Entry #1 Ashleigh Sala

Amanda Petrusich sets out on a journey to better understand where the true Americana originated. Petrusich, like many people, has a bewildered stance on where American music started and how it evolved. To answer her questions, she decides to head south on the American map. As she digs herself deeper in American history, she uncovers the roots of some of the most influential and musical turn points of all time. Petrusich believes that much of these historical sounds and music comes from road travel and 'the journey,' and that is why she felt travelling the routes might bring her to some sort of epiphany or instantaneous knowledge and understanding. She states that, "The road contains the potential for change, for discovery, for adventure" (18). Petrusich can travel the road, literally, but it does not mean she will embrace it. While Petrusich visits the many historical and memorial areas that were once home to many musicians and aspiring sounds, she makes her presence a personal one, and sort of soaks in everything around her. One place in particular was the Sun Studio in Memphis; "I sit on the piano bench with my hands folded in my lap and try my best not to be too melodramatic, thinking hard about all the music birthed in this room" (50). I believe Petrusich begins to develop unknown feelings that begin to grow from her witnessing something first handedly instead of out of a book or article. Her journey will only broaden her breadth of music and its origin.

AS