·:[ notetoself.us Blog ]:·
• • • • •

Late November 1999 Alex and I engineered a recording session of Downtime.  A band that had Shag on guitar, Cleez on bass, Tom singing and playing trumpet and Shag’s friend Jeremy on drums.  A similar arrangement to the infamous Blue House sessions only this time we all kind of knew what we were doing and the drummer had more than just bongos to play.  The original audition sessions for Alex and I’s show were beautiful chaos to say the least but that’s another story.

This time around I had the basics down.  I’d been mixing live sound at the radio station for about 3 1/2 months or so, probably had done about a dozen bands by that point.  The song the guys wrote was more adventurous than Blue House Over Yonder in that it deviated from a basic 4 bar blues sort of thing and threw in some cool changes a la mid-late 90′s rock.  Tom did the lyrics and I think Cleez conceived the main melody with everyone else pitching in.   Jeremy came in town just for the session and he clicked with Cleez pretty quickly.

There was a great rehearsal session in the basement at Shag’s first house the night before.  It was really cool for me, who’s never written a song, to watch one take shape in front of me.

Sessions at the KDHX studio were pretty fluid from what I remember.    The work the night before honed things pretty well so there wasn’t the all the hanging aroundness of the Blue House sessions.  The station had just got their first production computer,  I pulled a blank DAT tape from my stash (and it was a relief not to mess with degradable media).  The guys ran through 10 takes of the song – with and without trumpet solo – while Alex and I listened and tweaked settings from the control room.

Here ‘s a recently discovered out take from the session.  It’s nothing revelatory, no lost cello solo or anything, but for my nickel a nice listen from the session spawning one of the greatest holiday songs since Bea Arthur sang in that Star Wars Thanksgiving special.   It’s had a spin on half dozen of Alex and I/my holiday shows and almost every Christmas mix I’ve made since then.

I suppose eventually our kids will record the follow up.

Merry Christmas Guys!

I tried to write a more narrative take on my brother and sister-in-law’s wedding but turns out editing my journal entry was a more concise way to narrate the awesomeness.

(more…)

I can only think of 1 Easter song in my collection, and it’s a song that never made it to completion.

Y’all may remember a little diddy Downtime cooked up for Alex and I’s first Christmas show as It’s Late.  The tune, Santa Is Your Daddy, was better than great but I’ll talk about that another time.  While I’m thinking about it, I need to post the original demo for It’s Late.  Anyway…

For my 30th birthday my homey’s engineered giving me my first mixing board and a microphone.  And what good is gear if you don’t use it right?  To paraphrase ‘Spies Like Us’, “A microphone unused is a useless microphone”.  Further, Cleez had just acquired his mighty Modulus and Shag had been playing drums for around 6 months (I think) so not even a month later moves were made to create another holiday classic.  The gang had joked about making another song after the success of the ‘Santa’ sessions and the idea came about to do one about Easter since that holiday was around the corner. Cleez was the mastermind of ‘Operation:  Bunnycrime’ and thought that a band configuration should be:  him on bass, Shag on drums, Wheels singing and playing whatever he wanted to, Alex on keyboards (which he had recently acquired), and Bill Keller on guitar.  I think Tom mentioned bringing in a trained horn player too – Steve maybe?  This session occurred in my living room.

Cutting short a long story about being responsible adults, the song didn’t get completed.  But what we do have is a wonderful sketch of what could have been.  Cleez and Shag thought it could be a song sung from the perspective of a kid that got shafted by the Easter Bunny.  I fantasized that finished lyrics would have some reference to Red Hot Chili Peppers tune ‘Funky Crime’.  Cleez came up with the main riff and the intro lyrics, Shag laid down a groove, and my sole songwriting contribution ever* is the recorder played during the intro.

Enjoy Take 1 and Take 2 of the song sketch for Bunnycrime.

ps. I know I’ve got the e-mail chain on this somewhere, and let me plug in this tidbit of Cleez warming up.

