Stories About Your Mother/Father

[Alex L]

Throwing this out there...

 

Would anyone be willing to share stories about their mothers/fathers and how music/audio/Klipsch was part of the relationship?

 

We're looking for some fresh content for the blog on Mother's Day and Father's Day, so I figured this might be a nice human-angle to it all instead of the standard "buyer's guide" blogs.

 

I would do my best to make it worth your while! I have some posters, bullshit buttons, etc to hand out to participants. Possibly some 'phones too.

 

Anyway, if you're interested, comment below or email me: alex.leopold@klipsch.com

 

Thanks!

[Chad]

[Chad]

Sorry Alex, Slack Bot couldn't resist. hehe Carry on.

[Paducah Home Theater]

How long does such stories need to be and does it have to be related to Klipsch specifically?

[oscarsear]

Um..... okay.  Well Ma and Pa were pretty much countrified kids living in a teensy town in Mo.  They married young and moved to So Cal where my Mother parents lived and they were part of that music appreciation 50's generation.  1st they had one of those suitcase record players and a collection of various 45's etc.......  Then around 1961 or so they got a Fisher 500C, a Gerard deck and bought these massive JBL D130's bare speakers.  Grandfather was a carpenter and he built cherry cabinets according to JBL specs for those D130's.  The cabinets did include the spaces for tweeters but they never got them.  They never used any crossovers.  We just fed those D130's whatever came out of the amp.......... worked pretty good.  They never knew anything Klipsch until I introduced them to the brand in the 80's.  But they seeded stereo gear and music in me big time.  They are both still alive and they still own those D130's.  Wished they had that Fisher unit but alas it is gone.  That's another story I'll save for when you wanna hear about 'sisters'.

[Alex L]

How long does such stories need to be and does it have to be related to Klipsch specifically?

 

Haha, ideally You can post something  like oscarsear and then I can expand upon it/ask additional questions to flesh it out if need be.

[angusruler]

^{my mom and dad were both great people....but....if they knew the money their loving son has spent on klipsch products, they'd kill me!}

 

^{they both loved music, but a sony system, bought at sears, was their be all end all system! god love them, they thought it sounded great, and that's really all that matters.}

[Paducah Home Theater]

Probably way too long and not worthy of a blog post. Edit it however you want if anything is usable, this is the best I can do.

----------------

My dad introduced me to the world of classic rock as a boy. We never had much money growing up so for transportation he had to overhaul his old Dodge D-50 truck a total of four times, squeezing over 400,000 miles out of it, while working third shift. There were times when the only chance I had to see him was to walk a quarter mile down to my grandparent’s garage and hang out while he tore an engine apart. The conversations usually ended up revolving around music while we listened to it. I didn’t understand much of it at the time but it makes more sense now.

While in that garage, he would come to explain the meaning behind several Pink Floyd songs on many occasions. Any time Santana’s Black Magic Woman played, he would regurgitate memories about some crazy ex-girlfriend who was rumored to be a witch. He would describe in detail all the chaos that happened at Bull Island any time anything related to Woodstock came up since he was there. If Led Zeppelin played, he would have me pay attention to the strange rhythms that John Bonham cranked out. I was told about how my great-grandmother came from England, how she left behind a sister when she immigrated, and somehow through this person, George Harrison of the Beatles was born, becoming something like my 5th cousin, but somebody stole the letter that explained it all. I have no idea if that one is true but it’s a fun story nonetheless and his eyes light up every time he tells it. Eric Clapton would belt out Layla and he would tell me about the love triangle between Eric, George and Pattie Boyd. I learned about how I’d probably meet a girl who I’d be reminded of anytime the Moody Blues played In Your Wildest Dreams. Back home, any time he wanted to unwind, he would crank up Funk #49 by the James Gang. Jethro Tull and Neil Young were also favorites.

He took me to my first concert at age 14, we went to see ZZ Top in their hey day. Their concerts were much different back then… trap doors, space ships, laser shows, conveyor belts, faux teleportation, etc., just really over the top, and nothing has been able to top it since then, it was truly a life experience. It meant a lot to me that recently we were able to see ZZ Top again, 25 years later, front row and center stage. We are seeing the Doobie Brothers soon as well. It seems that all the older artists can only make money by touring nowadays and he is enjoying that, seemingly going to a concert every couple of weeks.

