An Interview with my Dad

This is an interview that I did with my dad. He is a musician and music teacher, so his answers may be a little different than most people's relatives.

1.) What kind of music did you listen to when you were in high school/college?

Mostly mainstream rock (Stones, Chicago, BST, Santana, Steppenwolf, etc.) and whatever orchestral classics I could find.

2.) How did you listen to music? (What technology did you use?)

I used to listen to my sisters’ 45 RPM singles along with a few of my dad’s old 78 RPM classical records, then vinyl LPs, then 8-track tapes in high school, and cassettes and LPs in college.

3.) In what sort of environment did you typically listen to music? (At concerts, on your own, etc.)

For rock, mostly with friends. I went to whatever orchestral, piano, and band concerts I could find in Bennettsville which is more than you might imagine.

4.) What did your parents think of the music you listened to?

Mostly they ignored it. My father did encourage the classical music, though.

5.) Were you exposed to music outside of your own culture when you were growing up?

Not a lot.

6.) How old were you when you started playing your instrument?

We started band at the end of 4^th grade in Bennettsville.

7.) What inspired you to learn to play an instrument?

My best friend Charles wanted to play trombone. Later he switched to sax and I had to sit in the low brass beside Eddie, but I stayed with it anyway.

8.) How did you decide to play the tuba?

Harold, our tuba player, quit to play football. I was the heir apparent. To this day my mother hasn’t forgiven the band director.

9.) What made you decide to become a music teacher?

I actually went to Furman Scholars day to look at the chemistry department, but by the time I graduated high school engineers weren’t in high demand. I came to know the music faculty through All-State Band and was comfortable with the people and the program there.

10.) Have your music preferences changed since you were in high school/college?

I appreciate the Beatles, whom I despised in high school (probably because their early stuff was so lame – I remember seeing their first appearance on Ed Sullivan.) I can appreciate at least some music in most genres now, except for Rap, Country/Western, and that stuff where they scream the lyrics.