...so back to Depeche Mode...the beginning of the live experience.
My very first concert was DM.  It was at the Los Angles Forum.  I went with my older sister and her friend Frank...they were in high school and were so "cool".  Frank liking DM made me like them more!  That concert changed my life forever.  I remember thinking to myself, I cannot believe that I am seeing all of these songs that I love and only know from my tapes and the radio (No CD's yet!!) performed live.  I could not stop watching Martin and Dave and Alan and Fletch. There were no large TV screens at concerts yet and so you had to really look at the stage... AND, with little media coverage and no internet, exposure to bands was mainly music and not so much anything else.  Band symbols or pictures were hard to come by -and collectible. Posters and Pins and Tour Programs were something to buy at the show.  Finding a poser at the store was something to search for...some of the early DM pictures were just lame, but you always looked for something new!  Today's experience is much different. ..And after the show, when the band was gone, you had to wait to see them again in a couple of years or a new record or single to come out... Imagine, again, no internet for another 10 years! We had crappy high up side seats, but it was awesome! (looking through the rigging, I could see pretty well down to the stage). It was the Black Celebration tour.  The stage was set up in the old great way with different elevations...Alan Wilder on one side and Martin in front, Andy on the other side and Dave all over the place. Being the Catholic that I am, I remember feeling a little guilty for loving the song "Blasphemous Rumors" -but that made it all so much better. I don't think they played "It Doesn't Matter", but Martin did sing "Somebody". (Anyone who reads this is welcome to to help me "Fact Check"). This is the precursor to my being such a fanatic.  After the concert, I listened to my tapes over and over again.  I then started my search to hear to more.... I was in grade school with a paper route so income was basically zero and access to DM material was limited.  I remember borrowing my friend Ryan's Sisters Albums!  -She had "Construction Time Again" and the "People are People LP". Precious things...records.  We'll get to more of that later....
Until next time....

Echo6

Blue Abstracts

This Blog will be a place of music, ideas, and life.  If nothing else, a fan of Depeche Mode, The Cure, or  the Dave Matthews Band may see a rare photo, or hear a rare clip.  A casual reader may be intrigued by thoughts on marriage, having kids -from a father's perspective  (twins even), unemployment, or just life.

Let's start from the top....

Why Depeche Mode, The Cure, or the Dave Matthews Band?  Well, simply put, this is the evolution order (chronological) of my favorite bands.  Of all of the live music I have heard, these bands make up 150+ of the shows. ...And in each band's own right, it is the live show that drove me to fanaticism.

Let's start with Depeche Mode:
As a 12 year old in the 80's, I fell in love with music. Favorites of the time included New Order, Pet Shop Boys, Duran Duran, Thompson Twins, and Depeche Mode.  For some reason though, DM stuck with me.  The very first DM song I recorded off of the radio (KROQ in LA) was "It doesn't matter" from the "Some Great Reward" album. I recorded it onto an 8-track tape! (If you know what that is:).
I loved this song and as an adolescent with the pangs of love and lust and hormones and early relationships (probably more infatuations) with girls at my school... the more and more I listened, Depeche Mode songs sung to me. That Christmas, I received my very first Depeche Mode tapes!  "Some Great Reward" and "Black Celebration".  Needless to say, while I spent days assembling my new radio controlled car (an original "Grasshopper" for those into RC), I listened over and over again to these tapes. 


.....more to follow

PS: -check out GenMark Stock, they are going to report their 2011 numbers on March 8th after hours...historically they have had a spike after their numbers and then a dwindling down after.  They have a cool molecular testing technology.  (I don't own the stock...but have been thinking of buying some...)

Echo6