For my 16th birthday, Santa brought my first subwoofers, as well as a 4th edition of The Loudspeaker Design Cookbook, which helped us manually design and build a fourth order tri-chambered bandpass box together. Due to the aforementioned lack of funds, the first version was the budget build from hell. Due to a job in an industrial factory as an electrician, dad had access to old wire. He smuggled home some thrown away IBM networking wire for signal wires, some welding cable for power wires, smaller wire used as speaker wire, large capacitors to help the electrical system with dynamics, and many other industrial parts like fuse boxes and terminals. This is actually how I paid for the car itself, by stripping and recycling copper wire that was being thrown away, as copper prices weren’t what they are today so this was surprisingly pretty common. I found a JBL coaxial speaker in the trash and we used it as a center channel. As ghetto as that sounds, what we built would go on to win several trophies in halfway local IASCA competitions. Overhearing a judge tell their buddies “that’s the best sounding car out here” was a big source of pride considering it was thrown away parts and Wal-Mart amps, plus dad and I worked on it together. The first time we got it all connected after working on it for a long time, we sat there in the car in the middle of the night and listened to most of the Genesis “We Can’t Dance” album, which had recently come out and has some incredibly sweet midrange from percussion and keyboards which sounded great on the flat Blaupunkt “honeycomb” midranges that I had. Soon afterwards we cranked up the engine and got to hear what the worst ground loop in the world sounds like, but dad got it fixed pretty quickly.

Anyway, more than anything he showed me what music can do to you emotionally. That really stuck with me, even nearly 30 years after hearing some of those stories in that garage. We never had nice expensive equipment, but the memories associated with the music are worth much more than that.

Edited April 24, 2015 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters

[Coytee]

We just had one of those consol stereo's....heck, I can't even spell it.

 

I think Dad had a couple Sinatra LP's and that's about it.  I got where I am on my own.

 

Ok....  what's my prize? 

[angusruler]

Probably way too long and not worthy of a blog post. Edit it however you want if anything is usable, this is the best I can do.

----------------

He took me to my first concert at age 14, we went to see ZZ Top in their hey day. Their concerts were much different back then… trap doors, space ships, laser shows, conveyor belts, faux teleportation, etc., just really over the top, and nothing has been able to top it since then, it was truly a life experience. It meant a lot to me that recently we were able to see ZZ Top again, 25 years later, front row and center stage. We are seeing the Doobie Brothers soon as well. It seems that all the older artists can only make money by touring nowadays and he is enjoying that, seemingly going to a concert every couple of weeks.

 

as simple and un-exciting as a conveyor belt sounds, that was one of the coolest looking "effects" I've ever seen a band use.

[Paducah Home Theater]

as simple and un-exciting as a conveyor belt sounds, that was one of the coolest looking "effects" I've ever seen a band use.

Moonwalking was still halfway on everybody's mind back then so it went over well.

[twistedcrankcammer]

Dad built a Dynaco stereo tube amp from a kit with the supplied drivers and turn table in college, that system never was played until in the 1990s, my paternal grandfather built a cabinet for the amp and turn table and two boxes for the drivers out of a black Walnut tree Feld on his farm. By that time I already owned my own Pioneer SX-3900 receiver, and realistic Mach one speakers because I couldn't yet afford LaScalas! I made short work of blowing those old alnico drivers by hooking them up to the Pioneer and cranking it until the magic smoke rolled out. Later, mom gave the cabinet with the amp and the turntable to a friend of mine and I know the rest of that system did not have 5 hours on any of it. Then, it eventually got sent to the trash. My first Klipsch? I did not have Klipschorn money yet, but I did have LaScala money. I went to the local Classic Stereo, they had Klipshorns in stock! They did not want to order me in a pair of LaScalas, so I said I would settle for some Heresies. They did not have any Heresies in stock, and took me into a cheaper audio room than the Klipschorns and wanted me to choose between a Chorus II, Forte' II, or Quartet. I was pissed and did not know I could order straight from Klipsch, so without listening, I said give me the small ones because I figured they would just be an interim pair of speakers until I obtained LaScalas. I also worked in a custom cabinet shop at the time and was not one bit happy about the veneered MDF vs: void free Baltic Birch plywood construction. I went home that day with a pair of Quartets I paid $1100 for and a Nakamichi TA-4A receiver that was $1250 and a Nakamivhi 2 CD player as well. Year later, I would sell the Nakamichi TA-4A, Nakamichi 2 CD player, a 9 cassette Pioneer Cassette deck and my chip free Quartets to my sister, all for the lofty sum of $400 and skip LaScalas to buy my first pair of Klipschorns, only to watch my sisters boys chip the veneer on the Quartets, draw on them with crayons, and use a screw driver to poke holes in one of the "Drone Cones". These were my humble beginnings into fidelity, because as PWK said, there is no high fidelity, something either has fidelity or it does not!

