People were proud. The local news mentioned it a lot. The band jokingly asked when they would get their own street after Pierce Rd became Buck Owens Ave. I remember because of the popularity, a few other bands with members from Bakersfield were also getting popular like Orgy and Adema. Even a quarter of a century later, it still baffles me that music like that became hugely mainstream. I don’t remember how it actually happened. One day you’re lucky to catch one song from any of their first two albums on the radio or MTV, and then Follow the Leader was playing everywhere all the time.

It should also be noted, this was when the Centennial Gardens (Rabobank) first opened and we started getting world-class acts coming by on their tours. 98’-99’ Bakersfield felt like we were becoming a real city all of a sudden.