Pat's Peeps Podcast
Join our Pat's Peeps family today and be a part of the exciting journey as renowned national talk show host Pat Walsh connects with Friends and Aquaintances. Together, they delve deeper into the captivating world of Pat Walsh's nightly national talk show, all while championing local businesses.
Whether you are a business owner, a devoted listener, or both, we extend a warm invitation for you to become a valued member of our ever-growing community. Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity to join us ASAP!
Pat Walsh
Pat's Peeps Podcast
Ep. 321 Today's Peep Offers You a 2 for 1 Dinner Entree at Roc&Sol Diner in Sacramento (Good through September 30) Just say "Pat's Peeps" When You Order, Plus The Forgotten Formats: A Journey Through Audio History, and a Chico Road Trip with My Brother
Ever wondered how we went from recording sound on steel wire to streaming millions of songs with a tap on our phones? In this nostalgia-filled episode, I take you on a journey through the forgotten audio formats that shaped how we listen to music.
Starting with wire recordings of the 1800s—thin steel wire capturing military communications and business meetings—we explore an array of fascinating technologies that time has largely forgotten. Remember Tefafone with its grooved plastic tape? How about the RCA tape cartridge that promised reel-to-reel quality without the hassle? We'll listen to actual recordings from these obsolete formats while discussing what made them unique and why they ultimately failed to capture the market.
Between deep dives into audio history, I share memories from my recent trip back to Chico, California, where I once lived. The bittersweet experience of returning to find beloved landmarks like Tower Records, Burger Hut, and the Oyve Bagel Company now gone speaks to how quickly our physical world changes—much like our music technology.
For Sacramento listeners, I'm thrilled to announce an exclusive partnership with Rock and Soul Diner at 1825 10th Street. Mention "Pat's Peeps" when you visit before September 30th and receive two-for-one dinner entrées Monday through Saturday from 5pm to close! It's a perfect example of how supporting local businesses creates a win-win for everyone in our community.
Whether you're an audiophile, a nostalgia buff, or simply curious about how we arrived at today's streaming services, this episode offers both technical insights and personal reflections on our ever-changing relationship with recorded sound. So grab your headphones (not your wire recorder!) and join me for this sonic journey through time.
Welcome my friends to the Pat's Peeps podcast. Thank you, hey feels like a Saturday or Sunday to me. It's August 25th 2025. I'm looking out the studio windows into the beautiful foothills of Northern California, where it is hot out. Man, it is a hot one today.
Speaker 1:I have not spent a lot of time outside today because it's hot and I'm trying to stay cool and relaxed, which is something I rarely do. I rarely have an opportunity to just relax and now I am. Firmly, I am convinced, 100%, that all God's children have a podcast. As I've said that before, because I just saw this on TV, pauly Shore has a podcast. So when we have reached those depths, I'm sorry, I'm not a fan. I'm not a fan of this guy. Pauly Shore is one of the only people I've ever had to hang up on my radio show. I say you know what Click you got to go, and if you're going to come on my show, you have to have at least, just at least a slight bit of class. Anyhow, I don't know him personally, but anyhow. So that again is proof that we all have a podcast. But I appreciate you listening to mine.
Speaker 1:This is number 321. And the reason it feels like a weekend to me, and boy do I have big news, big news, some of the most exciting news I've shared with you on my podcast Number 321, I'm on my vacation. This is basically day one of my vacation because we just came off the weekend, so I'm not doing my show, by the way, I'm the host of the Pat Walsh Radio Show, as heard on KFPK. Well, the Pat Walsh Show heard on KFPK Radio in Sacramento, 93.1 FM 1530 AM. Do you know, I am so very proud to be, as I understand it, the last remaining. It's kind of scary in a way, when the rest of the deck has fallen and you're the last card standing nighttime local radio talk show host on terrestrial radio. So, thank you so much. I'm applauding for myself. I'm drinking ice water right now soon to become, I don't know yet if I'm a beer mood or a wine mood, but one or the other I will be, uh, consuming here this evening.
Speaker 1:So there's the turkeys in the front yard. I got these turkeys, hi, turkeys, oops, scared him, sorry, kind of startled me. I looked up when I live, in the mystery hut in the forest. It's like Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, except Jim isn't up in the tree wrestling some kind of a python, but it's. It's like. Yeah, it really is. It's amazing, there's animals everywhere. I walk out my door. I scare a buck. He's sleeping on my property after he's consumed all my plants. So thank you, little Bambi. And well, bambi's not a buck. Bambi was out there too, but all the the critters come through.
