Charles welcomes filmmaker and music collector Steve Herold to Seeing Them Live. Steve recounts his first concert, the Thompson Twins’ 1984 Into the Gap tour at New Jersey’s Garden State Arts Center, after missing a chance to see Van Halen at Madison Square Garden. He names Dramarama at the Fast Lane in Asbury Park in the early ’90s as his best concert, describing packed, punk-like club energy, and cites a disappointing Jeff the Brotherhood show at Maxwell’s in Hoboken that felt like nonstop jamming. His most surprising show was the Sex Pistols’ 1996 Roseland Ballroom reunion in NYC, including a wild night that ended with finding a $50 bill on the floor. Steve also discusses his COVID-era YouTube channel about vinyl/CD collecting and record-store visits, and his film work, including Death of an Umbrella Salesman, Waimea, and recent music videos.
In this episode, Charles interviews filmmaker and vinyl enthusiast Steve Herold, best known for the award-winning short film Death of an Umbrella Salesman. Steve takes us back to the summer of 1984 and his first concert — the Thompson Twins on their Into the Gap tour at the Garden State Arts Center in New Jersey. He shares how the show almost didn't happen, thanks to a failed attempt to see Van Halen at Madison Square Garden, and how that near-miss planted the seed for a lifetime of concert-going. The real coming-of-age concert moment, Steve admits, came two years later when he finally saw David Lee Roth on his debut solo tour — a far wilder introduction to arena rock than the Thompson Twins had provided.
Steve opens up about his most memorable concert experiences, including his best-ever shows: the New Jersey alternative band Dramarama at the legendary Fast Lane in Asbury Park in the early '90s. Those packed, sweat-soaked club nights — where getting to the bathroom was nearly impossible and crowd surfing was mandatory — turned Steve into a devoted fan and shaped his love of small-venue rock. He also recounts the 1996 Sex Pistols reunion at New York's Roseland Ballroom, an evening of full-on debauchery that ended with him and a friend finding a $50 bill on the floor — money that had fallen from the pockets of crowd surfers — and heading out to continue the night on someone else's dime. The image of punk-show attendees pouring out of Roseland and colliding with Broadway theatergoers on the sidewalk is one of the episode's most vivid moments.
Beyond concerts, the conversation dives into Steve's YouTube channel, where he has spent years showcasing his vinyl and CD collection and visiting independent record stores during his travels for TV production work. He reflects on how the channel introduced him to a whole new community of fellow collectors — friendships that have taken him to record stores in Reno, Southern California, Long Island, and Charleston, South Carolina. Steve also discusses his filmmaking work, including the upcoming documentary about a former Hot Tuna drummer who is also a visual artist, and two music videos he directed for his friend's garage rock band Manflesh, one of which is set to screen at the Coney Island Film Festival. The episode wraps with a shared appreciation for the Wet Leg concert both Charles and Steve attended in 2025, and a laugh-out-loud detour into the chaotic legacy of G.G. Allin.
BANDS: Agent Orange, David Lee Roth, Dramarama, Eagles, G.G. Allin & the Murder Junkies, Goldfinger, Hot Tuna, Jeff the Brotherhood, L7, Lady Gaga, Manflesh, Ram Jam, Sex Pistols, The Strokes, Thompson Twins, Van Halen, Wet Leg, Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
VENUES: Aragon Ballroom (Chicago), Chicago Stadium, Coney Island Film Festival, Exit (Chicago), Fast Lane (Asbury Park), Garden State Arts Center (New Jersey), Lounge Ax (Chicago), Madison Square Garden (New York), Maxwell's (Hoboken), Monster Music (Charleston), Roseland Ballroom (New York), Stone Pony (Asbury Park).
[00:00:24] Steve Herold: We're looking, and then we realized like, oh, they're grabbing money that fell out of people's pockets who had been crowd surfing and whatever. And we just like look on the ground and right there at our feet, a $50 bill. We're like, oh shit, you know? And we like grabbed the 50 and we're like, damn, we found 50 bucks. And we're like, we're gonna continue the night on someone else's dime.
[00:00:47] Charles: My guest today is filmmaker and music enthusiast Steve Herold. Steve is a true multidisciplinary storyteller with a passion for both visual and musical art. He's the [00:01:00] creative force behind the award-winning short film Death of an Umbrella Salesman. Beyond filmmaking, Steve is a dedicated physical media collector who shares his deep appreciation for CDs and vinyl on his popular YouTube channel, curating and revisiting music with both a fan's passion and a critic's eye. Steve, welcome to Seeing Them Live.
[00:01:23] Steve Herold: Hey Charles, it's fantastic to be here talking with you today.
[00:01:28] Charles: Yeah, we were, chatting just a moment ago. I've watched a bunch of your videos and they're great. Does it have a name other than just your name?
[00:01:36] Steve Herold: You know, 'cause the YouTube channel I started ages ago that might've even like, been like the very early days of YouTube and I was just using my name if I had started it now, you know, I probably like most people who do that stuff on YouTube, I probably would've given it like a name connected to like record collecting or whatever. But yeah, it's just my name.
[00:01:58] Charles: Yeah, your last [00:02:00] name's spelled H-E-R-O-L-D.
[00:02:03] Steve Herold: Right. Yeah.
[00:02:05] Charles: Harold.
[00:02:05] Steve Herold: Yeah. I think you pronounced it correctly. Yeah. Harold. Yeah. I have with that all the time with like, paychecks, everything, you know. Um, it always happens. It's a little bit unusual, I guess.
[00:02:16] Charles: Yeah, so we'll, jump into your YouTube channel in a minute and your films and stuff. but yeah, I wanted to start uh, with your first concert, this Thompson Twin show, and based on the videos on your YouTube channel that I watched and or listened to, I did a little detective work, Steve, and I think were you about 14, or you said you were 14 years old, but was this the Thompson twins 1987?
[00:02:40] Steve Herold: No, no, I think I was 13 or 14. It was there 1984 Into the Gap tour, and it was the summer. It was like August of 1984. Me and my friend Andrew went and the, not the reason why we went to see the Thompson twins, but my first concert should have [00:03:00] been Van Halen at Madison Square Garden in 1984, which I think would've been a cooler story to, to tell because that was my favorite band when I was growing up, and that's when I really became a big fan of Van Halen. Like a lot of people when 1984 hit. And again I was 13 or something like that.
