Over the last month or so, my life has changed quite a bit as some of you know. I have tried to make a few changes, and I think most are working!
I have had quite a bit of time to think and reflect on things, and one of the things I have reflected on is this. Beyond the Grooves, on two occasions in completely different places, one today (18/02/2023) on an Exercise Bike in the Gym and the other at 1 am in a Casino in Manchester, that was more of a discussion though, in between pints of course!
It's led me back to the question Why? Why is Beyond the Grooves a thing! So hopefully this post can give you some perspective of how this thing came to life.
Let's start at the beginning, the 21st of September 2019, the very first thing I wrote for Beyond the Grooves, a review of Sam Fender's debut album 'Hypersonic Missiles'. Although that was the first official post, the idea had been floating around for a while before then, perhaps not with the Beyond the Grooves name, or even in a blog form but doing something music related had been floating around in mine and other peoples heads for a while before then. During that time in 2019 I was experiencing some personal problems and writing the posts and coming up with ideas for Beyond the Grooves was an escape, and allowed me to highlight my interests to other like minded people.
Posts continued to be released and I gradually told more and more people about what I was doing, I suppose I was a little nervous and apprehensive as to how people would react to it. Today though I can sit here and tell you everyone has been amazing and so supportive of both me and the account.
New ideas came, but the old ones never went away, Album Reviews are the cornerstone of what we, yes we do at Beyond the Grooves but as time went on, the indie disco, quiz, musical icons, top 5's/10's and the awards were born. Blog posts have been written about all manners of subjects, and it has allowed me to learn about so many different things, from 'Class Tourism' to 'Murder Trilogies' a truly amazing experience.
The account has constantly grown and I feel as I have grown with it, I have become much more confident in both the account and myself. It has helped me in so many ways, I have made new friends, improved friendships with old friends, it's always a talking point, whether that's around the dinner table or in a job interview. People are interested in it, which still blows me away!
Music has always been a passion of mine and that has only grown as I have gotten older, I listen to music virtually constantly, I have always got earphones in, a record playing. Concerts and Festivals are where I feel most at home. Talking about music and delving into peoples music taste, and record collections is one of my favourite things to, and Beyond the Grooves lets me do all of those things and share them with like minded amazing people.
It's not just me though, I don't do this alone, I have an amazing group of people who help me with Beyond the Grooves stuff, and they are all amazing people. Who I love dearly.
So back to the question. Why?
Well...
Because I love doing it, it has become an important part of my life, and doing it has helped and continues to help me a lot.
It's one of the most important things I have ever done, and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon.
Thank you all for your support x
Jack x