OK so here is my problem. I am part of the Baby Boomer generation (1946-1964). Yes, I love the Sixties it was a great time to be young. We grew up in a time of social upheaval. The music we listened to, the clothes we wore and yes just the way we acted was totally different from our parents. They were of the Silent Generation (1928-1945). Actually my father was born in 1924 but he grew up within the silent generation years.
I loved the music of the Sixties and Seventies and still do. We had our first son in 1979 at the end of the Gen X generation. The rest of our three children are part of the Millennial generation. During that time period roughly from 1981 to 1996 I didn’t pay attention to popular music. I listened to and bought mostly music from folk singers like Tom Paxton, John Prine, Jerry Jeff Walker and Steve Goodman. With an occasional blues artist like Stevie Ray Vaughan mixed in.
I did however keep up with some of the technological advances. I was a very early user of the computer. I had a small Timex Sinclair computer, On which I learned basic DOS programming. My two oldest boys grew up using the Commodore 64. I also used a Commodore 64 not only at home but at my work before we had desk top computers!
Discovering New Music in the Late 1990s
By the mid to late 90s my two oldest sons were ready to go find their music much like I did in the 60s. But it seemed strange because the gap between them and me was not as great as between me and my parents. I liked a lot of the music they were buying! However, when we went to Tunes to hunt for music I searched for not older music but new music also. I stayed mostly with folk and/or Americana music which for me included blues, bluegrass and Texas Music! I discovered a ton of new artists I liked.
In the years we went to Tunes,I discovered folks like Tinsley Ellis, Dave Hole, and Tommy Castro on the blues side. Along with Bluegrass bands like the Chapmans, Rhonda Vincent and The Steep Canyon Rangers. On the Texas Music side there was Pat Green, Jack Ingram, Charlie Robison and I’ll even throw in Ray Wylie Hubbard. And my folk music collection grew with the addition of new music from John Gorka, and Bill Morrissey. Along with the addition of Gregg Trooper, Jack Williams and others.
In 2010 I Started a Blog…..
In around 2010, I was learning to build websites. I was learning to use HTML, etc. I was also writing posts on Facebook about the books I was reading and the music I was listening to while on my trips to and from job sites. So I found WordPress and started a blog named Me, Myself, Music and Mysteries. The blog’s name allowed me to write about, well me and my life. As well as, the music I listened to and the books I read. When I first started I wrote mainly about Folk, Bluegrass, blues and maybe some Texas Country. However, after a few years I started to add jazz to my music listening and blog posts.
Jazz and New Age Music Are Added to the Mix
Since I didn’t know a lot about the current crop of jazz musicians, I used music charts like Jazzweek and Roots Music Report to find both jazz musicians, as well as, current folk, blues and bluegrass artists.I also used the All About Jazz website/. I mostly used their Jazz Musician Birthdays page. I would review the birthdays each day and look for musicians who played instruments I liked. I’d then listen and read about and write about the musician. Here’s an example Wayne Shorter ,Soon I was listening to a lot of jazz!
My New Age music listening began after I” found Jesse Cook’s album Gravity. Soon I was off discovering a myriad of New Age Musicians.
Finally, Progressive Rock is Added
For several years my second son Andrew would tell me I had to listen to Prog Rock. He was a big Prog fan and attended Progfest many times. He’d come back and say “Dad you should listen because half of the crowd at Progfest are old graybeards like you! Anyway I tried it and liked it! And what I found out is that many of the bands I listened to in the 1960s and 70s were they founders of Prog! Groups like The Moody Blues. Jethro Tull, and Emerson, Lake and Palmer were originators of the genre! Anyway, I was soon listening to a variety of current Prog Musicians.
Where I Am – I Need a New Blog Name!
Now the real reason I have gone into all of the above is the name of this blog. When I first started this blog I had another blog for music Freewheelin’ Music Safari. And Renaissance Granddad was for personal posters about my family and the books I was reading. But now I’ve combined everything into one blog! Mostly because I don’t have time for more than one blog. But ssome how Renaissance Granddad doesn’t fit if I’m not writing about my grandchildren.
On Instagram I created a user name “a Sixties man” because I was born in the 50s grew up in the 60s and now I was in my 60s. However, now I’m in my 70s! so I guess I want a name that reflects that I’m still of the Baby Boomer generation (1946-19643) But while I still love the 60s I am still out there trying to find new music and musicians I like and for that matter new authors! How about…..
A Boomer’s Music and Book Safari or A Boomer’s Life Safari? Anyone with any ideas??
