Upon learning this little tidbit about me, almost everyone has asked, “What the hell is wrong with you?” (Or something like that.) Well, I want to set the record straight: There is nothing wrong with me, so please allow me to enlighten you all as to some of the reasons for my musical preference. Who knows, I just might get you interested in the genre as well!
Just because I love Trance doesn’t mean I don’t like other genres (or, as you might say, normal music). Since my father is a musician (Guitarist), I was introduced to music—more specifically, Rock and Roll—at a very early age (when I was around 2). I can remember watching his garage band practice and, while they were taking a break, sitting on a drum stool banging away on the snare, while my feet dangled high above the foot pedals. My dad once told me that my favorite request was for the song Rock and Roll Band, by Boston—only I would call it You Away. (Incidentally, the phrase “You Away” isn’t in the lyrics, but what do you want from me? I was 2 years old!) To this day, I am still a big fan of Rock, as well as Alternative Rock. So how does someone get from Rock to Trance? The answer, my friend, is not as complicated as you might think.
One day during my second year of University, I walked into my friend’s room. He was studying and listening to Trance. “How can you study and listen to this garbage?” I asked. He informed me that it was quite easy, and actually helpful. I thought he was nuts and soon left him to his weird, high-BPM (beats per minute) music. Little did I know I would eventually think the same way.
I would have to say that the event that converted me was really quite spectacular (and quite a spectacle as well). Near the end of a trip to Israel, I found myself in the Central Bus Station in Tel-Aviv. I had some time to kill, so I went looking for some music. One of the stores I walked into was playing a trance CD. The music didn’t bother me, so I didn’t leave. Then, a few minutes later, it happened: customers started dancing in the aisles. Seeing this, the guy behind the counter turned up the volume, and I suddenly found myself in a mini-rave. It was awesome! I immediately purchased the CD they were playing. The rest, as they say, is history.
I suppose you could say I was ripe for the picking. I was sick and tired of hearing the same songs over and over again on the radio, and, before you knew it, there was another commercial break—which seemingly every station hit at the same time. So I started listening to a couple of weekly Trance shows and found that not only were the DJs constantly playing new music, but there also were never any inappropriate or crass lyrics. Better yet: there were no commercials!
What’s that you ask? Where can I listen to some Trance and Progressive music? Well, the shows I listen to are Markus Schulz’s Global DJ Broadcast, and Armin van Buuren’s A State of Trance. Both shows are two hours long and conveniently air back-to-back every Thursday from noon to 4 p.m. (E.S.T.) on di.fm. Now, just to give you an idea of the variety I mentioned above, Armin plays approximately 700 new tunes over the course of a year. That’s right, 700! Regular radio stations, which have 166 more hours of air-time a week don’t even come close to that. I’m not sure they play even one-quarter of that amount.
So, considering everything I have told you, why would you listen to anything else? If you need any more incentive, maybe you should try this little experiment: Note down every time you hear Second Chance by Shinedown on the radio. When you get to 20 times in one week (or more like one day) and are completely fed up, maybe try tuning in to some Trance music, say, for four hours on Thursday. I promise you won’t be let down.
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