If Memory Serves

All things have their time and here at If Memory Serves we've realized that our time has come. Join us for one final trip down memory lane as Taylor & Seb close out the show with some previously unshared memories and a final trip around their childhood home. And be sure to join them next month as they launch their next venture: All Night with the Living Geeks! Find that at allnightgeeks on Instagram and Twitter so you can be alerted when the first episode drops!

In many ways, one would have to go back to the year 1918 (influenza pandemic) to find a year comparable to 2020. However, in at least one respect 2020 takes us straight back to 1992 and the golden age of our childhood: it was the last time a sitting US President lost his re-election bid. Join us this month as we shake our voodoo stick at the 1992 Election cycle that gave us such gems as InDecision 92, MTV's Rock the Vote advertisements, and the charming craziness that was Ross Perot!

November is here and with it the first crisp days of Autumn (at least in California). This month, Taylor and Seb talk about their Thanksgiving memories going down to visit family in Porterville, CA. Join them for all the fixings and some fantastic memories. And stay tuned for a special announcement toward the end of the episode about the future of the show!

Grab your flight suit and hop aboard, Seb & Taylor are back with a new episode! This month we look back at our earliest exposure to anime: ROBOTECH! From a cartoon show like none we'd seen before, watching it every afternoon after school, to toys and comics and more, we recount our memories of the Macross Saga from the mid-to-late 1980s! Join us for the fun and share us with your friends!

Last year, Taylor had planned to create a grand interview retrospective podcast about his favorite surf film "O'Zone". The reality of pulling together all the people involved proved to be quite the challenge. However, he did record an interview with Director Tony Roberts in May of 2019. This month, to celebrate the film's 30th anniversary, we're releasing that interview with Tony Roberts for all to enjoy. Check out the show notes for links to Tony's work and social media.

The Truth Is Still Out There! In this age of conspiracy theories run rampant, Tic-Tac UFOs, and deep state wackiness, Taylor & Seb look back to a seemingly simpler time when The X Files bred a new generation to trust no one and question everything! They also discuss a great local group they hung out with to watch the show: The Bay Area X Files Encounter Group as well as discuss the impacts of the early internet age on the fandom surrounding The X Files! Grab a pack of Morleys and join us this month on If Memory Serves!

Brick by brick, we assemble this month's episode on LEGOs! They were possibly the one toy that had true staying power through our childhood. We look back at the sets we had, sets we might have had, and recount many stories of why these old LEGO sets still hold a big place in our hearts! Make sure to share the show with friends, drop us a review wherever you consume podcasts, and don't look at what some of these sets go for on eBay these days!

Grab your Walkman, grab your boombox, and dig through your old Case Logic carriers...this month Seb and Taylor are talking about their CASSETTE TAPE MEMORIES! Not just limited to music, the boys recall all sorts of memories connected to old sound effect tapes, compliations, read-along books, Lake Woebegon tales, and lots more! Make sure to follow us on the socials, subscribe, share with your friends, and review us on whatever platform you use!

It's May and while most everyone is doing remote learning with the current pandemic, Taylor & Seb take a look back at their memories of actually being at school. From Kindergarten through to Senior year, they recount some of their best memories (and sometimes rather embarrassing ones) of going to school in San Jose in the 80s and 90s!

What a difference a month makes! With the world changed, Seb & Taylor get back together (a little late, sorry) to continue their look back at shows they remember from Nickelodeon in the 80s and 90s! Join us as we go from Ren & Stimpy, through Hey Dude!, to Today's Special, Green Acres, and more! We also spend a little time catching up on how we're doing now that we're living in the age of a pandemic. So grab yourself a cup o' green slime, settle in, and come along for the ride!

This month, Taylor and Seb set out to remember Nickelodeon as it was in the 80s and 90s. Now, we run into some minor audio issues, but we quickly realize we have enough to run two episodes. So in this first look at Nick, we discuss The Adventures of Pete & Pete, Clarissa Explains it All, You Can't Do that on Television, Double Dare, Finders Keepers, Count Duckula, The Mysterious Cities of Gold, F Troop, Mister Ed, and The Adventures of the Little Koala. Next month, we'll have even more Nickelodeon memories! So be sure to subscribe and stay tuned!

