Humans of Reno: Talon and His All-Around Love for Music
For Talon McPhail, 20, music is a lot more than just a hobby. McPhail is a TMCC music major who began his love affair with music at the age of twelve when he began to play the saxophone in his middle school band. Photo series and audio reporting by Katie Grinsell.
McPhail stands in front of Recycled Records in Midtown, Reno, where he appreciates their discounted selection of music. His favorite genre of music is rock.
After he graduates, McPhail hopes to use his degree in music to either “learn how to build and repair guitars,” or even teach music because he says he enjoys working with children.
In the audio postcard above, McPhail explains his love of music.
McPhail originally declared as an engineering major, but quickly found it wasn’t fulfilling his creative side enough. He switched to a music major after realizing that was much more up his alley.
McPhail appreciates Recycled Records large selection of albums. “They have a ton of cool and super weird art in there, and so many albums are so old, it’s just not stuff you see very regularly. It’s also cool because you find music you would never hear on the radio.”
On McPhail’s left index finger he wears a golden ring, straight out of the trilogy, The Lord of the Ring. “From far away it looks just like a normal ring, but up close it has Elvin written on it. It’s pretty nerdy.” He received the ring as a gift this past Christmas as The Lord of the Ring movies are some of his favorites, as well as one of his favorite soundtracks.
McPhail says he brings “some form of instrument” with him nearly everywhere he goes, so he doesn’t have to be without music ever. Since picking up the saxophone at twelve, McPhail has also learned guitar, ukulele, piano, and bass. He’s working on learning as many instruments as he can. “The more you learn, the easier it is to translate over to many more instruments,” he says.
