I responded to music deeply from a very early age. I grew up when ’45 vinyl records were a thing. I remember having Elton John’s ‘Tiny Dancer’, and Pink Floyd’s – I think it was a track from The Wall but the internet is telling me I’m wrong and it was ‘One Of My Turns’. Maybe it was a B-Side?

The reason I remember this one so well is because my family were Jehovah’s Witness (at the time) and my mother was so angry when she heard a woman on the record seductively uttering “wanna take a bath?” that she took the record from me, and handed me a copy of The Awake that told me Led Zepplin’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’ was music from the devil.

I still don’t really understand that one. I do know that Bette Midler’s ‘The Rose’ was played on repeat until it warped after the death of my grandmother when I was 12. I think that record saved a part of my soul (as did Floyd dammit!), and to this day I tear up when I hear that song.

Anyway…

I truly fell in love with music when I got my first walkman at the age of 11. I remember the day very clearly. I put the headphones on. My sister pressed play. “Oh Mickey your so fine, your so fine you blow my mind” began to generate massive pulsations between my ears. My eyes flew open. I looked around the room, fully prepared to be completely reamed, if not spanked, for playing the music so loud.

My sister was smiling. My mother was idly cooking. My father was probably out in the fields or milking the cows. Confused I yanked the headphones off.

“You guys can’t hear that?” I asked, incredulous.

My sister just laughed. I replaced the headphones and learned about Toni Basil.

A theater friend began to teach me guitar in 11th grade, and I’ve been playing music since. I’ll save my trials and tribulations of becoming a singer for another writing, but suffice to say it’s been a long road.

I was in a number of bands from 18 until my early 20’s, but gigs were few and far between, and bands broke up more often than they practiced. Damned musicians egos.

Eventually I met one my 4 besties in life, John Hoover, and Midnight Snack was born.