Years ago my first concert had a formative impact on the rest of my life. It led to my first piano lesson, a chance electronic music course in middle school, and some graduate research on hearing aids. It's always been a bit of an oddball hobby within my family, but watching my niece grow to love music (and live music) the same way I do has been exciting to watch.
I don't spend nearly as much time as I'd like doing it, but I still love to listen to and play music. It's genuinely cathartic. Through the piano will always be my strong suit, I've recently made a very real effort to learn the guitar as well.
Here are a few artists in particular that I've followed especially closely.
The Piano Man. My first concert. My first album. My first distinct memory of him was hearing We Didn't Start the Fire on the radio in 1989, but for years before that, his Greatest Hits album was plahing on our record player at home.
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Another piano great, and also my first concert.
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In decade filled with angry grunge, this trio from Seattle stood out by singing about Peaches.
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New Miserable Experience was the sountrack to many afterschool hours in high school.
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I discovered these guys in college and the dark gothic punk was a welcome change from the boy bands and pop punk that was popular at the time.
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Another piano pop artist. Rockin' the Suburbs had an equal impact on me in my final days of college.
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Whether its participating or watching, my second love has always been sports. For fun, I love a good run, bike ride and lifting weights. I have four marathon finishes and 14 halfs at this point in my life.
When I'm watching sports, here's who I'm cheering for.
My alma mater.
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Growing up outside DC during the Joe Gibbs era made this easy. The second quarter of Super Bowl XXII had me locked in for life.
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Opening Day 1989. I turned on the TV and they were showing baseball instead of the Jetsons. The Orioles beat the Red Sox and they had a new fan.
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I discovered the Premier League in 2019, mostly because its on at 9am on Saturdays.
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