My Life on Music and Wax
Throughout my life, I have always had a deep passion for music. Growing up my father raised me and my brother on music by bands like the Beatles and KISS. However, it wasn’t until middle school that I had my musical awaking and began my dive into the deep and complicated world of rock music. I became hooked on harder bands like Pantera, who I have a tattoo of and remain one of my favorite bands. Wanting to do more with music and become more involved, I began teaching myself how to play the guitar and bass, and have recorded lots of material over the years in my father’s home studio. While I loved hard rock and metal, it wasn’t until I was a freshmen in high school that I discovered the music which would change my life.
Although I grew up with and always loved the Beatles, it had been many years since I had sat down and listened to them. That changed one fall morning, when just after waking up, Strawberry Fields Forever came on and captivated me. While I had heard the song many times before, I saw it in a new light. I quickly became obsessed with 60s and 70s psychedelic rock and began discovering so much music in such a short period of time, to where all I did was listen to music all day. My passion for this music was heavily intensified when I first heard the album Are You Experienced? By the Jimi Hendrix Experience. I listened to the entire thing start to finish, analyzing each sound and rhythm. I soon became obsessed with other bands like Black Sabbath, Cream, the Doors, Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd, and many others. There was something about the sound of this music that interested me so much that all I wanted to do was hear more. I began exploring outside of psychedelic rock, discovering bands like Simon and Garfunkel, Fleetwood Mac, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Today 60s and 70s music remains my favorite era for music, although I also enjoyed many others acts from the 80s and 90s such as the Talking Heads, the Police, Alice in Chains, and Tool.
Shortly into my musical journey, I began collecting records. Collecting records has allowed me to hear music in the way that it was meant to be listened to, letting the albums tell a story, and allowing the artist to mesmerize my ears, giving me a physical and audible glimpse into the history of the best era of music. Furthermore, the listening experience is completely different from listening to digital music. On the right system the sound quality is immensely enhanced, giving the listener the full story and experience of how an album is meant to be listened to. I love collecting records, not just for the listening aspect, but for the fun of finding amazing albums for cheap at antique stores.
I enjoy going by myself as I have as much time as I want to continuously flip through bins and bins of records. I find it therapeutic, and it always pays off when I find that amazing find. The other day, I went in the morning to multiple different antique stores, I found so many amazing albums for around three dollars each, such as Rumors by Fleetwood Mac, Crimson and Clover by Tommy James and The Shondells, and Synchronicity by the Police. Among my favorite records in my collection are my dad’s copy of A Farewell to Kings by Rush, a copy of Danny Boy signed by Ray Price to my grandfather, and my dad’s copy of Sergent Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles. However, my all-time favorite record I own is my copy of the White Album by the Beatles. Just because the White album is my favorite album of all time, that is not why it is my favorite record I own. The Record is a 1978 U.S pressing and was pressed on white vinyl. Originally it was my grandfathers, then it was my fathers, and now its mine. The White album has had a massive impact on not just me, but three generations of my family. The album still contains the original pictures of George, John, and Ringo, although its missing Paul as my dad, like every kid in the 70s, had it hanging on his wall.
Music is, without doubt, my biggest passion and has changed my life. Collecting vinyl has given me the opportunity to not just listen, but learn.