A few weeks back I received an e-mail asking me a question from my past. Reading this letter was a nice shot in the arm. I hope you all enloy it as much as I did.
Thanks and read on!
Hi,
I'm not sure if I have the right Roger Lahr, but I was wondering if you are the Roger Lahr who used to play guitar in a band called
Ugly Kid Joe in 1992?
If not, my apologies for bothering you with this email.
If so, I had a phone interview with you back in 1992 while you were on tour. I was working for a
rock music magazine out of Baltimore, but I was calling you from my apartment in NC. Our conversation started out with the routine questions about your band, but then it took a strange turn. You talked a lot about your interests in the beach (having grown up along the coast in
California) and the environment. I think you had a BS degree at the time in
environmental science (or something similar) and you were debating on whether or not to stay in the band, go back to college (a
master's degree or an
environmental law degree??), or both.
At the time of our interview, I was "trying" to become a music journalist after graduating from college with a degree in journalism. You were very encouraging, I remember, and very kind. As I talked about going to
graduate school, you also began to talk about the possibility of going back to school. I made my decision to go back to school shortly after our conversation that night on the phone. I'm not sure how long it took you, but I remember reading an article in a rock magazine that said you left the band. I often wondered if it was because you decided to go back to school. It's almost as if that conversation was meant to happen.
I ended up getting a master's in English and two teaching certificates, English and
English as a Second Language. I am now a high school
English teacher in NC. Two days ago, I had one of my sophomores ask me to be her mentor for her junior research project in the fall. She wants to be a music journalist. I told her about my interview with you, and that it was probably the best interview I had because it changed the course of my life. I downloaded the "
Everything About You" video from
iTunes, and she and I watched it together in class. She said, "Ms. K, they just don't make music like that anymore. It's sad...musicians were better back then."
I told her that I often wonder if you went back to school and became an environmental lawyer. And I remember you saying what you missed the most: riding your bike (was it a beach comber?) down at the beach.
Well, if this is Roger from Ugly Kid Joe...thank you for that open, honest conversation we had 17 or so years ago. I miss writing about music, but I am making a difference with the
high school kids I teach. It's an awesome job and my kids think I'm cool!
And if this isn't Roger from UKJ, sorry to have emailed you, but my curiosity was bubbling over when I googled "Roger Lahr and envirnomental law" and your name popped up.
Take care. Deanna