Music Industry executive Rob Tonkin has been a fixture in the business for over four decades. He's accumulated quite a few stories, so much so that he’ll be releasing his own memoir in very the near future (tentatively called "Rockin' Robbie").

The dB's Stands For DeciBels

8 days ago 42m 55s

Exciting news for fans of power pop, as the dB's are releasing a reissue of their excellent debut LP, Stands for deciBels. Formed in New York City by four North Carolinians, The dB’s consist of singers-guitarists-songwriters Chris Stamey and Pe

Gen X Summer Song Favorites

15 days ago 57m 32s

Friend of the show, Craig Rosen, keeps us on our toes as we ping-pong back and forth from proms to fashion to movies. We try to stay on target as we discuss our favorite summer songs from the 70s and 80s.We are a proud member of Pantheon Podca

Hey! Do You Remember KROQ In 1987?

22 days ago 1h 11m

Hey! Did you know there are other 80s music podcasts? It's true! Joe Christopher and Kari Race host a podcast called Hey! Remember The 80s? We‘re happy to have them as our guests this week to talk about their podcast, their love of 80s music, a

Mother's Day Music Favorites

29 days ago 59m 10s

Whether we like it or not, our moms shape who we are, and influence how we feel about so much in our lives. This episode is devoted to the music that is embedded in our DNA, thanks to our mothers, or in Holly's case, for her children. Dave goes

Marco Collins Gives Us Both The Glamour And The Squalor

May 3rd, 2024 1h

Marco Collins may be best known as the Music Director at KNDD/The End in Seattle during the height of the grunge era. His career actually started at 91X in San Diego, but he had to commute to the station, located in Tijuana, Mexico, to get to h

Midge Ure: Cataloging The Hits

Apr 26th, 2024 1h 5m

The breadth of the Midge Ure music catalogue is one to behold. His career started in the 1970’s with the boy band, Slik, followed by Rich Kids through to Visage and Ultravox and a thriving solo career. That's even without mentioning the histori

Lol Tolhurst Gives Us The History Of Goth

Apr 19th, 2024 39m 6s

Founding member of The Cure and Rock Hall Inductee, Lol Tolhurst, joins the podcast to chat about his second book, entitled GOTH. It's a deep dive into the dark Romanticism of Goth music.Of course, since we like to keep things upbeat, we also

Dylan Chambers Gets High

Apr 12th, 2024 1h

Dylan Chambers is one soulful dude, as a listen to his EP For Your Listening Pleasure! will prove. His first single, "High (When I'm Low)," featuring LunchMoney Lewis and Dave Koz, will immediately put a smile on your face. Dylan steps into our

Urgent! Rick Wills Hits The Trail For Foreigner

Apr 5th, 2024 58m 43s

Foreigner is one of the world's best-selling bands of all time, with worldwide sales of more than 80 million records, but they are not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Yet. Rick Wills, bassist for the band, joins the podcast not only to push

April Fools' Day Music Favorites

Mar 29th, 2024 58m 57s

Happy April Fools' Day! What songs make you smile? For Dave it's a knowing wink from an artist that knows this music can be ridiculous and yet, still love it. For Holly, it's music that makes her do a goofy dance or reminds her of her children.

It's Time To Follow Pearl Harbour

Mar 22nd, 2024 48m 10s

Pearl Harbour has a deep love of Rockabilly music. So much so that instead of recording another album on a major label with Pearl Harbor and The Explosions, she left the band to record a solo record. The result was the 1980 release, Don't Follo

St. Patrick's Day 80s Music Favorites

Mar 15th, 2024 42m 34s

We use the holiday of St. Patrick's Day to recognize a number of our favorite artists from The Emerald Isle. While we have a hard time pronouncing names like Cathal McGarvey, Seamus Ennis and Liam Ó Maonlaí, we certainly do love the music they

Dave Tarnowski Creates Disappointing Affirmations

Mar 8th, 2024 48m 29s

Dave Tarnowski, like everyone, has voices in his head, confirming and/or denying his worst fears. Unlike everyone, Dave has created an Instagram Account around the concept, with 2.2 million followers and counting. He has now turned that social

Dave Beasing Is The Sound That Brands

Mar 1st, 2024 1h 2m

Dave Beasing joins the podcast this week. Dave is the CEO of Sound That BRANDS, a company that helps Brands tell their stories through audio-based marketing content…aka PODCASTS! Dave also has his own stories to share about growing up in Omaha,

Ireland's Enda Caldwell Comes To LA

Feb 23rd, 2024 57m 9s

Ireland native and radio geek, Enda Caldwell, has been heard on Atlantic 252, Radio Luxembourg, Today FM and Radio Nova in Ireland, Kiss in The UK, and many other radio stations worldwide, like 106.5 Rivera Radio in Monaco. He’s currently the a

Karen Glauber Has Got The HITS

Feb 16th, 2024 57m 43s

Karen Glauber is the President of HITS Magazine. She started her career with the legendary label, A&M Records, back in the 80s. She's also got strong opinions about the music. This makes her the perfect guest for our look at the music the World

Valentine's Day 80s music favorites

Feb 9th, 2024 48m 2s

We at What Difference Does It Make love love and what better way to say it, than with a song from the 80s? We discuss a number of our favorites that make us feel all warm inside. Happy Valentine's (and Gal-entine's) Day!Learn more about your a

KROQ 1987 Countdown Begins

Feb 2nd, 2024 39m 8s

The What Difference Does It Make Podcast begins our 1987 musical journey with an analysis of songs 106.7 to 101 from the World Famous KROQ 1987 year-end chart. The bottom of the chart includes novelty songs (Swinging Erudites, Mojo Nixon), cove

Pop Culture 1987

Jan 26th, 2024 1h

It was quite a year, from U2 and The Beastie Boys, to Spuds McKenzie and 21 Jump Street. While we can't cover it all, we start off a new season of What Difference Does It Make with a look back at some of those iconic moments from 1987.Learn mo

Katherine Yeske Taylor Is A Badass

Jan 19th, 2024 54m 18s

Veteran music journalist Katherine Yeske Taylor steps into our virtual studio to tell the tales of 20 badass musicians that she documented in her book, She’s a Badass: Women in Rock Shaping Feminism. The book features candid conversations about

Reaching The Western Edge At The Country Music Hall Of Fame

Jan 12th, 2024 55m 25s

In this episode, we take you to the edge...as in the Western Edge exhibit currently featured at the Country Music Hall Of Fame in Nashville. Western Edge examines the close-knit community of Los Angeles-based singers, songwriters, and musicians

What Difference Does It Make Best Of 2023

Jan 5th, 2024 57m 52s

Well, the saying goes, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.", but as Holly says, "I would be happy if we could have another year like this year." So we now look back at 2023 with a few highlights from our chats with m

New Year's Music Favorites

Dec 29th, 2023 39m 11s

Another holiday classic filled with some great 80s music! We discuss our new year's traditions, new year's resolutions, the history behind toasts and of course, all our favorite music we play to usher in the new year. We are a proud member of

Christmas Music Favorites

Dec 15th, 2023 34m 56s

What Difference Does It Make, the 80s music podcast, celebrates our favorite 80s Christmas songs. Holly tells us how she wooed her future husband with some skiing lessons and we also do a wrap on a couple old school rap classics.We are a proud