Nicole feels

My husband is a metal-head.

How many pastors, Baptist pastors at that, do you know who are metal-heads?

It all stems from the fact that Rob plays guitar. And he loves to hear really cool guitar riffs.

Screaming, fingers-flying, Eddie Van Halen/Randy Rhoads/Steve Vai style. (The fact that I even know who Steve Vai is, is a testament to the fact that I married a guitar nut.)

Then he works on learning to play them. Over and over and over again.

I am definitely an 80's girl at heart. It is still hard for me to get over the fact that we are now "an era" on various radio stations, not unlike the 60's and 70's.

As a teen, I was more into the pop-scene music wise. More mainstream for the most part. Prince (and the Revolution, of course), Madonna (when she was a Material Girl), Corey Hart (loved that snarling way he sang; he was the only man whose picture ever graced the inside of my locker), Suzanne Vega.

I loved (and still really like) all the Molly Ringwald/Brat Pack movies. I pegged my jeans, cut my hair above my ear on one side and angled down to below the ear on the other (actually that was to avoid wearing a pony-tail for Poms, but that's a whole other story). I layered my socks, and wore white tennies with no strings. All jewelry and eye make-up color-coordinated. Shirt tales out under floppy sweaters, paisley and two-toned jeans.

If you grew up in the 80's, you get the picture.

I never really did the heavy metal thing. I preferred my guys to have short hair and a preppy or jock look.

When I met Rob, he was going into the Navy. He fit the profile of sort-of-preppie yet had a style of his own. An "I don't really care what you think of me - I'm from CA" attitude. And to this east coast girl, it worked.

So, it wasn't until recently that I realized he is a metal-head. Rob has played guitar since he was 8, but was pretty hit or miss with it until we moved here and started a church. We needed live music, and we didn't have a piano player. And we wanted a more contemporary sound and style. So, out came the guitar. And he is quite good, and improving all the time.

I guess what clued me in to his metal tendencies was the day he registered for guitar lessons with a teacher named Vinnie Mask.

And now he is turning my children into metal heads.

My kids crack up everytime he plays "Crazy Train" (they think Ozzie's maniacal laugh at the beginning is too funny). We are subjected to listening to old Poison, Bon Jovi, and ZZ Top songs (not for the words, of course, but for the guitar solos).

He recorded his own rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" in heavy metal fashion. Our praise band often warms up by playing bits and pieces of "Wanted Dead or Alive" (our drummer is a former wanna-be 80's hair band member).

Just goes to show that looks can be deceiving. Underneath the cool and relaxed demeanor of my mild-mannered, preacher husband, is a wannabe rocker.

Go figure. More proof that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.