They are more than meets the eye! This month, we look back at one of the toys that defined our childhood! TRANSFORMERS! We look a little at the story of how these Japanese toys gained American backstories and became an iconic 80s toy! From our earliest toys to the shocking experience of watching the 1986 Transformers movie to some of the more ancillary Transformers-esque experiences (Go-Bots, the Steel Justice TV movie), we pay tribute to our friends from Cybertron! Check our show notes for all the details and be sure to share us with friends!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Seb and Taylor are back and trying something new in 2020! It's their first live commentary of an 80s movie! So grab your copy of 1987's Back to the Beach, pop it into whatever will play it, and come along as they talk about, react to, and otherwise enjoy the ever living crud out of this beach movie classic! Don't forget to rate and review us on whatever platform you use and share us with friends!

As we prepare to finish out another decade in this reality, Seb and Taylor uncover a 30 year old relic...an old home movie their family recorded on New Year's Eve 1989. In it, they look back at their favorite things from the 1980s. Taylor and Seb share ten snippets of this decade in review and look back...do those choices hold up with hindsight? What sort of strange things did they enjoy back then? What exactly is Seb holding onto in the video? Join us as we venture back! Rate & review us, please...and share us with friends!

Settle in friends, grab your popcorn, listen to the pianist start playing...the lights will dim, the curtains part...and the show will begin! This month, Seb and Taylor look back at a South Bay institution: The Gaslighter Theatre! It was the location of their parents' first date (they're celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this month, by the way) and the site of many a good memory for each of our boys, too! Join us, please, on this old-timey adventure! Please check the show notes for all the links, rate & review us, and gently caress that subscribe button (everyone else wants you to smash it).

Thirty years ago this month, a 7.1 Quake rocked the San Francisco Bay Area (though the USGS would later revise that to 6.9). The Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants were embroiled in the Battle of the Bay, a World Series event that would ultimately have a big impact on the death toll of the quake. Our hosts were in 8th and 5th grade, home from school, and around the house when the ground started moving. In this episode, Taylor & Seb look back on their memories from the Loma Prieta quake: 5:04pm, October 17, 1989. Join in the discussion on Twitter and Facebook. Share your memories of this event with us.

September has arrived and with it, a new episode of If Memory Serves! This month, Seb & Tay talk about the car and car culture memories that aren't a bunch of old Volkswagens! Family cars, dad's sports car, toys, car shows, and so much more! Check out our show notes for news and other references made in the episode! And please, be sure to rate and review us on whatever platform you listen!

It's August and the summer doldrums have us looking back at those lazy summer afternoons curled up on the couch with one of our cats or watching the fish swim in the aquarium. That's right, it's time for PET MEMORIES! Tay and Seb spend this month's episode remembering our fuzzy (or scaly) friends who added a whole extra dimension to our lives growing up in the 80s and 90s.

Seb and Taylor are back this month with memories of some of their favorite restaurants, foods, and snacks that are no longer with us! It's everything from Bob's Big Boy to their dad scoring the sign from their favorite local Chinese joint to Pudding Pops and even favorite Happy Meal items that would never fly today. Plus, Seb goes on a proper shoot week over his feelings about Patrick Stewart playing a Frenchman!

It's June! It's blockbuster movie season and this month Taylor & Seb look back at their Star Wars memories! The movies, the toys, and so much more! This is a very special episode (despite some technical hiccups) in which the boys recorded live together in the studio! Use the force and check out this episode! Please be sure to rate and review (we'll read future reviews) and support us on Patreon (we'll shout you out there, too)!

Taylor and Seb are back for the month of May with their memories of watching PBS during the 80s and 90s! Sure, we all remember Sesame Street and the regulars, but we dive into some of the more random, unique, and meaningful shows that impacted our lives. From learning to draw, to watching the stars, to traveling through time, and learning what smeg meant...it's all our favorite PBS memories. But you don't have to take our words for it!

Taylor and Seb are back (no joke!) with memories of traveling the world in the People to People Student Ambassador program in 1993 and 1994, respectively. They both had life-changing experiences, made excellent friends, and had some decent mis-adventures along the way. Whether it was bungling the star-spangled banner in New Zealand or trolling the locals with your shirts in Eastern Europe, our hosts have some fantastic memories of this part in their lives! In what's currently their longest episode to date, they cover two three-week trips, five countries, and two hemispheres! Come check it out!

March is here and spring is on the horizon! This month, Seb and Tay take a look at a very massive part of their childhood (and adulthood) as they recount their memories of growing up with air-cooled VWs in the family. Where did it start? What random bits of trivia do they recall? What exactly is the statute of limitations on stealing parts off an abandoned vehicle? They talk about all that and so much more. They could have easily done a three-part series on all their memories and how bittersweet things are today. Come check out the feels and be sure to share it with friends!