Roger

[garyrc]

My mother introduced me to classical & romantic period music when I was about 3 years old.  I am told that the first time I heard any I stood in front of the record player and stared at it for the length of the record.  She topped it off by taking me to see Fantasia when I was about 4.  Later, in grade school, she was one of the many parents who drove me and my fellow students to rehersals of the youth symphony.  In high school, I started each school day with Orchestra (A period), and followed it with Band (1st period).  I sometimes think that music kept me sane during those difficult years.

 

My mother helped me wire one integrated amp, one pre-amp, and two power amps over the years.  She loved it, but then she liked helping me feed and care for my pet snakes, lizards, fish, cats and dog, as well.

 

My father, a master carpenter, built me a Karlson front and rear loaded horn for my JBL D130.  I still have it displayed in our music room/home theater. 

Edited April 25, 2015 by garyrc

[bhenry]

My dad used to yell at me to "Turn that sh!t down!" and would sometimes pull the fuse out of my stereo when report cards came out.

My mom used to complain that my stereo would make her pictures crooked on the walls.

Bruce Jenner is now a woman.

My parents would always tell me that the neighbors from across the street (a pretty fair distance) would tell them that they could feel the bass from my stereo and my bed room was on the second floor of our house.

[T2K]

This is a picture of my Dad (with lap steel) and his band in 1952, just before I was born, in one of the musicians wedding pictures. My Dad is 84 now. Yes, I had to listen to country music my entire life, at least until I moved out. He didn't own any Klipsch speakers unfortunately.

Edited April 25, 2015 by T2K

[BigStewMan]

Both my Mom and Dad died when i was eight years old.  When i turned 18, i was given some cash that had been sitting in the bank.  with part of it, I bought an NAD amp and preamp, and some Klipsch Heresey I.

My Mom did work at a record store in the 50s.  There is a record from a band called the Hi-Lo’s that is autographed to my Mom.  I guess maybe they had an appearance at the record store she worked at.

My folks didn’t live long enough for me to have an adult relationship with them; but, I recall listening to Kingston Trio LPs; and some 45 where this dude is playing a trumpet--I remember seeing on the label “Bolero” and “The Bullfighter Song.”  Have looked for the Bullfighter song for years and still listen and love the Kingston Trio (The Capitol Years).

Edited April 25, 2015 by BigStewMan

[mustang guy]

My dad used to yell at me to "Turn that **** down!" and would sometimes pull the fuse out of my stereo when report cards came out.

My mom used to complain that my stereo would make her pictures crooked on the walls.

Bruce Jenner is now a woman.

My parents would always tell me that the neighbors from across the street (a pretty fair distance) would tell them that they could feel the bass from my stereo and my bed room was on the second floor of our house.

HAHA!   

 

Bruce Jenner is now a woman!

 

I think every story should have that about mid-way.

[Tarheel]

Probably way too long and not worthy of a blog post. Edit it however you want if anything is usable, this is the best I can do.

----------------

My dad introduced me to the world of classic rock as a boy. We never had much money growing up so for transportation he had to overhaul his old Dodge D-50 truck a total of four times, squeezing over 400,000 miles out of it, while working third shift. There were times when the only chance I had to see him was to walk a quarter mile down to my grandparent’s garage and hang out while he tore an engine apart. The conversations usually ended up revolving around music while we listened to it. I didn’t understand much of it at the time but it makes more sense now.

