Music Mentors

Through my life, I have been introduced to many bands and singers that have stuck with me. This morning I put together a playlist to listen to during breakfast and a few of the bands made me think of these mentors.

R.E.M. was introduced to me by my grade 10 & 11 classmate Jennifer. She made me a mixed tape of "Out of Time" and some Pet Shop Boys. The Pet Shop Boys never really stuck. I'd always fastforward that side of the tape.

Manu Chao was introduced to me by college and traveling buddy, Ty. He discovered them while riding down a road in Tibet with some Europeans.

Arcade Fire, Great Lake Swimmers, and Feist were introduced to me by another college and traveling buddy, Kris. He gets a lot of his music from his roommate Glenn. They were still on the college scene when I grew up.

k-os was introduced to me by fellow cross-Canada cyclist and church co-worker Kurt. He gave me some tunes while he was discovering Motown.

Dave Matthews Band was introduced to me by one of my groomsmen and one of the greatest musicians I know, Justin. He likes a lot more pop, hiphop and jazz than I do, but still respect his taste a lot.

Audio Adrenaline, dc Talk and Sixpence None The Richer were introduced to me by my summer camp boss and good friend Todd. He found me at a time when I was craving Christian alternative music and he had a huge collection of the stuff.

Emmylou Harris and Cake were introduced to me by my own dear girlfriend Amber. I married her for her musical tastes (she almost lost me when I found out she liked Roxette).

Jean Sibelius was introduced to me by Kiki Boum Boum through my father. This Frenchman made some tapes for my father and I listened to them over and over and then I bought up every symphony of Sibelius on CD.

Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, U2, Bruce Cockburn, Daniel Lanois, Neil Young, Paul Simon, Gordon Lightfoot, Sheryl Crow, Edie Brickell, and Stan Rogers are all part of my DNA as they were passed on to me through my papa. He's a musician and never stopped looking for music and building his collection of records (which were all lost), then tapes, then CDs.

Tracy Chapman and Van Morrison were introduced to me by my dear mom. We listened to Chapman's debut album over and over again on our 1988 move east from Alberta to NB.

Everything but the Girl was introduced to me by Daisuke, a fellow camp worker. He had a fabulous CD collection and this was one nugget I snagged from him.

Moby was introduced to me in the car on a drive to Edmonton with Brian. He explained to me that Moby was the most pursued DJ.

Jonathan Richman was introduced to me by a high school friend, Ted. He introduced me to all kinds of music that he got from his older brother (Cocteau Twins, Red House Painters, His Name is Alive, Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir). Ted later became a member of The Young and Sexy, an independent band from Vancouver. He always told me he would be a rock star when he grew up.