My story...introduction to prog.... and more...

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Hello, (it seems there is no other place to post this but here in the prog. Music lounge, so here I go.) 

 I would like to share with all of you something thats been on my mind for quite some time, and while I ask for your opinions and honesty please do not tell me like so many others, "to get my head out of the clouds."

Music, were do I begin? I guess I can start by saying it happened accidentally. It was really by chance I decided to really "listen" to music on a crumby ole' mp3 player just because I had gotten it as a present, (when I was very young.) The music I choose, I believe, was Star Wars, pure orchestra and symphony music. I loved it, I felt different, and it wasn't long I hit hard into Beethoven, Mozart, and other great classical artists. This was my first love and I was sure I wanted to conduct a symphony,  but the idea was still child's play in my mind, at the time. The music would slowly soak in from being one of my lower hobbies, to one of my greatest of all, and really things had yet to really heat up. 

So what was my next big move? O yea... this is a big one, (sarcasm)..... ACDC!!! O yes, I know what your thinking, "This is a prog. website!" but my story is far from over. The band, although I still respect them today, is just a head banging delight, which is sometimes good, but besides the point... really I just liked energy, and I thought only loud ruff music could give me that. It wasn't long and I started listening to Led Zepplen, and they were in my opinion, not nearly as energetic, (at the time... I mean..... I was just a young kid, I didn't understand blues and jazz and the various styles.) Zep is still true to my heart today, but the real "inspiration" was yet to come. 

I believe it was Jethro Tull. I knew many artists at the time, (mostly bands of the 80's) but when my dad suggested them, I said, "Jethro who!" I didn't take the music to likely at first, but they grew on me, along with other bands soon to come. The other big one was Pink Floyd, I knew I wanted "different" music, and on my own I had assumed they would give it to me. How rite I was. My love of Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull made me feel, "different," I mean at the time I thought, how many other people in the world could actually really LOVE this stuff as I now did. It turns out I was quite wrong, although I did know Pink Floyd was popular. So I slowly broadened my prog. knowledge, with bands like Yes, Genesis, Gentle Giant, King Crimson, Van Der Graaf Generator, Rush, Can, Amon Duul, Kraftwerk, Camel, Caravan...etc. etc. etc. The list as you all know becomes far too long. 

So this music, I found all by myself and really learned to love, and by this point, as several could have guest... I wanted to be part of it. By that I simply mean, I wanted to do this for the rest of my life. Play music, and express myself through it. Its been like that for some time now, and my motivation has been ski-hi. I've had some trouble though, various people telling me I can't be successful at what I do, and simply that im pretentious and "in the clouds." I mean, I listen to music almost non-stop and my room is filled with instruments and such. I now even have a huge vinlye album collection with classics such as Close to the Edge and Songs From the Wood and god knows how many more. 

Really though everything everyone tells me, while it is unwanted, has never made me feel different about myself or the music I love. I play the drums, and play the literally from the moment I get home to the moment I go to bed. I also play the Hammond-organ and its just a brilliant time. I can't get enuff of it all, but were do I begin? The prog. I mostly love, is symphonic rock and to most people's ears, it does them little justice. So because I live in the 21'st century and not in the 70's, I feel very awkward about thinking I can be successful at playing such music. I don't know what to do. Do what so many people tell me and go to college for music, and just have hobbies, or really go for it and try to play the music I love in the studio/live, or both. I think of days I may be very poor, and not doing so well. I need some advice!

So what do you fellow music lovers think? Am I pretentious? I'm not sure myself. But thank you for listening to my story, as bland as it is at this point. Maybe it's worth mentioning I've had to go through mental theory and such due to my feelings for the music, and the other problems that break off from this love, including my female love...

Well thank you all for listening!!!!!

Michael Dupont