By: Devan Mighton, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lakeshore News Reporter
Local veteran writer and LaSalle resident John Schlarbaum is back with a new memoir-style book and an accompanying podcast. Known for his thrilling mystery novels and engaging children’s and self-help books, Schlarbaum’s Music Virgin No More: Confessions of a Young Record Collector (1979-1982) teleports you to his formative years, sitting by the radio and typing on his typewriter the soundtrack of his youth. For his accompanying podcast, Music Virgins No More, he and his co-host, Jason Cabanaw, explores these times of Schlarbaum’s childhood and their underlying, discussing the underlying themes and the impact that this music had on so many.
Most people know you as a mystery writer. I know it’s not your first time, but what made you decide to go the nonfiction route this time?
JS: The new book – Music Virgin No More – and accompanying podcast – Music Virgins No More – came about accidentally during a random music conversation with my now podcast co-host, Jason Cabanaw, a few years ago. I told him about the 106 consecutive weekly music charts I created in my bedroom – for my eyes only – when I was 14 years old, two weeks before entering high school in 1980. As Jason is 20 years younger, his idea of 1980s music was different from mine, and we thought a podcast was a great way to debate what was good, bad, and ugly about the music that ultimately became the soundtrack of my life. As I started researching the various singles, albums, and groups from the late 1970s and early 1980s, I began to recall many happy memories attached to the music from my youth, which I thought other people would enjoy remembering or rediscovering too. The book is part memoir of growing up in a small town and how music was a constant thread in my life then, and now. It is also a great reference guide filled with fun facts about the music that is still hugely popular 45 years later.
What is it about the music of the early ’80s that captivates your imagination?
JS: The great thing about AM radio in the early ’80s was its variety. There was still just one genre: Music. During an average hour you could hear the biggest hits one after another by artists that were Pop, Rock, Disco, Country, and New Wave. The songs, for the most part, were written and performed by the artists who put a lot of time and effort to try and stay on top. Also, the quality of songs was exceptional from the lyrics and production. Today, I would have no problem playing any or all of my Top 35 songs of 1979 or Top 50 songs of 1980.
Is there an artist from that era that you could not live without and why?
JS: In the book, I recall how on a late November Thursday morning in 1980 the only song I knew by Bruce Springsteen was his current hit, Hungry Heart from The River album. My minister father purchased that double album for me, and the following day, he picked up Springsteen’s 1975 classic, Born To Run album. By Saturday night, Springsteen became my favourite artist of all time, and I have followed
his career since. Prior to that fateful Thursday, my top artists were Queen, Paul McCartney & The Wings, Bob Seger, Billy Joel, and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, but I had never experienced what I did when the needle hit the first track of Born To Run – Thunder Road. I compare it to filmmakers whose lives changed after the screening of a movie or musicians when they saw The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show.
What was the greatest lesson that you learned from exploring your youth through music?
JS: The greatest lesson was how music can quickly transport you back in time to a specific period in your life, be it 45, 30, 20, or two years ago. For me, songs elicit memories, with the early ’80s music covering my teen years when so much was happening all around me – high school, friends, girlfriends, jobs. The 106 weekly charts (Aug. 1980 – Aug. 1982), as well as the year-end ones I continued to create until 1990, are like pages from a long-forgotten diary or journal. I can see my growth as a record collector and the music that meant so much on a real-time basis, which is pretty cool all these years later.
What do you have on the horizon as an author?
JS: Along with the podcast’s new episodes every two weeks, I’m considering creating an hour-long radio program focusing on the music of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The format would be similar to the current projects, playing songs from that period but with introductions that share interesting facts listeners may not be aware of.
For more information on Schlarbaum’s new book, Music Virgin No More: Confessions of a Young Record Collector (1979-1982), please visit www.johnschlarbaum.com/portfolio/music-virgin-no-more/. For his podcast with Jason Cabanaw, please visit www.johnschlarbaum.com/podcast/.
Music Virgin No More: Confessions of a Young Record Collector is available on Amazon and locally at: River Bookshop Amherstburg, Dr. Disc, Biblioasis, Juniper Books, and Storytellers Bookstore in Windsor andVintage & Vinyl Records in LaSalle.
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