Chops

Everyone has that one defining feature about them. For some it's obvious, others maybe not so much. Mine happens to be my chops, my sideburns, the ol mutton chops, etc. People are amazed by them at times I swear. Kids lock on to em and stare vacantly into my soul. I get asked quite often why and how long have ya had em. Truthfully they've been there a while. I started growing them my sophomore year of High School, so what over a decade now. Why is probably a better question and therein lies an odd story.

So back when I started to appreciate music and get into it more is where the story begins. Before I started middle school we moved out of the LA valley and up into the desert. It was definitely a change. I went through middle school pretty quietly, then you know the best years of your life hit, high school. I got into different bands, more into the metal scene, but still was riding the grunge wagon. One night we were bored and we stumbled onto watching VH1, you know back when they played videos and not this stupid 'reality' shows. Anyways, they were showing some old Neil Young videos, and those of you familiar with Neil will realize throughout his career, he's has some pretty epic chops. I was digging the music, after all this is the godfather of grunge we're talking about. So as I got more into the works of Neil, I found out he did a record with Pearl Jam called 'Mirrorball'. Yeah you read that right, but then again, his albums are pretty diverse. So like I said grunge was still kinda relevant, we were still mourning Cobain, Pearl Jam put out the last good record in 'Vitalogy' and Soundgarden was still cashing in off 'Superunknown' and somewhere Layne was still keeping it together with Alice In Chains. So I went off to the local record store and picked up 'Mirrorball', it was kind of a dirty grunge record. Then again I've always favored Neil's more rocker albums. And on a side note, best version of 'Keep on Rockin' In The Free World' was done with Pearl Jam at the VMA's, seriously go you tube that, that was a kick ass version.

So what does this all have to do with chops? Well in the following weeks I grew tired of my hair and decided to change it up some. So I chopped it down and decided to see if I could even grow em. Few months later they took shape and the rest is history. In the decade or so I've had em, I've shaved em off completely only twice. I tend to look like a chubby teen when I have shaved em off. And yes they are currently long and are starting to make a comeback. It's funny, in my old job I inspired people to try and grow em. It was told they were my source of power and knowledge and that they generally kicked ass. I continue to let em grow and on occasion they do drive my mother crazy, they will continue to be a part of me for many years to come.

A lot of things with me come full circle with music. This is just another example. I still have yet to see Neil in concert, but the man has so many archives to release, it's pretty well guaranteed his music will live on for many years. Interesting bit of useless knowledge, Neil played with Rick James in his early years, yes that Rick James. So for the jukebox selection, it's Neil's 'Greatest Hits' album, a really good selection of his work. Enjoy!

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