Speaker 1:In the morning I love standing out in the kitchen with my coffee. I do the French roast, the pour over, grind my beans and then I have a little teapot and I do my pour over my French roast. That's all I drink is French roast. I'm a coffee snob, that's all I like. And I look outside and I see all the little critters enjoying their morning.
Speaker 1:Little squirrels. Squirrels are amazing, man, these things can climb. Nothing can climb like a squirrel. Be a couple little squirrels out there playing with you know, playing. You know. You'll see a whole bunch of quails hanging out and they just sit there and they peck at the ground in a group. The turkeys, like I say, they'll mosey on up here and you look over there and you see the cat from next door and he's eyeing the birds and the birds are. They don't have a sprinkler going and they'll be like a little hummingbird diving in, dive-bombing the water so we can get a drink of water. I love it. I love seeing all the little critters up here. So didn't mean to scare the little turkeys off.
Speaker 1:Okay, you know I'm always telling you about the businesses we support. I am very, very excited about this. Please do yourself a favor. So there was this place. I had a great meeting with Matt. Yeah, matt, where's my buttons? Huh, what if I can use my buttons here? Matt, there we go.
Speaker 1:Matt owns some restaurants in town. You probably know his restaurants. I'm going to tell you about all of them soon but one of the ones he is very, very proud of is Rock and Soul Diner. Rock and Soul Diner that's R-O-C and Soul S-O-L Diner Okay Diner and Bar where they celebrate art and music. Where they celebrate art and music. This is at a beautiful location. This is at 1825 10th Street, downtown Sacramento. You can go online to rockrocn. So it'd be rockrocn, just a letter N.
Speaker 1:You don't have to get confused about all this. I'm not trying to confuse you. I promise Soldinerlife. Now, that might be. Maybe you can remember that, maybe you don't, but here's what I recommend. Please do yourself a favor. You want to talk about a win-win. You know how I was saying. We're trying to support local business and we're trying to give you deals in inflationary times and always here at Pat's Peeps.
Speaker 1:Here is one great example Go in there between now and September 30th. This is Monday through Saturday 5 pm to close Rock and Soul Diner through September 30th. If you go in there and you say Pat's Peeps, but you have to say heard about you on Pat's Peeps, saw you on Pat's Peeps, listened to, heard your name on Pat's Peeps, pat vouches for this place. Whatever you want to say, but Pat's Peeps is key. And guess what? You get two for one dinner. Two for one. Where's the button? Okay, do you know how proud I am of this Two for one entree?
Speaker 1:This shows my friends that this idea is now starting to work and you will find great deals on all of our businesses which we are growing. And boy, wait till you hear what we're doing beyond this. But two for one entree at this wonderful place, rock and Soul Diner. Again, this is 1825 10th Street. They'll win because you will go there for their business. You will find out about great food, art. So they win because they get your business. You win because you get great food and you're going to get a great experience. Sacramento wins because we're supporting local businesses. If we support local businesses, people, you know what? Hey, you're going to have to put people to work. It's going to create a ripple effect and we win as a business at Pat's Peeps.
Speaker 1:In that I could continue to support more and more businesses, because every time someone like Rock and Soul Diner and Matt Haynes joins up with Pat's Peeps, that tells another business hey, wait a minute, what is this now? This is an affordable way to be advertised and endorsed. Absolutely so, please. Today is we're still in August, I take advantage right now. Is we're still in August, I take advantage right now. I would say right now, go in there this week, this weekend and you know I'm never trying to be selfish on my podcast, never asked anyone for a penny for my podcast. If you would go in there, call him, go in eat. Yeah, hey, is it true I can get two for one dinner entree by mentioning Pat's Peeps? It is Hi, my name is Phil in the blank. Go in, it would mean so much to me. Thank you, all right, I was so excited to tell you guys that. Wow, so please go.
Speaker 1:Yesterday I went to visit my old stomping grounds. My brother needed to get out of the house and my brother, steve and I decided we'd take a trip up to Chico. We lived there for I don't know. I think I lived there 12 years, maybe a little, between Orland and Chico. I lived there a number of years. We'll put it that way Let me get a drink. That ice water tastes so good. I've been drinking so much water. Hope you are too.
Speaker 1:You know, orlin has kind of stayed the same. It's kind of just exactly how I remember it, but there's some new businesses that are popping up there that are really great. Chico, on the other hand, has changed a lot. It was nice to be there. I have such good memories. But one of the great memories I have of Chico, and one of the things that has changed, is Bidwell Mansion. Isn't there? Remember the fire? What was it last year when some moron decided, well, he personally had had enough of the historic Bidwell Mansion right by Chico State and went over and torched it. That beautiful bit of history there in Chico. So anyhow, that was kind of sad to see that. You know things to me, things that have changed since I was there.
