It was a cool November morning in 1977. I woke up early, excited to celebrate my 9th birthday and open my presents. Unwrapping the big one first, I was psyched to see that it was the boombox that I had asked for, but the smaller present is the one that ultimately had the biggest impact on my life. My hard rock journey officially began as I tore through the wrapping paper and unveiled the KISS Alive II double album on cassette!
Five years later – about a month shy of my 14th birthday – I convinced my parents to let me go with my friends to see The Who at Shea Stadium in what was billed as their “farewell tour.” It was an awesome first concert, even if it was clearly false advertising, given that the band continues to do shows to this day.
Throughout my high school years, my friends and I listened to hard rock music and attended as many concerts as possible at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island. It seems like just yesterday that we were all tailgating in the parking lot as the music blared on my Blaupunkt stereo through the open windows of my ‘77 Camaro.
The carefree days of my youth felt like they would last forever, but eventually, time catches up with all of us.
The ’77 Camaro with the kickass stereo system has been replaced by a more practical 4-door sedan. The earrings that I once wore are now stored away somewhere inside a box of memories, and my long hair days have been over for quite some time now. However, hard rock music is as much a part of my life today as it was when I was given KISS Alive II as a birthday present over 35 years ago.
Today, I am the proud father of two amazing rock and roll children who have literally been exposed to hard rock music since they were in the womb. While many pregnant women play soothing, classical music for their unborn children, both of my children rocked out to a lot of 80’s hair bands in utero, and their exposure continues to this day.
At ten years old, my son has already seen Ozzy, Slash, Kid Rock, Nickelback, Hinder and Papa Roach in concert. My little one – who is six years old – loves to make a rocker face and flash metal fingers as she bangs her head to the songs that she hears on Octane, Ozzy’s Boneyard and Hair Nation.
As you probably have already figured out, our family dynamic is much more similar to that of The Osbournes than it is to Ozzie and Harriet.
Hard Rock Daddy is a place to discover great music, go inside the mind of a modern-day dad and journey with a virtual backstage pass into the lives of an offbeat, entertaining family.
