Rock of ages

There comes a time in your life when you sit back and reflect on your various life phases.

This is that time… memories, moments and the magic of music.  Do you remember your first concert? My first concert was as you may have guessed.. Aerosmith.

I had just turned 17 and was in the prime of my teenage years in the most wonderful decade of all! (at least to me it was and well.. a lot of my friends and perhaps even you)  I wasn’t exactly frantic to see them but my friends and I would sing their songs at the top of our lungs together and use their quote their lyrics, while relating them to our lives (as you do.) Boyfriends.. “look out” we’re getting even with you, even if at this moment I can no longer recall why. The strange thing is, I don’t remember why but I remember who.  Music is magical in that way and still to this day if I listen to “Dream on”, I know exactly where I was and who I was with.

So in 1983 I had the pleasure of experiencing my first rock concert with my first boyfriend wearing what would only be described as “cool” at that time… worn out TIGHT blue jeans, a t-shirt with cut out pieces in the back and rather expensive trendy cowboy boots. This ensemble was complemented by bold silver jewelry, big hair and plenty of black eye-liner.

After that first time experience I wanted more.. “more hairspray please”.  Enter..the David Bowie phase.  “Spiders from Mars”, yep…I’m going and I’m getting to the front of the crowd!  Ticket sales at that time were at music or record stores or your local Kmart.. (chuckling)  We saw the ad in the paper, called the ticket seller to find out when they went on sale and waited in line (overnight), until the doors opened.  My best friend and I used clever flirting techniques to get to the front of the ticket sale line. Hey, why not…AND, I made it to the front by the stage and was crazy and insane from excitement. (Please don’t ask what I was wearing)  “Ziggy”” & “Major Tom” have followed me since then.. in my memories from that time. It was great.

So you’ve joined me in this journey from the 80’s at the beginning of my young adult life and as I sit here now, I begin to reflect…. oh how times have changed along with my tastes.  I’ve experienced the weird and wonderful and enjoyed it but it has never stopped, it has only changed or perhaps mellowed.

My journey has seen me with “The Boss” to “Bruce Hornsby”, “Heart” to “The Hooters” in the 80’s to “REM”and “Robert Plant”, “Elton John and Eddie Vedder” in the early to mid 90’s (and many, many more). Music was my medicine and in 1994, “The Counting Crow’s” became my preferred prescription.

I had reached a new level, with a more mature palate and real adult problems.  This crossover cannot be explained, it just happens. Their songs solved nothing but answered everything. The words were so perfect in every way that it felt as though I had written them myself and meant every heartfelt word.  Great lyric writer’s.. there are many. Magical music memories, there are many.

If someone was able to bottle that feeling of Euphoria I must have felt during my first “live” musical experience, I would gladly max out my credit card.

“Do you remember?” (seriously.. and I’m not singing.. umm yes I am)

Drop me a line, I’d love to know what your first experience was.

Stay happy and sing loudly x

Hand-on