Music has always been in my blood. Everyone in my family can play an instrument, sing, or at least listen to and enjoy music. I had a strict upbringing and only classical music was played in our home. For many years I was unaware of the amazing rock and metal music being created in the late '70's and early '80's.
In fourth grade, Joan Jett's song "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" ignited my musical taste and set me on the path to rock and metal. I began to enjoy rock music, such as Ratt and Van Halen, as I finished grade school. In junior high I clung to Dokken, Heart, Cinderella, and various other rock and metal bands as I navigated the difficulties of my early teen years. In high school, Def Leppard and the late '80's hair metal bands stole my heart. I was officially a headbanger, although I still had to keep it hidden at home. Def Leppard's "Hysteria" was the soundtrack of my high school years.
College was the time when I was finally able to show myself as a metalhead and fully embrace the music I loved. Within two weeks of starting college in 1990, I joined my college radio station and quickly became a DJ. I spent hours volunteering in the music department, organizing the records and indulging my appetite for metal. I was catching up on all the years when I hadn't had access to many of the great metal bands and albums. I became "The Lady of Loudness" as I began my sophomore year and held the Friday 9pm to midnight slot for the remainder of college. I worked as the music director for a year and a half and as the metal-only director for an additional year. During the summers I worked in promotions for a country station - and blasted the local hard rock station in the station van as I drove to remote broadcasts and events. Metal's message of self-empowerment and positive ambition spoke to me and became a permanent part of my identity.
Metal carried me through proud achievements, difficult personal times, and day to day college life. As I graduated from college, I entered several tough years as a young adult, carving out a post-college existence and trying to define myself. Suddenly metal wasn't "cool" anymore, and I was told how old-fashioned and out of date I was. My long headbanger hair was cut short to project a more professional image, and I sold my favorite leather jacket. The mid to late '90's brought new flavors of music and I felt like an anachronism from another time. Metal became the butt of jokes, especially "hair metal". But I clung to my favorite bands (especially Judas Priest, AC/DC, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, and some obscure British bands) and tried to pretend that other types of music could eventually fill the void. They didn't, and they never could.
Luckily the '90's did bring one special metal genre - "stoner" or "desert" metal. In the early 2000's, I began to explore this new genre. Kyuss had been a favorite of mine since I first heard "Blues for the Red Sun" in 1992, but now I was getting deeper into the music. I listened to all of the bands that split off from the Kyuss family tree and found great British and European bands as well. During this time I also began rebuilding myself as a person - going to graduate business school, building my life, and generally bringing back parts of myself that I had left behind a few years before. Suddenly the old bands seemed like old friends rather than relics of a bygone era. I began to once again wear my headbanger identity with pride.
2008 became the watershed year for reclaiming my metal. I went to a reunion for my college radio station and finally recaptured my past. The Lady of Loudness was reborn, and I did my first radio show in 14 years. It was incredible. Metal runs in my veins and it will never leave me again.
Reigning Metal is the outward expression of my love of metal. I've embraced the music for myself, and now I can share my thoughts and opinions with others. Metal rules! And yes, someday far in the future I'll be the 80-year-old lady who blasts Judas Priest out of her window.
In fourth grade, Joan Jett's song "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" ignited my musical taste and set me on the path to rock and metal. I began to enjoy rock music, such as Ratt and Van Halen, as I finished grade school. In junior high I clung to Dokken, Heart, Cinderella, and various other rock and metal bands as I navigated the difficulties of my early teen years. In high school, Def Leppard and the late '80's hair metal bands stole my heart. I was officially a headbanger, although I still had to keep it hidden at home. Def Leppard's "Hysteria" was the soundtrack of my high school years.
College was the time when I was finally able to show myself as a metalhead and fully embrace the music I loved. Within two weeks of starting college in 1990, I joined my college radio station and quickly became a DJ. I spent hours volunteering in the music department, organizing the records and indulging my appetite for metal. I was catching up on all the years when I hadn't had access to many of the great metal bands and albums. I became "The Lady of Loudness" as I began my sophomore year and held the Friday 9pm to midnight slot for the remainder of college. I worked as the music director for a year and a half and as the metal-only director for an additional year. During the summers I worked in promotions for a country station - and blasted the local hard rock station in the station van as I drove to remote broadcasts and events. Metal's message of self-empowerment and positive ambition spoke to me and became a permanent part of my identity.
Metal carried me through proud achievements, difficult personal times, and day to day college life. As I graduated from college, I entered several tough years as a young adult, carving out a post-college existence and trying to define myself. Suddenly metal wasn't "cool" anymore, and I was told how old-fashioned and out of date I was. My long headbanger hair was cut short to project a more professional image, and I sold my favorite leather jacket. The mid to late '90's brought new flavors of music and I felt like an anachronism from another time. Metal became the butt of jokes, especially "hair metal". But I clung to my favorite bands (especially Judas Priest, AC/DC, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, and some obscure British bands) and tried to pretend that other types of music could eventually fill the void. They didn't, and they never could.
Luckily the '90's did bring one special metal genre - "stoner" or "desert" metal. In the early 2000's, I began to explore this new genre. Kyuss had been a favorite of mine since I first heard "Blues for the Red Sun" in 1992, but now I was getting deeper into the music. I listened to all of the bands that split off from the Kyuss family tree and found great British and European bands as well. During this time I also began rebuilding myself as a person - going to graduate business school, building my life, and generally bringing back parts of myself that I had left behind a few years before. Suddenly the old bands seemed like old friends rather than relics of a bygone era. I began to once again wear my headbanger identity with pride.
2008 became the watershed year for reclaiming my metal. I went to a reunion for my college radio station and finally recaptured my past. The Lady of Loudness was reborn, and I did my first radio show in 14 years. It was incredible. Metal runs in my veins and it will never leave me again.
Reigning Metal is the outward expression of my love of metal. I've embraced the music for myself, and now I can share my thoughts and opinions with others. Metal rules! And yes, someday far in the future I'll be the 80-year-old lady who blasts Judas Priest out of her window.
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