Growing Up - Part 1

I was raised a country girl, traveling from Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas. My family was not rich but we had a lot of love and a lot of fun! One of my favorite jokes about myself is: What do you get when you mix a redneck with a hillbilly? ... ME!

My parents are the best. I grew up the daughter of race car drivers and loved every minute of it. My Dad was a stock car driver on the Midwestern Circuit who won a lot of trophies and enough money to get us to the next race. My Dad has raced cars since he was a young boy. His last race was at Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix Arizona about 1987. He rolled his car that night, a metallic green Maverick. My Mom used to race as well. She caused a lot of controversy when she wanted to race against the men instead of the Powder Puff. I remember some were all for it and others hated the idea of her on the track and created all out war. She was ran into, run off the track and they even rolled her car. A big fight ensued in the pits that night as a result. I counted 32 bruises on her the next day from the roll-over. 'eh, a typical weekend.

This was one of my favorite cars Dad drove...





My parents liked to listen to music and on the rare occasion you could catch my Dad singing a tune with the radio. To me, he was a very good singer and I would stay very quiet and careful not to look at him so he wouldn't stop and I could listen to him. One time that sticks out in my memory was an early cold snowy morning. Dad was driving me into town, which was about 10 miles, to school in our Volkswagen Bug and the station was playing "Amarillo By Morning" and as he sang along to the radio all I could think about was how much I loved my Dad. My Mom, she would sing at the top of her lungs and enjoy every minute of it no matter who was looking or listening! Mom would burst out in song for every occasion it seemed and still does!

I grew up listening to oldies and country music such as Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynett, Dolly Pardon and somewhere along the line was truck driving songs. "Give me 40 acres and I'll turn this rig around", Little Joe, Smokey and the Bandit, etc. I didn't discover rock music until my early teens. Until that point I had 45's which were all oldies and some show tunes I think. My first real record was Ozzy and when my Dad heard that, he yelled at me and told me not to play that crap! He didn't want to hear it! So I took every opportunity while he was away to listen to it. One day, he came home for lunch unexpectedly and I had Ozzy playing pretty loud on Mom's stereo. He came through the door, went straight to the record player, grabbed it and smashed it over his knee and tossed it out the front door without saying a word to then just walk away. I stood there in disbelief at what he had just done! Now a days, you can catch him SINGING to Ozzy!! I still bring up that day he smashed my record and he says, "Ozzy isn't that bad". LOL

Introduction

Welcome to my blog! My name is Tammy but some call me Lady Hathor. I'm not sure I have anything to say, or everything to say. Never-the-less, the journey begins.

The majority of this blog is going to be about music. Music has always been an interest of mine since I was a little girl. I used to daydream about being a "dancing and singing star" when I grew up! My Dad used to let me stay up late on school nights and watch Elvis specials on the TV or other concerts and every weekend was American Bandstand with Dick Clark. I didn't know very much at all about the business of music but knew I wanted to be involved somehow! In grade school and middle school I played the clarinet and was first chair (top of my class) every year, 6 years straight. I even did the solos at the school performances. Occasionally you can catch me picking up the clarinet and reminiscing but I don't play nearly well enough now to play in front of people! LOL Maybe someday that will change.

When a person talks about being in the music biz, that can mean in many different fields. The artists, the sound guys, light guys, promoters, managers, record companies, etc. Every aspect of the industry has intrigued me and I've always tried to learn as much as I could about the full spectrum. If you were to ask me what I wanted to be when I grow, I still don't know and I'm 43! But I do know that I have a passion for helping those who do know, succeed in their talent. I like supporting local artists and venues and always try to hire locally when it comes to vendors.

I have been in the music industry in Arizona for twelve years now and have seen and experienced so much. There have been a lot of changes throughout the years but one thing always remains the same - As a fan, you have to support your local music scene! Go to a show, buy merch from the bands, share your love of music with others!

When I first got into the industry, I owned a demolition company. One of my partners played the guitar and he and a friend would get together in his living room and jam. Then he started getting a band together. I remember when I would have a bad day, he would say, "I know what you need" and he would break out the guitar. I did some of my best thinking just sitting there listening to them play. They would invite me to every band practice and asked me to write lyrics. After they found all the members for the band, we became NOYZE. They tried to get me to sing, but I was more interested in researching the industry and doing whatever I could to help the band. This was my first real experience in the music industry and I wanted to succeed! If the band made progress then I felt I did as well.




During my twelve year extravaganza, I wrote lyrics, created websites and formed a web presence, did production, took sound reinforcement classes, went on jobsites with professional sound companies, promoted indy and cover artists, managed bands and a record company, consulted, booking, shows, radio, interviews, and so much more. If it needed done, I did it.

I have had a lot of good times and some not so well, which I'm sure anyone in the industry can attest to. There were days I just wanted to walk away and other days I was high on cloud 9. I can't imagine my life turning out any other way. Music is my life!