Music and Family

For this blog, I decided to interview my uncle, I call him Bubby so be ready for that to be referenced throughout. He is absolutely my best friend in my family and I go to him for everything. He is a huge music lover and supporter of being a music major so I knew he would be a great person to interview. Here is a picture of me, him, and my aunt Rachel (his wife) from my graduation this year!

I decided to start off strong and ask him what his definition of music was. He said that he believes that music is any collections of sounds that trigger either a mental or an emotional response. It doesn't necessarily have to be singing or instruments, it could be the sound of rain. It could be a crackle of fire, it could be really anything that triggers any type of mental or emotional response. I think that he answered that question really well and I like seeing how much of an impact music is to him on that emotional level. 

Next I asked him what his favorite memory of music was. He said that it was actually recent, in 2024. Aunt Rachel took him to see his favorite artist, LP, in Atlanta and they saw it in a really cool venue that used to be a church. He mentioned how he remembered the entire show, standing up and singing and swaying, being completely immersed in the moment of every song that she was singing. It is his favorite concert and overall most favorite musical experience. He didn't give me any direct song recommendations unfortunately so I had to look around and find a song of LP's to get the vibe of that concert. So I will link it here...

Next I asked what his earliest memory of music was. He said it was when him, my mom, my grandpa (papaw), and my great grandparents (nana and pap) would drive to Tennessee to see my Nana's sister. They would always play the cassette tape of Alabama the band and they would always play it on that drive. He also gave me no exact song so this is also me choosing a song based on my preference. Okay so I found a song that I actually know and it's from the 80s, so this could be one of the songs they were listening to. 

Okay we have entered the hot take area, he is brutally honest and that's one of the things I love most about him. I asked if he was able to erase any song from his memory what would it be. He said probably anything by Cardi B. He said that he can't stand her music and it just makes him mad. He went into a little more detail but we have to be kind to everyone on this blog. Because I am kind, I won't link any Cardi B songs. 

Next I asked him a question I absolutely knew the answer to. I love my Granny and Papaw but they are very christian baptist people so I knew what he was going to say...but I still decided to ask him if he had any music restrictions growing up and if he rebelled. As expected he said he did have some restrictions and he rebelled because of how much music helps him in mental aspects. The 90s was around the time he grew up so rap became a little more popular and his parents couldn't stand it so he listened to it when they weren't around. His very first concert they were appalled by who he was seeing. He saw Breaking Benjamin as the opening act, Three days Grace, Caesar, and Evanescence was the headliner. I am just going to add a song that a lot of people know.

The little wrap up I will talk about is the instrument question I asked him. I asked if he wished he played an instrument growing up. He said he really wished he learned piano and guitar. His wife actually plays piano and he is trying to learn along with guitar but it's just difficult for him to learn at a late age, trying to build up the dexterity in his hands. I feel like this is a good way to end by saying as music students its easy for us to get frustrated at our instruments but I feel like we don't appreciate how much we are able to grow and learn from starting at a young age. I guess I never really considered how lucky I am to have started instruments while my joints aren't too bad. 

I hoped everyone enjoyed meeting my Bubby through a screen, he's a great person and like I said definitely my best friend in my family!