Fizz Button Radio Show

Hello, my name is Andrew Jacobs and I was a writer/interviewer for Decibel Geek from 2012 until 2013.  I stopped writing/interviewing for DBG for, among other reasons, the death of my father in October of 2012.  I have decided to resume writing/interviewing for DBG for, among other reasons, my separation from my wife in 2014.  All throughout 2014, I came in contact with a number of people who helped me get through that absolutely awful time (by far the worst in my entire 44 years of life), many of whom have varying degrees of connections to the worlds of hard rock and heavy metal.  I will be doing both interviews with those people and articles on their respective projects, starting with the one below.

A little over two months after my wife and I first separated in March of 2014, an Australian gentleman named Danny Pinn asked me to be a guest DJ on his excellent Fizz Button Radio Show where people get to select 10 songs from 10 bands/artists that have had a significant impact on them.  These 10 songs and bands/artists would then each be played & discussed by Pinn and the guest DJ on the show.  Not only was this a very big deal for me as a longtime passionate music lover but it was also my first time on a radio show as well. I have included a list of the 10 songs that I selected below as well as the reasons why I selected those particular bands/artists.

10. Frank Zappa - "Titties & Beer" from Zappa In New York

Zappa is one of my two favorite recording artists of all time (the other will be revealed later) and "Titties & Beer" has the distinction of being the very first song that I ever became a fan of when I was around 9 years old in 1980 or 1981.


9. Done Dying - "Anthem" from Shelf Life

This is the only song from the current decade (2013 to be exact) to make it onto my playlist. And the reason why it's on here is because Dan O'Mahony, my favorite hardcore music frontman of all time (starting in early 1990 when I was 19 years old), is the frontman for Done Dying.


8. KISS - "Shout It Out Loud" from Destroyer

KISS is my favorite hard rock band of all time (though another hard rock band that is a very close second for me is also on this playlist) and has been since October 18, 1993. One of the main reasons why I chose "Shout It Out Loud" is because both Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons take lead vocals on it. It also has the distinction of being the very first KISS song that I can recall hearing when I was around 6 years old in 1977 or 1978.


7. Bill Cosby - "The Dentist" from Himself

Bill Cosby is my favorite comedian of all time and has been since I first saw his Himself stand up comedy performance film when I was 13 years old in 1983 or 1984. I used to mimic many of Cosby's bits from Himself at my junior high school and at my summer camp as a way of attempting to overcome my intense feelings of awkwardness that have plagued me my entire life.


6. Sex Pistols - "I Wanna Be Me" from The Best Of Sex Pistols

The Sex Pistols were the very first band to become my favorite band when I was 15 years old during the summer of 1986. They are and always will be my favorite punk band of all time.


5. Beastie Boys - "3 The Hard Way" from To The 5 Boroughs

6 months or so after I became a Sex Pistols fan, I became a Beastie Boys fan (and a rap/hip hop fan in general) when I was 16 years old in early 1987. They are and always will be my favorite rap/hip hop band of all time. One of the main reasons why I chose "3 The Hard Way" is because LL Cool J, my favorite rap/hip hop solo artist of all time, is prominently featured in the sample in the chorus of the song. Additionally, this LL Cool J sample was also used in the Eazy-E song "Boyz N The Hood", which has the distinction of being the very first gangsta rap song that I both heard and purchased the 12" vinyl maxi single of a few months after I became a Beastie Boys fan in 1987.


4. Bratmobile - "And I Live In A Town Where The Boys Amputate Their Hearts" from The Real Janelle

Bratmobile is my favorite Riot Grrrl band of all time and their Pottymouth album from 1993 is my favorite Riot Grrrl album of all time. Bratmobile drummer Molly Neuman was also the drummer for The Frumpies, who are my second favorite Riot Grrrl band of all time.


3. Van Halen - "Sinner's Swing!" from Fair Warning

David Lee Roth-era Van Halen is my very close second favorite hard rock band of all time that I mentioned previously. Their 1981 album Fair Warning that "Sinner's Swing!" comes off of is also my favorite Van Halen album.


2. The Evens - "If It's Water" from The Evens

The Evens is a band from the 2000s featuring Amy Farina on vocals & drums and Ian MacKaye, one of my heroes from my teen years in the mid 1980s, on vocals & guitar. Their self-titled debut album from 2005 has the distinction of being my favorite album released in the 2000s and "If It's Water" is my favorite song off of that album.


1. The Beatles - "A Day In The Life" from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

The Beatles is my other favorite recording artist of all time that I mentioned previously. I've been listening to The Beatles since I was literally a baby in the very early 1970s (my parents were huge fans), so they've been a part of my life for all 44 years of it. One of the main reasons why I chose "A Day In The Life" is because both John Lennon and Paul McCartney take lead vocals on it.