Awesome.MikeK wrote:
Whoa man. Talk about being cut from the same cloth.
I played in a Celtic rock band for a bit, but I always favored metal (or blues). Soundgarden changed my perspective on music too. While Nirvana and Pearl Jam were more popular of that era (and I had the discs), I was always a Soundgarden guy at heart. It was Badmotorfinger that changed me. It was metal, but not really. Being a big Metallibanger before them, it was the next step of evolution for my musical taste. This was all in HS for me. I'd guess around 1993-4? Badmotorfinger was old news then but it never really hit the east coast until later on.
I got onto a huge Bob Dylan kick in college - it's still a staple for me. The older I get, the more I really got into other music. Old blues, old R&B, old Rock, old Country.
Still to this day the best show I've seen is the Rolling Stones. Saw them in HS on the Voodoo Lounge tour. Didn't even know I liked them until after that concert. I'd grew up hearing everything they played and just never connected with it. Then it hit me. Holy fuck! There is a reason they are still doing it. Absolute masters. Still, the Mick Taylor years are the best IMO. They should have never ditched him.
Soundgarden really is a metal band. Their first couple of albums (Ultramega OK, Louder Than Love) had a fundamental influence on "Grunge" (Kurt Cobain claimed that it was early Soundgarden concerts that inspired him to make music). But the boys of Soundgarden obviously wanted to be a metal band- it just took a few years for them to develop the technical competency to play the music that they heard in their heads!
I did listen to early Soundgarden in high school- "Hands All Over" is still one of my favourite songs- but it wasn't until they could pull off Badmotrfinger that they really filled my mind.
I have never officially played in a band. I played music with a close group of friends in high school- I was much too shy to perform in front of others at that age. I played predominantly traditional and folk music in university- and did get comfortable with performing. Then I spent several years working in camps that pretty much restricted me to acoustic music. Since I have had children I do not have the time to be in a band- I don't know how people do it- unless the band pays the bills!
You know- I have never seen the Stones in concert. My closest friends went to see them about a decade ago in Moncton- and reported a similar awe-inspiring experience.
I don't think that I have enjoyed a large rock concert in almost 20 years- way too many people and too much noise for me to enjoy the music or the company.
I increasingly find it difficult to even enjoy local live music any more. Maybe I'm getting to old for it- but I remember being able to go and listen to live music in small venue (like a pub) and still be able to enjoy company and conversation. The music and production keeps getting louder and louder. I love listening to deafening music- but not when I am also trying to visit with my friends!