Growing up, it was just me and my mom, so we would play games where we'd listen to the radio and sing harmonies to each other.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Radio was my life growing up. Then, I started in our family band with my uncle, my father, my aunt and my little brother. We would go to The Chicken Box and all the bars and play.
My mother played piano so we always had music around the house.
When I was 10, 11, 12 years old, I would pretend to be on the radio. I bought a mixer and these big, ugly headphones and I would literally broadcast the cassette tapes in my bedroom.
I always sang harmony with my family growing up.
While other kids played with cars and toys, I listened to music all day. I wanted to sing it and learn it.
My parents are both musicians and made sure we all played music. My brothers and sisters all play instruments, so we'll get together whenever we can and play. We play a lot of classical music - you know, the good stuff.
Growing up I played piano and I sang at a lot of weddings; I grew up in a very small town, a little coal-mining town in Virginia called Grundy. And my family was very sing-songy at home.
I remember being a little kid sitting in the living room with my brother and some friends from around the neighborhood, and I would sit at the piano and as they were running around the room doing different things and being silly, acting out, I would actually play the score for it - the music that went along with it.
When I was growing up, my mother would take me to plays and museums, and we'd talk about life. Those times helped shape who I became.
Playing with my grandfather, grandmother and my parents, I came to music pretty naturally.