more and more time online. It was the heyday of Napster. I didn’t need to go to shows to discover music. Hell, I didn’t need to know anyone to discover music.
Two years later, I moved to Los Angeles. The first few years were difficult for me with regards to music. I met a lot of people and made some great friends, but none of them listened to the same things that I did. I began going to shows by myself, which ultimately wasn’t nearly as pathetic as I thought it would be.
During those years, my tastes began to change, aligning with where I’m at now. I still listen to the recorded in a basement, angst and anger punk rock, but it’s not my go to music. It’s music of a mood. It’s no longer my every day music.
These days, my music has softened. I’m indie rock. That’s probably the best way to put it, as much as that might pain me. I listen to earnest rock music by bands that don’t have mainstream success. The songs are more accessible, but still challenging, probably more so, even. I listen to more singing than yelling, although I still enjoy some quality yelling.
Slowly but surely, I met people who were into at least some of the same bands I listened to. Nicole quickly came on board with a lot of my music. We started going to shows. We started going to shows with friends. The Troubadour was the greatest place on earth.
Even this started to tapper off after a while. I got old. A show that went until 1 AM on a week day was exhausting. My feet hurt from standing. I wasn’t the angry young man I was two decades ago. And I’m fine with that.
These days, I listen to Pandora and Soma FM to hear new music. My friends on Facebook talk about their favorite new bands. I share with Nicole the bands I think she’ll like and keep the others to myself. Every once in a while, if it’s a band we both really like a lot, we’ll make the drive into the city to see them. We’ll stay up late.
I’m not punk rock. I don’t know that I ever was. But I had fun dabbling. I had fun dabbling and it got me to where I am now.
It was worth it.
KyleGarret.com 