Taught ya bout Hangin Tough as long as you got the Right Stuff
Originally posted June 26th, 2008
Dear Everybody,
I saw a commercial for the summer Olympics tonight. Michael Phelps is the main attraction. I'm not just saying that because he's the most gorgeous Olympic athlete ever either. That kid is freakin' FAST in the water! I almost can't believe 4 years have passed since he last wow'ed the world with his water ability. But then again, I have a lot of trouble believing time passes even when I'm not conscious of it.
Moving On...
This Fall something is going to happen that I would have bet money against any day of my life from 1993 until January of 2008. New Kids On the Block are not only releasing an album AND going on tour, but there are two Florida dates. As fate would have it, one is the day after my birthday and the next is the day after that. Usually my favorite part of my birthday is waiting for little kids to say "Trick or Treat" and replying with "It's my birthday, did YOU get ME anything?". I do that for a few reasons:
1) Its only acceptable to say that phrase when you're under 10 years old.
2) After the age of 10, it's only funny if you say that phrase to a child.
3) I like free stuff.
4) I like seeing which neighborhood kids will say I can have a piece of candy and which ones are like "I DON'T KNOW YOU!" to which I reply "I don't know you...and neither does my candy!"
and 5) It reminds me of my 9th birthday when the traditional song was interrupted by trick-or-treaters ringing the doorbell. While any other year I would have complained that my 9 year life was SO unfair cause I was born on a day when EVERYONE gets free candy and not just me, I didn't care. WHY? Because I was staring down at the specially created Jonathan Knight birthday cake that NO ONE was allowed to cut and I made my mother keep in the fridge until Jonathan had green mold covering his face. Sorry, Jon. You were still hot under all the green.
But this year, all willing, my favorite part of my birthday will be knowing the day after I'll do something I never thought I'd get to do again. It'll be something I haven't done since I was 8 years old.
See, at 8 years old I attended what I consider to be my first concert. Sure, I had to tag along with my parents to those fair shows and random other musical events but NOTHING compares to the first time you make a decision that you want to see someone do something musical in front of you.
Little did I know that would open the flood gates and from that point on it would be a battle to get me away from any place where music was happening. I'm not a musician by any sense of the word. But I am definitely a music enthusiast. Over the years I've learned that my favorite thing about music is getting it to other people. Be it promotions, merchandise, managing, or just standing in the crowd so as not to be playing to an empty room, I've done what I can to try to repay an entity that I will always be indebted.
Through music I've found many great blessings, opportunities, adventures, friends, lessons, heartache, break and mending. I've conquered bad days, rejoiced in the good, and made it to the next. There's not a monumental event in my life that I can't tie a song to and I'm sure if there were a soundtrack to my short 25 years of existence, a box set would be required in multiple volumes.
The greatest thing I've found in music is myself. The courage to be myself and the ability to express it creatively have always been my safe harbor. As I've grown I've gone through many musical phases and its the artists behind those phases whom have helped me silence the fear and chase what I love to do. Like I mentioned above, I loved the New Kids on the Block starting at 5 years old. My aunt handed me a mirror and staring back was their images. I heard their music the next day and that was all it took. Before that I thought no one was as cool as the Beach Boys. I spent hours enduring my mother's Michael Bolton tapes when I was in elementary school. All the while wishing she would go back to the days of Journey, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Guns and Roses, Zeppelin, AC/DC and of course, Lynyrd Skynard.
By the time I reached my early teens I was sucked back into the pop phenomenon known as boy bands. But that wasn't before I spent a while discovering No Doubt, Nirvana and Blink 182. The last being a band that I'd travel across the world to see play again. But it was Boyz II Men who lead me into loving a good ballad. Mom and Dad will claim it was all the Gladys, Aretha and Diana that influenced me but I know it was seeing BIIM live in 7th grade that truly made me appreciate the difference between a singer and an entertainer. I would learn more about that difference in my first music appreciate class in college. That is also where I decided nothing sounds better than vinyl and no decade compares to the 50s or the 60s.
Shortly after high school ended I was enamoured with the Warped Tour genre. Watching Something Corporate play live for the first time was just as exciting as watching Andrew McMahon hit the first key when Jacks Mannequin played here after he beat cancer. I remember being in the crowd for Good Charlotte in the summer of 2002 and just knowing that they would never play to such a small gathering again. The Ataris energized me while Matchbook Romance reassured hope. Motion City Soundtrack made me dance and Brand New made it okay to be upset. The Used blew me away while the All America Rejects reminded me of high school. But it was New Found Glory that pieced me back together after losing both my grandparents. It feels almost disgraceful to only have a sentence about them in this writing but I'm sure whole entries will follow. They are the one constant that has never changed or left me abandon since the millennium.
