get musicated

I really enjoy music and as you can see from my site header, my love of music is not limited by genre.  I have always enjoyed sharing music and am hoping this blog will be another medium of doing so, with links to songs and videos and my thoughts on the songs and the artists.  Why would anyone care about what I have to say about music?  Maybe they (you) won't, but I am hopeful that through this blog I can introduce some new music to a few people, which is something that makes me happy. 

To get started, here is a little information about my musical tastes.  From the beginning my taste in music has been pretty varied.  My first concert was Eddy Arnold and The Lennon Sisters at the fabulous Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Ga, where I heard him go through the hits like "Tennessee Stud" and "Cattle Call."  I was young but still remember this one and remember enjoying it.  Next up was the Oak Ridge Boys, The Rolling Stones, Motley Crue, then Jimmy Buffet.  I was exposed to many different genres in the car and at home on the stereo.  I was lucky enough to have two pops, one exposing me to Southern Rock bands like The Marshall Tucker Band, The Allman Brothers and Journey, while pop #2 gave me a heavy dose of bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan.  In my grandparents car I got classic and 80's country like Randy Travis, The Judds, Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson.  I can remember vividly a time with my Granny in her light blue Thunderbird land yacht hearing The Judds sing "Why Not Me."  I have no idea why this song and that moment has stuck with me but it did and I go back to that moment every time I hear the song.  While this was going on I was in my room listening to Ozzy Osbourne, Iron Maiden, Anthrax and a mixed bag of albums and 45's.  If I was in my basement spinning on a piece of cardboard, I was listening to the Fat Boys and Whodini. If I was on my skateboard, it was Anthrax or Metallica.

Next it was off to college and the land of jam bands.  Here I was introduced to the Grateful Dead, Widespread Panic, Dave Matthews (although this one did not really take) and of course, Phish.  After college I proceeded to attend about 20 Phish shows, as well as many other concerts. At this time all I wanted to do was see live music.  A little later I moved to Asheville, NC, where I spent a lot of time listening to bluegrass, funk and jazz.  Artists such as Ralph Stanley, John Hartford, Doc Watson, Galactic, Weather Report, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and Karl D all got plenty of play at this time.  As my tastes evolved I came to really love the song and the story that it tells.  This led me to the singer/songwriter genre as well as alt-country.  Everything else took a back seat to Gram Parsons, Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Lyle Lovett, RYAN ADAMS, Bob Dylan, and Steve Earle, to name just a few. There are artists and genres I haven't mentioned that get plenty of play today.  Madeleine Peyroux, Nina and other lovely ladies like Gillian Welch, Frazey Ford, Ani, Patty, Nanci, Emmy Lou, Shelby and Lucinda.  Hip hop is not excluded either, with artists like Tribe, Pharcyde, De La Soul, Cee Lo Green and Outkast.  There is so much wonderful music out there and I enjoy just about all of it, although there are exceptions.  So in a nutshell, this is the reason for the blog. 

I hope you enjoy reading the posts and more importantly, find something that pleases your ears!

Jon