Adam Knapp's Top 10 musical influences, Pt. 2

Editor's note: Here is the second guest blog Adam Knapp has written for me -- part of a four-part series counting down the people in his life who have inspired the music he listens to. Some of the music he mentions here is not to my liking -- Not so with KISS -- we both love old KISS - 1970s Gene, Paul, Ace & Peter. Well I'll just step back and let him tell it all. I give you -- Adam Knapp.
--J. Guy

                                               Nicki Minaj -- "Starships"

7. The Kid

About a half hour ago, I asked my teenage daughter what her favorite song was.

“You wouldn’t know it,” she replied.

Maroon 5

“Well what is it?” I asked.

“I’m not telling you,” she said.

But a seconds later she played it for me and … well, I’ve already forgotten what it was. But it’s always funny to see her get excited over music. “Just wait ‘til the beat drops!”

You wouldn’t think someone who isn’t even old enough to get her driver’s license would have much a musical influence on me. But she’s pretty much taken charge of my vehicle’s radio, and I’m astounded by how many of “her” songs I’ve downloaded for myself.

Maroon Five, Nicki Minaj, Izzy Azalea, 21 Pilots – would I even know who these groups were if it weren’t for Stellar Knapp? No, I’d probably just listen to some podcast when I’m at the gym – and trust me, that won’t give you the same energy as a song like “Starships.”

She’s even gotten me to listen to some of the “new” country. The ones she likes aren’t bad.

Stellar often surprises me by knowing and appreciating older music, too. Her favorite song last week was that pina colada song by Rupert Holmes. Snort.

                                        Candlebox -- "Cover Me"​

6. The Crush

Angi Clinton. Oh, Angi Clinton … why did you break my heart?

I was living in Missouri, fresh out of college. Angi worked in a pharmacy at Cub Foods. Single mom, a couple years older than me and … wow. I fell for Angi before I even talked to her.

Once I got to know Angi, she was even cooler than I thought. We were definitely into a lot of the same kind of music – Offspring, Bush, a lot of grunge. She didn’t just pretend to like that stuff; she knew it cold. I remember coming home with the new Alice in Chains “Tripod” CD (actually unnamed, but that’s what I call it) and playing it for her – loud – over the phone. Smooth move, no?

Scruffy & the Janitors

Angi’s favorite group was Candlebox. I didn’t know a lot about Candlebox, but you’d better believe I started listening to them after she told me that. I think she actually invited me to a Candlebox concert in Kansas City. Or maybe she just told she was going. Probably the latter, now that I think about. She was flirty, but she always held me at arm’s length.

So … fast forward a decade or two. Angi not only searched and found me on Facebook, she went on and one about how she never forgot about me.  She even still had a Christmas card I sent her. She really made me feel good.

I called her, and we never lost a beat. She lives in K.C. and really hasn’t changed. She’s constantly going out to check out new bands and hear live music, which is more than I can say. Then I started to follow her on Spotify, and was blown away by how much great new stuff she likes - stuff you would never hear on the radio. (At least in Wichita.)

Some of the band names will make you laugh. (“Scruffy and the Janitors” come to mind.) But trust me: If you want to stay young, pay attention to what Angi Clinton listens to.

A few months ago, Angi called me all excited. I knew she going to see Candlebox (yes, they’re still around.) Well, after the concert, she went to a bar and hung out with Candlebox.

I told you Angi was cool.

KISS

​

5. The cousin

When you have an older cousin who got to go to a KISS concert … well, if you were a child in the 1970s, one doesn’t carry much more weight than that.

That cousin was Billy Warstler, and he made sure I knew most of KISS’s entire catalog, much to my mother’s disapproval. But we loved them. Oh, did we love them. We bought KISS trading cards and KISS comic books. I don’t know how many hours we spent in my bedroom lip-synching KISS songs, but I do remember the band members we claimed. He was Paul Stanley and I was Gene Simmons. Then we’d switch; he’d be Peter Criss and I’d be Ace Frehley.

(I actually still own the ill-fated solo albums of my “guys” Gene and Ace. 

Incidentally, how egotistical were the members of KISS to each come out with solo albums on the same day? Not even the Beatles had the balls to try that.)

                                "S.O.S." -- Resurrection Band

Anyway … when Cousin Bill entered his teens, he became a born-again Christian. And what do you know – even with that 180, he was still a huge influence on me. Mailing me tapes from his home in Phoenix, Bill turned me on to groups like Petra and Stryper. “S.O.S.” by the Rez Band remains one of my favorite songs ever. (Listen to this dude’s voice and tell me it doesn’t move you a little bit.)

On one of the last tapes he made me, Bill gave me some news that still makes me laugh.

“There’s this new Christian band out there that’s really going to change things,” cousin Bill told me sometime in the early ‘80s. “They’re called U2.”

Next: 4-3