I could have been a renaissance man if it hadn't been for Math...and Science

The Seeing Fields circa Feb. 1986 (L to R: John W. Golden, Chris Cybulski, Ken Jones, Rob Schladensky)

As the son of an artist and a musician, chances were good that I would at least have a musical or artistic hobby. My parents are also academic, having met while attending Duke, and my Dad went on to a Masters at Harvard, and courses at MIT and Berkley. So I should have been a renaissance man, right? Well, not quite...

Literature and young me? No interest. Math and young me? Mortal enemies. Science and young me? Well, I did win my grade in the science fair one year, but Science and young me? Pardon the pun, but no chemistry there. Art and me? Fast friends. Music and me? Well...

Though surrounded by instruments all my life, I did not take considerable interest in playing an instrument until college. I loved listening to music, and it was very important in my life. My college bandmates and I used to joke when interviewed by the college paper that we joined our band to "meet chicks", to poke fun at guys that actually were in it to meet as many women as they could. Sad thing was, the joke was even funnier because we rarely ended up meeting women due to our little musical cooperative.

It was the mid to late 80s, and North Carolina was a fertile ground of alternative bands with Let's Active, the dBs, Fetchin' Bones and numerous other bands. We didn't know any of those guys. But we had lots of friends in bands and our own little scene tucked away in the mountains of North Carolina. I was in Art school, and my buddies were in their various majors and for a short time, we lived and breathed the rock and roll dream. As we saw it anyway.

To be continued...