Let me introduce myself.

I guess I should start by introducing myself… I am Amanda. A lifetime music lover, mixed media artist, mom, and opinionated friend.  I grew up in a tiny little farm town in Western New York. The closest music scene was Buffalo, NY. I grew up in a home with my Baby Boomer parents and a bunch of siblings. Some of us Gen X and the younger ones, me included, are now considered “Geriatric Millennials” (I scoff at that designation, I am not “geriatric” yet….)  

 As a result of my household makeup and spending a lot of time with my grandma, who was considerably older than many of my friends' grandparents, I was exposed to many types of music. My grandma liked an array of music, but she had an affinity for Woody Guthrie and Gene Autry, at least their songs are ones I fondly remember her singing. My Dad is deep into Prog and Classic Rock, I spent a lot of time in the car listening to my dad’s car tape collection, which included a lot of Genesis, Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, and Yes. My mom is more of a Classic Rock and Pop music person. I grew up listening to her playing things like Heart and Fleetwood Mac in the car or while cleaning. Then, there were my sisters exposing me to artists and groups like, Madonna, Prince and The Revolution, Ozzy Osbourne, Nirvana, The Doors, Bush, Seven Mary Three, Tupac, Notorious BIG… It was kind of wild as we grew into teenagers and began growing our own tastes in music.

 I just kind of absorbed all of the music I was exposed to like a sponge. I recorded songs off the local radio stations, my favorites were always the stations out of Buffalo; 97 Rock, Kiss 98.5, Oldies 104, and what was 103.3 The Fox (which became 103.3 The Edge). I spent copious amounts of my babysitting money on tapes and CDs at the local Ames Department store or if Dad was feeling especially saucy, he’d take us to the Media Play by the mall or to Record Theatre for double stamp Wednesday. My parents took me to my first concert when I was ten years old…. Imagine a ten-year-old whose only wish was to see Elton John. Well, that was it. I was hooked on live music too. Those habits continued into my teens and twenties. I have now amassed boxes of CDs in my attic, a Vinyl Collection, and one of the most bonkers “Liked Music” on Spotify that anyone’s ever seen.

 As I have grown older and expanded my own musical tastes, I have really enjoyed watching my children develop theirs, too. I have also found that with the current, fast-paced world we live in, most people’s feelings about music have remained the same. Music evokes feelings of joy, happiness, sadness, and nostalgia. Feelings that people generally want to share. I also find, that while everyone is so quick to argue over opinions related to society and politics, in most cases, music is one of the topics that people can peacefully debate and walk away enlightened.  Music can transcend time as well. Whether you are listening to a record, a streaming service, or the airwaves…. a song as this magical capability to take you back to another time, and that is truly magical.

 So, take this journey with me! Let’s talk about music! The purpose of this blog is to share information and opinions about music and artists of all genres, Live local music, and Local music venues and festivals.