June 18, 2015
This is the Day
Music has always been a big part of my life. When I was young, I was often left alone with nothing but an AM radio to entertain me. As I entered my tween years I was fascinated by music on the radio and would often record songs with one of those old cassette recorders that you would have press down two buttons simultaneously to record a song, and then I would try and hit the posts and introduce songs as though I were the DJ playing them. During my high school years I was all in on the New Wave movement, but found myself alone in the love of bands like Heaven 17 and the Cure. My peers were all listening to Classic Rock. When I moved to Boston to attend college I was very lucky to land a job at WBCN. At 17 years old I found myself working at the number one station in a huge radio market. It was there I met my friend Bradley J. I bought my first set of Technics turntables from Bradley and as part of the deal he taught me beat mixing and pitch control. I went on to leverage those skills into over 1,000 DJ gigs. When I moved to San Francisco I caught the wave of growth in the House Music scene, playing gigs every almost every weekend. My music career was always a passion project. During times of focus on my real career my DJ gigs would take a back seat to the money making jobs. I continued to DJ whenever I could. I’ve been fortunate to have played in some amazing venues around the world including the Ministry of Sound in London and Amnesia in Ibiza. During the tough times after the UltraCade debacle I was lucky to have some great friends at Ruby Skye and Slide who gave me as many gigs as I could take, which kept food on the table while I was getting NanoTech off the ground.
Certain songs throughout my life have had significant meaning to me. When my grandfather passed away I was devastated. He was a cornerstone in my life and had provided guidance and teaching that I was never able to get from my absent father. I found comfort somehow in New Song by U2. These days, whenever I hear that song it brings a smile to my face and makes me remember my grandfather.
I’ve been fortunate to have many different chapters in my life. I’ve been blessed to have a wide variety of experiences from Scuba Diving to Car Racing, from my wonderful wedding day with Lisa to the miracle of witnessing the birth of my beautiful son. The other day I heard a song that I have always loved, and listening to the lyrics it seemed like a very appropriate song to mark this day as I transition into another chapter in my life. I know that people have been concerned for me, but I know that everything is going to be just fine and I’m going to grow and learn as I enter this next chapter of my life. If you listen to this song, hopefully it will put a smile on your face as it does mine…
This is the Day by Markus Johnson (from the Album Soul Mining by The The)
Well you didn’t wake up this morning ’cause you didn’t go to bed
You were watching the whites of your eyes turn red
The calendar on your wall is ticking the days off
You’ve been reading some old letters
You smile and think how much you’ve changed
All the money in the world couldn’t buy back those days
You pull back the curtains, and the sun burns into your eyes
You watch a plane flying across a clear blue sky
This is the day your life will surely change
This is the day when things fall into place
You could’ve done anything, if you’d wanted
And all your friends and family think that you’re lucky
But the side of you they’ll never see
Is when you’re left alone with the memories
That hold your life together like glue
You pull back the curtains, and the sun burns into your eyes
You watch a plane flying across a clear blue sky
This is the day your life will surely change
This is the day when things fall into place
This is the day your life will surely change
David Foley
Wishing you good Luck and speedy days David…
You have such an amazingly positive attitude. Here’s to a fast countdown!