Gene Wendell Dodson Jr.

I was first mesmerized by the power of rhythm when my dad played wipeout on the kitchen table with his hands as we ate our wheaties one sunny morning. It really interested me to learn how to do that, plus all you needed was your hands and something to beat on, like your knees. I had both! Then in 3rd grade we had band try outs at Franklin Grade School and I already knew that I wanted to play percussion, so I did. We received our instruments to take home and practice and I was given a snare drum and a set of bells. What the hell do bells have to do with playing drums? I later discovered that I should have learned to play them because they increase hand eye coordination and help your brain to transfer notation to physical movements, kind of like when you are playing a set of drums. Anyway, I know this is boring you, but J said I had to do it. I gave the tuba a try in 9th grade, but I blew. So, I was a band geek in school, but I won’t tell you about my experiences at band camp. Band helped tremendously to develop my musical ability. I guess I should have practiced a little more. I took a couple of music theory courses at SVCC and first thought that theory was just someone else’s interpretation of how notes should go together. Now I have found it to be a very useful tool, even though I have only begun to scratch the surface. I have played in a couple different bands in the area and have tried to take something away from every situation. I try to play guitar and enjoy trying to come up with original stuff every now and again. That’s about it. In the words of Garth Algar…..”I like to play.”