The Little Drummer Boy

So the question was posed to me by Kimmy, what kind of music do you listen to? Good question that might be of interest to somebody stopping by, and also something I would not mind journaling on for myself.

Music is a strange thing with me. For me, what I listen to depemds on what I am doing, where I am, my mood, what time of day and my environment. I am very diverse in what I like but also pretty picky in some ways in what I listen to . Radio is a no no. Wanna piss me off, fiddle with my car stereo and put on the radio. When I do find the Mrs. Booster one day, she will have to enjoy music just as much. I would not mind at all a different taste in music, but having a broad appreciation and a passion for music is a must. It's really important to me, and it probably has a lot to do with my experiences, particularly growing up.

I grew up in a house listening to the crooners before I could develop my own tastes - Sammy, Sinatra, Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Johnny Mathis and that whole set (Christmas was not complete without the Bing Crosby Christmas album being played). So I suppose from the start I had an appreciation for the band sound. Pops also listened to a lot of Miles, Count Basie and straight ahead jazz so that is a huge influence. My very first real instrument that I played was in the sixth grade. I figured out that I wanted to be a drummer (to the delight of my parents and every other parent out there). The cool thimg was that I was very good at it. Extremely good I might say. I took lessons, made top chair in every all state band, and before you know it, I was up and coming in my home state of Alabama - pretty cool for a teenager huh???? Although I studied all percussive instruments I really excelled at playing snare and timpani.

My first real professional experience was playing in Spirit of Atlanta during the summer of 87 when I was 17. I saw my first drum corps show maybe 9 years earlier and now was my shot. As it was my first year, I was happy just to make the cut and I played in the cymbal line that year. This was cool because I got to meet people from all over the US and enjoy their musical influences, but I also got to travel all over the US. During this time I learned a lot about jazz and also classical rock. I think I heard my first Led Zepplin in Spirit over at a guys house.

My own career in music continued into college where I played in the marching, percussion and symphonic ensembles every year. The pride and joy for me was the marching band at Auburn. Our drumline was hot shit without a doubt and I played snare for 5 years. Those were good times. Me and a friend, Coop from Auburn went back to Spirit to march our age out year in 1991 - Spirit played music from the movie Glory. He played top bass and I was number two and if a part could be split, we did it. We turned EVERYONE'S heads that summmer splitting stuff between two bass drums that sounded like one person was playing. (drummer stuff...)! After college I taught at UH one fall for their line going to PASIC but that was about it. As an engineer it was time for me to make a choice between manking dough and working for da man or playing music. My nerdness won out.

So I guess all said, what I listen to is really a product of my experiences as a musician. I like music. I dig a good band. I listen for intonation and tuning. The tempo and interpretation matter to me. I suppose I am trying to say that I do more than "just listen".

Well what do I listen to? Well that is pretty much anything. Country is not my thing but I do like some stuff that could be classified as folk or TX rock. I am a big fan of ethnic and world music and musicians that incorporate that stuff into their music. So here is the list. At any time, any combination of the following could be in my car changer. Some of this is also what is currently in rotation

Jazz:
Cassandra Wilson
Joshua Redman
Branford, Ellis and Wynton Marsalis
Liz Wright
Brian Blade
Tony Williams
Miles
Marcus Miller
Christian McBride

Rock/TX Rock/Bands:
Lenny Kravitz
Dave Matthews Band
Patrice Pike
Bob Schneider
Sting
Donald Fagan/Steely Dan
Incubus
Drive By Truckers
U2
Coldplay
Citizen Cope

R&B:
Meshell N'degeocello
Glenn Lewis
India Irie
Soul Live
Prince
Maxwell
Stevie Wonder
Amel Larrieux
Musiq
Mary J. Blidge
D'Angelo
John Legend

Rap/Urban:
The Roots
Notorious BIG
Common
Beastie Boys
Tribe Called Quest
Jay Z

Tunes picked up this past weekend:
John Mayer - Try
Tony Rich Project - Pictures
Snow Patrol - Eyes Open
Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Stadium Arcadium