He produced “Bette Davis Eyes.” He engineered all those Linda Ronstadt records. He produced the Motels. And MORE!

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/val-garay/id1316200737?i=1000800034817

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast?ref=dm_sh_Cv3BzPgkTUkZ1bM3Wmf7f4F9r

Trump is toxic.

How come the Republicans didn’t realize this?

In truth, many of them did, but they were more afraid of the president than they were of the public, and this was a grave mistake.

Akin to the Democrats in 2024. Biden said he wanted to “finish the job.” It was clear he had lost a step, he was made inaccessible by his staff. But rather than state the reality, they lined up behind the old man and…

You know what happened. But it’s important to pause here. If Biden hadn’t run there would have been a primary and there’s no way Kamala Harris would have been the candidate and the Dems would have won and we wouldn’t be in this mess to begin with.

But both parties detached from reality and the people. And what we learned in this election is the people still rule. Just when it looked like the system was broken and inaccessible to the public, it was rescued, which is the most amazing thing, but that does not mean we will get the change people want.

Because the Democrats still see themselves as an organized party, with a hierarchy, that sends messages from the top down, when in truth the public hates the Dems even more than the Republicans! That was one of the statistics in the reams of info crossing my desk this morning. This election was not about a love of Democrats, but a hatred of Donald Trump. Then again, the media has acknowledged this anti-Dem sentiment, the same media that delivered partisan screeds for the past two years.

However…

One of the big takeaways from this election is how money didn’t matter. If I get one more f*cking text from a candidate looking for money… They spent this damn cash on television ads. Who in their right mind is still watching broadcast, even basic cable television? And even if they are, why are they not using the remote to avoid these incessant advertisements?

This is another way the media is out of touch with the public. Believing that old systems still rule.

There’s story after story excoriating the public for being out of touch, not getting a newspaper, getting their information from YOUTUBE OR TIKTOK!

Turns out the public is well-informed. And they did get their information online. Where facts and ideas are spread 24/7. They don’t need no stinkin’ mainstream media to know which way the wind blows (even though opinions are based on the reporting that the mainstream media does…print, not TV, which is bloviators opining at best).

So we’ve got DOGE, we’ve got ICE, we’ve got the ballroom…

But even more we’ve got AI and data centers. If these titans of Silicon Valley were so smart they would have found a better way to sell their message. Instead, we kept being told to leave them alone, that they knew better, and if there were potential downsides to AI…well, that’s the price of inevitable progress, right?

That’s not a message that resonated with the public. Tech barons used to be icons, looked up to more than musicians, they were changing the world, and they were RICH!

But it turns out they were the science nerds in high school without a date without social knowledge or graces. The public doesn’t want to follow these people off a cliff.

And people are PISSED that all these same tech companies played ball with Trump. Tim Apple? Thank god he’s gone, he was so duplicitous. But oh, he was saving the company! Well, Apple would have survived anyway. Sometimes you’ve got to stand up for what’s morally right.

Unlike the law firms who settled with Trump. Who lost associates, never mind credibility. They asked us what they were supposed to do, focusing on money first and foremost, driving the legal profession even further into the ground than it was during Watergate. Used to be lawyers were respected, now they raise suspicion.

And it’s not only the attorneys, it’s Live Nation too. Everything comes out. You put Grenell on the board, you met with Trump, you forgot that you’re a public-facing enterprise and that you must pay fealty and have loyalty to the people, your customers, first.

Talk about a bad look…

About as bad as the billionaires in California fighting a wealth tax. Now I voted against that, we need something national, but the sentiment is clear, the public knows these people borrow against their stock and pay no taxes and they’re mad as hell and ready to make these executives pay the price.

As for the acts… They’ve been acting like Reagan is still president. If it makes money, you can’t say anything negative. Hoover up those dollars. To the point where music played absolutely no role in this election, why should it, it’s basically cartoons. Except for people like Zach Bryan… How can a guy with no hits sell out stadiums year after year? By being honest, credible, speaking from the heart as opposed to by committee. This is what people are looking for, truth, as opposed to warmed over commerce.

