Raising JamMasters

I always grew up thinking that when I finally got around to having my own kids, they'd be brought up with music being an important part of their life.  Should be a no-brainer, honestly - me and my brothers were brought up around music, and all of us grew up learning how to play multiple instruments.  I've always wanted the same for my kids.

Of course, when you're in your twenties, saying things like 'I'm gonna get my kids into punk rock when they're toddlers' is 100% understandable.  When you're in your twenties, you're an idiot.  There's no way a little kid's going to prefer abstract music genres like punk over dumbed-down pop music.  Pop music is designed to appeal to and ensnare the masses; it's truly the Michael Bay of music genres, so of course it's going to attract young listeners who haven't developed sound musical tastes.

This is even more true when it comes to little girls, believe me.  Try as I may, my daughters prefer Alvin and the Chipmunks' covers of current pop songs to the Ramones or the Stones.

 It's like being stabbed in the heart with a flint knife every single day.

Still, there's a glimmer of hope that I've been clinging to over the course of the last year or so.  Alayna listens to '80s girl rock once and awhile - I made her a playlist on her iPod Touch featuring a 'greatest hits' compilation from girl groups like Cyndi Lauper, the Bangles, the Go-Gos, Heart, Pat Benatar, Joan Jett, etc.  It's definitely a step up from the bullshit female 'musicians' are pumping out these days.

In addition, Alayna's really picking up the violin lately.  Because she's going to Daisies again (think miniature Girl Scouts) every other Tuesday, we changed violin lessons from the usual every Tuesday thing to an every other Tuesday thing in order to make room for her "den meetings" (or whatever the female equivalent of that is called.)  Music lessons every two weeks seems to be a lot easier on her, and she's progressing a lot faster.  This is awesome, because now when she practices the violin it doesn't sound so much like a cat being skinned in our house, and I'm very appreciative of this.

Roommate jam session (note: no one in this picture is actually playing their instrument correctly.)

Abby, in the meantime, has started expressing interest in learning an instrument as well.  We tried piano once or twice, but, like her older sister before her, she was attentive for a minute or two before losing her attention span completely.  The keyboard's many different song tracks and instrument settings aren't the best features to engage a four-year-old.  I need to buy a real piano.

Ukin'

C (sort of)

The ukulele, however, seems to be much more her style.  Alayna can play C, F, G, A and D chords now, and is working on alternating between them.  Abby just learned C the other day (the easiest major chord you can play), and was pretty stoked about it.  I'm hoping she keeps up this enthusiasm for music, like her sister has.  Then maybe I can buy a drum set and we can start a family band, like the Partridge Family.

Rock and roll.

- Brian 

Randoms from February

Hi players.

After weeks and weeks and weeks, February is almost over. . . and that means the glorious Age of St. Patrick will soon be upon us.

Since not a whole hell of a lot happened around these parts this month (besides the usual work and school, my Dad's visit and the Superbowl, Hallmark Day, and something or other related to 'cookies'), the pickings for Random Pics are pretty slim this month.

Regardless, here's some to tide you over 'til next time.

Cheers.

The Cannonball stares dumbly at an archaic vessel believed to contain 'audio.'  Her school library still keeps Books on Tape (not CDs, mind you, but actual cassettes) in rotation, and she decided to check out one out to bring home.  Fortunately, Yours Truly stockpiles vintage electronics, so we had cassette players on hand.  Too bad Kris has already forgotten how to load cassettes. . .

Kris had been really wanting to take the girls rolling skating for some time, and a couple Saturdays ago she had the whole family dressed, showered, and somewhat ready to go.  Alas, the Cannonball decided to have a Grade-A meltdown shortly before leaving, so her and I stayed back at the house while Kris took Abby to a local roller rink (or whatever the hell they're called now.)

Abby got the hang of it after awhile, but, knowing Abby, she probably fell.  A lot.

Day off from work = Legend of Zelda on the Wii U and microbrews.

I don't like playing Memory with Abby anymore.

I didn't go to church on this particular Sunday, but apparently some biker gang overran the congregation.  Fortunately, my children made it out relatively unscathed.

Abby, at her first Dentist's Appointment, shortly before completely losing her shit.

Abby discusses current events with Mr. Voigt over crayons.

After watching her sister play chords on the uke, Abby has recently started expressing interest in playing.  That, or she just likes it 'cause it's pink.

