Clearwater High School - Aqua Clara Yearbook (Clearwater, FL)

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The Rock-n-Roll Ultimate F ifty thousand tiny lights flicker, almost lighting Orlando’s Tangerine Bowl. The wild crowd roars, entranced by The Who’s first rate show. The devoted fans won’t let up until Pete Townshend and company re- turn to the stage and close the show. On their final tour, The Who brought central Florida what many considered to be the show of a lifetime. “It was a flawless concert,” stated senior Scott Nigels. 18,000 tickets were available to the Tampa Bay area, and the first 13,000 went first day tickets were on sale. The remaining 5,000 were sold within 2 weeks by mail. The Who wasn’t the only major concert to hit the Tampa Bay area, though. The Bayfront Center, The Lakeland Civic Cen- ter and vario us other smaller concert halls hosted shows by first rate artists for music fans of all types. Some concerts attended by many students were Billy Joel, Cheap Trick, The Go-Gos and Flock of Seagulls, Kenny Rogers, and Hank Williams Junior. Some students would travel many miles to see certain shows. Gary Connors, who trav- eled all the way to Ft. Meyers to see Ted Nugent, stated, “The intensity of the show was worth the distance traveled.” Despite the fact that concerts cost an average of $10.50, plus gas and various oth- er expenses, many students found them more than worth the amount of money spent. Geary Peters explains, “It is so excit- ing to see your favorite artists up close per- forming the songs that you love, and to see them as real people through their move- ments and facial expressions.” Other stu- dents went for the light and stage shows, the excitement of a good show, or simply for an excellent night out. Every concert is as individual as each member of the audience, and those parts which are unique to each top notch show will remain a part of each and every fan for a long time to come. ▼ by Jeff Samsel 26 Concerts

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I Want My MTV: I want my MTV” is almost a cliche to most young people. MTV, or music television, added a new dimension to music enjoyment across the country. By simply flipping on cable chan- nel 45, one could not only hear, but see his favorite rock-n-roll artists. MTV linked ra- dio and television to form an unbeatable media for rock fans and new wavers alike. After students began discovering MTV, the word spread fast, and the demand for 60 channel cable hookups skyrocketed. Some went as far as getting a full stereo hookup for their MTV. Students watched MTV for hours and hours on end, hoping to catch clips of their favorite rock-n-roll artists. Students waited patiently for rock groups such as The Rolling Stones, The Who, Journey, and Styx, but these videos were scattered between clumps of new wave. After repeated playing of the new wave tunes, they began sinking into the brains of students and the unique form of music be- gan to catch on. This is how the trend be- gan. Instead of a group of noncomformists, the new wave crowd became a flock of trend following “bee-bops” and rock fans enlight- ened by the change of pace. Students went for the new wave for many reasons. Robby Wallace commented, “I like new wave as something different. Simple enough, it’s fun.” As the new wave in music strengthened in popularity, groups who were before looked down upon as outcasts, (such as Adam Ant and Devo) soared in popularity, receiving airtime on rock radio stations and selling out local concert halls. Also selling out concerts and soaring to the top of re- cord charts were some new groups intro- duced by MTV such as Men at Work and Missing Persons. Often confused with new wave was the ever-lasting punk. James Stevenson ex- plained a few of the differences between punk and new wave. “While punk is violent, political, and guitar-oriented, new wave shows a lighter, more fun attitude and is oriented to the keyboards.” John Frieder- ich stated, “Punk is not all violence and destruction. This is often used to get peo- ple’s attention. Punk is based on political values and opinions.” Although true “punkers” represented a small portion of the students, those students were very de- voted to their music. Along with the “new wavers” and the “punkers” were of course the classic rock fans. These students stuck with the radio and their own carefully selected albums, Despite the new trends, the classic rock re- mained on top for many. Although some students showed in most every type of music, new wave was most notable because of its sudden surge to the top. And responsible for this, of course, MTV. T by Jeff Samse! ro ro is 28 MTV