E147 - Top 5 UK Glam & Glitter Songs (with Jeff Drake from The Joneses)

Hey, all you young (and not-so-young) dudes. electric warriors, starmen, and foxes on the run!  If UK glam rock is your bag, then you'll definitely want to feel this noize and get it on with these 20th century boys.  Put on your electric boots and mohair suits because it's, it's a podcast blitz!

Translation for the squares out there: we're talking about our Top 5 UK Glam & Glitter songs this week.  While it just made a minor splash in the US underground with bands like New York Dolls. glam rock was THE sound of young Britain in the early-to-mid '70s.  A punchy mix of amped-up rock n' roll energy, anthemic pop hooks, teenage angst, and a flair for outlandish, flamboyant theatrics, glam ushered in a new era of pop stars who challenged gender stereotypes and brought a sense of fun and excitement back to a rock landscape that was beginning to take itself far too seriously.  Artists such as David Bowie, T.Rex, Slade, Sweet, and...uh...Mud became household names and fixtures on the pop charts and TV screens.

One of the bands who carried the influence of glam into the '80s was Southern California's The Joneses, led by singer/songwriter/guitarist...and Third Lad this week, Jeff Drake.  Formed in 1981, The Joneses synthesized glam, garage punk, '50s rock n' roll, Stonesy swagger, rockabilly and country & western and became one of the biggest drawing bands in the LA and Orange County areas.  Their electrifying performances earned them a rapturous following and a nod as the "Best Live Band" in a 1984 LA Weekly readers poll.  They sang about drugs, booze, sex and criminals, but also had the lifestyle to back it up - leading to Drake's battle with heroin addiction and federal imprisonment for bank robbery.  Now, JD bears all with his unflinchingly honest memoir, Guilty! My Life As A Member of The Joneses, A Heroin Addict, A Bank Robber and A Federal Inmate, out now from HoZac Books.  

Aside from the normal fun we have, this is a wild tale of rock n' roll and redemption that you do not want to miss!

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