I presume most of us have a moment when music takes on a deeper meaning. As a child music was something I enjoyed but it did not have a deeper meaning for me. I was into bands like Slade and the Sweet.

My first real adventure starts with Blue Oyster Cult Don't Fear The Reaper Initially I found the single a bit boring but thankfully I saw the live version with a laser show. I got Some Enchanted Evening which I loved I started to read about the band and got On your feet or knees at this point I was truly hooked.



I started to look for similar artists and got albums like In Rock and Strangers In The Night.



I started to read the music magazines like Sounds and Melody Maker. Ever since those early days I had a desire to discover new music. Every week after Tiswas I would go down London and buy albums because I liked the cover. This lead to finding a few gems and quite a few stinkers. I also read reviews and get albums based on the review.

I think this part of wanting to discover the next gem has stayed with me.

started going to concerts. My first concert was The Who at Wembley I enjoyed AC/DC the most closely followed by Neil Lofgren The Stranglers were awful. The Who average. I started going to Hammersmith Odeon.



Looking back it was watching Diamond Head blow of April Wine that really got me hooked I then saw them at Woolwich Odeon the gig was just mind blowing Hardly anyone turned up due to the riots the night before but the band gave everything that night.



I started going to the Marquee seeing bands like Y&T Hanoi Rocks Bernie Torme and Randy California. It became my second home I used to go at least 2 nights a week, often more. At this point I was living most of my spare time around music. Every Saturday going to Shades to purchase the latest imports.









I think I been to over 2000 concerts. I do not have any regrets and would do it all again

I started to play the guitar. This meant I would put the same passion discovering guitar players. So I read Guitarist and Guitar player as well as the Japanese Young Guitar. I had a friend who was doing the same so started listening to people like Larry Carlton Al DiMeola Birelli Lagrene and also going to see Jazz artist play live. I started to listen to a lot more fusion based bands and of course try and discover more obscure albums such as Mr Fudge Speaks. www.amazon.co.uk/Mr-Fudge-Speaks-Wolpl-Peter-0001-01-01/dp/B014I2W0OO











I discovered a love for gypsy jazz and trying to play that style.





As I mentioned I used to go to Shades every Saturday to buy the latest hot imports. On one occasion I was listening to Dream Theater first album starting off with a Fortune In lies



It was the first time I heard so many time changes needles to say I bought the album. To be honest I thought they were doomed to have only one release. A five year wait till Images and Words seemed like forever. The album had a better focused and was the start of their journey to becoming a popular band that did not compromise on their music.

Of course I started to discover similar bands like Psychotic Waltz, Zero Hour and Pain of Salvation. I was back into rock but it was a good bit heavier than before and of course I had to look for the most obscure bands I could find.



I am headbanging somewhere in this audience






My next musical journey is exploring world music another chance encounter that occurred whilst listening to music at HMV in Oxford Street

I came across Global Fusion and it was another period of learning about music that combines different cultures. I see this split into different continents

Asia

I enjoy such diverse artists as Surinder Sandhu VM Bhatt Prassana Altan Urag and Goinish

Would of loved to see this band live the music would certainly take me on a journey




Chaotic and intense I would of certainly loved to see them live



South America

I tend to enjoy a few female artists like Susanna Baca and Toto Momposina



I also Neuvo Flamenco artists such as Strunz and Farah, Oscar Lopez and Jess Cook.


Spotify and YouTube



The last few months I been using Spotify to discover new music. Discover Weekly and related artists serve me well. I discovered a appreciation of modern cello music. I also find I am listening to more jazz. My only real criticism is I need to find a better way to find albums I saved in terms of wanting to explore mood or my muse



YouTube I use in a similar way and considering joining the premium service



I still have the same passion for music as when I started No matter what kind of day I had music is what allows me to relax, unwind, renew and inspire for the next day.