It's Funny How Things Come Full Circle

It's funny how things come full circle. I was four years old when I discovered the power of a song, the magic of music, and the strength of a voice. The most haunting sound came from the radio we had in our living room. It was the voice of Johnny Cash. That was the first of many days that turned into years that I would sit motionless in front of the radio waiting to hear the voice that moved me so. A voice that gave me the feeling of strength, brought me to tears, made me laugh and made me look forward to being a man one day.

Back then (in the early 1970's) if it was a good song, it was on the radio. There weren't so many Rock, Country, Soul, and Pop stations. Most FM stations were a lot like what we now refer to as "BOB". It was a mixed bag so to speak. I'm sure this is why I have a taste for multiple genres of music. While I was waiting for another Johnny Cash song to come on, I was falling in love with music from The Jackson 5, Earth, Wind, & Fire, Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Wonder, Kiss, Donna Summer, Ted Nugent, and Chicago. When my "rebel" years approached as a pre-teen, I leaned towards more extreme versions of these genres diving into the Punk sounds of Black Flag and Minor Threat, The Hard rock of Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, and the cosmic soul of Parliament/Funkadelic, Rick James and Cameo.

I bought a bass guitar with my paper route money at the age of 13 and by the time I was 18 I was writing and recording Hard Rock and Metal songs to the likes of my peers in Megadeth, Mercyful Fate, and Slayer. By the time I was 24 I was living in Austin Texas and sharing the stage with a lot of my childhood Rock heros with over 20 of my own original songs exposed to radio and video music channels. Yep, I got a strong dose of the Rock n Roll lifestyle and it is nowhere near as glamorous as I thought it would be and hardly lucrative enough to quit my day job. I found that most of my musician friends still playing out were making their money in cover or tribute bands so I threw a few of them together and started attending local open mic nights in various clubs searching for like minded musicians to start a band/business with. I had a lot of fun at these musical playgrounds we call "open mic nights" and tried to challenge myself playing and singing songs I had never done before. Well, one night I decided to sing a couple of Johnny Cash songs and judging by the reaction I got from the patrons there, I had found my voice, my lane, my calling and my duty to spread the gospel of Johnny Cash . Within a few months I was able to put together a group of incredibly talented musicians and called the band "Cold Heart Cash". Who would have thought that a metal head punk rocker from the streets of Vallejo in the Bay Area of California would end up in Austin Texas, dressed in black, and  singing 3 hour sets of Johnny Cash?

I'll say it again... It's funny how things come full circle.