Tag: music memories

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Hidden Gems from the B-Side — ⛽️ Fuel (Week 23)

Innocent 🎵 Daniel (Elton John cover)

…

So today is Fuel again…

—but I’m not really here to talk about them.

We’ll let the music handle that.

I want to talk about Elton John.

…

When I was a kid…
I wore Superman underwear—
’cause he was my hero… 🦸‍♂️

Then I got older—
and found out Superman wears Chuck Norris underwear 😄

But here’s one most people don’t know…

Many of your favorite artists—
across every genre—

they’re secretly wearing Elton John underwear.

…

I’ve been a fan of Elton since I first picked up a guitar as a teenager…
and over time—I started noticing something…

the greats…
they all love him too.

…

I saw an interview with Axl Rose once—
they asked what he listens to…
no pause— he says “Elton John.”

Then one night… I was watching one of the late night shows…
I believe it was Letterman…

Dave Grohl walks out solo with an acoustic guitar…

starts playing “Tiny Dancer”…
He gets the audience to sing along…

one of those moments you don’t forget.

And later… I found out Dave Grohl loves him some Elton.

…

So I started paying attention…
and it’s everywhere. Across all genres… many have Elton in common.

His music is loved… admired… and listened to by his peers…

Fuel’s no different.
Brett and Carl… they feel the same.

…

Elton… bruh… you’re the man! 🙌…

…

So today—

I’ve got two for you.

…

🎵 Innocent
Something Like Human — 2oO0

🎵 Daniel (Elton John cover)
Something Like Human — 2oO0

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I love this cover of Daniel… it’s great…
and it holds a deep place for me… I sang it on my guitar earlier tonight

But back in 2o12… I was hanging out with my friend Nathan…
We were roommates… he was younger than me… like my little brother…
so anyway… this song started playing…

Nathan told me how much it meant to him…
said it reminded him of his older brother, Daniel…
who had passed a few years earlier from a drug overdose…

Well… in 2o14… I lost Nathan…
also to drugs…

I knew his brother too…

So now… when I hear this song…
I don’t just hear it—

…

I remember them both…

…

Also “Innocent” is one of my all-time favorite songs…
I’m not sure what it is about it… but it just gets better and better every time for me…
and I love when the drums kick in around the 1-minute mark…

Also I’ve included a bonus interview with Carl & Brett…
it’s really cool… I think…

Thanks for the love—
hope you enjoy 🎸`

Bernie & Elton

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

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Outlaw Roots — The Hank Jr. Legacy (Week 14)

Old Habits 🎵 Man Of Steel

So I’ve evolved… musically…
since I first started spinnin’ round this world…

My earliest memories—
with my mom and dad—
were The Beach Boys…
and Eagles…

Then around 8… 9 years old—
it was Michael Jackson…
Van Halen…
whatever was lightin’ up the radio back then…

Then came my early teens—
and that’s when Hank Williams Jr. hit me…

And after that…
I just exploded…

Rock…
Folk…
Punk…
Blues…
Rap…
RnB…
Christian…

A little bit of everything—
and somehow… all of it stuck.

But to me…
you can never forget where you came from…

So here’s two excellent ones from my early days—

Allow me to hike up my dress a little for you… so you can see… what im workin’ with… what my roots look like.

Old Habits 🎵
Habits Old and New (1980)

Man Of Steel 🎵
Man of Steel (1983)

and ima bout to listen with you… if you don’t mind. 😎

Featured image credit… Rick Diamond and Getty Images

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson | All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

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Coming Home… Where It All Started

First Song I Ever Learned on Guitar…

I’m laying here in bed… in the dark… listening to my YouTube music app.
Something I do most every night.

I’ll usually pick a song to start it off… then just let it go wherever it wants to go.

Lately though… one song keeps showing up.
Random… but not really random.

So much that it’s got me thinking…

It’s the very first song I ever learned on guitar —
“Coming Home” by Cinderella, off the album Long Cold Winter.

I learned it in November of 1988.
I was 14.

I had no idea who Cinderella even was at the time…
but that season turned out to be the longest… coldest winter of my life.

Back then, I’d go to my uncle and ask for CDs or cassettes.
Every time… he’d give me this deep stare… then walk over to his collection.

You could tell he was thinking.
Choosing carefully.

He knew what I was going through.
He knew I wasn’t just listening.

He knew I was building something…
a foundation… for who I’d become… as a musician… as a person.

He’s no longer here now…
but looking back… he knew exactly what he was doing with me 😁

…

Every song on that album is 🔥.

And it’s kind of crazy…
that an album with that name would land in my hands
right before my own long cold winter really set in.

To this day… it’s locked into my personal all-time albums list.
Forever.

Back then, there was no internet.
No Google. No YouTube tutorials.
No quick tabs you could pull up

No smartphone.

I didn’t even have sheet music.

All I had was a chord book.

So I learned every chord in it…
then started figuring out scales and patterns on my own.

Trial and error.

A lot of wrong notes…
but I remembered them…
learned to avoid them.

That’s how I learned songs —
by listening…
by playing along…
by feeling it out.

Everything was different back then.

But here’s the sweet part…

Lately, when I pick up my guitar…
I feel like that 14 year old kid again.

And that’s something I lost for a while.

I’m happy it’s back.
I’m happy I’m back.

Not losing these calloused fingers ever again 😎…

I took a ride in a world… I’ll be spinnin for the rest of my life… ♩ ♭ ♮ ♯

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

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Best Compliment I Ever Received

What was the best compliment you’ve received?

