Voices for Voices®

The 10 BEST Concerts I've Ever Attended | Episode 178

• Founder of Voices for Voices®, Justin Alan Hayes • Season 4 • Episode 178

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The 10 BEST Concerts I've Ever Attended | Episode 178

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Chapter Markers

0:03 Power of Music in Life

12:31 Unforgettable First Concert Experience

19:04 Musical Talent and Memories

What if the rhythm of your life was orchestrated by the power of music? Join me, Justin Alan Hayes, as I share the intimate soundtrack of my life on this episode of the Voices for Voices® TV show and podcast. From the reverberating hymns of my childhood church to the astonishing spectacle of my first concert, music has been my constant companion. As a new dad, I'm seeing this bond through a fresh lens, watching my daughter light up with the same familiar tunes that shaped my early days. Together, we'll explore the comforting embrace of church music, the magic of first concerts, and the vibrant world of live performances that have enriched my journey.

The heart of this episode beats with a deeply personal story of attending a Phil Collins concert with my father—a cherished memory that transcends time and space. Despite financial challenges, my dad's decision to take us to this unforgettable event was a testament to our shared love for music. Witnessing Phil Collins' multi-instrumental prowess amidst a rotating stage left a profound impact on us both. While my dad now dances among the stars, the memory of his joy and our shared experience endures as a tribute to the unifying power of music. This episode celebrates talented musicians who perform with authenticity and passion, reminding us of the timeless bonds and memories crafted through music.

Music influences our lives in deep and unexpected ways, shaping our emotions and memories from before we are born. The episode highlights its significance in personal development, family bonding, and unforgettable experiences like live concerts.

• Discussing the prenatal effects of music and sound
• Reflecting on personal childhood memories with music
• Exploring the emotional connection in church music experiences
• Sharing the profound impact of the first concert with Phil Collins
• Highlighting the relationship between music and family bonding
• Celebrating the artistry of multi-instrumentalism
• Remembering how music shapes long-term memories

We encourage you to find and nurture your musical memories.

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Justin Alan Hayes:

Welcome to this episode of the Voices for Voices TV show and podcast. I am your host, Founder and Executive Director of Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes. I can remember music has been a powerful, strong influence in my life and now, with research backing it up, that from the time we are, uh, we're in our, our, our, our mother's belly, uh, that we are able to hear, uh, or able to hear, tones, conversation, obviously not understanding, uh, that because we're just starting to develop as a child, as we aren't even born at that point, and so it's well known as parents-to-be to play music, whether that's classical music, calming music for the child-to-be to be a calming influence. And then, obviously, conversations, even as an adult, having a quieter conversation versus a loud conversation. That can be helpful. And music from again, the very, very long time ago since I can really remember, has really impacted me personally, and so that's why we're talking about that in this episode. That's why we want to share and bring to light for me specifically, me specifically, because it has been such a driver at so many different key points in my, in my life, again from when I can, when I can remember, and if we just think back to a, a newborn child, a newborn child, one of the things fall asleep to take that stress level, obviously if the child's hungry or thirsty, and that the music isn't going to have quite the big impact. But all other things being equal, the music really can and does.

Justin Alan Hayes:

I even think, with my daughter, so many of the toys, as she's growing up, have sound, have music, and I I think back to the time when she was growing and my wife's belly, that the music that we would either, well, that we would play, and even the reading of stories, again, just that calming effect. And I really notice, notice as a new dad, how quickly my daughter took to my voice in the early days, the early even now, how important that is. And it's almost like I can see her zone in a little bit and think to herself, while maybe not thinking to herself, you know, maybe more of a subconscious thing of I've heard that voice before. I've heard that voice before, and that's where you know we talk about the sound of sound of music and in that, that importance.

Justin Alan Hayes:

So in my life, from as early as I can remember, music was introduced to me first in church, really Go to mass, and there was the organ, sometimes there was a guitar as well as singing to accompany that, along with the prayers and recitations. Yeah, so that was something that really stuck with me even so much that many years ago 43 right now but in my formative years, as I was growing up, one of the cantors, one of the singers, soloists that I remember from way back when had such a powerful influence when I was at church when she would sing, that I wanted her to be able to participate when my wife and I were married in that excuse me, very same church and right, there is a connection. Many, many years go by, but in my mind, my mind's eye, in my memory bank, we'll call it I remember that voice. I remember the one specific song, alleluia, that she would sing in a certain manner. It was just real powerful and it was just like you have hairs on your arm and your back lifting up like, oh, wow, this is something special. So that was really the first time that, as I reflect, that music really came into my life, and so that was church, church, music.

Justin Alan Hayes:

And then, when we talk about and think about music outside a church that we might hear on the radio or may hear on now, you know, like a guess Spotify or an Apple, and instead of, you know, we had at that point when I was growing up, we had what they call the Walkman, and so there was a tape that would go into this little cassette and it would close, and then there'd be a button for play, there'd be a button for pause, and I think there was a button for rewind and maybe fast forward, and then I think there was an eject button too. So when you wanted to switch out a tape, you could, you could do that, and so the music I guess that I was drawn to was a beat, we'll call it yeah. They incorporated many different instruments, not just one, not just a guitar, not just a vocalist, but a guitar, a bass, a piano, violin, you know, and the strings were added that had such a profound influence of just bringing things together at an orchestra level, and so those were the types of bands that at first I was, I was drawn to, and I remember one of my very, very first concerts, and so I was kind of taking that step from just that listening, either at home or the skating rink was big when I was growing up and we'd go skating and there'd be songs that I would recognize there as well. But actually going to a concert, seeing a performer, listening to them, was something new. And the first two performances that I remember the first one you know my dad, now he has passed, however I remember watching I believe it was on the old VH1. They would have kind of the behind the music or the unplugged, and Phil Collins was playing and singing on this particular episode. I don't know what it was about the episode, I don't know what it was, I don't know what song it was, but something was really drawing me closer to the music, whether that was following the beat in my mind or the different. They call them riffs, so what chords they play for guitar or any instrument that would have it. And so that really did two things at the time. One, when I found out that Phil Collins was coming to Cleveland, which was the old, it was gunned arena at the time, the arena that that's now Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse I I wanted to go, I wanted to go to the concert and at the time I didn't have a job and I can't remember if I was driving age or not, because I may have been, because my mind's a little foggy, but I'm thinking that I told my parents like I'm going to go regardless if I can't find somebody to go with me.

Justin Alan Hayes:

My sister at the time that wasn't really her the music that she liked, and obviously we all have different tastes and artists that we like, and so my dad ended up going with me to the concert and it was so cool. At first concert we had really great seats. Thinking back to how much those had to have cost coming from lower middle class, if not even lower than that, you know how much money had to be saved to purchase the tickets and then to actually go, you know to think about it, it really, you know, makes me emotional thinking about that, especially with Dad in heaven now. So the first part the concert and of how that behind the music with Phil Collins touched me, impacted me. So I went to the concert.

Justin Alan Hayes:

We had seats that were pretty close to the stage. It was one of these circular stages that rotated at a slow speed so that because he had a huge, huge band, lots of instruments, which is another reason I loved it, as I mentioned, and so we were able to see as as the stage was was was turning, and so that was another new new thing. I was thinking a static stage, you know, either a triangle or some type of a shape that stays put. Well, we get to the show and we had my dad and I we had, I believe we had aisle seats. If not in the aisle seat, we were, we had aisle seats because I don't remember anybody sitting next to us to where the steps were, and so the entrance of a performer is something that is always interesting, and this is what probably started it for me.

