The formative years:

I'll never forget the day I got the bug. I was in new to the 4th grade just starting out in a rural school district that was thought to be a better move for my education for the smaller class sizes. There were 13 kids in my whole grade. 8 boys, 5 girls.

The teacher thought it would be a good idea for everyone to stand up in front of the class and say what they wanted to be when they grew up. I listened to ol' Jeb talk about how he was going to be a policeman. I heard ol' Mike talk about how he was going to be a fireman, I even heard one kid say he was going to grow up to be the starting quarterback in high school the next town over.
Then it was my turn.

I had never spoken in front of anyone before, and this was my first week in an unknown place. But I knew I wanted to give the teacher a good answer, and I gave her the best answer I could think of. THe grandest job in the world. One so great no one had said it yet. "I want to be a rock star." I proclaimed.

Silence... then laughter... from the teacher. "Oh my!" she laughed in a fit that I couldn't understand, "That would be a hoot class... Little Timmy with purple hair!!!" she laughed some more. her jowels moving in a sickening motion when she did. Then she looked serious. "If you aren't going to take this seriously Tim, then sit down... honestly." "But..." "Sit down..."

So I sat and watched Little Wendy get up and tell the class how she was going to be the first female president. And the teacher jumped and clapped with generic joy. I reminded myself to check the calendar in 25 or so years...

A few years later:
I'm taking private piano lessons in the same school. The teacher thinks she is a good piano instructer, but I don't have the heart to tell her I can hear the notes in my head without having to look at her paper. She watches in puzzlement as I play the one handed piece she tells me to, with two hands, I added in harmony for myself. "Why did you do that?" she asked. "It sounds better than what's on the paper." "You learn the harmony later in another lesson," she says, "besides you're playing chords with the wrong hand." "But it sounds good," I say, "Mozart would experiment with any piece of music..." "You're not Mozart," she says matter of factly.

High School:
I'm trying out for the high school band. I've been playing music for years. But the instructor says I don't apply myself. The summer of my senior year, I resolve to make the honors band. I hate high school band, but I really want my Mom to see me in a tuxedo with the other kids on concert night so she can feel the same pride the other parents must feel. I try out. It's the first time I am alone with this instructor in the 2 years I've taken his class. He tells me he isn't moving me up, because my attitude and lack of drive is not present. He tells me he refuses to make a mockery of this music program by letting someone like me advance. I don't let it bug me, I don't blow up, I'm only taking the class for a PE credit so I don't have to shower with other dudes, I tell myself.

The REAL education:

I never set out to play music as long as I did. I just wanted to play in a band, have some great moments, and slowly dissapear like a lot of my other peers. But it didn't hit me for a long time just who and what I was. I was touched. And now, I'm like a shark who must keep swimming and never rest, for fear that he will slowly drown in the world around him with no way to breathe. Sadly that's me.

Did I do everything I set out to do? I don't know. I never made the stupid "Honors band" even though I knew I had the stuff. But I did record 3 solo Cd's on piano, and my mom says when she is alone and wants to hear me, she plays them. In a way, I don't think any of those kids' mothers can make that claim.
I quit the piano lessons from that teacher and played the songs my way. Just like Sinatra sings. That's a victory the old hag will never have over me. Music is MY message, not hers.

Did I ever become a rock star? Well no I guess not. The purple hair DID come though during the teen years. I have been lucky to talk shop with some great rock and roll singers, join some bands onstage for a chorus or two, and even had a kid say he was inspired to learn guitar after seeing one of my bands play.
Was I a rock star? No. Was I successful in what I set out to do. Yeah, I think so.

I find it strange that I'm still playing music, even though, the teachers, peers, and powers that be said I shouldn't. I'm not saying it's everyone's cup of tea. But this breed of shark will keep swimming.

We just got our last recording from the summer in. It's another chapter in the band's long life. It will hopefully open the doors to new venues, new fans, and other things...
I wonder if Little Wendy ever became president.

If you want to hear the band's new stuff... go to this link
http://www.myspace.com/stou... target='_blank'>Stout City Luchadore Myspace