Music – MattKingIT

Music has been a big part of my life. I do not play any instruments but most everyone in my family has. My great grandmother Mary played piano and fiddle. My Dad plays guitar, fiddle and sings and was in a few bands including Marlboro Country. My Uncle George and Uncle Bill would always play and sing music at our hunting camp when I was growing up. My brother Michael was in a band and played guitar. My brother Nate has been in a few bands and plays most weekends and/or hosts open Mic. My cousin Billy has been in some band and like my brother plays most weekends and hosts Karaoke and Open Mic on a regular basis.

So I more or less grew up on older Country because of my dad’s bands but I also really enjoyed Motown music because of my mother. She and my aunt Nancy would always play songs like “Going to the Chapel” and a few others but her favorite was “The Shirelles”. My brother Michael liked Billy Ocean and Michael Jackson and I was a big fan of New Edition and Musical Youth.

While a teenager though I really got into the Metal bands of the day, mostly because of my cousin Billy Jewell (Bass) and his band Over Drive (1987) with Tracy Edwards (Drums), Don Lalonde (Vocals) and Brian Kirsch (Guitar). I always thought Brian was the best guitarist ever. Also, my cousins Billy Jewell (Voice/Guitar), Louis Borowicz (Bass), Carl Reiman (Drums) and brother Michael (Guitar) formed the Country Cousins.

I really got me into bands like Ozzy Osbourne, Iron Maiden, AC/DC and Judas Priest. I’m still a fan of Ozzy to this day and have collected at one point all the cassettes and compact disks released. In 1986, I was introduced to Tesla and the “Mechanical Resonance” album and to this day that is still my favorite band and album.

My first live concert was the “New Edition Heartbreak” Tour with New Edition, Bobby Brown and Al B. Sure and I went with one of my best friend John.