From unknown to known

I am doing underrated band week here at my blog. So I attempting to shout out praise about bands that I think are underrated. I remember being in tenth grade and buying albums by bands that I had never heard before like King Kobra, Loudness and Grim Reaper. I took chances on these bands because I wanted to hear something new. I had a friend at the time who would say these bands were "nobody" because they were not big yet. I never understood that mentality because almost everyone starts at the bottom before they become "somebody" or get known. I had a friend in college who listened to maybe a dozen bands and refused to listen to anyone he didn't already know of. He waited for the radio and Mtv to find new music. Word of mouth and tape trading was a great way for bands who weren't getting a lot of radio play to get known back in the 80's. Of course you have to want to hear new music and be a little open for this to work. I have heard a lot of bands over the last twenty some years. I have heard good, bad and in between, but I am certainly glad that I went out of my to give new bands a chance rather than waiting for the radio, Mtv or some other media source to tell me what I should listen to.