Queensryche and the Best I Can

I participated in a student exchange program in the fall of 1989, when I was 18 years old. That was the first time I went abroad to the Netherlands. The thing that stroke me the most was that the houses in the suburb had no fences at all. The guy whose family hosted us, loved rock music as well. He was kind enough to copy Appetite For Destruction of Guns ’N’ Roses and Savage Amusement of Scorpions to a 90-minute cassette. There was no question about that I headed for record stores when we had a trip to Amsterdam, and bought the vinyl version of Rage For Order for my collection. I had pocket money only for one album.

At that time, I had no clue what will I do after school. I loved to read. I have read hundreds of books. Tales, books on animals, western novels, crime stories, science fiction. Tons of these in this particular order. In high school, I even started to buy the other works of those writers who were mandatory then. Áron Tamási, Shakespeare. And I loved rock music very much. Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Queensryche. The most influential ones until that time. I dared not to dream of working in the music industry then, even it was out of question, that I will write about them. I remember being angry with my teachers forcing me to write the Dutch trip report, so I signed the article as „the voluntarily appointed journalist.”

Then came this song, and every piece of the puzzle settled in its place quickly.

“Gotta make the grade, no I won’t let go
To be the best man, the best man that I can”

Until that time, I was focused on the music. I made handwritten copies of the lyrics of all the albums I borrowed from like-minded friends in A4 booklets, but they had no lasting impression on me. The opening track of the album titled Empire changed everything. As for music, it is not my favorite Queensryche song by far, but its lyrics made it my theme song. This is a mantra. A prayer. It is a ritual to listen to it. I started university in September, and I formed a habit to sit down in my room, right before leaving for an exam, in a white shirt, black suit, no tie, since I do not like them somehow, and listen to the song intently.

“I want to write for a magazine
I’m gonna be the best they’ve ever seen”

Probably the school journal affair planted the seed of changing sides. After years of dedicated reading of the metal fanzine called Metallica Hungarica evolving into Metal Hammer Hungarica magazine, it begat the thought of writing about music. I wrote reviews of Dr. Feelgood of Mötley Crüe and Practice What You Preach of Testament for Metal Sides fanzine based in Kenderes, then I sent out the first letters to foreign underground bands in January 1990. I have received so many demo tapes we were unable to cover them in the fanzines, so I wrote a letter to Laszlo Lenard, who established MH with Cselőtei László, asking if it is possible to publish some of my articles in the prestigious magazine. My first writings appeared in September 1990, and there was no turning back. I prepared cover artwork and materials for The Observation Deck fanzine based in New Jersey, I made interviews for French (Rock Blast) and Belgian- Netherlander (Fanfare) periodicals, then I started to write for Rock Brigade in Brazil.

“I want to be a busy man”

I made it. Maybe a bit too well. I’ve been living with my partner in happiness since 1991. We are raising two children, who I love very much. There are two major scenes in our daily life. A flat in Budapest, where we reside during the diligence period, and a manor in Kulcs, where we spend our spare time. Since we do everything around these properties on our own, sometimes I feel that they are too heavy a burden for us. Hence they supply us with great joy and give stability to our family. We have three business enterprises to be able to pay our bills. To have three companies may seem to be exaggerated, but it has historical reasons. They are operating properly, and enable me to work in music I love so much. We do our best to help the work of six incredible artists in every aspect of their career from publishing via recording, live business to merchandise. The surplus generated by the companies is invested in the productions of our artists. We buy instruments, build studio facilities, purchase light&sound equipments.

“I want to see a change in the future”

We established a foundation in Kulcs called Kulcsdalok (Keytracks), hoping to create a public space, a building I call Sonic Temple in my head, to enable people in the region with music and silence to enrich their life.

“This constant dream is on my mind
Chase the light I see ahead
Luminate the path I tread
I live to be the best I can”

I am deeply grateful to Chris DeGarmo for this song. It has given me strength for 30 years, for everyday struggles, and to make my dreams come true.

(Chris DeGarmo portrait: Csaba Mester)