Music has always been a large part of my life. As a child, I started taking piano lessons at the ripe age of 6, and most of my favorite childhood memories include singing around an object, whether is was a piano, bonfire, banjo or guitar. My parents primarily listened to religious choral music, with a little Franks Mills (The Music Box Dancer specifically), classical, and bluegrass in between. So until I hit middle school, that's what I listened to as well.
In 4th grade I couldn't wait to join band and by the time 5th grade rolled around, I was the proud owner of a beautifully used alto saxophone. In high school spent my time between the alto and bari sax and was a member of concert band, pep band, marching band, and jazz band. I continued taking piano lessons through high school and stopped, only because my piano teacher told my mom that she was basically paying her to assign me songs to play.
Ironically, the variety of music I enjoyed dwindled as I got older. The year I graduated from high school, I was listening only to hair bands and classic rock. Since then, I've slowly began to appreciate almost all genres of music (excluding pop-country, hardcore rap, and death metal).
This morning in the car, we were listening to Liane Hansen on NPR interview Charlie Haden (a jazz composer/bassist) and his family about their new album called Rambling Boys. The music was beautiful and it was then that I realized that I'm no longer slightly embarrassed that my dad and brother used to play Dueling Banjos together, or that I grew up listening to acapella hymns and choral music. I'm proud of it.
...just like I'm sure Charlie Haden is proud that his son-in-law Jack Black sings Old Joe Clark like a rockstar on his new family album.