Music and Family

For this entry, I decided to interview my Dad! It is a little lengthy of an interview, but here we go!

 Me: So starting off, what was your first, real, "music memory?” 

Dad: My first memory was listening to Led Zeppelin as a kid, I was probably about 8 years old, my brother listened to it a lot. Looking back, it was a way to bond with him and I really liked the way it flows; it felt like it never got old.

Me: Do you think you have any fond memories of music growing up?

Dad: Yes, my favorite memories were going to concerts when I was younger. In the fall, the “Poughkeepsie Civic Center and the Chance” theater had headliners weekly for 15$ a ticket, it was never more than 20$. It really exposed me to a lot of different bands and the top bands in my favorite genre. You could go with your friends and the venue was less than 5,000 people so it was a smaller setting and you could see your favorite bands up close. My favorite concert I saw there was Kiss and it was so loud that my ears actually rang for a week! Some other really cool bands I saw were Ozzy Osbourne, and well, Black Sabbath, Queensryche and more!. 

Me: What is your favorite artist now? 

Dad: Rob Halford!

Me: What about when you were younger, like my age, has it changed much over time?

Dad: In my 20’s it was definitely Metallica, stuff like the black album was my favorite. Over time though my taste in music has stayed pretty much the same, if anything it grew closer to British rock and metal but I still listen to the same music overall.

Me: Have you always liked the mainstream rock scene?

Dad: Hmm not really, as a whole I did not like what the big sellers were, like glam rock and Gun ‘n Roses etc. Much like rock now, a lot of it is over produced with no originality. It appeals to masses over what the artist wants, they make whatever sells.

Me: Interesting! Did you listen to other, non-rock genres at all? 

Dad: Pretty much no, I didn’t. I didn’t have much appreciation for the “top 40.” If it came on I would know the songs and all that but I didn’t go out of my way to listen to it.

Me: I’m curious about this one, what did your parents think of your music tastes?

Dad: You know, they never really said anything about it, other than Dad saying to turn it down!

Me: Hmm, so what did they listen to?

Dad: They would listen to “easy listening” and that was pretty much it. Your Grandpa liked maritime folk music, but that’s it. So they didn’t influence my music.

 

Me: So, what do you think about what kids my age listen to now.

Dad: To be honest I don’t think there’s a lot of excitement or depth, to me, it’s boring overall, across all genres. I think it has to do with how the songwriting process has changed. A lot of it is all just sampling.

Me: Oh yea, the process has totally changed. In pop now a lot of times you will get, like, 20 people all collaborating on a track rather than writing it just yourself or with your group.

Dad: Yea, like where we lived there are tons of small studios all throughout upstate, New York, and these celebrities would come up to the mountains and out of the city to focus on just their album away from labels.

Me: That’s interesting, like my friend who’s father turned their garage into a full blown studio, and had people come up and record- they lived over in Woodstock!

Dad: Yea, exactly!

Me: Now, I don’t think you were, but in case, were you in any type of music ensemble in school, like band or something like that? 

Dad: I didn’t do band class but I was affiliated with a rock band when I was younger

Me: Oh, tell me about that!

Dad: Well I didn’t play anything in the band, but I helped with the soundboard and lights for a local bar band in Canada. I really think it changed how I viewed the music scene; I didn’t know what technical abilities it takes to put on a show until I had to help out with that.

 

(For background in the upcoming questions, he was in Newfoundland, Canada for a number of years when he was in the Navy. In addition to this, he had gone to Nova Scotia every summer as a kid to visit family, that had not moved to the U.S. (his entire side of the family is from there.))

Me: Now here’s what I’m really interested in hearing about, what was your experience like with music in Canada.

Dad: Well, Newfoundland is famous for their “kitchen parties.” Almost every weekend there would be live music, in someone’s kitchen, where every friend and neighbor comes over to play together and have a good time. They would have guitars, accordions, bodhran drums (Irish frame drums), and then everyone sings and carries on. It’s like, Scottish and Gaelic folk music. All of it is about fishing and boats- they were work songs because it’s a fishing community. I got really into it because I was around it so much and I still really like it.

Me: Did you hear much music in Nova Scotia? I’d imagine it is really similar because they are both fishing communities.

 Dad: Yea, Nova Scotian music is very similar to “Newfie,” the only real defining difference is the accent because people in Newfoundland are mostly Scottish and Irish. And a lot of times it's actually in French! Really, all music in Canada is very regional; it doesn’t spread through Canada.

Me: Oh that’s interesting! Do you think music has ever had purpose to you?

Dad: In Canada, it was a way to get friends and family together- the kitchen parties were Friday nights and Sundays are like a feast with everyone over again. I miss it because the culture is so different here.

Me: Alright, well, that’s all I’ve got, thanks a lot!

Dad: Oh it’s no problem!

And in case anyone is curious, here's an example of Newfie music!