Speaker 1:There used to be the Tower Records gone. I sound like Armand Muellestahl in Avalon. I was there, I know it was there. I wasn't dreaming. Sundance Records used to be there. I didn't see Sundance Records anymore. That was a big hangout. Morning Thunder Cafe it was a really nice cafe Gone Oyve Bagel Company, the Oyve Bagel Cafe or Restaurant. Originally it was Oyve Bagel and Company. They did the bagels and then opened this restaurant right on the corner. They're in downtown Chico, right near Madison Bear Garden, and I remember eating there the morning after Buster Douglas shocked the world and beat Mike Tyson, who seemingly was unbeatable at the time. Isn't that weird how he can stick certain memories with places where we were, things we were thinking that day Anyhow. So that's gone. If anyone lives in Chico or lived back there in Chico in those days, you know what I'm talking about.
Speaker 1:Then we go down the one street. There was a town lounge. I didn't even look up in time to see if it was still there. I think it might be. But then there was another place on the corner which used to be the Monta Vista at one time. Then it became third and up and then it went from third and up to the top flight ballroom and this was the place man you would make the rounds in Chico during a certain time in the 80s, in the 90s, maybe even into the 2000s maybe, but I was back in Sacramento by then, so not so much I don't know what was going on. I'm sure it was still going on, but it'd be Madison Bear Garden.
Speaker 1:You know the Grad? Oh man, I remember watching Thriller on the big video screen. At the Grad You'd have a Grad burger and a beer. How about Haywan Burritos? I don't think the Grad is still there. Don't hold me to that, but I didn't check on that. I don't think it's still there.
Speaker 1:Burger Hut is gone. Man, I used to love this place. Burger Hut, right there on Highway 32, had these great flame broiled burgers. You get a big basket of fries Gone, our Fish and Company chicken lips businesses that mean nothing to anyone. I hope the Italian cottage is still there, but they are memories to me. The downtown plaza has changed. There's one of those big circle roundabouts in town now Never used to be there Bidwell Park, the original Sherwood Forest in the movie Robin Hood, in the original Robin Hood.
Speaker 1:It is a beautiful park. My brother Steve, who loves to crank his music man. Anyhow, I think they have shut down the road. We went to one mile and then we drove through Bidwell Park as far as we could, but you just can't drive through there anymore. There's no driving through there like there used to be. I don't know, maybe they've opened it back up. I don't think so. We cut out because I think we thought that it was closed off to cars. We didn't see it closed. But so much good time in that park and that's up there before you get to Bear Hole and Brown Hole and all those places where the guy decided he'd push his burning car down the ravine and start the largest fire in the history of California. So a couple of terrible arson fires that happened up there at that time. But it was nice to get up there. I know that my brother needed to get out of the house.
Speaker 1:All the music that my brother played all the way there which was, by the way, just rock, only no breaks, like no. I mean just you know he's into the rock, but anyhow what he played he goes. I got like 6,000 songs. It's amazing. And you know these are all things that he downloaded off Spotify. And so the entire drive to Chico we're listening to a Spotify. My Spotify is very eclectic and again, that's as if I'm driving by myself or, depending on who I'm driving with, I'm very selective. But I don't just listen to Spotify. I listen to all kinds of different things, but I'll mix it up a little bit. I can be listening to Dean Martin, even I can be listening to Led Zeppelin, whatever, but Steve, it's straight up rock the whole way, the whole way, which is fine. I mean, that's what he's into. I'm the, I'm the passenger, so that's fine. But I was thinking about it because, you know, here he is playing it on Spotify.
Speaker 1:You know, we used to play it off of 8-track. We used to have that, craig, you know cassette or 8-track play in our cars. Remember that If we grew up in a certain time, you know what I'm talking about. You get that, craig. My brother, steve, is like yeah, man, I remember when you had that stereo system in your Grand Torino, your 76 Torino, and you had those big house speakers in the backseat, I had literally these big house box speakers. I'd go down the road cranking UFO, zappa, all of these, and I said, yeah, that sounded good. He goes yeah, it sounded really good, it inspired me. Now I always have great stereos in my car. He said. And I was thinking about some of the other formats. Of course there's been the record player. Yes, many of us grew up. Many of you don't even know what I'm talking about when I say an 8-track. Now cassettes, of course cassettes. There was laser discs, I don't think for music, but CDs okay, you know iPods. But now we are to the point where you can just use your phone and there's all these things.
