I am Bipolar. Musically That Is. I am an Outlier. Musically That Is. PART #1- THE CAUSE

OHH HOHH HOHH IT'S MAGIC. YOU KNOWWW. NEVER BELEEEVE IT'S NOT SOHHHH! With probable poor phonics and phrasing, I gave you the first piece of music I ever purchased. Pilot's pop-tastic 45 RPM vinyl single "Magic" from 1975. Unfortunately, it was hijacked by Ozempic, and we all currently suffer from the commercial wanna-be diabetic-saving torture. Back then, I was a chunky young boy beginning his official music investment journey for life. With me, it explicitly became a rollercoaster inside a tilt-a-whirl-inside one of those giant log flume rides where you get supremely wet, but get a whimsical photo gift with splash suffering proof after the finale. But with 100% transparency, honesty and a dash of arrogance; not only is the music department in my hippocampus abnormally fat, but my existence seems more tunefully fulfilling than yours. Maybe I should apologize for the prior declaration, but I just can't do it. That subject is for Part #2 anyway. Return to to self-centering.

After Pilot, those 45 singles piled up so far, I was allowed to get my own little case. It was the Bee Gees, Hall and Oates, David Bowie, KC and the Sunshine Band, ABBA, Paul McCartney & Wings, ELO, Elton John, Steve Miller Band, Kansas, Captain & Tennille, Frankie Valli, Glen Campbell, Gerry Rafferty and all the bunch hanging out in my trusty little blue and white box-o-mini-vinyl 45s. My listening access overlord was obviously 70s AM radio in my mom's blue Dodge Dart or red Dodge Aspen. What choice did I have? But all those one-songers brought me great melody as a single digit tyke.

We now have the arrival of my borderline to legitimate double-digit age on earth, the new love of the full album cassette and more rock in my diet. The initial transformation included the likes of Van Halen, The Police, Led Zeppelin, Foreigner, Boston, Aerosmith, Yes, Queen, Cheap Trick, Rush, Pink Floyd, Supertramp, Genesis, Styx and some kind of applicable etcetera. Those pleasures were initially juiced by my older brother's taste, as it tends to work with older bother to younger brother relationships, but still very proper and appreciated nonetheless.

This is the arrival of the chapter when me, myself and I jumped a flight on my private rocket ship to a musical absorption planet of MY choosing. This would be the not-yet-teenager but getting close scenario and this world of choice was not planet rock anymore, it was planet METAL. The first wormhole guiding me toward that planet in 1980 was Ozzy Osbourne's "Blizzard of Ozz" and ACDC's "Back in Black. My live concert experience may have begun with Journey in 1982, but soon after would be Billy Squier/Def Leppard and off the diving board into the pool of Iron Maiden. This would be the second wormhole firmly parking me on planet metal; The realm of live! Guess what? Heavy metal excelled in that territory! From the ages of 13 to 18, outside of school and sports, it owned me as well. Luckily, I also had sincere metal running mates, which was definitely important in my pure metallic quest. Pull from any in the 80s family: Metallica/Slayer/Anthrax/Megadeth/Exodus ... Iron Maiden/Judas Priest/Motorhead/Dio/W.A.S.P. ... Ozzy/Motley Crue/Queensryche/Dokken/Stryper ... and whatever's rooted within the cracks previously cited. I was obsessed with it all; well, whatever passed the smell test.

It was time to head off to University of Pittsburgh, and I dragged that metal and average haircut with me. The thing is, my #1 entertainment venture suffered a slow but substantial demonetization. In other words, my 24-7 interest in metal decreased as my awareness to other genres increased. Sure, my girlfriend in high school gave me a very mild introduction to The Cure, but I recognized the exact moment when my tectonic plates shifted. The first week and first college party, when I heard "Alex Chilton" from The Replacements. My reaction to that song brought me immediately to the full album, "Pleased to Meet Me", and my mind captured one aspect, and as a result, changed the game. You don't need to stick in heavy metal to hear music that kicks your ass. Bamm! This was an essential life-changing revelation. Because my tastes were vulnerable for the first time in half a decade, the roommates, friends, parties, and bars started to have free reign on my ears. It could be post-punk, new wave, psychedelic brit-rock/house, or industrial. This transformation didn't happen overnight, but artists such as The Cure, R.E.M., The Smiths, The Clash, PIL, Depeche Mode, XTC, The Alarm, The Sisters of Mercy, Killing Joke, Ministry, and Front 242 invaded my space regularly and took over a significant section of my head within a few years. Then once I heard "Pretty Hate Machine" from Nine Inch Nails, the musical shift would be irreversible. At that point, which was 1990, I was on a collision course to what they were now calling modern/alternative rock.

