I'll toss mine in here as well.

I grew up in a house always filled with music. My Mother played piano quite well, and my parents never missed any of the music variety shows on TV. My older sister was big into disco and '70s pop, but early on I discovered the local rock station playing stuff like Hendrix and Sabbath. I became a big fan of bands like Yes and Rush. In the '80s, I started listening to bands like Loudness, Malmsteen, Talas, Vinnie Moore, and all those ridiculously talented players. I also became a fan of classical and baroque music.

In my early adult years, I started listening to more and more baroque/classical music, until at one point it was all I listened to. Then, I stumbled across the new Dream Theater "Scenes ..." album in '99, and reacquainted myself with my old love for progressive rock. I'd always remained a Rush fan, but these guys took that to the next level for me.

Over the years, I've also become fond of some jazz. In addition to the cool modern instrumental stuff, I'm a huge Frank Sinatra fan.

I started playing music at home on our piano, teaching myself from watching my Mother. I wanted to be a drummer, but my grade school music teacher told me they had plenty of drummers, but needed trombones and cornets. I chose cornet, and played through the rest of grade school and junior high school. I quit when I got to high school because the band leader there was a notorious a-hole. My best friend (who'd also quit band for the same reason) started playing guitar in '81, and talked me into buying a bass guitar in '82. Over the years, I've taught myself to play 14 instruments (well, 13, as the grade school teacher taught me cornet).

So, that's me. A music dork my whole life (52 now).