*save for a potty song I conceived for Porter, now used for Jessie.

Yesterday was a big day for our little girl. 

We do the whole ‘last one there is a rotten egg’ thing when we need a friendly way to motivate the kids.  Porter usually wins but Jessie doesn’t whine about it (yet).  She does little things to try and move him along though.  One example is at bedtime Porter is always the first on the potty so she’ll sit on the little stool by the sink saying she has to go really really bad to try and usurp his 1st place win. 

Yesterday morning she got up when I did (believe it or not sports fans, I’m first one up 5 days a week) and as she started to wake a bit she realized that the house was still pretty quiet.  No footsteps, no showers, Boxer still chirping to be uncovered.  She brushed her hair from her eyes and lifted her head with the slow realization that, for the first time in the burgeoning memory of her life, that she was the first person up.  Better said, that she was up before Porter. 

And she stood her little back up straight, proud, while a smile of satisfaction rose upon on her face like the sun.  A slow look around the room revealed an inner monologue that no doubt involved an award little sisters get for doing something before their big brother. 

In her wonderful excited diction she says, “I. First. One. Up!?”  “You sure are baby girl.”  “Yay!” 

Small victories, sweet honey love, small victories.

It was the highlight of my day. 

A few random shots of the kids.

Jessie wearing part of Porter’s Halloween costume.

Been caught reading, once, when he was 5.

Their first, and to date only, sleepover at home.

And last, a genuine smile from Jessie and one of the silliest expressions I’ve seen from her brother.  Trish told him to make a silly face and boy did he!  (This was not a still shot, he somehow held this expression!)

Later folks!

A few weeks ago at bed time Porter said, verbatim, with hopeful smile, “Daddy, wouldn’t it be nice if they had a day at the radio station when anyone who wanted to go there could?”  His expression was very touching and for a moment I was a little sad that he thought for some reason he wasn’t allowed to go there. He usually enjoys all access to just about everywhere we go.

So I planned a little mystery date for us this past weekend (the 31st) we trekked down to KDHX to see our friend Paul Stark who hosts the awesomeness that is The Musical Merry Go Round Show.  I’ve known Paul for about 9 or 10 years (he hosted Ska’s The Limit for 15 or so years) and he gave me the o-tay to bring Porter down for his first time at the station.

Porter loved the place and spent a lot of time taking it in, studying, and analyzing everything the way he does.  His little brain is a wonderful place.  So we’re sitting opposite Paul listening to the music and I’m still watching Porter when Paul asks him if he can do something for him, that something being reading the call letters!  Porter was very happy to do it and got to talk on the mic a little bit.  He did a great job and kept it nice a simple – kid’s got great radio instincts.

Now it’s cool if you just want to hear the best little man in the whole wide world (it’s about 90 seconds edited down) but do have a listen to the whole show at the above link because it’s really good.   Paul has a broad range of music and really captures the essence what kids music is while making it fun for grown ups too (remember my sensitive cheese-o-meter).

Even better, it’s becoming a tradition to listen to the latest Show on Sunday afternoons.

Yeah, I know it’s Christmas and all, but my beautiful baby friend (bka Trish) sent me this note about Porter on Friday and thought it was super cool.

Porter asked me this afternoon, out of the blue, “Is the Easter Bunny a real bunny?”  I asked him, “Do you really want to know?”  “Yes,” he answered.  I made sure: “Are you sure you really want to know?”  He did.  I thought for a second — reflecting on how much I’ve always hated lying to him about Santa Claus — and finally told him (thinking of the Polar Express), “The Easter Bunny is real if you believe in it.  And if you don’t believe it’s real, then it’s not.”

I remember at Carl and Spencer’s funeral, and one of his teachers was telling a story about 4-year-old Spencer*.  It was Easter, and one this teacher’s fellow instructor was dressed up like the Easter Bunny.  Spencer asked the teacher where the other teacher was.  She was speechless, and then Spencer glanced at the Easter Bunny and just kind of exchanged a knowing smile with the teacher.  I picture that happening with Porter one day — that we’ll be talking about Santa, and we’ll just exchange sweet, knowing glances… and that’ll be that.