After college, my musical interests were 100% entrenched in whatever our world deemed "alternative". Relatively soon after college, I was finally in the "paid employee" sector of the music business population, (eventually both developing and promoting talent throughout the industry for several years to come). This was the beginning of my admission to every style and size of live show performance... and complimentary CDs on my desk. After a brief stint at home in Philadelphia, PA, I secured a staunch opportunity in Wash. DC. in 1992 followed by another career advancement in Nashville, TN from "97 - "01. The 1990s was the decade when every color in my musical spectrum was filled. Not a stone left unturned. It was almost impossible to be exposed to more of the musical universe than I was during the 90s radio, CD sales and independent record label eruption... and I liked/loved more than the average bear: Punk, Hardcore, Post-Hardcore, Emo, Noise Rock, Nu-Metal, Post-Rock, Shoegaze, Industrial, Ska, Funk, Electronic/Rave, Chill, Singer-Songwriter, Roots Rock, Pop Rock, Alternative Country, Classic Rock, Jazz and on and on. Being in Wash. DC in the 90s was incredible, because it put me within a stone's throw of the Dischord Records headquarters, which provided a sizable listening appreciation atmosphere for me at the time, with the amazing records they were releasing. That scene (or I should say, friends to that scene) provided me extended schooling on Fugazi, Jawbox, Shudder to Think and it took me on a ride to more of the others. While digging into those bands, someone then pushed me towards Girls Against Boys, who became one of my all-time faves. Soaking in those groups completely expanded my palette into more experimentation. Being in Nashville later in the decade placed me at the apex of the alternative country explosion, with a chunk of the pack being Whiskeytown, Wilco, Son Volt, Old 97s, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Alejandro Escovedo, and The Jayhawks. I had a front row seat to that domain for a bit. In one sense, you could say that I was musically spoiled (although I did choose this professional path for a reason), because there was just so much music on top of me every day, it was impossible not to free my mind.

After a business move took me to Atlanta, GA in 2001, I remained involved in the entertainment biz up until this day, only from multiple landscapes. Although I had still been attending a fair number of live shows and continuing to receive new material from many-o-record-label, I found myself unearthing some high-quality new music, internet-radio style. My weapon of choice for a while was Real Rhapsody, the Indie Channel. I always remember discovering FANTASTIC Irish and Scottish bands on Real Rhapsody in the early to mid-2000s. The list including Snow Patrol, Bell X1, Idlewild, Frightened Rabbit, Glasvegas, The Twilight Sad and Arab Strap. This specific internet radio "inide" channel existed during a crucial period for me, and it opened myself up to even more artists everywhere. I won't forget it.

During my present lifespan, my organs, bones, ligaments, tendons and flesh have consistently digested more of the world's music than most citizens of our globe, because I really did welcome it. Some I had to spit out, because the tatse was appalling. Hey, you can't like it all. I also can't lie and say my "hunt and encounter" of new music hasn't decreased over the past five years or so. Hey, nowadays, some of that is actually by choice. One thing to know about me, is that from week-to-week, day-to-day, hour-to-hour ... (feel free to sing it like Mr. Morrisson) ... my listening desires change, and radically. What are the reasons? What could possibly be the triggers?

You don't have to like all of the music I do. Extremely shocking it would be. But with that said, and it's been a half-a-lifetime struggle... how do I get other individuals to understand the process of HOW TO APPRECIATE music like I do? Unless you have a willing participant with proper time on his/her hands, I have learned it's a futile act.

That's what we have for Part #2: The more than occasional frustrations and why I ultimately feel bad for most of you.