early influences…waylon jennings and the beatles.

music started for me with my dad. he had a record player on top of a buffet table in our dining room. the speakers were kept underneath. i remember when i was really little, climbing under there and sticking my ear right up to the speakers. he had some great records. buddy holly and the crickets, johnny cash, hank williams, waylon jennings, willie nelson and so many more. i had hours of fun under there listening to the different instruments. i particularly remember listening to the bass drum sounds on many of waylon’s songs. my dad loved waylon most of all and i feel like his music is somehow part of my DNA. now that my dad and waylon are both gone, i have a hard time listening to those records. they take me back to that record player in the dining room.
when i was about 7 years old, my brother came down with the flu. a friend of his brought over some books about the beatles and a bunch of thier records. my brother listened to the beatles for days and days. something about thier music intrigued me and i began listening to it intently. my brother made some cassette copies of the records for me and i listened to them until the tapes were warped. since those days the beatles have always been part my life, particularly my adolescent years…