Music is a lifelong passion, some might say (particularly my wife) obsession, of mine. Anyone who has ever gotten to know me to any extent can vouch for this fact. In fact, if you are a long-time reader of SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION you many have picked up on some of my frequent references to lyrics, song titles and the like. I almost continuously have tunes blaring out of my speakers while I’m in the office, in the car, or through headphones in bed, on airplanes, waiting rooms, etc.

My enthusiasm for aural pleasures runs the gamut from constantly listening and collecting recorded works (spending a king’s ransom in the process) to attending live performances (hundreds, but less so since my son came along in 2004) to running a successful mobile DJ company (decided having to play “Celebration” one more time was not worth it) to playing numerous instruments (none very well) to reading about music and musicians to publishing music articles and reviews to being an audiophile equipment aficionado (although to me the portable MP3 player is the greatest electronics invention of all time) to dancing (mostly when I was younger) and beyond.

My affinity for organized noise comes honestly as it has been passed down from my grandfather, who I used to swap HiFi components with as a teenager, and my dad, who I continue to trade CDs with to this day. It’s little surprise, but no less gratifying, that my own 4-year-old son has shown a keen interest in music. So the legacy appears safe. One of my huge laments is that I can’t carry a tune; fortunately my boy seems to have inherited his mother’s singing ability. Speaking of the misses, it was music – specifically a common appreciation of the genius of Prince – that brought us together back in 1994 (of course, at that time he was the Artist Formerly Known as Prince). I am so thankful for having been able to hear so much amazing music in my life. I’m not a touchy-feely kind of guy, but the best stuff puts me firmly in touch with my spiritual state of being.

So what types of music really do it for me? I believe I have a fairly broad range of listening preferences that has grown through the years as I have been exposed to more and more styles and artists. Typically the most important factor to me is the music and musicianship itself rather than the singing or lyrics. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy good singing and creative or poignant lyrics, but the instrumental sound, rhythm and technique are more likely to touch my soul. Give me a hard-rocking, funky or bluesy bottom with searing, impassioned electric guitar over the top, peppered with some tasty keyboard fills in an improvisational setting and I am a head-boppin’, finger-poppin’ happy guy.

My main genre preoccupations are blues, rock, hard rock, funk, jam band, jazz, metal, rap and soul. With that said, I thought I would regale readers with a list of my top 10 acts in a few different genres. I would love to know what some of the favorites are of my fellow security professionals. Here goes in alphabetical order under each genre:

ROCK

Allman Brothers

Beatles

Credence Clearwater Revival

Kid Rock

Pink Floyd

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Rolling Stones

Talking Heads

White Stripes

Neil Young

HARD ROCK / METAL

AC/DC

Aerosmith

Black Sabbath

Jimi Hendrix

Led Zeppelin

Lynyrd Skynyrd

Metallica

Nine Inch Nails

Nirvana

ZZ Top

FUNK / SOUL

James Brown

Earth, Wind & Fire

Isley Brothers

Rick James

Meters

Ohio Players

Parliament/Funkadelic

Prince

Sly & the Family Stone

Stevie Wonder

JAZZ

George Benson

Stanley Clarke

The Crusaders

Miles Davis

Herbie Hanock

Bob James

Medeski, Martin and Wood

Maceo Parker

Stanton Moore

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