A (Mostly) 80s Music Podcast: What Difference Does It Make?

Music icon and social activist Joan Baez has clearly made a difference for the better in our lives, through her songs and by her bravery in standing up for her beliefs. Directors Karen O’Connor, Miri Navasky, and Maeve O’Boyle have made the documentary Joan Baez: I Am A Noise. In it, Joan takes an honest look back, and a deep look inward, as she tries to make sense of her large, history-making life, and the personal struggles she's kept private. We talk with the Directors about how they were able to properly represent Joan's career and life issues, and through our chat, WE learn much more about Joan.

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Howard Jones is celebrating his 40th anniversary creating the music we love in a very big way. First is the release of Celebrate It Together: The Very Best Of Howard Jones 1983-2023, a 4 CD set of his music, broken down into four categories — Popular Hits, Electro, Chill, and Curiosities. Second is the release of his “fanthology” book, entitled Howard Jones – We’re In This Together, comprised of over 350 contributions from fans sharing their favorite memories and anecdotes about his concerts, music, personal encounters, and more. Last, but certainly not least, Howard steps into our virtual studio to reflect back on his 40 years of creating music. We do have a special bonus, as superfan Dorit joins us to talk about her entry in Howard Jones' book.

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Barry Manilow may write the songs that make the Boomers sing, but when it comes to Gen X, look no further than Holly Knight. This member of the Songwriters Hall Of Fame has written smash hits for Pat Benatar, Aerosmith, Heart, KISS, Rod Stewart, and she is most noted for her collaboration with Tina Turner on nine songs, including "The Best" and "Better Be Good To Me". Holly steps into our virtual studio to talk about her memoir, I Am The Warrior: My Crazy Life Writing The Hits and Rocking The MTV Eighties.

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Jock Bartley, co-founder of the band Firefall, steps into our virtual studio to share stories about the friends and family that helped shape the sound of the band. Friends & Family also just happens to be the album title of Firefall's new album, a collection of cover songs inspired by the artists with whom they've played in the past.

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Susan Lambert Hatem and Sharon Johnson, aka The 80s TV Ladies, guest star on a very special episode of What Difference Does It Make. We remember our favorite TV theme songs, debate sides when Ross and Rachel were on a break, and pay homage to Mike Post. Spoiler alert! Our talk continues when WE are the very special guests on The 80s TV Ladies podcast. Stay tuned!

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It all started back at The Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip when Steve Rosen, an up and coming music journalist met a young up and coming guitarist by the name of Edward Van Halen. The two hit it off immediately and Steve documented the rise of Edward's band for the next 26 years through numerous interviews . The result is Steve's book, Tonechaser, a detailed look into the life of Edward Van Halen. Steve steps into our virtual studio to give us the details and how this all came together.

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Our previous episode with Denny Tedesco discussing The Immediate Family documentary gives us a great opportunity to revisit our talk from October 2020 with Danny Kortchmar, Waddy Wachtel, Leland Sklar, Russ Kunkel and Steve Postell. If those names are not familiar, just know that they are the musicians that play with Stevie Nicks, Linda Ronstadt, Don Henley, James Taylor, Phil Collins, Keith Richards, and Carole King, to name just a few. The Immediate Family not only have their debut self-titled album out now but the documentary will soon be released at the end of 2023.

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Author Mick Wall used to live life in the fast lane, back when he was a music publicist in the 70s for Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy, and Dire Straits among many others. Nowadays he writes books about artists like Guns N' Roses, Led Zeppelin and Metallica. Life In The Fast Lane: The Eagles' Reckless Ride Down The Rock & Roll Highway is his latest book. Mick takes us into the Laurel Canyon music scene, the egos and in-fighting, and of course, the songs that helped launch one of the most iconic American bands of all time.

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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.

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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.

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