I am by all definitions, a metalhead. Not a gearhead. Or a deadhead. Very different things. See, if I were a deadhead, I would be about 115 lbs, adorn my skinny body with tye-dye, smell like patchouli, and partcipate in meeting with Mary Jane. But, see I am not that person at all. Did not grow up that way, and frankly, am not all that interested in not showering on a daily basis. You say, "why are you a metalhead Jason?" Well...

I can remember growing up in Williston, ND. It was 1979. I had just gotten this really cool record player that my Mom found at a garage sale. It was white and orange. It rocked. I was so excited to have it. I played all sorts of records on it. I listened to such classics as "Mickey Mouse Disco," "Disco Duck," "Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack," "Disco Fire (compilation album)," and this weird single McDonalds put out that was called "F-R-I-E-N-D-S!" Anyway, my Mom used to take me to the James Memorial Public Library there in Williston. I loved going. I was looking through the records one day when I came across a record that would significantly change the course of my life. There in front of me was the coolest thing I had ever seen. The images were awesome...scary, and made me want to listen to this thing. It was none other than Kiss "Destroyer!" I checked it out, took it home, and put in on that white and orange record player. I heard the type of music that I would forever be in love with. "God Of Thunder" definitely changed my likeness from Disco to Rock/Metal. And since then, it has been a great journey...listening to thousands of groups.

Another memory I have is when I was in the sixth grade. See, I might have been a metalhead, but I was truly a geek on the outside. I hadn't really found my true nitch in dressing the part yet. Didn't happen until I was in the 9th grade. See, in the sixth grade, I used to wear bad pullover sweaters, cords, ugly shoes, very ugly and uncomfortable sweatpants and sweatshirts (when nothing was clean) AND I had this bad, bad, haircut. I definitely did not fit in. But, I made a few friends at this time. One of whom was a guy named Jason Mackey. Mackey and I hung out alot. He lived on north hill by the airport. I would go to his house alot to stay over, watch movies, and listen to music. His influence on my listening ear was huge. He introduced me to such bands like Dokken, Quiet Riot, and April Wine. I can remember listening to Dokken's "Under Lock And Key" for the very first time at his house. His mom used to work at the airport as a security guard, so he had the house to himself alot. We took advantage of that, and we cranked that album so loud! God, it was great. 'Course we heard about it later from the neighbors, but we didn't care.

Another friend of mine in high school was a guy named Dan Davis. I met Dan our ninth grade year. He was from the Air Force Base, and transfered into Minot about the same time my family and I moved to Minot my sixth grade year. This guy knew more about thrash, speed, and black metal than I had ever experienced. He was big into Megadeth, Nuclear Assault, Exodus, Slayer, Misfits, and Anthrax. He and I used to eat lunch all the time in the cafeteria....same place everyday, eating the same thing day after day...hamburgers and fries. Then we would gather with our other metal friends and hang out in the third floor steps after lunch. We had a loogy spitting contest one day, but I will spare you the details. Dan was definitely a metalhead. Loved dark comic books, loved horror movies, wore the metal shirts, had the patched out denim jacket, plus he had the hair! Now, I had the hair...well, sort of. I had a kind of mullet then. Long cross earring, and feathered on top, long in back. It was not hockey player hair as mine had more product in it than they would ever be willing to touch. Ironically, I had my first drinking episode with Dan, the two Scotts, and Shawn. We all snuck on Base in Scott #1's Jimmy, with two cases - one Michelob, and one Red Dog. Ate pizza that night, drank beer in Dan's room, and watched all the Halloween movies. A metal moment at its finest...trust me!

College was a weird time for me. I was obsessed with the Pet Shop Boys. I know, I know. They are no where near anything having to do with metal. But, see I was a bit of a hopeless romantic depressive in college and their music spoke to me I guess about how I was feeling, how I should feel, and how I should not feel about love. Their lyrics and music were intelligent, so I was hooked. Now, I had a friend named Todd. Todd was into the eighties thing like I was, but he was also into seventies rock. Now, I wasn't. I knew who it was he liked and listened to, but I was not into them like he was. He listened to two bands non-stop - AC/DC and Rush...all of their early stuff too. I would endure this, not knowing that some ten years later I too would have most of Rush's catalog and most of AC/DC's classics as well...the same stuff he was listening to in Livedalen, first floor.

See, alot of my metalheadedness, comes from all the friends I used to hang with. That's not a bad thing. In fact, I like thinking about those memories, because we all had music in common...our love for it, and our rebellious nature because of it. We all found some common thread by which we could flip off the world with, and we loved it. This is not to say that I do not dabble in other types of music, but I always come back to the sonic bombastic ferocity of that which is metal. I have country, smooth jazz, blues, new wave, college radio, pop, synth pop, acoustic, rap, and I even have bagpipes (to name a few) in my CD collection. But, nothing can touch the response my brain and heart have when I hear the opening chords of "Wasted Years" by Maiden, or the drums on "Jesus Saves" by Slayer, or the guitar solo on "In My Dreams" by Dokken. It all makes the hair on the back of my neck come to attention, and that was the same feeling I had when I was five, listening to "Destroyer" for the very first time on vinyl. I loved every second of it. So, I may be older, I may not be able to fit into all my metal shirts anymore, my denim jacket does not fit, and I may be juvenile when it comes to still wanting to watch music videos on VH-1 Classic, but I just don't care. I would rather listen to this music than anything else. My kid is already digging the metal thing...as he headbangs to his pap's music....definitely my kid. Bang Thy Head my friends...get the metal horns up on the hands, and enjoy it. More later...

P.S. You country fans have no chance of turning me...you know that don't you? Yes, I am talking to you Di and Deb! No chance! Now, if Sawyer Brown ever became a speed metal outfit, I might think about it...