Presently, you could give me a ticket to any band, artist or group aforementioned in this post and I would be delighted to watch them play live. There are also countless other bands that have highlighted my days. If I listed them all, we would be here indefinitely.
But something about the allure of the first concert experience is magical. You could tell me 'NSYNC, the original Lynyrd Skynard (RIP) or Blink 182 were reuniting and while I might automatically grab a sleeping bag and go wait in line for tickets that don't go on sale for another 2 years, it would be my NKOTB sleeping bag that I'd be taking with me. I guess it is true, you never forget your first.
So this Fall there is an opportunity to be 8 years old again. To sit in an arena seat with nachos and cotton candy (neither of which I've had at a concert since NKOTB. I was tempted at Matchbox 20 but the thought of Rob Thomas seeing me with cheese on my face was so unappealing) and watch 5 grown men relive the start of my Kodak memories.
Ticket prices are reasonable and there are VIP packages available. While I am usually against traveling more than 3 hours to see a show, going out of town twice to see the same show (honestly, I've done it before but it's got to be something spectacular) and paying for any type of VIP/meet and greet, I am willing to break all my own rules for this. NKOTB: Ft Lauderdale and Tampa. If I had it my way (and if my bank account would just agree with me!), I'd have 5 Star VIP to both shows. I would sit in my 10 row or better seat until those lights dim and then I would fulfill the promise I made to myself when I was 8 years old, dead tired and my mom was carrying me to the car: "Next time, I'm going to sing louder than everyone there! EVEN JORDAN!" Because through all my other musical experiences I've learned that you never take the moment for granted. Bands break up, music styles change and record labels will drop amazingly talented people because the trend told them it was time. So sing like you know how to find a key, dance like you've been choreographed for years and know that in that moment everything is perfect.
Time passes whether you realize it or not. One day you find yourself sitting behind a computer screen trying to condense over 15 years of musical adventures into concise paragraphs that keep people interested and tell them that you can never take anything for granted. Always hit repeat and play the songs again because one day all you'll have left of those lyrics, those notes and the memories you created while they played.
Dear Everybody,
I saw a commercial for the summer Olympics tonight. Michael Phelps is the main attraction. I'm not just saying that because he's the most gorgeous Olympic athlete ever either. That kid is freakin' FAST in the water! I almost can't believe 4 years have passed since he last wow'ed the world with his water ability. But then again, I have a lot of trouble believing time passes even when I'm not conscious of it.
Moving On...
This Fall something is going to happen that I would have bet money against any day of my life from 1993 until January of 2008. New Kids On the Block are not only releasing an album AND going on tour, but there are two Florida dates. As fate would have it, one is the day after my birthday and the next is the day after that. Usually my favorite part of my birthday is waiting for little kids to say "Trick or Treat" and replying with "It's my birthday, did YOU get ME anything?". I do that for a few reasons:
1) Its only acceptable to say that phrase when you're under 10 years old.
2) After the age of 10, it's only funny if you say that phrase to a child.
3) I like free stuff.
4) I like seeing which neighborhood kids will say I can have a piece of candy and which ones are like "I DON'T KNOW YOU!" to which I reply "I don't know you...and neither does my candy!"
and 5) It reminds me of my 9th birthday when the traditional song was interrupted by trick-or-treaters ringing the doorbell. While any other year I would have complained that my 9 year life was SO unfair cause I was born on a day when EVERYONE gets free candy and not just me, I didn't care. WHY? Because I was staring down at the specially created Jonathan Knight birthday cake that NO ONE was allowed to cut and I made my mother keep in the fridge until Jonathan had green mold covering his face. Sorry, Jon. You were still hot under all the green.
But this year, all willing, my favorite part of my birthday will be knowing the day after I'll do something I never thought I'd get to do again. It'll be something I haven't done since I was 8 years old.
See, at 8 years old I attended what I consider to be my first concert. Sure, I had to tag along with my parents to those fair shows and random other musical events but NOTHING compares to the first time you make a decision that you want to see someone do something musical in front of you.
Little did I know that would open the flood gates and from that point on it would be a battle to get me away from any place where music was happening. I'm not a musician by any sense of the word. But I am definitely a music enthusiast. Over the years I've learned that my favorite thing about music is getting it to other people. Be it promotions, merchandise, managing, or just standing in the crowd so as not to be playing to an empty room, I've done what I can to try to repay an entity that I will always be indebted.
