natehevens

I'm just saying hi here. So... hi...

I really should put up something meaningful, though, shouldn't I?

Okay... well... what about music?

I wonder... is anyone else a fan of the Blues? Classic Rock? Progressive Rock? Psychedelic Rock/Pop? Grunge? Early Metal?

I'm a throwback to the 60's and 70's, or so I've been told. People have told me I should have been around for Summer of Love, Woodstock, Isle of Wight... I would have loved it. And I think they're right, because I tend to find myself immersed in the ideals of that culture. Free love, no war, freedom, pure happiness, no poverty, no shame, natural... the world the hippies wanted was truly a beautiful one... because who doesn't want a world free of war, poverty, and shame? Who doesn't want peace, and love? Who doesn't want to be able to be free to say and do what they want?

And the music they had!

There's something incredible, IMO, about the music of the 60's and 70's. Of course, it wasn't all good. But what was good was phenomenal. Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, The Who, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Yes, Eric Clapton, Cream, The Yardbirds, Jeff Beck... and, of course, Led Zeppelin.

Led Zeppelin takes the cake, IMO. Created from the ashes of the Yardbirds in 1969, they went on to become arguably the greatest band in Rock and Roll History... and possibly the most outlandish (Mud Shark Incident, anyone?). They are definitely my favorite band of all-time, especially since it really is impossible to pigeon-hole them into one genre... they tried it all. And sure... you could blast them for stealing other works, but there are three things you have to remember about that:
1. The majority of those "stolen songs" had no original artist, anyways, because they were stolen so many times history forgot the name of the original composer
2. They made those songs their own... many of these songs don't even resemble their earlier counterparts besides name alone.
3. The Blues survived because of thieving artists... even Robert Johnson stole some of his music. Led Zeppelin was just the most famous band in a long, established tradition that still exists to this day, believe it or not.

I love the music Led Zeppelin created, and it has truly carried me through my life like no other.

But I don't sit in the past, either. I'm a huge fan of 80's Blues artist Stevie Ray Vaughn. And who can deny the amazing music of the original line-up of Guns N' Roses?

But it was Nirvana that got me started. Nirvana was the first true rock band I listened to. Before them it was Disney Children shit, Raffi, and Weird Al Yankovic. Then came Nirvana. Nirvana remains one of my favorite bands today and always will for the sheer power and emotion in the music. The world lost an incredible musician when it lost Kurt Cobain, that's for sure.

And there's much to be said for the current Blues, Grunge, Progressive, and Acoustic underground of today. A lot of great music is out there...

So now I'm a musician. I play guitar and I'm working on an album which will include all my favorite genres: Blues, Classic Rock, Acoustic, Progressive, Psychedelic, and even a little bit of Grunge. And it's thanks to the 60's and 70's, and the later bands I have gotten into, that have built my style.



Erm... so there you go... my first blog... maybe my next will be political (or not... I don't know...). I just felt like I should write something...