice that introduced a generation to 80s music bands like Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Pet Shop Boys, INXS, and The Cure. In fact, you can still hear him seven days a week on SiriusXM's 1st Wave channel. However, the truth is that Richard Blade is ALSO a writer...and a good one at that. His latest book is Imposters, based on the true story of Mike Evans and John "JT" Thomas". Mike was one half of the morning show at KROQ in the early 80s. It was Mike that sat Richard down and told him this incredible story that Richard felt compelled to share with the world. It was a real treat to have Richard enter our virtual studios and we discovered so much mor

Scott Aukerman is first and foremost an amazingly funny and creative comedian. You know him as the creator and host of Comedy Bang! Bang!, and he's also one of the co-creators of "Between Two Ferns" with Zach Galifianakis. Scott is also a huge music fan, as you can hear on his comedic podcasts dedicated to U2, REM, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Talking Heads. And he has just released a book dedicated to the cast of characters created for Comedy Bang! Bang! We seized this opportunity to invite Scott to step into our virtual studios to give his hot takes and personal anecdotes on the top 10 songs from the 1986 year-end chart from The World Famous KROQ in Los Angeles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Halloran heard XTC's "Radios In Motion" and took the lyrics to heart: "And all my kids are complaining, that there's nowhere to go." He gave the kids somewhere to go, first in Detroit with his own Radios In Motion show on WDET. Then he really created a stir at 91X in San Diego with his evening show, before rising to the rank of Program Director. Mike's got opinions and plenty of stories to tell, as we look back at another one of his former stations, KROQ, and songs #20 to #11 from their 1986 year-end playlist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Depending on your age, you either initially loved or hated disco. No matter your age now, you love songs like "I Was Made For Lovin' You" by KISS and "Shakedown Street" by The Grateful Dead and don't even think twice that they were once considered taboo by their fanbase. Author Steven Blush covers this era in his new book, "When Rock Met Disco". In it, he covers the good, "Call Me" by Blondie, the bad, an actual disco version of "Stairway To Heaven", and the ugly, The Chicago White Sox Disco Demolition Day. It's a great chat, so put on your boogie shoes...or air buds, as Steven Blush takes us back to that Saturday Night Fever era. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We love friend-of-the-show, Craig Rosen, and we love his passion for music. This makes him the perfect guest to look at songs 30 to 21 from the 1986 KROQ year-end playlist. Does he like the Fine Young Cannibals reworking of his beloved Buzzcock's song, "Ever Fallen In Love?" Does he prefer Frente's "Bizarre Love Triangle" over New Order’s? All will be revealed as Craig steps into our virtual studio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Glen Matlock has seen a lot, and he pours it all out on his new solo album, Consequences Coming. Glen steps into our virtual studio to discuss his solo career and the amazing band he's assembled. But no chat with Glen would be complete without us asking about The Sex Pistols, what life was like working with Vivienne Westwood at her shop, SEX, and what his favorite song is to play as the touring bass man in Blondie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is no doubt that Debora Iyall, lead singer of the band Romeo Void, knows her way around a memorable lyric. "A Girl In Trouble Is A Temporary Thing", "Talk Dirty To Me”, and of course, "I Might Like You Better If We Slept Together" from the song "Never Say Never", all came from the mind…and experience...of Debora. Her band made a name for itself in the San Francisco scene in the early 80s, and now a recording, Live From The Mabuhay Gardens, November 14, 1980 has surfaced, and captures the band as they were first establishing themselves. The recording from that night will be released on Record Store Day on galaxy-blue colored vinyl. We happily welcome Debora into our virtual studios to bring us up to speed on her life, her side projects, plus everything you may want to know about Romeo Void. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sam Zniber knew he wanted to be on the radio. So at the tender age of 14, he stepped into the office of his local top 40 radio station and let the Manager know exactly what he was doing wrong. To the Manager's credit, he listened to this brash kid and offered him an airshift. And so began Sam's radio journey, and what a journey it's been! Sam has programmed radio stations from Sydney, Australia to Miami, Florida to Paris, France. Currently heard on Radio Nostalgie, he also runs MusicDatak, his own music research company. Today Sam steps into the What Difference Does It Make virtual studio to discuss his career, and to offer his opinion on the music played back in 1986 from the World-Famous KROQ in Los Angeles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Benji McPhail is the Program Director and Morning Show host at KXT 91.7 in Dallas. He's been leading the charge of music discovery since his days at the legendary KBCO in Boulder, Colorado. Today, Benji accepts our challenge of discovering music from the year 1986, based on the year-end playlist from the World Famous KROQ in Los Angeles. As Love & Rockets might say, "All aboard the Express Kundalini"! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Max Tolkoff has an opinion or two on the state of Alternative radio. This is the man responsible for The Edge format which eventually wound up on over 30 Alternative radio stations by the mid 90’s. Max tells tales on how his love of skiing, biking, and bad gambling decisions led to his career in the 80’s as the Program Director for 91X in San Diego, followed by stints at WFNX in Boston, and Indie 103.1 in Los Angeles. After all that, we analyze a ten song chunk of music played on KROQ in 1986. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lynn Goldsmith is an artist of many hats, painter of conceptional images, film director, even co-manager at one point for Grand Funk Railroad. But the reason we are thrilled to talk with Lynn today are the images she has created with her camera. There is not enough space to list the hundreds of museums, galleries and magazines that have featured her work, but let's just say that if you are a music fan, you have had the honor of viewing her artistry. She has fourteen published photography books, featuring artists like Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, KISS, and The Police. Her latest book is called Music In The 80s, so we are thrilled to welcome Lynn Goldsmith into our virtual studio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve Kilbey of The Church does not have a stop button. He's been releasing music for over 40 years, that's 26 albums with The Church, 7 solo albums and a plethora of collaborations with his musical friends. He's also a writer, a poet and an artist. Somehow this ARIA (Australian) Hall of Fame Inductee found time to sit down with us and talk about the band's latest album, The Hypnogogue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dennis Constantine is a radio visionary. Finding himself at a new radio station, he saw a niche in a market filled with rock radio stations. Instead of cutting down the music library to a small playlist of songs, he focused on introducing new music and deeper cuts by well-loved artists. Yes, this was rock music for adults. Dennis built KBCO from a low-power Boulder station to the number one station in the Denver market, with a unique mix of music and personalities attuned to the Colorado audience. Soon he was using his skills to create radio stations nationwide. You can hear him currently on Arizona's Adult Alternative KVNA, as he continues to consult radio stations around the country. Today, Dennis enters our virtual studio to discuss his career, and to offer his opinion on songs 70 to 61 from the 1986 KROQ year-end playlist. We are a proud member of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Simply put, Jake Rudh is an old soul in the best of ways. He stayed indoors as a child to watch MTV. When grunge took hold in the early 90s, he was working at a swing era radio station. He even named his dog Harry. Not after Styles, but Connick Jr. He proudly represents the 80s music era with his Transmission radio show every Thursday evening on The Current in Minneapolis. He is also the founder of Transmission dance nights at the legendary First Avenue music club. He now joins our podcast to discuss his career, and to offer his opinion on a ten song chunk of music from the 1986 KROQ year-end playlist. We are a proud member of Pantheon Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices