I was only 10 when I got a cassette from my awesome uncle (awesomeness runs in the family). For those who don't know what is a cassette, it is what we used to have before there were such things like CD or DVD. And listen up kids, we can't shuffle it or skip songs. We had to listened to it from the start to finish. Sure we could rewind it or fast forward it but there was no indication whether you are at the beginning of the song you want. And when you play it, There is such a thing as side A and side B. So Halfway, you have to take out the cassette, turn it around on the other side, and then put it back in before pushing that play button again. The younger generation, won't have to live with the horror of having the tape on your cassette eaten by your radio. It was the worst case scenario as your try to untangle various variation of the Gordian Knot.
On the cassette I saw guys I didn't know and I thought they must be a new band. I tried it and I was instantly hook from the get go. I was screaming, "This band is so awesome!". It was the best birthday gift I could ever have. The next day, I have already memorized all of the songs lyrics. My ability to memorize was insane back in the years before that drag race accident. I was listening to it over and over again until i could master all of the songs except those fillers because those were not really songs.
In the coming years, I would purchased their other albums and even those that were considered collector's item. Because I was so good at mastering all of their songs, I was eventually recruited as secondary lead vocals of a band I admired back in high school. They would have me fill in for their vocalist in times his voice needs a break. They would bring me along with their gigs so that their star front man won't over work his vocals chords. I was only 13 then and I did earn a bit of money. The best thing about it was that I learn a lot from those guys when in comes to playing in band. They were like my big brothers in the band scene. After that, other guys from other bands would come to me to join their band. Until I was 16, I was a freelance vocalist.
All these happened to me because of that album that started it all. It was from a band that back then was only emerging but would later become the biggest band in the land of 3 stars and the sun during the 90's. The name of the album was "Ultraelectromagneticpop" from the legendary The Eraserheads.
