Latest / Booked On Rock with Eric Senich / [EP 430] Live Aid: Two Teenage Runaways, One Life-Changing Journey with Shane Robitaille & Livi Stanford

Transcript

[EP 430] Live Aid: Two Teenage Runaways, One Life-Changing Journey with Shane Robitaille & Livi Stanford · Booked On Rock with Eric Senich

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: When Livvy and I were making the rounds down in Philly,
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: we spent some time with a very senior executive planner
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: for the show. They said something about, there weren't that
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: many great performances. It was real kind of sloppy. It
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: was a little, you know, it was real messy. On
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: the drive back, Livvy and I were like, what's he
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: talking about? Like, what do you mean it was messy?
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: Of course it is. Like, that's the whole point. We're
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: totally booked. Rock and roll.
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: Wow.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: I think I'll leave you to your reading.
• 0:27
  Speaker 3: Little Hans says it's time to rock and roll. Rock
• 0:30
  Speaker 3: and roll! We are totally booked.
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: Welcome back to Booked on Rock. Conversations with authors, musicians,
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: and insiders revealing the stories behind classic rock's greatest songs, albums,
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: and artists. I'm Eric Senech. Before we get started, make
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: sure you sign up for the Booked on Rock email list.
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: Get all the latest episodes, author interviews, and stories behind
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: the music delivered straight to your inbox. Just head to bookdownrock.com
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: to sign up for that. Now, on to our show.
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: What would you risk to see the biggest concert in
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: rock history? And what if getting there changed your life
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: more than the concert itself? Author Shane Robitaille joins me
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: to discuss his novel Live Aid Runaways, the story of
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: two teenagers chasing their rock and roll dreams in the
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: summer of 1985 with unexpected encounters backstage adventures, and a
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: journey that leads them to the heart of Live Aid.
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: We're also joined by the book's researcher, Livvy Stanford. Shane
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: and Livvy, welcome to the show.
• 1:30
  Speaker 3: Thank you.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: Thanks so much, Eric. It's great to be here, and
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to the discussion. It's going to be fun.
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: You've had a fascinating career as an author, a poet,
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: Air Force veteran, advocate for youth empowerment. Your previous novel,
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: Rocket Crew, was even inducted into the Hip Hop Museum
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: in the Bronx. Talk about how those experiences with music
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: and mentoring young people influence the stories that you tell
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: and the characters that you create.
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: As a kid who was homeless himself at 14 and
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: a half and went to four high schools and stayed
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: back a year because I went to three high schools
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: in a year and a half. Can you say credit
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: transfer issues? Music was the constant, you know? So when
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: I was a kid, Like you said in my previous book,
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: Rocket Crew, I often say that back in the early 80s,
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: hip-hop kind of saved my life. I was in a crew,
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: and then hip-hop evolved into other music, post-punk, new wave,
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: hard rock, you name it, pop. But music was that constant,
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: and it was that constant companion. It was the constant innovation,
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: constant inspiration. It weaved itself into everything I did. And
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: I guess I've carried that with me. That torch is
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: still burning hot as a middle-aged guy.
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: We're around the same age. And I remember watching Live
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: Aid on TV. You were 14. I had just turned 13.
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: Talk about how that concert has stayed with you for decades.
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: And then, Livvy, you can also comment on this as well. Because, Shane,
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: you write that you initially set out to tell a
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: story about a kid trying to get to Live Aid,
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: but it became something much bigger. So talk about your
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: experience watching Live Aid and how that original idea evolved
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: into this novel and how much it comes from your
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: own experience.
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so I was on the verge of turning 15
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: in a month when it came out. I saw, experienced
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: Live Aid on a 25-inch Zenith console, I think, and
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: then a little black and white TV at my uncle's
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: friend's Live Aid party. on July 13th, 1985. And I'm
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: pretty sure I was one of the few, if not
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: the only teenager there. And so they ran this TV
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: out by this really long extension cord out into the backyard, uh,
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: under a tree. And this is like exactly how it
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: was for me.
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: I went to my parents' friend's place that day.
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah. And I, I wouldn't, I probably wouldn't have
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: seen it anyway because I didn't have cable where I
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: was living. So, um, Yeah, and I just sat there
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: and it was just like, you know, it was like
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: going to church. It was just such an emotional and
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: inspirational moment. I mean, not just for me, but I
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: think our generation and the Baby Boomers as well. I mean,
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: the brilliance of Bob Geldof and the Planners is that
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: they didn't just invite the new bands. They invited the
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: legacy bands from the 60s and 70s as well, right?
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: And so the 30-somethings cared a lot. the 20-somethings and
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: the teenagers. And going to the other part of your question,
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: you're right. Obviously, you did your homework. It's great. The
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: original idea that Libby and I were talking about when
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: I was thinking about what my next novel would be
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: was a kid has to get to Live Aid. I
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: didn't know where he would be. I didn't know why
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: he had to get there. I certainly didn't understand any
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: of the backstory yet. I just had this idea. And
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: I've always had that idea in my head my whole life,
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: even before I became a writer, you know, 25 years ago.
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: That there's some story here that some kid somewhere has
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: it in his head that he has to get to
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: Live Aid. And that was the seed for the novel.
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: And it just stuck with me for weeks.
• 5:40
  Speaker 3: I was eight years old, so I have to say
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: I was a bit younger. And I remember my mom
• 5:45
  Speaker 3: watching it, but I have to say I really became
• 5:48
  Speaker 3: enamored by Live Aid doing this research. And that's when
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: I really found out, really, the whole... beauty of this
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: concert and how unique it was because it was not
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: only the biggest concert of all time, but it brought
• 6:04
  Speaker 3: people together with an important purpose to help people in
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: another country who were starving and who were in real need.
• 6:15
  Speaker 3: And everybody came together for that selfless cause. And it
• 6:19
  Speaker 3: was this wonderful human connection. One of the people we
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: spoke to who was at Live Aid talked about that
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: it was, we are the world. Everybody asked him, where
• 6:30
  Speaker 3: are you from? A true, we are the world moment.
