hmmm just a thought

I know I said my next real entry would be about The Gaslight Anthem (Rysaac... don't forget what I said), but I had one of the most random, spontaneous, and all around best nights I've had in a while. Good food, good people, good fun. What more can you ask for?

Let's back up a little in the life of Dalit. When I first decided I wanted to work in the music industry, I discovered a local record label that was starting up and needed interns: Banter Records. They were looking for interns with experience, and "how are you supposed to have experience, when no one will give you experience without it?" But, being the charming, stubborn, and giant pain in the ass that I am, I bugged and harassed the hell out of Matt until he agreed to interview me, and gave me the "job". It was an untraditional and unconventional internship. I would show up at 8 pm and would work until midnight or later in the makeshift office of Matt, Tyler, and Caleb's living room. Don't get me wrong, I had my own desk and all, but I would stay up putting stickers on millions of CDs. It was a great time. Thanks to Tyler, I discovered my love for alcohol and cigarettes (I quit smoking now) at the tender age of 20. There was never a night when I wouldnt come in to an ice cold beer waiting for me... Those were fun times, its like I had three new brothers. I mean, one of the best shows I've ever seen in my life was Bright Eyes in Hollywood, and that was thanks to them taking me.

Well, just the other day, I got back in touch with Tyler (who calls me Dalai Lama) who filled me in on Matt moving to San Francisco and him joining in 6 months, and that The Antiques, our number one band, had split up and now Joey was trying his hand at The Traditionist. He also told me that Banter Records was moving away from being a label and more into the PR and management side of things. Smart move. He told me about The Traditionist playing tonight.

So I went. I took Ashley and we met up with Ryan at the Waterfront- only the best burger dive bar in San Diego. It's a total dive bar that is packed from 10 am to 3 am. We chowed down on our Waterfront Burgers and headed to Subtext, the grand opening of an art gallery where The Traditionist would be playing. It's been a while since I had been in that "scene". Since my ex, Dan, would take me to art galleries and displays, I hadn't seen the whole "hipster scene" in a while. It took Ashley a little getting used to. She's from Lake Jackson, Texas--- yeah..... its exactly what you're thinking.... I ran into Tyler in the courtyard and I said hi, and then the band started playing.

What is the Traditionist?  Oh boy. The best I can do is (and bear with me): The Album Leaf meets The Mother Hips meets Iron and Wine meets Bright Eyes with a hint of Pink Floyd. I KNOW!!!!!!!! I love Joey to death, but I feel like his thing is more about the lyrics than about the music, because it's the same notes over and over, and everyone playing the same note at the same time. It would get to a point where it would feel a little dull. I definitely liked him in The Antiques a whole lot better. The band played in the courtyard with a garage door that led to the street completely open. About halfway through the set, the cops showed up, attempted to stop the show, couldn't, so they gave up and left. It was awesome.

After the show, I stayed and talked to Tyler a little more, and I believe he tried recruiting me to San Francisco after graduation to work with him and Matt again. When I told him I would either be in LA or NY, and that I now have interviews lined up with Harry Fox, PopGun, and Warner-Chappell, he told me he would get me in touch with as many people as he knew down at Warner... and that we should sit and talk one day and catch up for real. Then, the girl I think was his girlfriend was getting restless, so we said bye and left.

Met up with Joe at his house, but not before making a bathroom break at Ralphs, and leaving the store with a pack of chocolate chip cookies. Ashley and I knew the code to his apartment so we just went in, past the concierge and got his ass out of his house and into my car. First stop was Shout House to watch the dueling pianos because neither Ash nor Joe had ever seen them. But, it was military night, so that was an instant no go. Second stop, Whiskey Girl. The line was around the corner with a ratio of 8 guys to 1 girl. Again, no go. Third stop, Fleetwood. But halfway there, we decide to go to  Jolt'n Joes instead to play some pool. SO RANDOM... neither one of us three is the pool playing especially on a Friday night, type of person. And then, as the drinking games got under way, David showed up. I thought David hated me, but I guess not. 

As usual, David left early cuz he's an old geezer, but it was good to finally see him again. I lost. A lot. It turns out, I suck at pool. But good thing is that for some reason I was craving beer ( I don't drink beer!) so that made my "getting drunk" not so drunk. If anything I was hyper. Pool playing plus alcohol, plus pool balls and pool sticks = a lot of dirty jokes. A  LOT OF THEM. And lots of laughing. too much. my cheeks hurt. Probably haven't been this hyper since highschool. 

2 am: striking up a conversation with the guy at the bar lands us a free dinner at the Ocean Air Room across the street. Why? Because the guy was the head chef there and he was doing Restaurant Week, so if we go in before Wednesday, we'll get a free dinner. 

2:30 am: Zach sends a cab to get me from Ashley's house. Zach never does stuff like that. Too bad I wasn't at Ashley's anymore. I was already on my way home. 

And now...... thinking that maybe New York is not the place for me to live. I love it too much down here in Cali. And my friends are here. And my work is in LA. so now, I'm having second thoughts..... as I'm packing for my week in NYC where I'm interviewing for jobs... GREAT

And now.....

hmmm

Did anyone else notice that The Decemberists "Infanta" has a very Muse "Kinghts of Cydonia"-like feeling to it? Just checking...

help wanted....

Ok. I'm trying to get my blog up back to the way it used to be. You know, before SOMEONE went into my account and erased the entire site. Real mature...

I had someone who was helping out in pimpin' my blog up and makin' it all hip and awesome and linked out, but now that person is no longer in my creative circle (seems to be a pattern..) and am currently looking for someone to step up to the plate and re-vamp my new site. 

    * If you're interested and are more skilled with these things than I am, email me at dalittroyce@gmail.com

I'll also be spending more time writing entries for y'all to read, and am getting back on my address book to get my old readers to re-sign up... but this time around it will be better. Promise. That was my new year's resolution*

Keep an eye out for my reasons as to why you should be as hooked on The Gaslight Anthem as I am. (I'll give you a hint: The Gaslight Anthem v. Springsteen)

Stay Fabulous!

* Okay that wasn't really my new years resolution. Cut me some slack...

No Retreats, No Regrets

So, as you may or may not know, I'm headed to New York City next week. I'm going to find a job. Let's face it, the economy sucks. And as my dad's friend told me, my personality is what hooks people. So I've got to use it to my advantage. Rather than just send out resumes all over the place and wait for them to come to me, I'm going to them. And I'm going to keep going and going until I find what it is I want, and I get what I want. Sounds a little arrogant, but trust me, in this situation, its your attitude thats going to make the biggest difference...

In preparing for the upcoming interviews, I am counting on that one (or two) question/s (remember, I'm in the music industry), who did I get into music, or who influenced me music wise? I figure that in prepping my answer, I'll use this as my moment to let you in on why it is that I do what I do, and why I am so passionate about it.

Most people that I know within the industry got into music because of their upbringing. Most of the people that I actually ask this to are into somewhat the same style in music in me too, so that should also be taken into consideration. I'm used to getting answers like "I grew up listening to my dad's old Beatles records" or "My mom and dad were huge fans of Pink Floyd" or "there was always some Miles Davis or Billie Holliday playing at my house growing up." Seems fitting. It's kind of like that whole "nature v. nurture" debate. If you grow up listening to something, it should sort of stick with you, right? But what if you didnt grow up with it?

I didn't. In fact, growing up I would wake up every Saturday morning to my parents BLASTING the Mexican Mariachi group Los Trio, or my dad's extensive Yanni collection of records AND videos. In fact, the closest thing to rock n roll (or "good music" as I like to call it) is my dad singing The Doors' "Light my Fire" every birthday we celebrated at the house whenever we lit the birthday candles, and I had no idea what it was until years later! At the same time though, one of my best memories are when I would drive from El Paso to Chihuahua (in Mexico) with my dad on his business trips every couple of months and we would put Cher's "Still in Love With You" on repeat and we would both sing it at the top of our lungs in my dads beat up little white truck. Yeah, its Cher. But I am not embarassed to admit that she is one of my musical heroes (heroines??) I'm pretty sure that wasn't even a released single ever, but I knew every word to that song, and I would sing it like I was still in love with someone at the age of 8.

Unless it was traditional Mexican music (or Yanni/Enya), music in my house wasn't a big deal. So, my getting into music was by complete accident. In the summer of '96, Donna Lewis' song "I Love You Always Forever" was a huge hit. Now when I listen to it, I'm like 'what is this?' But I loved it, and with my allowance I had my mom drive me to Blockbuster Music where I bought my first music item... Donna Lewis' "Now In A Minute" CASSETTE TAPE, with that song on it. I remember asking my dad why the tape was called Now In A Minute if there wasnt even a song by that name, and he explained that an album is the title of the entire collection of songs recorded in it. There you have it... my first real music fact!! And a few years later, I bought my first CD- The Offsprings "Americana" because of that song "Pretty Fly For A White Guy". As soon as my parents saw the cd booklet inside with pictures of a kid with mutant limbs, they took me straight to Wal Mart and demanded that I get an exchange. I opted for N SYNCS debut self titled album. There began my boy band fanaticism.

The N Sync album didn't have the lyrics inside, so I sat for hours and hours listening to each song, puasing and playing after every three words, so that I could write them down. Eventually I had the words written and memorized (years later I found out I had heard the words wrong), and I still have that notebook with me. My love for "rock" music developed in high school when I began to hang out with friends of mine (Aryan and James!) that played the guitar and I started to find out about bands like The Goo Goo Dolls, The Foo Fighters, A.F.I, etc. *I must say though that I was still a huge pop fan with a huge obsession for BSB, NSYNC, Enrique Iglesias, and still Cher--- I snuck into her concert and watched her from the front row all by myself*

By the end of high school my KaZaA (I know...) had about 3,000 songs and my CD collection had grown to about 300 CDs. Living in El Paso, there isn't much of a music scene, so my new musical tastes came from the exact following way: I would go to CDnow.com and get all the song names from an artist I wanted to download on Kazaa, and then I would go to recommended artists, and download those, and so on. I was able to discover Sugarcult, MXPX, The Movielife and Pollyana that way. Senior year of high school I started to go to house parties where bands would play, or I would spend Saturday nights at Double Dave's Pizza where a local band from high school, Toast, would play. That's how I got into live music, but my friends werent as into it, so I never had a chance to go to shows. 

When I moved to California in 2003, it all changed. The first time I opened The Reader and went to the music section, I immediately called my friend Aryan and I perfectly remember saying something along the lines of "I can't believe it! Most of the bands on my computer are playing shows here! The Ataris, Dashboard Confessional, Taking Back Sunday, Something Corporate!!" I was absolutely in awe, but had no friends yet, so I had to miss those shows too...

Then, I met Ginger. I still consider her one of my best friends, and if it weren't for her, I probably wouldnt be where I am right now... working with her at Chevy's I found out we had the same musical tastes. We would swap CDs at work, and eventually we started going to shows together. She would stay with me til the end and we would meet the band, and take pictures, and buy merch. I think the summer we met, we were at a show about 2-3 a week, and we started going to music festivals and we continued to get more into the San Diego scene. If it weren't for her coming to those shows with me, I wouldn't have felt the need to keep searching for new music to show her, and never realized that my real passion was in fact the promotion of new music. *Ginger-- wait til I get a car finally, and wait til Eva Lily becomes a little rockstar, and everything will pick up right where we left it*

Three years after that, here I am, with two record label internships, one music management internship, and one booking job under my belt, and headed for the Big Leagues. Without really realizing it, I fell into this industry. My itunes collection now boasts 9,000+ songs and I still continue to buy CDs, and my most prized posession is my autographed Tom Petty "Hard Promises" Vinyl. I have written and am in the process of getting published, a Bruce Springsteen Rhetorical Criticism, and can beat most of my friends at music trivia. 

Ok, so I may not have grown up listening to Elvis Presley or Bob Dylan, but I'm 23 years old, and am unbelievably proud to say that I think I have made up for that by now, and actually today, listened to Bob Dylan's bootleg album "No Direction Home" while driving through town.. and probably being affected by his music just as much as the people who first heard him at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival were.

Closing out 2008...

Well, as 2008 comes to end, its that time again to think back, rearrange, rethink, and reorganize everything. Unfortunately, since my blog was entirely deleted not too long ago, I don't have my old entries from the whole year to use as a guide and reference for next year. So, with three measly entries in 2008, 2009 is my chance to start all over.

2008 has been a CRAZY year, but by far the most interesting, intense, absurd, and wonderful year ever. I was thinking about this past year today and came up with a list of things I learned throughout the year: 

1. No matter how hard you try, you can't make someone love you. 

2. Put yourself and your feelings first; at the end of the day you're still the only one completely there for yourself.

3. Be sure of what you want. If you're not sure, you leave room for doubt, and one small doubt is what can make you or break you.

4. Everyone you come across in your life serves a purpose. Each and every person has something to offer, so be sure to keep your eyes and your ears open.

5. Your personality really is bigger than your physical. 

6. Life is simple. Keep it that way (FARZAD!!!)

7. If you're going to do something, do it with style (no matter what style you choose)

8. Prepare yourself for the obvious

9. If you're unsatisfied with something in your life, be ready to do something about it.

10. Don't fight who you are

11. Its okay to laugh and cry. Its what makes us human. Never apologize for showing your feelings.

12. Time DOES heal all wounds. Just be patient enough to wait for it.

13. Take LOTS AND LOTS of pictures. Each one has the capacity to make you smile.

14. You'll never know unless you try.

15. It takes years to build up trust and only seconds to destroy it.

16. Your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people you don't even know.

17. Never pass up the opportunity to go on an adventure (big or small)

18. A sense of humor makes life better.

And finally:.....

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a friendship... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.

On April 5 of last year, I experienced one of the hardest things I have ever had to deal with. My close friend, my sister, and my partner in crime Yahel Silva passed away in a car accident. She would have been 23 just a month ago today. While its been over a year, she is constantly present. Being the amazing individual that she was, it was through her that I have learned my lessons, and I choose to strive to be half the person that she was. She lived her life to the fullest. As cliche as it sounds, for Yahel, it defines every bit of who she was. At just 22 years of age, she left us having done everything she ever planned or wanted to do. She has become my inspiration for who I would like to be. On November 29, I sat at her uncles' bday party, which was on what would have been her 23 birthday, and as we made a toast to her, I sat beside her parents and listened to something that was being read. This has to be hands down the most valuable and most important information that has ever been given to me, and as we gear up for another year, I share this with all of you, so as to hopefully touch you and give us all some hope in each other and ourselves. 

Happy New Year to everyone and may the coming year be filled with peace, love, health, and never ending happiness!

People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.  When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do. When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly.  They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually.  They may seem like a godsend, and they are.  They are there for the reason you need them to be.  Then, without any wrong doing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.  Sometimes they die.  Sometimes they walk away.  Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand.  What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled;  their work is done.  The prayer you sent up has been answered and it is now time to move on. When people come into your life for a SEASON, it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn.  They may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.  They may teach you something you have never done.  They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.  Believe it!  It is real!  But, only for a season. LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons; those things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.  Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person/people (anyway);  and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.  It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

Third Eye Blind Plays the college crowd (or the drunk crowd)

Everyone laughed when they heard I was going to Third Eye Blind. Most reactions I got were along the lines of "What are we? in 1997?" Laugh it up, but just like you laugh so did many people when New Kids on the Block got back together AND SOLD OUT THEIR TOUR! (Dammit...  I missed seeing Jordan Knight who seems to get better with time). Well, I jumped at the opportunity to see Stephen Jenkins and the guys play, because frankly, I was a HUGE fan, and living in the musically obscured town of El Paso, Texas, I never got to see them play live. 

I remember perfectly the summer before seventh grade I invited my two friends Sheena and Vicky over to my house to jump on my trampoline and eat watermelon that I had grown in the backyard. We were inside for a break and we had the TV on to MTV and we were watching the show Say What... the one with Dave Holmes hosting and the lyrics to the music video would scroll at the bottom of the screen... and we were singing along to "Semi-Charmed Life" trying to keep up, and thinking that those were the dumbest lyrics ever, and not really knowing what it meant. I remember Vicky specifically asking what crystal meth was after the "doing crystal meth will lift you up until you break" and none of us not knowing what that even meant. 

Stephen Jenkins looks exactly the way I remember him. He had that clean cut face but with that look of "I might just kick your ass". And he walked across the stage like he was Axl Rose. Almost 12 years after I first saw Third Eye Blind on TV and Jenkins is still hot. He still seems like a preppy- bad ass kind of dude. And I'm still turned on by it. His intro was a bit dragged out, maybe to build up the anticipation for the crowd who hadn't seen/heard these guys in years, but after a bit, it was time to get the show on the road. They all came on stage wearing sunglasses. That, I'm not so sure about that. I wore sunglasses to my senior homecoming because I thought I was cool. Rockstar or not, its lame.

