What Difference Does It Make

1985 was a year filled with incredible highs: LIVE AID!, The Breakfast Club, Eddie Murphy, and some soul-crushing lows: New Coke, the Super Bowl halftime show, the film Gymkata. It's all worth revisiting, so join us as we celebrate some of the most unforgettable moments in pop culture from 1985. Get a month of Amazon Music for free courtesy of your 80s music aficionados at What Difference Does It Make We are a proud member of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to our greatest hits episode! First time to What Difference Does It Make? This is the perfect start to discovering our 80s music podcast. We look back at the highlights from 2021, as we talk with some of our favorite music artists and other creators. New episodes every Friday! Get a free month of Amazon Music courtesy of What Difference Does It Make. Your 80s music aficionados. We are a proud member of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fans of Tom Scharpling might think they know him well. After all, he's hosted his own radio show/podcast, The Best Show for 20 years. Turns out, we only knew about a small portion of his life. It Never Ends is an appropriate title for Tom's memoir. In it, he talks about his issues, big and small, and how he's managed to rise above it all. And sometimes, he didn't. Tom is normally the guy asking the questions, so this is a unique opportunity for us to switch it up a little and dig into his life stories on the What Difference Does It Make podcast. Get the audio version of It Never Ends for free on Audible courtesy of your 80s music afficionados at What Difference Does It Make https://www.audibletrial.com/wddim We are a proud member of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Friend of the show, David Wild, returns, and he wanted to bring along his bestie, Phil Rosenthal. Phil is the creator of Everybody Loves Raymond, and Somebody Feed Phil, so first thing we do is throw him a food question. Phil retorts with a "What kind of podcast is this?!?", and we are off and running! Turns out, Phil wants to talk about Bruce Springsteen, and we're more than happy to indulge him! Our talk centers around what makes Bruce so unique, personal memories and encounters with The Boss, and eventually we get to some food-talk. Specifically, Phil taking Jack Nicholson to a pizza parlor in Phoenix. It's so crazy, it has to be true. It's all on the heart-stopping, pants-dropping, love-making, earth-quaking What Difference Does It Make podcast! Get three FREE months of Amazon Music courtesy of your 80s music aficionados at What Difference Does It Make getamazonmusic.com/wddimpodcast We are a proud member of Pantheon Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Illsley knew he wanted more out of life than a safe career working in the logging industry. His life took a major turn when he met the Knopfler brothers; Mark and David. With John taking the bass, and Pick Withers on drums, the band Dire Straits was formed. Through various lineup changes, John Illsley and Mark Knopfler remained the core members throughout the band's career. Dire Straits went on to win four Grammy Awards, three Brit Awards, and two MTV Video Music Awards. They've sold an estimated 100 million units worldwide, making them one of the biggest bands of the 80s. John documents it all in his memoir, My Life In Dire Straits. We cover it all, including their awkward entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. Listen to the entire Dire Straits catalogue with a free month of Amazon Music courtesy of your 80s music aficionados at What Difference Does It Make We are a proud member of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michaelangelo Matos realized at the age of 9 how magical the year 1984 was by simply listening to the radio, and loving each and every song he heard. His latest book, Can't Slow Down: How 1984 Became Pop's Blockbuster Year, documents how this came to be by focusing on key moments. We talk about a few of our favorites from the Britain Rocks America-Again Newsweek cover in January, to the debut of Graffiti Rock in June, to the MTV Awards, and the recording of Band Aid. Of course, there was also Prince, Madonna, Michael Jackson, and Bruce Springsteen. 1984 truly was a year like no other. Hear all your favorite songs from 1984 by receiving a one month subscription to Amazon for free courtesy of your friends at What Difference Does It Make. We are a proud member of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gina Schock, drummer for The Go-Go's, may have been "Made in Hollywood", as the title of her new book suggests, but she was without a doubt, born in Baltimore. Her accent rings as loud as her drumming, loud and clear. It turns out Gina was also the unofficial photographer of the band during their heyday in the early 80s. Using her Canon camera, Gina snapped many candid and posed shots of her bandmates, many of which made it into the book. We chat all about Gina's start as a musician, which leads to her cross-country journey to Hollywood, and finally to her induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame this year. Listen to The Go-Go's all you like by receiving a month free of Amazon Music, courtesy of your friends at What Difference Does It Make. We are a proud member of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We care about the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, but not nearly as much as Joe Kwaczala and Kristen Studard, hosts of the Who Cares About The Rock Hall? podcast. We learn all about the ins and outs of who gets in to the Rock Hall, and who is on the outs. We also learn why the actual music fan is the least important factor regarding the induction process. Hear the music from every Rock Hall member with a free one month subscription to Amazon Music, courtesy of your friends at the What Difference Does It Make? podcast. Both What Difference Does It Make? and Who Cares About The Rock Hall? are proud members of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To tell you the truth, David Wild knows everyone in Hollywood. Because it was our first time talking with him, it felt like a first date. David laid out his career resume, from interviewing his Tenafly neighbor, George Benson when David was 9 years old, to his recent Emmy loss to Stephen Colbert in the Outstanding Variety Special (Live) category. He was also in a nostalgic mood, as the day we recorded this episode, was the 20th anniversary of his Emmy-nominated work for America: A Tribute to Heroes. He also fills our head with stories about The Grammys and The Beatles, to his friendship with Brad Paisley and his passion for the Dodgers. The good news is he has agreed to a second date with us, so please enjoy our first of hopefully many talks with David Wild on the What Difference Does It Make podcast. Get a month of Amazon music for free thanks to your friends at What Difference Does It Make. getamazonmusic.com/wddimpodcast We are a proud member of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit me

The coup de main, or surprise attack, for Jude Cole, is that after 21 years, he's released two records in 2021. Coup De Main is an album of originals, and Coolerator, showcases his love of 50s music with all cover songs. His early career took off when Moon Martin (the guy responsible for writing "Bad Case Of Loving You") plucked a 19 year old Jude Cole to play in his band, but Jude is best known as a solo artist in the 80s and 90s, with a top ten hit "Baby It's Tonight". His career has experienced many highs and lows, and we get into it all on the What Difference Does It Make Podcast. Hear Coup de Main and Coolerator for free on Amazon Music. We are a proud member of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alec Wightman may call himself a corporate lawyer, but he's also a huge music fan. He's chronicled his personal journey of fandom into a memoir entitled Music In My Life: Notes From a Longtime Fan. The book details Alec's discovery of rock and roll through the music of Dion's The Wanderer, to his side gig booking shows for his favorite artists in his hometown of Columbus, OH, to his involvement with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, where he served as board chair. It's a unique rock and roll story from a fan's perspective, and we get into all of it on the What Difference Does It Make Podcast. Listen to all the music you want with a free month of Amazon Music courtesy of the What Difference Does It Make Podcast. getamazonmusic.com/wddimpodcast We are a proud member of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jay Jay French may be best known as the guitarist in Twisted Sister, but he's used all the experience he's acquired throughout the course of his life to become a columnist, author, and motivational speaker. Jay Jay, along with his business partner Steve Farber--a leadership and management expert himself, has written a "bizoir": part memoir, part business advice. It's called Twisted Business: Lessons From My Life In Rock and Roll. Both Jay Jay and Steve join us as we learn all about the (mis)adventures and the lessons learned along the way. Hear Twisted Sister's music with a free month of Amazon Music courtesy of the What Difference Does It Make podcast. We are a proud member of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist and author Paul Rees has previously written about Robert Plant and The Who's John Entwistle; two rock stars that kept a low personal profile. Paul completes his rock star trilogy with a biography on John Mellencamp. We talk a lot about John's grit and determination, which helps in no small part to make his artistic dreams come true. Paul immerses himself into John Mellencamp's life, and we come to really understand what continues to drive this Rock and Roll Hall of Fame artist. Hear John Mellencamp's music for free by subscribing to Amazon Music courtesy of the What Difference Does It Make Podcast getamazonmusic.com/wddimpodcast We are a proud member of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fee Waybill, lead singer of The Tubes takes us on his musical journey as the band moves from cult status to striking it big, after landing producer David Foster for their classic album, The Completion Backward