hilltopics
Monday, April 10, 2000
culture society entertainment health
10A
Old time rock 'n' roll
A self-described hair band fan, Lee Boos, Ellen senior, listens to music while surrounded by his wide array of '80s albums.
story by Nicole Roché photo by Aaron Lindberg
Hair bands live on in the stereos of'80s music fans
Lee Boos couldn't have been happier when the cops showed up at his apartment late one night.
The officer was responding to a noise
complaint and asked Boos if it was his music that was plaving.
Boos, an Ellis senior, nodded as "Sweet Child of Mine" by guns 'n' Roses blared in the background. Out of nowhere, the officer cracked a grin and said
"As far as '80s music goes, I was never into any of those one-hit wonders that were so popular," said
he liked the song but just needed the volume turned down.
Lee Boos, Ellis senior, "I am definitely a hair band kind of dude."
"It was our third or fourth noise complaint this year," Boos said. "But the cops were pretty cool about it."
It was not the cop's presence so much that made Boos pleased, it was his reaction to the music being played - music, Boos explained, that could be classified as a "hair band."
While the '80s may have ended more than a decade ago, some student never left. Although some have revived their '80s rock collection, some never packed it away in the first place.
"Spandex, a touch of makeup, and a ton of hairspray"; this is the definition of a "hair band." according to Jim Bone, 98.9
Boos is proud of his "hair band," or "glam rock" collection, which contains every act from Poison to Skid Row to Winger.
The Rock disc jockey and host of "Ham Bands at 8."
"As far as '80s music goes, I was never into any of those one-hit wonders that were so popular," Boos said. "I am definitely a hair band kind of dude."
Looking at Boos, one probably wouldn't see him as the typical '80s rock afficionado.
"I don't look very glam rock, do it?" Boos said, pointing to his corduroy pants and Abercrombie & Fitch shirt. "I know people don't look at me and think, I bet he iams out to Poison and Motley Crue."
rock music from the '80s remains highly requested. Bone said, and for a simple reason.
"It's all about association," Bone said. "There's just a big wave of people who had a damn good time while listening to this music in the late '80s, and now they associate it with good experiences."
"Hair bands at 8," a radio show that airs weeknights at 8 p.m. on 98.9 KQRC FM in Kansas City, started up a couple of years ago, said Bone, who has worked at the station for four years. The most requested songs are usually by Poison or Bon Jovi, he said.
Emily Sollars, Shawnee freshman, said that she listens to '80s rock because music today isn't as good.
Sollars went to see Poison, Def Leppard and Motley Crue this past summer in concert and has been listening to the bands faithfully for the last 10 years.
"Bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit try to be all tough and dark, and it's not really sincere," Sollars said. "At least with hair bands it's kind of tongue-in-cheek. It was really cheesy the way that got all glammed up with the hair and everything, but they knew that. They didn't try to take themselves too seriously."
"It was just always around me my whole life, so it kind of got ingrained in me," she said. "The music was something I shared with my older brother. We used to listen to Poison together when we were like 10 or 11."
Boos said he started listening to hair bands from about age five on, when he would stay up all night watching TBS" "Night Tracks," a show that played all the glam rock bands that were popular at that time.
"I remember all the videos," he said. "There was this one Def Leppard song called 'Headed for the Heartbreak.' On the video, the lead singer was on a boat, out in the middle of nowhere, but he's roped to this cross. That was so traumatizing; I remember thinking, 'Whoa.'"
Since that young age, Boos has seen 15 of his favorite hair bands in concert, including Cinderella, Slaughter. Warrant and numerous others.
"These bands are obviously not getting the support they used to, but I think it's cool that they still get out there and perform," Boos said. "They still really enjoy their music."
Bone predicts that one concert sure to draw a crowd this summer is Poison on June 23 at Sandstone Amphitheatre in Kansas City, Kan.' with opening acts Dokken, Slaughter and Cinderella.
He also mentioned that Bon Jovi was planning a nationwide tour this fall.
"If they come through Kansas City, it's going to be huge," he said. "Everyone remembers those guys."
Brad Schoenthaler, Ellis freshman, said his older friends got him listening to hair bands when he was in junior high.
"We listened to it all the time, so there's not one specific memory," he said, "but it reminds me of summer parties out at the lake."
Although Schoenthaler said most of his memories from these parties were vague, it was always a good time. He plans on seeing Poison in concert this summer.
"That might sound kind of corny," Bone said, "but it's true."
"They just play rockin' music that you can jam to and drink to." he said.
Bone pointed out that Dick Clark had recently been quoted as saying that "Music is the soundtrack of your life."
Boos said that even though this music used to be so popular back in its day, most people either laugh at him or get a "solemn face" when he tries to play it now.
He remembers one night when he was with his friends at the Crossing, 618 W. 12th St., and Poison's "Nothin' But a Good Time" came on.
"Suddenly everyone got that look of awe because they were thinking, 'Wow, I remember when I used to listen to this,'" Boos said. "But I got that look of awe because I was thinking, 'Wow, I listen to this music now, and I never get to hear it anywhere.'"