Why So Blu?

Albums That Changed Us – Gerard’s Picks

Every once in a great while we’ll get one of those projects that we just can’t wait to devour.  This be that kind of project.  Three albums that changed us?  It was kind of hard at first, but I feel that I was able to come through with my picks loud and clear.  Funny enough, all three of my choices were discovered on or around the same time.  Same decade, for sure.

I initially got into hard rock and metal during the mid 80’s.  Me and some friends would buy AC/DC, Judas Priest, Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister albums at the local K-Mart and I’d listen to the albums at friend’s houses.  That all came to a crashing halt when one of my friend’s snitch uncles told his mom that we were listening to satanic music.  My friend’s mom threw out his record collection and then that rolled over to my mom making me throw out my record collection.  Those were dark days indeed.  For a brief time, I did get into hip-hop, but there was something that just wasn’t right.  I was faking the funk, if you will.

I will say the that catalyst for changing my ways would be the start of the grunge movement with Nirvana and Soundgarden leading charge, but they would pale in comparison to the three albums that really molded me into the man I am today.

Let’s go.

Kiss – Destroyer

Back in the winter of ’92 I was over at a friend’s house during Christmas break and he had this storage shed in the backyard that his dad asked us to help him empty out.  It was mostly garbage for the most part, but then we hit gold!  The entire Kiss catalog was in there and it was glorious!  His dad had the entire 70’s Kiss catalog (with make-up) in near mint condition.  The album that caught my eye was “Destroyer.”  I was like, “who are these guys?”  I was big into fantasy artwork and noticed that fantasy illustrator Ken Kelly had done the artwork for the album’s cover.  Forget it.  It was a done deal.  From then on I was hooked!  They were everything I wanted in a band.  They had catchy tunes, had a great look and image, and were pretty much superheroes, considering I was also heavily into comics at the time.  It was a meshing of sorts.  Whenever I’m asked who my favorite band of all time is, I always answer with Kiss.  Kiss and the Destroyer album is what re-started it all.

Queen – A Kind of Magic

I was already aware of Queen and some of their major hits, but what makes my second album truly meaningful is that it was discovered in a movie.  One of my favorite films of the 80’s is the original “Highlander” starring Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery.  Queen did all of the original songs and some music for the film.  Not having cable television or the means to acquire the film, I watched it for the first time when it premiered on the Fox network.  As soon as it started, in which  Sean  Connery narrates the prologue of the film, and the Freddie Mercury vocals hit with, “Heeeeeeere we are, born to be kings……”,  I was a goner.  I developed an obsession with trying to track down the soundtrack to the film but it wasn’t available anywhere.  This was also years before the internet, so I had to do it the hard way.  One day I was at my local record shop flipping through the Queen catalog and I came upon this brightly colored cassette box that had the boys wearing these loud jackets and looking caricature-like.  I turned the cassette over and there they were; the Highlander song listings!  It turned out that the soundtrack to the film was an actual Queen album entitled: A Kind of Magic.  It ended up getting chewed up by my tape machine, so I ended up buying the cd later on.  This was the first time that film and music had come together for me.

Lit – A Place in the Sun

Lastly, we come to our final selection.  1999 was a great year for rock in general.  Mtv and various other music networks were actually giving plenty of airtime to many rock artists.  Lit was a band based out of Orange County, just south of Los Angeles, California.  The members from Lit had a throwback kind of image reminiscent of a 50’s rock ‘n roll band, but transported to the then present.  They were all about classic Cadillac cars, pin-ups, retro clothing, Las Vegas, gambling, etc…  In essence, they were the “Rat Pack” of rock ‘n roll.

At first I really didn’t care for them all that much.  They had a tune that was getting massive airplay, but I wasn’t it feeling yet.  It would not be until I actually saw them live for the first time at the annual KROQ Weenie Roast in Irvine, California, that I would see what all the fuss was about.  Lit opened up the tiny Budweiser second stage and completely obliterated it.  There were probably about 250 of us on the grass, but no one was sitting down.  The boys played an almost full set before they stepped off the stage.  That was all it took.  A month later they would be off on tour opening up for Offspring and playing the main stage at Woodstock ’99.  My boys were all growds up!

Me and my crew became unofficial roadies, meaning that anytime they were in town, we would see them.  My siblings are also big Lit fans and we would see them together as well.  Sometimes I’ll get asked the usual question of who’s your favorite band?  Now I answer and say that Kiss and Lit are my favorite bands of all time.  Hell, it’s because of Lit that I grew out my goatee to emulate Jeremy Popoff, the guitar player (but ended up looking like Wayne Static from Static-X, go figure).  Yes, I was a fanboy, heart and soul.

Ah, those were the days! 🙂

As of this writing, through triumph and tragedy, and believe me, all three bands have had their share, they’re are still rockin ‘n rollin’ just like they should be.  I’m sure all of you that are reading this have had a particular band come along at just the right time that they shaped your lives somehow.  It’s almost romantic, I think.  I’m glad we got to write this project up, it was like being transported back to some great moments in my life. Rock on!