Music is Passion, Hope and Life

A Prologue to Buffalo and Little Bean's Big Music Adventure

In college, amid Dickens and Melville, I worked at a run down pizza joint at the local mall. In between school and my evening mall job, I’d have barely enough time to maybe grab a bite to eat and change my clothes.

I was unhappy. I struggled a lot in those early college days. No time. A hard job I didn’t like and despite the job, no money. Those were the years after my mom and beloved aunt passed away and though I rarely let the cloak drop in public, in private, after dark in my bedroom, I was often depressed and lonely.

Music gave me energy and hope. During those small times between school and work, I’d put on my headphones and listen to the Electric Light Orchestra, Pink Floyd and an awful lot of Creedence Clearwater Revival. I played “Susie Q” so often, I eventually had to place a penny on the turntable arm because the grooves were so worn that the album would skip without the extra weight. To this day, I have a hard time listening to that song without hearing the screech of that penny tearing new grooves in the vinyl.

Years later, I’m in a local park with my daughter listening to Studio Two, an early years Beatles cover band. The Beatles played a critical role in Little Bean’s early life - sitting in the nursery with momma and baby listening to “All You Need is Love” or “Octopus’s Garden.” And then later, on our morning drives to pre-school, we’d sing “Help” or “Hard Days Night.”

For a long time, my daughter thought Studio Two was the actual Beatles. Imagine seeing the Beatles as the first live show you ever went to.

Little Bean with “John Lennon” from Studio Two in 2019 and 2022.

At any rate, as I sat on that blanket in the park watching her dance to “I Want to Hold Your Hand” I remembered those early years of mine, and silently vowed to try to encourage and facilitate her musical life path in a more positive way than mine had gone.

And so here we are my friends - in the next few weeks, my daughter and I will see live music, we’ll travel hundreds of miles, stay in motels with pools, eat snack food, wear ear plugs (at least she will, my hearing is already shot) and we’ll take Little Bean’s growing interest in music to the next level.

The Mexican all-female rock band, The Warning, will be my daughter’s first rock and roll show. A little more than a week later we’ll find ourselves in New York, singing along to Pentatonix. (I would add that we’ll also be seeing opening bands Mute Choir and Lauren Alaina.)

How will all this go? I don’t know, honestly. She’s excited. She’s eager to meet the bands. She has questions to ask them. She wants their autographs. I see glimpses in her eyes of the same sort of obsessive passion that would occasionally grip me over a band.

But in the end, music is personal and intimate. We all make of it whatever we individually make of it. She may end up being perfectly happy listening to KidzBop when all of this is said and done and that’s fine as well. My job these next few weeks will be - as always - to document our adventure, to put our explorations and emotions into words and to leave a record of life for my daughter.

And that’s what we’ll do.

So welcome fans of The Warning or Pentatonix, or just plain any music. As guitarist Dany Villarreal (Little Bean’s favorite of the sisters) once said, “Music is Life.” Let’s listen and go live and see where this takes us.

Horns in the air my friends. Let’s go!

Tomorrow: Our five day countdown to the show begins with a reflection on the great and one and only Donnie Osmond. What does Donnie have to do with any of this? You’ll see.

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Some housekeeping: Welcome all! We’re eager to set out on our weeks long exploration of music, music history, classic rock, first time concerts and whatever other music-related topics I can think of. Along the way, my daughter and I will be preparing to go to Boston to see Mute Choir and The Warning live and meet both the bands.

After that, we’ll begin gearing up for a big four day trip to Saratoga Springs to see Pentatonix and Lauren Alaina.

I hope you’ll come along for the ride, and perhaps, share some music experiences of your own. Do you remember your first live show? Do you still follow favorite bands? Do you play? We’re so interested in hearing about your own adventures in music and hearing about new bands and singers.

If you’re new to Day By Day, you can find out more about me and my books at my bookstore here: Dan’s Bookstore.

Day By Day is a free journal of essays, expressions and story-telling, but if you’d like to buy me a cup of joe to keep me awake - much to my joy - you can do so here: Buy Dan a Cup of Coffee.

One last thing - I encourage you all to visit the bands and artists we’re writing about. Making music is hard work. Give them some love!

Finally, if you enjoy Day By Day, please share this page and these stories to your own email or social media. Our little community here continues to grow and I am so grateful to you all!

Ready? Onward we go!