The major labels have sidelined themselves. Only interested in the bottom line, they don’t get involved with anything that doesn’t render a quick buck. And the joke is on them, their catalogs are delivering big bucks but all the action is in live these days.

Everybody with a buck, everybody with any power, carried on unchecked, not caring a whit what the “little people” think. The cronyism was off the charts. Income inequality has finally come home to roost.

And you’ve got traditional Democrats crying over Democratic Socialists, not realizing it was less about the agenda and more about a poke in the eye of them and the rest of the establishment!

Now I must say, stunningly, I have a little hope. But never underestimate the power of the Democrats to snatch defeat from the hands of victory.

That’s my number one worry. Now back in power, the usual suspects will behave in the usual way, which is not aligned with the public, and as a result they will squander power.

But it’s a new day. And it’s unlike any previous day. This vote was against AUTHORITARIANISM! People felt the American way of life was on the ballot. They believe in democracy, not kings. And there has been enough blurring of the lines for people to be truly upset.

Cozying up to Putin? Check the poll numbers on that. Almost NO ONE is in favor of that, never mind the rest of the anti-Trump checklist.

Meanwhile, Trump got elected because he was on TV, there was nothing there, still isn’t. But the Democrats lost touch with the voters, couldn’t see they were now perceived to be the party of the elites, out of touch with the rank and file, and even worse, these Dems felt they were entitled to their perch, they’d worked hard in school, gotten professional jobs, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? They had contempt for those working for a living, those who didn’t live life by their rules, and these people jumped to Trump, to stick it in the eye of these left wing elites.

But Trump and MAGA read this as a desire for a return to the past. Which no one in America really wants, they like their flat screens, they like their smartphones, they don’t want to go backward, they just want…

America is a melting pot. We were told we were all equal. We want a level playing field. And we hate it when one group puts its finger on the scale and tilts the game in their favor.

I’m not saying we all agree, I’m not saying there will be harmony, I’m not saying crackpot and fringe elements still don’t exist, arguing for heinous policies, I’m just saying this is not what most people want. And they are the majority.

They want everybody to start from the same line, with no unfair advantages.

And then we get Trump’s corruption. Unlike his predecessors Trump doesn’t hide his questionable behavior, he rubs our faces in it, it’s up close and personal. And…

It’s one thing if it’s Putin, it’s one thing if it’s Eastern Europe, but a president of the United States with his hand in the till, getting rich at our expense?

That’s a bridge too far. You can serve, write a book, do some speaking engagements, be on some boards and end up wealthy, but making a billion in office?

Corruption. Turns out this rubbed the public the wrong way. Sure, everyone’s fighting for an edge, but there are basic rules, you don’t flout them, run right over them. Never mind with impunity.

So if you want to be successful in the coming years, look to the public first, not the enablers who will make your life easier, who you will owe a favor to. Don’t disengage from the street, remember who you are and where you came from.

The unfortunate thing is too many came from privileged positions and have leveraged this to succeed, and we don’t like that. They’ve eliminated opportunity, rising from the bottom to the top is the American Dream, but it’s more achievable in Canada and Europe than it is in the U.S.

And the young are all about climate change, ecology. And Trump doubles down on coal, pays for wind farms to go away, does his best to cripple electric vehicles when they’re taking over all around the world except here? How did we become so isolated? I can listen to music from every country in the world on Spotify, it’s at my fingertips, but my country is living in the 1850s.

It’s a changed world. Will D.C. finally acknowledge this?

I wouldn’t bet on it.

But they should be afraid, very afraid, because it turns out the public is not somnambulant and ignorant like they were perceived to be. Sure, there’s tons of misinformation out there, but basic truths, about gas prices, health care, the war in Iran, they filtered through, more than ever before, because people are online all day long.

And all they’re told is to put the smartphone down. Oldsters reveling in phone-free days. Boasting how they use dumb phones.

These are the same people who refused to embrace automobiles, the same people who refused to embrace COMPUTERS!

And then AOL comes along and everybody is online, and has been ever since.

This is a changing of the guard, a loosening of the power of the baby boomers, who unlike their parents think they’re still hip and in touch and refuse to get out of the way.

Well, they’re being pushed aside by younger generations. Who are sick and tired of being in the back seat.

