99: The Wayback #99 | Josh Wolf - Concert Campouts

Summary

The Wayback with Ryan Sickler

Episode 99: Josh Wolf – Concert Campouts

Released: November 20, 2025

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Overview

In this nostalgia-packed episode, Ryan Sickler welcomes comedian Josh Wolf back for a deep-dive into their wildest, most memorable concert experiences. Reminiscing about camping out for tickets, notorious outfits, and the unfiltered energy of live shows, Ryan and Josh share stories that blend humor, youthful innocence, and surprisingly heartfelt reflections on music and growing up. This episode is a true trip down memory lane, stacked with relatable coming-of-age moments and hilarious details about a different era of concert culture.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

The Lost Ritual of Camping Out for Concert Tickets

• Sleeping Out at the Mall:
  • Ryan shares about camping overnight at Owings Mills Mall for Ticketmaster releases, a bygone ritual now vanished with online sales.
  • “We would sleep out at Owings Mills Mall… on the concrete on the sidewalk… concert tickets went on sale at 8am.” – Ryan (04:19)
  • A bustling atmosphere of anticipation: "We'd play football all night. There’d be a good 100 some people out." (05:42)
  • Josh recalls his first campout at 16, with a story that quickly turns legendary.

Josh’s Legendary First Campout Experience

• The Paul Young Concert & Teenage Hijinks:
  • At 16, Josh’s friend invites him to camp out overnight for Paul Young tickets on a college campus – an intimidatingly grown-up experience.
  • Hilariously describes prepping his 'coolest' outfit: parachute pants, sleeveless zipper shirt, a “soccer cut” mullet, and thick chain.
  • Quote: “I showed up in my parachute pants and I had a sleeveless shirt that had a lot of zippers on it. I had a mullet that we called the soccer cut.” – Josh (07:47)
  • Tells a blush-worthy story of an encounter with a 21-year-old woman in the concert front row.
    • “She put her hands in my pants from behind me… Definitely came in my pants and on her hands in the parachute pants, dude.” (09:23-09:57)
  • The aftermath: An obvious mess on his shiny pants, noticed by the band. “It legit looked like I had the map of the United States like right across my leg.” (11:28)
  • Both reflect on how such experiences shape high-schoolers and their sense of cool.

Notable Fashion Flashbacks

• Fashion statements from the era: herringbone and gold rope chains, the defining “King Tut” style.
• "These went out of style. And then it was a gold rope that came... That's the rope." – Ryan (08:58)

Memorable Concert Stories & Cultural Milestones

• First Big Concerts:

  • Josh’s first: The Police’s Synchronicity Tour with R.E.M. opening – also his first time seeing people use drugs at a show. “I remember asking, what is that? ... There was a level of naive that… we weren’t exposed to things all the time.” – Josh (15:36)
  • Ryan: Run DMC and Beastie Boys “Together Forever” tour, 1987. Ticket prices evoke laughter (“16.50, that’s what it cost. Now it gets you a Coca Cola at the venue.” – 16:51)
  • The value of keeping old ticket stubs prompts a riff about family history and lost treasures.

• Jimmy Buffett, Grateful Dead, and the Parade of Free Spirits:

  • Jimmy Buffett concerts: Parrot heads, conga lines, and “so many saggy, old titties.” (19:24)
  • Grateful Dead shows: “That’s when the drugs would come to us…” Reminisces about the unique parking lot exchange and opium PB&Js. (21:31)
  • “Look, this stack of tickets says I didn’t have parents.” – Ryan (22:57)

• Local Scene Legends:

  • Ryan tells the story of seeing Van Halen in the ‘70s in backyard parties: “You’re getting to see Van Halen, David Lee Roth in a backyard. That’s crazy.” (24:28)
  • Josh on Seattle’s grunge heyday: Seeing Chris Cornell drop in at bars, being there for Kurt Cobain’s passing. (24:55)

The Band (or Album) That Changed Everything

• For Josh: Pink Floyd in college, but especially hearing Nirvana for the first time.

