My tastes they are a-changin’…

Wow, so it’s been quite some time since I’ve been on here and written anything. When I first signed up here and started this, it was all in an attempt to get myself back into the habit of writing on a regular basis, all hopefully culminating in my ability to produce something of substance.

I’ve always wanted to get back to the play that I had written in college, and had retooled and rewritten afterwards. I also made several attempts to refashion it into a screenplay, thinking, “Yeah, I can make it as a low-budget movie! That would be amazing!”

Get real, kid.

But as the time passed, my interest in writing waned. I felt too…uncertain about it. I couldn’t make the connections that I had before. Plotting a story didn’t make sense to me any longer.

I chalked this up to inactivity and a rusty creativeness. Maybe, I thought, if i just started writing something (ANYTHING) on a regular basis, the creative juices would start flowing again, and I would be up and running in no time!

Ha. Good one, Brian.

I tried it. I pushed myself to write something daily for a little while. But just writing *something* doesn’t quite get you there, does it? And sure enough, I dropped off eventually, and as I look back at the date of the last thing that I wrote here, it has now been six months.

But one of the problems is that, like many things in my life, I immediately I assumed that there is something wrong with me — that the creative bone in me, in a manner of speaking, was broken and hadn’t properly healed. I started circling back to thoughts I had about a year ago, though, and things started to make sense.

As I believed I detailed in one of my previous articles/posts/whatever, my taste in music has changed a lot in the past six years. Six years ago, I had an exclusive love and passion for film scores. “Mainstream music” (as I snobbishly wrote it off as) had no appeal to me. But then it was very much like a switch inside me flipped to a different setting. Upon getting a new car complete with Sirius radio, I got reintroduced to the classic rock and alternative I had grown up with, and many artists and bands that I wasn’t too familiar with. We’re talking everything from R.E.M. to INXS to Bowie to Creedance.

Even then, I still had this snobbish attitude that only this older music was worth my time, that there was no good current music. It was all junk, as far as I was concerned. The typical generic pop nonsense you hear in public all of the time (and I had to endure 8 hours a day at work, sometimes often hearing the same songs multiple times in a single shift).

Lucky me, though, some bright spots managed to peak through. Some years back, I had across a couple of songs by the British soul rock band The Heavy, notably How You Like Me Now? and Short Change Hero:

While I liked these songs very much, for some reason when I listened to the rest of the album, I just couldn’t get into it.

Baby steps.

Fast forward a few years (how many, I don’t remember exactly, cut me a break) — at work I hear a few songs on one of the playlists that I really like:

When I look them up, I’m surprised to see that this is the same band with whom I’ve crossed paths with. But instead of saying, “Hey, maybe I should check them out again,” my reaction is, “Oh, I tried to get into them once before, but I didn’t dig them so much, so what’s the point?”

Okay…?

But then my work playlist also produces these two gems:

Whoa, what’s this? I dig the soul vibe, the energy, the INSTRUMENTS! Actual instruments! Who knew that there are bands out there who actually use brass and woodwinds?!

Okay, well, maybe just me.

My excitement with Fitz and the Tantrums is very short-lived, sadly. I get Pickin’ Up the Pieces from my library and dive into it, and enjoy it very much. Further examination into their catalogue doesn’t thrill me, however. The style of their first album is ditched in favor of what I can best describe as synths and electronics, digressing into the bland, generic pop-ness of many of their contemporaries.

Bummer.

I keep exploring, though. On a radio show that I listen to, a guest mentions a rock band called Rival Sons. Hey, I’m up for some recommendations. I look them up, and come upon the first track, called Do Your Worst, from their latest album, Feral Roots:

And as I start diving further into what Rival Sons have to offer, I want more like that. So I turn to the marvelous Google machine and literally search “bands like Rival Sons.” The first name that pops up is The Glorious Sons.

Okay, let’s check these boys out and see how glorious they really are.

Yeah, okay, I can dig this.

And then, before I know it, I’m swimming in new bands and artists. Between Pandora stations on my Sirius app and Apple Music’s “Similar Artists” suggestions, I have no shortage of music to check out.

So this brings us to the end of 2019. I had started dipping my toes into the waters of live comedy (seeing the quadruple threat of Ron Bennington, Rich Vos, Jim Florentine, and Bobby Kelly twice and Nate Bargatze), and got hooked on the live show drug. What more can I see? Oh, yeah, how about some of these bands that I’m starting to get into?

