My musical journey continues...

The Eagles' song ‘Desperado’ pretty much sums up my entire life and continues to express my heart 24/7~

Although I am still ‘out riding fences’ I can say with absolute certainty that music has been the one constant in what can only be described as an eclectic life. By that I mean that no matter what else has been going on I have always found music to be my steadfast companion above all else.

I was a late bloomer when it came to popular music as I was raised in a very restrictive religiously oppressed home, the only music being allowed was sacred music or classical. I did enjoy it though and didn’t realise I was missing anything until I went to school and saw early on that I was definitely different than my friends. I saw my older brother being punished for listening to hard rock,

Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, The Who, and others. His punishment, besides one god-awful ass beating was to listen to 3 hours of classical music and he had to write the selections and composers and turn that sheet in to my father each day!

It did not have the desired effect that my father intended, the exact opposite in fact. Therefore I was hurled headlong into the dark side of music as I stood in solidarity with my older brother. In our teen years, the veneer of religiosity was stripped away and we saw right through the hypocrisy. I recall my parents singing many secular tunes from their generation whenever we went on road trips and now I have to ask myself why did they treat us so harshly for just being kids? I still have no answer but I am more at peace.

My first introduction to Celtic music came about in 1996 via a friend who at the time lived in Scotland. He had made a cassette tape of his own favourite Celtic music musicians which he shared with me across the miles. Artists such as The Corries, Tannahill Weavers, Altan, Cullen Bay, Martyn Bennett and a host of Celtic music minstrels that I still take great delight in listening to, to this day~ My journey had begun and I was truly enveloped and ensconced in a world that I have no desire to ever come out of!

Since that time I have discovered an unbelievable source of musical education that continues to reach out to me and take me places I never even dreamed of in the early days of single minded exploration and determination to learn all I could! I recall my friend telling me that in all of the UK there was no radio station there that was devoted to solely playing Celtic music such as the kind he’d given me. That was sad!

Since those early days I have since discovered a literal treasure chest of Celtic music via Internet radio as well as an endless supply of sounds via You Tube! I have had the great pleasure of interacting with some incredible people on a global scale. Radio presenters, Independent artists, musicians and a variety of music information such as Blues E News, to begin yet another journey into a somewhat new to me genre The Blues, a lifestyle, NOT necessarily another labeled genre. It’s a way of life, thinking, living and being that continues to intrigue me and pull me deeper into the life I’ve longed to live. Most importantly the need to ride those fences is coming to a close with the promise of a life, love and hope that lies before me.