I’ve had some kind words over the years… but one stands above the rest…

It came through a window…

Back in the late 90s… I was living in a little downstairs apartment outside Atlanta… just me… a guitar… and a lot going on in life…

Most nights I’d sit by that open window and play… sing… pour it all out…

What I didn’t know…

Was that someone was listening…

There was a girl in the neighborhood… and for about a month… she would come by at night… lean up against the outside of my building… just out of sight…

And listen…

She told me later… she’d wait, hoping I’d be there… that my songs helped her get through things she was dealing with…

That she would just stand there… breathing it in… and for a little while…

She could forget her life…

One night… she finally said hello…

And I’ll never forget all the things she said to me…

That my music gave her peace… even if just for a moment…

I’ve never had a better compliment than that…

Not applause… not praise…

Just knowing that something coming out of my heart… reached someone else’s…

And helped them breathe a little easier…

That’s everything to me…

…

If you want to read the full story, it’s here…

https://loia.blog/2025/12/21/the-window-song/ 👈

…

Proverbs 25:11 (KJV)
“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.”

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson | All rights reserved

`’.,°~

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Hidden Gems from the B-Side — Drivin N Cryin (Week 19)

Fly Me Courageous ♬ Build a Fire

Hey yall… welcome…

Today I got two more from these guys…
both of ‘em take me back…

Back to around ‘98…
weekend nights… guitars plugged in…
just playing for hours…

There was this lady and her husband…
and also a guy named Dennis…
and my best friend Ron on drums…
we’d go all night…

And somewhere in the middle of it all…
between the laughs…
the beer… the whiskey… the weed…
these two songs would find their way in…

I don’t miss the stimulants…
but I sure miss the music…
the friendship…
the memories…

I think about Dennis a lot…
he passed way too young…
great guy… great guitar player…

♬ “Fly Me Courageous” — Fly Me Courageous (1991)

♬ “Build a Fire” — Fly Me Courageous (1991)

So this one’s for you, Dennis…

Rock on, brother… 🎸

That’s Dennis in the background with the black n white guitar…

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson | All rights reserved

`’.,°~

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Hidden Gems from the B-Side—Life Side (Week 15)

Matthew Sweet 🎶 We’re the Same 🎶 I Almost Forgot…

As I was putting this piece together, I got raptured back to 1995 — on the edge of my bed by the window… that little apartment in Riverdale, GA… guitar in hand… as was always the case… learning these next two songs. The story behind this album’s title is heavier than the sound.

Matthew Sweet’s 100% Fun — the 1995 album that includes both “We’re the Same” and “I Almost Forgot” — gets its title from a surprisingly heavy rock history footnote. Sweet lifted the phrase “100% fun” from Kurt Cobain’s 1994 suicide note, where Cobain wrote: *“The worst crime I can think of would be to rip people off by faking it and pretending as if I’m having 100% fun.”*

That ironic origin gives the album title a bittersweet edge — a record full of bright hooks and jangly guitars, but named after a line born out of real emotional struggle. 100% Fun stands as one of Sweet’s most loved power-pop records — catchy, melodic, and quietly reflective beneath the shine.

So yeah — without further ado… here’s the music.

🎵 “We’re the Same” — 100% Fun (1995)


🎵 “I Almost Forgot” — 100% Fun (1995)

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© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson

`’.,°~

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Hidden Gems From The B-Side.. Life Side (Week 13)

Tonic — 3 Songs + 1 Encore (Final Send-Off)

One last ride for Tonic—
a small send-off to a band that carried seasons of my life.
Their songs were companions more than tracks…
Windows down… volume up… thanks for the road…

🎵 If You Could Only See
🎵 Queen
🎵 Let Me Go

Encore (King of the Hill cover) 👇

🎵 East Bound and Down

Encore 👇👏

…

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

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Midnight Guitars

No Curfew in Sight…

It was the summer of 1995…
I was 21…
going through much…
trying to figure life out…

I’d just moved in with a guy I worked with…
only been there a few weeks…
it was the weekend…
I’d been out late hanging with my friends…

when I finally came home…
I headed down the hall toward my bedroom…

As I got closer…
I could hear a guitar playing…
a girl singing…
the sound was coming from my room…

I was like wth!?…

I opened my door…

There on my bed…
a black-haired girl I had never seen before…
strumming my guitar…
singing…
completely lost in it…
like she owned the night…
no curfew in sight…

she wasn’t wearing any clothes…
my brain just blue-screened…

I was frozen…
my tongue super stuck…

she looks at me…
with friendly eyes…
smiles and says Hey

“your roommate said it was ok…”

Her name was Rachel…
she and I became friends…
we often jammed together…

she was a part-time exotic dancer…
aka…
a stripper…

my roommate was dating her friend…
so many nights…
she and her friends…
plural…
ended up at my house…

but she never wanted to hang out with the rest of them…
she just wanted to chill…
sing songs…
play guitar…

She was a great musician…
had a great voice…
music was her dream…

Many times I’d come home late
find her in my room…
doing her thing…

I’d grab my other guitar…
and we’d play for hours…

I had a small recording studio
we’d lay down tracks…
we recorded all kinds of covers…
had these freestyle…
ad-lib jam sessions…
just chasing whatever sound showed up…

It was definitely a crazy summer…
but also kind of holy in its own way…

it’s beautiful how musicians can come together and bond…
doesn’t matter who or what you are…
your background or anything…

musicians and artists just immediately have that thing.
that links us…
that invisible wire…
heart to heart…
song to song…

what I remember most those nights…
isn’t the chaos…

it’s the music…

two guitars…
chasing songs in the middle of the night…
letting the sound carry through a messy season of life…

…

I did much praying that summer…

cryin’ out in the night…

sometimes with words…
sometimes with songs…

finding healing…

wherever I could…

..

Oh yeah I might be crazy…
But that’s not the same as insane…
And I’m scared…
But that’s not the same as being afraid…

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson. All rights reserved.

🎧… 👗…

`’.,°~