Steel Notes Magazine June 2014 | Page 43

Steel Notes Magazine | 43
wonderful . We also got some pictures on the internet of the Eifel Tower that we took , and some pictures under there we did some recording there they recorded us live . We did French and German TV , and we did some big deal interviews with a lot of pictures , and it was really something ! I want to mention before I forget we did a PBS special a while back called Rock In The World For Radio Free Europe , and we had a bunch of musician ’ s on there . We had Mark Stein , myself , Robby Krieger from The Doors , Rudy Sarzo from Quiet Riot , Toto , and it had to do with how radio free Europe helped knock down the Berlin Wall in 1989 . The guys that put the tour together knew about the guy that had escaped from behind the iron curtain and it gives you cause to realize we take freedom for granted sometimes in the USA . Over there these people , if a girl had long hair down her back , a cop could come up with a scissor and could just cut it off . If a guy had dungarees on , and they don ’ t want you to have dungarees on they could pull them off , even in public , because dungarees stood for the free world and the west In these countries they don ’ t have freedom people , so you have to keep it special because it ’ s precious . We played behind the iron curtain , but thank God that ’ s what Radio Free Europe did , broadcasting , and if people get a chance they should check it out . It ’ s rockingthewall . com and pbs . org . Check it out because it ’ s actually was a drummer , and historian who put this thing together , and it ’ s a tear jerker when you see in depth what people had to go through behind the iron curtain . Another example , if kids were in the school the teachers who were involved with the government , the teachers would ask the kids about a How many kids enjoyed the Beatles concert that they weren ’ t supposed to listen to and a couple of kids raised their hands , a couple of the kids parents “ disappeared ” and that ’ s what happened to their parents . Secret police came over they had a map and they would take the people that would disappear , changed the map they rerouted the river and made it disappear . There are people in the free world that don ’ t know what ’ s going on .
A : Don ’ t take your freedom for granted !
V : Don ’ t ever take it for granted , and thank God for the vets and everybody that stands for freedom . I ’ m part of a charity , copsforvets . org . It ’ s an organization that helps homeless vets that came home with PTSD that can ’ t get it together , and helps them get jobs and find a home . JD Simpson started a home , and we went down and played music for them every year and now he has nine homes for these guys . There ’ s a lot of good that a lot of people that are unheralded that you don ’ t hear about .
A : Vinny you also host two weekly radio shows out of Philadelphia ? V : I did . I don ’ t do it right now I got too busy again rockin and rolling . We had two shows rock and roll that was on every Tuesday

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