As long as I can remember, music was my everything. I lived it. I played it. I consumed it.
I sold newspaper subscriptions 6 months in advance just to score a few bucks to buy the latest releases from my favorite bands.
Music was my babysitter. At church related events, my parents never worried where I was during meetings because I’d be up sitting in the band on the platform. (At those same church related events were some of the most legendary make out sessions in the history of fully dressed, hands above the waist, groping and kissing EVER!)
It was music that allowed me as an 18yr old freshman in college to travel into Canada to legally have a beer.
In college I’d “volunteer” to work the merch table during concerts because I know I’d land tons of free stuff. I hid in the radio station during chapel. I used the practice rooms to continue the legend that musicians do indeed make better kissers. Music. Music. Music.
I’d carry my damn euphonium all over creation because I couldn’t be separated from it. I had to trick my dad into getting it for me… you better believe I was going to take it everywhere. I earned it.
I found my identity though music. It was all I knew. Music kept the fragments of my life intact. I could always come back to it when things got tough. Music allowed me to mask my weaknesses. As long as I had music in my life I was safe. I was in control.
I’ve travelled the world. I’ve done shit. I even got my first job.
Thanks, Music!!!
Today, my playing days are long gone. It’s okay. Each chapter of life is like a short story ; Standing on its own. We appreciate them for what they are and move on using the good memories of one to fuel the other.
Starting this blog was never something I was actually willing to consider. It was a song on that Sunday morning which opened the gate to some parallel dimension of my being. (Yes, I’ve been watching “Stranger Things” on Netflix). Writing has become such an incredible form of healing.
I put together a Spotify playlist of all the songs which has inspired all those jumbled words you’ve read in theses pages. If you were ever curious. Now is your chance to satisfy that curiosity.
I hope it inspires you like it has me.
Music truly is the tie that binds.
“Now That My Playlist Has Your Attention”