• 6:33
  Speaker 3: So it really, I really learned a lot with this project,
• 6:36
  Speaker 3: which I'm very excited about. But when I was eight,
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: fortunately don't remember a lot, but I do vaguely remember
• 6:43
  Speaker 3: my mom watching it.
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: Talk about the research that you did and then Shane,
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: how that helped you to write this story.
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: Good luck with this one, Libby. There's a mountain here.
• 6:52
  Speaker 3: It is a mountain. I love this. Like I said,
• 6:55
  Speaker 3: it's very different from my day-to-day reporting. So we really
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: wanted to make sure that this was done accurately. You know,
• 7:04
  Speaker 3: that in doing this story, it was fiction, but also
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: historical fiction. We wanted to make sure that everything that
• 7:11
  Speaker 3: happened at this concert was depicted accurately in this book.
• 7:16
  Speaker 3: So it started with me just grabbing every article that
• 7:19
  Speaker 3: I could that had been written about Live Aid, putting
• 7:23
  Speaker 3: them into a huge binder with everything, everything from Philadelphia Inquirer,
• 7:29
  Speaker 3: other articles that were written, and then contacting Temple University
• 7:33
  Speaker 3: to really see what they had in terms, because I
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: found out from doing my digging that what they had
• 7:40
  Speaker 3: in terms of archive footage from Live Aid. And they
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: digitized all the B-roll from the Philadelphia station. And we
• 7:49
  Speaker 3: went to Philly several times and we just sat there enthralled.
• 7:54
  Speaker 3: Watching all the B-roll there and knowing everything that happened
• 7:59
  Speaker 3: in that time, making sure we got the smell, making
• 8:02
  Speaker 3: sure we got who was playing at what time. I
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: made a billboard with every single song that was played
• 8:09
  Speaker 3: at what particular time next to when it was in
• 8:12
  Speaker 3: Philly and then when the next song was in Wembley.
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: and back and forth, back and forth, so that we
• 8:18
  Speaker 3: could make sure that we were depicting every single song
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: and the time that it was playing. We talked to artists,
• 8:26
  Speaker 3: DJs that were there. We were able to get in
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: touch with the drummer of the Hooters, and he has
• 8:34
  Speaker 3: done the foreword of this book, which we're really excited about.
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: Just connecting with people who were there to tell us
• 8:41
  Speaker 3: about what it was about, talking to fans about who
• 8:44
  Speaker 3: were at the concert and could say, yes, this is
• 8:46
  Speaker 3: what we were doing at the time, and this is
• 8:50
  Speaker 3: what it meant to us. And when you talk to people,
• 8:52
  Speaker 3: it just enthralls them when they talk about where they were.
• 8:55
  Speaker 3: It is something special to them. It provides meaning to them.
• 8:59
  Speaker 3: So all of this was so important to the research.
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: I made sure we got a fan tribute from everybody,
• 9:05
  Speaker 3: from as many people from around the world that contributed
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: to the fan tribute in the back of a book
• 9:11
  Speaker 3: of what the concert meant to them. All of this
• 9:13
  Speaker 3: research was critical to the book and to everything that
• 9:19
  Speaker 3: was put there.
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: I just have such a profound respect for the day
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: and for the moment and for the place. I mean,
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: JFK Stadium is no longer there, right? I had such
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: respect for the city. I know the city was dealing
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: with a lot of issues at that time. before they
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: said yes to Geldof and Live Aid. So it was
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: really important, even though it's a novel, because it's historical fiction,
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: out of respect for the time and the place and everybody,
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: the artists and the moment, I really needed it to
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: be perfect. right? It had to look right, sound right,
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: smell right, be right. Everything had to be perfect. And
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: that's what Livvy accomplished with the super comprehensive deep dive,
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: you know, All of that research ultimately manifested itself in
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: one final humongous poster board, which had several swim lanes
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: going across one. And it was hour by hour. One
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: swim lane was the music and not only what was
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: playing at JFK, but what was playing at Wembley. Another
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: swim lane was what was happening in the environment. So
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: what was happening hour by hour, minute by minute in
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: both stadiums. And another swim lane actually was the storyline itself.
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: Because these characters are moving, once they get to Philadelphia,
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: which by the way is only the last third of
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: the book. It's up until the last third. It's an
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: epic road trip. Once they get into Philadelphia, they're moving
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: in and around the stadium. They're moving in and around artists, spectators, etc.
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: So in order to draw that picture correctly, and in
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: order for these characters to move realistically through the city,
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: get to the stadium, get inside the stadium, move around
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: the stadium, all of those things had to be in line.
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: It wasn't just about what artist was on the stage,
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: but it was also what else was happening in that
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: moment in the stadium. Like at one point, um, literally somebody, um,
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: somebody called in and said that there was a, a
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: kidney donation for one of the fans. So they stopped
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: the concert in Philly and said, uh, by the way,
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: is so-and-so in the crowd? And, um, And he was,
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: and they helicoptered him out of JFK and got him
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: a kidney, which is crazy, right? So that kind of stuff,
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: it wasn't noise. It was important, you know, to complete
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: this patchwork of so many things that were happening on
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: that 16-hour, during that 16-hour continent.
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: When we went to Temple... One of the things Temple
• 12:33
  Speaker 3: got for us was pictures that were never seen before
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: that were taken by the Philadelphia Inquirer in this box
• 12:40
  Speaker 3: that must have not moved in 40 years. And these
• 12:43
  Speaker 3: pictures were the most amazing pictures of the fans that
• 12:47
  Speaker 3: were actually there on that day and the performers. And
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: we got permission from the Philadelphia Inquirer to use those pictures,
• 12:54
  Speaker 3: which are on the front and the back cover of
• 12:56
  Speaker 3: the book. And so these are actually the real fans
• 13:00
  Speaker 3: that were there. And just seeing the excitement on their
• 13:03
  Speaker 3: faces and the anticipation, it's just priceless. And it really
• 13:10
  Speaker 3: captures what this concert was about, really from the fan perspective.
• 13:15
  Speaker 3: And so that was also really a big part of this.