[00:03:19] They were playing at Madison Square Garden. I was dying to go. And I don't know if you're familiar with Madison Square Garden, but if you're coming to Madison Square Garden from, say like the suburbs, New Jersey or Long Island, whatever, you can take the train right into Penn Station and Madison Square Garden's right above Penn Station. You literally can just take an escalator up and you're in the Garden. You don't have to go out into the quote unquote, mean streets of New York City.
[00:03:44] And I begged my mom if I could go see this Van Halen show, and it was like the, you know, quintessential cliche like you can go, if your friends can go. And then I was hitting up all my friends. I found at the time, the newspaper used to have ads for ticket [00:04:00] scalpers in the classifieds. And I found a ticket scalper who was selling tickets to the Van Halen Show, and I don't remember what they were, they might have been 40 or $50.
[00:04:08] And, so the guy had the tickets, we could get 'em. And one by one, I hit up all my friends, Hey, Van Halen, I found a guy's got tickets. My mom said I could go if you guys go blah, blah, blah. And one by one, each one of them was like, my mom will let me go. My mom will let me go. So, nonetheless, I couldn't go. And I was so bummed. And of course that was the end of Van halen in that version and I never got to see them.
[00:04:29] But I think that kind of put the idea, that's sort of like my first memory of really kind of the idea of going to concerts. So that summer, when the Thompson Twins who I kind of liked. I mean, I wasn't a big fan. I wasn't familiar with anything. I didn't even know that they had put anything out previously, other than I kind of liked that song, Hold Me Now. I was a big fan of music videos, so at the time I was just engrossed in music videos and that was played a lot on the music video shows and stuff, and I liked that Hold Me Now song. I [00:05:00] don't even know if I had the album that that was from, but I just liked it. And they were coming to play at the, what was called then the Garden State Arts Center, which was literally 15 minutes from my house.
[00:05:12] and debacle with trying to go see Van Halen, I know Charles, we were like, what does this have to do with the see It all is connected. My friend, all I connected my friend.
[00:05:22] Charles: Yeah, your giving us some background here.
[00:05:23] Steve Herold: So, so because of all that, this was 15 minutes away, my mom could drop us off. We're right there. We're not going into New York City by ourselves or anything like that. So, then it was like, okay. So, me and my friend Andrew went to see the Thompson Twins. Neither one of us had, I don't think he'd ever gone to a concert before. And the Garden State Art Center is like what you call now a shed. It's, you know, like an amphitheater. And we went, and like I said, I mean, I knew, Hold Me Now, I don't even know, I might have known like one or two of the other songs from that album, but I wasn't really familiar with them.
[00:05:56] And we went and it was kind of like an awkward experience [00:06:00] to be quite honest, in a way, because we had never been to a show before. We weren't that into it, you know? And I just remember us kind of just sitting in our chairs a lot, you know, we weren't like up, like standing with everybody. I mean, we didn't know, like we didn't know the concert etiquette or anything at the time. And it wasn't like this, you know, anything spectacular.
[00:06:20] But it is the first concert that I went to. And for a while, I would tell people like, or I wanted to tell people, like my first real concert was like two years later in 1986 when a bunch of us went to see David Lee Roth on his first solo tour. And that was at like the basketball arena show, uh, you know, the parking lot adventures beforehand. It was that whole real concert experience. So for a while I kind of would sometimes say that was my first, you know, thing. I think I was like a little, I'm not anymore. I don't really care, but I think at the time, you know, for a while I was like, you know, like not embarrassed is maybe not the right word, but you know, I [00:07:00] didn't really wanna say that Thompson Twins was my first concert.
[00:07:03] I'd say David Lee Roth was, and now it's kind of funny because now the way his career's gone, I mean, maybe it's a little embarrassing to say David Lee Roth, my first concert, I don't really know, but whatever. Charles. It's a tail.
[00:07:15] Charles: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. 'Cause, you know, when I went to my first concert with my mom and my aunt and uncle to see the Eagles. I've told this story before. I was 11 because my dad, wasn't feeling well that night. So I took his ticket, but I mean, holy cow, I'd never been to a concert. This was at the Chicago Stadium, 1976. I mean, there's a lot going on there for like an 11-year-old.
[00:07:38] Steve Herold: Oh Yeah, I could imagine.
[00:07:40] Charles: Or like yourself, the Thompson Twins, you know, I mean, it's like crowd, the music's is, louder than I've ever heard anything in my life. Um, so yeah, maybe it was a good way to get like your sea legs for David Lee Roth.
[00:07:54] Steve Herold: For sure. Yeah, because that was, like night and day. The two. And I don't have like, that's my only memory of [00:08:00] that Thompson Twins show really is just that I remember, not that I wasn't really that into it, because I didn't know most of the stuff they were playing and everything, but it was just that environment. It was like new wave and all that, which I like. At the time, I don't know if I loved it all that much, but I do now. But yeah, it was just a different experience. And then the David Lee Roth show a couple years later, that was more in my wheelhouse at that time. But yeah, just two completely different experiences, for sure.
[00:08:26] Charles: Yeah, because, and we'll get into it in a minute, but, on your YouTube channel, there's videos about Van Halen.
[00:08:32] Steve Herold: When I got into Van Halen in the 84, after that, I like really kind of became a fan fanatic, whatever I would buy, I would started collecting like imports and bootlegs and 12 inch promos and all that stuff. I spent a chunk of my vast fortune on Van Halen nonsense for a number of years.
[00:08:52] I said before, my poor girlfriend, back in the like early nineties, I used to drag her to these record conventions. [00:09:00] And she had no interest in any of this, but she would go with me and I would be digging through all the bins and pulling out records and stuff that I was buying or miscellaneous van Halen things.
[00:09:08] And I'd be in there digging and I'd pass it back, like, here, hold this, or whatever. So, she was kind of like forced to come to those things with me and hold my merchandise that I would be wasting all my money on, you know, but Yeah. Yeah.
[00:09:20] Charles: Yeah, Because, in your videos, you show these records and CDs, you hold them up. You pull out the vinyl if it's, you know, colored or..
[00:09:30] Steve Herold: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:09:31] Charles: Picture disc or whatever they call 'em.
