A Rock Star!

Today at church my Pastor posed an interesting question “What did we want to be when we were little?” As many of you I had different aspirations or dreams of what I hope to be when I grew up. The first of these is pretty obvious I wanted to be Captain Kangaroo’s sidekick kind of like Mr. Green Jeans but in a cooler outfit. I also thought the Banana Splits could use a good manager because their dune buggy didn’t have a top to it! Not long after that I wanted to be a fireman since my grandparents did acquire an official Pedal Fire Truck with a bell in the front for me. Then I wanted to work for Firestone like my dad because it seemed like he had a pretty good gig driving around to local Firestone dealers eating popcorn at their stores, listening to the radio and going to lunch with them. Sure, I had my first “Tingtar” at 2 or 3 followed by the Casper the Friendly ghost crank guitar but being a Rock Star really struck me in third grade! My third-grade teacher, Mrs. Paul, was kind enough to support this direction by letting me sing in class with selected dancers and bring my guitar and dads amp to class. The “Be a Rock Star” career choice stayed with me until my first semester in college at Belmont where I discovered that many people with degrees in music, that were also seeking my career direction, were better than me or working crappy jobs. So, blah, blah, blah I chased the next dream to pursue radio and TV. But answering my Pastor’s question made me reflect upon this choice. Back when I was 17 years old I felt I was settling by going down the Media path instead of the Rock Star highway. I was going with door number two because I felt like I wasn’t good enough for door #1. But what if I’m living that dream now? I’m not a Rock Star, by any standard, but I am given the opportunity to interview and hangout with music stars now and that is pretty unique. They tell me their successes, their failures, their dreams and interesting tidbits of knowledge they don’t even share with their managers or publicists. I’m that guy. I’m the opener and closer for interviews, I over prepare for every interview to make the artist or band feel proud of the music they’re creating and what they’ve accomplished. I dig for the tidbits that they have never been asked in an interview so their fans, or soon to be fans, know something deeper about them. People don’t view my TV, Radio or magazine coverage, except my Mom and Mother in law, because of me – they do it (I hope) because I bring something different to the interviews of their favorite artists? And I gotta tell you I’m passionate about doing my interviews and I enjoy every single one of them to the fullest. I am amazed that people in power have released me upon the public and allowed me to interview all of the artists I have to date. Does that make me a Rock Star? No not really, but hey it’s close enough for me and I still get to talk guitars, amps and pedals with the stars I interview and admire. So maybe we do achieve our dreams just not on the path that we thought we would? If we get to do what we love and enjoy and help others while we do it that is pretty cool. Maybe Rock Stars want to be us?

Maybe we are Rock Stars?