Mom

Mom’s. They really bring out the best in us.

My Mom has had a HUGE influence on my musical endeavors. Probably more than she even realizes. So, I want to chat about that for a bit and share some of my experiences about my Mom’s impact.

At a fairly young age I remember going to piano lessons. We would drive the dusty, dirt backroads of Idaho to and from my piano teacher’s house once a week. I had a great teacher, and I remember liking piano for the most part, especially when I got to be a little more advanced. I participated in a competition of sorts where you had to memorize two full pieces of music, I believe it was, and then play them in front of a judge completely by memory. If you were able to do this, you received a gold star. This was held once a year and if you got 3 gold stars in three years, you were really, really good and received some kind of special recognition. I got a gold star my very first year and was so excited! I really wanted to do my best and get the other two stars in the following couple years. I did not get to do that however as we moved not too long after. We also couldn’t find a great teacher after we moved, and so I ended up not continuing on with piano. Years later in college, I did try to pick it up again! But it’s been quite some time now since I’ve played. Nevertheless, I am grateful to my Mom for the hours I spent learning how to read music, getting to know some music theory, and learning to play an instrument. It gave me a great musical foundation that I have used throughout my life more times than I can count!

Mom has always had a penchant for musicals. We lived almost as far from Broadway as one could, but she was always playing cassettes, and then CD’s of “The Phantom of the Opera”, or “Les Misérables”, or “Fiddler On The Roof”. In fact, I have fond memories of listening to “Phantom” and “Les Mis” as we drove back and forth on those same dusty Idaho backroads. We watched almost every musical on VHS as well. Everything from “State Fair” to “My Fair Lady, “South Pacific” to “Oklahoma!”, and “The King and I” to “The Sound of Music”. My personal favorite was “The Pirates of Penzance”. “Meet Me in St. Louis” and “Paint Your Wagon” are also great! (Though, whoever thought it was a good idea to have Clint Eastwood sing…out loud…at all, probably got fired from their job.) I’m thankful that she schooled me in the classics from a young age.

She has a rather eclectic taste in music herself, and I believe this to be why I like so many different genres of music. She loves the choir and gospel sounds of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (now known as The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square), as well as Alan Jackson’s Gospel album, and many other older hymns and gospel songs. And she also listens to more modern popular music, as well as classic rock stations. She introduced me to the easing sounds of Alison Krauss, and then went and bought the AC/DC soundtrack album from the movie “Iron Man 2”! We were practically raised on Queen. My Mom’s the best, haha. Johnny Cash and country are also types of music she enjoys. She always seems to find the good in people and things no matter who they are, what it looks like, or how things sound. I’m very appreciative of that.

Speaking of choir and gospel music, I can’t forget sitting next to her in church basically every Sunday of my life and listening to her sing hymns during our services. I always thought that she had the prettiest Alto voice, and it amazed me how she could find the Alto part in pretty much every song that I heard her sing. She probably doesn’t know that I listened intently to her all those years, and that I attribute my ability to somehow easily find and create harmonies to songs because of constantly tuning my own ear to hers. I am so glad of that.

I can recall how happy she was when I joined choir, and then when I got lead part in the school production of “Lil’ Abner”. And how funny and awesome she thought it was when I sang “Celebration” at the year end spectacular in a giant afro wig and brown bell-bottomed cotton pants.

I’m glad she was there to see me on multiple occasions play and sing with Counterfeit Digits in sometimes dark and somewhat dingy music hangouts in downtown Provo, UT. (Btw, Dad has been there through all of this too, but this is primarily a Mother’s Day post. We can talk about him later. 😉)

Mom has always been so supportive on so many levels of my musical pursuits, and I will be forever in her debt because of it. Because of her, I can honestly say that I am the person that I’ve always wanted to be.

My Mom. She really has brought out the best in me. Love you Mom.