  • “Nevermind’s” Smells Like Teen Spirit was a revelation: “I remember sitting in that car like, what the is this? ... It tapped right into whatever we were feeling.” (27:09)
  • Meeting Dave Grohl: “For him to just talk Nirvana with me was just… Nirvana for me is the band that more than any… changed me.” (28:32)

• For Ryan:

  • Kiss (“What the hell is this?”); AC/DC’s Back in Black; Appetite for Destruction by Guns N’ Roses – “That’s rock and roll.” (26:47)

Jimi Hendrix and Prince: Music as Extension of Self

• Ryan is a “super freak” for Jimi Hendrix, once meeting bassist Noel Redding in L.A. and getting his album signed.
  • “He was an introvert offstage, but an extrovert on stage… watching someone put this flair. He brought fashion, flair. Lit it on fire. No one was doing anything like that.” (30:22)
• Both note the way certain musicians make their instrument an extension of self, with Prince as another unforgettable example.
  • “When I saw Prince live, it’s exactly how it felt. There’s no separation between that guitar. That guitar is part of him.” – Josh (32:36)
  • Visiting Paisley Park, Prince’s legendary studio, Josh is awestruck by the unassuming yet iconic setting. (32:57)

Reflections on Legacy: The 27 Club

• Both hosts reflect on the outsized impact and short lives of Hendrix (Ryan) and Cobain (Josh), and the other icons in the “27 Club” (Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison). (33:49)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• “She put her hands in my pants from behind me… Definitely came in my pants and on her hands in the parachute pants, dude.” – Josh (09:23)
• “Look, this stack of tickets says I didn’t have parents.” – Ryan (22:57)
• “You’re getting to see Van Halen, David Lee Roth in a backyard. That’s crazy.” – Ryan (24:28)
• “Nevermind’s Smells Like Teen Spirit… I remember sitting in that car like, what the is this? … It tapped right into whatever we were feeling at that time.” – Josh (27:09)
• “He was an introvert offstage, but an extrovert on stage… plugged himself in as that guitar was an extension of him.” – Ryan on Hendrix (30:22)
• “When I saw Prince live, there’s no separation between that guitar. That guitar is part of him.” – Josh (32:36)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:35 – Josh introduces his new “Campfire Special” and talks touring, podcasts
• 04:19 – Start of nostalgic stories; sleeping out overnight for concert tickets
• 06:30-11:28 – Josh’s coming-of-age Paul Young concert and the handsy 21-year-old
• 13:32 – Discussion of first big concerts (Police w/ R.E.M., Run DMC & Beastie Boys)
• 15:36 – First exposure to concert subcultures, drugs, wild scenes
• 18:34 – Memories with parents/kids at shows, generational traditions
• 19:24 – Jimmy Buffett, Grateful Dead, and the “parrot head” economy
• 22:18-23:41 – Keeping every ticket stub, symbolic of independence
• 26:47 – Life-changing albums and hearing Nirvana for the first time
• 30:17-32:12 – Jimi Hendrix, meeting Noel Redding, the magic of musical icons
• 32:36 – Prince, Paisley Park, and legendary musicianship
• 33:49 – Reflecting on the 27 Club and the nature of cultural impact

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Tone and Style

The conversation is loose, fast-paced, and hilariously frank, blending raunchy realness (“hand job from a grown-up, bro!”) with earnest reverence for the transformative power of music. Both Ryan and Josh bring a playful candor and a sense of brotherhood to their shared memories, making the episode feel like swapping stories with old friends in your own living room.

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Conclusion

This episode is a golden example of how music, youth, and community experiences forge some of the funniest and most formative stories. Ryan and Josh’s reminiscences are both individual and universal, immortalizing the shared, unrepeatable magic of the pre-digital concert era with their signature blend of heart and humor.

For more from Josh Wolf, check out his special "The Campfire Special" on YouTube and the podcast "Hey Man" (soon to be "Generation Wolf"), and find Ryan Sickler on all social platforms.

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End of summary.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

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[A]

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[B]

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[A]

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[B]

I'm seeing a pattern here.

[A]

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[B]

Crave, which is anything from am, pm.

[A]

What more could you want? Stop by AMPM where the snacks and drinks are perfectly craveable and convenient. That's cravenience pm. Too much. Good stuff. What's up guys? I just want to say thank you very much for all the support on the special. Right now it's over 200000 views and that includes being almost killed for a day by YouTube. All right? So please, if you haven't watched it, go watch it, go like it, go comment on it. And if you have watched it, watch it again and share it. I'd love for everybody to share it with three to five people you love. Do that for the holidays. Give them the gift of comedy. Share it, like it, comment, all that good stuff. Go watch it live and alive. Streaming now on my YouTube. What's up, guys? The holidays are coming and I'm gonna be straight up with you. I'm just trying to get rid of the merch I have. We got quite a bit of merch left and I just want to get rid of it. And I want to get rid of it for you guys. All right, so here's what we got going on. There is a huge talking about fire sale, y'. All. Huge fire sale in the merch store on my [e-mail] where you can. We've got $10 tees and hats, $20 hoodies and pants. You got stickers in there. But listen, here's the thing. Just order. Because trust me, every order comes with a free gift, and any apparel purchase comes with two free gifts. All right? That's a chance to get a lot of gifts, y'. All. All right, so go over to the merch shop right now. Get your $10 hoodies, night pants, throw. I don't think there's anything more than $20 over there, honestly, in the whole entire store. So go get your stuff now. Ryan Sickler dot com.

