Promotion Man Podcast

Fred opens the podcast with a potential guest named John Mellencamp who may come on and talk about his paintings. This leads into other artists who do painting as a side hobby. LA Lloyd takes you through the biggest albums for the first week of a new decade 40 years ago. Fred talks about his transfer from Detroit to Houston and lets just say there are some crabs involved. While in Fort Worth, TX, Fred sees Prince opening for Rick James and understands the feeling of being a minority. Finally, we close on a bittersweet note as Fred and Lloyd talk about the biggest albums at the end of 1980 including John Lennon's Double Fantasy which was the #1 album on Billboard's Top 200 albums chart. This was only days after John was murdered in New York City. Recommended Music:Intro: Fleetwood Mac “Tusk”Middle: ZZ Top “I’m bad I’m nationwide”End: John Lennon “Just like starting over”

David Cahn was Fred Meyers regional boss at Warner Bros.  In this episode, David takes LA Lloyd and Fred on a trip from his first week on the job at a promotional meeting with all the record reps at the Stanley Hotel, where The Shining was filmed. David is asked who is the most obnoxious member of The Eagles.  Also, why did Freddie Mercury not have any dental work? Who were the Hit Men in regards to music and why were they so territorial? What was the secret to making Richard Pryor a household name when his comedy albums were full of explicit language? Recommended Music:Intro: Eagles "Old 55"Middle: Bruce Springsteen "Roselita" (Come out Tonight) End: Neil Young "Comes a Time"

Jon Scott was a Promotion Man that was with Tom Petty from the beginning that led to a 40-year friendship. Fred Meyers and LA Lloyd talk with Jon as he tells stories of getting fired for believing in an unknown artist named Johnny Cougar. After he gets let go from MCA Records, he is hired by ABC Records and it was déjà vu with another unknown artist named Tom Petty. After Tom’s untimely death, Jon wrote all of these great stories in the book “Tom Petty and Me,” which you can win an autographed copy. We will give you a secret word towards the end of this Podcast. Once you hear it, email your entry to mailto: [email protected] and we will pick 5 random winners.  Recommended Music:ZZ Top: "My Head's Mississippi"John Cougar Mellencamp: "Tonight" / "Ain't Even Done With The Night" Tom Petty: "Listen to Her Heart" / "Breakdown" / ''I Need to Know" / "I Won't Back Down"

2020 Tours are shaping up to be the biggest in many years.  Fred and Lloyd talk about the confirmed shows with Motley Crue and Def Leppard, Black Crowes Shake Your Money Maker tour, Doobies back with Michael McDonald first time in 25 years, Alanis Morissette’s 25th Anniversary of Jagged Little Pill, Eagles perform Hotel California album in its entirety, Rage Against the Machine, MC50, ZZ Top, David Lee Roth in Vegas and tours with KISS End of The Road, and the guys wrap up voting on hopeful tours that will happen...or definitely won’t happen. Recommended Music:Motley Crue: "Girls Girls Girls"Black Crowes: "Shake Your Money Maker"Alanis Morissette: "Jagged Little Pill"Kiss: "Detroit Rock City"

Today's episode has the legendary music director and program director Jeff Carrol who tells us funny stories about record reps and Bruce Springsteen, taking David Gilmour of Pink Floyd in a hot air balloon ride and then driving the Pink Floyd blimp over the city of San Antonio. Jeff took the band Jesus Jones out water skiing in Austin's Lake Travis and the band members got so hammered that when they got back they couldn't play the competitors concert that night. LA Lloyd and Jeff tell us about why they received gold or platinum albums and what is their favorite ones.   Very funny all the way through. Recommended Music:Bruce Springsteen: "Born to Run"Jesus Jones: "Right here, Right now"Pink Floyd: "Learning to fly"Pink Floyd: "The Dogs of War"

LA Lloyd & Fred get into the all kinds of shenanigans starting with Van Halen stories about Alex's birthday in Toledo and a fantastic story about how David Lee Roth has his own agenda when it comes to creating a memorable radio interview with the 3rd album Women and Children first and the song "Everybody wants some" at the WABX studios in Detroit. Fred tells his U2 story when they first came to America and them playing a club in Austin with about 100 people and the best marketing idea ever from a band. Christopher Cross dominates radio across the Country with "Sailing" and Fred's first assignment in Texas is an in-store autograph signing with Christopher where a local high school band is in the parking lot playing "Ride like the wind" and hurricane Allen is bearing down on the city all at the same time.   Recommended Music:Van Halen: "And the cradle will rock"Van Halen: "Everybody wants some"U2:  "I will follow"Christopher Cross: "Sailing"Christopher Cross: "Ride like the wind"

Ken talks to us about signing the Talking Heads, Pretenders and Madonna. Ken describes what it came down too to get the Heads and Pretenders signed to Sire Records which was distributed by Warner Bros Records. Ken tells us about a lost demo track called "Ain't no big deal" by Madonna that he wanted her to release but she never did. Recommended music:Intro: Pretenders "Precious"Middle: Pretenders "Brass in Pocket"Middle:Talking Heads: Psycho KillerEnd: Madonna "Lucky Star"

This episode we talk about 1979 and the Romantics, The Knack, Elvis Costello, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Clash, The B'52's, Ambrosia and ZZ Top. The guys briefly touch on the dynamic Austin music scene with Stevie Ray Vaughan and The Fabulous Thunderbird's. Lloyd touches on the hooky songs of the Clash, Romantics, The Knack and more and the explosion of MTV. Warner Bros releases The B52's and their first hit "Rock Lobster"  Fred talks about Frank Beard from ZZ Top trying to sell Fred his house in a suburb of Houston, getting an advance listening session with Bill Hamm the manager of ZZ Top playing songs like "Tube Snake Boogie", "Cheap Sunglasses", "Party on the Patio" off the forthcoming ZZ Top album El Loco. Tune in and enjoy the ride! Recommended music:Intro: Romantics "What I Like About you"Middle: Knack "My Sharona"Middle: B 52's "Rock Lobster"Close: ZZ Top  "Cheap Sunglasses / "Pearl Necklace"

This week's guest is Sue Emmer who was National Top 40 promotion person for Warner Bros at the Burbank offices and she tells us stories about George Harrison and how nice he was and that George wanted to personally hand out Gold albums  to each staff member for the Cloud Nine album with the hit "Got my mind set on you".  Sue tells us how the national staff went to Rod Stewart's home in Beverly Hills to preview his album "Da Ya think I'm Sexy"and when Prince came to the Burbank offices in his pajama's to play the entire staff his newest album. We talked about John Lennon's death and the impact it had on the staff and radio at that time in history.  Sue is a beautiful woman who navigated a powerful position in Burbank at the home office and paved the way for other woman executives to come. Recommended music:Intro: Rod Stewart "Da ya think I'm sexy"Middle: George Harrison "Got my mind set on you"End: Seal "Crazy"

The boys talk about the Grammy nominations of MC5, Todd Rundgren, Doobie Bros that Fred had worked with along with Pat Benatar, Kraftwork, T Rex and others.In the box that Fred would get every week he recalls getting two debut albums and both albums go on to platinum status and set up the careers of Dire Straits and Rickie Lee Jones.Fred shares some of the strategy of why some songs are released when they are and how the record company looks at the competition. How they choose a lead single and a follow up single.Fred talks about the Warner Music office’s in New York that he had visited recently. Recommended music:Intro: Dire Straits “Sultan’s of swing”Middle: Rickie Lee Jones “Chuckies in love”Middle: Rickie Lee Jones “Last chance Texaco”End: Dire Straits “Money for nothing”