Music feeds the soul

I was scouring the Internet looking for some sort of quote to put into words what I'm feeling at the moment. The only one that I could find that could come close is this:

"There's nothing to compare to live music, there just isn't anything." Gloria Gaynor. 

I'm currently soaking in Adele's new single, Hello, and just being in awe of her amazing voice. Seriously, that woman has more talent in her little finger than some musicians do in their whole bodies. Dear God.. 

Anyway, let's go back in time. I've been thinking a lot about music and how it's influenced my life, from my early country days, to my metal rebellion to my eclectic mix of today. I wanted to look back on how it's changed as I've grown into who I am today. 

So, I have lived in small town Iowa my whole life. Now, it may not sound like the typical country-loving place, but to be honest, it is. As a child, I listened to what my parents listened to, like most children do. Some kids got exposed to awesome 80s hair bands, the Beatles, Queen, other amazing musicians that I now love, but at that young age had never heard of in my life. 

My parents, well my mom mostly, and my sister listened to country music that was popular at the time. (I am now listening to Drink You Away by Justin Timberlake). I honestly just Googled 90s country songs and I knew most of the ones that popped up. They listened to it, so I did too. I must have liked it, or maybe I just accepted it, I really don't remember. 

But as I grew to a pre-teen, I fell in love with bands like B*Witched, 5ive, O-town and other pop bands like that. Ones that were only popular at the time, then pretty much died away. But it was my own music, not my mom's, not my sister's - mine. I remember sitting up in my room, which was by then absolutely covered in posters of my favorite actors and hot guys, and had those CDs in my three-disc changer stereo, because I was classy, and just blaring those pop songs, dancing along to some S Club 7 and Spice Girls like it was my job. 

I also discovered this band called Backstreet Boys, five pretty cute guys (although my favorite was Nick Carter.. those blond locks.. swoon) and sang songs that I wished boys my age would sing to me. Then my best friend began loving N*SYNC, and I honestly questioned our friendship at that moment. How on Earth could you like N*SYNC more than BSB? It just wasn't humanly possible?? (although inside, I kept dreaming that a boy would serenade me with God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You. Like all the time). 

(iTunes has shuffled to If I'm Lucky by State Champs)

I think my musical tastes stayed that way, minus the country music because that was just not cool enough for me, not when I had all these other cool bands to listen to, until high school. Music wasn't that big of a part of my life at that point, not until I started hanging out with a different crowd in high school.

My best friend and I were drawn to different friends, ones that wore all black with chains and spikes and didn't really care what other people thought of them. Though we didn't dress like them, they were pretty awesome people. They helped break me out of my shell, not just socially but musically as well. If it weren't for these people, who knows when I would have gone to my first concert.. college maybe? 

Anyway, they listened to loud music, music that a lot of kids in class labeled as drug music because it wasn't on the pop radio stations, not on the Top 40 stations. They were on Rock 108, the station that they all hated, and I fell in love immediately. I loved how different it was from what I normally listened to, and it was something not everyone loved (thus, the beginning of my rebellious phase). 

(Shuffled now to some Little Mix) 

Those friends brought me along for my first concert experience. It was 7Dust, and some other bands I don't remember, but all metal rock bands. Ones that screamed a lot, wore black and torn clothes, and just rocked to their hearts' content. There are many things I remember about that concert, one being that my friend and I had a crush on the same guy and she was all over him and I was jealous as hell, and the other being the mosh pit. 

I had never seen a mosh pit before in my life, let alone be that close to one. My crush protected me from the crazy-ness that was the pit (swoon, right), but it was a site to see. Bodies just throwing themselves around at each other as the lights strobbed and the music blared in your ears, and I could feel the vibrations from my head to my toes. I can still close my eyes and see it all (and smell it because that was the first time I had ever been in the same room as pot). 

It opened my eyes to passion, to people's passion for live music. I saw how much people cared about that music, how dedicated they were to it. For crying out loud, they threw themselves at other people, risking life and limb just to rock out to these bands that I had no idea what they were screaming about. I didn't know it at the time, but it honestly shaped the music lover I would become. 

(iTunes has taken be back to Ocean Avenue by Yellowcard... oh nostalgia) 

I broadened my horizons after that, listened to Green Day, Yellowcard (which I just fell in love with. Ocean Avenue was the soundtrack of my sophomore year), Shinedown, Blink 182, Mayday Parade, Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, Simple Plan, Good Charlotte, My Chemical Romance, Flyleaf, Evanesence, Linkin Park, Gorillaz, Papa Roach, Taking Back Sunday, Hawthorne Heights, any alternative band I could find really. If it wasn't mainstream, I loved it. It just seemed cooler because all the rest of my classmates were listening to boring country music about their dogs and drinking, and I was listening to sweet guitar riffs and some emo lyrics, stuff that really spoke to me and the things I was going through as a teen. 

And then I went to college. It was hard for me to stick with my love of alternative music when I went to my private Lutheran college, with my freshman year roommate as a preacher's kid who only really listened to Christian rock. But I finally went to my second concert freshman year with a friend, a band I actually loved and was really excited about - Fall Out Boy. God, I was such a Fall Out Boy fangirl, it was ridiculous. I also got to see the Plain White T's and Gym Class Heroes too, and it was awesome. FOB just kicked ass, and we were on the floor, smushed between all the other FOB fans, just living on their music and having the time of our lives. I can still feel that final fireball at the end, how hot it was on my face, thinking I might actually start on fire. I do have pictures from that concert, but a lot of them are of Pete Wentz because.. well I was obsessed with him. 