When she told me the story I was reminded of the first day of Physics in 11th grade.  The first thing the teacher asked was , “What is real?”  After going through our senses and other stuff he said, “Whatever you believe is real, is real.”  Then we did word problems for 8 months.  Jerk.

*Spencer was a student at the Ethical Society Sunday School.

Wow.  I don’t think I’ve ever gone 6 weeks without posting at least something trivial.  In an effort to get back on track I’ve got some shots of the kids from the past couple months or so.  In general, rockin’ is their business and business is good.

Porter is enjoying school (contrary to what he’ll tell you if you ask) and has become the class clown (frequently to his 2 teachers’ amusement, a couple times seriously to his detriment), he’s reading really really well, and still full on into Star Wars.  Jessie is starting to talk quite a bit and she’ll use the noun and verb in a sentence while we fill in the rest.  She can count to 2 (or she’ll say “both”), likes to read, is fearless, and full on into the “mine mine mine” stage that her big brother skipped.  Both really like music, Jessie prefers to air guitar while Porter likes air drums.  More detail on those things another time.

Onward!

No Reader’s Digest for Jessie, she likes Rolling Stone.

While Trish cat napped Jessie undertook a candy tasting.

Jessie sleeping with her favourite book (more on that at a later time)

This pose was right after her birthday.

I spied on the kids reading a couple weeks ago while I was off doing some chores.  Isn’t there a juvenile delinquent take on the Jane’s Addiction ‘Been Caught Stealing?’ (been caught readin’ once/when I was five/i enjoy reading/it’s simple as that/when I want some books man/I don’t want to pay for them/their mine/mine all mine/guitar solo).  I’ll work on it and get have Kidz Bop get back to you.

A really cool picture of them on their respective wheels.

Porter took Tae Kwon Do lessons and liked it pretty well.  Then, the trial cost ran out and became ouchie inducing costs.  After investigating a few more places they seem a bit like credit cards.  You get the low introductory rate and after that runs out you get hosed.  He’s too young for the YMCA’s program but he’s back in swimming lessons (thanks Mom & Dad!) and doing really well.

My favourite picture of Porter may be this one.  It really shows what a happy kid we’ve got. He is the best little man in the whole wide world after all.

Word y’all.

Jake’s in New York on business and sent me this e-mail yesterday which I found really interesting and shows a glimpse of how brilliant my brother is.
________________________________________________________________________________
Fun things about working in New York.  I am working in a pretty historic part of Brooklyn, Bedford-Stuyvesant, where Bobby Kennedy planted seeds of our current fight against urban decay in the 60′s (tied to civil rights strongly).  Specifically, I am referring to the creation of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation – the nation’s first community development corporation (CDC).  CDC’s, at their best, are the engines of the revival of our nation’s urban neighborhoods.

I am also picking up little cultural tidbits.  This is the neighborhood where Chris Rock grew up, and the scene for Do The Right Thing, and Jay-Z’s public housing neighborhood.  Wikipedia has a pretty exhaustive list of these connections.  The history is even more interesting.  The main commercial drag, Fulton Street, once had several large theaters including an Apollo.  There are gobs and gobs of interesting history that google can help you dig through, especially if you are a fan of cities and city neighborhoods.

This blog post started as an email to Nick, inspired when I recently stumbled on a gem from a Billy Joel song:

From ‘You May be Right’

Friday night I crashed your party
Saturday I said Im sorry
Sunday came and trashed me out again
I was only having fun
Wasn’t hurting anyone
And we all enjoyed the weekend for a change

I’ve been stranded in the combat zone
I walked through bedford stuy alone
Even rode my motorcycle in the rain
And you told me not to drive
But I made it home alive
So you said that only proves that I’m insane

I suspect that line probably resonates with a lot of folks in New York today.  It’s a gem to me because the neighborhood, by my observation, no longer reflects that sentiment, tone, in full.  My view may not be shared – indeed some neighborhoods will spend decades fighting old perceptions.  I just found it interesting to find some way to relate to that line in the song.

