Roger's Blog
A place to put my thoughts...
Music to Soothe the Savage Beast
11/10/24 05:09 PM
I love music. It is, perhaps, my second greatest love after the love for my family and friends. Music means more to me than sports or any of the other diversions I use to fill my life. It has seen me through my worst and best times. It raises me up when I'm feeling down. It fills my soul when I'm feeling fine. It got me through one of the worst periods of my life, when I was 19 years old. It continues to bring almost perfect joy every day of my life. Music is constantly running through my head. It is my favorite hobby. I would say that my favorite activity is going to see live music, whether it's a world-renowned headliner or a local band that keeps a good beat. Music does, indeed, soothe this savage beast.
I am a hobby drummer. I wish my skills equaled the level of quality in my Alesis electronic drum set but it is unlikely they ever will. I drum because my older brother, J.D., was a drummer, and that's where my love for drumming was born. He had an acoustic drum set and was in a band, and I always wanted to have my own set with my own band. I was a pretty good drummer in grade school ("first seat" through the two years I was in the school band) but when my family moved to another town in 7th grade, I chose to end my organized drumming "career," mostly out of childish spite towards my father for moving me away from what I perceived as a lot of musical opportunities had we not moved. However, this never dampened my spirits for drumming and drummers. I finally made enough money in my career to get a drum set. I wasn't very good since I never took any lessons on a drum set, and my school band "career" was too early for utilizing drum sets. However, I set the bar low by deciding that I would keep my drum set "if I didn't suck." And I didn't suck. I was slightly above average, and that's all I needed to enjoy drumming. So, I have been drumming ever since. There are few things I enjoy more than playing along with my favorite music on my electronic drum set. I am at least "acceptable" enough to feel good about playing to the beat. Again, setting the bar low keeps my expectations low and satisfaction high.
If you ask me what type of music I like, I generally answer, "just about anything." My music collection includes rock, jazz, blues, classical, alternative, reggae, metal, rap, big band, world, bluegrass, Zydeco, R&B, soul, electronic, funk, latin, pop and even some classic country. For decades, the two types of music I claimed I'd never own was country and opera but my daughter convinced me that at least some of the songs I like sounded like country, whether or not I choose to admit it. Therefore, I've embraced my country side. I don't like much country but, I must admit, there are some old country tunes that my parents listened to that I like. Plus, I'm a Johnny Cash fan, and you have to place almost all of his music in the country genre. I still don't have any opera in my collection, and it's hard imagining myself enjoying that but I no longer say "never."
What drives me to have such varied tastes in music? First, as a drummer, I love any music with a good beat. I have found that this covers a lot of music, and it includes music from around the world. Second, my best friend through high school and college, Mark, always had a great collection of different kinds of music, and I found myself wanting to gather as much music as I could. Branching out into different genres has allowed me to widen the options to my musical happiness. The second thing I learned from Mark was to not stick with one era of music. I have since read several articles that point out how most people fall in love with music at a certain age, and that era's music follows them through the rest of their lives. That, to me, is crazy. Wonderful music is created every day. I don't subscribe to the notion that "they don't make great music any more." This statement says more about the listener's inability to adapt to "new" music than it does about any particular generation's music producers. I constantly try to explore new music to find new additions to my music list. A quick check of my iTunes/Music collection shows 14,776 songs from 785 artists. I know that's not all of my music, as I know I haven't added all the music I enjoy to this collection but it's most of the music to which I listen.
