I have talked, a lot, in recent weeks about my 'trip down memory lane'.  I realize now that memory lane, for a lot of you, probably looks a lot different.  So let me start from the beginning...

 I grew up in a Christian home, therefore I grew up on Christian music.  The first CD I can remember buying was the debut album for Bleach, and it was titled 'Space'.  Although this was a tremendous album, in no way do I consider this the true beginning of my musical journey.

 Around the same time that I purchased 'Space', I also bought a few more 'well-known' Christian albums.  The first being the self-titled debut of Jars of Clay, and the other being Newsboys 'Take Me To Your Leader'.  As I stated about Bleach, I don't consider this to be the true beginning of my journey...but it was definitely an introduction.

I bought these albums while I was in grade six (1996), and they are my only recollection of music that I purchased...until my life changed in grade nine (1999).

The album that I credit my current state of music obsession, was a few years old when I purchased it. That album would be the 1995 MxPx release, 'Teenage Politics'. Why was this the album that changed my life? What was so special about 'Teenage Politics'?

It was raw...it was energetic...it was full of truth.

As soon as that album was in my possession, and I had listened to it countless times, it was now time to buy the rest of the MxPx catalog (at the time). So what followed was months of chores, and a lot of trips to the local Christian book store. I don't think I have ever mowed so many lawns, washed so many dishes, or cleaned my bedroom so many times...these albums needed to be mine.

Around that same time, I also went out and bought 'Lonely House', by Grammatrain. This is still an album that I look back on, and have fond memories.

For some of you, 'Lonely House and 'Teenage Politics', have an immediate connection. In 1996 Forefront Records (home to such greats as DC Talk, Audio Adrenaline, Skillet, and Big Tent Revival) released a compilation album called 'Seltzer: Modern Rock To Settle Your Soul'. On this album there was a song by Grammatrain, called 'Believe', and a song by MxPx, called 'Teenage Politics'. The discovery of these songs, thanks to 'Seltzer', lead me to a life of unknown amounts of cash spent on music.

Let me say that this was only the beginning of 'The Journey', and there is no end in sight. All through high school, and my young adult life, I have worked just to buy music. Things have slowed down, a bit, since I got married and am set to welcome my first child into the world...but music will never be something that I leave behind.