Justin Alan Hayes:

And what that was is, you know, the lights go out, some music, some beats start playing and everybody's cheering and wondering. You know where Phil Collins is at, where is he gonna, you know, rise up onto the stage? How's that going to happen? And sure enough, and you can't make these things up the aisle, right next to in our row, there was a spotlight that came down and we looked up, so we were probably maybe five rows from the floor level, and so we saw the spotlight and we literally turned just to our right and obviously there's a spotlight and here comes a gentleman. He's got a suit, coat, a hat, a a microphone, and here's Phil Collins walking through the crowd all the way up to the stage and he had this, you know security with him and you know, at the time, you don't know, I didn't know what to expect in general. So when that actually happened, I was like, oh my gosh, that was so cool. And this was at a time when, you know, cell phones really weren't around. So, there you know, to try to take a picture, take a video and all that. It was one of these moments that was, and still is, instilled in my mind and still is and still in my mind and that was awesome. The concert was awesome. Phil played just about every instrument. He played the drums, he played guitar for a song, he played the bass, played the keyboard. It was just so awesome, just as watching a true musician, the fact that he was able to play so many instruments. It was really just set that stage.

Justin Alan Hayes:

And then the uh, the second part you know being being there with my dad, right. So there are songs that are playing. People are having a good time, they're clapping and cheering and you know kind of doing. You know the dance. You know the Trump YMCA dance wasn't really a thing yet.

Justin Alan Hayes:

It was quite many years prior to that, quite many years prior to that, and to see my dad truly just having a good time, and he was. He was dancing, and I was just, you know, kind of a little bit embarrassed but I was like this is so, so cool. He's having such a great time, I'm having such a great time. What a first, you know, concert experience for this to happen. Uh, it was just it. It was very, very impactful. Uh, so much so I I remember, you know the definitely the, which was just incredible the instruments that Phil played, being there with my dad, him taking hard-earned money that he could have spent on other things for our family, and that was one of the things at the time that he chose to spend money on. And again, the seats weren't inexpensive. They were really, really great seats and, uh, it was just a all-around fun time.

Justin Alan Hayes:

So I gotta see what, how much time we have, right, because we don't want to go over our time. Okay, we have. So we're working on a new camera right now, so that's why I'm doing that. So it looks like we have about eight minutes or so to close out this episode. This is actually going to turn into two episodes because of the content we have, which is it's fun to think about, it's fun to think back. I assume my dad was alive, and when we were able to kind of share in that, that bond of father-son being able to just be together having some great music and, as I mentioned, to see Phil walking down the steps through the crowd, obviously not knowing before that that that was going to happen that when it did it was all the more special and it really gave me a profound sense of a true musician.

Justin Alan Hayes:

A musician can be an individual that plays one instrument or many instruments. For me, an artist or an individual that's able to play more than one instrument is just. It kind of blows my mind in a sense, because each instrument is just a little bit different. There's some similarities too with rhythm, but if you're playing a violin, you've got know, if you're playing a violin, you got a bow that you're playing the violin. If you're playing the drums, you have the drumsticks, you have the guitar, you have you know. It could be an acoustic guitar, it could be electric, it could be acoustic electric. It could be six string, could be 12 string. A bass could be four. It could be more set up like a guitar to look like. Or it could be like the, the old school bass that you know, the, the orchestras have, and so that was. That was just so cool to see that in person.

Justin Alan Hayes:

You, you know we have so much autotune affecting voices and that, and there are songs that I do like where the individual is just a singer and might not play an instrument, singer and might not play an instrument.

Justin Alan Hayes:

But I really have that true appreciation when somebody is able to play multiple instruments, because that takes just so much talent to be able to do that. You know, I play the guitar a little bit. I play the. You know the, the easy chords, you know the ones you just kind of learn at the beginning of learning to play guitar. So I'm nowhere near a soloist and being able to build out, you know, a sweet child of mine and the solo that comes with it, among others. So it's just really incredible how I'm here 25, 30 years later and I remember the that that time with my dad at the Phil Collins concert and how I tied it back to that. Behind the music or the unplugged I'm not sure the exact name of the show, but it was he was sitting down and the band members they were. They were sitting sitting down and there was a small, small audience there. You know they were.

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Justin Alan Hayes

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