Goofball post is now in effect!
Must have been back in the spring of 1988. As per our weekly rock protocol. Myself and Tbone would hit all the local record stores and check out new releases that had come out.
Our last stop was our local shopping mall Intercity which basically had two record stores that sold the most expensive CD’s/Cassettes in town and that was Music City and A&A Records. Those were our last two stops as we never expected much at these two stores. Included in the Mall were the two huge chains across Canada at the time Zellers and Sears with each store at opposite ends of the mall. Very seldom would we venture into these stores music sections as they were to put it bluntly “Shitty”.
Now having said that Tbone if you recall scored a bunch of Van Halen cassettes at Sears and peeled off the cheapie cassette tape prices that were on the crap tapes and put them on the Halen tapes.For your reading pleasure here posted below is the link!
The Tape Remains The Same: (Circa 1984)
Anyways. This one trip we find ourselves in Zellers sifting through there ridiculous priced Cassette and CD’s. As I was browsing through the cassette tapes one tape jumped out at me.
Project Driver a band that I had read about in Guitar World that featured hot-shot guitarist Tony MacAlpine. Singer Rob Rock and the dynamic rhythm section of Rudy Sarzo and Tommy Aldridge.
I called Tbone over told him this is a “Score” and we needed to get these as I had not seen Project Driver anywhere in Thunder Bay and here are two copies in Zellers of all friggin places! Yup we paid through the nostrils for this tape. I think at least $12.98 or maybe a buck or two more. (Too make a long story short we were hosed on Project Driver as it was a ton of shredding and the production sounded sterile. I can’t even remember the songs or anything. I take full responsibility for this purchase and I dragged Tbone down with me!)
So as were just about to leave I noticed off in the far corner of the Zeller’s a Jukebox! Whut? Yep you got a jukebox filled with 45 rpm single records. Singles by George Micheal/INXS/Steve Winwood/Belinda Carlisle and others. Must have been a at least 100 45’s in their….
Now Jukebox’s in the late 80s well in Tbay anyways were few and far between. But here we are and Zellers has one in there crapola music section so as I scour over what 45’s there are well looky looky…..
Sitting amidst all the 80s commercial slop is Guns N Roses with their current single Sweet Child Of Mine. Better yet on the flip side was a live version of It’s So Easy.
The first thought that pops into my brain is JACKPOT! I quickly dug into my pocket for change and dumped it into the Jukebox and selected It’s So Easy.
I was hoping for one thing and that was volume. Couldn’t find it anywhere on the outside of the jukebox so I was hoping we could hear it….
We stood around and you could hear something ….
First some crowd noise and then well here comes Duff McKagan with that classic opening bass lick and were off to the races folks! It’s loud and you could hear it well within 100 feet or so.
We howled as we couldn’t wait til Axl Rose comes off the rails at the end of the song with a tirade of F Bombs. Sure enough as Axl rained down a bunch of F-Bombs we howled with delight as it was loud and here we are in crappy music section in a crappy store!
Hey Mr Zellers! That day back in 1988 we gave your store some street cred!
About a week or two later me and Tbone returned to the scene of the crime and the Jukebox was still there! ‘Shall I cue up Gunners again Tbone?”
Tbone nodded “Affirmative!”
Only problem was someone yanked the Gunners 45 from the Jukebox! Gone…Just like that….. It’s So Easy…
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