The LS Icons story...

Music is the answer…

When I was growing up music was everywhere.  Weekend block and basement parties, boom boxes and Frankie Crocker on the radio.  I rushed home from school to hear the end of his radio show.  He played mostly R&B but at the end of every show he played the original version of Moody’s Mood by King Pleasure.  I don’t know what it was (is) about that song but it opened something musically in me.  My parents bought me instruments, a guitar; a drum set; and we also had an organ.  My father had a Pioneer 8 track with quadraphonic sound. My mother put her plants around the speakers and played music for them.  I wanted to be able to pick up the instrument and play along with the radio.  Well, as you could imagine that did not work.  I liked the idea of playing but did not have the patience to learn.  My love for music grew.  I went to the library and borrowed albums like Earth, Wind & Fire, etc.

Around the same time my older brother was playing around with tube amplifiers.  He bought old tube amplifiers and refurbished them and enhanced their performance.  He was into the sound of music.  He would call me and say sit there, in the dark, in a chair calculated to be the best spot between the speakers to hear a car drive from one side of the room to the other or how a band is set up on stage.  “Do you hear the guitar over there?  The piano is over there and the singer is walking back and forth.”

As I got older music was booming.  My friends and I were spending our time at block parties, house parties, clubs, music festivals, concerts, pretty much anywhere there were people and music.  During this time, I was listening to lots of R&B, Jazz, Funk, Reggae and Rock & Roll…then Hip Hop hit the scene.  I know, that’s a lot.  At this time one artist led to another then another crossing genres, musical instruments and styles.  I was bombarded.  In fact, it was Bob Marley’s guitar stylings that led me to Rock & Roll and at some point, Ray Charles introduced me to Country.  I banned myself from CD stores.  I would go in with $20 and commit to buying one new CD or two used ones and end up pulling out my credit card and leaving with 5 or 6.

Today, as I look back, I now understand that the musical road I was on began with Frankie Crocker playing Moody’s Mood.  Somewhere along the way I became drawn to guitar music.  Listed in order of my instrumental preference: the guitar then the piano then the voice and winds.  For me Blues is the center of my musical universe.  I find that the Blues and all of its iterations contain the essential elements to satisfy all moods and emotions.  Music is the answer.  It comforts, motivates, inspires, celebrates, heals…

I love turning people on to music they never thought they would listen to.  My younger brother, may he rest in peace, used to say “I would never listen to this if I was by myself but this is cool”.  Another good friend who attended quite a few concerts with me called me one day to say that they went to a Bruce Springsteen concert and that they had the best time.  All of this led me to where I am today.  I try to make it to as many Jazz and Blues outdoor festivals that I can.  It’s what I live for... Summer and Music.  I wanted to share with others like me, uniquely creative styles that show my passion for the music and musicians that have brought me through the years.  Come ride with me and let LS Icons take you on a musical journey.

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