Bramer Bloggings

Intro to Moi

At some point I became aware that Mix provides these blog spaces and, every once in a while, I'll come over here to look at the vast emptiness. After doing that for a bit I thought to myself 'what the heck self - why not fill some of that space?'

And so I have resolved to do that very thing. To the breathless anticiption of no one in particular. That's kind of a lie. Toni, who is well known to Mixers, has encouraged me to throw some words out here. Toni's basic niceness is unbounded.

It seems appropriate to make this first installment an introduction of sorts (hello void. I am me) and possibly provide a little background on my motivations to do music, since music is why most of us are here. Granted, a couple of us might have taken a wrong turn at Mixopedia.

So here goes.

What’s Music?

My first exposure to music was the Lawrence Welk show. And honestly I hated that show.

I was a little intrigued by the Lennon Sisters and those harmonies. But otherwise - it was a non-starter. My family listened to that show religiously ... every week. I'm pretty sure it was my father's idea of high culture. If that was right - I really, really wanted to be wrong.

There was also the Aunt Mildred choir in Catholic church at St Joe's. Latin masses. Highly starched, quasi-tonal, Germanic vocal interludes. I understood implicitly that this was another form of penance demanded by God.

And to my understanding coming up - that was music.

But my Mom had this old gray plastic tube radio. AM only. That's all there was at the time. And she'd just let that thing run most of the day. At some point, when she'd switched channels to find some talk show and then walked off, I heard a different kind of music come on.

It was The Beatles. Ticket To Ride I think. And that floored me. The guitar riff and John Lennon's voice!! My entire life concept of 'cool' was defined and written in stone right there in the space of under three minutes. Followed by a commercial. I had no idea until that very moment that music could have any value for me whatsoever.

So I started appropriating that old radio at night. I'd pull the covers up over my head in a sort of pup tent like formation. In that suffocating pocket with only the light from the radio dial I'd sit - hour after hour - waiting for a Beatles replay. Which, of course, happened with some regularity.

Then something else happened. The Rolling Stones. And I know for a fact it was Time Is On My Side. I was hooked. It was the very first time the thought ever crossed my mind that this was something I wanted to do. Or possibly could do.

I listened to that old radio so much without proper ventilation that the top literally began to melt. Before I was through with it that old radio sagged like a wet hammock.

And the radio gave me Motown. Wilson Pickett. James Brown. Aretha!!! Damn. Everything that Lawrence Welk WASN'T ... this music was.

It was a few years before I got the courage to try anything like it myself. And I have no idea how I convinced my parents to buy the guitar. It was my entire Christmas - I believe 7th grade.

But I've never really put the guitar down since then.

The end. (until it starts again)