Sam of Sam’s Music Review is better known as Sam Mancuso of MD, USA. Sam is old; born in 1967 before man landed on the moon and while hippie culture was still popular. I was raised by my young parents in the Lake Erie area of New York and Pennsylvania. First born on both sides of the family I was spoiled by aunts, uncles (really kids themselves and one or 2 genuine hippies) and grandparents. Dad played the trumpet and was the Band Major and mom just played music- on the console stereo with radio, a turntable and 8-track player.
Mom loved Elvis, The Beach Boys, Tony Orlando and Dawn and anything playing on Top 40 radio through the decades. Dad loved big band music and Motown. Pre-MTV he was a fan of Fleetwood Mack and Pink Floyd. When MTV debut in our house (it was a family event!) Dad discovered Blondie and eventually Madonna. Their records spun while my Dad was working at home on weekends. Weekends were special times watching American Bandstand and Soul Train from when I was born until the shows ended. My sisters were MTV heads and would rush home from middle school to watch Dance Party USA.
My grandparents were visited often and I would live with them in the summer helping out on the farms and afternoons were spent unsupervised on the shores and waters of Lake Erie. Back then there were tons of shows featuring music- Laurence Welk, Sony and Cher, The Osmonds, HeeHaw, The Polka Hour were all part of my programming. Nana would play Perry Como, Sinatra, and other crooners on her 8-track stereo while my Jaja would blast polka all day and he wouldn’t change the dial when the station switched to Peurto Rican jams. My aunts and uncles exposed me to hippie rock and folk music, what’s now classic rock and the soundtracks to Tommy, The Wall, Jesus Christ Superstar and planted the seed of rebellion in my soul.
My preteen years I’d use the money I earned on the farm to by roller skates, junk from Radio Shack and records and tapes. I think I was a newly minted teen when I joined Columbia House via the 12 Tapes for a Penny deal. Then I signed up using my grandparents address and kept my music collection growing. We lived atop the highest hill in town and radio stations from Cleveland, Buffalo and Canada would come through on a clear day. The stuff they were playing was quite different than the 2 or 3 local stations were playing.
I still remember happening upon my first concert. We visited Toronto for the first time and every year they would open up the area they built out for a Worlds Fair and had concerts at night. We were there riding rides, playing games and eating food when Bachman Turner Overdrive started their set. I still get the same feeling when I enter a venue to see a show. My first official show where I had a ticket and seat was KISS. I recall seeing them on Scooby Do during Saturday morning cartoons and every boy in elementary school was talking them up. Mom won tickets on the radio and we went to see the “loudest show in the world”. I ate their sound and theatrics up.
High school all of the cool kids were into whatever MTV fed us. The non-jock contingent (me) wore unbuttoned flannels with their favorite concert t-shirt underneath. On any given day you’d see shirts with Daran Daran, Journey, DIO, Ozzy, Black Flag, Pat Benitar, AC/DC, Madness, Air Supply, Styx, Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, Judas Priest, Tom Tom Club, Wham, etc. I know them all but I was starting to hear some new and interesting stuff on the radio coming from other cities. Rap started in the streets, invaded the clubs, hit the radio and eventually MTV gave it some time.
The time they gave it was late night when I was starting to develop my teen angst and insomnia. I tried to share with my friends but there was little interest outside of rock that had took hold of mosts musical pallets. For some time I was a closeted hip-hop-head. When I moved to MD in my early 20s I came out when rap was hitting its highs with the likes of Wu Tang Clan, A Tribe Called Quest, LL Cool J, Digital Underground and MTV brought them to prime time. I was blessed to have George Clinton and P Funk play at the college I was attending and became a huge fan.
Being in college I listened to their radio station that featured tons of the early alternative and grunge artists. I discovered Alanis Moresette and bought Jagged Little Pill the day it was released, became a lifelong fan of The Smashing Pumpkins, saw Tori Amos for the first time and went to countless concerts at Merriweather Post Pavillion. I lived across the street from the venue and could hear every show from my apartment balcony. I’d regularly walk across to one of the gates to see if the event staff was in a good mood and would let you walk in to see the encore.
After I got married music sort of faded into the background and other things took over. I also started to develop anxiety and depression that I didn’t understand or recognize. It went on and severely impacted my personal and professional life. I became distant, didn’t want to do anything and didn’t really care about much. Lost my wife, lost my sense of purpose and started a 2 year run of trying different treatments and spending all of my money on doctors. A college friend who felt sorry for me and sort of knew what I was feeling started to drag me out of the house.
We went to happy hours, we went to computer parts shows, we went to the mall. He didn’t care what people thought of his musical tastes and had friends across all walks of life. The best times were when we would hit the hot clubs in Baltimore. They all had DJs that played a crazy but familiar mix of music. Over time I started to accept myself, found the right mix of drugs and started my career in pharmaceutical manufacturing. I found my niche in quality assurance.
Pharma is a highly regulated industry with tons of changing rules. I was a master of detail, a hawk during reviews and a sponge for learning more. I thrived in roles that regularly chew up people and don’t spit them out. I loved the reading and research, thinking about complex issues and testing possible solutions. I loved trying to take complex processes and breaking them down into small, understandable parts. It gave me time with a focused brain and taught me how to get there in other situations.
Life outside of work was pretty normal. I spent my free time exploring live music venues all over the Baltimore and DC area. Live music was hot and there were amazing places with every type of music you could imagine. Me and my girlfriend at the time became groupies for a few bands and knew the members pretty well. Me and the girl I was seeing and eventually marry understood each other musically. We didn’t agree on much else other than music until my son was born.
From the second he was born I wanted to protect him, show him the wonderment of music and be his best friend. We didn’t expose him to baby music or lullabies- he heard the angst of grunge, show tunes, Smashing Pumpkins, Motown and anything else we were listening to on our Microsoft Zune MP3 players. At 7 his mom realized she wanted something different than a family and “Dude” was stuck being governed by a divorce agreement. Not long into his 50/50 arrangement he started to explore theater and the beast was released. He now holds degrees in Music Business and Religious Studies.
In raising him and my now 10 year old daughter the house has been full of music. About 15 years ago I got my 1st SONOS component. Pretty quick every room had SONOS so we could listen to music while cooking, on the patio, by the pool, in the master bathroom and even part of surround systems on all of our TVs. Our daughter’s room and playroom had SONOS speakers and I always bragged she danced and sang well before she walked and talked. My kids now have bucked technology and have gone analog with their growing vinyl collections. Despite their big age gap they have music and theater in common- it makes me smile every time they get together and talk about the latest play they’ve seen or album they found.
My “about” is simple- grew up exposed to tons of musical styles and types. I’ve always explored new music and it has been part of my life. Music is my life index- I recall life events in the context of what I was listen to then. Over time I’ve studied music history, had amazing experiences in the music world and now, in retirement from a productive career in pharmaceutical quality have become a music professional doing reviews here and helping 70s, 80s, 90s and 00 independent artists introduce their music to the digital age.