Tradition.

At the beginning of the calendar year, it is not uncommon for music writers to share their predictions for who they think will become breakout stars in the year to come.  I have done this with my blog in the past, but this year I am not going to walk down that path. Instead, as I prepare to usher in 2017, I have been thinking a lot about a tradition that is becoming more and more prominent in my life.  So while some  families are still humming “Auld Lang Syne”, I am thinking of  Nas’ 2006 album “Hip Hop Is Dead” when he raps, “When they crown you - and you rise up to your position / Carry On Tradition / When they knight you - then you go to fight, go to war, don't petition / Carry On Tradition (x2) / Carry on (x2) / Carry On Tradition (x2) / when you rep what we rep / Then Carry On Tradition”.

There are all types of traditions tied to music.  One tradition that I have adopted is oral tradition, a type of musical communication wherein knowledge and culture are passed on orally from one generation to another.  The initial image in my head is of Appalachian music, front porches and fire pits.  In my home, music is a focus as the boys sit at the counter-top in our kitchen and we listen to A Tribe Called Quest’s “Can I Kick It?” or when we are playing a family game in our living room with my wife’s Pandora station playing in the background and we end up talking about the difference between the Counting Crows versus the Black Crowes.

Music traditions can also be classified into some combination of ethnic, racial, religious or geographic boundaries.  Although my paternal family hails from Belarus, we sadly did not inherit an ability for neumatic chants known as znamenny.  However, one thing we are proud of is that our house has become a meeting spot for family and friends, where music inevitably becomes the center of conversation.  We value the fact that we do not live in a traditional household.  We have 4 generations living at our house, my boys, my wife and I, my wife’s parents, and her maternal grandfather.  Although I am still waiting for the first jam session with Zaidy on guitar, my boys get to hear their maternal grandfather wax poetic on Bobby Darin and my friends' heated discussions about the jam bands of our college years.  With the wide range of ages passing thru Pittsburgh, we get an awesome cross-section of people, stories and music.

Through the tradition of music, I hope that my boys can look back at their childhood and remember a house that was often full of people, tales and music.  Maybe not exactly along the lines of Hank Williams, Jr.’s 1979 song, “Family Tradition”, but close:  “So don't ask me, Hank why do you drink? Hank, why do roll smoke? / Why must you live out the songs that you wrote? / Stop and think it over, try and put yourself in my unique position. / If I get stoned and sing all night long, it's a family tradition.”

Thank you for reading.