My favorite music falls into the (broad) category of what is now termed "alternative music". But this wasn't always the case.

The only band I can remember listening to growing up (my pre-teen years) was KISS. Later, during my teens, I embraced hard rock/heavy metal movement and listened to bands like Motley Crue, Ratt, Def Leppard, Whitesnake, Poison, Guns & Roses and others of that genre.

But in my mid-twenties, I underwent a transformation. I'd always listened to a wide variety of music, but at that time I started to shift towards what became known as "alternative music" (though it didn't remain "alternative" very long). Soon the music world was embracing bands I had already discovered, from Seattle, that were soon labeled "grunge". Bands like Mother Love Bone, Nirvana, Pearl Jam (still love them!), Soundgarden and Temple of the Dog.

In my late twenties, my tastes shifted slightly, toward the more "mainstream alternative" music, like R.E.M. (hardly "alternative" by then), Tori Amos, Soul Asylum, Juliana Hatfield, Smashing Pumpkins, Hole and others. By this time, Alternative music was becoming so diluted from what it began as that it is more mainstream now vs. the alternative.

Although I still listen to some of the harder bands that are considered alternative (Pearl Jam, Live, Stone Temple Pilots, etc.), I now also listen quite a bit to what I guess is become known as "Adult Contemporary" (I know, that sounds pretty lame), bands like Sarah McLachlan, Jewel, Hootie & the Blowfish, Indigo Girls, Semisonic, Tori Amos, etc.

Some of my favorite bands include:

I have been lucky enough to see many of my favorite bands play live over the years.

Over the years, I attended Lalapolooza II and IV (seeing Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, L7, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Luscious Jackson and Lush).

In addition, I was fortunate to attend the Lilith Fair all 3 years ('97 - '99) it passed through Minnesota and got to see Indigo Girls, Sarah McLachlan, Jewel, Tara Maclean and Lisa Loeb. (Awesome shows!)