[B]

Hey, baby.

[A]

We're gonna be here all day. We're gonna be here all day, baby. I like that kind of party. Welcome back to the way Back. Everybody. Ryan Sickler here, guys. Thank you for supporting this show. This show is so fun. I love diving into people's past, getting nostalgic. It's a fun, funny laugh. If you're already watching this far, drop a comment, make sure you're subscribed, Help the show out. All right? I'm very excited to have this guest. Back in the way back, ladies and gentlemen, Josh Wolf. Welcome back. Before we dive into your old stories right there, promote it all, I have.

[B]

A new special, and it's called the campfire special. This special is, I think, dude, maybe the funniest special I've ever done. And yo, my fans and your fans and have always supported my last special hit. Over a million. My first special has something like 15 million or something crazy like this. But this special coming out is. Has some of the best jokes I've ever written. Part stories, part songs, a lot of cool special guests. So super fucking funny comedian. Joshwolf.com for tour dates. And I do a podcast with my son called hey man, Great.

[A]

Let's dive into some old stories here. You had just said to me before we even started recording, he said, man, I remember I slept out for concert tickets. And I was like, oh, you don't even do that anymore. I remember I did the same thing, too. So let's talk about it. And I have some. I got an envelope here, some old concert ticket stubs. We'll pull through some and.

[B]

But what was the concert the first one that you slept out for?

[A]

I don't remember the first one. I slept out for. But I remember we would sleep out at Owings Mills Mall. There you go. Yep. So look, it's gone now. When this mall came to town, this was state of the art marble and, you know, the whole nine. They put a metro out there from the city. And everybody said, don't do that. Don't. Don't let the city people just take an easy metro out to rob the mall and go right back to the city.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So they put a metro in the city right out to the mall. It stopped at the mall and up. That's. That mall. Looks like they clean. They cleaned it out, bro. It's gone.

[B]

We.

[A]

It is gone. So anyway, we would go to this mall right here and then we would sleep outside on the concrete on the sidewalk. Because you could go to Macy's and get Ticketmaster tickets in a Macy's. So you could go in like the top floor of a Macy's, and in the back they had a Ticketmaster window. And you had to camp out because they went on sale at whatever. Like they're 8:00am tomorrow. Boom. So we're.

[B]

We're all.

[A]

We'd be out there and we'd play football all night. There'd be a good 100 some people out. I remember doing it for Eric Clapton. I'm trying to remember all the other ones we did it for. I. When we picked through, I could tell if we. If it was dude one we slept out for. But who was it for? You?

[B]

My first one. I remember. Okay. I was 16, and this kid who I thought was just the coolest kid in the world asked me if I wanted to wait out overnight for tickets. He was like, you, no parents. And so he could do that. And my. I asked my parents. I was like, okay. And it was on a college campus and we were 16, and it was. It was a. It was a guy named Paul Young. He'd sing a song like, I want to tear your. Every time you go away Every time.

[A]

You go away yeah, you take a piece of me.

[B]

Yeah, that's one with you. Dude, there was just vaginas out all over the place. Yeah. Are you kidding? Because he was handsome too, man.

[A]

Yeah, handsome.

[B]

And we. Dude, can I tell you? Okay, so we went. And that night. I'm 16. And that night there were this. There were these girls behind us who were 21 and college kids, because the waiting out overnight was. We was on a college campus and these girls were talking to us. And my buddy, after we bought the tickets, he was like, and that girl wants to have sex with you. I was like, no way. And he was like, yeah, yeah. And I was like, but she's like 21. He was like, she wants to have sex. I didn't believe it. But he did tell me that when I showed up for the concert to make sure I was wearing my clothes.

[A]

Your clothes?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

What's your outfit? Can I tell you?

[B]

Okay. Because I honestly, at the time, dude, had no idea. But he was the coolest kid.

[A]

I still don't have a.

[B]

Me neither, dude. So he was the coolest kid I knew. So I was like, oh, I gotta come up with clothes, you know? And. And I didn't. Like, we couldn't go home and Google.

[A]

Yeah. What? Our clothes.

[B]

I was going blind. So this will tell you. I showed up in my parachute pants.

[A]

Yeah. Come on, man.

[B]

And I had a sleeveless shirt that had a lot of zippers on it. I had a mullet that we call the soccer cut.

