My step-mom emails photos to me pretty frequently of my family back in Illinois where I was born and raised. I've noticed lately that the photos taken of my retired father usually include two key items. An acoustic guitar and a baby (I have lots of nieces and nephews). I think this is how music started for me.
I remember when my mom and dad would host dinner parties, I would (at the age of 5 or 6) sing a song for their friends before going to bed...yes, similar to that of the Von Trap Family in The Sound of Music (to this day, one of my all time favorite movies). My dad would play guitar and I would sing the "la la la's" to The Carpenter's hit "Sing a Song". I grew up listening to my dad sing and play the tunes he played back in the day when he was in a local band. I grew up listening to his 3 sisters harmonize with eachother at church and at family get togethers. I grew up listening to my grandmother play the organ and sing church hymnals. I grew up listening and watching all of this and I loved every minute.
I'd listened for my entire life - until I was old enough to get into bars. At that time, I discovered how delicious Margaritas were. I also discoved there really was a voice trapped inside of me and it wanted to be heard. That's when karaoke came along & gave me a means to express myself...at the local bowling alley...for about 7 minutes total. But the 7 minutes was plenty of time to realize that I needed to sing.
I moved to Boulder in 2001. There I discovered the open mic night. I knew I loved singing, but didn't have the nerve to go accapella. As the story would have it, I met a great singer/songwriter/guitarist at an open mic and we decided to tour all of Boulder's best open mics together on a regular basis, performing many of his original songs. He moved to New York just as we were getting our act tight. I was left with a microphone and nothing to sing.
My dad is 66 yrs. old now. He's had many guitars in his life. The day he gave me the guitar I grew up listening to, was the day I decided to begin writing my own music and to teach myself how to play. So I cut my fingernails, grew quick caluses and started all over again at open mics, playing his guitar and singing about things I felt I knew about.
I've now been playing solo as much as possible. But most of my performances are with an incredible Boulder based band called Wadirum. www.myspace.com/wadirum.
"This unique quartet plays a blend of funk-infused folk, which, as clever as it reads, doesn't really capture the bands' sound. Jazzy acoustic-electric lounge music? Forget it. You'll have to come up with your own catchy label. Make sure it includes Jill Pilon's tremendous voice control and ability to sustain powerful high notes, Erlich's playful ease with his guitars and his textured tenor voice that matches harmoniously with Jill. Don't forget Lisa Haney's souful cello chords and Varner's steady bass." -Erik Maulbetsch of The Yellow Scene
