Why I Am

Tomorrow is arguably the greatest day of the year for me...wanna know why? I'll tell you. Tomorrow morning, at precisely 10:00, I will be sitting at my computer in my Elvis pajama pants, ordering tickets to see Dave Matthews Band on September 11th, 2010, in Dallas, Texas, at the Superpages.com Center. To most people, this seems unimportant...some anti-Dave individuals will probably even scoff at this. But to me...it's the reason I have 14 versions of "Two Step". It's the reason that last year, when I first saw Dave Matthews Band live, I knew what song they were going to play judging by the guitar Dave had in his hands. It's why I have so many memories linked to Dave Matthews Band songs. It's why my best friends and I shush the heck out of each other so we can hear Dave's tongue-roll in the scat section of the Live in Europe version of "Cornbread". Need I continue? When I'm 100 years old, if I even live that long, I will look back on my musical career and remember two artists that influenced me beyond any reckoning...The Beatles, and Dave Matthews Band. I was in the 8th grade when I first heard Dave, and when I first decided that I wanted to be a musician for the rest of my life. I heard and saw how aggressively and uniquely he played his guitar, and I knew that's how I wanted to play. So I did, and I still do. I'm not saying I'm anywhere near as good as Dave, but I try to be. Dave got me in to Berklee College of Music. Dave got me a violinist for the first band I created. Dave got me through high school.

I was gonna try to make a list of my favorite studio versions of Dave songs, my favorite live versions, my favorite Dave & Tim versions...but I can't do it. I really can't. I know this sounds really petty to most of you, but let me put it this way. When I'm depressed, I listen to "Stay or Leave". When I'm hacked off, I listen to "Don't Drink the Water" (specifically the Central Park version). When I'm ridiculously happy, I listen to "Seven". You get it? Dave has a song for every emotion, and most artists don't. I listen to a ton of music. If I'm not making music or listening to music, it's in my head. Every artist I listen to does something to me, does something for me, and I think that's why I love finding new artists...though I admit, I do get some satisfaction out of being the guy that people asked to make mixes for them, it's a nice feeling. But, I digress. No matter who I listen to, I always go back to Dave. And The Beatles, but they're half dead, so I can't write a blog about how pumped I am about seeing them. I know some of you will understand what I'm saying, even if you don't like Dave...most everyone has an artist that they can really relate to. So many people today listen to whatever is cool, or whatever they think makes them look cool, and they don't even know what's really out there. To quote a line from a great track off of DMB's album "Stand Up" entitled "Louisiana Bayou"..."It's a damn shame."

I can't really explain it all that well, I suppose. All I know is that I'm going to be a very happy 19 year old tomorrow morning at 10:00.


Get it, Dave.