Dave Matthews & Me

Only Dave Matthews could make 'Oh', 'Yeah' and 'Hey' sound so soothing that it calms you. Dave possess a voice of magical quality. People have liken his voice to a musical instrument rather than mere vocals.

His voice is mesmerizing. It captivates you and puts you under some kind of charm. Listened through a pair of headphones, it will put you under a state of trance of some sort.

I still remember listening exclusively to Dave Matthews Band for a few months while preparing for 3rd year exams. My notes from that period of time were riddled with snippets of lyrics from their songs.

Few weeks before the exams, and wanting some degree of isolation, I moved all my essential stuff into a friend's house. He had a small empty store room which was suitable as my 'isolation cave'. It was a very small room, measuring 6' x 8' - smaller than a prison cell.

I can't recall the exact colour of the walls. As what I had was only yellow light, I always remembered the room being of the yellow tone. The view out the window was not much, part of it was obstructed by the other condo block. It faced the direction of sunrise, but I guess I was never a morning person to witness any.

A word to describe the room - other than small - was dusty. The cement floor was always dusty. No matter how many times I've swept and mopped it, again and again, it was always dusty to the touch.

It wasn't anything spectacular, but it had everything I need. Table, chair, my notes, a table lamp, a box fan and a portable CD player.

You guessed it. Songs by Dave Matthews Band. Hundreds of them.



This is pretty much how the room looks like.


There is just something about listening to music in a confined space. With the proximity of the walls, floor and ceiling being so close to each other, and music through a pair of earphones that just saturates your senses, it was an overwhelming encounter. It gives you this sense of nothingness, other than what is in front of you.

This overwhelming experience was ingrained very deeply into the subconscious. This part of my life juts out significantly as I walk down memory lane.

And everytime I listen to the familiar songs, it brings me back to this very small room.