As for you? Let this be a warning. Think twice about who you associate with, doing something just for the money. It might not be illegal but there’s a good chance you’ll lose the hearts and minds of the public, and the people ultimately rule.

Power to the people right on!

1

Rock died because it became self-referential. You got tattoos and put on the clothes and we were supposed to believe you, but even though you sang pretty good and one could tap their toes to your music, the audience didn’t feel it in the gut, there was not that visceral response.

I’d like to say that something picked up the rock mantle and ran with it, but this would be untrue. At least today. Hip-hop had a good run, but when the most exciting thing is a beef between two artists you know you’ve lost your way. As for the popsters… If it were only about songs, we’d be living in the early sixties. AND WE ARE!

But in 1964…

The Beatles arrived and entranced the baby boomer population, which became glued to the radio and drooled in admiration at concerts and…

Top 40 evolved into FM. And there were guitarists, and then virtuosos, from Keith Emerson to Rick Wakeman. Boundaries were being pushed.

And when it started to fade, MTV came along and reinvigorated the entire scene.

And that’s when Billy Idol came along.

I owned that Generation X LP, the debut, it was 1978 and there was something happening in the U.K. that we couldn’t keep our eyes off of. They’d digested the Ramones, and multiple bands were spawned, whereas in the U.S. despite everybody bowing at the altar of the original punk band today, the truth is they were ignored at this time.

There was not only punk, but new wave like Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson, and ska with the English Beat, the Specials, Selecter… There was a plethora of these acts, who seemed to come from nowhere, often with no experience, and we hoovered them right up.

Some of us. Not everybody. These records did not cross over to the Top 40, but if you were a fan, addicted to the radio, a regular at the record store, you knew.

And you were excited.

Now what truly broke MTV was the new bands from the U.K., many of which were one hit wonders, but we didn’t have a U.S. equivalent to Culture Club and Haircut 100 and no one even wore their hair like Mike Score in A Flock of Seagulls. Reagan was in office, money was paramount, and these acts seemed not to care, and as a result they laughed all the way to the bank.

And eventually in the late eighties we got hair band ballads, rockers in spandex, and then Nirvana came along and blew up the past at the same time that Metallica opened an avenue for harder rock and…

Since then all we’ve gotten is imitations.

Which leads me to Lzzy Hale. She strutted, she screamed, but it washed right off of me. I could see the act, but it didn’t penetrate. She wasn’t dangerous. The attitude seemed forced. That’s how I felt about the entire first half of last night’s show. They’d seen the movie, they knew how to paint the numbers, but it was all ultimately safe. I mean does rock and roll belong in the Hollywood Bowl to begin with?

And then came Billy Idol.

What has he got to do with Aerosmith? I mean he did exhibit a Rebel Yell, but he started off as a punk, the antithesis to the five from Boston.

Then again, Steve Stevens could come out of central casting from the era, the last hurrah, when you had long hair and picked your axe and…

I wasn’t expecting much, but Billy leaned into “Livin’ on the Edge”…

I know it, never appreciated it as much as what came before, but last night…

I had to look it up on my phone. Sure, Mark Hudson was involved, so you could say there was a ringer, but if you know Hudson…he might have been on that TV show, but he’s nothing like his brother who married Goldie Hawn…

“There’s something wrong with the world today”

Ain’t that the truth. But all we get with records is escape, cosplay, almost nothing straight to the heart…

WE’RE LIVIN’ ON THE EDGE!

We most certainly are, you used to listen to a band to know which way the wind blew, now you go on social media, where the “musicians” are hawking products as part of the expansion of their band.

Billy is leaning into it. Not playing to the audience. But locked into the song. He’s DELIVERING IT!

And that’s what we’re looking for.

2

I guess I single out Lzzy Hale because she was trying so hard. Too many of the first half performers were just going through the motions, there were no showstoppers, it was more akin to one of those post-Grammy spectaculars where they honor the work of somebody… You build a cast, some women sprinkled in so you don’t get blowback, people show up for the opportunity to be seen and…

I’m sitting there thinking I want to be touched.

And then I was. By the Black Crowes.

