Who’s your top 3 bands?

For me this is kind of a tough question. The reason its tough is I have two levels of top three bands. As a young kid growing up my parents, aunts and uncles all listened to music and from an early age it had a huge influence on me. The bands and music I was exposed to at that time had a big impact on the type of music I would be drawn to as I got older.

The first level of bands which I will rank are bands I didn’t have a choice as it was music my family exposed me to. There were some great band like the Clash, The Talking Heads, Heart, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and even Prince. But my top three bands for this level would have to start with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, then The Who, followed by Pink Floyd. My very first music memories were from both Bruce Springsteen and The Who. I can remember signing along and even pretending to play the guitar while singing along to Won’t Get Fooled Again. My parents had a Beta Max tape (yes that was before VHS) recording of The Who in concert that I loved to watch and sing along to. My very first concert was Bruce Springsteen in Denver at Mile High Stadium. It was for his Born In The USA tour and we saw him on his birthday! As for Pink Floyd, well they are Pink Floyd! I think it was Dark Side of the Moon that really got me into them but then after hearing and seeing The Wall they cemented their spot in the top three. I have to say this was a tough spot between them and Led Zeppelin but I give them a slight edge in my opinion to take that third spot.

The next level of top three bands is where I am in my life now! Anyone who grew up with me knows that my top band is Guns N’ Roses! Then Metallica followed by Tool. I will never forget seeing Welcome to the Jungle on MTV for the first time. I immediately bough their Appetite For Destruction album and listened to the whole thing! It changed my life and I was an instant fan. Though bands like Bruce Springsteen, The Who, and Pink Floyd brought certain emotions out in me, it was nothing like what I felt listening to Guns N’ Roses. Once I got into high school I met a couple kids who were really into Metallica and they let me borrow their Master of Puppets Album. They told me to give the song Master of Puppets a listen to. I remember taking it home and listening to it that night, I was blown away and hooked from that moment on. After that I not only listened to that song but a few others like Battery, Sanitarium, and eventually all the others on that album. There wasn’t a song I didn’t like. I think from there I listened to Ride the Lighting followed by Kill Em All, And Justice for All. All of them great in their own way. As for Tool, I wasn’t introduced to them until I was already out of high school. I remember I was working at a shitty telemarketing company and me and a co-worker took a lunch break the same time so we were hanging out in my car and he asked If I had heard this song by Tool, The Swamp Song? When I told him no, he grabbed his cassette out of his car and played it for me. After that I listened to more of their songs and found not only the music but the lyrics to be just amazing! I have seen Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, and Tool probably more times than I have seen any other band (maybe the with the exception of Korn, they are another band I have seen several times and they’re right up there). In fact, just last year, in December, I saw Metallica in Spokane, and this spring I will be seeing Tool again in North Carolina at the Rockingham Festival! I am not holding my breath but I am hoping to hear some new Tool songs at that show! I am also hoping that 2019 brings us another Guns N’ Roses album and tour!

I know not everyone will agree with my picks and that’s okay, I understand that everyone has different tastes in not only music, but the experience each of us went through when we first heard that song by a band that changed the way we thought of music. Those experiences are what connects each of us to the bands we follow and support!

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