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Tributes

A few days ago, as I was making my way through a downtown complex on my way home from work, I looked up and saw my old manager from the first music store that I ever worked at. He was making his way through a set of glass doors and passed right by me but didn't see me (it looked like he was in a hurry to get somewhere). I didn't say anything to him, but sitting here tonight and thinking about it now, I probably should've said "hey Rob" or something to get his attention so that I could've at least said hi, or better yet, chatted for a few minutes to find out how he's been.

At any rate, Rob was the guy who gave me my first record store job. I was 19, he was a 30-something (a stocky guy with glasses who always wore band t-shirts and shorts), and I remember the interview like it was yesterday. Actually, it wasn't really an interview - we just sat in the "office" (more or less a glorified hallway bookended with filing cabinets that were plastered with band stickers) and talked about music for the better part of an hour. He asked me what my favorite bands/artists were, and I listed off a few usual suspects: Pearl Jam, The Beatles, Nirvana... in hindsight, nothing that would've really stood out to make him want to hire me on the spot. But needless to say, I got the job and even though I was only there for a few months (before going to another record store), it was an important time in my life in terms of the influence and impact it had on my musical life.

Looking back, I learned a lot about music in those few months (or I should say, good music). Rob introduced me to John Coltrane, Simon & Garfunkel, among others, but most importantly, Jeff Buckley. I remember him asking me whether or not I had heard of Buckley, to which I replied "no" (much to the chagrin of the other employees of the store, who looked at me with the disapproving look of an older sibling). Rob wasn't all too pleased either, but it wasn't in the "there's no hope for you" way; it was in the "boy, I have my work cut out for me" way. I honestly had no idea of the magnitude that such an answer would have in that environment of musical snobbery, but while everyone else was making me feel ashamed for not having heard of Buckley, Rob had gone to his office and came back with "Grace" in hand. He handed it to me, told me to take it home and in his words "listen to it and love it." So I did.

Anyway, seeing Rob the other day triggered a flood of memories from that period of my life - a time of youthful, innocent ignorance when days working at a music store were capped off by a pitcher of beer at a nearby pub and endless music discussion. And when it dawned on me that Music World had recently closed its doors for good, it made me wonder what this guy - a music store lifer - was doing now. I really learned a lot about music during that time, and I wanted to write a bit of a tribute to someone who was, in no small part, responsible for my love of music today. Seven years later, "Grace" remains one of my favorite albums, and although I would've probably heard it at some point anyway, I still remember the guy who first put it in my hands. Thanks Rob.

If anyone else has a story that they'd like to share, or someone whom they want to pay tribute to -- someone who has influenced your musical journey -- please feel free. I'd like to hear them.

Re: Tributes

Great, great post! I'll write about my brother sometime soon.

Re: Tributes

Yeah, great topic, great post. I was self taught to try to fit in with people I thought were cool. Turns out they weren't that cool but the music stuck with me.

I also owe a lot to a guy who worked with my churches youth group. He played guitar with me in our praise band and also introduced me to the Jayhawks. That was probably the first non-major label band I ever got into.

Re: Tributes

It's about time that I got around to writing my tribute.

My tribute goes to my older brother, Nathan. When I was quite young, I really wasn't into music very much. I was much more obsessed with basketball, math and geography. My brother was the music nerd in the family. He got his first CD player in 1989, right around the time that I first started really paying attention. Since I didn't have any music system of my own at that point, his albums were my albums, and I got a great head start by hearing the likes of Janet Jackson and The Cure as well as the forbidden Prince and Madonna (who my mother detested at the time), all of whom remain heavy favorites of mine to this day. If not for that influence, my musical taste would have been dominated by the likes of Richard Marx and hair metal! Later in the year, I got my own tape player, and I saved my allowance for 5 weeks to be able to buy Prince's 1999, having fallen in love with my brother's copy. As my mother was convinced that Prince and Madonna were Satan's spawn, I would have never been able to get it past her myself, but that didn't stop Nathan from buying it for me and sneaking it to me.

Eventually, I grew to the age where I considered going to concerts. It was Nathan who encouraged me to act on those impulses, as he was already a bit of a concert veteran. So it was that I saw my first show (Janet Jackson), my first intimate show (Björk), and my first of 22 Prince shows. Before the days of ticketmaster and online music clubs, he would actually make it seem like a good idea to wait out all night outside of a ticket booth to get good seats and use a fake ID to get access to a 21-and-over show, even though I was only 16. His passion for music was infectious, and it worked its way into my ether and has blossomed ever since.

To this day, we still talk for hours about music during every conversation, arguing the merits or various albums and artists and ranking albums/songs/etc. His taste is more varied than mine, as is his wealth of musical knowledge. I always take his recommendations to heart, and 95% of the time, he's right on the money.

I feel that this tribute is very poorly worded as I'm pretty exhausted at the moment, but suffice it to say that I owe my passion for music to him, and it is a gift that has enriched my life in ways I could have never predicted.

Re: Tributes

My tribute goes to Henrik, really. Thank you!!!! You have no idea how much money I've spent on music because of your fiendish site.