[A]

Yeah, you were saying earlier a soccer cut.

[B]

Because everybody on the soccer team had them. So we call them soccer cuts. And I had a big, thick chain that. Dude, this was so funny. Did you ever wear a chain?

[A]

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

[B]

And so it was just long enough that if I. If we were. And I was on top of you, it was going to clip you right in the. Right in the bottom of the chin. You know what I mean? It was gonna just remind you.

[A]

But so, yeah, I had a. Herringbones were popular. Can we look this up, Kirsten? So this is like a nice flat one right here. Oh, yeah. This is a nice. Go to men's. Yeah, hit. Hit that men's.

[B]

That's hilarious. That could be men.

[A]

So this is a. This is a nice flat necklace. These were big.

[B]

Yeah, dude, in there.

[A]

Like this. A flat one. But then just get rid of herringbone and look up gold rope. 14K gold rope.

[B]

These.

[A]

These went out of style. And then it was a gold rope that. That came. See those thick hair, no rope, chain. There they are right there. That's what I wore next.

[B]

The.

[A]

The. Oh, yeah, dude. Yeah, bro. That's the rope.

[B]

Yeah, that's somebody who doesn't have parents. That's who wears that.

[A]

This guy's got two of them.

[B]

One.

[A]

One for each dead parent. Right there.

[B]

The flat ones we used to call the King Tut.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

But dude, I. I show up to this concert in my clothes and.

[A]

You got a chain. You got your chain.

[B]

Oh, yeah, my silver chain and mullet and parachute pants. And dude, so this girl was standing behind me, and I'm dancing. We Were up front. Dude, I had front row tickets. And she put her, she put her hands in my pants from behind me and I was not a very. I don't know about you but sexually experienced dude in high school. And so when she put her. You know when you're 16 and a like a grown woman puts her hands in your pants. You're hard now.

[A]

I mean now, now fucking now.

[B]

And definitely came in my pants and on her hands in the parachute pants, dude. So I had never come in my pants before. I didn't know I was going to leave a mark. Can I tell you for real? Right. Okay, ready? I'm up front dancing.

[A]

I like that you've come in them later in life and you realize hey I'm going to do that again.

[B]

No, I found out at the show cuz I'm up front dancing and the guitar player, dude, he's walk. It's a small theater, 2500. So he's just acknowledging people and he's walking around and he looks at me and he goes just like this. That's it was the great ones. He looks right at me. Then he goes like this. And I, he, I see him and he walks over to the bass player and I see him doing this.

[A]

And.

[B]

I'm like am I vibing with the band? Like these guys love locking eyes with the bass player. I'm about to go on tourist front row dancing. Yeah dude. I look down but you realize in those pants how shiny they are.

[A]

Oh yeah.

[B]

The way I describe it, dude, is.

[A]

It all your zippers are down?

[B]

All of them, bro.

[A]

Every zipper's down, bro. There's 30 of them.

[B]

It legit looked like I had the map of the United States like right across my leg.

[A]

Oh God.

[B]

It was but first overnight concert. Hand job from a grown up, bro.

[A]

That's a grown up is a wild way to say it. Yeah dude.

[B]

Hand job from a grown up. Which was amazing.

[A]

But yeah.

[B]

She wasn't great. 21 when you're 16, straight grown up.

[A]

Straight grown up lady, right? She's voting. You know what I'm saying? This is voting and drinking.

[B]

She's got food in the fridge like she's a grown human.

[A]

God.

[B]

But yeah man. And so Paul Young was the first overnight one I waited up, waited out for. But my first concert ever was with.

[A]

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[B]

Synchronicity Tour with the police and REM opened up for him.

[A]

That's a good one.

[B]

Yeah, I think I was maybe 13 or 14. Maybe it's this dude who owned a record store in town.

[A]

One of my just jamming. What's. What's the frequency, Kenneth? You remember that one? Hell yeah. Do you know about the story behind that?

[B]

No.

[A]

Kirsten, look this up. What's the frequency, Kenneth? Rem I'm pretty sure it's Dan Rather or. Or someone I forget. He's a talking is a popular interviewer that we all know. And he got attacked and he was like. And when they hit him, he was going, what's the frequency, Ken?

[B]

There it is.

[A]

I was walking along Park Avenue and things happened very suddenly. I couldn't make any sense of it at the time and I wound up being knocked down. Fair to say I got the hell beat out of me by someone I didn't know. I don't know why it happened. I may never know. The police had asked me what anything said to me and I vaguely remembered at one point it was, you know, what's the frequency? And then I thought somebody said it addressed me as Kenneth. Okay, you're right. It's somebody else attacked him and said that. Yeah, compacted into what's the frequency, Kenneth? The next thing I knew was all over the news. Not always complimentary. Say about to hit song, bro.