[00:09:33] Steve Herold: Picture discs. I have a handful of that stuff, you know? Yeah. Like in those record videos, it's mostly that just showing off stuff from my record collection. You know, you try to kind of pick a theme or just new stuff that I picked up, or like the Van Halen stuff, it was just kind of showing off the old collection, you know, that's gathering dust somewhere, you know?
[00:09:50] Charles: Yeah, it's interesting. Again, I keep going into your, your YouTube channel, and we'll get to it in a bit, but, your, best concert, you put as this band [00:10:00] Dramarama, they're a New Jersey band. They formed like in 1982, and you saw them at this place called Fast Lane in Asbury Park.
[00:10:09] Steve Herold: Yeah, Dramarama. They're like an alternative band. They had a little bit of success in like late eighties, early nineties. They formed in New Jersey. They were discovered in a way by Rodney Bingenheimer, or you're familiar with him, correct? He is a famous DJ in Los Angeles.
[00:10:27] There's a really good documentary about him called the Mayor of the Sunset Strip. And he came across their record and really liked it, and told them they should move to California and move to Los Angeles. And they did. They took his advice. And so early in the eighties or mid eighties, they all relocated and were pretty much based in Los Angeles and they were very popular in Southern California.
[00:10:47] I mean, they're very popular in Southern California and New Jersey and that's about it. But they did have some chart success in like the late eighties or early nineties. A couple of their songs, charted on the modern. Rock chart on [00:11:00] Billboard, you know, college Rock stuff. But, you know, they were kind of like our band, even though they had relocated Los Angeles in New Jersey, down in Asbury Park area, they would always come and play shows at the Stone Pony or the Fast Lane, and we would always go see them.
[00:11:15] And they were always fantastic. And seeing Dramarama at the Fast Lane, it was probably the early nineties. Up until that time, all of the shows that I'd been going see were like in the basketball arenas at the Meadowlands or the Garden or whatever. When I saw Dramarama at the Fast Lane, which was like a small little club, and their shows would be packed. You had mentioned in an email correspondent, they played two nights back to back in Asbury Park and that was common for them.
[00:11:44] A matter of fact, they used to do a thing back then. A couple of times they did this and I went, they would play Friday and Saturday night, either at the Fast Lane or Stone Pony, wherever, and you could go buy a ticket for whatever night. Or they would also offer like a deal. Like if you [00:12:00] wanted a ticket for both nights, it was discounted. You'd get a break.
[00:12:04] I'd go to both shows. A bunch of us would go to both shows. So we'd see them Friday and Saturday. And they were kind of like our band. Even though they were from New Jersey, they were from Northern New Jersey, but kind of was like our band when they came to town, we always went and saw them.
[00:12:16] And I just remember going to see them that first time in the Fast Lane. It kind of like opened my eyes to this whole other side of going to see bands, you know, not at big basketball arenas in these smaller clubs, which Asbury Park had still at that time, a few of you know. And so, that was like a new experience. But I can remember just seeing them in this packed club, I mean, to the point where, if you had to go to the bathroom, you couldn't even go to the bathroom.
[00:12:43] Charles: Yeah.
[00:12:43] Steve Herold: And they were like a college rock band, like alternative, but their shows were like punk shows. Like, we'd be like hanging from like the rafters, like crowd surfing and everything, and it was just like insane. It was just like a whole new world compared to those like arena shows, [00:13:00] you know? And I loved it and we always went and saw them.
[00:13:02] I remember even one time being, I think it was at the Fast Lane, like I had to go to the bathroom and I couldn't get to the bathroom 'cause I was on the other side of the club. And the quote unquote backstage area was like right there. And I saw people going back there and I could sort of see there was a bathroom back there. So I kind of just went over there and just was like, I don't know, lemme try this, you know? And I just kind of walked over there just like I belonged, you know? Like I didn't stop and go, Hey, can I use the bathroom? I just started walking to the bathroom and somebody stopped me, and they're like, and I'm not making this up. It sounds cheesy as hell, but they stopped me and they said, where you going? And I said, I'm not exaggerating. And I said, I'm with the band. And the dude goes, what band?
[00:13:40] And pure chance, I remembered the name of the opening band, and I don't remember what it is now, but whatever the opening band was, I just said, oh, I'm with them, you know? And the dude was like, all right, all right. And just let me go. I mean, I went and used the bathroom and went back out to the show. I wasn't. Trying to like, kind of meander back there or anything.
[00:13:59] But yeah, those shows [00:14:00] were just like insane. They were incredible, you know, just seeing those guys' lives. So, yeah, I mean, those Dramarama shows, those early 90 Dramarama shows are like seared in my brain, of just like some of the best concerts that I had ever been to.
[00:14:13] Charles: Have they been around recently? Steve?
[00:14:15] Steve Herold: Yeah. Yeah. They put out a record in 2020 when COVID hit, but they split up, I think in like 94, something like that. And then they reconvened maybe like in the mid two thousands or something, they got back together and they put out a record, but they started playing shows again, and they still, to this day, they still play shows.
[00:14:36] I mean, I saw them maybe a year ago. They came through Asbury Park and I saw them. So, yeah, they're still active, but like I said, they're really kind of like Southern California, New Jersey. I don't know that they really play the rest of the states. I don't know if it's 'cause they're not really a draw there, or financially it might just not be worth it for them. I don't know. But yeah, they still pretty regularly play shows.
[00:14:57] Charles: Yeah, that sounds awesome. I remember you made me think of [00:15:00] this show. I saw L7,
[00:15:01] Steve Herold: Okay. Yeah.
[00:15:02] Charles: This place in Chicago, which has since been torn down like the Fast Lane called Lounge Ax. And holy cow, that place was packed. And I too trying to go to the bathroom. I made it, and we were right up by the stage, and I barely made it back. I mean, it was tough to get back to where we were because, you know, everybody's giving me a dirty look. Like, where are you going?
[00:15:27] Steve Herold: Yeah, those shows are pretty special. Those smaller like club shows when they're packed like that, especially when you're like, in your college age or whatever, you know? Those shows are pretty magical.
[00:15:37] Charles: It's definitely cool scene. So, Steve, we got a couple more concerts to chat about here. , I guess we could do the disappointing one. This Jeff, the Brotherhood you saw at Maxwell's in Hoboken and I put that at like 2012 maybe, is that correct?
