WHAT WOULD YOU SAY WAS THE SCARIEST THING THAT'S EVER HAPPENED TO YOU?
"There's a few that are a little too personal. I'll say starting my own business. 'Cause you never know what to expect....whether you're going to succeed or fail. If all of your assets will be taken away. Once you put up your capital, you wanna make sure you get a return on it. That would probably be the scariest thing, to think you could lose your home." 

HOW DID THE DECISION TO START YOUR BUSINESS WORK OUT FOR YOU?
"It worked out good.  I didn't lose! But going in, it was scary."

AND HOW LONG HAVE YOU HAD YOUR BUSINESS?
"Since 2009. As of today, it's been pretty profitable. Right now I'm at a plateau so I guess I'm back at a scary point in my life because now I wanna take that business to another level."
 
 She told us she owns a construction, commercial and forensic cleaning business. 

* Join the conversation. What is the scariest thing you have ever done? *

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST FEAR YOU'VE OVERCOME?
"I was working as a DJ for the past 15 years and it was all I knew. My passion and love was in it, but I came to the realization that it wasn't something I wanted to do anymore. To have no other outlet to go to and to give it up and live life as an entrepreneur was one of the most fearful. At the same time [I was] happy. It was like, every single type of emotion all at once."

HOW WERE YOU ABLE TO OVERCOME IT?
"I had to understand that I was capable and competent enough to overcome anything. As long as I put my mind to it. It was more of a self confidence thing or an understanding of myself, that I could do it. 

ARE YOU GLAD THAT YOU MADE THAT CHANGE?
"Yeah. I've reconnected with a childhood dream of mine. I can see what it takes to make it. To do that is all that matters. It's my calling. When you're younger, you have this dream that you've always wanted to have, but then because of life, you get misaligned from it. But there comes a point in your life where you have to stop doing what you thought you liked, and try to go toward your happiness. Keep striving towards it and as long as you're doing what makes you happy, you get realigned and realize what you're truly passionate about. I found that and I know how to get to it. Nothing is going to stop me. Even though I'm living at home, not making any money. It's like someone coming up to you (and all you ever wanted to do was be an astronaut) and them saying "if you do all these things for the next year or two years...you have to stop working your current job, you have to live at home, you're not going to take any money in...you have to give up your social life...you have to give up all the things that you've known (to make this dream a reality)", would you do it? It's scary to give up all you've ever known, but to do something that makes you feel whole, complete as a person." 

* Join the conversation. Have you made a change in life that you were afraid to make? How did it work out?*

HAVE YOU EVER HAD TO OVERCOME A FEAR IN YOUR LIFE?
"Riding in an airplane. But I did it anyway. Went to Vegas."

WAS THAT THE ONLY TIME YOUVE EVER FLOWN?
"No, the second. I also went to Atlanta, Georgia."

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO FINALLY OVERCOME YOUR FEAR OF FLYING?
"My daughter lives in Atlanta. I wanted to see her. And I wanted to see Vegas." 

[The gentleman told us that he works as a mental health counselor and deals with people who have a variety of fears all of the time]
DO YOU EVER SUGGEST WAYS FOR PEOPLE TO OVERCOME THEIR FEARS? 
"All the time, this is what I teach. If you want to deal with fear, you have to turn fear into positive action. How do you do that? You meditate. You make a diary. You take all the fears you have and share them around the room. You write about them..." 

AND DOES IT WORK?
"The feedback I've been getting has been unbelievable"

HAVE YOU EVER HAD TO OVERCOME YOUR OWN FEAR? 
"After my grandfather was sick, I needed to get over the fear of death. You have to look at death in the way it comes to you. When it's your time to go, it's your time to go. Many people are afraid to die, but you know what, it's the life cycle... You have to go with the cycle that's being given to you."

"And the fear of change. I'll tell you right now, fear of change is big!"


* Join the conversation. What do you think is the most common fear people have? *

For as much as there is to divide us in this world, there is so much more that can bring us together. People, all people, at their very core want basically the same things, need basically the same things, love basically the same things, and fear basically the same things. 
Show me a mother and I will show you someone who fears anyone or anything harming a hair on their child's head. Show me a champion and I will show you someone who fears losing a step, costing them the next big fight, big game, or big win. Show me a lover and I will show you someone who is afraid of losing someone, of being lost to someone. 

Fear is universal. Everyone, no matter how big or how strong, has something that they are afraid of. It doesn't matter if the things we fear are exactly the same as someone else. It only matters that we recognize that we are not so different from those who we look at as if we are. The elderly woman in front of you in line at the bank,  the teenager you walked past on the street today, the man who asked you for your spare change as you left the store, they all have hopes, all have dreams, and yes, all have fears just like you. Your parent, your pastor, your priest, the guy who mows your lawn or the guy who you watch on the evening news, may seem vastly different to you. They don't travel in the same circles or like the same things. But one thing I can tell you is this- at the heart of them, they are all afraid of something- maybe the same things that you are afraid of. 

