I remember being mesmerized by this story unlike anything else I had seen since Star Wars. After school, I jumped off the bus with a library copy of the book to read at home.
I'm not entirely sure what it was about the story that fascinated me so. However, the following year I started playing Dungeons & Dragons. One of my first characters was a Halfling thief named Rat. He quickly flew up the ranks in our little Monty Hall campaign and became a hero in our world. But why Halflings?
I kinda wonder if it has to do with how small and insignificant I felt in junior high and high school. I was scrawny kid with that one big bully that most geeks had. Tyrone was in almost seven out of eight my classes in the 7th grade. I hated going to school, even after the big fight that left a huge knot on his head.
Sure my English teacher quietly thanked me in the hallway, but I was terrified of retribution. I think that's one of the reasons I never left a defeated enemy alive when I played Dungeons & Dragons. I was too frightened of what they might do to me later.
As a result, I stayed at home playing D&D until I moved my senior year. Even when I escaped my geeky persona of San Antonio and felt relatively “cool” on the military base in Italy, I still felt connected with hobbits. It's a feeling ingrained in me, I guess. The underdog.
Whatever the reason, it affected me. When I started writing songs for the Brobdingnagian Bards' album Memories of Middle Earth, most of the songs and tunes I wrote for the album were about hobbits.
Now I'm working on Don't Go Drinking With Hobbits. I find myself slipping into character, trying to think like a hobbit as to what they would sing about at home, in the gardens, pubs or out in Party Field. There's a simple life with no desire to roam the wild world or seek danger. It's a quite lifestyle with a love of home and family. It's my motto: good food, good drink, good company. It's warm and caring. It's fun and playful. It's scrumptious food.
It's like… this is an autobiographical album about me.
