Stereo Embers: The Podcast

"Wait For Fire Burning" Formed in Oakland in 1985, Legal Reins were comprised of singer/guitarist Danny Benatar, bassist Eden Unger and drummer Tim Freund. They tore up the Bay Area scene, playing show after show and cementing themselves as one of the best live bands around. This is a band who did the work, got in the reps and eclipsed the Gladwellian idea of 10,000 hours. Opening for everyone from Madness to Killing Joke, Legal Reins proved themselves time and again that they could step on any stage and match anyone in terms of power and heart. Their exhilarating blend of sweeping pop epics and punchy hook laden rock and roll brought to mind everyone from The Sound to Echo and the Bunnymen to the Waterboys. After a bit of a bidding war, they signed to Arista in 1987, put out their debut album Please, The Pleasure soon after and then? Well, then things turned the other way. I'm going to let Tim tell you the story, but let me say this: In 1986 I was the music director of KVHS, an all-metal station located con