• 13:18
  Speaker 3: And it was such a great opportunity. And Temple, shout
• 13:22
  Speaker 3: out to Temple University because they were tremendous. They also
• 13:25
  Speaker 3: gave us a chance to see all the newspaper clippings
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: from that time and just everything from what to wear
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: at Live Aid, where to go. Just really setting the scene,
• 13:38
  Speaker 3: interviews with artists, interviews with Harry Buffante, just really giving
• 13:43
  Speaker 3: you an idea of this is what it was all about.
• 13:46
  Speaker 3: Down to the T, we had a wonderful opportunity to
• 13:50
  Speaker 3: talk with Debbie Carlton, who is a DJ still in Philly.
• 13:54
  Speaker 3: And she was the DJ there during that time. And
• 13:56
  Speaker 3: she did actually give us so much insight to what
• 14:01
  Speaker 3: it was like there. And she was at Live Aid.
• 14:04
  Speaker 3: So it was just really important.
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: The book starts 40 years after Live Aid. Shane, set
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: the scene for us here. We've got the main character
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: reminiscing about the concert while he's listening to the Hooters
• 14:19
  Speaker 2: and we danced with his family. Talk about that, who
• 14:22
  Speaker 2: the main character is and where he is in life
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: at the start of the story.
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so where he is in life is now, right?
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: So it takes place these days. It starts now and
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: happens to be July 13th. And the DJ is going
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: all cray cray on the radio celebrating, you know, Live
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: Aid Day. And he does a big shout out to
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: Gen X. And, you know, this was the day. And
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: do you remember where you were? And in the story
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: at the beginning, Nick's daughter, you know, asks her parents,
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: you know, why do you guys get all crazy on
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: July 13th every year? Like, what's what's the deal with that?
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: And he said, well, have a seat. We're going to
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: tell you what the deal is with it. Because that's
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: how Nick, well, I'm not going to give it away,
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: but all right, I'll give this part away. That's how
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: he meets his wife in the future. Yeah.
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: He meets Stacey Rivera, an aspiring teenage singer traveling to
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: Philly with her guitar. What inspired her character and why
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: was she the right companion for Nick?
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: Well, first it was going to be a solo. When
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: I was sketching this concept out, it was going to
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: be a solo trip. But then I realized that's really
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: unlikely and honestly kind of boring. So I thought that
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: this idea of meeting a girl who's as passionate about
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: music as he is would be perfect for this. They
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: both come from very challenging circumstances, very challenging home lives. Um,
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: they're both, uh, on the run. He's running away, uh,
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: from something bad and he doesn't know where he's going yet.
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: And she's doing the same. So I thought it added, um,
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: a very necessary amount of texture to the story and, um,
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: You know, people need, we need each other to root
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: each other on, right? Especially in challenging times. So she
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: really served that purpose for the story.
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: And they meet an older musician named Jerry, who claims
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: he once played with Elvis. And he encourages Nick to
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: pursue his dreams before it's too late. What inspired that
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: particular encounter?
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: Jerry's character, yes, you're right. He claimed that he played
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: with Elvis during the Korean War. although it might be
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: a dubious claim at best. He is really a composite
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: character from a lot of people that I know and
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: probably a lot of people that you know. These people that,
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: as they get older, they have a lot more woulda, shoulda,
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: couldas than maybe they would like to. And so he
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: represents that Jerry represents that, you know, and we, by
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: the way, we all have woulda, coulda, shouldas, of course.
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: But some people, you know, they just keep piling up,
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: you know, because they, for whatever reason, right, they didn't
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: take the shot. They didn't try or maybe circumstances weren't
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: in their favor at the time. So that's where Jerry
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: comes in. And part of this road trip, this is
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: not a typical road trip, as you know, Eric, right,
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: that you've read the book. Nick is, you know, for
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: the first time getting out of his hometown in Texas.
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: You know, he's really never traveled anywhere. And so he
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: has this great opportunity of connecting with these people along
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: the way. And each person that he meets on this
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: road trip really gives him something. Whether he realizes it
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: at the time So yeah, Jerry's character is one of
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: several that they encounter along the way.
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah, there's one scene where Nick discovers a 1985 Rolling
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: Stone cover that declares U2 as the band of the 80s,
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: even though the decade is only halfway over and he
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: wonders what makes certain musicians stand out and dreams of
• 18:52
  Speaker 2: telling their story someday. How does that reflect Nick's own
• 18:56
  Speaker 2: ambitions and his fascinations with rock stars?
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's because he, you know, he didn't
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: have much. You know, he comes from pretty tough circumstances.
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: And again, I kind of, I looked within for that
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: part of his character and that music was the thing
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: that he did have, right? There's this scene at the
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: beginning of the story where him and his best friend,
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: they get on their bikes and they go a little
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: out of town. And they drop their bikes on this hill.
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: And on this hill is the only place that they
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: can actually get a radio station that plays the music
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: that they like. And it's a college radio station. Because
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: I guess the rest of the world hadn't caught up
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: to this small town in Texas yet. So he just
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: lives for music. He lives for everything that it stood for.
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: He's a student of music and it drives him. It
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: inspires him.
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: Livvy, for you, any stories, you mentioned the photos that
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: you found. Any stories that had never been told before?
• 20:09
  Speaker 2: Anything that stands out to you? Any really cool stories
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: that you heard?
• 20:12
  Speaker 3: I think talking to one of the biggest fans of
• 20:16
  Speaker 3: this book, Ken, spoke about just And he's in the
• 20:22
  Speaker 3: process of writing his own story about reflections of Live Aid.
• 20:26
  Speaker 3: This Live Aid concert was so special to him and
• 20:30
  Speaker 3: how he described going with his friends and how, you know,
• 20:34
  Speaker 3: he risked maybe losing his job and moving forward anyway.
• 20:37
  Speaker 3: But the way he described everything that day still moves
• 20:42
  Speaker 3: him to this day. I mean, this person can still
• 20:45
  Speaker 3: talk about Live Aid for hours. And he's enamored by it.
