The Saga Continues...

Due to the current weather conditions my boys have not had the chance to go outside and get rid of their daily anxst. Instead, they literally have been climbing the walls. So I saw this as an opportunity to show them some of my most beloved movies.

They already saw the Transformers live action movie a few weeks ago and fell in love with Optimus Prime and showing them the animated Transformers the Movie was a natural progression. As I saw the boys' eyes light up as we talked about Transformers I thought it was a perfect time to show them Star Wars.

I started them out on A New Hope because I was exactly Caden's age (4years old) when I went to the theatre to see it with my family. It was the Loew's Theatre on Henderson Road now replaced by a strip mall.

Caden resisted at first because he really wanted to see Transformers again, but as the movie progressed, he was ready to watch more. He and Ethan asked to watch another Star Wars movie, so we watched The Empire Strikes Back (my all time favorite). We finished Return of the Jedi on Sunday and I think it's safe to say the boys are hooked. Casey isn't sure what to think of it, but I was so giddy with excitement my eyes started to water. I have been waiting for these moments and they were very cool. I knew they would love them and I think I waited long enough to show them.

Little do they know I have a whole box full of 3.5" dolls just waiting to be opened to continue the saga...

Freezing Anticipation: Part 13 of the Drummer's Almanac

The brothers Goble and I got together recently to jam out some tunes we have always wanted to play or thought would be fun. Well, not many of them were fun. In fact a couple of them were boring because we don;t have vocals or the parts aren't fun to play.

We started with Kingdom Come's "Should I". Cool guitar riff and Zeppelin-like vocals, but it didn't make for a real rockin' time. AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" was a little more raucous, yet it was still missing the screaming vocals to finish it out. We threw in a blues song for kicks so Rich could solo. We nailed that one and moved on to The Guess Who's "No Sugar Tonight". A nice grooving song that feels good but, we were missing the organ which carries a lot of the song.

Finally, we got to the magnum opus, Rush's "Freewill". At first listen, it's a terribly difficult song having a 13/8 time signature and all. Rich played one note in the wrong place and it threw Donovan and I completely off. We reviewed the song again and Rich got it. We started again, but only made it through the first verse. Rush is known for it's muscal complexities and now we know why. I already know each and every fill in the entire song, but that doesn't matter if I can't play them. My hands froze up on me and I rushed the song several times in anticipation of the next fill. It was almost painful, yet we trudged along. It had now become a challenge to get through this song. We ended up making it to the bridge part about halfway through the song. That's where things get real complicated, so we decided to work on it individually until we get back together.

It's funny how you think you will handle something and then you react in a totally unexpected way. It told me to go back to woodshed and blister my hands until I get it right. It also told me it is good to stretch out and learn new things that challenge me and push me to my limits.