My Musical Autobiography

Growing up in a small town on the far Northeastern coast of North Carolina has really shaped my experiences with music. My parents, having both grown up living on the beach, had what some would call a more “free-willing” attitude towards music and we would often spend our summers exploring different music festivals as well as events held on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Three of the large events I can remember my parents taking me to were the Strawberry Festival, the Riverbanks Festival, and the Drum Circles that were held at Kitty Hawk and Nags Head on the Outer Banks.

The Strawberry Festival and the Riverbanks Festival both contained more “folk-like” music and often showcased local performers, and yes, the Strawberry Festival even contained a competition of sorts where people could enter (and attempt to play) instruments that they made out of random “things” to look like a strawberry. Sadly, these festivals are no longer held regularly. However, the Drum Circles I use to attend as a child with my parents are still held each summer. Every Friday night during the summer a group of “drummers” assemble out on the beaches, with random drums and percussion instruments, far enough from the Ocean, and begin to play in any “style” that they desire. These Drum Circles are one of my favorite parts of my summers spent at the Outer Banks.

Another advantage about where I live is my somewhat close proximity to Williamsburg, Virginia. I can remember one summer when I was around the age of eleven that my family and I traveled to Historic Williamsburg, Virginia. I will never forget seeing and hearing the traditional Fifes and Drums as the performers marched across the fields, and how I loved the sound of all of the Fifes playing at one time (oddly enough, this sealed the deal of me learning Flute, after all, the Flute was as close to a “Fife-like-instrument” as I would ever get to).

My first experience I ever had with music that was extremely different from my culture came when I was in the sixth grade. I vaguely remember everything, but I do remember the huge drums that were played by some men from Japan wearing what appeared to be some form of Japanese garb, but like I mentioned I vaguely remember this event that was held at my school.

As everyone knows, High School is a time where most new experiences occur (with the exception of college), and it was around this time that I was introduced to a group named Rammstein. This group is a German Heavy/Industrial Metal/ group, and yes by German I mean everything is sung in German. Although I, for the most part, have no clue what everything means that they are singing, I still find that I enjoy their music.

Here at Converse I have been introduced to more “Mountain” instruments. I was able to learn how to play the Dulcimer in my Music Therapy class, and also had my first encounter with the sounds of a Didgeridoo.

I suppose, overall, that music has always played a large part in my life. Growing up I can remember hearing Country music when in my Dad’s car, and Southern Rock/Classic Rock music in my Mom’s car. I was never censored when it came to music, and every genre was accepted in our house. I have been attending concerts since before I was born, and can easily remember dancing in a small grassy clearing at a Marshall Tucker Band concert at the age of five. Furthermore, I can remember listening to Opera whenever my Grandfather came for his monthly visits. Personally I prefer to listen to Heavy Metal or Punk Rock, but I also still enjoy and appreciate several other genres and will listen to anything at least once.