[00:15:54] Steve Herold: Probably, I mean, I probably could have looked up. But, yeah, in that vicinity. So, Jeff the Brotherhood, I [00:16:00] started going to a lot more shows. Like, I think I kind of like eased up at one point and wasn't really going to a lot of shows. And then when I was working in New York City, a couple of friends who were into shows, we'd start going to see concerts more often, you know? 'cause I was there already. I wasn't living in New York, but I was working there, so we were already there.
[00:16:20] And I had a couple of friends that I worked with, we started going. I remember we, we saw The Strokes, the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs. I reconnected with an old punk band that I loved in my teen ages, Agent Orange one, my favorite punk band. They started playing shows in New York and would go see them a lot. So, we started going to see a lot more shows.
[00:16:37] So, I wasn't really being picky or anything necessarily. And Jeff the Brotherhood I knew of. I may have had one of their records. I think I have like two of their albums. But at that time I think I just knew a couple of songs and I liked them. And they were playing at Maxwell's, which was a phenomenal club. I loved that place. Again, small, tiny club, you know, just really [00:17:00] amazing shows at that place. So, they were playing there and it was just like, eh, you know, I like those songs that I know by them. Why not go see them? You know, probably wasn't very expensive. Might have been like $15 or something like that.
[00:17:10] So, I think it was just me and this girl that I worked with. We went and I don't think she knew them at all. And I just said, oh, you know, me and her went to a handful of shows and I just kind of not convinced her, but I just said, Hey, you want to go check them out with me? And she was like, yeah, sure.
[00:17:25] And we went and what was disappointing about it was that they didn't play the songs that I knew and it almost felt like we were at like a rehearsal, which I guess in one hand could be interesting, if you were really, really into the band, that might be cool, you know?
[00:17:40] But I wasn't, I just knew a couple of songs. And, they just kind of jammed on stage for the entirety of the show. I mean, it almost felt like it was just one continuous jam session. And, I barely even remember them singing, you know, and it was just like, I don't know. And the fact that maybe that I dragged her in the show maybe played into the [00:18:00] fact that I was like, she's probably like, what the hell are we doing here? So, it was disappointing on that level. It was just kind of like a show that didn't go the way I thought it would.
[00:18:09] And again, I'm not that familiar with that band, so I don't know. That might be what their shows are like, I don't know. But, you know, I didn't like hate it or anything. It wasn't like, oh, this is awful. But it just was like, I would've hoped they would've played at least one of the songs I knew. And it wasn't like they had a huge catalog, you know, so think wishing they'd play like one of those tunes that they put out as a single or whatever, you know, wouldn't be asking a whole lot. So yeah, it was disappointing. I wouldn't say it was like the worst show I ever saw or anything like that. It was just disappointing nonetheless.
[00:18:39] Charles: I could see that. I've been to shows like that sort of, and it's maybe not as structured, which in some cases can be good.
[00:18:47] Steve Herold: Like I said, I think if a band that I was a huge fan of did something like that, I might be kind of cool with it, 'cause you're sort of like, oh, we're seeing a different thing here, you know? But the fact that it was like a band that I knew, like two or [00:19:00] three songs and that was it, and didn't really know what the show was gonna be like, or whatever, it was just, you know, you just kind of walked away like, ah, a little disappointed, you know, whatever.
[00:19:09] Charles: Yeah. All right. Well, if we move on to surprising, uh, your most surprising concert was the Sex Pistols. This was a 1996 reunion at Roseland Ballroom in New York City. Is that correct?
[00:19:22] Steve Herold: Yes. Roseland Ballroom is a, or was, it's gone now. It was a famous, famous venue from back in the day. I guess, it used to be like one of those like dance halls from the old New York City. Famous place bands all played there. I actually got on stage there one time. I went and saw Goldfinger. And they invited people come up on stage, they're just like, anybody wanna come up on stage? Come on up. And I was there with my buddy Pat, and we were like, eh, why not? Let's go on stage. You know? So, it was like a one, two experience of being on stage with Goldfinger, who I was a fan of, but also like looking out like, this is a [00:20:00] famous place, you know?
[00:20:00] And just being on that stage and like looking out at the crowd at Roseland and just having that experience was probably better than being on stage with Goldfinger. And this was like, I didn't have a cell phone. My buddy Pat might have, but this is like early 2000. I don't know if he had a cell phone on him or if he did, I don't even know if it had a camera. So we don't, unfortunately have like the evidence of that. But you know, we have the experience, you know, we lived it. We don't necessarily need the photographic proof, you know.
[00:20:30] So 1996, I'm living in Los Angeles. I come home for that summer to visit friends and family. And by pure coincidence, I'm there when the Sex Pistols are on their reunion tour going across the United States. They're gonna play at Roseland. My friend Sean, he was supposed to go with his brother Billy, and I think Billy broke his leg or something like that and couldn't go.
[00:20:54] So Sean's like, you want his ticket? See the Sex Pistols? And I was like, yeah, of course. I'll go see the sex pistol. So we [00:21:00] go up there and it's a night of debauchery. We were just on all kinds of stuff, Charles, you know what I mean?
[00:21:06] Charles: In true Sex Pistols fashion.
[00:21:08] Steve Herold: Yeah, we were, uh, taking in the moment. We get to Roseland. I remember like, we got up to the front and then I felt like sick as hell and I was like, I gotta get out. It was like, just, you know, it was a mad house and I was like, I gotta get outta here. I, I feel like I'm gonna be sick. I'm like, like I was really messed up and I'm just like, I don't know if I'm gonna be able to handle this.
[00:21:28] And I get out of the crowd and I go to the back of Roseland just to kind of get my bearings and I'm standing there and Sean had stayed up front there and a couple minutes later he like comes outta there and finds me. And I kind of felt better at that point. Maybe I just needed some air or whatever, get got my second wind.
[00:21:44] And so I was like, yeah, let's go back up there. So we go back up, we're up at the front of the stage and it was just like, you know, I know it's 1996. I know it's a reunion there, it's a cash grab, whatever you want to call it. I'm not blind to the fact this isn't 1977 or [00:22:00] 78. You know, we're not in the height of the original punk movement or whatever. But it was great and it was a fantastic show, and they're spit flying everywhere and people are just going crazy and crowd surfing and everything, and It was a great show.
