I've been pondering this question for awhile, personally. Some people on this forum are Iron Maiden fans, first, foremost, and always. Some count the band amongst their favourites. Some stay around for the excellent community. But I'm curious what the personal impact has been for people. My Iron Maiden story is multifaceted, and I am going to attempt to touch on some of it here - and I encourage others to share their own.
How many threads have we seen over the years, asking how someone got into the band? Has to be at least a dozen, and I've shared my story of my best friend playing The Clansman and Alexander the Great one day in the car. It was the beginning of a new musical journey for me - but it was more than that. I've often said it was my best friend, but what I've rarely mentioned is that he was pretty much my only friend. High school wasn't an easy time for me, and I made friends with great difficulty, and I spent a lot of time trying to be someone different - someone more interesting or popular.
I remember aggressively researching this new band at the speed of dialup, and the way I felt when I stumbled across the Iron Maiden Commentaries for the first time. I've mentioned this recently, but this is when I realized music could be about something more than the type of music I was encountering on MuchMusic at the time - either angsty nu-metal wherein the white guy is mad because...reasons, or flashy pop music about sex. Oh, there were folk ballads about things like history, but they were just that - folk ballads from mostly-forgotten 1950s artists such as Johnny Horton. It was a broadening of my mental horizons in a lot of ways.
But, similarly, the stories of the band were fascinating. I mean, Bruce Dickinson is an amazing guy. I don't need to list his achievements here. But the really amazing figure of Iron Maiden is Steve. I learned from Steve Harris that is OK to be who you are, and to demand people accept that. When I read about Steve forming his old band because Gypsy's Kiss told him that his music wasn't what they wanted, I realized it was OK to be uncompromising on who you are. When you read about Steve's near-merciless behaviour for early Iron Maiden, the way he cut people loose to make the band better, you learn about what it's like to have a vision and to work hard to make that vision turn real. Steve's attitude in 1981 was the same as it was in 1995; the band might change, but Steve, man. Steve is a fucking constant, a take-no-prisoners son of a bitch who forged the greatest metal band with his bare hands. I admire Bruce for what he does; but Steve Harris is my hero, because he taught me it was OK to be me.
I could probably go on all day, including using this band as a reason to make some amazing friends, one of whom I consider one of the best, as well as see the world - but I wonder, beyond the music in some ways, how has this band changed you?
How many threads have we seen over the years, asking how someone got into the band? Has to be at least a dozen, and I've shared my story of my best friend playing The Clansman and Alexander the Great one day in the car. It was the beginning of a new musical journey for me - but it was more than that. I've often said it was my best friend, but what I've rarely mentioned is that he was pretty much my only friend. High school wasn't an easy time for me, and I made friends with great difficulty, and I spent a lot of time trying to be someone different - someone more interesting or popular.
I remember aggressively researching this new band at the speed of dialup, and the way I felt when I stumbled across the Iron Maiden Commentaries for the first time. I've mentioned this recently, but this is when I realized music could be about something more than the type of music I was encountering on MuchMusic at the time - either angsty nu-metal wherein the white guy is mad because...reasons, or flashy pop music about sex. Oh, there were folk ballads about things like history, but they were just that - folk ballads from mostly-forgotten 1950s artists such as Johnny Horton. It was a broadening of my mental horizons in a lot of ways.
But, similarly, the stories of the band were fascinating. I mean, Bruce Dickinson is an amazing guy. I don't need to list his achievements here. But the really amazing figure of Iron Maiden is Steve. I learned from Steve Harris that is OK to be who you are, and to demand people accept that. When I read about Steve forming his old band because Gypsy's Kiss told him that his music wasn't what they wanted, I realized it was OK to be uncompromising on who you are. When you read about Steve's near-merciless behaviour for early Iron Maiden, the way he cut people loose to make the band better, you learn about what it's like to have a vision and to work hard to make that vision turn real. Steve's attitude in 1981 was the same as it was in 1995; the band might change, but Steve, man. Steve is a fucking constant, a take-no-prisoners son of a bitch who forged the greatest metal band with his bare hands. I admire Bruce for what he does; but Steve Harris is my hero, because he taught me it was OK to be me.
I could probably go on all day, including using this band as a reason to make some amazing friends, one of whom I consider one of the best, as well as see the world - but I wonder, beyond the music in some ways, how has this band changed you?