When we start to break down all of the things that make us different, all of the ways in which we divide ourselves from those around us, we are making progress. Progress that can help us search for the things that we do share- the common threads. Those threads are practically universal. Pull on one of those threads and watch as our differences, our prejudices, our contempt, and our judgments unravel. Do this, and we can begin to move closer to a place where we are all... one, unified. 

**Join the conversation. This week we are talking to people about their fears. Visit our Facebook page and share your thoughts with us.**

*All of this week's interviews were done with people out seeing live music. We thought it would be fitting to finish up this week of music interviews by talking with Paul Baroli Jr. of Steal Your Face Band.* 

WHAT'S BEEN YOUR FAVORITE MUSICAL EXPERIENCE?
"Oh my God! That is such a question!"
..."The next one!"

WHO'S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST MUSICAL INFLUENCE?
"Jerry [Garcia], has to be Jerry, without a doubt." 

WHY JERRY?
"Nothing else ever touched me as much and just moved my soul that much. I just wanted to dig deeper and deeper and find out more and more and hear more and more. The more I heard, the more I loved it. 

IS THAT WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO PLAY OR DID YOU ALREADY HAVE AN INTEREST?
"No, I was playing my whole life. As a kid, I took some trumpet lessons. I was in the whole music track type of thing. I didn't really know what to do with it. I wasn't really meant for the things I was doing then. I was playing in classic rock bands, a little of this, a little of that. Until I put it all together! That this is the music I love, this is what I love to go see, this is where I spend my time, that I was pursuing and playing that music and getting the band together...that's when it came together." 

WHAT KIND OF MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO THE MOST?
Jam bands, classic rock. Like moe, The Grateful Dead, Umphrey's McGee...

WHAT DO YOU THINK IT IS ABOUT THAT TYPE OF MUSIC THAT SPEAKS TO YOU?
"Just listening to it, the emotion, the mood, it makes you feel good and happy inside. The fans, the people I've met there, the communities." 

AS SOMEONE THAT'S SEEN A LOT OF LIVE MUSIC, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE EXPERIENCE SO FAR?
"As a whole, seeing a band on a cruise ship. I saw Moe. They played five nights on a seven day cruise. I got to see all of the five shows, then see islands like Jamaica and Puerto Rico."
 
"DO YOU FEEL THAT THE MUSIC ENHANCED THE EXPERIENCE OF SEING THOSE ISLANDS?
"Yeah, definitely." 

IF YOU HAD A THEME SONG, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
"Ok, alright" [By moe.]

DO YOU ENJOY MORE THAN ONE GENRE OF MUSIC?
"Music is the genre."

SO WHAT DO YOU LISTEN TO THE MOST? 
"I guess in the car, it's whatever the radio is playing. "They" say I listen to Katie Perry.  Nothing wrong with a little Katie Perry. Everybody's gotta get down to Katie Perry every once in a while."

HAVE YOU EVER WANTED TO PURSUE MUSIC?
"I guess the answer is yes because I bought a guitar. When I had time to start to learn is when I would learn to play. I haven't found that time yet." 

IF YOU HAD A THEME SONG, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
"Lost in the Flood" or "Spirit in the Night"

HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED PURSUING MUSIC PROFESSIONALLY IN ANY WAY? OR ARE YOU SIMPLY A FAN? 
"Sure. I've managed bands. It's a thankless job that I probably wouldn't do again unless I really liked the band. I wouldn't do it for money. There's no money in it, hardly, anymore. But other than that, yeah there's plenty of things. I was a chef for a couple of years for bands too."

FROM A FAN PERSPECTIVE, A MUSIC LOVERS PERSPECTIVE, WHY IS MUSIC IMPORTANT TO YOU? 
Well, when I was younger it seemed like music was like an escape in a way... from "normal" life. These days I mostly listen to a bit more political stuff. Punk, political. Not as much jam bands or things like that anymore. If the band doesn't really have a message that I'm into, I probably won't listen to them. 

WOULD YOU SAY THAT THE MUSIC REFLECTS YOUR MOOD?
Yeah. Definitely. 

*Join the conversation. Visit our Facebook page and tell us what music does for YOU!*

"WHAT WOULD YOU SAY STOPPED YOU FROM PURSUING IT?"
"Kids. Careers. Life. Marriages. Divorces. Life again. But the music never stopped, you can always still do it." 

"DO YOU STILL PLAY?"
"I try to pick up the guitar when I can. They stare at me from various rooms. I have four guitars, a mandolin, drums, keyboards, other instruments. But recently I started to try to play like one song a day. That was my old mantra, that whenever I got home or in the morning that I'd play one song."

IF YOU HAD A THEME SONG, WHAT DO YOU THINK IT WOULD IT BE?
"It would probably be some soundtrack to a cheesy 80's sitcom that I've seen like very episode of. It ranges from like Bosom Buddies to Welcome Back Kotter."

WHY IS MUSIC SO IMPORTANT TO YOU?
"For me, I'm not really religious, I'd say I'm more spiritual. Music for me takes me to that spiritual level. It releases a lot of stress from work and makes me feel good. For me it's like religion, because I don't have that." 

IS THERE ONE PARTICULAR STYLE OF MUSIC YOU LISTEN TO MOST AND WHAT DICTATES WHAT YOU LISTEN TO? 
"My mood definitely dictates what I listen to.  I love the Grateful Dead. I love jam bands. So I come to see Steal Your Face. After a show, I'm usually up and happy, so I'll go home and listen to Aretha Franklin or something...  I love Sam Cook. I love all that old stuff. I just go home and rock out in my living room to top it off, that just kind of finishes it."

IS THAT YOUR HAPPY ENDING?
"That's my happy ending. Just dancing around in my living room and having a good time.  
[At shows] I just close my eyes and get into my own world and I close everything out. I don't care if anyone else is dancing, I don't need to have drinks in me. I have to get right in there. I don't exercise, I don't run, this is my release, like the way people run or do yoga or whatever." 

One thing that binds friends and folks of all kinds is music. Someone once said to me, if you want to know if you’re going to get along with someone just look at their playlist. And for the most part, that seems to hold true.
Music is the great unifier. It has forged some unshakable unions. It’s united friends and brought together lovers. It’s brought about the birth of children. It’s underscored times of great happiness and joy and has comforted in times of great pain and sorrow.
People might not listen to the same genres, or like the same bands, or express their love for it in the same way, but if you’re a music lover- you just get it. And if you find someone who shares your passion for the same music, it can forge a bond like no other. 
 Sometimes there is no right word to express how we are feeling, or what we are thinking. There isn't always a good way to make someone understand what you've been through, or what you're going through, or what you need. But music, music always gets its point across. The right melody, the right lyric, and it's all there, all laid out before you. 
Music is a vessel. It’s a release. A connection maker. A spiritual enlightening. It gives you wings when you need to fly, and roots when you need to be grounded. It can make you feel an emotion, or for that matter every emotion, all in the duration of a 5 minute piece. Nothing bonds people quite like the love of music. This week we’ll be sharing some of the stories we heard and things people shared as we went out for an evening of musical enjoyment including the Philly based band Steal Your Face and talked to some of the people who were out for a night of musical enjoyment, including the band’s own Paul Baroli Jr.
As varied as the people we meet were, as different as their lives, their hopes, their worlds may be, music is a common denominator for them all. It draws people together and keeps them together.
Music is an instant uniter… a unifier.

**This week we explore the common thread of music...what will you contribute to the conversation? Tell us what music moves you!**

Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget...

We finish out a great week, our first, with a group of friends most of whom have known each other the better part of 30 years, including yours truly, Noelle and Michelle. 

WHY DO YOU THINK YOU ARE ALL STILL FRIENDS? 
"It's rare. I think we're blessed. We're luckier than most people. Most people don't get this ever, and don't even know what it is or understand it."
"I'm not religious, but I do think our souls are energies...we keep coming back and I think that every time we come back we wind up with the same group of people again and again and again. We've all known each other a hundred times. Otherwise, we wouldn't be so drawn to each other for so long."


We couldn't agree more. 

WAS THERE EVER A TIME THAT SOMEONE WAS THERE FOR YOU WHEN YOU DIDN'T EXPECT THEM TO BE?

"When my mom died. That was one of the most horrific times of my life...There was this moment when I could barely remember what was going on around me, and I can remember crawling upstairs in my house and curling up in a ball just crying... not wanting anyone to know where I was. There are times in your life where you don't talk to your closest friends for a while but then there are moments when you're laying, crying, not knowing how to handle the next minute, let alone the next day, and your best friend shows up. And that's what is friendship. That's what does it. That's what gets you through. And I was surprised, not because I was surprised that she showed up, but because there had been such an absence and then there she was. There was that moment of complete and utter comfort........and then she scrubbed my bathroom floor."

HOW HAS A FRIEND REALLY DISAPPOINTED YOU? 
"Been lied to."
"Got my girlfriend pregnant."
"Didn't tell me someone was cheating on me."
"Contributed to me being in jail."
"Dying."

HOW DO YOU HANDLE IT WHEN SOMEONE HAS DISAPPOINTED YOU? ARE YOU QUICK TO FORGIVE THEM?
"It all depends on if they really meant it. On how it went down, I guess."
"I think at this point in my life it's different than how I would've handled it 10 years ago."

WHAT WOULD MAKE YOU ABSOLUTELY NEVER SPEAK TO SOMEONE AGAIN?
"If someone tried to hook up with my girlfriend. That's a no no."
"If you hurt my family."
"Intentionally hurting me."

Join the conversation. Have you ever been disappointed by a friend? Did you forgive them?