[00:22:12] And afterwards, I mean, we were just wiped out. I mean, we're drenched in sweat and everything and the show's over at Roseland. The crowd starts clearing out, you know, and leaving. And we're just standing around. We're just spent, you know, we don't know what to do yet, you know? And we're just standing there and all of a sudden we're like looking around and we see all these people just diving for the ground and we're like, what's going on here?
[00:22:34] We're looking, and then we realized like, oh, they're grabbing money that fell out of people's pockets who had been crowd surfing and whatever. And we just like look on the ground and right there at our feet, a $50 bill. We're like, oh shit, you know? And we like grabbed the 50 and we're like, damn, we found 50 bucks. And we're like, we're gonna continue the night on someone else's dime.
[00:22:55] It was a great night and we went out and we got some more drinks and food and [00:23:00] whatever. But the funniest thing about that night was Roseland is, like in the middle of the theater district in New York City. And it's a Wednesday night and Wednesday night is also the night of Broadway shows. And we come outta Roseland, all these people at the punk show come outta Roseland drenched in sweat dressed, however, and it's the same time as all the theaters are getting out.
[00:23:22] So, it's like something out of a movie. It's like you picture this street in the theater district in Manhattan and this door opens up and all these like punk fans come out from the punk show, and at the same time, next door, all these people dressed up for their night at the theater come out and it's just this like conversion of crowds, trying to maneuver past each other.
[00:23:44] I mean, it would've been amazing to watch that from above, you know, like watch from like a second story window just seeing these two crowds merge on the streets of Manhattan or whatever. But yeah, that was an amazing show and it never dawned on me, I'd been to other shows where people were crowd [00:24:00] surfing or whatever. It never occurred to me to go like, oh yeah, there's probably money falling outta these people's pockets, you know.
[00:24:05] Charles: Yeah, now that you mention it, I told you that I found during Lalapalooza, 2015, I think it was maybe, no, maybe it was '09. Yeah, I found 70 bucks laying in the grass.
[00:24:16] Steve Herold: Yeah.
[00:24:16] Charles: And maybe that's why.
[00:24:18] Steve Herold: It never occurred to me. I mean, it seems obvious now, like yeah, of course. But like up until that time it never occurred to me to like go, oh yeah, there's probably money laying on the ground here. These people waited around till the end. They're not trying to get a set list or anything. They're trying to get a couple bucks off the ground, you know what I mean?
[00:24:36] Charles: Yeah, 50 bucks is a good haul.
[00:24:38] Steve Herold: Yeah. It was great, man. It was the best thing. I mean, that's 1990s $50, man, that went a long way, you know?
[00:24:45] Charles: Yeah. I was reading about that place a little bit, the history and I guess before they tore it down, the last performances there were six nights with Lady Gaga in 2013.
[00:24:57] Steve Herold: Yeah. It was great. I mean, Manhattan has changed, [00:25:00] New York has changed a lot. I don't know what the situation was, why it closed necessarily. Maybe you and your research saw. But that was a big bummer when that place closed. That was a great venue. I love that place. You know, it was an amazing place to see bands. I don't know what the story was, but like I said, that tail can be told about a lot of places in New York City. But yeah, I was sad to see that place go. It was a amazing place to see shows.
[00:25:23] Charles: Yeah. It sounds like a similar venue here, we have in Chicago the Aragon Ballroom, like a hundred years old and same kind of thing. And I couldn't imagine that place not being around anymore. That would be a major bummer, you know?
[00:25:37] Steve Herold: Yeah.
[00:25:38]
[00:26:04] Charles: All right, Steve, so those were your concert stories. You wanna talk about, uh, your YouTube channel a little bit?
[00:26:10] Steve Herold: Well, I started it, like a lot of people did when COVID hit needed something to do. I worked in TV production. That whole business pretty much closed down and we didn't know when or if we were gonna work again. And so I was just sitting around at the time and I'd seen a couple of people doing things like that on YouTube where they were just showing off their record collection or what have you.
[00:26:32] And I thought about it and I was like, oh, it seems kind of interesting. I felt like that was something that I could probably do or, and have fun doing. I never approached it as something where like I was trying to like monetize it or turn it into something, you know? I just thought it'd be kind of fun to pull out some of my records and talk about 'em and what have you.
[00:26:49] And that's what I did. And at the time I was kind of, between apartments and I have vinyl and have CDs, but most of my collection CDs, but those were all boxed up in storage, but my [00:27:00] vinyl was out, so I just started talking about my vinyl and you know, just talk about like, whatever crossed my mind about it. Like history with the band, how I got into the band, discovered the band, or you know, where I bought the record.
[00:27:12] A certain record store. Like I said, I worked in tv, I travel all the time for work. And whenever I travel for work, wherever I go, I always look up local record stores and visit them. So, you know, I would just talk about that stuff, and that's basically what I've been doing. And then, I guess maybe a year after I started it, all the stores started opening up again and everything. And I started making videos about like filming when I go to these record stores on the road. And those are my favorite ones to do. I like highlighting some of these record stores that I get to visit and my travels and, you know, show off what I found there. Show off the store.
[00:27:48] I mean, I don't have like a million followers or anything. It's not like I'm necessarily giving them free publicity. I mean, I am, but nobody's walking into those record stores going, Hey, Steve told me to come visit these. But I like [00:28:00] doing it, thinking that, 'cause I do this myself sometimes, if I'm going someplace and there's a record store and I'm kind of like debating, you know, maybe there's a couple and I'm like, which one should I visit. Or whatever. You know, I look up online and see if I find any videos or anything of those stores and that kind of maybe helps in me deciding if I'm gonna visit them or whatever.
[00:28:18] So I like to think that, you know, these things are out there on YouTube. If somebody's visiting, like right now I'm in Charleston, South Carolina. There's a great record store here called Monster Music. So if somebody was like, Hey, I'm gonna visit Charleston. I wonder if there's any cool record stores there for me to visit. And I like to think that maybe they would do a search, it might lead them to a video that I've made about Monster Music, and they'd see it and go, Hey, that place looks pretty cool. And, check it out. You know?