By the end of the year, I had a ticket to see one of my favorite comedians, Kyle Kinane, in Philadelphia in February. I book a couple of days there so I can enjoy the city. But wait — The Heavy just released a new album, and are going to be touring the US. And…they’re playing in Philly the night before I’m seeing Kyle Kinane. Oh, and then I had a ticket to see another comedian, Gary Gulman, back home at The Paramount the night after *that*.

Can anyone say “killer weekend?”

Sadly, all of my excitement was short-lived, as The Heavy had to cancel a couple of months in advance (this is well before COVID-19 reared its ugly head).

But, on the flip side, The Glorious Sons were touring the US, and I snagged myself a ticket for their show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on January 21, 2020, so I would still get a taste of some live music.

This show was an absolute blast. The opener was a guy going by the name Des Rocs. Before going to the show, I looked him up and he had some really good songs. Very hard rock with a little bit of blues and soul in there, a little too over-produced but very entertaining. This little ditty is my favorite:

Additionally, while looking up the rest of the Sons’ tour, I saw that they had a rock duo touring with them for the Canadian leg, Black Pistol Fire. And of course, what better way to find new artists/bands than to check out the one touring with the one you like? One would hope that the opening/guest band would be in a similar vein to the one that you’re there to see on tour, otherwise why would said opening/guest band tour with the headliners?

Have I said “tour” too many times? Anyway…

And being as I would be driving in to see the show, why not make a day of it? It was going to be in Williamsburg, which has no shortage of good restaurants. My top choice was to visit a spot I ate at once with my family, Pies & Thighs, best known for their fried chicken and pies (betcha didn’t see that one coming!).

It was here that a little germ of an idea started to form in my mind. An inkling. A seed was planted. As I was just beginning to explore the world of live comedy and music shows, and my love for finding fun food spots, maybe I could do some food/show/travel blog. Sure, it’s unlikely that anyone would read it, but hey, if I have fun doing it, isn’t that all that matters?

So, I started to go along with it. I took pictures from the show (as seen above), but like with so many other things in my life, I got crazy anxiety about it and chickened out. But that’s okay, I thought to myself. I had other shows coming up and I could start then. After all, I would get to see The Revivalists in March (on my birthday, no less) at Radio City, and preordered a ticket to see A Quiet Place Part II that afternoon to make a full day (which I actually finally just saw last night, it was…fine). And then I had Rival Sons and Nikki Glaser both in May at the Paramount.

But then that whole COVID thing happened and put the kibosh on all of that. Or postponed most of them, at least. To this day, the Rival Sons show still comes up as “TBD” on the Paramount website.

That summer, though, I had some vacation time set, and there weren’t a lot of places that I could go to without having to quarantine upon my return. But New England wasn’t off limits, and after getting some ideas from my family, I planned a week-long trip that included an overnight in Newport, RI, several days in Boston, and a few more in Portland, ME.

I thought, yes, this could be it! This could be a good opportunity for me to start this venture that has been slowly gestating in my indecisive mind! It should come as no surprise, however, that yet again, I chickened out and didn’t do any of that. Well, and add a bit of an emotional breakdown, and I wasn’t quite in the right place. But that’s a whole other story, and maybe not one that anyone would have any interest in hearing. And not what I want to be talking about anyway.

So why are we still talking about it, you may ask? Good question!

Fast forward a year later.

It may sound like I’m skipping quite a bit, but I assure you that I am not. I’m just skipping to the good parts, and ultimately, the whole point of this whole rambling mess.

With my passions and interests in the past, no matter what, I’ve always had a collector’s mentality. I just wanted all of the things. All of them. When I got into James Bond, I got all of the movies, then all of the books, all of the soundtracks, you name it. And when I got all of the soundtracks on CD, I even toyed with the idea of getting the vinyls. But somehow I came to my senses at the time and realized that would be going too far.

But would it?

Every once in awhile over the years, the idea would float through my head a little bit, but I never gave it any serious thought. I already have so much stuff that I barely have any room for. Sooooo much stuff. Books, DVDs, CDs, it’s ridiculous.

And on top of that, between said CDs and getting an Apple Music subscription, what did I really need vinyl records for? You have to get up and change them, with digital music I can make playlists and hit the good ol’ shuffle button.

A few months ago or so, I found myself walking around Patchogue village with my friend while we killed time waiting for a restaurant to open, and came upon a record store there. We went in to browse, and I loved the atmosphere, and ended up buying a few CDs in the interest of supporting a local store. But the image of all of those records just left such an impression on me, and I browsed them anyway, looking to see if they even had any of the bands that I like that nobody else seems to know of.

