Hello, Readers! Clevenger here!

Oooh… Music. Oh boy. I can go on a spree here! Music is one of my favorite things. I really love getting a good beat stuck in my head, and letting it run. Music can change my mood, or de-stress me, or motivate me, and so much more. My musical tastes evolve as I go, and I have days where my mood influences what I want to listen to.

Much like Graham stated in his last post, I have several lists for each mood. One of those has a story behind it (Metallica)… I’ll tell you that here in a moment. So, with that in mind, let me descend.

By and large, I definitely lean towards a prog-metal or metal-core slant. Bands like Gojira, Jinjer, Bring Me the Horizon (hence the title of this post), Motionless in White, Memphis May Fire, Slipknot, Spiritbox, and others are all on rotation in my “Modern” list. Basically, I can just throw on Sirius XM Octane, and crank up the volume. This is the music I play before I get home from work, to take all the frustration of the day away and clear my head.

When I have days where I want the “aggression” and “power” of hard rock/metal, but I need a “non-lyrical” break where I can “hear” but don’t have to “listen,” I can turn to some newer international bands. The Hu, Alien Weaponry, Bloodywood, and others that sing in their native tongue give me a great ability to see how heavy music has been adopted into other cultures and produce some WONDERFUL sounds. This is actually what I most listen to WHILE writing.

My dad raised me on bands like Guns ‘N Roses, Poison, AC/DC, Van Halen, Skid Row, and of course his very favorite… KISS. Many of my memories about travelling to the lake, listening to Damn Yankees, and cranking this music on the boat are safe guards for me. Band like Heart are why I have a deep love of female rock singers (Halestorm, Jinjer, Spiritbox, In This Moment, etc.). I still sit around the campfire and exchange songs with my old man as we keep discovering (or re-discovering) music. When I feel nostalgic and need a “what would my dad say?” vibe… I crank these old tunes.

Growing up in the 80s and 90s, I took a lot of my dad’s influences and dipped into “expanded” waters. Alternative rock like Pearl Jam, Silverchair, Soundgarden, and others were a natural extension of the foundation of what my dad laid. I dip back into the bands (although not frequently) when I need to channel that younger version of myself that was full of doubt and worry. It’s a weird musical drug that fills me with anxiety and then releases it. Alice In Chains “Rooster” is one of my top 10 favorite songs of all time.

Much to his displeasure, I love bands like Public Enemy, N.W.A., Dr. Dre, and Eminem. Whether or not people wanted to accept it, Hip-Hop, Rap, and R&B permeated the musical landscape during these decades and exploded. So much so that I got my ABSOLUTELY beloved cross genre. Listening to Aerosmith and Run-DMC, and Public Enemy and Anthrax blend Rock & Rap was an iconic moment in my life. Leading to bands like Rage Against the Machine and Linkin Park which are two of my absolute favorites. When I need a good, steady beat to pick me up to get the blood running, a good late 90s Rap song will jump me up!

Then… then there’s the darkside. I’ve talked about depression. It’s a battle that I’ve lived my entire life. One of the biggest things that helped me get through it was music. Specifically, Metallica. It’s VERY interesting to me that so many kids are getting introduced to Metallica through “Stranger Things,” especially (no SPOILERS) how it happens in the show. When I was between 15 and 16, “Master of Puppets” (the entire album) was played on repeat in my Sony Boombox (that I still own) for 18 months straight.

“Ride the Lightning” was loaded in my Discman, and I would blast it at school, walking down the halls. These two years were the absolute hardest for me. I was struggling to fit in, scared that I would always be alone, felt like a failure and unworthy, and generally was wallowing in a state of self-loathing that made life unbearable. Metallica kept the darkness at bay by giving it a voice. Words that I felt were being sung to me. I could identify my pain. And that helped me survive.

Even now, when I have a dark day, a day that I feel self-doubt, and worthlessness creep in, days where I feel like a fraud or an imposter, I turn to this music. The darker the music, the better. It gives my demons their voices, and when I can hear them, I can vanquish them. “Fade to Black” saved my life when I was 15, and I still honor that.

So, that is a bit about my musical tastes and how they influence me. It’s always fun to talk about this. Graham and I have a little space there in the center that we share, but I tip into the harder rock sound, and he goes more dance and electronic than I care for. But we both genuinely love the sounds that motivate us, and it’s cool to see someone get their vibe. Like Graham, I generally don’t have a playlist to write to that reflects my “scene” but I do get inspired by music. I normally jam it out for about 30 minutes before hand… then go in and write hard. I love the process.

Thanks for coming with me on this little journey.

Until next time.

Be Kind.

-Clevenger

P.S. While my self-doubt is my greatest adversary, I do have a song specifically for when I get faced by critique from others. When Graham and I started this project, it was hard for people to understand. The work that it would take, the dedication necessary, the challenges we would face, these were all points that people would throw at us. The belief that we would make it was low.

At one time, that would have stopped me. But not this time. I felt that fire build up inside. I knew that Graham and I could do this if we truly put our minds to it. Now, we are but a few months away from putting that product out on the market (How? Still don’t know). But anytime the “doubters” would get in my head, I had a song for that, too. The band I, Prevail and their song “Bow Down” is my go to motivational track. That song that tells the world “I got this!”