Through music I've found many great blessings, opportunities, adventures, friends, lessons, heartache, break and mending. I've conquered bad days, rejoiced in the good, and made it to the next. There's not a monumental event in my life that I can't tie a song to and I'm sure if there were a soundtrack to my short 25 years of existence, a box set would be required in multiple volumes.
The greatest thing I've found in music is myself. The courage to be myself and the ability to express it creatively have always been my safe harbor. As I've grown I've gone through many musical phases and its the artists behind those phases whom have helped me silence the fear and chase what I love to do. Like I mentioned above, I loved the New Kids on the Block starting at 5 years old. My aunt handed me a mirror and staring back was their images. I heard their music the next day and that was all it took. Before that I thought no one was as cool as the Beach Boys. I spent hours enduring my mother's Michael Bolton tapes when I was in elementary school. All the while wishing she would go back to the days of Journey, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Guns and Roses, Zeppelin, AC/DC and of course, Lynyrd Skynard.
By the time I reached my early teens I was sucked back into the pop phenomenon known as boy bands. But that wasn't before I spent a while discovering No Doubt, Nirvana and Blink 182. The last being a band that I'd travel across the world to see play again. But it was Boyz II Men who lead me into loving a good ballad. Mom and Dad will claim it was all the Gladys, Aretha and Diana that influenced me but I know it was seeing BIIM live in 7th grade that truly made me appreciate the difference between a singer and an entertainer. I would learn more about that difference in my first music appreciate class in college. That is also where I decided nothing sounds better than vinyl and no decade compares to the 50s or the 60s.
Shortly after high school ended I was enamoured with the Warped Tour genre. Watching Something Corporate play live for the first time was just as exciting as watching Andrew McMahon hit the first key when Jacks Mannequin played here after he beat cancer. I remember being in the crowd for Good Charlotte in the summer of 2002 and just knowing that they would never play to such a small gathering again. The Ataris energized me while Matchbook Romance reassured hope. Motion City Soundtrack made me dance and Brand New made it okay to be upset. The Used blew me away while the All America Rejects reminded me of high school. But it was New Found Glory that pieced me back together after losing both my grandparents. It feels almost disgraceful to only have a sentence about them in this writing but I'm sure whole entries will follow. They are the one constant that has never changed or left me abandon since the millennium.
Presently, you could give me a ticket to any band, artist or group aforementioned in this post and I would be delighted to watch them play live. There are also countless other bands that have highlighted my days. If I listed them all, we would be here indefinitely.
But something about the allure of the first concert experience is magical. You could tell me 'NSYNC, the original Lynyrd Skynard (RIP) or Blink 182 were reuniting and while I might automatically grab a sleeping bag and go wait in line for tickets that don't go on sale for another 2 years, it would be my NKOTB sleeping bag that I'd be taking with me. I guess it is true, you never forget your first.
So this Fall there is an opportunity to be 8 years old again. To sit in an arena seat with nachos and cotton candy (neither of which I've had at a concert since NKOTB. I was tempted at Matchbox 20 but the thought of Rob Thomas seeing me with cheese on my face was so unappealing) and watch 5 grown men relive the start of my Kodak memories.
Ticket prices are reasonable and there are VIP packages available. While I am usually against traveling more than 3 hours to see a show, going out of town twice to see the same show (honestly, I've done it before but it's got to be something spectacular) and paying for any type of VIP/meet and greet, I am willing to break all my own rules for this. NKOTB: Ft Lauderdale and Tampa. If I had it my way (and if my bank account would just agree with me!), I'd have 5 Star VIP to both shows. I would sit in my 10 row or better seat until those lights dim and then I would fulfill the promise I made to myself when I was 8 years old, dead tired and my mom was carrying me to the car: "Next time, I'm going to sing louder than everyone there! EVEN JORDAN!" Because through all my other musical experiences I've learned that you never take the moment for granted. Bands break up, music styles change and record labels will drop amazingly talented people because the trend told them it was time. So sing like you know how to find a key, dance like you've been choreographed for years and know that in that moment everything is perfect.
Time passes whether you realize it or not. One day you find yourself sitting behind a computer screen trying to condense over 15 years of musical adventures into concise paragraphs that keep people interested and tell them that you can never take anything for granted. Always hit repeat and play the songs again because one day all you'll have left of those lyrics, those notes and the memories you created while they played.