Speaker 1:But looking back over time, I thought about some of the other ways that people listened to music and recorded themselves. Some of them, very, very all of them, interesting to me. If you go back into the 1800s, for instance, let's go back. Then you had the wire recordings. This was the earliest practical application of magnetic recording technology and it recorded the audio on this very thin steel wire that passed across the recording head. But although the concept of the magnetic recording dates back to the late 19th century, these wire recorders became commercially viable and very popular in the 1940s. They actually served as essential tools for military communication, dictation, documentation, recording meetings, taking inventory and such. But despite their innovative design, these wire recordings had limitations. They were fragile, very low fidelity, difficult to edit on these things, which led to their replacement, of course, by the magnetic tape of the 40s and 50s. Well, let's take a listen to all of these. This is a wire recording here. Let's take a listen to a wire recording 1800s. Wire recording on Pat's Peeps 321.
Speaker 1:Then came the 1930s and a new technology. It was called Tefafone. Tefafone was a very unique audio format introduced from Germany in the 1940s. Can you imagine Combining elements of both tape and vinyl technology? Unlike conventional tape cartridges, the Tefafone cartridges contain an endless loop of plastic tape with some grooves which allow playback on a stylus, kind of like a phonograph, like a record. It was originally developed for military use to transmit long messages. Tefafone was later then marketed to the public, offering up to four hours of music per cartridge, which was ideal for classical works, compilations and if you wanted to continue to listen. But format struggled, at least commercially. Vinyl records took over. Here is a Tefafone recording. By this time vinyl records had become the dominant medium, supported by the artist contracts, widespread consumer adoption. So the tefafone machines and the cartridges remained just kind of a niche product and then in the 60s they fizzled out. That was the end of the Tefafone. Then in the 1950s 1958, it was invented.
Speaker 1:The RCA tape cartridge was designed. This was supposed to be very convenient. This is kind of an alternative to these big, bulky reel-to-reel tape machines, which is another, and by the way, those were really good sound quality. I always thought the tape machines, the reel-to-reels, but they were cumbersome and tough to deal with. But this offered high-fidelity audio in a preloaded ready-to-play format. And these cartridges contained half-inch magnetic tape which was housed in a rectangular case, allowed listeners to enjoy reel-to-reel quality without the hassle of threading the tape manually the hassle of threading the tape manually. So here is a recording from the RCA tape cartridge.
Speaker 2:Here's a little commercial for it. Actually A baby's first words the glory of stereophonic sound. You can record both on tape with this RCA Victor tape cartridge recorder. Rca Victor tape recorders are so easy to operate. You can actually do it blindfolded. Just snap in the cartridge, turn the dials and you're all set to record or play. What you're hearing now is a pre-recorded tape cartridge. This is the newest way to enjoy fine music. See the full line of RCA Victor tape cartridge recorders. They start from as little as $99.95 for this monophonic model At your RCA Victor dealers Monophonic model.
Speaker 1:That is cool, but despite the technical promise it suffered this format from bad timing. Five years later, in 63, phillips launched the compact cassette smaller, more versatile, and that of course, as we know, became the standard. In 1964 there was a new thing invented, was called the Saba mobile, again from Germany, german electronics Saba. This company from Germany attempts to stake its claim in the emerging market for in-car stereo with Saba mobile. Almost sounds like something we hear now. The format itself a magnetic tape cartridge resembling a hybrid between a VHS tape and a compact cassette compatible with four-track tapes. That's another format we haven't talked about and designed specifically for automobile use, specifically for automobiles. And so these players. They included a built-in radio and speakers usually, and had like a self-contained entertainment system for drivers, very expensive at the time. But ultimately they lose out to the more affordable, widely adopted yes 8-track, which again became the standard for the 60s and the 70s. But I thought we could listen to some. Saba Mobile 1964. Here you go Saba Mobile, pat's Peeps 321.
Speaker 1:Moving into the later 60s Playtapes Compact two-track magnetic tape cartridges 1921,. Moving into the later 60s play tapes Compact two-track magnetic tape cartridges introduced in 66. Smaller, more portable alternative to the larger four-track cartridges. Tiny little size Made them very appealing for your home, for the car and even some car manufacturers, even Volkswagen, offered Playtape players as an option for their audio equipment. They got a modest lineup of artists who actually released recordings specifically on Playtape. So for a little bit there they were kind of popular. But again the 4-track, the 8-track, eventually the compact, this whole stuff overshadowed them and by the 70s they were gone from the market.
