My Musical Journey

I grew up with The Beatles. I listened to my mom's records in my old home along with Tchaikovsky & Puccini. I got into classic rock by two tapes I found. They had Bad Company, Journey, Steely Dan, and Paul McCartney and Wings on them. I got into hip hop by means of Salt n Pepa's Black's Magic. I liked the 80s stuff growing up too like Duran Duran especially and other catchy new wave acts. I was not exposed to hair metal. Z104 was big for me in Elementary school. At the time, they played a mix of all music and 96X and FM99 were the rock stations. I was huge into the early 90s dance hits as well as the transitional 80s/90s pop artists like Jane Child. There was also a lot of weird hip hop acts I dug like Skee Lo, Lucus, Us3, Ini Kamoze. I was also turned onto more serious hip hop groups like De La Soul and Tribe Called Quest from my friend's brother. My cousin exposed me to the Wu Tang Clan and a band I had heard on 96X before but didn't know it named 311 who I got into a lot more as time went on. I got into Sublime later on as well.

I was a big fan of the early 90s popular rock bands like Alice in Chains (especially), Pearl Jam, Offspring, Green Day, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Bush, Faith No More, Stabbing Westward, No Doubt, and Weezer. I was also into Sponge's first album Rotting Pinata a lot and loved Toad and the Wet Sprocket. Gin Blossoms were good too. Korn were cool but they were more my cousin's band although I was really drawn to their song Shoots and Ladders. I also really liked Mighty Mighty Bosstones and a hybrid band called the Urge. I got pretty big into Ska, Punk, and Reggae too. During this time I was also into the MTV scene when visiting my cousin's house. It turned me onto a brand of humor and culture that I really took an interest in. The shows were Beavis and Butthead and a sketch show called the State. The State played a lot of the music I was into at the time covering all genres and Beavis and Butthead tended to focus on the harder edged music and indie stuff. MTV was also friendly to Weird Al back then with Al-Tv and he had his own show on CBS which I watched in elementary school. I have always been a huge fan of his.

I got into Metallica by 5th grade with the black album. My friend's brother then gave me Kill em All and told me that it was when Metallica were better. I never heard something so fast. Then in December 1996 on my 12th birthday I got Sepultura's Roots. I was immediately drawn in by it's tribal rhythms infused with heavier music. While I still loved all music prior, I really get into heavier music during middle school. I also get into Pink Floyd during this time. Metal music, however, triggered to me a way to bring together all aspects I like about all separate music genres into one. From their Roots album, a friend at middle school gave me Beneath the Remains telling me it was from when they were faster. I loved it. Not only was it faster, but it had way more melodies and solo guitar work. Another friend lent me Fear Factory and by their back catalog I discovered death metal.

Skinnies Records store in Norfolk nursed this growling love of metal music with its free promo tapes. Late in middle and early into high school I pick up Century Media Records samplers. I hear Emperor through one of the tapes officially getting my first taste of black metal, which is the fastest music I had heard up to that point. These tapes lead to me purchasing my first Century Media cd sampler ID4 which included a handful of metal bands with different styles. Also in this time I get a Slipknot promo tape in '99 and get my cousin in them. I really dug their hyperness and fun heavy sound. Then I find Century Media's ID6 sampler in 2000 and hear one band that sticks out Soilwork. They proceed to change my life. I buy their album The Chainheart Machine in August in Philidelphia and they become my favorite band. I love the cd so much that I make a fansite for them on September 6th that I still update to this day.

Not long after discovering Soilwork I go to the music store near my house and see a sticker on a cd describing it as exactly the kind of album I would want. It's Darkane's Rusted Angel. I purchase it without even previewing it and it completely blows me away right from the beginning. I have found my two favorite metal bands. In this time I also get into Devin Townsend's music starting with Strapping Young Lad and the metal world continues to open up with the band Opeth with My Arms Your Hearse and the end all be all technical metal masterpiece Theory in Practice's The Armageddon theories.

In 2001 at 16, I begin writing at Metalbite webzine doing reviews and interviews. I discover the band Andromeda which introduced me to progressive metal. I am instantly hooked by their album Extension of the Wish. Early that year I interview the bands The Defaced, Construcdead, Andromeda, Shadows Fall, Terror2000, and Soilwork. In 2002, I am exposed to Ram-Zet and Arcturus which show me just how varied and cross-genre injected metal can be. Ram-Zet remains one of my favorites as well. During and following freshman year of college I get into more progressive rock/metal Planet X, Dream Theater, and Symphony X. Prog becomes a special genre for me. My tastes get more varied as I move along, yet I still retain the love for all the music that came before. My itunes is largely made up of music from my past. Even though it is safe to say that metal is my favorite kind of music overall, I will always have a love for all forms of music. If there is a hook baited properly, then I am caught!

Current Favorite Band - Sikth :: http://www.myspace.com/sikth
Current Least Favorite Band - Flyleaf

Movies & Television

Old Tv - The Blackadder Series, The State, Beavis and Butthead, The Kids in the Hall, SCTV, Exit 57, Monty Python, Soap, Picture Pages, New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Mr. Boogedy, Pete & Pete, Ren & Stimpy, Rugrats, Doug, Are You Afraid of the Dark, Salute Your Shorts, Today's Special, The Wuzzles, The Noozles, Ducktales, Chip & Dale's Rescue Rangers, Tailspin, Saved by the Bell, Garfield & Friends, Zoobilee Zoo, Heithcliff, Muppet Babies, Alvin & the Chimpmunks, David the Gnome, Inspector Gadget, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Care Bears, Dumbo's Circus, Under the Umbrella Tree, Fred Penner's Place, Hey Dude, Eureka's Castle, Bobby's World, Fairy Tale Theater, Adventures In Wonderland, Goof Troop, The Real Ghostbusters

New Tv - Squidbillies, Stella, The Colbert Report, South Park, Family Guy, Sports

Family Movies - The Brave Little Toaster, The Chipmunk Adventure, The Mouse and His Child, How to be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days, The Sword in the Stone, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, Labyrinth, Flight of the Navigator

Horror Movies - Hellraiser 1 & 2, Hellraiser V: Inferno, Jack Frost 1 & 2, Braindead aka Dead Alive, Halloween, Freddy vs. Jason, Wishmaster

Action Movies - Die Hard, Batman Begins, Terminator 3, Riki-oh: The Story of Ricky

Comedy - Ghostbusters, Van Wilder, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, Not Another Teen Movie, Airplane!, Caddyshack, Dumb & Dumber, Meet the Feebles, Hot Shots, UHF, Supertroopers, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, Dogma, Being John Malkovich, Office Space, Little Shop of Horrors, Noises Off

My Favorite Video Games

Mother 2 aka Earthbound - I got this sweet little game for Super Nintendo at Wal-Mart one year. It was in a big box at the checkout line and I asked my grandmother to get it for me. I had never played a RPG before. This game is so weird and funny. It also has fantastic music. It took me forever to beat, but I loved every minute of it. I still play this game as often as possible. It will just never get old. This is the sequel to Mother from Nintendo. That game was only released in Japan, however, I have since played it and think it is awesome as well.

Mother 3 aka Earthbound 2 - I was waiting for this game for years. It was originally scheduled for N64 but was cancelled before it was released due to bugs and rendering issues. The game was scaled down and toyed with a little and finally released for the Game Boy Advance April 2006. It is the best game I have ever played. Even though it was in Japanese, I laughed and cried at this wonderful game. The humor and the deep message of the game broke the barriers of language. The music in this game is also very unique. It is funny like Earthbound but much deeper as well. Take care of the world around you. It's the only one we've got.