So, your kid plays football?

I meet proud parents every single day that love to tell me about their children. I often hear about good grades, football, soccer, baseball, cheerleaders, gymnastics, ballet... Well, you get the point. These conversations usually involve how talented their children are, what team(s) they are on, where the next track meet is, and so forth and so on.

When this conversation shifts, and I am asked what my children do, I am sure I get that same proud look on my face that I've seen beaming from the other parent(s) involved in these polite conversations. I am proud to say the my children are in bands. My youngest son is in school band and my oldest son is in a metal band. You should see the looks that I sometimes get with the last part of that statement!

My son does not worship the devil. My son does not do drugs. My son, in many ways, is just as talented as your girl on top of the pyramid or your son that hit 11 homers for his team last year. The long hair and look is as much of a "requirement" for what he does as is the crew cut and jock strap for your son.

Metal, rock and roll, rap, and country is all the same. It's music. The people that make it in the music business may appear to party all the time, do all the drugs in the world, drink daily, and live life to the extreme. The reality is, they work very hard. Many of those appearances are just an act. The blue hair, the spikes and leather, and the outlandish beards are a way that these guys set themselves apart from others. Do you really want to see someone on stage that looks like every guy walking down the street? You wouldn't want someone to associate the rampant use of steroids in major league baseball with your 10th grade first baseman would you?

I have learned that many of the great local acts that I have seen recently in Atlanta work as hard as your football star. There is no rock and roll season. Music is an all year sport. These guys practice, create music, work on their sets, and orchestrate all of this without the help of a coach that went to college for 4 years. They go out and find their own shows and get their own fans. They do not have alumni that show up and support what they do. They do not have booster clubs that contribute equipment. If they are lucky, one or two of them may have a parent that understands.

The next time you are downtown and walk by a bar or club where you hear live music, stop in. Sit down and take a few minutes and listen. Drop a dollar in the tip jar and tell the people on stage that you enjoyed it. These local musicians deserve that much.