But that was an experience I'll never forget. I got to see my favorite band, listen to them rock out my favorite songs and as I sang them at the top of my lungs with hundreds of other fans doing the exact same thing. We were all there for one reason, those four guys brought us all together, and we jumped and rocked out on that floor, shoulder to shoulder, like it was nobody's business. It. Was. Amazing. I felt so freaking cool. 

Anyway. College. I went to a lot of free concerts at school of bands that no one really heard of, and that was cool. I got to see David Cook, the winner of American Idol, so that was an experience I was pretty excited bout. I'm sure there were other bands and stuff, but obviously didn't make much of an impact on me if I can't remember them. 

I also found my love of acapella music with a group called Chapter 6, which was just six talented guys and their voices. Another group came to college, but I can't remember their names, and my later roommates introduced me to Straight No Chaser, who I still listen to today and just saw in concert last week (and they're awesome). I really love acapella music because it showcases these people's amazing talents. They make all this music with just their voices, no instruments, no back up tracks, just them. It amazes me. 

College was a weird time for me musically. I just didn't listen to anything in particular, and I didn't really have a favorite band. Well, that's a lie, I loved Shinedown (still do) and was able to see them at the state fair. Our seats were super far away, but it didn't matter. I still got to see them and hear Brent Smith's amazing voice, live, sing all those beautiful lyrics. Even though the guy that stood next to me did not care for the concert, at all, I had a good time with my friends. 

Fast forward to the present day. 

Don't judge me, but I like One Direction. Not like those scary teenagers, I just appreciate their music and their talent. Plus Harry Styles? Double swoon. 

But it seems like I'm loving a lot of bands that teenagers nowadays do. I like a lot of small bands, ones that aren't very popular, all thanks to Twitter and one band in particular - An Honest Year. For some odd reason, last year a lot of random, small bands started following me on Twitter. I know it's a free way to get their names out there, so I looked into them. Most I found kind of annoying and sounded like babies - but I really liked the sound of one. They covered one my favorite songs and bands at the moment (5 Seconds of Summer), and I kind of fell in love them almost instantly - An Honest Year. 

They've introduced to a whole bunch of other bands, like The Millennium, The Big Time, Marina City and Time Atlas, that aren't well known but rock my socks off. Their fan bases are mostly teenagers, so when I go to their concerts, I raise the average age (minus the parents) by a lot. But I don't care. I enjoy their music, and it shouldn't matter how old I am. I can enjoy it just as much as a 16-year-old does. I'm just not as moody and emo about it. 

This coming Monday, Nov. 9, will be my fourth time seeing An Honest Year live in a year. That's some dedication. My roommate and I even drove three hours to go see them on their last tour, because of course she likes them now. I just have awesome taste. I've purchased their merch, bought their CDS, I follow them all on Twitter and Snapchat and am friends with them on Facebook. So yeah, I'm a little obsessed. But in a good way? 

I've been to more concerts now that I can count on my two hands. And I love it. I don't care that people think it's weird that I go to all the concerts I do. I love live music. I love getting to hear my favorite musicians sing my favorite songs while I'm there, being with other people who love them just as much as I do. I just have no words to describe how much I love live music. It makes my soul happy. It makes me feel this giddyness inside me, being in the presence of people so talented, that write lyrics that speak to me on a whole other level, it's just... ugh I don't know. It's hard to describe the feelings that I get while at a concert. Joy. Happiness. Disbelief. Shock. This utter filling of my soul, like music is a fuel that keeps me going. And some days it honestly feels like it. A simple song can lift me from my depression, and getting to hear that music live, played right in front of me, is just a feeling I can't describe. Stop judging me because I keep going to concerts and seeing bands play live. It keeps me going some days, the music they play. It makes me happy. So leave me be. 

I keep a journal of sorts, which I started a few years ago, filled with tickets and pictures of things I've done. There are a LOT of movie tickets, football tickets, play tickets, hockey tickets, tickets to places I've been like Chicago, a large majority is dedicated to music. I wish I would have been doing it since that first concert, but at least I'll always have those memories of it. I wasn't as worried about remembering things and keeping mementos back then. I lived more in the moment. Now, I pretty much keep everything. 

I've made a somewhat complete list of all the bands I've seen play. If it were up to me and money was no object, this list would be a hell of a lot bigger. 

7Dust, Plain White T's, Gym Class Heroes, Fall Out Boy, Backstreet Boys, Avril Lavigne, Ed Sheeran, Rixton, New Kids on the Block, 98 Degrees, Boyz II Men, One Republic, Chevelle, American Authors, The Script, Kid Rock, One Direction (2), 5 Seconds of Summer (2 but have the third concert tickets bought), Icona Pop, Gavin DeGraw, Matt Nathanesen, Mary Lambert, Straight No Chaser (2), David Cook, The Millennium (2), An Honest Year (going on 4), Shinedown, Time Atlas, The Big Time, Marina City (soon to be 2), the Resolution, Chapter 6 (2), InPulse, Lovesick Radio, Ryanhood, Between the Trees Safetysuit, and lost of other small groups while I was in college. 

I'm almost positive those are all the ones I've been too, minus the stuff in college. As the years go on, I hope to add to this list, expand my horizons to other groups, and continue to support the music industry. 

I <3 a="" always="" country="" days="" does.="" early="" eclectic="" else="" font="" from="" gets="" i="" in="" it.="" it="" life.="" listening="" ll="" me="" music.="" music="" my="" nbsp="" never="" no="" of="" one="" part="" played="" s="" sometimes="" speaks="" stop="" tastes="" to="" today="" when="">

I'm thankful for all phases of my music tastes growing up. They give me something to feel nostalgic about as I jam to my new favorite music. Yes, I still love pop though. Leave me alone.