The Music Never Stopped
Music has shaped my entire life in one way or another. When I was just an embryo in the primordial ooze, I was jamming to The Grateful Dead, Beatles, John Lennon, and so on. True story. My parents would specifically play music for me while I was still in the womb. I imagine I probably kicked along with the beat. And the journey only got better from there.
When I was just 8 months old, the Grateful Dead came to town for three nights. My Dad wanted to take me along, but they decided against it the first night. Fortunately, they rethought things and I was along for the ride in my tie-dyed onesie the second night. The report is: I loved it so much they brought me back for the third night as well.
All throughout my childhood, I grew up listening to music. When mom would leave somewhere for a trip or whatnot, dad would always buy a bag of candy, crank the stereo and proceed to throw candy as we danced around to The Dead, The Clash, Rage Against The Machine, Rolling Stones, R.E.M. and whatever tapes were lying around. When I got a little older (age 8 or 9), I was given a stereo with a basic two-deck tape player, and a handful of tapes dad recommended. Thus entered The Guess Who into my life. I can still remember the first time I heard American Woman. Man, that guitar riff blew my mind! I didn't get much sleep that night, nor any night for the following month or so. Every time that song ended, I'd jump out of bed, hit rewind and listen to the song over and over and over again. Around that same time, I also discovered The Beatles for myself. The White Album. I listened to that album a million times; going on adventures with Bungalow Bill and Rocky Raccoon. The first time I listened to the B side of the second half of the album and discovered Revolution 9 I flipped out. I was terrified that the player was eating the tape, cause something was definitely wrong! Strange noises and stereo effects. I was relieved when I found out it was just a bizarre drug-fueled experiment, and my tape would continue to work.
At the Age of 12, I made a goal to read the entire unabridged works of William Shakespeare in a year. My Grandpa offered me $100 if I could complete it. That $100 plus the money I had saved from mowing lawns, birthdays, and every cent I owned went towards buying the first thing I'd ever purchased in my life. The complete Beatles albums in a collector's boxed set. Still the best $300 I've ever spent. Not long after that, I had every single lyric to every Beatles song memorized by heart. Probably still know most of them I'd imagine.
Just shy of 14 yrs old, I bought a computer, and my music education truly began. iTunes was the door. I began gathering all the music from around our house and adding it to my library. No small task. Not unlike The Guess Who, I'll never forget sitting down and listening to Rage Against The Machine, truly paying attention and trying to figure out what they were all about. Bombtrack. Morello's guitar on that song and even whole first album mesmerized me. How could anything sound like that?! I was hooked.
I remember hearing some people mention Tom Waits. My dad only had one album of his at that time. Nighthawks at the Diner. Pretty random album to own, and certainly not a very comprehensive introduction to Tom Waits' repertoire. The first time I listened to the album I thought "What the hell is this?" A few months later I revisited it and thought "How the hell do I get more of this?!" I soon received his entire discography from my Uncle Pete, along with a lot of other music. Mr. Waits and I have had a strong relationship ever since. His music has truly become a part of who I am. Etched into my heart with a pair of rusty scissors.
I continued to expand my music collection, got a 30gb iPod for Christmas, but quickly outgrew it as I had far too much music to fit. I bought a 160 GB iPod the first chance I had and filled it to the brim. going on 10 years later, I still use that iPod almost daily.
In 2007 I traveled with Dad and a few family friends to Red Rocks Amphitheater just outside Denver and saw Bob Dylan two nights in a row. Wow. The first concert I remember going to. That kicked off the concert addiction right there. I've seen 9 other concerts at Red Rocks, and 81 other concerts since then (not including local bands or classical music).
May 16th, 2009 my life was changed forever. with some family friends, Dad and I drove to The Gorge Amphitheater in Washington, (one of the most scenic venues ever, along with Red Rocks). There was saw The Doobie Brothers opening for The Allman Brothers, with The Dead headlining. That's right. A 9-hour jam band concert. You will never be able to understand The Grateful Dead unless you get to see them doing their thing live. I'll probably write a specific post on this at some point, so I'll spare the details for now, but after the show, I was hardly able to listen to any other band than The Dead for the next 3 years. Nothing could touch them. I've seen various incarnations of The Grateful Dead 22 times now. The Dead Head family is as much a part of my family as anyone else really. The last week before I left on my mission to Korea, Dad and I took a trip to see them 4 nights at Red Rocks, and a week or so after I got home, we were in Vegas to see them two more nights.
I feel blessed, and absolutely amazed at how many great bands and musicians I've been able to see perform live, spanning so many genres. The past two years since I've been off my mission, I've clocked over 25,000 miles traveling to concerts around the western half of the country (as a comparison, the circumference of the earth is roughly 24,900 miles).
All throughout my life I've continued to discover new bands, and learn to appreciate various styles of music. So many albums and songs bring back distinct memories and places when I listen to them. A lifetime of memories attached. Certainly, favorites come and go as seasons and moods change (for example U2 War is a winter album, The Doors are great for early summer, and I always enjoy Traditional Chinese music in the autumn, etc.) but I always revisit every band at some point. See the music in a different light, gain a new perspective, or relate to it in a different way, that's one of the joys!