[B]

Oh, that's good that it's funny that like it's funny that people question, like, why it happened. If somebody hits you and says, what's the frequency, Kenneth? They're crazy.

[A]

Yeah, they're crazy.

[B]

That's why it happened today.

[A]

What is the one? Everybody runs around, puncher in the puss. What is the one? What's. What is it, Kirsten? Yeah, that's it. Right in the. They yell, you haven't seen these. That's the new. What's the frequency?

[B]

Well, I'm on board for that. That's amazing.

[A]

Anytime there's a live report, people try to run by and say, fuck her. Right in the pussy.

[B]

Can I tell you, maybe my favorite part is right in the pussy. It's a thing right in the. All right.

[A]

Okay. So wait, you go see Rem with the police?

[B]

It was the first time I'd ever seen anyone do coke. They. I remember asking the guy, I'm like, what is that? Dude, There was. There was a level of naive that. Because we weren't exposed to things all the time. So I was. I had no idea what that was. Why would I know what that was?

[A]

Right?

[B]

It's. I don't see it on no line. I'm not. You know, so he was just like, it's. Don't worry about it, but don't do that. But I remember watching them snort it. I smelled weed. It was like. That concert was wild for me for so many reasons. But also, it was the first time I'd ever heard REM And I was like, these guys. He told me, he was like, I'm not coming to see the police. I'm coming to see R.E.M.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

It was wild, but. And then I saw Run dmc.

[A]

That's a great one. All right, so we'll go through some of these ticket stubs.

[B]

All right.

[A]

I think that might have been one we did, Kirsten. Yeah, I think you did.

[B]

Tell me something. What's that? What's the concert from then?

[A]

Read that. Flip it around. When you run DMC and Beastie together forever tour. Right there, brother. 1987.

[B]

What did 106 50. Is that 1650?

[A]

1650, brother.

[B]

What did that get you?

[A]

So the stage would be down here. We were mid tier, about halfway. So you could see here.

[B]

You know what it gets you right now? A Coca Cola.

[A]

Yeah. It doesn't even get you parked.

[B]

1650? No. It doesn't get you parking?

[A]

Nope.

[B]

Yo, dude, tell me, out of all these shows, which one sticks out, man?

[A]

It's tough there. A lot of them stick out for a different reason. But this one in particular, sticks out this Run DMC and the Beastie Boys because my dad went with us to this while he was alive. And this was the Together Forever tour. So Run dmc, I believe, is doing Raising Hell. And the Beastie Boys are licensed to ill. And this is when they had the girls in the cages and they were throwing the beer on the crowd like they were that frat boy fight for your right to party. Beastie Boys, before they got into, you know, experimenting, getting different with their stuff. But yeah, that's it right there. So my dad went and I had that T shirt right there. I talk about it because I. My bro, we had. I had. I wish I had every concert. T shirt. I had every. I had a concert T shirt. T shirt from every concert. And my brother when I. We had a fight and I ripped his shirt and he started crying. This shirt right here, he started crying, bro. My. My friend still bring up. Remember when you ripped your brother's Run DMC shirt?

[B]

No. And he started.

[A]

So we looked at it. Where is it on there? Should be August sometime, right, Dude, Washington D. Or Land Over Maryland. Where, where is Landover? There it is. August 15th. Right there. Bottom three from the bottom, right? And what's that ticket say? That says August 15, 1987. That one stands out. That's the only show I've ever solved. My father and I tell my friend who went with us too, like, we gotta remember to be that cool for our kids when good bands come around. Like, let's go with our kids.

[B]

Can I tell you you ripped your brother's shirt? My brother caught a foul ball the Red Sox game. Yeah, I took it to the park and lost.

[A]

Dude, that's a ball for the. In every kid's prize possession.

[B]

Yeah, I just needed a ball to play baseball with. I took it and I lost it.

[A]

Here, let's do three of these randomly grabbed through there.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

These are so many of the concerts I went to without parents.

[B]

Jimmy Buffett, I saw him too.

[A]

Jimmy Buffett, Merryweather Purse Pavilion, 1994. Here. I went and saw him. Look at parking 2.25, bro.

[B]

I loved this concert. I went to see him too.

[A]

I had a great time with the Jimmy. Buffer Buffett con. I came. Say it. Buffer Buffett concert.

[B]

Amazing.

[A]

I also like all these parrot heads. They were congoing around the whole place. They were up.

