“Take me back to how it used to be I’ll never close my eyes again How could I ever forget a place like this? Somewhere that I can call my own.” -Miss May I, one of my bands favorite bands at the time, we scream these lyrics at the top of our lungs as cold December air bites through our thin sweatshirts. We are riding in our drummer Hawkans’ Jeep Wrangler on our way to a local show to see them and twenty other bands in an all day fest including more of our favorites. Today is different were playing this show with them. I didn’t know it at the time but this day turns out to be one of the most eventful and life changing days of my life, I will find a whole new appreciation for music.

Allow me to back track a few months, it’s October 21 2009. My six best friends are in a band together they call themselves The Beauty of Bloodshed, TBOB for short. I have been to all there shows cheering and lugging equipment, we are always together before, during and after these are my brothers. Steve the bands bass player has just quit and Bill the Guitarist asks me while we’re in his garage “Yo son, you wanna fill in?” I look at him with a dumbfounded look on my face only to say “ummmmm I don’t play bass stop being an idiot.” Bill explains to me that he is serious and that he, Dave the other guitarist and Steve will teach me.

Later that day I run up the driveway to my house I go inside and find my mom I tell her “Hey mom I’m in a band now so since I’m a broke teenager I figure that you could get me a bass as an early Christmas present.” She looks at me and takes a long pull off her cigarette I can smell the menthol and smoke that she thinks bothers me, little does she know I’ve been a smoker since I was 12, out of what she believes to be kindness she snubs out the cigarette and gives me a big smile and in a voice more excited than mine she screams ” Kyle, honey,  music has consumed your life for a while and you’ve always been with these boys so of course it’ll be your present but it’s not cheap, it’s  going to have to be your birthday present too.”  Without a moment of hesitation I agree and a few weeks later I am a proud owner of my Ibanez GSR 205, a five string bass, and my first amplifier.