Charles Zona is the author of Ticket Stub Stories: A Memoir of Live Music. He attended his first concert at the age of eleven with his mother to see the Eagles. This initial encounter with live music had a significant impact on him. The massive crowd, the smoke hanging in the air, the sudden darkness of the arena followed by the bright lights of the stage, singing along to familiar songs, the body-vibrating sounds, and the eventual encore supported by a sea of cigarette lighters–this ignited Charles’ passion for live music.
     As Charles puts it: “Going to concerts with my friends was always an adventure. Simply buying a ticket, going to the show, and then driving home was of little interest to us. We wanted more. We went to the shows early, especially the general admission ones so that we had a good chance of securing decent seats. After the shows, when most fans had returned to their cars and began waiting in an epic line of traffic, we would stay and venture to the back of the venue with the hopes of meeting the band. Maybe it was our attempt to squeeze every bit of the concertgoing experience from the show, but by taking this road less traveled, we created more interesting and unique memories.”