Music, cont....

In 1985, when I got my 1st real guitar, I was fortunate and had a friend that would teach me some basic cords and some songs. The 1st song I wanted to learn was Paranoid by Black Sabbath, he already knew it so it was on! I learned the typical Kiss, Ted Nugent, along with some Judas Priest, I was loving it! I honestly didn't practice as much as I should have and I never bothered to learn solo's to any of the songs, I wanted to learn the songs damn it! Even back then the rhythm that sucked me in, the groove, the heaviness of it all. Little did I know that what I considered heavy at that time wasn't even close to being heavy. I don't remember the exact date, but I believe it was sometime in 1986 I heard a commercial on the radio that Ozzy was going to be in El Paso for the Ultimate Sin tour, I was so stoked! There was absolutely no way I was going to miss that one! Up until then I had only heard of Metallica, so I had no real interest, but things were about to change. As with most metal heads I wanted front row, so we got general admission tickets and from the time we got there we started working our way to the front. I was front row center for Metallica, Master of Puppets Tour. That show change me forever musically. Here's 4 guys, about my age, just pummeling the crowd with the heaviest music I had ever heard, the brutality, the ferocity, the absolute power. No fancy costumes, no make-up, no fancy light show, just 4 normal guys delivering a message with such fury it could not be ignored.

Seeing that show left such an impression, the passion and the power of Kirk, James, Lars, and Cliff went through me and touched my soul. They weren't out to put on a huge theatrical production, it was just 4 regular guys delivering a new kind of music, thrash metal. This was Metallica at their best. Tragically, Cliff was killed in a bus accident on this tour. Metallica was never the same, IMHO. R.I.P Cliff. I feel very fortunate to have been able to experience that show, absolutely pure Metallica.

The 1st Metallica song I learned was For Whom the Bell Tolls.

From that point on I immersed myself in thrash metal. Megadeth, Anthrax, Slayer, if it was heavy I was listening to it and trying to learn it. Over the years it got heavier and heavier, I've never looked back.