Hey, Hey, Hey... They Wanna be Rock Stars

First real gig = Complete

Technical difficulties = Minimal

Stage Presence = Fabulous

Lighting = Next on the Purchase List

New Gear = Certainly Worth the Expenditure

Rockability = TOTAL!

The kids rocked their first gig. They sounded great on all eight of their songs, and things went really smoothly. The only big problem they had was Erin's drum kit sliding on the floor when she kicked the bass drum. Every once in a while, Miah would scoot over and shove her drums back to her with his foot. The silver lining is that she now knows she can drum with her legs stretched as far out as they go! We'll be sure to pack a 'drum rug' in the gear in the future.

I had every intention of posting video of their show. I even remembered to take the video camera. The only thing I forgot? A tape to put in it. I'm pretty sure it got recorded by someone who actually managed to think of everything, so I'll see if I can get a copy and post it.

What rock show would be complete without the roadie, groupie, and FOB (friend of the band)?!? The kids brought one of each! Their roadie = the friend who loaded the van for them. He has wicked spatial relations skills. Their groupie = Miah's best friend who sat in front of the PA speaker and had ringing ears all night. That's devotion, my friends. Their FOB = Alex the vocal and guitarist's best friend, who used to play with the kids at the School of Rock. Oh! I almost forgot the audience! They played for around 30 people who were at Caffe Niche to celebrate Alex's 16th birthday. Luckily for his mother, the only pedal he'll be pushing to the metal right now is his guitar pedal!

First gig down... ready for the next!

Depraved Indifference

The kids are playing their first gig that isn't sponsored by the Academy tomorrow. They are EXCITED! Come to think of it, I am as well! We've been shopping for PA systems, cords, and new cymbals this weekend to flesh out their gear so they can set up a show on their own. They also started building their "web presence"... go check them out at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1239297968&ref=profile and http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=454789402.

You can send them an email at depravedindifference@rocketmail.com.

Come listen to them play tomorrow at Caffe Niche (799 E 300 S in Salt Lake) at 7:00 p.m. I'd love company!

Wedding Planner!

I am not a photographer. I'm not a baker. I'm not a graphics designer. I'm not a wedding planner. Except... my cousin Colby is marrying the sweetest girl I've ever met (Nakita), and my aunt and uncle thought I would be perfect as their wedding planner. Wow! I'm totally honored... and scared out of my mind! So... first things first... we need to do some invitations. My mom says "Why don't you take them and your camera and go get some shots that might work for their invitation?" What she didn't add was "their invitation that you are going to make using your limited Photoshop skills". Okee-doke, I'm on it! You would be amazed at the amount of knowledge you can glean from the Internet on just about anything you need to know how to do. Slowly but surely, my SKILLZ are growing. Unfortunately for me, our family has set a high, high bar to hurdle over in the photography department: my sister-in-law, Amelia (http://www.amelialyon.net/), my other sister-in-law, Rachel (http://opdahlphotographyblog.blogspot.com/), my other sister-in-law, Heather (http://hjmbrown.blogspot.com/), and Trav's cousin, Jeramy (http://www.freckletonphotography.blogspot.com/) are all photographers. NO PRESSURE THERE!



I'm having so much fun planning their wedding - I'm thinking Trav and I should have a re-do.(With each other, of course!) Nakita is so easygoing I have to keep reminding her that if she tells me she likes every idea I have, she's going to end up with MY perfect wedding! I'd like to add - for the record - this will be the first wedding I've been involved in where Mom and I aren't making all of the line dresses. We'll only be making one flower girl dress... or maybe two. And, also for the record, although Erin and I are taking cake decorating classes, my skills in that area aren't good enough (YET) to feel confidant about making a wedding cake to be shown in public.