[B]

They were. I remember. That's the thing I remember the most, is how much fun everybody was at and how many brawless 50 year old women there were.

[A]

Big saggy titties oh, so many saggy titties. Saggy old titties.

[B]

Yeah. By the way, when we. I went to the see Dead and Co at the Sphere and outside of it being one of the best concert experience I've ever been to, the amount of brawless. 70 year old women.

[A]

70. Come on, dude. Grandma. Come on, dude.

[B]

Yeah, that 70 year old brawlers having a good time, dude.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Have you seen the Dead?

[A]

Yes, I have. It's one in here, actually.

[B]

Let's see what this one is. Beastie Boys.

[A]

Beastie Boys again. Now this here was at Michael's 8th Avenue in Glen Burnie. This was a night where we went to see them. General Mission, it was. They started playing their instruments. They got heavy into playing their own instruments and stuff. And this was a night where they came. They didn't do any hits or anything. They just played their musical instruments. So you got to go see the Beastie Boys experiment and around. Get him, princess. And then after it we go to a Denny's and two tour buses pull up. No. And there they are. Mca skateboarding Bias and everything. Oh, you love y'. All. All right, Princess. Come on down, babe. Come on down now. So, yeah, that was an awesome one to see too. Let's try not to get you another Beastie Boys, okay?

[B]

Did you get into like Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister and me too.

[A]

All of them.

[B]

I remember waiting, dude. Waiting for it. Sitting in my room, waiting for the radio station to play. Come on. Feel the noise, dude.

[A]

You look in this stack, there's scorpions in there. There's everything in there, bro. Rush. I've seen Rush.

[B]

Maybe my most hated band of all time.

[A]

Really?

[B]

That dude's singing voice?

[A]

Yeah, Getty Lee.

[B]

Makes me want to choke him the out.

[A]

God damn.

[B]

I can't. His voice. I'm like, who made him the lead singer? You could have chosen better.

[A]

This is Grateful Dead. March 17th, right after my birthday, 1993. I'm. What am I, 20? 20 years old? Go to this show and this show. This is when the drugs would come to us. If that's the only one I ever went to watch, I went to the Dead show every year. They came to the parking lot. We'd all walk around because, you know, have you ever been. You've been to a Dead show. So the parking lot's a scene. Yeah. I need a miracle. I'll trade you. Peanut butter and jellies is where everybody's getting their opium. They're all coming back to our place. And I'm like, you got opium there? God damn. Dude, like, people are getting the nitrous balloons and all this. So this. We would go every year to the. To the outside show, but this is the only one I ever went to.

[B]

What made you decide early on that you were keeping all those?

[A]

I don't know. I don't really know. And that's the Eric Clapton one I. I camped out for right there. That's 1990. So I'm in. I'm in 11th grade here. No parents slept out for that slept hour. Who slept. That was in August. But we slept out before because I didn't have parents that either. Look at all these. The majority of these are when I'm in high school. Look, this stack of tickets says I didn't have parents.

[B]

Tell me you didn't have any parents without telling me you didn't have any parents.

[A]

Ac DC Def Leppard. They're all in here, bro. You two Rolling Stones.

[B]

Let me ask you something. B.B.

[A]

King.

[B]

How old were you?

[A]

David Lee Rolfe solo. No, Van Halen.

[B]

What made you go to that show?

[A]

I was a big Van Halen fan. And then when he came out with that. Eat him and smile. Yankee Rose. I love Steve. I. He was such a great guitarist. And I was like, oh. And he. We knew he was gonna do Van Halen hits, too, so that's the guy we wanted to hear sing. Him. You know, I think.

[B]

Do you think age wise is where the line is drawn as far as Sammy Hagar versus David Lee Roth?

[A]

I think maybe so. I think that's a fair assessment. Look, I like both of them, but there's just nothing, like.

[B]

I agree.

[A]

1970S. Could you imagine? Like, I used to have lived in a building out here where the building manager, she hung out with all of us. We all got along. And her older brother, they're from Pasadena, and he would come over and hang out sometimes, and he would tell us that he would go to house parties, and Van Halen would be playing in the back yard because they're from over there. And then I think, oh, yeah, because he's. He's older. And I'm like. And he's like. And then I would go watch him on the sunset. I'm like, you got to see Van halen in the 70s in someone's sunset. Backyards out here. Tommy Lee. And we had him on the. When I had him on the honeydew, he talked about how they would play Motley Crue, play backyard parties in, like, Pomona. And before they blew up, and I'm like, you're getting to See Van Halen, David Lee Roth in a backyard. That's crazy.