• 20:49
  Speaker 3: He's enamored not only, you know, about the musicians on
• 20:53
  Speaker 3: the stage, but also about how this was a true
• 20:56
  Speaker 3: connection with everybody asking, where are you from? As I
• 21:01
  Speaker 3: mentioned earlier, a true we are the world and people
• 21:04
  Speaker 3: asking each other and being connected in this space of 90,000 people,
• 21:10
  Speaker 3: but yet they all felt connected very closely. And in
• 21:17
  Speaker 3: a very close way. And so that that story, his
• 21:20
  Speaker 3: story stayed with me. You know, reading fan tributes, there
• 21:24
  Speaker 3: was this U2 tribute band. They go around, I guess
• 21:29
  Speaker 3: they go around the world, or I think from what
• 21:32
  Speaker 3: I could tell, in different places and in tribute to U2.
• 21:36
  Speaker 3: And they said that Live Aid was the basis for
• 21:39
  Speaker 3: them to, in their fan tribute that they sent to us,
• 21:42
  Speaker 3: was the basis for them to inspire them to become
• 21:46
  Speaker 3: this U2 tribute band. So those stories are just beautiful about...
• 21:51
  Speaker 3: You know, stories of people who have just found connection,
• 21:54
  Speaker 3: have found something special in such an important concert.
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 22:00
  Speaker 2: From a journalist aspect, by the way, you write for
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: the Hartford Courant. For those listening, that's right nearby here.
• 22:07
  Speaker 2: I'm in Connecticut. From a journalistic standpoint, this was kind
• 22:10
  Speaker 2: of unprecedented in terms of coverage, right? I mean, we're
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: talking about a time when MTV's coming along. It was 24-7.
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: People....
• 22:17
  Speaker 2: The media was really just focused on that, that particular weekend.
• 22:22
  Speaker 3: They were. And you saw in the B-roll that we
• 22:25
  Speaker 3: just saw one tape after another from this Channel 6
• 22:29
  Speaker 3: in Philly. And they just talked extensively about everything from
• 22:34
  Speaker 3: the setup to who were going to be on stage
• 22:37
  Speaker 3: to the after parties to the before parties. I mean,
• 22:41
  Speaker 3: there was so much of a media blaze there. for
• 22:44
  Speaker 3: Live Aid. It was so important. And like you said,
• 22:48
  Speaker 3: MTV and even on the main stations, but especially in
• 22:51
  Speaker 3: the Philly station, which is what we centered on because
• 22:54
  Speaker 3: we wanted to make sure we really got the gist
• 22:57
  Speaker 3: of what it was to put this concert together was
• 23:00
  Speaker 3: just so fascinating from a journalistic perspective to see it
• 23:05
  Speaker 3: from that. And the articles, too, that were written That
• 23:08
  Speaker 3: I read just even the article that we read about
• 23:11
  Speaker 3: how someone got in, you know, how we learned about
• 23:14
  Speaker 3: how the security was and how integral that was and
• 23:17
  Speaker 3: somebody who jumped over the fence and try to get
• 23:20
  Speaker 3: in and how he kept trying and trying and how
• 23:23
  Speaker 3: there was such a difference. you know, such a dedication
• 23:26
  Speaker 3: to get into this concert and how people talked about,
• 23:29
  Speaker 3: there was articles written about interviewing musicians about what they
• 23:33
  Speaker 3: felt about being part of Live Aid and how they
• 23:35
  Speaker 3: felt it was important to give back to the world.
• 23:38
  Speaker 3: It was just a moment where people could just stop
• 23:42
  Speaker 3: and be in the present moment and think about something
• 23:46
  Speaker 3: larger than themselves.
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: The huge buzz around the possible Beatles reunion.
• 23:51
  Speaker 3: Right.
• 23:52
  Speaker 2: That headline got out there, and I think Paul, George,
• 23:55
  Speaker 2: and Ringo were like, I don't know where that came from.
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: Because Paul was there, and I don't think... That's right.
• 24:01
  Speaker 2: Was Ringo... I don't think Ringo or George were there.
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: No.
• 24:04
  Speaker 2: It was just Paul.
• 24:06
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 24:06
  Speaker 2: But somehow that story kind of took on a life
• 24:09
  Speaker 2: of its own.
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: Probably because of the Led Zeppelin.
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: You know, more likely.
• 24:15
  Speaker 2: Shane Robitel's novel called Live Aid Runaways. We're joined by
• 24:17
  Speaker 2: Shane and the book's researcher, Libby Stanford. nick and stacy
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: they finally arrive in philly for live aid but they
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: don't have tickets to the concert they've traveled all this
• 24:27
  Speaker 2: way but they don't have tickets what inspired you to
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: put that one final obstacle between them and their.
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: Dream originally they did have tickets but they lost them
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: i won't say how uh along the way so um
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: i i think because you know going back to what
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: Livvy was talking about with this amazing research. I mean, we,
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: we sat in the living room of one of the
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: producers for Live Aid at his home on the Jersey shore.
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: And we talked about like the security and we talked
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: about like, Hey, how feasible would it be, you know,
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: to do this? And, and what about, you know, you know,
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: I ran all these scenarios past him and he was wonderful.
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: He gave us an hour of his time. And so
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: I just thought, boy, you know, I was picturing the
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: parking lot, the stadium and behind the stadium as sort
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: of like a maze, right? So it's like you go
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: all the way from Texas, trains, planes, and automobiles, and
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: all these characters and police and all of these obstacles.
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: And then you finally get there, you think you can
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: take a full breath and you're good to go, but
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: you know what? You're not. And so I thought it
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: would just create an extra layer of fun and challenge.
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: And of course, like Livvy said, we really leaned into
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: is realistic scenarios that we read about in those old
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: articles from the Philadelphia Inquirer or that we heard about, uh,
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: for the news B roll footage, you know, this one character,
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: this one guy, you know, he got, I think he
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: was caught twice by security for trying to climb a
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: fence to get in and, and like, uh, all the
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: different color wristbands that, that, um, people were wearing and
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: you know depending on what color wristband you had would
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: determine where you could go in the stadium and all
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: of this so um i just thought it was a
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: lot of fun to add that element to it but
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: um would have been too easy for them to just
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: walk in.
