Where my music interests were spawned from.

To define a top 10 or 20 or 100 it would be next to impossible so in this section I will have random links to my must buys, interesting links, a varied assortment of genre, your request for more of the same sort of dynamic for a specific interest is welcomedjohnny@monkeydumb.com

As a child it is said that my first favorite song was "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and the Comets. That soon was followed by me imitaing "The Fonz" from Happy Days. Now there is a Song for almost ever emotion, but I'm still constantly hunting for a new favorite. I have found that the nucleus of a few bands have played a key roll in finding my favourite families of musicians. To top my list the the Morphine3 family I think takes the metaphorical cake. Morphine, comprised of cornerstone Mark Sandman(1952-1999) with verbal personifications of life through a creative mind,(Treat Her Right, Hypnosonics) the heartbeat of Billy Conway(Treat Her Right, Twinemen, Laurie Sargeant) the baritone, Dana Colley(Twinemen, Trey Anastasio) and Jerome Dupree. It seemed there was a revolving door of participation suggesting to me that out of love there was always an opportunity to create and breathe conspiracy. Twinemen, Orchestra Morphine, Laurie Sargent,and all connected projects, Blind Melon which eventually spawned Unified Theory, Extravirgin, Abandon Jalopy. Where are you BradSmith and Cristopher Thorne. I hope all is well in your endeavours. Since the break up of Unified Theory singer Chris Shinn has went on to playing some live gigs and has his own site up. In 2003 I've been listening to a handful of new things and standards from the catalog. The Latest edition of my new favorite is Nickelcreek comprised of mandolin guru Chris Thile, the Guitar Master Sean Watkins and exquisite fiddle of Sarah Watkins. An earthy acoustic combonation including many varying genre and tempo. Great singing, playing and songwriting. A three piece comprised of Mandolin, Acoustic Guitar and Violin. Another band I'm really into is Pinback. Comprised of members from Three Mile Pilot, and Rob Crow. Whose influence blossumed in San Diegos vibrant independant music scene and helped to define a fringe of its ecclectic nature.

I grew up in San Diego where as an adult I've witnessed unsung genius go past the eye of the mainstream for one reason or another but because of levels of success many of those bands have successfully merged into projects which have fine tuned their craft and vision. www.atomjack.com is a great list of influential and collaborative artists with a great Guide To San Diego Musical Incest.

At the head of the San Diego Releases headhunter records had a number of talented group of artists recorded with Cargo/headhunter Bands like rocket from the crypt , creedle, Blink 182, Chune, heavy vegatable, 3milepilot, the black heart procession, Thingy, Fishwife, Tanner, a lot of their signed bands still have members precisely creating what is another chapter in their legacy as individuals and bandmates.

the rocket from the crypt family splits into a handful of different directions and has a history preceding them. John"Speedo"Reis is the guitar and romantic lead. His recording career began with an amazing creation for indie rock Pitchfork, eucalyptus. Rick Froberg(Fork) was the lead singer, John Reis was on Guitar. This duo has proved to be a potent combination that has staying power but didn't get the knod from mainstreamThey now are in Hot Snakes now with Gar Wood. John, Rick, Mark Trombino, and Mike Kennedy drove Drive Like Jehu from headhunter to Atlantic/Interscope at the time they signed it proved to be a stumbling block for interscope due to being dropped by Atlantic records in the midst of their gangster rap troubles.Now John Reis is at the helm of his own label swamirecords. Gar Wood of Tanner,and Fishwife fame now switch hits as the guitar player and singer in little known indie band beehive and the barracuddas , as well as bass player of the supergroup hotsnakes.

For free downloads. www.mp3it.com

Other bands which are currently under the radar from San Diego are convoy, Steve Poltz of the Rugburns.

Beyond San Diego I was brought up in the era of METAL. Although the first albums I recall owning on my own were AC/DC Back in Black and Huey Lewis and the News Picture this. I have an older brother who turned me on to acts such as Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Dio, Early Def Leppard, Queensryche, Dokken, Keel, Metallica, Loudness, from that same time frame I felt grew up listening to Culture Club, Depeche Mode, I had summer fling with Duran Duran, I was very fond of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Ozzy with Randy Rhoades. My early infatuation with aggressive hard rock steered me into bands such as Faith No More whom I feel went underground after their big hits and wound up creating some really great albums like King for a Day Fool for a Lifetime, and Album of the Year. Mike Pattons side projects have always been fun for me also. Mr Bungle, and now with supergroup Tomahawk with the drummer from Helmet, guitar player from the Jesus Lizard, and the bass player from the Melvins released on Mikes own label Ipecac.

Although this was most of the music I listened to through the 80's I managed to stay on top of the foundation of Hip Hop. Run D.M.C. was huge, Beastie Boys, Fat Boys, LL Cool J, Houdini, which spawned my interest in so many other acts I still listen to today.

Dee-Lite, Radiohead, Si-Se, Stereo M.C.s, Beck, Flaming Lips, David Byrne, the Incredible Moses Leroy, Spoon, Money Mark,

In 1991 the Seattle Explosion changed everything Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Mudhoney, the Melvins, Temple of the Dog, Madseason, Mother Love Bone, Green River, Brad, Satchell, Shawn Smith, Jerry Cantrell, became my mainstay favorites.

Now my music tastes are so dynamic I can't even catagorize the subcategories that I purchase.