The show opened with "Losing A Whole Year" and I was surprised to see that the crowd knew the words and Jenkins left it up to the audience to sing the choruses. I was surprised because the crowd consisted of USD students in the age range of 18-21 and a few of us non USD-ers who were there to see this band of the 90s rock out. These "youngsters" reminded me of my little brother, wasted and making a scene for the sake of being college kids, which at times was annoying when they would start squealing and hugging each other through songs like "Crystal Baller" (one of my favorites) and drunkenly stepping on my feet. 

Of course they played their classics ("How's it Gonna Be", "Jumper", "Graduate") and threw in some of their most recent songs ("Never Let You Go", "Crystal Baller") but they also tried to move away from their signature 90s songs and played songs off their upcoming record. Those didn't fare so well with the young and drunken crowd, although they were pretty good songs. I figure its because Third Eye Blind will forever be seen as the "Semi Charmed Life" guys and playing songs that no one knows 12 years later makes the crowd lose interest. 

Personally, I think Out of the Vein was a great album... my favorite TEB song is for sure "Can't Get Away From You" which floods me with memories of senior year of high school, but unfortunately they didn't play that song (understandably so, its a slow song), nor did they play their hit "Blinded". 

They did put on a great show. They had the crowd very excited- whether it was because of alcohol or not- and there was even crowdsurfing. They "finished" off the night with, of course, "Semi Charmed Kind of Life", which I pride myself in knowing all the lyrics thanks to Say What, which EVERYONE sang the "do do do, do do do do, do do do, I want something else, to get me through this, semi charmed kind of life", and then they thanked everyone and ran off. A few people made their way to the door, but most stayed. Within seconds everyone was yelling "Encore!" and they came back out and finished it off with "Narcolepsy" and "Jumper"

90s band or not, these guys can still rock, and Jenkins can still pull off the leather jacket with chains. They can still make the crowd jump, and they can still make people come to their shows. Laugh at me all you want, I am glad I went to their show, I'm glad they're still around, and I'm glad they're coming out with another album. 

The Greatest Singers of All Time

In response to Rolling Stone Magazine's recent cover story "100 Greatest Singers of All Time", I decided to write my own list. I've really only ranked my top 10, and I'll list others in a random order, but I have to say why I am doing this, and how I am doing this. 

Rolling Stone has a history of putting together "lists". There's nothing wrong with that, only that each list gets a ton of "controversy" around it. Let's face it, when it comes to music, there's no right or wrong answer, and it is inevitable that someone will be disagree. This list was compiled by votes turned in from music journalists and singers (my hero, Springsteen voted too). I think it is because of this that it is being received slightly less enthusiastic by RS's readers. But come on guys, do we as the public have that much opinion nowadays anyway? I'd love to say yes, and I at least try to make my voice be heard as much as possible, but think at the People's choice awards. It is not choice by the people- its chose by the a very small group of people who think they can speak for everyone else. Even the so called Democratic government we live in, isn't about our choice. 

However, I am not offended that this list was chosen by people in the industry. I say this because if you take a look at the voters, it is mostly musicians, but it is musicians and singers that I feel they themselves had a huge impact on all of us, so their say is just as important, if not even more personal and more sincere.  A singer's voice is a personal account that has the ability to touch us and move us in a way that gets a reaction out of us. 

I'll make one thing clear, this list was compiled by ME. I asked and surveyed people in order to be able to make an informed decision, and be open to people that I wouldn't normally consider. So, while I am prepared to get criticisms, I also stand behind my list. Also, thanks to everyone who submitted their lists, you all had great ones (but, I cant bring myself to put Kenny Rogers mom...). Feel free to leave comments, thoughts, suggestions.

The Following is My List: (the popular opinion is after)

1. Alison Krauss- While not my favorite artist, she definitely has a voice that shatters your emotions. My sister laughed at my a while back when I said she sings like an angel. She has this way of singing softly but each line penetrates and because her songs are usually songs about heartbreak, you end up feeling like crap. But, its a good crap, its a crap that makes you  believe every single word she sings as if she's singing for you of an experience you had, or felt like you had. 

2) Jeff Buckley- a second generation folk singer, all his songs are haunting yet beautiful with his voice bringing out intense emotion.

