Music is life! For the music!
Do you always buy merch when you go to shows? I always do when its local bands. Established bands, I try to get the “tour dates” T-shirt but sometimes I don’t like what is on sale so I buy online after but I will most likely buy something. Gotta support bands where they really feel it, tours and merch.
Summer weather is finally here! At least in Washington state. Time for BBQ’s, beach fun, get togethers and ofcourse music. I am excited to see some live events being scheduled and live music breathing again. Are there any fun events you’re looking forward to?
This last weekend the UW family packed up and went up to Wenatchee/Leavenworth area. Couldn’t ask for better weather. We got an AIR B&B, a cabin in the woods just a few miles from the Wenatchee river and state park. We did s’more’s, BBQ and sat in the hot-tub, so relaxing. It was in the hot-tub Saturday night that I got to spend some one on one time with my oldest. He’s my music buddy. We have a lot of the same music to relate to and bond over.
In my house, when the boys were growing up, I never introduced them to what I consider substandard or even “damaging” forms of music. No kids-bop, Barney or any other traditionally acceptable “music” for kids. Yes, even I think music can be/has been abused in order to sell more widgets. Hey this is America, you can do what you want, but I don’t have to expose my kids to it. (ANYWAY…) My boys grew up on Pink Floyd, G N R, the Beatles, Michael Jackson and any other band I could think of to give them an honorable music upbringing.
My oldest was the one that gravitated more into a music connoisseur than my youngest. My youngest is obsessed with Freddie Mercury and Queen. That’s really the extent of his interest as a listener. My oldest loved Michal Jackson early on. Then Greenday, Linkin Park and now Three days Grace. He’s really into Frank Sinatra and big band music too. I’m glad he got into concert band and playing the trombone. Thats were our conversation Saturday night started. He was talking about Greenday’s new album. Comparing it to “the early stuff”. If you ever got a chance to share an interest with your child like this, you know how much fun it can be to bond over it.
He was talking like a full on schooled music critic. “Their new stuff is too pop-y.” We talked about how hard it can be to write ANOTHER #1 hit album and I got to talk about what it was like growing up in the grunge music scene and how logistically close I was to some of the biggest Bay area bands in history. I remember going to some of the hangouts and venues bands like GreenDay, Metallica and Papa Roach cut their teeth on. In my own head this makes me super cool.
I hope to be able to bond with both boys even more this September at the Gojira/Deftones concert. I took my oldest to see Greenday a 4 years back and my youngest to see Queen Nation, The best Queen tribute band in existence, about 2 years ago. This will be the first time I am taking both to the same show. I can’t wait. It should be fun.
Do you always buy merch when you go to shows? I always do when its local bands. Established bands I try to get the “tour dates” T-shirt but sometimes I don’t like what is on sale so I don’t but I will most likely buy something. Gotta support bands where they really feel it, tours and merch.
Next time:
Life on the road in the era of Covid.