Hello boys and girls - AP here with his first blog on the ‘spanking-new NetFM app. And what a fabulous and handsome app it is too - so many new features and easy access to all of our shows via the new on-demand feature allowing every show to be accessed at any time!
Well I’m just sitting here after dinner listening to the ‘AP in the Arvo’ replay - and reflecting on the many years I’ve been involved with these scallywags at NetFM and the enjoyment it has brought along with it.
I have made new friends within Australia and all around the world as well. Gav from Perth, Mark from Lismore, Jojo and Lazy from Canada ๐จ๐ฆ who tolerate us calling it Canadia all the time. Mark the wingeing Pom and of course the infamous Mark Fox - resident beanie expert at Zack FM in the UK.
I particularly enjoy the different genres of show we have developed over the past 7-8 years. ‘Putting on a different hat’ whether it’s Tough-Rock, comedy, Smooth rock or the AP-take on the high energy 1980s New-York style shows: Funken Friday…… is an absolute blast !!! And - it has tested, stretched and widely-expanded my musical tastes and boundaries which is highly rewarding.
As a teenager of the ‘80s, my formative years in music were naturally Aussie-based 80s music - my comfort zone - and I’m tipping I’m not alone there! My roots, my original musical tastes and the songs that bring memories of my first experiences as a teenager - are buried deep in the late 1970s and 1980s.
I played classical music as a teenager - the B-Flat bass trombone - for many years in orchestras and bands and I still appreciate classical music, particularly Baroque style and spent many hours in rehearsals and performances and felt at-one with the music.
My first observation of other people’s taste in music would have been my parents playing Neil Diamond, Neil Sedaka and then the big one: 1976, Silk Degrees by Boz Scaggs. I played the fuck out of that album - as a 10 year old. As a test pilot for my dads self-built stereo system I excelled, pushing the edge of the envelope and probably the neighbours patience-levels on many occasions. It wasn’t better than sex becaise I didn’t know what that was - yet.
I remember liking Rod Stewart and the album with him in pink - arms crossed with the almost Farah-Fawcett hairstyle - and couldnt bring myself to admit to anyone that I liked his music for fear of retributions. I can’t find the album cover on Google to show you but it was pretty poofy.
The early 1980s meant being able to get out and listen to music with mates - my life long friend John had the Duran Duran Rio album and that was played very heavily and greatly appreciated- he also like XTC and that tested me a bit - it was ok but I had a bigger passion again- Sirocco by Australian Crawl. We both had Sirocco and it’s still here now in the studio - dog-eared and scratched but a prize-possession all the same.
Moving towards to being able to drive - there was the Eurogliders, Midnight Oils 10 to 1 Album, Machinations, The Models - damn! We were spoiled for choice and it was an amazing time to be a teenager in Australia. The car meant freedom but it also represented a listening venue - a private Idaho if you will.
I had a you-beaut car audio system by Alpine from memory - with cassettes - a thumping big amp and 6-way rear speakers in the station-wagon to rock out the tunes - beautiful memories and underlining how music ๐ถ was integrated into our lifestyles in the 80s.
Women were on the scene of course and I still associate songs to moments in life with key people - many happy memories - still vivid and almost fresh in my mind despite the 4-plus decades seperating tonight’s memories from the actual moments. Ahhh….. to be young again.
Turn the pages forward to getting involved with NetFM - and more particularly beginning to choose my own music for the various shows - and I have seen the floodgates open with a massively wide range of years and genres - stuff I didn’t have on my radar but it was there - think of Steely Dans ‘Hey Nineteen’ which is from 1980. It is superb in every way and I am semi-obsessed with it - both that song and my evolving-self were there in 1980 but I was oblivious to it then. I would go back to 1980 and kick my own arse if I could - but then again this has been a journey - a trek of sorts, a maturing mind that is now looking back at music from the past half-century and saying - fuck that’s a hot-tune.
So here I am - playing Neil Diamond, Boz Scaggs and Rod Stewart. Then on the rock show there’s Uriah Heep and George Thorogood and Buster Brown - people I didn’t know existed. Then on the Smooth Rock show there is Steve Winwood and Marvin Gaye. What a wonderful world we live in and what an amazing brain we all have that can compare, contrast, appreciate and accept all sorts of music throughout our lifetime.
You guys are along for the journey. Your listenership, comments and your appreciation of what we do now and what others before me have done since the boys spun the first tunes back in November 1998 - is the essence of why we do - what we do each week.
NetFM is unique.
There is nothing else like it in the world today.
We turn 25 in November.
What an amazing achievement.
I am grateful to be part of this.
Until next time - this is AP having the time of his life and now sharing a few slices of it with you in this new blog section.
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