I got into black metal when I was 15, ssoo, circa 2001 or 2002?? Which isn't all that common in the Southeast of the U.S. I'm in the heart of the Bible Belt, and it does indeed live up to being called that too. Long enough to see Celtic Frost and Withered with Kult ov Azazel for the Monotheist tour when they played through the U.S when I was 17 or 18. A little strange that I went from being on the floor, watching Kult ov Azazel, to being booked for festival shows on tour where they were also playing. But I mean, I'll roll with it, you know?
I definitely still love my metal music. I just have to handle it in smaller doses of listening to it. Because, when you're writing, rehearsing, recording, and doing shows, it can become a bit overwhelming if you've been doing it for years and years with different bands over time. I like peace and quiet in my down time. I'm kind of a nerd. I read a lot. That was how I got into classical, jazz, and funk. I love jazz theory and classical formats. I'm big into music theory, it's a useful writing tool. Obviously, when you're working with something like metal music, sometimes you have to throw the rule book out, but other times when you're writing, it can also come in handy if you know how to use it.
For jazz and funk style stuff, I got into America Paz a couple years ago. I have a lot of admiration and respect for her as a musician. It's been a cool ride watching her career rise up too. It got up enough to where she went from being what seemed like mostly a street performer according to some youtube videos to teaching master classes for bass and now she's been on television in her country. I write with a lot of note modulation and harmony. Which is really strange for a bassist to do, and bridging the other instruments together, it just makes the corner pocket feel more comfortable for me and still lets me do my job.
Over time, as a musician, genres kind of became genreLESS to me. More recently I actually discovered the cellist Jacqueline du Pre. Who, completely blew my mind while watching her fingers on the fingerboard. I brushed up on my history like I do anytime I discover new music with an artist, and was pleasantly surprised. That Elgar Cello Concerto she did is legendary for a reason. The woman retired out of performance at 28 and started teaching music, due to the onset development of multiple sclerosis which eventually took her life at the age of 42. There's a later interview with her on YouTube where she gets asked about her verbal articulation, that she learned to speak about music in a more articulate way. Her response was: "That just means I've had to use my mouth instead of my hands." Which is, really inspiring as a musician. Probably something I myself would do if I couldn't play anymore. You just adapt, and keep going. And everyone knows about Beethoven. lol. My professor when I was in college said: "Beethoven. Probably the most famous composer of all time. Even people who know nothing about classical music at all know Beethoven. Even if they don't know his name, if you sing the melody for Ode To Joy they'll eventually say: "Oh that one deaf guy."
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