A Life-Changing Event

I thought that I would share a life changing event that I still remember very clearly to this day. It requires a little bit of background information.

When I was younger (12-16), my older brother Jonathan and I got hooked on hardcore and punk music. It wasn't as popular or accessible as it is today, which is probably what got us so hooked. We listened to bands that people had never heard before and the music itself was pretty "underground". We very much enjoyed being "different". We didn't listen to the music that everyone else listened to. Of course, with the music that we listened to came a pretty unique style. We had our ears pierced and gauged (you could stick your finger through the hole in my ear!) and our hair was long and in dreads, or short, bleached and spiked, or incredibly crazy. I had this hair cut that was pretty much a "reverse mullet" that was inspired by the Misfits. My bangs were about 5 inches long and the rest of my head was buzzed! Many people would say we looked like "freaks". And I guess we did.

Being "punk" meant that it wasn't cool to listen to popular music. I never listened to the radio. I never bought the CD's that everyone else had (okay, except for Brittany Spear's first album...I can't believe I just admitted that!). The crazy thing is, you could say that my siblings and I were raised to appreciate classical music.

And appreciate it we did. I played piano for four years while my brother played the cello and our sister played the viola. My favorite mornings were the ones that I would wake up to my mother playing J.S. Bach's cantatas and concertos. Looking back, I attribute my listening to hours of classical music as giving me the ear for music that I have.

And that is why my parents just couldn't understand why my brother and I enjoyed hardcore and punk. We just wanted to be different. We wanted to listen to things that nobody else was listening to.

One evening, I was doing my homework in our family room. My father was in the living room watching TV as he so often did. All of a sudden it occurred to me that he wasn't watching sports or the AMC channel that he usually watched. Instead, I heard an incredible sound. It was a band. Actually, it was The Band. I had to check it out. I knew from the moment that I heard that music that this was one of the best bands I had ever heard. I remember walking into the living room and asking my father what it was that he was watching. A&E was showing The Last Waltz which was the final performance of The Band. My father proceeded to tell me about a group of musicians who would forever change my life and how I listened to, played and appreciated music.

The Band is the best group of musicians that I have ever heard. I find it hard to put into words just how much of an impact that they have had on my appreciation for music. Over the next year, I came out of my punk phase and began to emerse myself in their music. Along the way I discovered musicians that I had heard about, but never actually heard. Musicians such as Emmylou Harris, Dr. John, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Clapton, and of course, Bob Dylan. These musicians were heavily influenced by five men who made music come alive.

I'm not sure why that memory has remained etched in my mind after about 10 years. Since discovering The Band, I've developed a profound love for classic rock. I owe it to The Band. In my opinion, there is nothing better.

Except for Bach's cantatas and concertos.