• 26:31
  Speaker 2: Sometimes i have to remind myself tom petty and the
• 26:33
  Speaker 2: heartbreakers there because they always talk about you too and
• 26:35
  Speaker 2: queen of course david bowie was another big one but
• 26:38
  Speaker 2: petty and the heartbreakers were there and sure enough they
• 26:41
  Speaker 2: have They have a role in this book. There's a
• 26:44
  Speaker 2: really cool scene in this book. Stacey gets this opportunity
• 26:48
  Speaker 2: to do something very cool. If you could talk about
• 26:50
  Speaker 2: that and why you chose Petty as the right artist
• 26:52
  Speaker 2: for her story.
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: The Petty part is, I won't say exactly how they interact,
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: but I can still remember the day Livy and I
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: were coming back from a trip somewhere. And this is
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: when the book was still kind of in vaporous state,
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: still in concept state. And then we were watching, as
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: we did for almost two years, Live Aid YouTube videos.
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: And we were watching the Tom Petty performances. And I'm
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: going to hand this off quickly to Livvy here in
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: a second. And there was this big aha moment with
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: one of the videos. I think it was American Girl.
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: And we both went, oh, wouldn't it be cool if,
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: and then Livvy, I'm going to hand it to you.
• 27:38
  Speaker 3: Yeah, we always thought that Stacey would have, you know,
• 27:42
  Speaker 3: that there would be a golden guitar on the stage.
• 27:45
  Speaker 3: And there it was. And during the performance with Petty
• 27:49
  Speaker 3: and that really surprised us. We were like, wow. But,
• 27:52
  Speaker 3: you know, Tom Petty in the song just seems so
• 27:55
  Speaker 3: unique and so special for someone like Stacey. And that's
• 27:59
  Speaker 3: what we were thinking, you know, and that with the
• 28:01
  Speaker 3: guitar was just the best, you know, idea. We're like,
• 28:05
  Speaker 3: we have to move forward with this. It was such
• 28:07
  Speaker 3: an important, and we were just, you know, we must
• 28:11
  Speaker 3: have watched that video thousands of times. I mean, it
• 28:13
  Speaker 3: was just such a great, great part of the book.
• 28:17
  Speaker 3: And it really just embodied her spirit as well, the character.
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: Another part of that though, Eric, is originally, I'll give
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: this away because it never made the book. Originally, they
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: were going to do more than interact with Tom Petty
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: and the Heartbreakers. She was going to play with them
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: on the stage. And that's how I wrote the first draft.
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: And it was bugging me to no end. Day after day,
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: week after week. Why is that? Because I realized I
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: did not want to touch any of the performances. There
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: was no... No performance that was manipulated in any way
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: or edited in any way. And so I took it out.
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: And although they are interacting with some of the artists
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: in the bands, as you know, front stage and backstage,
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: I thought that that was such a sacred part.
• 29:20
  Speaker 2: Sacred, I was going to say.
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: Of this iconic moment. Yeah. So everything... is 100% accurate
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: in terms of the lineup, who's playing, what they're saying,
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: et cetera. When they're on that stage, it's untouched. Um, however, uh,
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: if you watch American girl, uh, if you watch that
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: live aid video, um, there is a part where Tom
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: Petty is, is, um, he's like, he's doing something with
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: his hand. I don't know if you've ever seen the video.
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: He's like motioning. No.
• 29:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah. I've, I've listened to the performance. It's on Spotify
• 29:57
  Speaker 2: and I'm, huge petty fan i'm ashamed to say i
• 29:59
  Speaker 2: don't remember.
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: This yeah so he he's he's doing something with his
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: hand uh like towards the camera uh in the performance
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: uh or i'm sorry towards the side of the stage
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: so i did take advantage of that moment so that's
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: cool yeah yeah so that actually happens um i did
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: have the characters interact with the band, but they were
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: on the side of the stage.
• 30:23
  Speaker 2: That's cool.
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: But that's an important note, though. I mean, yeah, everything
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: is untouched. Everything in the stadium, all the performances. And
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: what got to me about this is, you know, this
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: is the only novel written about Live Aid. It's just crazy.
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: And over 40 years, I think there was one other
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: novel written like four years ago or five years ago.
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: and it disappeared. But I don't think it was about
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: the whole concert. It was about like the Led Zeppelin
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: performance or something. And so because of that, you know,
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: I realized that, you know, we were adding to the
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: history of this moment. And so that history needed to
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: be accurate. It had to be right. So I didn't
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: want to touch any of their performances or anything like that.
• 31:17
  Speaker 2: There's also the father-son storyline here, too. His dad, Nick's dad,
• 31:21
  Speaker 2: Johnny Russo, is a successful rock musician. But Nick discovers
• 31:25
  Speaker 2: fame doesn't necessarily make somebody a good father. Talk about
• 31:28
  Speaker 2: that character and what interested you about exploring that contrast.
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: This is the part where I'm a minor liar, Eric.
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: So the only part that has been inserted into the
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: concert lineup is this fictitious story. performer, this fictitious artist,
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: Johnny Russo, and his band, the Bandits. So that is,
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: that's the only thing that's been sort of manipulated in
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: the lineup to make this story work. If I had
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: to go back and peel that back and explore that
• 32:08
  Speaker 1: a little bit, I would say, so I had only
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: met my father in person for the first time uh,
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: seven years ago, maybe eight years ago. Um, I really
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: didn't know him. I, I, well, I didn't know him
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: at all. Uh, and I'll be honest, like after I
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: met him, I was a little surprised. I was like, huh?
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: Like I thought he might be this way or I
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: thought he might be that way. And, and, uh, he
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: wasn't anything like, um, I thought he would be. In fact,
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: I didn't think we had a heck of a lot
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: in common. Uh, I was just telling my mother that recently. So, um, Yeah,
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: it's an important dynamic because Nick is running away from
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: something really bad and very traumatic. And when he learns
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: that his father is this big-time rock star and that
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: he's performing at Live Aid in Philadelphia, he's in Texas
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: when he realizes this. So that's the momentum that he needs.
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: That is the opportunity. That's the thing that tells him,
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: he's got to go. Now he's got a purpose. He's
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: on a mission. It matters. It's time sensitive. Nothing can
• 33:23
  Speaker 1: get in the way of getting to Philadelphia to try
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: to not only meet his father. First of all, he
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: has to find out how to get to his father.
