I have a piece of audio with Ville saying that and when it pops up in my iTunes I always smile. It reminds me of the way music has touched me in my life.

Music is my best friend. It has always been there for me in the best of times and the worst of times. When I’m feeling up or down, it knows exactly what it needs to play to keep my spirits lifted or to lift my spirits.

This week, I was reminded of why music is important to me. Where I’ve been and how I got here.

In 1994, Rotting Piñata from Sponge was released and it had the radio hits “Molly (16 Candles)” and “Plowed” on there but that album was so much more than those songs. That album saved my life. That band’s music saved me from some of the darkest moments in my head and in my heart. To this day, I still get a lump in my throat when I hear “Drowin’.”

If you had asked me as I sat in my room crying, would I have ever imagined working with a band that saved my life, I would have said no. Advance the years forward and ask me that same question, and I would answer it with, I am honored and still can’t believe I get to work with some of the greatest guys on the planet. The band may never know how much their music and lyrics saved me, but I do all that I can do for them. If Billy, who drums for Sponge now, hadn’t drummed for Peter Searcy, I wouldn’t have had the chance to run Sponge’s website for them. If I hadn’t created a fan site for Peter, I wouldn’t have gotten to meet Mosely (and his now wife Emilie). If I hadn’t met Mosely, who worked with Peter, I wouldn’t have met Nicole who gave me a list of people to connect with at 1065 The End. If I hadn’t met Nicole, I wouldn’t be going on my 11th year working with the station.

Crazy how life connects you.

I also read a post from my friend Rob entitled “Hope is Everything” this week. I was so moved by his post. He wrote of suicide and I sat thinking about how his former band’s song “Big Western Sky” was my song of hope. It was a constant reminder to find that little something to hold on too. I don’t even know if he knows about this even after all these years. That song also saved my life.

I will forever owe the music in my life for being there for me but more importantly, I will forever owe the artists I know as friends who have touched my life so deeply and personally. Without you, I would not be here.

SPONGE: website | Twitter | Facebook
ROB GRAD: website | Twitter | Facebook