Music is truly one of the most powerful forces in the world. Like no other thing I can think of: music brings people together, regardless of race, nationalities, religions, genders, economic, social and political backgrounds. And brings them together in a largely harmonious and joyful celebration. Music tears down walls and unites all who are ready to listen. Can you hear the music?
When I was just 8 months old, the Grateful Dead came to town for three nights. My Dad wanted to take me along, but they decided against it the first night. Fortunately, they rethought things and I was along for the ride in my tie-dyed onesie the second night. The report is: I loved it so much they brought me back for the third night as well.
All throughout my childhood, I grew up listening to music. When mom would leave somewhere for a trip or whatnot, dad would always buy a bag of candy, crank the stereo and proceed to throw candy as we danced around to The Dead, The Clash, Rage Against The Machine, Rolling Stones, R.E.M. and whatever tapes were lying around. When I got a little older (age 8 or 9), I was given a stereo with a basic two-deck tape player, and a handful of tapes dad recommended. Thus entered The Guess Who into my life. I can still remember the first time I heard American Woman. Man, that guitar riff blew my mind! I didn't get much sleep that night, nor any night for the following month or so. Every time that song ended, I'd jump out of bed, hit rewind and listen to the song over and over and over again. Around that same time, I also discovered The Beatles for myself. The White Album. I listened to that album a million times; going on adventures with Bungalow Bill and Rocky Raccoon. The first time I listened to the B side of the second half of the album and discovered Revolution 9 I flipped out. I was terrified that the player was eating the tape, cause something was definitely wrong! Strange noises and stereo effects. I was relieved when I found out it was just a bizarre drug-fueled experiment, and my tape would continue to work.
At the Age of 12, I made a goal to read the entire unabridged works of William Shakespeare in a year. My Grandpa offered me $100 if I could complete it. That $100 plus the money I had saved from mowing lawns, birthdays, and every cent I owned went towards buying the first thing I'd ever purchased in my life. The complete Beatles albums in a collector's boxed set. Still the best $300 I've ever spent. Not long after that, I had every single lyric to every Beatles song memorized by heart. Probably still know most of them I'd imagine.
Just shy of 14 yrs old, I bought a computer, and my music education truly began. iTunes was the door. I began gathering all the music from around our house and adding it to my library. No small task. Not unlike The Guess Who, I'll never forget sitting down and listening to Rage Against The Machine, truly paying attention and trying to figure out what they were all about. Bombtrack. Morello's guitar on that song and even whole first album mesmerized me. How could anything sound like that?! I was hooked.
I remember hearing some people mention Tom Waits. My dad only had one album of his at that time. Nighthawks at the Diner. Pretty random album to own, and certainly not a very comprehensive introduction to Tom Waits' repertoire. The first time I listened to the album I thought "What the hell is this?" A few months later I revisited it and thought "How the hell do I get more of this?!" I soon received his entire discography from my Uncle Pete, along with a lot of other music. Mr. Waits and I have had a strong relationship ever since. His music has truly become a part of who I am. Etched into my heart with a pair of rusty scissors.
I continued to expand my music collection, got a 30gb iPod for Christmas, but quickly outgrew it as I had far too much music to fit. I bought a 160 GB iPod the first chance I had and filled it to the brim. going on 10 years later, I still use that iPod almost daily.
In 2007 I traveled with Dad and a few family friends to Red Rocks Amphitheater just outside Denver and saw Bob Dylan two nights in a row. Wow. The first concert I remember going to. That kicked off the concert addiction right there. I've seen 9 other concerts at Red Rocks, and 81 other concerts since then (not including local bands or classical music).
May 16th, 2009 my life was changed forever. with some family friends, Dad and I drove to The Gorge Amphitheater in Washington, (one of the most scenic venues ever, along with Red Rocks). There was saw The Doobie Brothers opening for The Allman Brothers, with The Dead headlining. That's right. A 9-hour jam band concert. You will never be able to understand The Grateful Dead unless you get to see them doing their thing live. I'll probably write a specific post on this at some point, so I'll spare the details for now, but after the show, I was hardly able to listen to any other band than The Dead for the next 3 years. Nothing could touch them. I've seen various incarnations of The Grateful Dead 22 times now. The Dead Head family is as much a part of my family as anyone else really. The last week before I left on my mission to Korea, Dad and I took a trip to see them 4 nights at Red Rocks, and a week or so after I got home, we were in Vegas to see them two more nights.
I feel blessed, and absolutely amazed at how many great bands and musicians I've been able to see perform live, spanning so many genres. The past two years since I've been off my mission, I've clocked over 25,000 miles traveling to concerts around the western half of the country (as a comparison, the circumference of the earth is roughly 24,900 miles).
All throughout my life I've continued to discover new bands, and learn to appreciate various styles of music. So many albums and songs bring back distinct memories and places when I listen to them. A lifetime of memories attached. Certainly, favorites come and go as seasons and moods change (for example U2 War is a winter album, The Doors are great for early summer, and I always enjoy Traditional Chinese music in the autumn, etc.) but I always revisit every band at some point. See the music in a different light, gain a new perspective, or relate to it in a different way, that's one of the joys!
Music is truly one of the most powerful forces in the world. Like no other thing I can think of: music brings people together, regardless of race, nationalities, religions, genders, economic, social and political backgrounds. And brings them together in a largely harmonious and joyful celebration. Music tears down walls and unites all who are ready to listen. Can you hear the music?
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