Mmmbop, ba duba dop Ba du bop, ba duba dop

So this story starts in 1997.  I turned 10 that March, right as MMMBop was released to the radio stations.  I was raised by Mexican parents in East LA and up to that point only listened to Mexican music, classical music (I started playing the violin in 2nd grade), or anything that Radio Disney threw my way.  When i first heard MMMBop, it was like a truck hit me.  I couldn't understand the lyrics because as we all know, our dear Taylor likes to mumble his words sometimes and well, unless you listen to the song a thousand times and read the lyrics, who could ever decipher "mmmbop badu badop badu bop badubadop badu bop, badu badop badu"?  So at age 10 i fell in love with this song.  Of course i went out and bought Middle of nowhere when it came out and listened to it obsessively.  That year i bought the magazines, books, posters, and anything else I could get my hands on.  That album was the beginning of an entirely new life for me.  It marked the beginning of my own identity.  I was no longer just listening to what my parents listened to.  I had my own tastes and my own passions.  Not only did Hanson provide me with music that made me happy (and to this day, anytime i am sad or down, i pop in Middle of Nowhere and everything feels ok again), it also fueled my own passion for the art.  I have been singing since i could talk, i started playing the violin in 2nd grade, i self taught myself the piano in 6th grade, i joined choir all of high school, i self taught myself the guitar Junior year of high school, and i even joined an a capella group in college.  Music has always been in me.  I was blessed with a talent that I have been trying to pursue my entire life and will continue to do so even if i never make it out of my own shower.  Passion like this never dies.  And Hanson showed me that.  1997 and 1998 were incredible years for them.  Not only did MMMBop and Middle of Nowhere rise to the top of the charts, but they were nominated for several grammy's and headlined their own tour.  We all remember the Albertane Tour.  It was July 12, 1998 at the Hollywood Bowl in LA, i was 11.  I had dragged my mom to Robinson's May (now Macy's) to go to the Ticketmaster office to buy tickets.  We bought 3 and she and my sister tagged along to my adventure.  I remember so many girls we wearing heels they could barely walk in and the piercing sounds that emerged from all of those girls when the first notes of "Gimme Some Lovin'/ Shake ya tail Feather" began.  We couldnt see behind that white curtain but we knew what was coming.  I wasnt front row then and i remember wishing i could be closer so i could hear the music better- the screaming of thousands of tweens is far more powerful that people realize.  That was my first show ever and it was really the beginning of a great adventure.