Love is in the air again! For our first-ever sequel episode, Taylor and Seb return to talk about another batch of crushes they had as kids growing up in the 80s and 90s. Are there ones you'd expect? Sure! Are there unusual ones? Definitely! Do we have a great time recounting these memories? Always! Come check it out, please rate and review us, and share us with friends!

Welcome 2019! The brothers are back and talking all about their brother vs. brother experience when they both did Civil War Reenacting during the early 90s. After seeing the Ken Burns doco, how did Taylor and Seb find their way into this deep dive on living history? Chafing wool, FARB, saving up for bits of uniform, playing with black powder, death by chocolate, and so much more!

This is our massive Christmas present to you! Not only is IF MEMORY SERVES celebrating their 1st anniversary, they're reviewing the 1985 TV movie Poison Ivy (see show notes at notlg.com/ifmemoryserves for a link to watch the film) AND they're interviewing Matt Shugailo who played Toby Kaplan in the film! Clocking in at nearly 2.5 hours, it's our longest episode to date and there are some serious gems this month! Come check it out!

Seb & Taylor are back with a new episode of If Memory Serves! This month, they're recounting their favorite songs that came out in 1987! And if there was ever an episode that showed how differently the two of these guys think, it's this one!

It's time to get SPooooOoOOOOOOoooky! Seb & Taylor are back to talk about their favorite Halloween memories from their childhood! Come join us as we revisit our costumes, favorite candies, TV and movies, homes we recall, and so much more! Be sure to rate and review us as well as share us with your friends!!

Happy happy birthday from all of us to you! That's right...September is Taylor's birthday month, so this month If Memory Serves looks back at our birthday memories from the 80s and 90s! We look back at Bullwinkles, odd cakes from our youth, toys we loved, toys we forgot we had! Come join us on this journey and be sure to share us with your friends!

YO JOE! That's right, this month Taylor and Seb look back at their memories of playing with G.I. Joe toys, watching the cartoon, reading the comics, and (frankly) just how much G.I. Joe stuff they had! They talk about their favorite characters, favorite vehicles, plus we get a glimpse at what it sounded like playing with these as kids and we interview our uncle Jeff about his memories of G.I. Joe toys from the 60s!

Summer is in full effect and that means it's time for these two valley kids to take a trip to the beach! Our latest episode follows Taylor and Seb as they look at how Surf Culture has influenced their childhood, their memories of Santa Cruz and Capitola, as well as their fashion choices (questionable though they may be) in the late 80s and early 90s! We also venture off into memories of an amazing crystal shop in Capitola and have an in-depth discussion of the 1987 classic film, Back to the Beach. Come listen, share with your friends, and be sure to rate and review us!

Seb and Taylor are back and this time they're talking about camping memories from their youth! Camping in Yosemite, memories of the awesome shuttle buses the Valley had, many of the firsts they had in the home of El Capitan! And why did everyone shout Elmer! in the middle of the evening? Beach camping in their tweens and early teens. Frisbee on a sod farm, body surfing on a rocky beach, and a possible unsubstantiated UFO sighting?! Also, apologies in advance because Taylor was under the weather during the recording and his levels are a bit inconsistent.

This is our longest episode yet!! Strap in, enter the Konami code, get comfortable, and prepare for over two hours of video game discussion from our childhood! Arcade games, computer games, handhelds, consoles, and everything inbetween!

Language warning: there are a couple swears in this episode. But Seb & Taylor are back and this month they're looking at movies they saw too young and perhaps left them with issues into their adulthood. It's a rollercoaster of feels as they revisit a bunch of movies they saw in the 80s and 90s. At times squeamish, at times emotional, at times hilarious; it might be the most personal ep of IMS yet!

Seb and Taylor are back with their March episode! This time they dive deep on THE PARANORMAL! What influences did they have growing up in the 80s and 90s? How did it shape their otherworldly view? UFO, ghosts, cryptids, and government conspiracies? They cover it all!

Love is in the air! Or is that just the smell of deep nostalgia as Seb and Taylor look back to their childhood celebrity crushes. From cartoons to TV to movies, they dive all through pop culture to discuss the ladies (and perhaps even the guys)they were most drawn to back in the day!

Grab a slice of Sbarro and a lemonade from Hot Dog on a Stick! It's time to join Seb and Taylor as they wander through the shopping malls of their youth! Namely, we spend some time perusing Valley Fair, explore the empty halls of Vallco, and enjoy the outdoor feel of Town & Country Village. We also discuss The Great Mall in Miplitas as well as Oakridge and Eastridge malls. Be sure to follow us on Twitter & Facebook @memoryservespod!

If Memory Serves Episode 001: Christmas OR Boss Hogg in a Snowcat by Night of the Living Geeks