Getting older is a funny thing. “You just wait and see” must be on an endless subconscious loop in the minds of my parent’s generation. The younger you are, the more you think you know, and the more the older generation can’t wait for you to grow up a little bit and see the expression on your face when you finally “get it” and realize you don’t know everything.
But the burden isn’t just on the young guys. Quite often the older folks don’t give the younger guys enough credit. They just assume they know nothing, are unmotivated, and will never learn.
I am certainly, in some respects, a part of both groups. Being just a few weeks north of my 39th birthday I seem to straddle the line of being a grown-up with a wife and mortgage, and yet also being a kid who is still trying to figure out what to do when I grow up.
And so yesterday I found myself going to the Summer Slaughter 2010 metal show. I was there for one band in particular (I’ll get to that soon; bear with me) but managed to catch a few of the others. To say that my ears were assaulted would be an understatement. I didn’t hear one distinguishable note, not one single sung lyric that was actually articulated. Every singer sounded like they crap barbed wire and gargle with gun powder. As much as I try to embrace all forms of music, this just wasn’t my bag at all. I love Meshuggah, Opeth, and Periphery, and I get the cookie monster vibe. Though I’m not a huge fan of it, I can appreciate it when it’s done right.
WHEN it’s done right.
And so the old curmudgeon in me got a bit of a workout.
“They don’t know how to mosh.”
“What the f*&# is the name of the band on your shirt? It looks like vomit.”
You get the idea.
But I wasn’t there for those guys. I wasn’t really interested in the indistinguishable mass of death metal bands that sound exactly alike. I was there for one band and one band only. Furthermore, I was there to take a guitar lesson from a young guitarist who is not-so quietly making a name for himself as one of the shining stars in instrumental music.
The band? Animals as Leaders. The guitarist? Tosin Abasi.















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