As a 15 year old boy coming home after school to watch MTV was a big deal!
When it first launched on August 1st 1981 I was mesmerized by all the bands from New Wave to Punk, to Rock & Metal.
It wasn’t until the spring of 1984 that I set a goal, to BE on MTV.
I literally told myself: “I am going to do that”, which included join a band, get signed, go on tour, be on the radio, in magazines and on MTV!
Within time, that happened... and it happened in a pretty epic way as TUFF climbed DIAL MTV in the summer of 1991 along with Metallica, Guns N’ Roses and others.
What can I say... but I am beyond grateful for what this amazing creation gave to me and an entire generation of young people.
I could never have imagined as a teenager, that one day I would not only be on the channel, but become friends with people like Marth Quinn whom I met leaving our apartment building one sunny afternoon in the Valley.... we’re still friends today and she alone gave TUFF so much love, on and off the channel.
Oddly, some years before TUFF was even on DIAL MTV, a film-crew from the channel was out in Hollywood asking people about “Sex & Rock”, and whodathunkit... but they pulled me & our drummer aside, and fired up the cameras... This is a still shot from that segment that ran on MTV in 1988 or 1989, and seeing myself on MTV blabbering away on Sunset Strip into one of those iconic logo laced microphones was awesome.
Of course there are those who want to diss MTV, and mock it because of what it eventually evolved into... which included multiple Reality TV Shows.
But, we would have never had The Osbourne’s or Jackass had it not been for MTV... those shows alone... (never-mind the 16 & Pregnant stuff) were worth tuning in for.
Thinking about it... without this channel, without this platform... who knows where we, our bands, music, and the related culture of the 1980’s would have taken us?
For that... I want to say Happy 44th Birthday to MTV, and those awesome memories I will hold in my fading brain forever.
Thank you for reading!
Stevie / TUFF
Full Post with Photos is here > https://www.facebook.com/stevierachelle ... LmPxUA9yUl
