Writing, for me, as well as music is not a task, but a way of life and an identity. I hope to connect with the music lovers who may read this, and to do that you need to know more than just my name and face.

As far back as I can remember, my first real exposure to music was with the rock ‘n’ roll of my parents’ time. Specifically, two songs stuck out to me; Fire on the Mountain by the Grateful Dead and Yellow Submarine by the Beatles.

The memories of playing in the yard while my dad played the Grateful Dead loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear and having the 15th track on The Beatles greatest hit album “1” on repeat puts a genuine smile on my face.

As far as I was concerned The Grateful Dead was the best band on earth. Here I am almost 14 years later and while that may still be true, I’ve grown beyond being a Dead Head to a fully formed lover of all music.

Rock ‘n’ roll remained the foundation and backbone of my music listening for my childhood. I was always the type of kid who would flip pots and pans over and play them like drums, so naturally I joined the band in 5th grade.

Through sophomore year in high school, I listened to most things rock and continued to play trombone in the school band. By now, thanks to the trombone I understood basic music theory and had a great sense of rhythm. It was this year where I put down the trombone to focus on writing in a journalism class and I discovered electronic music.

I remember the first time I heard Levels by Avicii, spring break of junior year in high school. That song was on repeat. Literally, I listened to nothing else and had headphones in everywhere I went. I had heard nothing like it before; how could a chorus absent of lyrics make me feel so amazing? It was that summer I discovered Daft Punk’s Alive 2007, and I was forever hooked.

I came to Pullman wanting to pursue journalism, but had a deep drive to somehow incorporate music into my professional life. Through meeting new people and digging deeper into albums, I learned to appreciate electronic music as much as rock, although Rock will always be my first love.

Now, Porter Robinson and Deadmau5 mean as much to me as The Doobie Brothers or The Killers. I also have a show on KZUU called Zzuphoria, where I dive into the non-commercial realm of electronic music. I will always remember my first rave; Zedd in Spokane. When he dropped Reload, it was unlike anything in my life. Pure nirvana.

There is a human element to music that I want to convey to others through my writing. Like the crowd at a live show, everyone jumping at once and the energy shared and understood, I hope to capture that shared and understood energy here. Not just understand my words, but understand me on a deeper level.

Music comes in two parts: the mass’ shared experience and the individual’s interpretation. I think that’s what music is all about.

When writing editorially about music, I think one walks a fine line between sounding pretentious and not knowing enough be able to have a good discussion with, but here I sit typing; the son of a Deadhead and a lover of music, ready to walk that line.