More Dirty Antics

This week just seems to get better and better. Wednesday afternoon I got a call from the owner of the company that cleans my house. He has rescheduled my clean for THIS Thursday, in light of the fact I cancelled last week (due to the floor and all available surfaces being covered with dusty knick-knacks). Ooookay. Thursday... um, well... we're still on the tail end of finishing our project, I let him know. He replied that he's really trying to keep his crews working, and yes, we can reschedule again, but if there's any way... Alright, no problem. If I threaten the kids with no parties if they don't help me pick up, and I beg Trav to pitch in, we can pull it off and get things moved around enough to at least get the toilets cleaned. (Toilets are something I'm allergic to cleaning, I'm sure!) He's overjoyed when he tells me they'll be here around 11:00 in the morning. I woke up this morning planning on working from 5:00 until 11:00, finishing the picking-up. I'm not at all worried - I had plenty of time. Except that I really didn't. At the last minute, I realized that I wasn't going to have it picked up, and it was going to be embarrassing to hang out at the house while they pick up after my slobby self. Uh uh, no way, totally unacceptable, I'm leaving. Except... I haven't left myself enough time to hop in the shower. Again! I'm about to leave my home and head out into PUBLIC unbathed and unbrushed for the second time this week! And this time, a quick trip to the local Walmart isn't going to cut it, as it will take them HOURS to pick up what I've left out. Brainstorm time. Where can a dirty, stinky woman go hang out for two hours and not run into anybody she knows?!? I hurried and grabbed a couple baskets off the top of the gargantuan laundry pile and I ran out the door to the local COIN-OP LAUNDROMAT! Luckily, it's nearly deserted and I'm feeling pretty proud of myself, as I'm killing a number of proverbial birds with one stone. I'm hiding from the housekeepers, avoiding searing the flesh off of most members of the race with my stench, AND pecking away at the Montezuma sized mound of filthy clothes. Go me! As an added double bonus, Trav has at least three pair of clean underpants and I got to sit around and read my book for two hours straight. Score!
Tomorrow I'm showering the instant I leave the bed...

The Underpants Panic

We have had a crazy two weeks here at the house while we've been putting in our beautiful (and done!) new floor in our living room and library. Every room in the house has suffered for our project's sake - either by being filled with shelves, knick-knacks and books, or by having its routine picking-up neglected because our time has been spent in the project rooms. The laundry room has been no exception! I have done ZERO batches of laundry in the last 17 days. This wouldn't be the end of the 'Clean Clothes World' normally, except that the week before we started I didn't do as many batches as I should have (read that as zero as well), and the week before that we were playing in Disneyland - where, not surprisingly, I didn't even think about the laundry. So... a month of NO LAUNDRY. This morning the inevitable happened, and Trav's underpants supply ran completely dry. (For any of you even considering making a joke about underpants + completely dry being used in the same sentence - just let it go!) My fresh-from-the-shower, wrapped-in-a-towel husband informed me that all of his underpants were M.I.A. and asked me if I would run to the store and grab him some more. Well... I was already feeling like a BAD WIFE for not having washed any of his clothes, so I didn't want to tell him that I simply could not run to the store for him because I hadn't showered, or brushed my hair. Or my teeth. I did try to offer up a few solutions first, such as him digging to the bottom of the drawer for the weird, funky pair we all keep there. He's worn those already. Oh. Maybe he could slide his yesterday pair back on? Inexcusable. Hmm. Okay, what if he just went without them just for today and I promise I'll wash some? Uh uh, no way, TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. Alrighty then, I guess stinky me running to the store is the only workable option. I hopped in my car, considered running to Target, where I would normally run for such things - if I were clean. Uh uh, no way, totally unacceptable! They know me by name there, and it's a certainty that someone I know will see me and want to chat. And it's also a certainty that if I even crack my lips enough to smile, the toxic sludge living in my mouth this morning would seep out and flay the flesh from the face of said person that knows me. Nope, no Target. Also no Kohl's, for the same reasons. Our men's underpants suppliers within running range of our house are pretty limited, and there was only one more available option... I ran into the Walmart with my tangled and greasy locks flying, my toxic sludge breath panting on the very nice greeter at the door, and my cloud of oder trailing behind me like an unwanted stepchild. Luckily, I wasn't the only one and I got in and out without being noticed!