When I look at my collection, the odd thing is that most of this music has been "given" to me. No, I don't mean I've pirated all the music. I mean someone introduced me to a particular band or a particular genre, and my appreciation of (and in many cases, eventual love for) this music grew from this introduction. So, despite the fact that I bought the albums/8-track tapes/cassette tapes/CDs/digital files of all my music, I still attribute that band or genre to that person. For example, my older sister, Peggy, gave me my love for soul/R&B/Motown music. She loved Sly & the Family Stone and dozens of other artists that I enjoy to this day. At that time, no one else I knew listened to this type of music. She tried to introduce me to Led Zeppelin but, for some reason, I waited way too late in life (when I was 19!) to appreciate them. My friend, Mark, gave me Aerosmith, Genesis, UFO and lots of blues artists. A work friend, and truly good friend that I lost track of, Neil, introduced me to Southern Rock of which, up to that point in my life, I had no respect for. That all changed with Little Feat and ZZ Top. He also introduced me to Crosby, Stills and Nash (and Neil Young, both with and without CSN). My old boss, Jeff, told me one day that he thought I'd like Zydeco music, and he was absolutely right. To me, introducing someone to music you love is one of the greatest gifts you can give to another person. My dad tried to give me Big Band music but I was too young to understand that "old" music could be good. One of my greatest regrets is not letting him know how much I love the music he loved, as that appreciation didn't occur until after his death. He did take my brother and I to a concert with Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa and a third amazing drummer I can never remember in Roberts Stadium at Evansville, Indiana when I was about 5 or 6 years old. That was officially my first concert but I was simply too young to appreciate it. The good news is, as I grew to love jazz and big band music, I was able to see Buddy Rich again twice before he died. In fact, the last time was about 6 months before he died.
If there's anything I can impart to you about music, it's to experience as much of it as possible. Listen to new music with an open mind. Too many people discount a particular music genre before they give it a chance. It took several attempts before I learned to appreciate rap but it was inevitable, due to my love of a good percussive beat, even when it's created electronically. I tend to dislike some rap for the lyrical content but most rap, in my opinion, is good. No one gave me rap. I just decided one day that this was one of those genres that I had decided I didn't like. When that happens, it compels me to discover as much as I can to see if there are some artists out there that I can appreciate. Eminem was that artist for me. Rap is not for everyone. Indeed, Eminem is not for everyone. But I respect his talent and the vast majority of his lyrics.
I would also encourage you to experience more live music, even if it is just a local band. There are a lot of talented local bands! If you live in a decent-size city, your community likely offers free concerts so that you can experience a variety of music without spending any money. My wife and I were thrilled to learn that Ocala offers free community concerts during the winter months when the weather isn't as brutal (remember, I live in central Florida). I have seen and heard amazing rock, blues and latin music for no more than the price of the gas it took me to drive to a local park. There are few things in life that put a permanent smile on my face like experiencing live music.
If you know me, and feel you have a particular artist, band or genre of music of which I may not be familiar, PLEASE pass it along. It's the greatest gift you could give me, and I guarantee you that I will remember who gave me this gift for the rest of my life. I guess that makes me a music geek. It is a moniker I am proud of. I hope I can make one of you, too.
Until my next entry…
I am a hobby drummer. I wish my skills equaled the level of quality in my Alesis electronic drum set but it is unlikely they ever will. I drum because my older brother, J.D., was a drummer, and that's where my love for drumming was born. He had an acoustic drum set and was in a band, and I always wanted to have my own set with my own band. I was a pretty good drummer in grade school ("first seat" through the two years I was in the school band) but when my family moved to another town in 7th grade, I chose to end my organized drumming "career," mostly out of childish spite towards my father for moving me away from what I perceived as a lot of musical opportunities had we not moved. However, this never dampened my spirits for drumming and drummers. I finally made enough money in my career to get a drum set. I wasn't very good since I never took any lessons on a drum set, and my school band "career" was too early for utilizing drum sets. However, I set the bar low by deciding that I would keep my drum set "if I didn't suck." And I didn't suck. I was slightly above average, and that's all I needed to enjoy drumming. So, I have been drumming ever since. There are few things I enjoy more than playing along with my favorite music on my electronic drum set. I am at least "acceptable" enough to feel good about playing to the beat. Again, setting the bar low keeps my expectations low and satisfaction high.
If you ask me what type of music I like, I generally answer, "just about anything." My music collection includes rock, jazz, blues, classical, alternative, reggae, metal, rap, big band, world, bluegrass, Zydeco, R&B, soul, electronic, funk, latin, pop and even some classic country. For decades, the two types of music I claimed I'd never own was country and opera but my daughter convinced me that at least some of the songs I like sounded like country, whether or not I choose to admit it. Therefore, I've embraced my country side. I don't like much country but, I must admit, there are some old country tunes that my parents listened to that I like. Plus, I'm a Johnny Cash fan, and you have to place almost all of his music in the country genre. I still don't have any opera in my collection, and it's hard imagining myself enjoying that but I no longer say "never."