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: And then he has to somehow, if he can do that,
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: convince him that he's his son because his father doesn't
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: know about him. So It's an important part of the story.
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: And also that father's character, Johnny Russo, is multifaceted, right?
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: He isn't necessarily what you think he would be.
• 33:57
  Speaker 2: But he represents so many of those musicians and to
• 34:00
  Speaker 2: this day, on the road all the time, never home,
• 34:02
  Speaker 2: never present. I mean, that really is what I was
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: thinking of on that.
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: Yeah, he had a lot of cachet, right? I mean,
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: he was a composite artist. He was like a little
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: bit of Johnny Cash, a little bit of Tom Petty.
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: You know, his character, you know, he's in his prime.
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: He's in his late 30s. You know, he's sold out
• 34:27
  Speaker 1: stadiums around the world. He's got the big tour bus and,
• 34:32
  Speaker 1: you know, the cronies and all that. But yeah, that
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: was a lot of fun developing him out. And also
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: his sidekick. I don't know if you remember who his
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: sidekick was, but that was fun.
• 34:43
  Speaker 2: Well, I'm trying to remember the sidekick.
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: Tom Selleck.
• 34:47
  Speaker 3: Oh, yeah.
• 34:47
  Speaker 2: Yes, that's right. Which I love because I'm a huge
• 34:51
  Speaker 2: Magnum PI fan.
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Yes. Yes.
• 34:54
  Speaker 2: Well, now maybe I'm reading into this, but that's my
• 34:57
  Speaker 2: job to read into things. So the Led Zeppelin scene. Okay.
• 35:02
  Speaker 2: So tell me if I'm onto something here. The Zeppelin scene.
• 35:06
  Speaker 2: Of course, that highly anticipated reunion. It's happening inside JFK Stadium,
• 35:11
  Speaker 2: but Nick and Stacey join a makeshift band in the
• 35:13
  Speaker 2: parking lot. And they even attract MTV's attention. And you
• 35:18
  Speaker 2: write that rock and roll isn't supposed to be perfect,
• 35:21
  Speaker 2: that it's the spirit, style, and attitude that matter most.
• 35:25
  Speaker 2: Was that the message you wanted to convey by pairing
• 35:28
  Speaker 2: Zeppelin's performance, which is notoriously a bomb, with Nick and Stacey's?
• 35:33
  Speaker 1: Boy, yeah. So, Livvy, I think you know where that
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: came from. But when Livvy and I were making the
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: rounds down in Philly, we spent some time with a
• 35:45
  Speaker 1: very senior executive planner for the show. And they, at
• 35:55
  Speaker 1: the beginning of our interview, they said something about like... Again,
• 36:00
  Speaker 1: I'm not going to say who it was, but they
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: said something about, like, there weren't that many great performances.
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: It was real kind of sloppy. It was a little,
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: you know, it was real messy. And we didn't say
• 36:10
  Speaker 1: anything to them during the interview, but on the drive back,
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: Libby and I were like, what's he talking about? Like,
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: what do you mean it was messy? Of course it is. Like,
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: rock and roll has to be. That's the point. That's
• 36:22
  Speaker 1: the whole point, right? Especially on the fly with no
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: time to practice. And it was all. hastily put together
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: and everything else. So that, that's, that, um, that stung
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: like a bee, uh, with both, uh, you know, Livvy
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: and me.
• 36:36
  Speaker 3: Right.
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: And that, that's where that line came from. And yes,
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: and it was appropriate because during that Led Zeppelin performance, um,
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: of course, like you said, they didn't even see the
• 36:46
  Speaker 1: performance where they saw it on a little TV in
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: the parking lot. Um, but yeah.
• 36:50
  Speaker 2: It's the innocence and the purity of the moment in
• 36:53
  Speaker 2: the happening in the parking lot. Whereas you've got inside
• 36:56
  Speaker 2: the stadium, um, you know band uh who members who've
• 37:00
  Speaker 2: been around a long time who kind of maybe have
• 37:01
  Speaker 2: forgotten the plot like okay so it didn't turn out
• 37:05
  Speaker 2: to be as because because there was there was a
• 37:07
  Speaker 2: lot of comments made by jimmy page and plant afterwards
• 37:11
  Speaker 2: like kind of blaming phil collins and he didn't play
• 37:14
  Speaker 2: well right right like taking shots at each other and
• 37:17
  Speaker 2: you know you just think guys but still though it's
• 37:20
  Speaker 2: like i think you're missing the the whole point like
• 37:23
  Speaker 2: if if that was early on in the game, you
• 37:26
  Speaker 2: probably wouldn't have cared either way. Cause you're like, Hey man,
• 37:28
  Speaker 2: this is rock and roll. Let's have fun out there.
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: But they, well, yeah, exactly.
• 37:32
  Speaker 2: Didn't see it that way.
• 37:34
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: I think, and I think, you know, I hate to
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: say it. Livvy talks about this a lot or her
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: and I both talk about this a lot there. We're also,
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: I think in general living in a more cynical time,
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: you know, I think the decades since the mid eighties
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: have just become a little harsher, a little more cynical and,
• 37:51
  Speaker 1: a lot more analytical, you know, and I, and I think,
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: you know what, I think if you just watch those
• 37:56
  Speaker 1: videos and you weren't aware of all of that, that
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: you just talked about, I think you'd give it a
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: fine performance. You'd say it was okay. You know, it was,
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: it was more than okay. It's, it's Appalachian, like OMG,
• 38:13
  Speaker 1: you know, I just think, you know, we're living in
• 38:16
  Speaker 1: a time and I guess time, can do that you
• 38:18
  Speaker 1: know you have more and more time to think about
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: things retrospectively but um i don't know i uh but
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: i love that scene i love putting together that scene
• 38:27
  Speaker 1: you know i won't say why they were out in
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: the parking lot but um their experiences out in the
• 38:33
  Speaker 1: parking lot were a very important uh part of the story.
• 38:36
  Speaker 2: Yeah and let's stick with that topic of the fans
• 38:39
  Speaker 2: and what what they say livy which stories affected you
• 38:42
  Speaker 2: most because you did talk about some of the comments
• 38:44
  Speaker 2: that you received from fans that were there, but which
• 38:47
  Speaker 2: ones affected you the most or, you know, maybe revealed
• 38:51
  Speaker 2: something about Live Aid's lasting impact that really meant a
• 38:55
  Speaker 2: lot to you?