3) Ben Harper- I know, I know, I'm probably going to get a bunch of emails on this one, but you know what? I consider him great because he has the innate ability to sing through different various genres (reggae, blues, folk, country, to name a few) with a soft voice that also evokes emotion. He is one of the few singers that can bring out the Woody Guthrie-esque sound of the folk movement of the 1960s while being able to maintain the level of eclecticness. (I'm looking into whether or not this is even a word..)

4) Elliot Smith- I had a hard time trying to figure out where to put him on this list. Part of me wanted him at the top spot, and part wanted him lower down. His style give me mixed feelings and makes me feel so many different things that ultimately confuse me. He was a sad musician, and his sadness transpires through every single song and I think he was hands down the best Acoustic Performer of the last 30 years.

5) Otis Redding- The epitome of soul music. Enough said.

6) Freddy Mercury-I have no better way to describe Freddy Mercury and his singing style than as simply "magnificent". No other rock star has come to the level of singing as Mercury, often sounding operatic and dramatic., with a voice so stunning that felt more like you were away at some intergalactic opera.

7) Bono- As a singer and performer, he manages to connect with every single person in the audience, and when he belts out choruses of his songs (like "With or Without You"'s chorus) you get the sensation that he's singing that with feeling from the top of an Irish mountaintop. But most importantly, what stands out is that Bono has an incredible connection with the music AND the message.

8) Raine Maida- Here's another one that people will be like, what???? Well, who knew it was possible to orchestrate a folk song full of violins and pianos, and harmonicas? Maida, best known for his whiney vocals in Our Lady Peace has always been a singer that catches my attention because of the use of his voice. Having recently released his solo CD confirmed my ideas on his singing and continue to draw me in. He has the innate ability to make a statement with his lyrics and his voice that make you have to listen to it again, and with each time you listen, a new message or meaning appears.

9) Frank Sinatra- Do I REALLY have to explain this one, or will you guys bombard me again with angry messages?

10) Billie Holliday- I consider her to be the greatest jazz vocalist of all time. Her voice sings of the emotion and the hard times she went through, with a rough sound to it. When I visited Harlem for the first time a few years ago, walking through one of the streets was a plaque as a tribute to her, because knowing stories of life in Harlem, her voice and her music resonates that, bringing to life the lives of people and Holiday during that time. Her music transports me to a different time, bringing out new feelings and emotions and a bit of hopelessness that, if listened to at the right time and place, has the ability to bring you to tears.

Others I wanted to put on the list but couldnt quite make the top 10: Jay Malinowski (Bedouin Soundclash), Cher (laugh it up!), Chris Cornell, Roy Orbison, Stevie Nicks, Dolly Parton, Robert Smith, Bob Dylan, Robert Plant, Neil Diamond, Joseph Arthur, Bon Iver

The Top 10 I compiled based on peoples opinion:

10. Brian Wilson

9. Eddie Vedder

8. Dean Martin

7. John Lennon/Paul McCartney (I averaged it out and decided to put both together)

6. Johnny Cash

5. Marvin Gaye

4. Bob Dylan

3. Frank Sinatra

2. Etta James

1. Robert Plant

And here are some more interesting ones that were submitted: Springsteen (my hero!), Liam Ghallager, Brandon Flowers, Debby harry, Rod Stewart, Caleb (from Kings of Leon), Steven Tyler, Conor Oberst, David Gray, Stevie Wonder, Brad Delp (Boston), Ryan Adams, Jack White, David Byrne, Elvis Costello, Celine Dion (that was my mom....), Barbara Streisand (again my mom...), Neil Diamond, Barry White, Barry Manilow, Neil Young, Johnny Mathis, Louis Armstrong, Scott Weiland, Jim Morrisson, David Lee Roth, James Brown, aaron Neville, Peter Gabirle, Serj Tankian, Jack Black (JAKE THAT WAS YOU!), Perry Ferrell, Smokey Robinson.

PLEASE keep submitting, compiling this list never gets old. And if you're like me, the list switches around constantly.

I wanted to leave you with a couple of songs that I think everyone should listen to, my top 5 songs of all time, fell free to add on to those as well:

1) Honey and The Moon- Joseph Arthur (my favorite ever)

2) Maggie May- Rod Stewart

3) Sitting On The Dock of a Bay- Otis Redding

4) Romeo and Juliet- Dire Straits

5) Jolene- Dolly Parton