Music is therapy. Music is my release....
In one of the music Facebook groups I'min, someone asked to name 10 bands that changed your life and why. I couldn't keep it to 10 and I may add more, but here goes....
This was my response:
Beastie Boys - 3rd grade in 1986 I got street teamed by someone that was giving out their cassette tapes. I was playing baseball at a park in my hometown in Ohio when someone gave a large group of us their first album. I'm glad my parents were open to letting me listen to it. Turns out, I read in their book 15 years later that they were taking a break from their tour with Madonna and stayed with someone from their production crew that was from my hometown..... crazy. Could have been one of them handing out those tapes... that started my love for music
Living Colour - obsessed with Vernon Reids guitar in 7th and 8th grade.
Public Enemy - 8th grade.... I had been listening to rap and hip hop for 4-5 years now but Fear of a Black Planet was way different than what I've ever heard before.
Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream, Gish, and Pisces Iscariot were the soundtrack to my high school days.
The Pharcyde- labcabincalifornia introduced me to J Dilla and his amazing beats. That album was played almost daily in college.
Incubus - S.C.I.E.N.C.E was played almost in its entirety the first time I saw them. Free show in New Orleans and only about 15-20 people saw them kill it on stage. They acted like there were 20k in Jimmy's Uptown.
Radiohead - I had been a fan in the 90s but KID A is my favorite album ever. The first time I heard it I worked at a CD store and my boss handed me tix to a private listening party pre launch of the album. Me and a buddy went to a hotel downtown New Orleans and they put a couple hundred of us in a conference room and lit insence, turned down the lights, and made us lay in comfortable bean bags. They cranked up the volume, told us to be quiet, and listen to the album in its entirety before taking questions after it. What an experience. I'm sure it was put on by the record label.
Mahavishnu Orchestra - the most under rated band of all time. I saw John Mclaughlin perform with Chick Corea and was mesmerized by his guitar skills that night. It was when they made the 5 Peace Band album together with some heavy hitters.
The Meters - the godfathers of Funk. The best rhythm section of all time and the true sound of New Orleans. I was able to catch a show in Denver when the original 4 members reunited briefly in the mid 2000s.
Fela Kuti - all I can say is WOW. he's a musical God. Introduced me to Afrobeat.
Deftones - the first time I saw them they were opening for 311. I never heard of them before. Adrenaline had just come out. Chino stage dived like 6 times and I was floored by their stage presence. They were my new favorite band after that performance.
Circa Survive - Juturna got me through Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and my helped me heal.
Hum - top 5 band for me. They have everything I love about music in their sound. Good lyrics, riffs, solid rhythm section. Textures and tones that I love. Ups and downs...quiet and heavy.
Holy Fawn - my favorite band since 2018. Amazing live. They sounded like the band I was looking for, for years. When I heard Death Spells I was floored. And they keep putting out solid music.
Mars volta - de-loused in the Comatorium was introduced to me by a friend that was so excited for me to listen to it. He pressed play, and my jaw was on the ground for the next hour
What are yours?
