You Rock

This post is about my love for music and my gratitude to my friend Sean for pushing me out of the comfort zone in which I dwelled for way too many years. 

For those of you who don't know who I'm talking about - Sean (Sean P. Rogan) is the owner of and one of the instructors at You Rock School of Music. We spend a lot of time together as our daughters are in the same class at school and have daily conversations about music. Given my obvious obsession with music he could never understand why I wouldn't just simply take a guitar class and "make music a bigger part of my life". I had a plethora of foolish reasons I would spit out weekly but I remember one day telling him, “Maybe I’m just meant to be a spectator.” And he quickly assured me that wasn’t the case. 

God bless him, he tried. He tried weekly if not daily to just get me into a class. "I'm too self conscious" ... "I can't play guitar,  I tried back in high school" ... "I don't have time for lessons" ... "I can't be in a group, I would be way too nervous" ... "I don't have a guitar." I had a million of them. One day he placed a semi-beat-up acoustic by the tire of my car and told me class starts Wednesday. I was so stunned by that gesture I felt obligated to go to that class. And something changed in that moment when I made up my mind to go. I went to that class. (Shout out to Ted Larson, the amazing Beginner Guitar class instructor!) And I've never looked back.

I cannot tell you how much I have gotten out of this entire experience since I started taking lessons. What I pour into my practices. How much I really want to play the electric when I never in a million years thought I would even touch one. The total satisfaction I get from finally conquering something I’ve worked on for months. The way I listen to music with a "different" ear. The feeling that I am in insider now. Like I have a backstage pass to the music world instead of the cheap lawn seats.

I urge all of you, if you have always wanted to play an instrument but keep chickening out, DO IT. Just DOOOOO IT. You can think about it for the rest of your life wishing you'd tried or you can actually make up your mind and start today. During this social distancing mess you can even take virtual lessons - in your pajamas - from your bed. Well, maybe not a drum lesson from your bed but you get me. 

I can't say enough about the staff at You Rock. Each instructor brings their own flavor to the lesson. All incredibly skilled with beautiful personalities. Check them out at www.YouRockSchoolofMusic.com for more info. I'm telling you, this has changed my life. I've never felt such a sense of accomplishment or had such a drive to continue on a path. I'm hooked. 

Sean, thank you so much for consistently nudging me toward the cliff until I fell. 

Forever grateful,

Sheri

trigger songs from the 80's...

I'm always mentioning how I love that certain songs can conjure up such vivid memories. Today I thought I'd share ten of my favorites - (memories, not songs) and we'll go with an 80's theme. Enjoy!

Faithfully, Journey: This song was on a mixed tape that I listened to while on a flight to Disney World. I remember staring out at the clouds so anxious to just get there and start enjoying time with my family. We'd been through the ringer that year and my father had won the trip in a contest he found in USA Today. (Miracles do happen).

You Give Good Love, Whitney Houston: Ridiculous as it may sound, I was convinced this was my "good luck song." Maybe twice while listening to it a family friend called to invite my family over to use the pool which is exactly what I had been hoping for. The song was in heavy rotation on 92 Pro FM - but it couldn't have been a coincidence, right?

Doin' It All For My Baby, Huey Lewis: My family and my godparents' family went in on a beach house the year this song was popular. (Can you believe this song was ever popular?) We had an absolute blast. I remember that musty-ass smell throughout the house, "the funky chair" the week-long sleepover feeling, my godfather's ridiculous sunburn which rivaled John Candy's burn in Summer Rental, long days on the beach, going to see Adventures in Babysitting... it was a week none of us will ever forget. Or was it two weeks? Guess I forgot.

Breakout, Swing Out Sister: This is actually my least favorite song in the world. That's including TV show theme songs and various anthems sung heinously by that guy at the hockey games. This song was playing while I was forced into a wallpaper store by my parents one evening. It may have only been twenty minutes but I'm pretty sure it was closer to nine hours. I really would've rather done my math homework.

The Flame, Cheap Trick: Being driven to and from basketball practice on Friday nights. What? You're surprised I'm not in the WNBA????

Dress You Up, Madonna: My friend Kim, my basement, various outfits, various dance routines. Singing at the top of our lungs. And I had this amazing light pink sleeveless shirt with the image of "80's-cool" Madonna on it. It was the bessssssssssssst!

No Easy Way Out, Robert Tepper: Staring out the rear window of a friend's parents' car driving away from the theatre where we'd just seen Rocky IV. Man, I love that movie! DRAGGGGOOOO!!!!

I Wanna Dance With Somebody, Whitney Houston: This video shows Whitney at her greatest, with a long curly wig and outfits and makeup to die for (in the 80's of course). I remember dancing around my living room just wishing I could look that cool...

Manic Monday, The Bangles: Playing 'Hotel' in my old bedroom. My dad gave me outdated schedule planners from his secretaries and I thought they were the coolest thing ever. Kim came over and we taped room numbers to the three doors in my room, used old sets of keys to hand out to the 'guests' and an old phone to schedule arrangements - all which would be written in the planners of course. So fun!

