Music was always playing around our house. Dad was a Country music fan and mom enjoyed Motown and whatever was on Top 40 radio at the moment. I can’t think of a day when the radio or stereo wasn’t playing. While it was ever present, I did not have much of an interest in learning to play an instrument. The moment that changed everything for me happened when a school friend introduced me to the KISS live albums. I was hooked (Kent, I blame you for this). My initial path led me to taking up the drums when I was 11. It was something of a recreational hobby that didn’t lead to anything serious until I was in freshman year of high school.
It started with a couple of guys in my basement on a Saturday morning. I still remember that first song... Metal Health by Quiet Riot. The rush of playing that still sits with me to this day. Over the coming months, we would form the first full band adding a singer and bass player. Our goal was simply to play at the following year’s talent show. We spent a lot of Saturday mornings learning whatever the latest songs on MTV were.
During high school I bounced around several bands. Most were either 80s rock bands or focused on the U2 and INXS music of the time. I was still focused on drumming at the time but also dabbled in playing bass in one band.
It was around the middle of high school that I began taking guitar lessons in both classical and electric. It was the local Music & Arts store. I had a couple of different teachers that really helped move me along. I still have the notebooks that were used for teaching and still refer back to them.
Once I got to college, I switched to guitar full time. I played in a few bands that covered a variety of music genres. Nothing lasted particularly long, but these bands helped build a foundation for what I saw a band could be.
The final band in my college years was mostly working with original music. It was with a few people I had known since middle school and an extremely creative lead singer/guitarist. We had a lot of fun and I still remember the old school days of sending out postcards with our schedule on them. Unfortunately, once that band ended, I decided to put music away to focus on my career.
I didn’t play much until a chance meeting with a good friend from work. We ended up bringing our guitars to work and spent our lunch hour playing. It made me miss playing in a band and got me interested in working harder on playing better. This went on for several years until my kids got involved in athletics. At this point I basically put the guitar down for another decade.
As luck would have it, Rowdy and I had a mutual friend/coworker who I used to hang out with on weekends. He wanted to work on his guitar playing. Once again, I broke out the guitar and started working. One evening he suggested Rowdy come over and join us. I had no idea at the time that Rowdy played or, more importantly, sang. It turned out to be a great night of kicking around a few tunes. Shortly after that evening, Rowdy reached out and that’s what started this version of the band.
I can say I’ve never had more fun in a band than RAB. This band has gone through several changes, but the end result is a group that I hope stays around for a long time. I can’t think of a better group of people to spend my time with.