[00:28:43] Charles: Yeah. because I've gone to record stores. I don't go a lot, but occasionally, and I went to one, and I didn't know it when I walked in, it was all like punk music. Not that that's bad. I mean, I like some punk stuff, but that was it. That's all they had, you know? 'Cause I was looking for like [00:29:00] a Peter Gabriel album or something.
[00:29:02] Steve Herold: Oh, and they didn't have it, Charles.
[00:29:03] Charles: No. no. I didn't make the cut on that one.
[00:29:07] Steve Herold: Did you go up to the counter and go, oh, where's the Peter Gabriel section?
[00:29:11] Charles: I did, actually. But he leads me to these bins, and he is like, yeah, we don't really have that kind of music here. And I'm standing there talking to him and I see this G.G. Allin album.
[00:29:20] Steve Herold: Well, he' s a little like Peter Gabriel, right?
[00:29:22] Charles: Well, I asked him, I said, oh, you ever read his book? I think it's called G.G. Allin and the Murder Junkies.
[00:29:27] Steve Herold: Right, right.
[00:29:28] Charles: It's like a super disturbing memoir.
[00:29:31] Steve Herold: Well, I know G.G. Allin.
[00:29:33] Charles: But, you know, I drove a fair distance to go there and it was, you know, kind of a bust.
[00:29:39] Steve Herold: Yeah. Well, like I said, I collect vinyl and CDs, but the format of choice, I guess is CDs. So like sometimes, similar to your point, it's like, I'm looking sometimes at those record stores, like, do they have CDs? You know, like, I'm not looking for any vinyl right now. I'd prefer to pick up a CD cheaper, whatever. And so, like sometimes I'll look at those record [00:30:00] store video, somebody did or what have you, or just a review, a Yelp review or whatever. But I'm sometimes like looking to see like, do they even have that? I have this problem sometimes when I go into these record stores, especially these smaller stores, I kind of feel like weird going in and leaving without buying anything.
[00:30:17] Whatever you want to call that. I do feel a little weird. 'Cause I know they don't make a lot of money and I feel like a little obligated. Like I, you know, I wanna support them somehow and I wanna pick something up. But if I go into a store and it's just vinyl and I'm like, ah, shoot. 'Cause you know, vinyls can be very expensive these days. And now I'm like, am I gonna be buying something for $30 that maybe I don't really even want. So, like, you know, I'll do research just to make sure to see what they have, like what kind of selection they have or whatever. Or, in your case, if I found like someplace I don't really like country music, and if I walked into a record store and it was like all we got is country, I'd be like, where's the G.G. Allin? You know?
[00:30:56] Charles: Yeah, it is helpful, especially when you're traveling and you're [00:31:00] not familiar with the area and, those little tidbits of information may not be on their website.
[00:31:06] Steve Herold: Right. The YouTube videos I did, I mean, I still talk about like my collection and stuff like that. But, the videos I got to do on record stores I visited became the highlight for me, what I looked forward to the most, doing those and just talking about the stores and their selection, and just being able to show them off a little bit, just so you could get a sense of what the store's like or what have you.
[00:31:27] Charles: Yeah, that's super cool. there's 678 videos, I think.
[00:31:31] Steve Herold: Oh my God, you just me. No, I'm just kidding. But at the same time, you know, Charles, I, do like going to those stores. I do like that experience of going through 'em. And the funny thing is my friends still, some of them will still go to shows here and there. Not like a ton, but none of them. I have like maybe one or two friends from where I live, friends that I have known for a long time who maybe still buy records, like maybe one or two. Most of them don't though. And the other [00:32:00] thing about making those record store or the record collection videos on YouTube, that it introduced me to a lot of people who I consider friends now who also make record collecting videos.
[00:32:11] I mean, there's, a friend of mine, JT, who lives out in Reno, and I went and visited him when I was on the West Coast. And we went to a store, we went record shopping out there. And my friend Monty Muse, who lives in Southern California, she and I went to a record store. And, it's just nice having people, that are into that, that I could talk to about that stuff. 'Cause most of my friends who I hang out with, they're not really into that record collecting and stuff, so they don't want to really talk about that.
[00:32:37] So, the other side of making those videos that I didn't expect was that I became friends with a lot of these people who share that interest. And like I said, they've become friends. In Long Island, my buddy Alan Rosenberg, same thing. I drove up there one time, me and him hit up, some record stores. So, that has also been a big plus in doing all those things.
[00:32:56] Charles: Yeah. It's same with this podcast. I've met a lot of people.
[00:32:59] Steve Herold: Yeah, [00:33:00] yeah. yeah. I'm sure.
[00:33:01] Charles: You do things with 'em and you hang out sometimes, which is kind of cool. But Steve, so, I was watching a bunch of your videos. I think some of the first ones 'cause you're wearing like a mask.
[00:33:11] Steve Herold: Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
[00:33:12] Charles: And there's COVID and stuff. And then, so I had seen somewhere a video you were shown in of like the concerts you went to, and I recognized a Wet Leg shot. ' Cause I saw Wet Leg in Chicago in 2025. So then I looked to see what concerts you'd been to. And you had a 2025 concert review kind of thing. And then to my surprise, that was your final episode.
[00:33:38] Steve Herold: Yeah, sort of, yeah. Things just felt like they were winding down doing those. They were starting to feel a little bit like an obligation, you know? And I just like, oh, maybe the video you're talking about, like was sort of like my wrap up for 2025. Like I talked about what stores I went to that year, what concerts I went to, and my favorite records of last year and stuff [00:34:00] like that. And it just felt like maybe a good way to close up shop in a way. And so that was the decision.
[00:34:06] But, you know, I did mention in that video and I, maybe I was being like a little overly dramatic saying like, this is my final video. It's been fun, and mentioned some of the people who I'd become friends with over the years on there. But I did note that, you know, I probably would pop up once in a blue moon. I just wasn't gonna do it regularly anymore.
[00:34:24] Like, when I started it was one every week and then maybe it was like one every two weeks or something like that. I don't know. But you know, honestly, Charles, I mean, I literally was just thinking of this the other day because Record Store Day is coming up and like I said, I'm in Charleston, I'll go over to Monster Music. There's a couple of things. I'm usually into Record Store Day, but Monster Music, they do all these sales. So I'll go for other reasons.
