Hearts Vs. Hearts

The Music, the Science, and the Hyper-Active Heart
Current mood: inspired
Category: Music

There has come to be a kind of second wind in my life lately. Lately being about two years ago I guess. Getting out of a terrible realtionship and a family affair that just about introduced me to suicide, I finally learned to become my own. I realized what was important to me, I thrived on it, and I probably took it to far.

Music saved me. Cliched it's true. But it really did. It's been a part of my life since I was seven years old. I can remember the very first song I ever loved was a Helen Reddy tune. I wish I could remember the name of it.

The summer of 1983 I was with my mom at a garage sale and I found two tapes of bands I had heard of. Wham, and Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here". Guess what I listened to more at the age of seven? Yep, fucking Wham. Around nine years old I still had the tapes and had started to constantly play "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" over and over. Suddenly 'Wham' took a back seat. Between listening to "Wish You Were Here' over and fucking over, I had started to find other bands. Some good, some not so good. Ramones, AC/DC, the Clash. Mc Hammer. Jesus. Can't Touch This swept the nation.

When I was fourteen, my uncle Scott took me to see AC/DC live. Turning point. I was a year old AC/DC fan by then, and knew nothing of the power that was about to meet me of a live, loud, rock show. I remember hearing Sin City and asking him "What song is this"? I had only known Brian Johnson. Finding Bon Scott and the original AC/DC blew me away and started my quest on obbsssion with bands and their history.

Junior High found me still loving AC/DC, and being introduced to Metallica, Judas Priest, Scorpions, Kiss, UFO, T. Rex, Thin Lizzy, and countless others. I remember this time of school being a haven for bands like "The Human League, Bon Jovi, and Def Leapord. They bored me to tears. Something loud, interesting, and unusual took hold.

My junior year of high school is when I found the light. Besides having already been introduced to the likes of the Who, Hendrix, the Doors, Cream, and the Sonics. I had ventured much farther into the Pink Foyd catalog as well. But then the big break came in the early 90's

The Melvins. My friend Benn first turned me onto them. Bullhead was my first Melvins album. A total noise-riff mind fuck that made everything else seem so standard. Nothing I'd ever heard before. Beauty, melodies that crushed, and feedback that made sense. The first band that ever used vocals like an instrument. Everything fit. Everything finally congealed for me. And to top it off, a band that was from my own town! Benn had also at this point started a band called 'No Talent'. The best band in town bar none. Heavy, and full of melody, Benn was a songsmith from the get go. I had the pleasure of watching probably hundreds of No Talent shows throughout high school. They even opened up for the Melvins a few times when we were all in 9th grade. I still have a recording of their set from the RCKCNDY, and listen to it often.

The Melvins became a love for Nirvana. Nirvana became a love for Sonic Youth. Sonic Youth became a love for Dino Jr. And on and on. Suddenly, a shitload of bands I never knew, but had been around forever began popping up. Melvins, Nirvava, Sonic Youth, Dino Jr, Jesus Lizard, Tad, Gruntruck, Alice In Chains, Mudhoney, Fugazi, Skinyard, Coffin Break, The Minuetmen, Poison Idea, Green River, Dead Moon, Earth, and a fountain of others that I was so close to, but so far away from. The introduction of the Melvins into my life really brought me into the future of music. This finding of these bands led to me studying hem, and finding their influnces. The Wipers, The Descendants, Sex Pistols, The Damned, X, TSOL, Agent Orange, and so many others. Kiss, Judas Priest, the Who, and Rush already were on my radar, but they were influences too.

Around my senior year, and the few following years, I branched out. I found the Butthole Surfers, the Flaming Lips, and Ween. Three bands that have taken up far to much of my time and money. Music never seemed to stop growing. Finding new music and bands became an obsession. In 1993 and 1994 I travelled to many a show and skipped a day of school my senior year to see Nirvana, the Melvins, and the Breeders in Salem, Oregon. I went with my best friend Martin, and we left around noon time to get down for the show. I remember getting in, and walking around the lobby area and Dale coming up to us and saying hi. We were the only people there to have on Melvins shirts. He chatted with us for about ten minutes, and then left to go get ready. This show was a defining moment in my life. I was up front all night. The Melvins were not as appreciated as they should have been, and Nirvana was just coming off of recording and releasing In Utero. I walked out of the Salem Armory with a knot on my head courtesy of a Doc Martin to the noggin, and a bite mark in my forehead from a crowdsurfer. All acidental, but all painful and fun.

Since 1994, I have expanded rapidly. The Melvnis obsession still holds true, and I've managed to find bands in the last 14 years that continue to amaze me. I know 1994 till now is a long stretch, but I've seen so much that I can't explain. L7 blew me away. Babes In Toyland were amazing. Sonic Youth live still makes my skin stretch.

In the last few years I've seen newer bands like Brothers of the Sonic Cloth, Harvey Milk, Boris, Torche, Big Business, Triclops, and so many others. Most of these bands have been around for so many years, but I've finally taken notice of them. I'm only 32 years old, and I feel like I haven't seen shit yet. Hundreds of bands, hundreds of venues, hundreds of concerts, and I'm convinced I still haven't scratched the surface. I plan on continueing to travel to see my favorites, buying what I can to remind me of what I love, and always appreciating what I've had so far. Music is blood. I give some and I take a lot. Thankfully there are many donors out there.

More to come......

Ryan