Rock-tober 09,2014

Back in the fall of 2006, my buddy Tim handed me a CD from a group called Los Lonely Boys. I looked at him with a cocked eyebrow and asked derisively, "What's this?" I was and still am leery of any group that formed after 1990.

He convinced me to give them a listen, and I'm glad I did. This group out of San Angelo, TX had a unique sound they called "Texican Rock and Roll" that had them hobnobbing with the likes of Carlos Santana and Willie Nelson

Now, it's no secret that music can affect your mood. Some tunes kick adrenaline production into overdrive, and that's great for those times you're trying to bench 300 pounds or punch through that wall of pain and pedal your bike up that never ending hill.

There are songs that bring on waves of nostalgia. They invoke memories from happier, simpler times like high school. Maybe they're centered around events like a first date or a place you used to live.

Then there are songs that just make you - happy. Sacred, the group's fourth album, was released in 2006 and went all the way to #1 with "Diamonds" as the lead off single. When I hear this song, I can feel a smile unfurl across my face, replacing what some have called a natural scowl. I also get this overwhelming urge to grab Andrea's hand and just start dancing in our living room. If you listen to the lyrics, it plays out as an awesome, non-sappy love song.

We dance out in the moonlit sky

But it pales beside her light

She puts her arms around me

Yeah I tell her it's alright

Wow.

Because it makes me think of Andrea (or maybe it's the use vintage rides as a backdrop in the video), I like how I feel when I hear this song. That's earned it a place on every music player I own.