[00:34:45] But I was like, yeah, probably, I'm gonna go over there. I might as well maybe do a video about what I pick up there or whatever. And I was kind of like having regret, like, maybe I shouldn't have said that. Like, I don't know that I needed to advertise, like this is my last one. I could have just made the video not mentioned that [00:35:00] and just kind faded away a little bit and then pop back up when I wanted to or whatever.
[00:35:04] So, yeah, I don't think it's the end. You know, I think it's just kinda like when there's a reason for me to make a video about something like if I go to a store that I've never been to before and I wanna show it off, I'll do videos still now and then, but it just won't be like a regular thing anymore.
[00:35:19] Charles: Yeah, because well, one popped up three weeks ago, which it was a popup record store right in D.C.
[00:35:27] Steve Herold: In D.C., yeah.
[00:35:28] Charles: And you highlighted that. Yeah, no. You mentioned in the video that you do from time to time.
[00:35:33] Steve Herold: Yeah, and I definitely think I would. Like I said, I kind of looked back now and said, I probably shouldn't have said that in the video. I probably should have just internally know that that's what was gonna happen, but I didn't need to like, advertise it to everybody.
[00:35:46] But, I still plan every now and then to do those. Especially if I go to like a store or maybe an area that I want to kind of show off or whatever. But, I imagine here and there, I'll still continue, or even if I go visit somebody, a [00:36:00] friend, and we're gonna go to a record store, like a fellow record collecting friend or whatever, if they do videos. Then I might be like, eh, let's do one. Why not? It has been fun. I have enjoyed doing it.
[00:36:08] Charles: Yeah. And you've been, guests on several other people's channels talking about your collection.
[00:36:15] Steve Herold: Yeah, a couple of them, mostly people that I know who I went to visit, like where we were in the same place or something like that. Like I mentioned, JT and Monty. We did videos for me, it was like cross pollination. I did a video with them and then they did a video with me. You know what I mean? Like anybody needs more. Oh, I need to to see that twice on two different YouTube channels. But yeah, it's been fun. And I imagine I'll still do 'em.
[00:36:41] Charles: Yeah. No, I encourage people to check 'em out and, you're still doing 'em, from time to time.
[00:36:45] Steve Herold: Like you mentioned, there's a ton, it's not like the old ones are pointless. If you've never heard of me or seen them, you can obviously go back and watch older ones. It's not gonna be like, oh, this isn't relevant anymore.
[00:36:55] Charles: Yeah. No, I found them to be entertaining and educational.
[00:36:58] Steve Herold: Educational?
[00:36:59] Charles: [00:37:00] Yeah. Like these bands, you know, I never heard of.
[00:37:02] Steve Herold: I get that a lot. It surprises me that I get that a lot where people are like, I've never heard of any of these bands you're talking about. And I mean, I could see some of 'em, but some of 'em, I'm like, damn. Like, even Wet Leg. I mean, there's a lot of people who've never heard of Wet Leg, you know? And I'm like, oh geez. I thought, you know, they were, there's a lot of buzz about them. I would've thought you would at least have heard of them, you know?
[00:37:21] Charles: Yeah, yeah.
[00:37:22] Steve Herold: That was a fantastic show, by the way, wasn't it? Wet Leg?
[00:37:25] Charles: Oh, yeah, that was probably one of the best shows in 2025 that I went to.
[00:37:29] Steve Herold: Yeah. That was amazing. They were great.
[00:37:32] Charles: Yeah. It was fantastic. You'd mentioned being overly dramatic Steve and you know something about people being dramatic, with regard to films and such. So you'd made this film called Death of an Umbrella Salesman. Do you want to talk about that a little bit? It's a short film, shot in black and white, that's part of the humor, I guess.
[00:37:53] Steve Herold: Yeah, yeah. I mean, the black and white was kind of like a conscious decision going for like a certain tone. Like it's this kind of [00:38:00] weird time place where it's sort of like, is this set in the past or is this in present day? And I think there was something about the black, like originally, you know, the black and white, some of it tied into this idea of some of those old, almost like propaganda kind of films that they'd play, like Don't Smoke Cigarettes and all those kinds of things. And I mean, it's not really in that, but like, I think the original idea was kind of revolving around that kind of tone of something.
[00:38:24] But, yeah, I went to film school. I've been bouncing around like the indie film world for a long time. Lots of ups and downs, lots of rollercoaster trips, you know. When I was working on a TV show in Baton Rouge, if we were back in Baton Rouge, like for the second season, and we were gonna be there for like eight months or something like that. I'd made some friends, you know, some of the people from the first season were back and we'd become friends and everything and we'd have weekends off or whatever. And when I went down there, I was like, you know, why don't we even make a short film on our time off?
[00:38:55] So I'd written this script for a Death of an Umbrella Salesman. And you know, I thought it'd [00:39:00] be cool making a film down there with some of the people from the crew, because it was not where I was from. It was a unique location. And I thought it'd be kind of fun to make a film somewhere else, instead of where I grew up or where I was from.
[00:39:13] And we had a blast making it. And it did pretty well. With those short films, you go to film festivals and all that stuff. And it played and got some pretty good notices. It's on Amazon, it's on YouTube, you can find it to watch or whatever.
[00:39:24] And we did another one, maybe like a year or two after that, called Waimea. And the bummer of that one was we finished it. We shot that right before COVID and when I finished it, I think I finished it before COVID hit, but when COVID hit, that's when we would be submitting the festivals. And obviously all the festivals kind of got wiped out. So, that one was a little disappointing in that sense that it really had a festival run, but it was kind of wonky. Luckily, maybe a year or two later, the last screening that it had was in like a legit theater. So we were able to all gather and [00:40:00] see it with a crowd on a big screen because we really, up until that point, most of the screenings had been festivals were online at the time. That's all they could be. So it was a little disappointing.
[00:40:11] But, we're still kicking around some ideas and kind of working on some stuff. We're, we're working on a documentary right now. Me and my friend Doug are working on a documentary about this dude who was in the band, Hot Tuna, he was the drummer. He's also an artist. So we've been filming a lot of stuff with him lately, and that's the project we've been working on, or concentrating on lately. Just kind of this documentary, which, which isn't really my thing, but it's been a pretty interesting endeavor, you know, kind of maneuver in that environment. But yeah, it's been fun that's the gist of that.
