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I'm assuming that by now you have read our homepage which is repleat with band history and such; so I'll endeavor to avoid being redundant in what follows on this page.
For my part, music (and rock music in particular) has been an integral part of my life for as long as I can remember. I think that I was about five years old when I had my first exposure to the supergroup known as Kiss. My babysitters used to have their boyfriends come over while my parents were gone and crank up the jams on our stereo system. On one evening back in 1975 or so; one of the guys brought over the Destroyer album and I was stunned by the utter coolness of the cover! From that point on, I found myself drawn to Rock-n-Roll in a progressively maturing and diversifying fashion.
While growing up I got into a myriad of bands; with the general inertia being in the heavy direction. I remember my first audio encounter with Black Sabbath at the tender age of ten. It filled me with wonder and trepidation, all at once, because the music was unlike any I'd ever imagined; but the some of the lyrical portrayals were frightening to me (particularly in song which bears the band's name)! This was the same year that AC/DC, Highway to Hell was released and a matter of months before then lead singer Bon Scott died under what were rumored to be "mysterious circumstances." You know the drill, "He sold his soul to the devil for fame and stardom and the devil came to collect!" In fact, I recall that it was within a year of this incident that John Bonham of Led Zeppelin died an untimely death and John Lennon was assassinated! So, what do you think about the demonic conspiracy theory alluded to, by some people, with respect to these historic events? Does anyone really make "deals" with the devil? If so, does he even have the power to hold up his end of the bargain?
Getting back to the musical influences; it would take too much text to give equal credit and billing to all of the bands whose music has influenced my life and, to a perhaps unequal degree, my music. Therefore, I will give a shotgun list of some of them here:
Now, I'm sure that some of you younger surfers, in particular, are wondering why there are so few "alternative" type bands on the list. Well, suffice it to say that the scope of my list ends just about where the alternative crossed over into the mainstream and that the effect of bands who have come on the scene sense then remains to be seen.
Moving on, as I grew up listening to many bands, (in addition to the aforementioned ones) I developed tastes in music which that long list may not reflect. These would include an appreciation for blues and some jazz, as well as classical and modern symphonic and chamber music (particularly as gained from my exposure to it during my 4 plus years at Portland State University where I have primarily studied music, business, and psychology and where I continue to chase that elusive Bachelor's degree). The more recent years would include an appreciation for industrial bands and even some percussion stuff. Basically, I just love music when it's done well! There are even some country and pop tunes that I have come to dig over the years; but you didn't hear that from me, right?
Even though I've immersed myself in music virtually my whole life, I never really envisioned myself writing and/or performing music of my own creation. To be sure, I had my experiences attempting to take up an instrument at school: playing the recorder and violin in elementary school and snare drum in the junior high marching band; but I did not seem to sustain enough interest to develop the discipline necessary to really excel. Just the same, by the time I was in the eigth grade, I found myself beginning to "perform" in front of people and garnering their applause as I portrayed myself as a guitar player in bands like Def Leppard, A.D., Rush, and Iron Maiden. Still, I just didn't ever seem to consider doing it for real.
Yet, this all changed when I met our bass player Matt. Being mere sophomores in high school, it was nearly unheard of for someone to own and play an instrument which was relevant to Rock-n-Roll. So, almost immediately, I began to take bass lessons from him. In fact, I credit Matt with my being a guitar player today! He put the initial (and I dare say continuous) pressure on me to stop borrowing an electric guitar for lip sync contests and to just buy it outright; so that I could stop "faking it" and begin to "crank out some real music!"
Having made such an investment changed my life-- definately for the better! It was only a matter of about three weeks after buying that guitar before the three of us started jamming together in what would soon become our first band-- Soldier Black.
Looking back, I'd say that I have had some of the best times of my life doing the "band thing" and I wouldn't trade a single experience in that regard for anything! A lot of things have changed over the years, but this conviction remains constant.
So, if you've never considered that you yourself could do music, I say Think again! You most likely have no idea on what you're missing. I assure you that it is worth whatever associated stress and/or sacrifice may be involved.
