Popdose: Jesus of Cool: Robert Hazard’s Philly Rock’n'Roll
Ted
· 10 months ago
I had a love/hate relationship with Philly when we lived there (94-96). Right around the time we were getting ready to move back to California, I was buying some wine at the state liquor store in Narberth (we lived on City Line -- about a block from Lancaster, and that store was the best in the area), and I thought "Well, maybe it's not so bad here. Maybe we could be happy here if moving back to California falls through.") I didn't realize how much Philly rubbed off on me (as in, I had become more of a Philadelphian) until we moved back to the Bay Area. I thought far too many people I met were freakishly nice - which instantly made me suspicious of them.
Chris X
· 10 months ago
haha, I'm a lifelong Philly resident, but I'm not offended. The Hard Rock here is kinda lame, but then again I'm not into the bar scene. I was only there once to see the Psychedelic Furs. Is it wrong that I didn't know the Philly Rock B&G existed? Like I said, not a bar hopping type haha. Unless I'm spinning, you'll never catch me in one.
As for Robert Hazard...one of my alltime favorites. The Heroes were the first live band I ever saw -September 1986 at JFK Stadium(RIP-remember THAT place?) I have that first 5 song EP on cassette, LP, and CD, a feat that is only duplicated in my music collection by...uh...Wham!-Make It Big(there goes my credibility, right?) I have his other old records on vinyl too. Definitely some fantastic songs on there. A lot of it sounds dated, but then I pretty much still exist in the 80s mentally, so what's the difference? His new solo country/bluegrass/Dylan worship material is actually really good for what it is, not necessarily the type of thing I'm normally into, but he's such a good songwriter, it's hard not to like. It was a shock when he first emerged with it though. I saw his first area show with his new sound and was like "...." for a good part of the show, until he ended with "Darling" and "Out of the Blue" and made me forget anything else had happened. I did have the chance to meet him that night, and my signed Out of the Blue Cd (the first EP plus a bunch of stuff from his other 2 80s records released on cd for the first time) is a highlight of my record collection now. Was very saddened to hear of his death last summer, was always hoping he'd buckle and play a full set of Heroes material someday. Saw The Hooters pay tribute and cover "Escalator" a few months back, and it was excellent and sounded even better than that Atlantic City video. I still spin his old songs at my DJ gigs with some degree of frequency.
jesselun
· 10 months ago
Philly has changed a lot since you left, believe me. And Hazard is still a hero
All Comments
As for Robert Hazard...one of my alltime favorites. The Heroes were the first live band I ever saw -September 1986 at JFK Stadium(RIP-remember THAT place?) I have that first 5 song EP on cassette, LP, and CD, a feat that is only duplicated in my music collection by...uh...Wham!-Make It Big(there goes my credibility, right?) I have his other old records on vinyl too. Definitely some fantastic songs on there. A lot of it sounds dated, but then I pretty much still exist in the 80s mentally, so what's the difference? His new solo country/bluegrass/Dylan worship material is actually really good for what it is, not necessarily the type of thing I'm normally into, but he's such a good songwriter, it's hard not to like. It was a shock when he first emerged with it though. I saw his first area show with his new sound and was like "...." for a good part of the show, until he ended with "Darling" and "Out of the Blue" and made me forget anything else had happened. I did have the chance to meet him that night, and my signed Out of the Blue Cd (the first EP plus a bunch of stuff from his other 2 80s records released on cd for the first time) is a highlight of my record collection now. Was very saddened to hear of his death last summer, was always hoping he'd buckle and play a full set of Heroes material someday. Saw The Hooters pay tribute and cover "Escalator" a few months back, and it was excellent and sounded even better than that Atlantic City video. I still spin his old songs at my DJ gigs with some degree of frequency.