Geoff Tate: This One's for You

While out driving in the car tonight, E-Roc and I started listening to Queensryche to get psyched up for seeing Geoff Tate this week in Charlotte. Now I know that Geoff Tate and Queensryche are two different entities, but as Weezer would say, "I don't care 'bout that!"

All I know is that I loved Queensryche back in the day. They were my first hard-rock, metal show back in 1991 when I was barely 16 years old. I knew all the guys' names. I knew all the tunes. And the funny thing was, as big and cool as they were, I never have really known anyone else besides my husband and me that really liked them. Oh, well. Their loss. They were fucking awesome.

And even though I loved Empire, I was really in love with Operation: Mindcrime. I think it was the first time my young brain was opened to such interesting ideas about government corruption, mind control, and the seedy underbelly of life: drug use, prostitution, assassination plots. It was deep. It was intelligent. And maybe, just maybe, this album is what sewed the seeds of my leftist mindset later. Who knows?

And it was at that first show that I swear, I swear I tell you, that Geoff pointed at me. This has since become a long-running joke with my husband and me. Because that's another thing special about that show: it was the first rock show I ever saw and it was my future husband, then high school sweetheart who took me there. The significance of this is not lost on me, BTW.

Geoff looks a lot different now, but to be fair, so do I. According to Wikipedia, he is 57. I'm 41. I have read that his voice isn't what it used to be. I hope that's not the case. I wonder if he ever talks to those Queensryche guys anymore. I hope they can at least be friends. But then again, I don't really care about all that. I have never been one to care that much about the personal lives of my favorite artists, and I can rarely tell you the names of the guys in the bands. I'm here for the MUSIC, and that's the truth. So whatever Geoff has had going, good or bad, I don't know or care.

But to the teenage Becky, he will always be this guy. The guy who sang to me about Silent Lucidity and made me go to the dictionary and look that word up. The guy who pointed at me from the stage. The guy who told me to Take Hold of the Flame (take hold!). And the guy I'm going to see on Thursday night. And with all history, there's no way he could really let me down.

Reclaiming Your Childhood: Priceless

This story might take a minute to tell. Bear with me. When my sister and I were little girls, my mother took us to a large baptist church in town. Even as a child, I never remember feeling welcome there. But I do remember the lovely older couple that kept my Sunday School class. They gave us saltines and kool-aid, and I remember thinking they would be nice grandparents to have. At Christmastime, the Sunday School class was set to have a random gift exchange. Every child was supposed to bring a gift that could be exchanged with any other child.....no specific gift designations. I received the gift of an Avon 7 bead necklace which was very popular at the time. I loved it so much and was thrilled to have it! I was somewhere between 5 and 7 at the time. (Back in the 1970's and 80's, Avon was a cosmetic company that was also known for it's inexpensive jewelry. I couldn't find a price on what this necklace would have cost back then, but apparently there is ...

My Week with Rumor

My dog Rumor was an experiment. A trial offer. And all parties knew that going in. Except for maybe Rumor. Rumor was an outdoor country dog. His given name was Ruger (named after a firearm if you don't know, I didn't) which made sense for a dog raised in hunting country. He was a stray that came to live with a loving family at about the age of 1. He lived outdoors, slept in a garage crate at night, frolicked with an older dog pack and had a lovely life. We think he was about 4 years old. He had been neutered, had vet care and was by no means a "rescue". His dad offered Ruger to me on a give-it-a-try basis. He knew I wanted a dog. He told me Ruger would be sweet to me and also be my protector. He was right on both counts. He told me if it didn't work out, I could bring Ruger back to him and his wife. I could tell they were a little sad when they dropped him off. It made me glad to see that Ruger came from such ...

NYE for $200, Alex

Can we all just agree that New Year's Eve is the worst of the string of winter holidays? I would even go so far as saying it's THE WORST of all the holidays. I loved when Stanford Blatch defined a party as feeling very "forced festive". To me, most NYE parties feel that way. The idea that this is a big year-end blow-out and we'd all damn well better make it awesome! The reason I hate NYE is because it combines two of things I most hate about celebrations: cold weather and crowds. Plus it's during a time of year when everyone has already spent all their money. AND you usually have to the leave the house. ADDITIONALLY, you have to stay up late. It's a big F.U. from me on all this. I would dare say that some of my happiest New Year's memories have been spent at home in my pajamas with either my child, an S.O. or happily alone. I remember one unforgettable year of moving into a 3rd floor apartment on NYE. I rememb...

Becky's Greatest Hits Vol. II

Search This Blog