Sunday, August 22, 2010

This is me

I'm a musician, born into a family of musicians, who grew up playing with some of the best musicians around. My father traveled with such renowned musicians like Johnny Cash, toured with bands over seas, established connections with members from such old school hits like Petra (if you don't know who they are then I suggest you look into them, great band), and even had multiple offers to tour with huge country and gospel bands during that time.
I personally have been involved in music since I was 12, when I decided to pick up the drums. Since that time, I have toured America with a youth band and played with top-notch professional musicians from Florida and Nashville. I plucked at the guitar for a year or two, never really attempting to learn, when I was 17, then one day an offer came up to travel with a band playing lead guitar, so a good friend and AMAZING professional lead guitarist taught me (thank you Danny). That, combined with a guitar course I took in college, launched me out into the world of guitarists. I picked up bass somewhere along the line but I don't really remember when, I just sort of naturally adapted to it.

All that being said, I used to have a very one-sided opinion of music. I hated anything with screaming in it, I hated country, I hated rap, etc. etc. Until one day, traveling in Ireland, I came across a drummer from Italy who completely revolutionized the way I thought about music. We met on a bus, spoke for a little bit and I finally asked if he was in a band. He said yes, he played in a black metal band -my brother listens to that sort of music, and my brother hates most other styles of music despite being one of the best musicians I've ever known in my life- so I automatically assumed he listened to nothing else other than the underground styles of metal. But, to my surprise, I was wrong. This particular man also played in a pop band with his dad. POP. I was astounded. And when I asked why the strange mix of music he told me this (paraphrasing of course), "As a drummer, or a musician in general, it is important to be familiar with all genres that your instrument is associated with. Limiting your taste in music limits your ability as a musician."
I will never forget that lesson for the rest of my life.

To wrap this up, I hope this back-story gives me more credibility as a critic of music, and I hope it gives you more insight into how I think.


Sincerely,
Alex.

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