Yet another stuffed animal convention in the living room. . .

Letting the kids practice with some kid-friendly chopsticks they got from Grandma and Papa John. . .

- Brian

A Failed Date and a New Uke

Hi gangsters.

So Kris and I don't go out on 'dates' much anymore. Having kids more or less means you can't. Yeah, we could dump them off onto one of our friends, but... who wants to put up with our kids for three or four hours? That isn't fun for anyone. We only put up with our kids' crap because the government makes us.

Well, if anyone's capable of putting up with loud-mouth, obnoxioux kids, it's my Mom - she raised three of them. She offered to watch the kids Friday so that Kris and I could go out and catch dinner and a movie. So, for the first time in over a year, Kris and I were able to head out into town without towing our two disaster bombs with us.

Yet, as you're about to see, God apparently doesn't like Kris and I going out on dates any more than our kids do.

Observe:


Peril struck from the get-go. We first stopped off at a Dunkin Donuts for a couple coffees, as we had spent the entire afternoon in the sun and were pretty groggy. Alas, upon getting back into my car, it failed to start. Eventually, my mom had to drive out and rescue us - our two kids in tow. After jumping the car and taking it back to the house, we were forced to take Kris' mega van out on our 'date' instead.

Back to square one, an hour or so later than we had initially planned. Time for dinner.

We had originally wanted to check out this Banzari sushi place that we had somehow aquired a $25 gift certificate for. Not enough to cover the dinner, mind you, but it'd take a solid chunk out of our eventual bill. Well, long story short, Google Maps had us driving all over the damn place - for an hour! - in search of this mystical restaurant, and, in the end, the stupid restaurant was located inside a timeshare resort that charged $15 for parking. So, unwilling to pay this, we said 'screw it,' abandoned the endeavor entirely, and hit up another sushi joint we had frequented before.

(If this had been our very first date, I don't think I'd be seeing Kris again.)

Anyway, at this other place, which overall was pretty good, we ended up forking out a $45 bill (which is way more than we generally like to spend for a non-anniversary dinner). The sushi was good, but it wasn't that good. Nay, a decent piece of our bill stemmed from me feeling it necessary to purchase a hot bottle of sake. I wanted to try it, since I'd had cold sake numerous times but never the hot kind where they give you little shot glasses to drink out of. Well, since Kris doesn't drink, that left Yours Truly in charge of hammering away at this thing (I wasn't about to let it go to waste).

(F.Y.I. - not the best-tasting stuff, if you've never had it.)

Now, by the time we were out of the restaurant, we had missed the movie start time (of course), so instead we hit up something considerably more awesome: Guitar Center.

Now, I grew up playing the piano and the drums, but around the time I joined the Peace Corps and went off to Africa, I started getting into guitar. For a few years, I really got into this, but, over time, my interest waned (to me, its just not as fun as the drums - not even close). So I picked up the mandolin (mine is a Michael Kelly F-Style Tobacco Burst - absolutely gorgeous instrument), but this felt a bit too foreign to figure out.

The solution? The ukulele.

This is truly the instrument of the gods. I had a couple already - a small souvenir uke I picked up at a garage sale, a vintage Harmony uke I inherited from my grandpa after he passed (slightly larger than a concert, but not quite as big as a tenor), and an Oscar Schmidt OU5 Concert uke.


At Guitar Center, I picked up a Lanikai LU-21 Soprano uke, which is, according to pretty much every source you can track down and find, the best quality starter uke you can buy. Period:


I wanted a uke that I could take to the beach or camping and not worry about messing up, scratching, breaking, or getting wet. I also wanted a soprano, since my others are all in the concert/tenor range, and I wanted something with that nostalgic, plinkier, Hawaiian vintage sound. This uke has that, and I managed to get it from Guitar Center for $65.


I could've saved five or ten bucks and gotten it online, but I wanted to handle a few different instruments in person before purchasing one. This was a wise move on my part, as the first boxed-up Lanikai the guy brought me from the back was slightly messed up (there were pin-sized gaps between the fret board and the neck, which, although miniscule, could lead to a widening gap). The second one had a few cosmetic flaws, which were minor, but I wanted a nice finish on it. The third uke he brought out was perfect, and so that's the one I took home.


So, all in all, our date out wasn't a complete loss - I got a brand new uke out of the deal, one that I can take out on future family adventures. Consider that the silver lining of an otherwise chaotic night.

- Brian