To backtrack a bit, one of the other bands (or in this case, duo) that I came to know and love through the wonders of my Sirius/Pandora stations (I can’t remember which band, I’m going to guess Rival Sons) is Royal Blood. Once I heard their songs, I was hooked:

I had been thrilled to learn early in the year that Royal Blood had another album, Typhoons, coming out in April, and when it finally released, I was incredibly excited. Some of the songs had been put out as singles ahead of the album, and I like most of them, the others I didn’t give a fair listen for whatever reason. And when I first listened to the album in full, I was…kind of disappointed. I don’t know why, especially in hindsight. But as I gave it more listen-throughs, I was absolutely hooked. They tweaked their style a little bit with Typhoons, giving it more of a dance vibe, which I was a little unsure about at first, but I ended up really digging. The second track on the album, Oblivion, was not one of the singles released ahead of time, but it’s easily become my favorite track from Typhoons, if not my favorite Royal Blood song completely.

Between this and the new Black Pistol Fire album that came out in the beginning of the year, Look Alive, I had two albums that I listened to over and over again from start to finish. So to bring it back to the visit to the record store, I found myself flipping through the rock section and going through the Rs. Oh look. They have the first album (self-titled). And they have Typhoons. And I can’t lie, the sticker on the outside announcing that it contained a “TRANSLUCENT BLUE INDIE STORE EXCLUSIVE” intrigued me. That just sounded really cool. But I resisted, kept to buying the CDs I spotted, and left to go get dinner.

But I couldn’t stop thinking about going back and buying those records.

The next day, I had off from work and had a date over in Connecticut with someone I met on a dating app. She seemed really amazing, a major geek like myself who was really into Star Wars and cosplaying, among other things. And as I got to know her more, I found out that she did a whole bunch of other really cool activities/hobbies. She practiced martial arts, was taking parkour classes at that time, stuff like that. This may seem like a meaningless tangent, but I assure you, it actually is relevant to what’s to come.

So I took the ferry over from Port Jefferson, had a nice time, took the ferry back, and checked the time when I got back to my car.

The record store was still open.

I drove down to Patchogue, one day after my previous visit, and strolled on into store on a mission: I was going to start collecting vinyl. Didn’t have a player, or even a place to put one, but I would figure that out later, I thought.

I went right for the two Royal Blood albums, still there. Thank goodness. And I did a little more browsing, figuring I had to get a few to properly kick my collection off. In the end, I found Gold by Sister Sparrow, Sons by The Heavy, and Feral Roots by Rival Sons. I soon found a bunch more online, and to cut to the chase, at the time of my writing this, I have about 30 records in my possession. Maybe not much by many collectors’ standards, but it’s a good start.

Anyway, the reason I brought up this woman that I dated (spoiler alert: it didn’t work out): it made me want to find something else to do with my time, find some kind of hobby or activity. And starting the vinyl collecting made me realize how much music had come to mean to me. Now, music had always had a part in my life, but it just was kicked up to a whole new level. The way that I feel about music now is how I used to feel about film and writing and acting.

This is why I just didn’t have that spark in me any more. My interests had pivoted on me.

So here I am now, considering learning an instrument. Or continue with my exploration into writing about my adventures in live music at least (not that they’re mutually exclusive, of course). And with much of the country reopening, I already have tickets to over half a dozen shows between August and December.

August — JJ Grey & Mofro with Blues Traveler (I think BT is the head liner here, but I’m there for the JJ Grey, sorry guys)

September — Black Pumas

October — Black Pistol Fire, Rival Sons, and The Budos Band (possibly the Menahan Street Band as well, let’s see what the ol’ work schedule brings)

November — Des Rocs and Nikki Glaser

December — David Shaw

And that’s not even including the rescheduled Revivalists show in April 2022. I’m hoping that some of my other favorites who are touring will add a New York show to their itinerary. And that some of my *other* other favorites will do some shows as well. But one thing at a time, right? I’m excited to have this much to look forward to.

With the JJ Grey show next week, I figure this might be a good opportunity for me to take a crack at this whole show/foodie/travel blog type thing. It looks like I have not only that whole day off from work, but the next day as well, so I’m currently planning on getting a hotel room in the city and turning this into a full-fledged adventure.

So stay tuned, if anyone is actually reading this. Hopefully there will be adventures to come!