Principle. His solo album, Fee Waybill Rides Again was produced by his best friend, Richard Marx. Fee has appeared in many cult film classics, from Xanadu to The Fabulous Stains to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. His next dream is to play King George in Hamilton, so he can sing "You'll Be Back". It's all true, and it's all on the What Difference Does It Make podcast. Hear The Tubes music for free with a month of Amazon Music. getamazonmusic.com/wddimpodcast We are a proud member of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we step back from the task of asking questions, and instead let Bob Bland of the Bend & Scoop podcast inquire into our record collection with a segment he calls, "Is That Your Vinyl Answer". Here is your friendly reminder to subscribe to our podcast as we release new episodes every Friday. Reviews are also appreciated! Video clips from each episode can be found on the What Difference Does It Make YouTube page. Get a month of Amazon Music for free. getamazonmusic.com/wddimpodcast We are a proud member of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You might know Lawrence Gowan as the keyboardist and songwriter for Styx for the past 20 years. Canadians know Lawrence Gowan as the artist with two top-ten albums from the 80s, Strange Animal (1985) and Great Dirty World (1987), as well as numerous top ten singles, including "Criminal Mind", Juno award winner for best video of the year in 1985. Needless to say, we dig into his entire career, up to and including his latest album with Styx, Crash Of The Crown. Listen to all music by Styx and Lawrence Gowan with a one month free subscription to Amazon Music courtesy of What Difference Does It Make. getamazonmusic.com/wddimpodcast We are a proud member of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gary Myrick has had quite an adventurous musical journey. This Texas native left for greener pastures in Los Angeles and formed Gary Myrick & The Figures. Any fan of the film Valley Girl will remember their 80s song, "She Talks In Stereo". From there, it was on to London to meet up with former Clash bassist, Paul Simonon, and Nigel Dixon to make up the band Havana 3AM. Today, Myrick's adventures include motorcycles, his dogs, his 12 string guitars, and his love of the blues. This brings us to Gary Myrick's latest album, Forever (Adventures In 12 String) . The album covers the songs that inspired him, the songs he created with The Figures and Havana 3AM, as well as some originals all played on the 12 string guitar. You'll hear all about Gary's (mis)adventures in this episode of What Difference Does It Make. Hear Gary Myrick's Adventures in 12 String on Amazon Music with a free one month subscription. https://www.getamazonmusic.com/wddimpodcast We are a proud member of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your a

Kurt Larson, lead singer of Information Society, is quite an interesting guy. First of all, he's only a part-time rock star, as he spends most of his days composing music for video games. We learn all about video games, the forgotten 80s music format CD +G, and of course, we get the 4-1-1 on their 1988 top ten hit "What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)", and the hoops they had to jump through to get Paramount's permission to use Leonard Nimoy's voice. And, oh yeah, they have a new album out now called, "ODDfellows". Want to listen to "ODDfellows" by Information Society? Sign up for a free month of Amazon Music courtesy of What Difference Does It Make. We are a proud member of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you're a fan of 80s music like we are, you might say some of your favorite bands are The Police, REM, Squeeze, The Go-Gos, The Alarm, The English Beat and The Bangles. First of all, we would say you've got great taste in music. We'd also say it was artist manager and music executive Miles Copeland that helped usher in this 80s music renaissance. Miles documents his successes and failures in his book, Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: My Life In The Music Business. He shares his insights and some of the crazy cast of characters he's managed in his legendary career. Get three FREE months of Amazon music, courtesy of your friends at What Difference Does It Make. getamazonmusic.com/wddimpodcast We are a proud member of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most of us initially learned about Gary Kemp though his work as the musical architect for the 80s band, Spandau Ballet so naturally we wanted to touch on everything surrounding the band. But first things first, as we launch into a talk about the creation of his cool new album, INSOLO, his work stepping into David Gilmour's spot in Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets and his excellent podcast, Rockonteurs. Gary also gave us a history lesson on all that went into the Blitz Kids club scene in the late 70s to early 80s. Get three FREE months of Amazon Music courtesy of your 80s music aficionados at What Difference Does It Make. We are a proud member of Pantheon Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices