Music is a Part of My Life

Music is a part of my life.

Some people turn on the radio and that cures their music fix for the day, week or month, while others take it so far as to have their music on demand at any time via a personal mp3 player, iPod, smartphone, CD’s, or maybe even their record collection. I know many individuals that fall into the latter category. I am one of those individuals. Give me my iPod, a grocery list and I’ll go to Wal-Mart and block out the world all to my own personal soundtrack, while returning with everything on the list.

But music used to play a much larger role in my life. I grew up in a family setting that encouraged participation in many different forms of music. I was a band geek in high school. I was the little boy that was forced to take piano lessons in the 2nd grade. Some of my music experiences were great. I used to hold concerts on the picnic table in our backyard. I could sing to my heart’s content at church. My freshman year of college, I was a music major. I was that into music.

I didn’t end up with a degree in music, but I did get a minor in it. I can read sheet music, string tabulature, know the difference between bass and treble clefs, and tempo and volume markings. While I do not perform music on a regular basis anymore, I do enjoy experiencing music in it’s many different genre’s daily. My iPod is chocked full of many different choices of music. Alternative, Big Band, Bluegrass, Classical, Country, Rock, Blues, Jazz, R & B, Rap, Southern Rock and Swing music all are played regularly on my personal music player.

As a regular part of my blog I’m going to take you through the soundtrack of my life. Think of it as a multi-disk box set. Different forms of music have meant different things to me at different points in my life. That goes for pretty much everyone I guess. My goal is to provide you a song, and the reasons that I’m highlighting the song, once a week from here on out. The next 52 weeks will encompass a myriad of songs and why they mean something to me.

So, without further ado, the song of the week for week 1 is How Bout’ You by Eric Church. Mr. Church is a son of the south, and he has a reverence for hard work, perseverance, and tradition. What he sings about in How Bout’ You really speaks to me because he recognizes that where he is from has made him who he is. It had formed him into this hard working, blue collar Patriot that represents many in America that don’t necessarily have a voice outside of him.

I really think that Eric Church may be the Johnny Cash of our generation. He incorporates instruments in his performance ensemble that few country stars of the past ten years have dared to include, namely the banjo. How Bout’ You opens with a strong intro of a rolling banjo that sets the tone for the rest of the song. The reason that I think Eric Church may be our generation's Man in Black is because he writes music about topics that aren't necessarily popular, but they mean something to him, and you can hear it in his music.  His songs are heartfelt, and sung with truck loads of conviction.

References to honesty and truthfulness in deals with a handshake, and the show of respect for both parents and country, are things that both Eric Church and I still strongly believe in. I’m in my mid 30’s, and I still say yes ma’am and yes sir to most everyone I interact with. I feel for you if I see you at a sporting event and you fail to remove your hat, or pause your phone conversation, during the National Anthem, because I will say something to you. That’s just who I am, because where I come from, that’s what they still do.