[B]

I. I got real lucky when I was in Seattle to see, like, people pop down. Chris Cornell's sister played in a band called Is it Inflatable Soul? Is that what it was?

[A]

Let's look it up, I think.

[B]

And, you know, he would come down and sing every now and then at these bars. The bars were called, like, the Central and Inflatable Soul.

[A]

Mm.

[B]

And, dude, it was such a crazy time to be in Seattle. I was there when Cobain killed himself and went to that vigil that Courtney Love threw my house. Well, where I was staying, anyways. The room I was renting was down the street from where he killed himself. And because I had a New York driver's license, they weren't letting anybody on the street unless you could prove you lived down there.

[A]

Gotcha.

[B]

So I had to park, like, a mile away.

[A]

I'm looking. Yeah, I think I have that tickets. There it is right there. Boom. How about that?

[B]

Okay, so let me ask you something.

[A]

Go ahead.

[B]

Is this. When's the first time? Okay.

[A]

Are.

[B]

Is there a song or a band or an album that you remember hearing and being like, what the. In a good way. What the.

[A]

Is this?

[B]

That changed? I remember.

[A]

Oh, yeah, dude. I would say the first. Well, real quick, let me just say this is August 8, 1994. This is Lollapalooza, and this is at the Charlestown racetrack in West Virginia. So we drove out there because this was.

[B]

How much is that?

[A]

Ticket 31.

[B]

Holy.

[A]

But if I remember correctly, it was Beastie Boys. I want to say L7. I want to say there was P. Funk was there. I want to say Tribe Called Quest, I think, was there with the Beasties again. And Nirvana was supposed to headline. And when Kurt Cobain kills himself, Smashing Pumpkin steps.

[B]

What year was it?

[A]

And they headline 94, I think. August 8, 1994. There they are. So Smashing Pumpkins, Beastie Boys, P. Fung, Tribe Called Quest, Other Bonotus. Oh, Nick Cave and the bad seeds, L7, the breeders. Yeah, man. It was Green day on the 2nd. Green day on the side. Say it was amazing.

[B]

I. I was asking about the music of the song.

[A]

Sorry. Kiss. Kiss was the first band I heard where I was like, what the hell? Yeah. Then I would say it was AC DC Back in Black. And then I don't think I really had it again until Appetite for Destruction, where I'm like, this is a cover to cover Banger, man. That's rock and roll. What was it for you?

[B]

I remember Being in college, Pink Floyd.

[A]

Also blew me away.

[B]

I remember being in college and my buddy Matt Dustling walks into the cafeteria and he goes, hey. I was like, what? He goes, come. And he said, we walk out to his car. He goes, you gotta hear this. I just saw this band in Austin. They're called Nirvana. And he put in Never mind. And that beginning of Smells Like Teen Spirit came on. And I remember sitting in that car like, what the is this? I'd never heard any. And it tapped right into our. Whatever we were feeling at that time. And I was like, what the is this? He was like, this was the most insane show. I bought the CD on the way out, but I. Every other music that I heard before, I'm like, this is good. That. To remember the specific. Where I was and how I felt, what that music did, dude. So when we got to talk to Dave Grohl, he hosted Chelsea Lately for a week, and he let us ask him questions. And for him to just talk. Nirvana with me was just Nirvana for me is the band that more than any of the band that changed me and that music. Because I was like, they're speed. I don't understand the words.

[A]

But I. Yeah, I don't know what I'll say. That album right there on the wall over there, you see the Hendrix Experience album. So I'm a huge. As you saw the statue in there, I'm a huge Hendrix super freak. And I moved here in 94 the second time. No, 97 the second time. And Noel Redding, who was the bass player for the original Are youe Experienced Band. You know, there are three of them. The Experience. Excuse me. It's Hendrix. It's Noel Reading. It's Mitch Mitchell Knowles on bass. And he's playing in a place now that is called Blood SOS at the corner of 14th and Santa Monica. That one in Santa Monica. But back then it was called 14 below. And it was on 14th Street. And where Bledsoe's is, there's a club under there, a badass club that a lot of people don't know about. It was called 14 Below. Yep. Sc. It's a dark little door on the side. And the 14 wasn't even there. It was all black. And you just go in downstairs and no Reddings playing there. I'm like, you got to be kidding me. So I take this original Hendrix album and I wait. And he goes up to the bar and I just start buying him a couple beers. And he signs the album for me. And he just lets me sit there and talk to him about playing with Jimi Hendrix. And I'm just blown away. I'm like, this is the closest I'm ever getting to Hendrix. And this guy is just telling me like, they were kids and he wishes they had a manager that really knew what they were doing. Because one night they'd be in Seattle and the next they're in Tampa and then they're in Buffalo. And there wasn't a, you know. You know, a right. A routing, a proper routing. They were just young and all over the place. So I was awesome.

