Aircraft was the band before the Riverdogs.
My friend Chris and I were in
a band in Southern Cal in the mid to late 80's. We moved there from
Massachusetts in 1985. I was friends with Nick Brophy, we used to work
together at Baxter Healthcare. Being the only two "Long Hairs" there we
hit it off. He first introduced me to Robs voice by playing a demo tape
of Rob's band Aircraft in my truck at lunch break. I was blown away! It
was recorded in 1985 by A&M records (they were interested in signing them).
Though Nick didn't join the band until later, he had many demos, some
recorded on a 4 track. Anyway I still remember many of the songs.
Here is a list of the songs I remember:
Midnight in Hollywood (Nick & Rob's 1st collaboration - fantastic song)
Burn down the Rockhouse
Combat Boots
Turn or Burn
No Surrender
Scream What U Mean
Won't be your Fool
Terror at 10,000 Feet
Too Much Love
To Late
Another Man
The more I love you - the Harder it gets
Time won't buy you Love
Walking Wounded (might be pre-Aircraft)
I'm a Believer (cover of Monkeys tune)
Rock n Roll Hoochie Koo (cover of Rick Derringer tune)
Alot of this stuff might make Rob cringe now, I don't know, but, to any of
us around LA at that time will remember most of the bands sucked,
especially the ones getting contracts. Most of the music from that period
could not stand the test of time. I still firmly believe that if Aircraft
was signed in 1985 they would be looked upon as one of the great bands of
the period. Good songwriting and performances, along with Rob's quick wit
made Aircraft shows special. I still think Midnight in Hollywood could
have been a #1 single!
(and thanks to Chris Medaglia - Chris_Medaglia@bose.com - for the really cool fliers and to Ken Carpenter - fourcarps@gowebway.com for the story!)
