For this first post, I figure that I should give an explanation as to why I've created this page.

When I was around 3 years old (being almost 20 years ago the exact details of this story are hazy), my parents placed a cello in my hands, brought me to a private music instructor, and told us to have at it. The results were less than satisfactory: a half hour and $50 of my parent's money was spent watching me lay on the floor, flatly refusing (in the aurally and visually pleasant style of a 3 year old) to be taught.

I did this twice.

Four years later, my elementary school's music program motivated my parents to try me again with the cello and learn the instrument in a less rebellious manner. What followed was what has been a fascinating journey, one that has included adding the piano at age 9, being a member of one of the finest youth orchestras in the United States, playing in other numerous fabulous ensembles, and having the privilege of being taught by a number of renowned instructors and performers.

The earliest memory I have as a music listener is listening at the age of 5 to Christy Moore's folk project Planxty and their compilation The Planxty Collection (Polydor, 1976) on a bootleg CD in my dad's car during a long road trip to Louisville, Kentucky (more on that entire adventure perhaps later). I guess one could say that this, too, triggered a sequence of one thing leading to another: being fed a steady diet of Beethoven, Mozart, and Nick Cave up to the age of 15, diving into the world of YouTube music videos (a particular favorite of mine), and, finally, jumping into Spotify and its bottomless pit of licensed music.

What I intend for this blog to be is nothing more than something to show that music has been, and continues to be, a major part of my life. While this may sound a bit blunt, it's a simple a truth that I'll never deny. Moving forward, I'd like to add musical material to this page from different perspectives: as a listener, as a performer, and as a creator. Hopefully I can also transcend from this barebones blog look sooner or later.

In the meantime, feel free to take a look at what music I've been listening to this month at the bottom of this page. I update the playlist very frequently (switching it out entirely when the new month rolls around), and I hope that perhaps you'll pick out a tune and share in my joy of discovery.