In the late 1960s, pioneering electronic musician Robert Margouleff and his musical partner Malcolm Cecil built something unlike anything the world had heard: TONTO — The Original New Timbral Orchestra — a sprawling, one-of-a-kind synthesizer system that would go on to reshape the sound of popular music for decades to come.

A Grammy winner for his work on Stevie Wonder's Innervisions, Robert joins us in studio on the What Difference Does It Make Podcast to share the stories behind one of the most creative partnerships in music history. He takes us inside the making of Stevie's most celebrated run of records — Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, and Fulfillingness' First Finale — and reveals how TONTO's revolutionary sonic palette helped define that era. He also produced Devo's commercial breakthrough Freedom of Choice, one of the defining 80s music albums that helped bring synth-driven pop to the mainstream, and collaborated with Billy Preston and The Isley Brothers, cementing his place as one of the most influential figures behind the boards of his generation.

It's all captured in his memoir, Shaping Sounds: Stevie Wonder, Devo, The Synth Revolution And My Life Behind The Music — and today, he's here to bring it to life.

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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.

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New York Times Bestselling Author, Annie Zaleski has a shirt that reads, "Sorry, I can't talk. I'm thinking about the 1997 performance of Silver Springs where Stevie Nicks stares a hole through Lindsay Buckingham". It partially helps explain why music fans around the world have been obsessed with Stevie. 

Annie’s latest book, Stevie Nicks in 50 Songs, explores Stevie’s remarkable journey through the music that defined her life and career, along with the artists and songs that inspired her along the way.

In this episode, Annie shares stories, insights, and behind-the-scenes moments from the career of the two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame icon, discussing the songwriting, mystique, heartbreak, and performances that make Stevie Nicks a legend.

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Growing up in the San Fernando Valley meant something very different depending on who you ask. For Holly and Dave, it's a place of warm memories and deep roots. For Gina Gershon? It was somewhere she couldn't wait to leave, and leaving turned out to be the best thing she ever did.
Gina joins us to talk about her memoir, AlphaPussy: How I Survived the Valley and Learned to Love My Boobs, a candid and wildly entertaining look at coming of age in the '80s, finding her voice, and building a career on her own terms. We get into standing up for yourself, the art of the strategic fib when auditioning, and the moment her real story began; the moment she escaped.
And yes, there are rock and roll stories. Bob Dylan. Lou Reed. Prince. You'll want to hear these.
We sit down with Gina Gershon for a conversation that's equal parts nostalgia, survival story, and Hollywood memoir gold.

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Old school is in session as JayQuan, author of the coffee table book, RUN-DMC and Raising Hell: 40 Years, joins the podcast. 

As we learn JayQuan's story, we receive an education on the origins of hip-hop. Artists from the Cold Crush Brothers to William Waring to The Mizell Brothers were essential to the sound of Run-DMC, as were the beats of Take Me To The Mardi Gras by Bob James and Walk This Way by Aerosmith. 

It's no wonder JayQuan is the curator for the National Hip-Hop Museum in Washington DC, as well as a consultant for The Hip-Hop Museum in the Bronx. 

So let's start Raising Hell, and learn from the masters.

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Steve Berlin, producer, arranger, session player, saxophonist, and Grammy-winning member of Los Lobos and The Blasters is now promoting a band he was in over forty years ago. Top Jimmy And The Rhythm Pigs released one album, in 1987. The album, entitled, Pigus, Drunkus Maximus returns with a re-release on Blind Owl Records including enhanced sound quality and deluxe packaging.

Steve steps into our virtual studio to relive those LA Monday nights when Top Jimmy and The Rhythm Pigs played at the Cathay de Grande. He'll also share a few stories regarding the artists he's played with, including The Go-Go's, Sheryl Crow, and the upcoming Los Lobos documentary, Native Sons.

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Steve Spears has just released a book based on his popular podcast, entitled Stuck In The 80s: 20 Years of Conversations with Pop Culture Icons Who Defined a Decade.  

We are thrilled Steve guests on our podcast to share a few amazing stories he's accumulated over the years, including a few awkward moments. Steve has also been a big part of The 80s Cruise, and he dispenses some fun tidbits from his ten years hobnobbing with our favorite 80s music icons.

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Danny Goldberg has a career that reminds us of why we wanted to be a part of the music business. His career started at Billboard, where he convinced the higher-ups he needed to go to the Woodstock Music Festival. He did PR for Led Zeppelin, managed the careers of Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Nicks, Sonic Youth, the Allman Brothers Band, and Nirvana. In the 90s, he headed three different record labels: Atlantic, Mercury and Warner Bros. He ran his own independent label, Artemis, and since 2010, he’s focused his attention on his management company, Gold Village. 

Danny joins the podcast to share how he helped his artists reach such incredible heights, and also to discuss the reissue of his sixth book, Bumping Into Geniuses: My Life Inside Rock 'N' Roll.

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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. We go from pop and rock to dance and folk. We also learn during our Pop Quiz that, even though Holly is a stickler for "word crimes", she's not as strong when it comes to 80s lyrics.

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Harold Bronson may be best known as one of the co-founders of Rhino Records, but when he was a student at UCLA, he was in a band called Mogan David And His Winos. The band consisted of future New York Times best-selling author Jonathan Kellerman, future Columbia Records Head Of Promotions (and friend of the podcast) Paul Rappaport, music journalist Mark Leviton, as well as fellow Rhino co-conspirator Richard Foos. 

The band made one album, fusing all their influences. The result came out in 1973 and was entitled Savage Young Winos. It became a cult classic, but has been out of print since 1976. Enter Liberation Hall Music, which has re-released the album with additional demos, live recordings from that period, and two tracks from a Winos' reunion session in 1993. 

Harold Bronson has graciously joined the podcast to share just a few of the stories he's accumulated over the years.

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Let's play St. Patrick's Day music to recognize a number of our 80s music 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 created. So raise a pint to the Irish. Sláinte!

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