The truth, by the way, is that the neighborhood is still in many ways in transition.  It is fair to suggest the tone of the line being in the song has truth today.  It’s tough to say more succinctly so I will leave it with a few pictures.  The pictures to me are most telling.  The retail on these street scenes may not represent the types of stores you and I shop at on Saturday errands.  Nonetheless I think they do a good job illustrating that for whatever challenges, Bed-Stuy is no longer the ‘nation’s biggest ghetto’ as it had been known as at points in time.

Some neighborhood blogs with varying perspectives:

http://www.bedstuyblog.com/;  http://bedstuybanana.blogspot.com/;  http://antbed.com/

______________________________________________________________

I’d always wondered what that lyric meant but I wouldn’t have thought there would be much behind it.  I really think this sort of thing is interesting.  This was a brief post, but Jake this is his area of expertise and he’s able to expound on underlying and related topics in a way that you can relate.

He also included one, two, three, four, five pictures.

For my 2 pence, I can only offer a demo of the Beastie Boy’s ‘Hello Brooklyn‘.  Just as appropriate as Billy Joel considering the source of this post.

(later edit 2:00 am 8/3, Jake left me an excited voice mail today saying he found a beer that actually tastes like bacon.  This world is good.)

Trish had to work this afternoon and was/is going to see The Producers tonight so for all but an hour this morning and a couple of hours or so this afternoon it’s just me and the kids.  So, I thought I’d keep a rough journal of our day.  It’s not going to deal with the minutia of daily life (sat down, extended recliner, reclined) but more general stuff.  Not doing a time study, just having some self indulgent fun.
(more…)

Taking a breather from the busy world to talk about the kiddo’s, put up some recent pictures of the kids, and some sound clips.

This by no means will cover how great they’re doing but should shed a little light.

(more…)

Today was one of those days that started off really sweet.  Like a suburban mid-30’s white boy version of Ice Cube’s ‘Today Was A Good Day’.

I woke up a bit early (hey, 15 minutes is 15 minutes), Porter got up at the same time and hung out in the bathroom doing his morning stuff (potty/brush teeth/get dressed) and he did so without having to be hassled about it. He’s learning about skeletons in school and we talked about that a little bit. We make sure that everyday he tells us 1 new thing that he learned.  Porter and I decided to be quiet so Mommy could sleep a tiny bit more.

When I got Jessie out of her crib she was still sleepy and put her head on my shoulder for a minute.  She insisted on saying good morning to Porter before getting a new diaper and some clothes which we did and they were both all smiles. As we were getting dressed she clutched the pink stuffed baby doll that she sleeps with and said, “Jess-gee bay-bee,” and held it tight. Her first little sentence! Porter was equally affectionate with Lucky Frog, whom he was taking to pre-school for Show N Share, and has been having a sleep over in the living room for a week or so. I suppose they missed each other. Simple things.

Our sweet honey love was all hugs and kisses and laughs and smiles when I took her to Mom Hotzes and I could hear her yelling her sweet, languid, “bye” while I drove slowly past so she could see me waving.

Then it was off to work cranking the Funk through easy traffic and blue skies.

Right on.

Here’s the first, and probably only Christmas podcast for this holiday season. While I’ve totally been in the holiday spirit I haven’t really been jamming out the holiday tunes. The snow over the weekend gave that a jump start.

Porter sits in for the first third singing carols and giving his Christmas list.

Speaking of Porter, he got to play in the snow Sunday for what is probably the first time. Many pics: Snow Angel, proud snowman maker, a close up of the snowman, digging for a snowball, a big smile, and he even asked to help clean off the car.

Enjoy!