"Talking At The Diner" Podcast Ep. 50 ft. David Uosikkinen

I’m excited to share Episode 50 of “Talking At The Diner!" I wanted to ask a heavy hitter to be my 50th guest on the show and when I think of heavy hitters in the Philadelphia music community, my guest really fits the bill not only in terms of his experiences and accomplishments, but he’s literally a heavy hitter sitting behind the drum kit for Philly rock legends The Hooters. David Uosikkinen was raised in Levittown and came of age in the early days of FM rock radio.If you are of a certain age in this part of the world, you already know of the Hooters rise from local heroes to international touring artists. Numerous songs such as "All You Zombies," "And We Danced," "Day By Day," and "Hanging On A Heartbeat" were ubiquitous on radio stations like WMMR. As an aspiring musician growing up in Delaware, it was very motivating to see a Philadelphia band on MTV and performing at Live Aid. And even after 45 years as a band, the Hooters continue to tour and even release new music to this day.My personal connection with Dave Uosikkinen dates back to when I was in my early 20’s fronting the Beat Clinic, the band that would eventually morph into the Caulfields. We were finalists in a national battle of the bands called the Energizer Rock ’n’ Roll Challenge. David was a judge at the battle of the bands and although the Beat Clinic did not win, his words of encouragement to me in a my agony of defeat moment were inspirational to me and played a big part in motivating me to keep on pushing.In the years since to end of Covid, David has invited me to be part of In The Pocket, an all-star collective of musicians who honor the musical history of Philadelphia with tribute recordings and raucous shows. I was excited to get a chance to sit down with David at Minella’s Diner in Wayne, PA for what ended up being an amazing conversation. We talked about his origin story as a musician, the genesis of the Hooters, and there’s also an entertaining story about an encounter with Ace Frehley from Kiss. I am confident you will enjoy this episode!~ JKF