My Music Autobiography

There was no music in my formative years, like a Puritan, or someone out of the "Music Man", my father was against music. My first exposure was Elvis's first appearance on TV. He sucked. lol Then my older sister had a friend. She had a Chubby Checkers album. He looked ridiculous. lol so my relationship with music looked rather bleak. I was still only 3-4 years old, however... 1

In kindergarten our music teacher showed us written music. I thought, "I can do that." So I filed that realization away, since there was no chance in my near future of me actually doing it. I heard "Puff the Magic Dragon". I yawned. Silent Night was OK, kind of dreamy...2

Several years later we were introduced to classical music. The (same) music teacher played a few seconds of Mussorgsky and I was hooked on Romanticism... I filed that away, too, for there still wasn't any classical music composing in my near future yet... I was going to be a football/baseball player...3

The Beatles hit when I was about seven. My older sister had a little phonograph, and played most of their music. I still did not consider playing music, I, like everyone my age, just wanted to 'be' the Beatles, running around in a romantic world free of adults... 4

I had a friend a few houses down who, from a very early age, was into the latest fads and fashions, music being one of them. He would show up with the latest and coolest progressive and alternate rock music. This was when rock music first began to be played on FM radio, as opposed to AM. FM coincided with the rise of drugs in the white suburbs, so it was more or less a youth cultural revolution (for the worse, I know...! ) 5

My first musical instrument was the harmonica, which my dad would demonstrate on, slobbering all over it, and grossing me out. lol so I never really picked it up. Today I can play American Civil War songs on it, and that's as far as I go...6

My next foray in school was a forced audition for the marching band. Every boy wanted to be a drummer. The bandmaster looked at my fingers and teeth, and said, "Trombone." That killed any marching band aspirations right then and there. I cunningly avoided mandatory band and choir tryouts after that.7

I finally did get a toy drum set in Junior High, but my young cousin thought the snare drum was a bop-ball, with the springs on the bottom serving as the rubber band. What did she know? lol So I didn't get much drumming done until I was in high school and got the beginnings of a real set... 8

I'd practice to Pink Floyd and Cream and other hard rock music with a lot of drum rolling and crashing symbols, although I'd practice with washcloths over everything to dampen the sound, so as not to bother anyone... another friend gave me his drum set, so I had a double set until I sold it.9

I got an electric bass guitar and played that in a basement bands for a few years; then picked up an acoustic and electric guitar and played that in basement bands (along with the bass) for a few more years.10

The I got an electric piano, and began to get creative on my own. I got a 4-track reel-to-reel tape deck and recorded a lot of original music, playing all the parts myself.11

I abandoned everything and traveled, then joined the military, giving music and writing up (I had written about 300,000 word of poetry by then) for the time being. What I was creating was energetic and original, but I knew it was sophomoric, and that I needed to live a lot of life before I would be happy with my creations.12

In the military I eventually purchases a few of the newer electronic keyboards with multiple voices. I still play one of them, a miniature version, to this day. It is almost 30 years old now. I recorded hundreds of hours of improvisational pieces on cassette tape, and formed a few ad hoc bands and recorded those. I've made mp3's out of some of it, but the best is still on cassette.13

After the military I set music and writing aside again to run a business and raise a family. After several years I was able to find time to create on the electronic keyboards again. I eventually set up a virtual recording studio on an early PC, and began adding tracks my old piano improvisations and songs created from old poetry. That is how I discovered AP, by the way, researching the old poets to see who wrote what. 14

I posted music on the first mp3.com site until the French company Vivendi purchased it and ran the site into the ground and destroyed the entire community, along with uploaded original music of almost a million people from around the world, without so much as a warning. Just like a heartless Socialist tyrant. So much for Socialists running a business and being compassionate.15

In the 2000's I went through a few improved electronic keyboards, recording new material, then I discovered music notation software, and branched into music composition, which I had filed away since kindergarten. 16

My closest things to commercial endeavors are a Ballet Suite based on musical poems written here on AP (and I'd like to see Pixar or some other 3D film company do the first 3D ballet on the 100 year anniversary of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring ballet, which will be in 2012); an instrumental cover of all the good Beatles songs (about 130-140, I've done about 40-50 already), and piano/vocal covers, mainly of 60's music, though my repertoire has expanded to include songs from the 1920's right on up to the present (none recorded yet, though I know several hundred songs now and can sight-read lyric/chord sheets and learn new songs at will); and electronic pop music.17

Another ongoing avenue is enhancing the music of Random Goldfish, a gifted composer herself (as well as a talented Irish fiddler and violinist). Her lilting and upbeat Irish lyricism and proper, structured Baroque tendencies are a good offset to my dark, brooding, unstructured 20th century abstractions with Romantic leanings, though we are having some pull and influence on one other. There is a nice piano piece I'd like to pitch to the Twilight movie creators...18

I am thinking about live acts, one is with me on the keyboard and doing the singing, with a proficient drummer, and a male/female comedian/actor team to act out the lyrics while the songs play, though right now I don't have the time or means to pursue live entertainment.19

I haven't pursued a career in music, just as I haven't pursued a career in writing.20

This journal is in parallel with the music journal of Gibson0918. Mine seems about done here, minus the myriad day to day details. His is just beginning...21