Your note got me thinking about my story. My earliest music memories are of my mom playing ABBA and The Carpenters when I was very young. She would put on a record while doing house work. Karen Carpenters voice gives me chills to this day. The first album that made a big impression on me was Gun’s ‘n Roses Appetite for Destruction. A friend gave me a copy on a cassette and I thought it was pretty crap the first time I listened to it. I took it with me on holiday and listened to it over and over. Slowly the rhythm seeped into me and it became a favorite. But I can tell you exactly where I was standing when I heard Smells like Teen Spirit for the first time. It’s still so clear and I can smell the room I was standing in. It took me a week to find out who the artist was (the good old days of broadcast radio). I’ve never been a lyric guy, it’s the whole sound that I love and the voice is the lead instrument, not the words. I can never pick out a favorite artist or song - there are just too many styles and flavors to choose just one. That’s the beauty of music - it’s the universal language - the language of the soul