[00:40:40] And again, and not to go down this rabbit hole, but like that whole world has really changed over the last couple years. So even trying to figure out what that all is these days or what to do with things. There's things that are easier about it and things that are more difficult, you know? And so it's a little bit of a challenge.
[00:40:57] Charles: Yeah. And you said you, shot a music video [00:41:00] for a friend of yours is in a band or something?
[00:41:02] Steve Herold: Yeah. They have kind of a garage rock band. They put out like a record maybe two years ago, I think, or a year ago. I have friends who are filmmakers who are musicians, whatever. I'm always down to support them. Like if they're playing a show, I'll try to go see 'em or whatever.
[00:41:19] So my friend Richard his band, it's called Manflesh, like a garage rock band. They put out this record and, I just kind of reached out to him like, hey, you thinking of doing a music video or whatever. Like, I think I mentioned earlier, I love music videos. I grew up on 'em. I couldn't get enough of 'em when I was younger. And I've always loved that format.
[00:41:35] And so I just asked him if he was thinking of doing one, and he was like, yeah. And I said, what are you thinking? And I think he had in mind to do a video for this particular song called The Road to Wick. Just kind of a little different than a lot of their other stuff. It's a little more poppy than some of their other music.
[00:41:50] I was like, well, what's the idea? And he told me the idea and I was like, nothing against him, but I was like, I think I got a better idea. And I, you know. And I told him my idea. And I was working with a friend of [00:42:00] mine named Danielle Hoffman. She and I were kind of hashing out the idea that I had for the video and bringing it to life and figuring it out.
[00:42:07] And he was into the idea. He liked the idea a lot. Then we shot that and then, that came out really good. I thought we did a good job on that one and just immediately was like, well, let's do another one right away, you know? So we did another song called Shingy Shoo, which is kind of like a swamp rock, kind of boogie kind of tune.
[00:42:25] And, we did a video for that, which was really good, which was all set in a, there was a record store not far from me called Lowfidelic Records, and the owner David, let us film in his record shop. And, so music fans, I think would really dig that. The whole video, it's surrounded by physical media and vinyl and CDs and all that stuff.
[00:42:43] And that one came out really well. I like that one, and I thought it might, there's certain film, film festivals that play music videos. They program music videos. And that one is gonna be screening at Coney Island Film Festival coming up pretty soon. So unfortunately I won't be able to be there. Richard will be there [00:43:00] and some other people who worked on the video will be there, but that's cool. It's cool that to think that some people get to experience that and it'll introduce some people to Richard's band.
[00:43:08] Yeah, that's been a lot of fun. I mean, I really like that format of working, you know, 'Cause it's sort of like, you come up with the idea last week, we'll shoot it this week and post it next week. I don't know, that format, like I said, I've always been a fan of, and I really enjoy that and I would love to do some more of those in the future. It's just a lot of fun making those. This stuff doesn't even have to make sense when you do music radio, you know?
[00:43:30] Charles: Yeah, my buddy sent me this video from the seventies of the band Ram Jam playing Black Betty. They're like, these dudes in like somebody's backyard. There's barbecue going, but it's not a good video
[00:43:43] Steve Herold: I think I've seen that. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:43:45] Charles: Well, I guess it is, but it's kind of hilarious to watch. But in some ways it's fitting, you know, too, so.
[00:43:51] Steve Herold: Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's funny 'cause like that video we did for Shingy Shoo if you really break down, or both of 'em actually, like if you really break down the [00:44:00] lyrics or whatever, they have almost nothing to do with what we made the video about. But it's more about the feel. You know, like when you talk about like Black Betty, like like a barbecue backyard, even if it doesn't really line up with what the song's about, but it feels right. You know what I mean?
[00:44:13] The videos we did, we're not like interpreting the song's lyrics necessarily. It's just, it's more about the feel of it. That's what we've kind of gone on when we've made these videos. It's more like, this fits with this song. Whether the lyrics make sense to like what you're seeing or not, it just works, But it's been a lot of fun doing them. Those were the first music videos I've ever really made. I don't know why. I love them so much, I don't know why I didn't pursue that more earlier on, you know?
[00:44:39] Charles: Yeah. It makes sense, right? Well, Steve, we're coming up on time here. Is there anything you'd like to plug or highlight, or talk about that we didn't cover today?
[00:44:48] Steve Herold: Just everyone should listen to this podcast. It's a blast, I mean, it's fun. It's a blast listening to people's stories from their concerts, you know? I mean, I really enjoy hearing those stories and hearing [00:45:00] people's tales. There's just these little, intricate details of their first concert or what stands out about it or whatever.
[00:45:06] But yeah, sure, go watch my record videos on YouTube or go watch the short films, whatever. But, it's just been a blast. I've really enjoyed listening to your podcast and your guests and everything and it's fun talking music with people. You sometimes forget that because, I don't know, things have changed so much that maybe your circle of friends don't have those conversations as much anymore, you know? It's always fun finding people, other people to talk about music with, you know?
[00:45:30] Charles: Yeah, for sure. I mean, that's our tagline. Everyone has a concert story. Let's hear yours, and usually, it's true.
[00:45:36] Steve Herold: somehow come back to G.G. Allin, don't they? No, I'm just kidding.
[00:45:41] Charles: Yeah. I had a chance to see him at the place called Exit in Chicago, and I think the show lasted about literally 40 seconds.
[00:45:50] Steve Herold: I've seen there's a couple of documentaries about him. I think there's a famous one called Hated, I think that's the title of it. But I've seen footage of his concerts and [00:46:00] yeah, I mean, I don't know if anybody has seen G.G. Allin live and they come on your show to talk to you, I don't know how they don't discuss that concert. You know what I mean? It'd be like, you know, you're talking about seeing Cyndi Lauper when you have a G.G. Allin story to tell when he's talking about what's wrong with you. I mean, those shows just, I don't know. That's another level of commitment of fandom to go to a G.G. Allin show, you know?
[00:46:25] Charles: That's some crazy, crazy stuff.
[00:46:27] Steve Herold: Yeah.
[00:46:28] Charles: All right, Steve. People, check out your YouTube channel. Get schooled a little bit on these record stores across the country and your vinyl and your analysis of the CDs you have and the whole bit. Thanks for coming on Seeing Them Live.