• 38:55
  Speaker 3: I think just anyone you talk to, even when we've
• 38:59
  Speaker 3: gone to concerts, I'll give an example where Shane has
• 39:02
  Speaker 3: worn a Live Aid shirt to concerts that we've been to,
• 39:07
  Speaker 3: people just stop what they're doing, you know, to say, look,
• 39:12
  Speaker 3: I was there. I remember where I was. I remember
• 39:16
  Speaker 3: what I saw. I just think, again, you know, not
• 39:19
  Speaker 3: to be broken record, but I think the thing that
• 39:22
  Speaker 3: really just stayed with me is how this concert was
• 39:25
  Speaker 3: not a concert for people. It was something very memorable.
• 39:30
  Speaker 3: for the rest of their lives it was something that
• 39:33
  Speaker 3: people who one person we talked to had just gotten
• 39:36
  Speaker 3: a divorce and the concert was was phenomenal to him
• 39:40
  Speaker 3: to help him heal others talked about just being in
• 39:44
  Speaker 3: high school at the time and being careful free and
• 39:46
  Speaker 3: being able to just go and enjoy a concert. It
• 39:50
  Speaker 3: is also about being present and being in the present
• 39:53
  Speaker 3: moment today where everything is so quick and there were
• 39:57
  Speaker 3: no phones and everybody was just focused on the moment
• 40:00
  Speaker 3: and on the on the artists. It just was just
• 40:05
  Speaker 3: something that people just have such a lasting memory. I mean,
• 40:08
  Speaker 3: even going to Staples to get some of the flyers
• 40:12
  Speaker 3: for this book, the guy talked to us and said, oh,
• 40:15
  Speaker 3: I was there and I remember exactly where I was
• 40:19
  Speaker 3: and just how much it meant to me. It was
• 40:21
  Speaker 3: so endearing to people's lives. That stuck with me.
• 40:25
  Speaker 2: Yeah, my coworker was there at the Philly show. When
• 40:27
  Speaker 2: she talks about it, you can see she's right there
• 40:30
  Speaker 2: in her mind. She's back at that moment talking about
• 40:32
  Speaker 2: that hot summer day and that they were spraying the
• 40:36
  Speaker 2: water on people to keep everybody cool and just the
• 40:39
  Speaker 2: excitement of the moment. Final question, if you could go
• 40:44
  Speaker 2: back to 1985 and meet just one band or artist
• 40:48
  Speaker 2: that performed at Live Aid, who would it be and why?
• 40:51
  Speaker 2: We'll start with Shane and finish with Livvy.
• 40:54
  Speaker 1: Oh, man, I was hoping to start with Livvy and
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: then Shane.
• 40:56
  Speaker 2: Well, we could.
• 40:56
  Speaker 1: But that gives me more time.
• 40:57
  Speaker 2: I'll buy you some time.
• 40:59
  Speaker 1: Oh, that's an impossible question. Is it the obvious?
• 41:01
  Speaker 2: Freddie Mercury?
• 41:02
  Speaker 1: Well, I mean, it could be, of course. I mean,
• 41:04
  Speaker 1: there's a long line. I mean, I'd love to give
• 41:08
  Speaker 1: Bob Geldof a hug, you know, if I could go
• 41:11
  Speaker 1: to Wembley. There's just such a long line. I mean,
• 41:16
  Speaker 1: these people that poured their hearts out. And by the way,
• 41:20
  Speaker 1: nobody got paid a dime. Nobody that worked on the
• 41:24
  Speaker 1: stage got paid a dime. No contractors. It was all volunteer.
• 41:28
  Speaker 1: But you know what? I'm going to say, I'm going
• 41:31
  Speaker 1: to skip all the obvious and skip Bono, Freddie, everybody.
• 41:35
  Speaker 1: And I would go up to Run DMC.
• 41:43
  Speaker 2: Wow.
• 41:46
  Speaker 1: Because there's a story, if you ever get a chance,
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: check out DMC's take on that day. There's a story
• 41:56
  Speaker 1: behind how they got there, why they got there. They
• 42:02
  Speaker 1: were really nervous. They didn't think that the crowd was
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: ready for them. They weren't that well known yet. Uh,
• 42:09
  Speaker 1: the audio engineers didn't know what to do with them.
• 42:11
  Speaker 1: They kept saying, well, where's your band? Where's your band? Well,
• 42:14
  Speaker 1: this is, this is our band, you know, Jam Master Jay.
• 42:18
  Speaker 2: He's the band.
• 42:19
  Speaker 1: And so I know, I know they're probably a small
• 42:22
  Speaker 1: chapter in the Live Aid history, but it was such
• 42:26
  Speaker 1: an eye opening. I would like to meet them and
• 42:29
  Speaker 1: tell them, uh, to stick around after their performance and
• 42:33
  Speaker 1: enjoy the moment because I, I read that they, they
• 42:37
  Speaker 1: took off like right away. because that really was the beginning.
• 42:43
  Speaker 1: It was an eye-opening experience for the world. And most
• 42:47
  Speaker 1: of the world had never seen a DJ behind a
• 42:50
  Speaker 1: turntable like that. You know, it was their first experience saying,
• 42:55
  Speaker 1: this is before the Beastie Boys. You know, this is
• 42:57
  Speaker 1: before Walk This Way with Aerosmith. And, you know, it
• 43:01
  Speaker 1: was a year plus before that all happened. So I
• 43:05
  Speaker 1: think I would like to meet them and tell them
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: I did it. kick-ass job and to stick around after
• 43:11
  Speaker 1: the show and appreciate the moment and know that they
• 43:14
  Speaker 1: were an important part of the history of that iconic day.
• 43:18
  Speaker 2: It's a great pick. Great on-the-spot pick, too, because I
• 43:21
  Speaker 2: put you on the spot there. All right, Libby, now
• 43:23
  Speaker 2: you've had time to think about this.
