Music was my first love

The first time I got involved with music occured when I was about two or three years old. You wouldn't believe it but there was a concert of the Beachboys on the radio and my father had put on his taperecorder. This was around 1968-69 so you can guess by now how old I am.

So dad had put on the taperecorder and I was singing along with God Only Knows and Barbara Ann. To be honest it became a legendary recording in my family. The only things I could sing was Pa pa pa and ba ba ba barbara ann as you can guess being only two / three years. It's fun to listen to the songs while typing this contribution to my blog.

But small kids grow tall and ten years later I visit high school and get in touch with hardrock and progressive rock. To be honest I've never been a punk lover, and the punk scene somehow seemed to pass the Netherlands in the late seventies. My parents had tried to keep me away from modern day music by giving me Abba records every Sint Nicolasday and also uncles delivered taped versions of Neil Diamond albums, but in high school, due to classmates, I discovered the real world of music. I remember The Kinks, Cheap Trick. Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin being the first bands to listen to. I remember buying my first record, Van Halen I, when I was in first class. Soon the Abba records and Neil diamond tapes were put aside and I listended to Genesis, Rush, Thin Lizzy and other rock orientated bands. My mom almost got a heartattack when I returned home with an iron Maiden t-shirt picturing Ithe killers album on it.

But the searching for music went on and soon I discoverd my own taste. I became a hugh follower of new wave and progressive rock. The range was wide from A Flock Of Seagulls to Marillion. Also I became very interested in the Dutch wave of bands like Het Klein Orkest, Toontje Lager, Frank Boeijen Groep and Het Goede Doel. I've never been a hugh fan of Doe Maar, although this was the Dutch band of the eighties.

Living in the Netherlands meant you only got involved with the big English and American bands in those days. It wasn't until 2001, during a returning trip from Switzerland, that, after hearing The Great Commandment of Camouflage on a German Radiostation, I discovered the eighties again. It was easy to get music from the internet these days, and the Torchomatic website was my guide to the undiscovered bands and tracks of the eighties. I'm pretty sure a lot of you will agree with me that a whole bunch of us got wild on the music Simon was introducing to us each week.

Soon afterwards I discovered the NW Outpost and a guy in Canada running his online radiostation. It seemed eighties paradise to me. And with the online blog's nowadays it still is. I hardly listen to new music these days, I'm still discovering the eigthies. And with being a member of the last.fm community it's easy to find bands that sound alike bands you already know.

So for example earlier this week I was able to get some music of Zerra One. Last.fm prompted me to the first five comparising bands, which were Fiat Lux, Cee Farrow, Leisure Process, Box Of Toys and Scary Thieves. Five bands which are already familiar to me and so I put them in my WinAmp player and play them now.

for you the reader of this blog I've put up a download of six tracks:

Box Of Toys - I'm Thinking Of You Now
Cee Farrow - Paint It Blue
Fiat Lux - Solitary Lovers (extended)
Leisure Process - Rachel Dreams
Scary Thieves - Only Fascination
Zerra One - Rain (remix)