Bud Light & Bug Spray

November 13, 2021  /  Eric Stoff

At first glance, the album title might seem to reference my kids, but it’s me. I’m the kiddo.

This album is a reconnection with my childhood. It’s the music that took shape in the RV season of our life. Oh! Right. If you’re just tuning in, my family and I traveled full-time in a renovated RV from September 2019 until December 2020. The process moved us from Indianapolis to Flagstaff, AZ.

When we were on the road, I compared the new things to the things I knew. Landscape, accents, food, weather, you name it. I was using my previous experience to map out my new experience. And my hometown in southwestern Illinois was “north” on my figurative compass.

Then add in the fact that I was watching my girls grow up with the United States as their backyard. Different experiences every day. Different states every week. Different regions every month. I found myself wondering how these experiences would shape their personalities, and how my childhood shaped mine.

Bud Light & Bug Spray is a reflection on my childhood experiences. Bud Light because it was the go-to beer that I saw adults enjoying as a kid, and it would end up being my first beer. Bug spray because, well, I spent a ton of time outside as a kid, and bug spray is a must in the Midwest. 

Bud Light and bug spray might be a off-putting sensory experience for you, and I understand that. But to me, that combo is a time-traveling potion, bringing me back to my dad’s softball games, church picnics, graduation parties, and homecomings.

You undoubtedly have palpable memories from your childhood. They’re probably not grandiose, either. One of my friends once wrote some amazing lyrics about his grandfather several years ago — The smell of his cigarette smoke and the sound of shuffling cards. So simple, yet so much meaning packed into that memory. 

Bud Light, bug spray, humid nights, cicadas buzzing, outdoor seating, fishing, the Cardinals on KMOX… these are really memorable sensory experiences from my childhood. I’m excited to ask my daughters about theirs when they’re older.

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