• 43:25
  Speaker 3: Good luck. I, again, will say, I've said this before,
• 43:32
  Speaker 3: but I will say you, too, and the reason I
• 43:34
  Speaker 3: say this is because I think the message, and I've
• 43:39
  Speaker 3: been a fan of U2 for 40 years, and I
• 43:42
  Speaker 3: grew up with U2. My mom introduced me to U2,
• 43:44
  Speaker 3: and we would run in the streets. The streets have
• 43:49
  Speaker 3: no name with my Walkman when I was eight. But
• 43:52
  Speaker 3: the reason why I picked U2 is because in that
• 43:56
  Speaker 3: special day, I think what Bono did really embodied the
• 44:00
  Speaker 3: spirit of Live Aid, and seeing that this audience member
• 44:04
  Speaker 3: was about to get crushed, he went down himself to
• 44:09
  Speaker 3: make sure that she would be okay. And I think
• 44:12
  Speaker 3: that really symbolized the meaning of Live Aid and the
• 44:17
  Speaker 3: selflessness and thinking of others and the spirit of human
• 44:20
  Speaker 3: connection and coming together. And that's what I think about.
• 44:27
  Speaker 3: And Bono is my hero, as I always like to say.
• 44:31
  Speaker 3: So I just think that humanitarian message that he had.
• 44:36
  Speaker 3: Even in an interview that day regarding Live Aid, he
• 44:41
  Speaker 3: was asked, and even that young, he said, why wouldn't
• 44:43
  Speaker 3: you perform at Live Aid? And that led him to
• 44:47
  Speaker 3: really taking off in his humanitarian work that he continues
• 44:51
  Speaker 3: to do. So such an inspiration to the full message
• 44:55
  Speaker 3: of Live Aid.
• 44:56
  Speaker 2: Great choice. And you're talking to a huge YouTube fan here, too.
• 45:00
  Speaker 2: You've got to be psyched. The new album's next month.
• 45:02
  Speaker 1: Oh, I'm so excited. We can't wait.
• 45:05
  Speaker 2: It's sounding great.
• 45:07
  Speaker 1: I'd like to add something to that real quick, Eric, too,
• 45:09
  Speaker 1: is if you ever are feeling nostalgic, if you're ever
• 45:15
  Speaker 1: or you're feeling a little weary of the modern world
• 45:18
  Speaker 1: for a quick minute, just go to YouTube and read
• 45:24
  Speaker 1: the comments on any Live Aid performance. I mean, any,
• 45:30
  Speaker 1: just pick, it doesn't matter. Pick the artist and the
• 45:34
  Speaker 1: performance and read these comments, these heartfelt, deep, emotional comments
• 45:42
  Speaker 1: from around the world. They just keep piling up and
• 45:46
  Speaker 1: piling up. I mean, there's hundreds of thousands, if not
• 45:50
  Speaker 1: millions of comments from people, not just that were in
• 45:54
  Speaker 1: the stadiums, not just from Gen Xers and others who
• 45:59
  Speaker 1: watched it on TV or heard it on the radio,
• 46:01
  Speaker 1: but from young people as well. Like it's, it's incredibly powerful.
• 46:06
  Speaker 1: And Olivia and I used to do that before I
• 46:09
  Speaker 1: started writing the novel. Like we would read these comments
• 46:14
  Speaker 1: and just, just be completely blown away about how, what,
• 46:20
  Speaker 1: what that concert, what that time, what that moment meant for,
• 46:25
  Speaker 1: to so many people around the world. And it's just astonishing.
• 46:30
  Speaker 1: And every single day there's new comments.
• 46:33
  Speaker 3: And I would add to that, too, that we recently
• 46:35
  Speaker 3: saw an interview with Sir Bob Geldof. And I tell you,
• 46:38
  Speaker 3: he was interviewed, I think, in Ireland or something. And
• 46:42
  Speaker 3: that man's passion for Live Aid is still there today.
• 46:45
  Speaker 3: And the way that he talks about it. And there
• 46:47
  Speaker 3: was somebody in the audience who still had their ticket
• 46:50
  Speaker 3: from Live Aid. And they held it up in that interview.
• 46:54
  Speaker 3: And he was just so touched. I mean, the concert
• 46:57
  Speaker 3: is still in his soul.
• 46:59
  Speaker 2: That is awesome.
• 47:00
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 47:01
  Speaker 2: And please, for everybody listening or watching on YouTube, please
• 47:04
  Speaker 2: comment your experience if you were there or like we
• 47:07
  Speaker 2: were just saying, even if you weren't there and you
• 47:09
  Speaker 2: wish you were there, your thoughts on it. And I'd
• 47:12
  Speaker 2: love to know also, you know, if you could meet
• 47:15
  Speaker 2: one Live Aid performer, who would you choose? So please comment.
• 47:19
  Speaker 2: That'd be awesome. Yeah, the book is out. It's been
• 47:22
  Speaker 2: out for a little while now, Live Aid Runaways. Find
• 47:24
  Speaker 2: it wherever books are sold. Find it at your nearest bookstore,
• 47:28
  Speaker 2: independent bookstore. Look for it there, too. You can go
• 47:30
  Speaker 2: to booktonrock.com and find your nearest independent bookstore. Shane and Livvy,
• 47:35
  Speaker 2: where can people find you online?
• 47:37
  Speaker 1: You're going to have to go to liveaiderunaways.com. That's pretty
• 47:40
  Speaker 1: much it. Yeah, we're keeping it like 1985.
• 47:42
  Speaker 2: Shane and Livvy, Thank you so much. I'm so glad
• 47:47
  Speaker 2: we were able to make this happen and talk about
• 47:49
  Speaker 2: this amazing event, Live Aid, and congratulations on the book.
• 47:53
  Speaker 1: Thank you. Thank you, Eric. It was such a pleasure,
• 47:56
  Speaker 1: and I appreciate the amazing questions.
• 47:59
  Speaker 2: And a shout-out to our friend John Lamoureux, who helped
• 48:02
  Speaker 2: make this happen.
• 48:02
  Speaker 1: Absolutely. Thanks, John.
• 48:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, thank you, John. That's it.
• 48:14
  Speaker 3: It's in the books.