Music and Family

For my interview with family and traditions, I decided to survey both my mom and dad about their experiences with music and how they grew up with music.

The questions that will be asked for both my mom and dad will be the following:

1. What was your first musical experience that you vividly remember?
2. What musical instrument did you play, if you did?
3. What was the first-ever concert that you remember going to?
4. What is your favorite song?
5. What is your least favorite song?

Mom

We will first start with my mom. During this part of time, 1978 to be exact, my mom was six years old at the time, would always go with her father to go with him to take scuba diving lessons in While her father was diving and learning, my mom would start listening to Little River Band, during that time. And this would be all the time, too. No matter what happened, she would just play Little River Band over and over again, which became her first ever musical experience that she could remember.

In 1983, my mom started to get into more music. One musical instrument she played on the most was the piano when she was 12 years old in 1983. She never really got into it as a kid during this part of time; however, what she could do was play the piano by ear. This really fascinated me as well because I never knew that she used to play the piano by ear.

The first ever concert my mom could remember was in 1986 with a band called "The Monkees." She remembered that she went with only a couple of her friends during that time; however, she thought that the Monkees were "just alright." One of the songs that was played at that concert was "Hey, Hey, We're the Monkees."

"Hey, Hey, We're the Monkees" by The Monkees:

My mom, by the way, is a huge Dave Matthews Band fan, and I mean a HUGE fan. She went to too many concerts, too many she can't even count how many at this point. When I asked her what her favorite song of all time was, I wasn't surprised that it would be a Dave Matthews Band song. Without hesitation, my mom jolted and quickly stated that her favorite song was called "Number 41" by, you guessed it, Dave Matthews Band. When I asked her why that was, she only said she liked it because it stuck with her and never left her. Still, if I am with my mom, she will play this song no matter what.

"Number 41" by Dave Matthews Band:

However, when I asked her what her least favorite song was, she quickly stated it was "Barracuda" By Heart. The main reason why she despised that song was that since she was just a child, she was babysat by this one woman in particular, who would teach her to sing the song constantly! It was to the point where it was just being overplayed again and again, and she could not take it anymore. To be honest, if I were to sing or listen to the same song on repeat over and over again, I would understand how it could be irritating, especially if you have to be babysat with someone you do not like because of how much they would overplay a song.

"Barracuda" by Heart:

Dad

My dad's side of things is somewhat more interesting if I have to be honest. When my dad was just 11 years old, he was in a play for his church. During that play, he was only going to sing one song, since in that play, he was playing the role of the shepherd. Unfortunately, the other kid in that play who was going to be the role of Joseph was sick. To make up for the sick kid, my dad had to actually play two roles: The Shepherd and Joseph. I also need to mention that he needed to memorize both songs the night before the play! He did, however, remember one of the songs he had to sing, that being a song called "Pray With Me."

Back in the 5th or 6th grade, my dad played the trumpet and the recorder during chorus. With the trumpet, however, he clearly stated that he could rock while playing the song "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" on his trumpet. I found it quite humorous that the only song he could play on there was just that one, to be exact.

My dad worked at many concerts growing up. However, some of his memories growing up at concerts were when my dad was around in the 7th grade. During this time in his life, he went to a concert for a band named "Kool and the Gang" with a friend and their parents in Williamsburg. However, my dad's first ever concert alone, he said, was going to an Aerosmith concert, as well as a Black Rose concert. A very interesting thing about my dad I found out too was how he also helped out for the 38th Super Bowl pregame show down in Houston, Texas!

My dad listened to a lot of Christian songs growing up as a kid, and one of my dad's favorite songs growing up and still to this day is a song by Kristene DiMarco called "It is Well." Growing up more however, he used to run cross country in college at Virginia Tech, and one of my dad's favorite songs to listen to during cross country meets was "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC.

"It Is Well" by Kristene DiMarco:

"You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC:

    

One of my dad's least favorite music tastes is things that just get overplayed too much, to the point, just like my mom. One of the songs my dad stated he absolutely could not stand growing up was "Macarena" by Los Del Rio.

"Macarena" by Los Del Rio:

I had a really great time making this Blog, and this gave me a great chance to learn more about my family too. Thank you so much for looking at this Blog, and I hope you enjoyed it!