Chris Robinson was LEANING INTO IT!

Talk about a guy who rubs people the wrong way. Even hard core fans, they can’t get over the fact that the reunion left out past band members, especially the drummer who wrote that book.

But Chris…DOESN’T SEEM TO CARE!

Chris has got ATTITUDE!

He’s feeling the songs, they’re part of him, and his brother Rich is a way underrated guitar player.

The Crowes were not trying too hard, they were just doing what they do, with even a sense of humor. There was no issue of image, they gave a shout-out to George Drakoulias, saying they played the next song for the man who discovered them at their audition.

And it was NO MORE NO MORE!

“Baby I’m a DREAMER
Found my horse and carriage”

They were all dreamers. It was an utterly long shot. Their parents weren’t dunning people to pay attention, oftentimes they just wished their progeny would go back to school, or get a job. But not only did musicians like those in Aerosmith take their own path, they were DIFFERENT! Sure, you might have gone to high school with them, but you lost touch long ago. You heard they were livin’ for the city, doin’ drugs, going down a dark path. If you thought about them at all, you shook your head, wondering how they chose to go down such a wrong road.

AND THEN YOU HEARD DREAM ON ON THE RADIO!

Aerosmith’s first album came out when Steven Tyler was TWENTY FIVE! May sound young to you today, but if you delve into the weeds… You graduate from high school at eighteen and he spent SEVEN YEARS trying to make it.

The Black Crowes didn’t need to convince us, they were living the music, which lifted them above the first half acts. Didn’t have to be studied, didn’t have to be perfect, it just needed to have energy and feel.

And then came Guns N’ Roses.”

3

I still can’t forgive them for leaving Izzy out of the reunion. Then again, he was already gone before the first full implosion. But “Dust n’ Bones”… That’s still my favorite cut from the Illusions. Izzy was the secret sauce. The band hasn’t put out truly great, consistent work, since.

But they’re playing stadiums. Seemingly year after year.

Now I know why.

THEY KILLED!

After a lame review of their first night’s performance in the L.A. “Times” I wasn’t expecting much, but it could have been 1987, when the band broke. They were loud and raucous and unlike anything else… They were just one step further, louder, more edgy, more obnoxious.

And everyone knows Axl is crazy.

As are many of our heroes. That’s why they do this, to express themselves. They channel something we can relate to. And this is all they can do, they can’t fit in in the regular world, do a day job.

And this was not the comeback Axl, puffy with corn rows, he was lean and wearing a t-shirt and giving it his all.

AND THEY STARTED WITH MAMA KIN!

Yes, they reached back to the debut and amped it up in a way that Adrian Barber could not, Aerosmith needed Jack Douglas to lift them up over the line. (Who Tyler gave a shout-out to at the end of the evening, and when the show was over the big screen listed those who were no longer with us. Rock and roll is a hard road, not everybody survives.)

GN’R was not going through the motions, THEY WERE THE MOTIONS!

Slash has got his Les Paul propped up at an angle. You wouldn’t let your daughter go out with these guys.

Now in truth, Axl gave a speech that was so calm and heartfelt that it almost had me re-evaluating, was he back on the planet? But when they tore into “Sweet Child o’ Mine” and “Nightrain”…he was hopping around like he was high on…who knows what, himself! And he even shimmied! You know that patented Axl move, that sexy squirm that drove the girls wild. He’s still got it. They’ve got it.

But W. Axl Rose is 64. That’s how much time has passed. Long, long time ago, as Don McLean would sing… Then again, Buddy and those on the plane were his heroes, Guns N’ Roses are ours.

But not as much as Aerosmith.

4

They were not going to let the opening acts blow them off the stage. No, Aerosmith delivered like their lives depended upon it, they were full bore and…

This is an interesting act. Sure, Joe is Steven’s sidekick, as Keith is to Mick, but this is definitely Steven’s stage, he is the focus. I don’t want to denigrate the rest of the band, I just want to say they’re not moving, they’re not playing it up, they cede the focus to Tyler, who they support at full volume, but…

Sure, he’s got his outfit and the streamers from his mic stand, but…

You wince when Mick starts to dance. Did you see that video where he’s in a dance studio rehearsing for the tour after his heart issue?

