By TOM BOWSER
My highschool friend Bob Mueller had invited Kevin Swanson and I over to his parents flat with a singular purpose in mind.
As I remember it the room in the basement had some comfortable old living room furniture in it. The single window was covered with a stained, ratty old shade. It was cool, dark, damp and a little musty smelling like most basements in older homes. A couple of posters were beginning to peel off the brick walls and a single "black light bulb" was the sole source of illumination. The room in the basement was a womb. There was no TV, no phone, it was quiet. An older home stereo system and a stack of Bob's favorite vinyl records were the only other thing in the room.
The room in the basement was where I discovered the American rock band Kansas. As a violinist in our highschool orchestra I was a bit shocked. Violin in a rock band? It sounded good, real good! Everything about it was right!
We went to see Kansas perform at the Coliseum in Madison, WI as they toured to support their album "Point of Know Return" in 1977 I believe. They were every bit as good live as on their albums.
I recently saw the movie Kansas: Miracles Out of Nowhere. It brought me back to the time my friends and I spent in the room in the basement sharing our common love of music.
Do you remember where you were when you first heard your favorite band or song?
At the time I wrote this post Kansas: Miracles Out of Nowhere was playing for FREE on tubi. If you are a fan of the band Kansas or a fan of American rock music you will probably enjoy the movie. I know I did!