Beautiful

Here's how it happened for me: My parents had a music room. The walls were filled with hanging guitars, a mandolin, and a banjo. Along the west wall was an old organ and occupying the east wall was a rowdy, small piano (that sounded like the one that kicks off Ob-La-Di, Ob-La Da). The master of ceremonies in that room was a record player, flanked by gobs of vinyl records. The Beatles, Paul Simon, Steely Dan, Harry Nilsson, Stevie Wonder, Chicago Transit Authority and countless others provided the soundtrack to my childhood. In that magical music room, I sat transfixed for hours at a time with giant headphones mounted to my small kid head, basking in the sonic wonder. I sang along and banged on pots and pans. Many times, I would just listen, absorbing all the sounds and nuances. I feasted on songs like Coconut - I didn't understand at age 5 why I liked it so much but it's groovy, understated rhythm with a continual C7 chord and goofy voices had me hooked. When I got a little older, I used the loud piano in that room to figure out Chicago's Colour My World. I was smitten with all the major 7 chords and perpetual key changes in that song; I'm fully aware how geeky that is. I really liked how music made me feel. The sunny, nostalgic vibe of Kodachrome by Paul Simon made me happy while Nilsson's Everybody's Talkin' made me melancholy. Then there was the groove: songs like Josie and I Wish (Steely Dan, Stevie Wonder) were lessons in Grooveology 101 and made it impossible for me to sit still. When our family got a tape recorder, I recruited the neighborhood kids to sit in the music room with me, singing and playing percussion instruments into the recorder while the records played. Eventually, the music room spewed me forth. I went to college to study music theory and composition, started writing whenever I could, and played and sang in assorted groups, choirs, bands, ensembles, outfits, and posses. And now, at age (?), I'm still doing what I love. Music is powerful stuff. It moves us, transports us, changes us, and forms the soundtrack to our lives. I'd be honored if one of my songs moves or changes you. Or even just stays in your head and drives you nuts :). Thanks for listening.