Speaker 1:Here's some play tape, if you ask me. It almost sounds like an answering machine. That kind of quality. All right, continuing on here. How are you? Happy Monday, by the way. Mighty tinies this is incredibly odd.
Speaker 1:Following the introduction of major audio formats, children's novelty recordings often emerge as an offshoot. In the era of vinyl, this innovation came in the form of Ohio Art Company's Mighty Tinies. It was originally released by Pointer Products and this company was known for gimmick toys. As you'll find out, I guess it was later licensed to Ohio Art and these miniature records. They were little tiny records, vinyl records in little mini vinyl record covers. They were pretty cool looking, actually Just two inches in diameter and each held 30 to 40 seconds of music. And you get this accompanying record player, a little tiny handheld record player opened up like a flip phone, with a built-in stereo sound. Air quotes ran on a single AA battery. These were sold in multi-packs. Over 50 titles were produced in total. Here you go. Here's a little mighty tiny, smallest record player in the world. You know, as I move on to this next one, this one to me sounded really nice, but the 70s analog and stuff to me sounded beautiful, beautiful. This is a good example of it.
Speaker 1:I had never heard of the El Cassette. El Cassette, mid-70s, compact cassettes surging in popularity. Sony, panasonic and TIAC growing concerned that the small cassettes audio quality could never match that of a reel-to-reel tape. So what are they going to do about it? Well, they're going to invent Elcalax, elcassette, elcalax, elcassette, elcalax, a larger cassette-like format combining convenience of cassettes with wider tape and higher fidelity. So if you were an audiophile, they were looking for you, looking for superior sound without the complexity of reel-to-reel decks. This had its technical advantage. However, the L-Cassette struggled to gain mainstream popularity when it was released. The advancements in standard cassette technology, better tape formulations, noise reduction I always remember that, so that kind of narrowed the quality gap. So the L cassette said bye-bye. But listen now I think this sounds really good. Here's the L cassette 1978. Oh, skip, edge, I love this song. Oh galoo. So that is the El Cossette 1978.
Speaker 1:And a couple of final things here. If you go to 88, this is a little bit different, actually, pocket Rockers, an 80s novelty by Fisher Price. Pocket Rockers I don't know, fisher Price was a kid's toy, wasn't it? Mini cassette-style tapes designed for elementary school kids, smaller than an 8-track. Each cartridge contained two mono tracks, typically featuring contemporary pop stars Madonna, michael Jackson, some others. They had these really nice multicolored players which little girls maybe would wear as accessories. Put them on their clothing, clip them on and they would turn music, listening into a personal and fashion statement. And this was launched in the mid-80s, discontinued in the 1990s, by the way. Today these little things remain highly collectible. They love these. Here's a commercial for the Pocket Rockers 88.
Speaker 3:Introducing Pocket Rockers Tiny tapes, tiny players Down on the corner, out in the street, pocket Rockers Playing with music.
Speaker 1:Well, that's before Fogarty had the rights to his songs there. Huh, Feel the beat Pocket Rockers Playing here. Where On anywhere Down? Feel the beat Pocket Rockers Play them here?
Speaker 3:Wear them anywhere Down on the corner.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because all the kids are listening to remade Creedence songs done by some random pop group production group.
Speaker 3:Out in the street. Pocket Rockers Play it when the music feels the beat. Tiny players, tiny tapes. Pocket Rockers. Tapes and accessories sold separately. Batteries not included from Fisher.
Speaker 1:From Fisher Price, wow. And finally in 2000,. Hit Clips, late 90s, 2000,. Tiger Electronics, targeting the teen market with Hit Clips. It was a compact, collectible music player, served as a well, I guess, I guess Is it like a pocket rocker, I mean, I think maybe the successor, since it came later. These devices played 60-second song snippets. Can you imagine that You're just getting into the song and it stops? Whoa, wait, 60-second song snippets via a microchip cartridge designed specifically for the player featuring britney spears in sync pink. And the cartridges include clips for attaching to backpacks or maybe to your keychain or your belt loop. So they were portable and, again, fashion accessories and they were around for a while. But their affordability, their accessibility, helped this format achieve some pretty impressive sales. They sold over 30 million of these Hit Clips.
Speaker 2:Hit it. Coming at you right between the ears is Hit Clips, music to get you grooving. Hit Clips with the micro boom box. Load the mother load. You could see he's the way you love me. Some of these songs available now More this fall. You can collect them all Hit clips, each sold separately.
Speaker 1:Or at least 60 seconds of the song. Anyhow, speaking of music, I pulled this record from my rare 45 shelves.
