21/04/2025
The influence of music in a child's life is part of healthy development, and can often help to regulate a hyperactive mind.
Throughout my adult life, my guitar has been my go-to for avoiding boredom, it's been my occupational therapy, and allows me time where I can be myself. Music takes me away from this noisy world that often befuddles me and helps me calm the racing thoughts. My immediate family wasn't very musical, other then playing records, although Mom did sit at the piano now-and-then (and played very well).
My music influence was growing up behind a venue (The old Lewiston Armory) that hosted many rock bands during the 1960s, and as a young child I would sit by my bedroom window listening to the music and watching the bands and crews hang out at the back door during their break. It was only as an adult that I found old posters from that time period to realize who those bands were...1968-Jimi Hendrix, Queen, Kansas, Foghat, and more. The Arena (now The Colisee) is a larger venue where the concerts were moved to and was just a short bike ride away from home. One drizzly evening after supper when I was a teenager, I was grounded from going to the concert taking place that night, but was allowed to go outside for a bike ride. So, I rode my bike with friends to The Arena and sat inside some concrete construction sewer pipes laying on their sides just behind the back doors to escape the rain. We sat there smoking w**d and got to listen to "America" where I drifted away and felt like a "horse with no name". Those influences helped me to find an escape through music.
Now, I never have to wonder what to do with myself if I'm feeling bored, upset, or anxious. I just plug in my guitar and mic and pretend I have an audience as I play the songs that soothe my soul