While in that garage, he would come to explain the meaning behind several Pink Floyd songs on many occasions. Any time Santana’s Black Magic Woman played, he would regurgitate memories about some crazy ex-girlfriend who was rumored to be a witch. He would describe in detail all the chaos that happened at Bull Island any time anything related to Woodstock came up since he was there. If Led Zeppelin played, he would have me pay attention to the strange rhythms that John Bonham cranked out. I was told about how my great-grandmother came from England, how she left behind a sister when she immigrated, and somehow through this person, George Harrison of the Beatles was born, becoming something like my 5th cousin, but somebody stole the letter that explained it all. I have no idea if that one is true but it’s a fun story nonetheless and his eyes light up every time he tells it. Eric Clapton would belt out Layla and he would tell me about the love triangle between Eric, George and Pattie Boyd. I learned about how I’d probably meet a girl who I’d be reminded of anytime the Moody Blues played In Your Wildest Dreams. Back home, any time he wanted to unwind, he would crank up Funk #49 by the James Gang. Jethro Tull and Neil Young were also favorites.

He took me to my first concert at age 14, we went to see ZZ Top in their hey day. Their concerts were much different back then… trap doors, space ships, laser shows, conveyor belts, faux teleportation, etc., just really over the top, and nothing has been able to top it since then, it was truly a life experience. It meant a lot to me that recently we were able to see ZZ Top again, 25 years later, front row and center stage. We are seeing the Doobie Brothers soon as well. It seems that all the older artists can only make money by touring nowadays and he is enjoying that, seemingly going to a concert every couple of weeks.

For my 16th birthday, Santa brought my first subwoofers, as well as a 4th edition of The Loudspeaker Design Cookbook, which helped us manually design and build a fourth order tri-chambered bandpass box together. Due to the aforementioned lack of funds, the first version was the budget build from hell. Due to a job in an industrial factory as an electrician, dad had access to old wire. He smuggled home some thrown away IBM networking wire for signal wires, some welding cable for power wires, smaller wire used as speaker wire, large capacitors to help the electrical system with dynamics, and many other industrial parts like fuse boxes and terminals. This is actually how I paid for the car itself, by stripping and recycling copper wire that was being thrown away, as copper prices weren’t what they are today so this was surprisingly pretty common. I found a JBL coaxial speaker in the trash and we used it as a center channel. As ghetto as that sounds, what we built would go on to win several trophies in halfway local IASCA competitions. Overhearing a judge tell their buddies “that’s the best sounding car out here” was a big source of pride considering it was thrown away parts and Wal-Mart amps, plus dad and I worked on it together. The first time we got it all connected after working on it for a long time, we sat there in the car in the middle of the night and listened to most of the Genesis “We Can’t Dance” album, which had recently come out and has some incredibly sweet midrange from percussion and keyboards which sounded great on the flat Blaupunkt “honeycomb” midranges that I had. Soon afterwards we cranked up the engine and got to hear what the worst ground loop in the world sounds like, but dad got it fixed pretty quickly.

Anyway, more than anything he showed me what music can do to you emotionally. That really stuck with me, even nearly 30 years after hearing some of those stories in that garage. We never had nice expensive equipment, but the memories associated with the music are worth much more than that.

Very good read MLO.  Sounds like you and your dad had a special relationship. I enjoyed your writing style and was able to create my own pictures of each story.  Thanks

[ChuckAb3]

My dad introduced me to good sound and good music in the 50's. He had a single K-horn in a mono system with tube amps, a huge collection of New Orleans/Memphis/St. Louis jazz, classical stuff, pop stuff, Etc., Etc. Just as important, and even though he didn't play an instrument himself, he bought me a Wurlitzer spinet model organ and lessons when I was about 11. He instilled in me a love for music which remains an important part of my life and I am grateful for that.

[wvu80]

(respectful Snip)...Anyway, more than anything he showed me what music can do to you emotionally. That really stuck with me, even nearly 30 years after hearing some of those stories in that garage. We never had nice expensive equipment, but the memories associated with the music are worth much more than that.

 

Geez...that story makes me feel like I want to send you some headphones. 

Edited April 28, 2015 by wvu80