Little Red Corvette, Prince: This was my absolute favorite song when I was around five or six. I remember my dad taking me along on errands and stopping at this little store called Blueberry Hill for some Country Time Lemonade. Mmmm.

This post was so fun for me ... I may have to do more installments in the future. 

 What songs transport you to 'the good old days' ??   

RIP Adam Yauch

{photo source}

By now, I'm sure you've heard of the untimely passing of the Beastie Boys' Adam "MCA" Yauch. Gone at 47 years old, yet another victim of cancer.

I just wanted to write a quick post expressing my love for the Beasties.

triggering memories ...

A perfectly rainy day and a great playlist. These are the two things that have prompted the writing of this post.

I love waking up to a cloudy sky and street puddles gaining weight. As much as I loathe our well-distressed deck and its buckling, splintered planks, I enjoy being able to see the raindrops joining puddles that shouldn't be there. Savoring a second cup of coffee while I gaze out the deck slider, the trees and grass becoming more vibrantly green with every sip. The dampness and overcast sky bring along with them a feeling of laziness. A desire to be comfortable. It is during these lapses of lethargy that I reminisce of simpler times. I carefully choose a playlist that will showcase the feel of this enjoyable day.

I've always loved music. My mother taught me the chorus of many a classic Barry Manilow, Donna Summer and Air Supply hit when I was just a baby. Even the Nights are Better is one that is engraved in my memory forever. I'm sure I sang my own mixed up version but I didn't know any better nor did I care. My father contributed to my love of Motown and oddly, drug-induced tunes. A very young girl, I began making room in my heart for Smoky Robinson, The Commodores, The Four Tops, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac and countless others. A music bug from day one you could say.

Mazzy Star has always been one of my favorites. While in high school I gave So Tonight That I Might See quite a wearing. I still have the CD though it's long since been transferred to my iPod. I listen to frequently. It transports me to my old teenage bedroom... accessorized in blue, candles lit, cigarette burning (yuck), and pen in hand -- painting my journal with my every thought. When I read those journals now it's as though a stranger wrote them... though at the same time I remember being that stranger.

I remember learning to drive in my father's Grand Prix during my Creedence Clearwater Revival phase. To this day I can't hear Have You Ever Seen the Rain without picturing me blowing through a stop sign or taking a right-turn far too quickly.

Harry Connick Jr. brings me back to Saturday mornings spent cleaning the living room with my mom. I had the pleasure of dusting while putting on an obnoxious show for my family. Lounge-singing my way from table to table. The duster, my microphone. My mother, in stitches.

Music is like a gateway, isn't it? Such a strong connection to the old days. Even the theme song from The Golden Girls is a trigger. Memories of lazy, Saturday nights when my mom and I would be in our pajamas after a night of "calooping." We frequented Paperama -- where I would usually be gifted a new journal or stationery -- Lechemere, Apex and various other stores that no longer exist. {The Saturday night line-up at the time was 227, Amen, The Golden Girls & Empty Nest. Remember that?}

I just love looking back. In contrast, I look forward to the songs of today someday sparking the wonderful memories I'm currently making with my daughter and husband. Remember friends, each day is a memory in progress. Make sure you're making the best of them.

What songs trigger strong memories for you?

music & mango

 

This post is based on The Lightning and the Lightning Bug 

Flicker of Inspiration Prompt #43: Listen

Your prompt this week was simple: Start your linkup post with the word "Listen."

"Listen to our Lights playlist today, Sweetie?"

Scarlett gives me a look that assures me she has no idea what I'm asking of her. She flips her bib over her face and patiently awaits her mango.

Every day during each of Scarlett's meals I choose a playlist from my iPod for our listening pleasure. I have been doing this since she first started eating solid foods. It started out as me wanting to play children's songs for her but that quickly took a turn when I realized how effing annoying they are. So now it's Mama's choice. Some days we have the upbeat 80's featuring pros like Cyndi Lauper, Madonna and Whitney Houston. Other days I like a nostalgic feel with my Richmond mix which is made up of songs that remind me of the first six years of my life. (Richmond being the town I lived in). A few other playlists include, Lights, Favorites, Treadmill, Fire, (that's for backyard get-togethers, not life-threatening situations), Oldies, 20's & 30's, etc. There is always something to fit my mood.

I'm a huge music bug and I can already tell that Scarlett is too. When I was pregnant with her I'd play the same song on the ride home after every good doctor's appointment. That song was "Float On" by Modest Mouse. When Scarlett was just a few weeks old and refused to settle down we learned that we could play that song to  instantly soothe her. I guess there is some truth to that whole "babies can hear while in the womb" mumbo jumbo, huh?

I grew up with all sorts of music and always enjoyed a wide variety. My parents both loved the music of the 50's, 60's and 70's so I got the best of all genres. I can't say there's a decade that I don't like.

What's your favorite decade or genre of music?

Did you grow up with a music-loving family?