Creativity, passion for music is safe addiction to have

For those who know me well, I bet you would agree one of my strongest passions is music.

When I was in elementary school, I drew stick-figure caricatures of myself up on stage, along with my friends, performing in front of my peers. Early on, I wanted to be a performer and write original songs.

I idolized the rich, layered melodies and harmonies of bands like Huey Lewis and The News, The Monkees, Mamas and the Papas, The Everly Brothers and Simon and Garfunkel.

And my most favorite band of all time was The Beatles.

I listened to Paul McCartney and George Harrison before I discovered they were two members of one of the most successful, most critically acclaimed bands of the 20th century.

My first CD album I received on Christmas morning, December 1996, under the tree from “Santa” was The Beatles’ definitive rock album, “Revolver.”

What was there not to love about that record? Nothing. From Harrison’s opening song, “Taxman,” a slam on the current economy, to the closing psychedelic art rock gem, “Tomorrow Never Knows,” I was instantly sold. 

And so was my brother, Jon.

We soon began to collaborate on our own original songs, inspired by Beatle-esque harmonies and tongue-in-cheek lyrics.

My brother and I loved the passion that The Beatles had for song craft and their unending drive to always push the envelope.

For my lyrics and vocal style, I learned from McCartney. My brother created his own guitar style, inspired by John Lennon and Harrison.

He later got more interested in the folk guitar of Bob Dylan and the transcending dynamic of Jimi Hendrix.

We called our band Absolute Elsewhere, a lyric lifted from Lennon’s 1970s song, “Mind Games.”

Eventually, we began to pick up shows in our hometown of Moses Lake and went on to record an album. We created quite a buzz in our community. It was a magical moment of my childhood.

Last Friday, I had the pleasure of meeting 14-year-old Jason Kertson, lead singer/guitarist of Puyallup-based Jason Kertson and The Immortals.

And what I found in Kertson was a mirror image of myself. What I saw was that same passion I had for music when I was young, a passion I still possess.

And what was inspiring about Kertson was his commitment to always put creativity first. Money, he said, does not matter.

Kertson is doing it for the love of music and creative expression. And he said he will never do drugs. Too many of his rock heroes are long gone because of drug use, and he said that’s sad.

Kertson’s drug of choice is music. And that’s something the two of us have in common.

Reach Puyallup reporter Andrew Fickes at 253-841-2481 Ext. 313 or email at andrew.fickes@puyallupherald.com.