When I was thinking last night about what to write for Music Monday, I put in my earbuds, went to 'All Songs' on my iPod and hit shuffle. The second song that came on was Marc Broussard's "The Wanderer" and I knew I had my topic for the post. For me, some artists I love just for their music. Someone like Marc is a little different, in that I love his music, but there are also some pretty great life experiences I associate with his music and his live appearances.
Freshman year of college, Shelby and I discovered Maroon 5 through a girl in our dorm who did promotion for a record label. These were the days when pirating was easy as all get out thanks to UCA's open network, so we grabbed everything we could find on them and waited anxiously for their show in LR that February. The show just happened to fall on the one day a rare Arkansas snowstorm came and we had to turn around after getting just a few miles down the interstate. The show got rescheduled due to the bad weather and the lineup changed a bit. Instead of the other opening acts (for some reason, I think Ingram Hill might have been in there somewhere), the new show would be opened by some guys named Marc Broussard and Gavin DeGraw, who we'd never heard of.
Just before the rescheduled show, "Harder to Breathe" blew up on the radio, so we knew to get there early. Turns out that was a great idea, as we got spots in the front row against the stage, and this show would influence our musical tastes and concert going for years to come. First up was Marc Broussard, who turned out to be a Cajun soul singer. He hit the stage barefoot, in blue jeans, and knocked our socks off, to put it lightly. His style is a mix of R&B, soul and traditional Louisiana Cajun music.
After that concert, we were sold on Broussard and kept up with his new music, as well as trying to find an opportunity to see him live again. We got that chance when he scheduled a show in Dallas on my friend Ashley's birthday. Its a 5 hour drive at least, but it was a Friday night, so we decided to skip class and make the road trip. We had a great time at the show (and heard Citizen Cope for the first time) and enjoyed a great trip to IHOP afterward in preparation for the drive back to Texarkana to sleep.
Then it turned out we'd locked the keys in the car.
It was 3 in the morning.
It was raining.
And we were broke.
So we pooled all the cash in our pockets to come up with the $40 to pay the locksmith who graciously gave Courtney (the owner of our locked vehicle) a discount because she had a John Kerry sticker on her car. Democrats in Texas have to stick together. Once the car was unlocked it was early morning, and we all tried and failed to stay awake on the drive. How Courtney stayed awake when we were all asleep, I'll never know. But we made it, stumbling in at 8 am and falling wherever we could find room to sleep. It was crazy and stressful and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
So whenever I listen to Marc, I don't just hear his songs, but I also remember the experiences I've had because of him. And he'll always be special for that reason.
Enjoy a few of his songs on my playlist below!
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