Music has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. The earliest memory of music that I can recall with almost complete clarity was when I was about 4 years old and I was looking through my uncle’s collection of 8-tracks. It was then that I came across the cover artwork of KISS’s 1976 album Destroyer. I remember staring with wide-eyed fascination at Paul Stanley, Peter Criss, Ace Frehley, and Gene Simmons in their iconic costumes and make-up. To a 4-year-old kid like I was, there was something about them that seemed almost other-worldly. In any case, I remember thinking: “If this is what they look like, I just have to hear what they sound like!” So, being the incurably inquisitive tyke that I was, I practically begged my uncle to play it for me. Upon hearing the opening chords of Detroit Rock City, not only was a life-long KISS fan born that day, but so was my life-long love affair with music.
My early years were dominated by 1970s arena rock. Through my uncles, I was listening to bands like Boston, Kansas, Styx, Grand Funk Railroad, Steppenwolf, and Aerosmith. It was my mother who introduced me to the blusey rock sounds of ZZ Top, Molly Hatchet, 38 Special, and Robin Trower. Then, on an unforgettable 10th birthday in 1983, my mother gave me my first vinyl record. It was Van Halen’s 1978 debut album. I was absolutely awe-struck at Eddie Van Halen’s blistering guitar work, and the music itself was some of the hardest rocking that I’ve ever heard. I was all about the rock & roll during the 80s with the advent of the Hair Metal era, with their outstanding guitar solos and melodic lead vocals. I had also begun to get into bands like Judas Priest, with Rob Halford’s signature banshee wail, the dark, menacing riffs of Ozzy Ozbourne and Black Sabbath, and Iron Maiden, with Bruce Dickenson’s take-no-prisoners howl. One of my favorite bands of that era, however, was a group called Stryper. Not only was their music complemented by Michael Sweet’s beautiful, melodic voice, but was also undeniably linked to our mutual Christian faith.
It was only after I started playing the trombone in middle school that I started to develop an appreciation for other types of music. Since then, I’ve grown to love all the work of the classical composers, big band jazz, blues, country bands like Little Big Town, Chris Stapleton, Crystal Gayle, and Garth Brooks, and, most recently, easy listening.
Just a couple of years ago, I discovered a sub-genre of metal that I never knew existed: Symphonic Metal. Honestly, when I first heard the music of Nightwish and Tarja, I had never heard anything so beautiful. To me, there was something about the combination of violins, electric guitars, and operatic vocals that one simply cannot put into words, and I’ve been searching the iTunes store for bands just like them ever since.
As far as how I can help people make music a pivotal part of their lives, I figure the only way I can do that is to convey some of my own experiences on how I incorporate music into my day-to-day life. For example, when I was in college, I found that listening to classical music was a great way to stay focused when I studied. Any kind of music with vocals would be distracting to me. Working out in the gym, however, is another story entirely. I need to listen to music that is hard-driving and motivational, keeping me pumped up enough to get that last rep in. In this case, only the hardest of hard rock will do. Whenever I feel myself in a sort of contemplative mood, I would listen to the Native American-inspired music of Cusco, or Edward Van Fleet. Yanni would help me calm down after a hard day, and Contemporary Christian music would lift me up if I was ever in a dour mood
There you have it, folks! That’s me and music in a nut shell. Feel free to comment or leave a suggestion on how I can improve.