What drives me to have such varied tastes in music? First, as a drummer, I love any music with a good beat. I have found that this covers a lot of music, and it includes music from around the world. Second, my best friend through high school and college, Mark, always had a great collection of different kinds of music, and I found myself wanting to gather as much music as I could. Branching out into different genres has allowed me to widen the options to my musical happiness. The second thing I learned from Mark was to not stick with one era of music. I have since read several articles that point out how most people fall in love with music at a certain age, and that era's music follows them through the rest of their lives. That, to me, is crazy. Wonderful music is created every day. I don't subscribe to the notion that "they don't make great music any more." This statement says more about the listener's inability to adapt to "new" music than it does about any particular generation's music producers. I constantly try to explore new music to find new additions to my music list. A quick check of my iTunes/Music collection shows 14,776 songs from 785 artists. I know that's not all of my music, as I know I haven't added all the music I enjoy to this collection but it's most of the music to which I listen.
When I look at my collection, the odd thing is that most of this music has been "given" to me. No, I don't mean I've pirated all the music. I mean someone introduced me to a particular band or a particular genre, and my appreciation of (and in many cases, eventual love for) this music grew from this introduction. So, despite the fact that I bought the albums/8-track tapes/cassette tapes/CDs/digital files of all my music, I still attribute that band or genre to that person. For example, my older sister, Peggy, gave me my love for soul/R&B/Motown music. She loved Sly & the Family Stone and dozens of other artists that I enjoy to this day. At that time, no one else I knew listened to this type of music. She tried to introduce me to Led Zeppelin but, for some reason, I waited way too late in life (when I was 19!) to appreciate them. My friend, Mark, gave me Aerosmith, Genesis, UFO and lots of blues artists. A work friend, and truly good friend that I lost track of, Neil, introduced me to Southern Rock of which, up to that point in my life, I had no respect for. That all changed with Little Feat and ZZ Top. He also introduced me to Crosby, Stills and Nash (and Neil Young, both with and without CSN). My old boss, Jeff, told me one day that he thought I'd like Zydeco music, and he was absolutely right. To me, introducing someone to music you love is one of the greatest gifts you can give to another person. My dad tried to give me Big Band music but I was too young to understand that "old" music could be good. One of my greatest regrets is not letting him know how much I love the music he loved, as that appreciation didn't occur until after his death. He did take my brother and I to a concert with Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa and a third amazing drummer I can never remember in Roberts Stadium at Evansville, Indiana when I was about 5 or 6 years old. That was officially my first concert but I was simply too young to appreciate it. The good news is, as I grew to love jazz and big band music, I was able to see Buddy Rich again twice before he died. In fact, the last time was about 6 months before he died.
If there's anything I can impart to you about music, it's to experience as much of it as possible. Listen to new music with an open mind. Too many people discount a particular music genre before they give it a chance. It took several attempts before I learned to appreciate rap but it was inevitable, due to my love of a good percussive beat, even when it's created electronically. I tend to dislike some rap for the lyrical content but most rap, in my opinion, is good. No one gave me rap. I just decided one day that this was one of those genres that I had decided I didn't like. When that happens, it compels me to discover as much as I can to see if there are some artists out there that I can appreciate. Eminem was that artist for me. Rap is not for everyone. Indeed, Eminem is not for everyone. But I respect his talent and the vast majority of his lyrics.
I would also encourage you to experience more live music, even if it is just a local band. There are a lot of talented local bands! If you live in a decent-size city, your community likely offers free concerts so that you can experience a variety of music without spending any money. My wife and I were thrilled to learn that Ocala offers free community concerts during the winter months when the weather isn't as brutal (remember, I live in central Florida). I have seen and heard amazing rock, blues and latin music for no more than the price of the gas it took me to drive to a local park. There are few things in life that put a permanent smile on my face like experiencing live music.
If you know me, and feel you have a particular artist, band or genre of music of which I may not be familiar, PLEASE pass it along. It's the greatest gift you could give me, and I guarantee you that I will remember who gave me this gift for the rest of my life. I guess that makes me a music geek. It is a moniker I am proud of. I hope I can make one of you, too.
Until my next entry…