Steven ain’t in no dance studio, there’s nothing rehearsed, managed about it, it’s pure emotion.

Which after telling us they were back in the saddle, Tyler implored Tom Hamilton to play…

A shiver just went through me… Have you listened to “Sweet Emotion” recently? Of course it’s great, but it’s more than that… It’s ethereal, but with the energy of kryptonite underneath. It starts to boil, and then it EXPLODES!

There’s a rhythm, you’re nodding your head, the vocals are sweet, and then…

The band’s original manager David Krebs told me rock and roll died because you can’t sing lyrics like this anymore.

“Stand in front just a shakin’ your ass”

This wasn’t the Beatles. And the Stones were English. But Steven Tyler… This was POSSIBLE!

The music turned you into a jumping bean, you could feel it between your legs.

“I’ll take you backstage you can drink from my glass”

And they were game, they begged to be picked.

That’s the power of rock and roll.

“‘Cause a month on the road and I’ll be eating from you hand”

That’s the truth…CAN YOU HANDLE THE TRUTH?

And then the smoke started to pour out of the white piano wheeled on stage and….

“Every time that I look in the mirror
All these lines on my face getting clearer”

How many times have you heard “Dream On”? Tyler was insisting this was the FIRST TIME! He demanded attention. And even got on top of the instrument and grooved and I was worried about him up there at 78 with his feet…

But he was throwing caution to the wind, which is what a true rocker does, forgets about the pitfalls, it’s full steam ahead Mr. Boatswain, full steam ahead.

And that brings us to the next song, COME TOGETHER!

You wouldn’t think they’d play a cover at this show, but…

Here comes old flat-top

He come grooving up slowly.

“Come Together” is the only thing that is remembered from that execrable movie, it’s the only thing that DESERVES TO SURVIVE from “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”

And then…

Tyler remarks that they’re the only band that still has all five original members and…

Joey Kramer comes in from the wings and…

He ain’t movin’ that well, but he gets up behind the kit and the rhythm is clear, this is “Walk This Way.”

But not far into it, Tyler stops the music. I feel sorry for Joey. Obviously there’s something wrong with his playing, or the band just couldn’t find the groove, and I’m giving Tyler props for stopping, needing to get it right.

And Tyler’s talking and we’re waiting for the song to start again…

And then it becomes PERFECTLY CLEAR!

Rev Run and Darryl McDaniels enter from the wings, bopping, wearing the same hats from 1988, and they’re up front and center and now we’re truly WALKING THIS WAY!

Tyler has ceded the stage. Run and DMC are throwing it down, making you believe you missed out when you didn’t go to all those rap shows. The pure energy, the injection of adrenaline, it’s the MTV 80’s COME ALIVE!

Yet it didn’t feel like nostalgia, but pure life, a completion of the circle. We’re all still here, these are our roots, rock and roll will never die…

At least as long as Aerosmith is around.

And then the harmonica and…

The train is kept a-rollin’. Showing the band’s roots, all the way from Tiny Bradshaw to the Yardbirds to Lake Sunapee.

All energy, all cylinders firing.

And then it was done.

5

So what did we learn?

There’s a reason certain acts are considered legends, why their music sustains. And it’s more than what’s in the grooves, it’s the identity of the band members, the attitude, it’s the other.

Now the legend is true. Most of the time you meet your heroes and they disappoint you.

But I always say NOT STEVEN TYLER!

I woke up one morning to a message, Tyler was calling me from the studio, he was working with Ringo…

And when I called back I chided him. WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP AT TEN A.M., DIDN’T YOU READ THE ROCK AND ROLL MANUAL?

And without missing a beat, Tyler said…

I THREW THAT MANUAL OUT YEARS AGO!

He’s that guy. He’s Steven Tyler. The guy you see on stage.

And it was his night.

Not that the rest of the band wasn’t great, didn’t deliver, but it was Tyler who put on the brakes, took the band off the road.

And now he’s back?

ABSOLUTELY!

You loved or hated them previously and now…

Tune in Saturday October 31st to Faction Talk, channel 137, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.

Phone #: 844-686-5863 

If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz