It’s a question I asked myself, about myself for the past couple of weeks.

The simple answer, I was asked.

Yes, I worked in the radio business for over twenty years, starting out as a disc jockey.

But I am not very good with lyrics.

About the only song I know all the lyrics to and can sing acapella would be Happy Birthday and a few nursery rhymes.

I enjoy the whole song, but it’s the instrumentation and overall feel from a piece of music that I enjoy.

So that’s the perspective you’re going to get from me.

Mimi Burns contacted me last month asking if I would write a review of her latest release, Brave Journey and help her spread the word.  I listened to the 3 tracks there are posted on her website, and then she dropped off a CD which I’ve been enjoying real loud in our home.

The Mimi Burns Band calls Fort Wayne, Indiana home, just like me.

They also have a rich Irishness, just like my wife.

This CD, I found amazing.  And yes, you should fork over a few bucks to add this music to your collection.

The back cover lists 10 songs, but there is another, an 11th song at the very end as a bonus.

My first exposure to the Mimi Burns Band was December 2010, when they were the guest artists at the Fort Wayne Philharmonics Holiday Pops Concert.  They performed at the opening of the 2nd half of the concert and my wife and I were blown away.

A month later we saw them again and I wrote about it in January 2011:

I’ve had the privilege to work in the show biz, entertainment, marketing, and advertising industry most of my adult life. Currently I work for Summit City Radio which includes 4 radio stations including ROCK 104.

A few days ago I was talking with Doc West and discovered that he was going to be the emcee for a benefit concert that featured the Mimi Burns Band.

I heard Mimi’s Band for the first time when they did a number during the Holiday Pops concert last month with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic.

Last night, my wife and I attend the benefit concert with about 100 others and over $4000 was raised.

WANE TV did the following story :

Benefit concert uses music to help fire victims heal emotionally

Updated: Saturday, 29 Jan 2011, 11:58 PM EST
Published : Saturday, 29 Jan 2011, 11:57 PM EST

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – About a hundred people came to a benefit concert at C2G Music Hall Saturday night to support Spencer and Zoe Tomasi, who lost their mother in a house fire.

On New Year’s Eve, their house caught on fire. The family had fallen asleep watching a movie. Spencer woke up when he smelled smoke and was able to break a window to get his little sister out. But, their mother didn’t make it.

“When all this happened we wanted to put on an event to help inspire them to use music as a positive outlet,” Steve Tyler said.

Tyler lived around the corner from the Tomasi family and is also a member of the Mimi Burns Band. He and Burns helped the children get into music before the fire and they organized the benefit concert.

“When you have something challenging happen to you, that emotion’s going to come out somewhere,” Tyler said.

C2G Music Hall hosted the concert.

“We use music as one of the best ways to express yourself and the best way to heal,” Mark Minnick, the pastor at C2G, said. “Music provides a means of focus and the work of music is always about inner thoughts and to be able to … thrive musically will help them express their grief, which is very real.”

Sweetwater Sound is also helping the Tomasi children continue their love of music. The company gave Spencer a guitar and amp and Zoe a keyboard. It also gave them both music lessons for a year and $250 each to rebuild their music collection.

“We believe in the healing power of music so we wanted to give a little something to them to get them on their way,” Thad Tegtmeyer from Sweetwater Sound said.

If someone would like to know how they can help Spencer and Zoe, contact the Mimi Burns Band.

Celtic Rock are the words I use to describe the Mimi Burns Band, if I had to narrow it down to just a couple words.

Being a child of the 70’s I hear sounds that remind me of ELO, Journey, Pink Floyd, and the vocals of Heart.  But do yourself a favor and visit Mimi’s website,give her band a listen and make it a priority to see them live too.

(Photo from MimiBurns.com )

A couple years ago I snapped a couple pictures and a short video, you can see them here.