And you won't have to.......
Making up a top 50 was hard enough, but with all these people making honorable mention list, I felt I had to give props to those who play their own special part in making the music whisper and shout….
-To the Dad who had a moment of softness, and decided to not tell his teen son to “turn that crap down!!!” that one time, just happened to be the time the son heard the song that lit the fire to a passion that would burn for the rest of his life. It was that one sliver of time that made the difference for so many.
-To the high school garage bands, playing for nothing, practicing on a tireless schedule, fueled only by desire and a hunger for something greater. Some might make it, some will hold on to the passion in their own special way, some will fade into the obscure pools of humanity, never to create music again.
-To the bar bands that will never see the big stage, never see a record deal, never see all the luxuries of the rockstar life. Those who bust ass at work all day to pay the bills, then head to a seedy dive and rock out till the wee hours of the morning, all for a measly 300 buck, even though there’s enough talent between two guitarist and a drummer on a five piece that they can cover Lights Out by UFO perfectly.(I’ve seen this happen, fucking amazing) They do it for love, simply for love.
-To the bands who endlessly write and rehearse original material, expressing all the wants, hungers, and desires inside them, even though a paycheck is never to come. To lay your soul down without reward for others to contemplate is the greatest of vulnerabilities.
-To the strung out musician, his brilliance only outdone by his troubled soul. He has taken his last slam of dope, he will be dead soon. He literally gave his life to the business, only to be trashed in the papers in the morning.
-To the backbones of the business, working tirelessly to make sure that the music is just right, the lights are shining, and the stage sturdy.
-To the frustrated, the joyous, the sad, the angry, the lost, the reborn, the alone, the loved, the satiated, the hungry, the beaten, the wanting, the peaceful, the searching, to all of those who had a feeling, and needed a song to live it through, and to live through it.
-To the fans everywhere, for music needs a soul to satisfy, and the love of it needs to be shared.
It’s to all of these people, and so many more, that I would like to honor here, the ones who lived and breathed the music in every fashion. I have touched on what music means to me all over this list. When I was stuck in that insane childhood, the insanity stopped when the music played, and even today, if I want to stop the insanity, I always have my way out. The love of music, I feel, is the most intimate thing a person can have, it cannot be bred or grown. To tell someone what music to like is the most futile gesture of all, and to say a band sucks is a meaningless statement. That band that you may think sucks is bound to be the very thing that breathes life into another. Each of our souls ring to a different vibration, a different frequency, no two are alike. The multitudes of musical artist exist to satisfy these myriad vibrations and frequencies, and there are areas in our souls that can cross paths with others. Think of your favorite song, play it in your head, feel the bliss brought about by this simple act. Now imagine someone you care about, one whose soul is in tune with that same wonderful song that brought that bliss to you. There lie the two of you, eyes closed, souls floating on the gossamer winds of sound, together. Such times are the most intimate connections born of, moments when we know we have found someone who at some level lives, feels, and loves as we do. Lifelong friendships have been made out of this very simple union of souls. I have made a few myself, within this forum and out in the world. Such is the power of music. I am honored to have been able to give you guys a deeper look into the sounds and frequencies of my soul, the ones that have carried me through all the joys and sorrows of my life, and each and every one of you too are honorable mentions on this list. You help make the music happen in my life.
"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dream."-Arthur O'Shaughnessy
Thank you, lonestar