[B]

What is it about Hendrix that you connected with so much?

[A]

Man, I wish I could really tell you. I watched him perform, and I'm seeing this guy, the guitar. I'm seeing this guy on stage who was an absolute. Yeah, he was an introvert off stage, but an extrovert on stage. And I just was like, wow, what? Like, he literally plugged himself in as that guitar was an extension of him. And watching someone put this flair. He brought fashion to it. He brought flair. The lit it on fire. Like, no one was doing anything like that. And then to watch the. You know, back then, they were. They had in Europe, in England, clapped in his God. And you're hearing. And these guys, Keith Richards and him, be like, jesus Christ. They were stoked that Paul McCartney and these guys and Chaz Chandler took him to America to get him the. Out of there because he was ripping it up. And then to see him go. And another thing, I'm just so into him. Like, he would say. They would say, the fans love you tonight. He's like, yeah, but were there any black fans? Were there Asian fans? Were there Indian fans? Like, I don't want all my fans to just be white or black or whatever. Like, am I hitting these different groups? And then for him to, like, put amps underwater and, you know, if there's a. There's a. A few songs where he'll just take plastic over a comb and they just play it like a kazoo. And I just love all the experimenting. And then again, he was also a guy that had synesthesia. So he would say this. This feels blue to me. And then Eddie Kramer, his engineer, had it as well, but on that side of things. So he'd be like, I know exactly what you're talking about. And he finally got a guy who's like, yep, got it. Red, crazy, orange, yellow. Yep, yep.

[B]

Yeah, that's crazy.

[A]

It's crazy. Yeah. So I've just. Just his also. He died at 27. The body of work that that man put out Still. Still is considered the epitome of rock and roll and guitar and everything. And it's just wild that he did all that. Like, I know the behind this. You know, everybody's doing their for 20 years, but that window was about three to five years. And it's amazing.

[B]

It's funny you say that the guitar is an extension of him. When I saw Prince live, it's exactly how it felt. I'm like, there's no separation between that guitar. That guitar is part of him.

[A]

No doubt.

[B]

And watching him play was.

[A]

You ever go to his music or his studio and when you were in Minneapolis?

[B]

No, I've been taking the tour.

[A]

I did.

[B]

Is it good, bro, It's.

[A]

You learn so much more about Prince and how much more he really did. You're like, he. I was in there. I was so stoked that I didn't realize, you know, they make you like. He's like, this is where he'd watch Sports center and have his coffee. And so he lived in the studio. And it doesn't look like it's nothing special. It looks like industrial. Like an industrial warehouse. You'd never know Paisley Park's in there. And I'm just leaning on the couch while the lady's talking. She's talking. I'm leaning on this purple velvet couch. And she finally goes, sir, I'm just chilling on princess couch. Like, I live there. I was like, oh, turned sports center just gave it a D.

[B]

Where does.

[A]

He keep the fentanyl in here?

[B]

Yeah, man. I. It's funny that we both. So Hendrick for you and Cobain for me, but both in the 27 Club.

[A]

I think Janice Joplin, I think Jim Morrison. I think they're all around then.

[B]

Yep, yep, yep. But. But yeah, for me, the same thing with To Cobain's musical life was this. Yeah, but for to have such an impact on not just music, but culture and everything.

[A]

Pretty much pioneer a genre. I know they gave it to. To Neil Young, who created grunge. That's nice, you guys. I hear you. That's nice. Yeah, but no, who gave him that? Yeah, they all did. They all like Pearl Jam. And those guys were all like, you know, your father a grunge, but you're not.

[B]

No, no. I mean, he looks grungy.

[A]

He does.

[B]

He looks. Dude, he looks like he smells like old meat.

[A]

Oh, me.

[B]

He does.

[A]

That's what he is.

[B]

Dude.

[A]

Thank you for doing this, man. It's a lot of fun.

[B]

Well, we didn't even get to all that other.

[A]

That's when you got to come back then? Good.

[B]

Hell, yeah.

[A]

Right there. Plug it, promote it.

[B]

Comedianjoshwolf.com for tour dates, check out the new special, the Campfire special on my YouTube channel. All my other specials are on there, too. I do a podcast with my son called hey man, we're rebranding it. So if you see Generation Wolf, that's what it is. And yeah, man, always so fun to come and talk with you.

[A]

I love you, brother. Thank you as always, Ryan Sickler on all your social media. We'll talk to y' all next. Sam.