This is a personal journey of the next month for me. My goal is to simply explore on an individual level why the notion of a characterization of music as “Grown” (not old) appeals to me. Some of these posts will be short. Some may endeavor to contain a few more lines, but ultimately the goal is to focus on this topic everyday this month.
Today, I just wanted to simply stated my why? Why Grown for me? Well, some of it may have to do with the fact that I am the youngest in my immediate family. I had the benefit of an older sibling(7 years) and older parents, so when I came on to the scene I was immediately introduced to not only the music of that time period, but some of a generation prior. As many know the climate of music in the 1970’s and 1980’s was quite different in the sense that music had not developed into a full on teen focused market. Oh certainly there were teens who were charting and of note but that was the exception more than the rule. The sounds, the stories by and large were written by and about adults. Certainly I had no idea at 2 what the story line in Billy Paul’s “Me and Mrs. Jones” was about, but that sound, that sophistication, I was able to take it in and it has not gone anywhere.
What’s your why?
Ivan Orr is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, performer, and writer. A native of Charlottesville, Virginia Ivan was involved with the forming and nascent days of The Music Resource Center as its first Program Director. A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Music, Ivan currently resides in Richmond, VA where he maintains an active performance and production schedule while serving as the Music Editor for Grown Folks Music, a position he has held since 2010.
