The DJ Rollie D Story

A while back, I had to stop and ask myself if I was the toxic person ruining my own friendships.  In some ways I think I am toxic if we're being completely honest based on my own personal experience with those who have toxic attitudes.  Just to give a few examples, I find myself to be seeking attention more than I should, letting things get stuck inside my head for longer than they need to be (especially my past experiences with people I no longer speak to), and I am almost always looking at the empty side of the glass.  To me, all three of these behaviors speak to the toxicity of me as an individual.  None of these things are ending easily with the mental health problems I unfortunately continue to endure, but I feel that I must do my best to try and hide them as often as I possibly can.  I must be a person who is always happy and smiling and looking at the positive side of the glass.  It seems really easy to do this doesn't it?  Those of you readin...

Passenger is many things musically.  It has been both a band and a solo act with a backing band, and it has also explored a few different genres of music from the quieter side of the folk to full on rock, and also some bold Americana.  Though it has only spawned one song to the major radio charts ("Let Her Go"),  Michael Rosenberg (as he's known in real life) has a lot to be proud of and has pulled in multiple listeners in many different ways through the ten studio albums he's released over the last twelve years as well as massive concerts with a backing band and even some street and subway busking.  There's enough fans for both sides of the music (acoustic and full backing track) that Passenger's 2018 album "Runaway" was recorded with both versions for each track.  How cool is that?  I could go on and on about "Let Her Go" for ages, but that's the song everyone has heard off All The Little Lights , and there's a total of twe...

Every so often I'll go somewhere out here that I haven't been in a long time, or in my travels I'll run into a person that I haven't seen in a considerable amount of time except in passing.  There's usually not a specific reason as to why I haven't gone to these places or ran into these people, rather one or both of us have simply been busy beyond measure and haven't had time to contact each other or take time out to spend time with each other.  The human interaction component is missing so to speak, and so it goes for a while that we don't see each other or I don't frequent that location. The words that most often get uttered during these meetups with folks I haven't seen in some time is the phrase "So good to see you."  I always feel good when I hear that phrase because it makes me feel like I'm not just a distant after thought in the lives of those I know.  It lets me know that I have purpose and that I am cared about and/...

I was six when one morning at home my family was called to be informed that my aunt had passed away.  All of a sudden, we were heading to Kansas City for about a week to attend her funeral.  The experience was different. I barely knew her even though she had lived with us for about two years.  I guess I just didn't have the firmest grasp on "not coming back" just yet. It was either the day before the funeral or a little before the funeral when we were attending a visitation.  It was my first time seeing an open casket.  My aunt looked so peaceful, almost as if she didn't collapse just a few days prior.  Of course I now know that morticians will dress a body up and put some makeup on before that day, even using a scent sometimes to cover the smell of no longer being present on Earth, but that day was different. I never cried that entire week.  While I was sad that my aunt had passed away, I still felt as if I would see her again someday, and t...

It was a few weeks ago that a friend of mine turned to me and said "Rollie, you're an old soul."  Realizing that he was probably right but still in denial myself, I asked some of my closer friends this question, and the answer they gave was also "Yes".  Now that I feel older than I really am (21), I start to realize some things, and I'd like to point those out while also doing some internet research on this ideal, because even little things like this are things I feel should be fact based, and not just solely on my opinions.  The first thing I wanted to find out was what it actually meant to be an old soul, so I turned to the internet, which I know you can't believe everything you read on there, but I feel  this article  from the website Psychic Today at least gets us a basic description of what it means to be an old soul.   Per the article, "Most old souls feel a certain disconnect from the Earth, and most are inherently aware that they a...

In August I set off from Eveleth, MN for the last time on a regular basis.  After a radio shift in Grand Rapids it was off west to Fargo.... for that wonderful financially burdening thing we call college. After just barely graduating high school and a fun summer that followed it, it was time for me to start my post-secondary educational career and enjoy the adventures that came with it. I was much more excited then, as college seemed like something so spectacular and fun, and I was finally ready to be in a different area.  I slept heavily throughout the night at the hotel, eager to see what the next day would bring.  The next morning, we rode over to the college, moved all my stuff in, and then my mother and sister left.... And then it hit me.... I was more or less alone.  There were several times that first night on campus where I almost broke down in sobs and wanted to turn around and go home. For the first few days while I was on campus I tried to...