When It Began Pt. 1

Ok, since I'm kinda starting fresh here, I'm gonna bore you all with a little personal background. And since I'm determined to keep this blog focused on music, I'll leave out all the bits that are not music related. Like basketball, the shampoo factory, and the 1970 Dodge Dart.

I came from a fairly musical family. My dad, with his brother and cousin, played in a local country band in the 70's. My mother gave piano lessons and played organ in the church. My earliest musical memories are tagging along with my dad to various gigs, mostly wedding dances, and playing pinball and drinking root beer while he played. A lot of those old country standards are still part of my blood, I know more of them than I care to admit.

Music at home came from two sources: One, Top 40 Radio, and the other, Dad's record collection. Top 40 at the time meant Billy Joel, Kenny Rogers, and the Village People. But of more interest to me was a few select albums my dad had. High Tide And Green Grass - The Best Of The Rolling Stones and The Animals Greatest Hits. These were raw, wild sounds in comarison to the multiple Elvis albums in the stack. I was instantly attracted to this more edgy sound.

Some where around age 12, I recieved a birthday present that would set me on a course of compulsion that follows me today. I got a Sears boom-box. I just needed something to play in it. At first, I recorded songs directly off the radio by holding the internal microphone on the front of the boom box up to the stereo speakers. But this was clumsy, poor sounding, and hit-or-miss weather I could actually catch the radio station playing a song I wanted.

So I found an easier method. The cassette section at K-Mart. The hit on the radio at the time was Centerfold by the J. Geils Band. I had to have this, so I pestered my mom about it until she let me buy the tape a K-Mart. My first album of my very own. Little was I to know that thousands would follow.

to be continued.....