Bryer's Song 2022

 

It's hard to know what to type when you have one of those mountain top moments. Mine was fortunate enough to be spread out over a few months, so the radiance didn't knock me on my rear, but the beam shone through all the same.

Music has been a part of me my whole life. Hence the name of my blog. I've been fortunate enough to share stages across Columbus with a lot of talented people who have all changed my life in some way. I left performance aside, however, when my son Ray was born in 2008. He is my 2nd of three, and I knew then that it was time to focus on my career and family. I've been rocking it out solo and occasionally with friends from my basement ever since. 

This June, I got a message from my long-time friend, Justin Largent, dating back to 5th grade at McVey Elementary, asking me if I'd play in a benefit show with him and his band. I didn't even think before responding that I'd be honored. He's an incredible person and drummer. We played together for years in the (cough) Gremlin Surf Band in middle and high school. Drifting musical tastes and my own ego got in our way and we broke up way back. I've been lucky enough to jam with him and our friend Blake on a few occasions, and I'd play with him anywhere. 

After some group texts working on a setlist, things got real in mid-summer as we held our first practice at his place. Intent on not, ahem, making a scene and super loud noises (folks who attended GSB shows will remember), I did my best to settle into the 8-piece lineup. In alphabetical order:

• Matt Buirley- Hell of a singer, hell of a guy. Part of the other band playing at the benefit, Next Mid-Life Krisis, he came hulking into the room at our second or third practice. I didn't know what to expect until he laid into the microphone. Fire breather, and was pretty kind to me too, which as an outsider with a fair amount of social anxiety, I appreciated a lot. 
• Chelsea Jo Calo- Well, she's the lead singer, we were the Schmoes lol. Firey and strong, and managed to carry the almost 40 songs we prepped before cutting it down to 27. I think she could tell I didn't know people well, and she made sure to keep everyone part of the team. I'll sum it up saying my wife noticed she was doing an Adele song and asked if she could pull it off. I told her yes and sent the clip. We were both (and all of us listening) very impressed. 
• Chuck Catrell- Can't get this guy to stop talking really :P  In reality, kind, courteous, says what he means and means what he says. He may have talked some (probably truthful) smack about my high school, but the second he started putting it down on Angels, Separate Ways, and countless other songs, it made me wonder how I'd never played with keys before. A true gentleman and I'm the better for having met him. Thank you for the towel on stage and getting me through my tuner freak-out. 
• Andy Kerr- This guy. I've played guitar as a hobby since 1992. He plays one little run before our first practice and I was pretty much ready to quit xD  He can play anything, and well. Did I mention he runs sound and we had a whole damn mixing board & PA at our practices? He got my monitors set up and kept me from wanting getting down on myself after the set, which is some pretty heavy lifting. Super talented, great ear for tone, and I guess he's pretty fun to hang out with too. 
• Kylie Kerr- Andy's wife? Or is he her husband? Either way I fumbled the introduction when she met Elizabeth. Hellfire club member and all around good people. While Chelsea did a knock out job on vocals, when Kylie started coming to practice, well, it sounded like angels when they hit harmonies together. Super kind individual, and exactly what the group needed. (shout out to Chuck and Andy for harmonies as well). 
• Justin Largent- Well, I introduced him above, and as the leader of the group, the benefit, and the reason we all gathered, he damn well gets a section here. The amount of logistical work that went into making this night happen was gigantic. And, no offense to anyone else in the band that I leaned on repeatedly while limping my way through 27 songs, Justin's cues always put me in the right spot. His hats and cymbals were like coins in Super Mario, showing the way to the pocket. We all know the tech issues at the venue left us with less-than-ideal mixes. I was missing a lot of his kit in my ears, and I never got settled as a result. But I know how I, and we, sounded at practice, with him right there leading the way. And it makes me look forward to the next chance we get. 
• Todd Schlaegel- Mr. Todd Schlaegel. They started in on him early with the bass player jokes, but that's fine, because he's a hell of a talent and knows it. Runs sound as well as over a decade of touring experience. He sounded good throughout and then shows up for the final practice after really nailing everything down, I was speechless. Such a kind person who will fasten your set to the earth and make it rumble, while helping with all my dumb questions. It was a pleasure sir. 

The night was like a wedding, you spend forever in preparation and then it flies by. I was maybe most upset by the fact that I missed most of Bryer's song, Lets you fly, performed by Chelsea and Chuck. I rushed to get off stage, didn't know how much time until I had to be back on to sing to open the second set, and ran to the bar to get a drink to calm my nerves. Each practice I ran through at home, I'd sit and listen to this song to remember why we were here. It punched me in the feels each time. And as I stood in line, watching and letting the emotion sink in, one of the coolest and worst-timing things of the night happened. People recognized me and put me at the front of the line. They played Bryer's tribute song while I ordered a beer. And I pretty much missed it. It was so cool to have that rock star moment I won't lie, but I'd give it back if it meant I could have heard the song proper, and been given that moment to show my love and respect for their son. 

Pause for me to stop being emotional. 

How do I sum up 3 months of work, sweat, and love that we all put into it with just a few paragraphs? I don't, to be honest. There are countless hours of stories untold. Memories good and bad. It's been a whirlwind of meeting everyone, getting prepped, practicing, putting together a whole production and playing it live. And in an instant, it's over. 

Was the set perfect? Nope. I think we all have things we'd like back, to fix, or to try again. But. Was there a large crowd of people smiling, dancing, rocking out and singing along? Hell yes. And in the moments I allowed myself to let go and just play, there's nowhere else I'd have rather been. Or be, in most cases for that matter. 

Justin, you let us all join you to feel like rock stars for a night, and I'll never be able to thank you enough for the invitation. To everyone in the Largent family, what you have built is, and will continue to be, simply beautiful. And to Bryer, whom I never had the chance to meet, I hope you enjoyed the show up there buddy. I know we all sure loved playing for you. <3

Endgame

Every year I grow older as I watch my sons do the same from afar. They go to school, make friends, develop inside jokes, and generally live their lives without the daily influence and attention from their dad. I can't control many things, but seeing these MCU movies together has grown to be quite a family tradition. So when Endgame was released close to Ray's birthday, I knew I had to make a move.

With Ray in a theater production during the opening weekends, I was faced with waiting 2-3 weeks for us all to see it, and likely have it spoiled. This didn't seem right, so I got with Eliz and we hatched the plan. We roll up to T-town and surprise him during one of his showings, then steal them for a few hours to see the movie. After some mild convincing, she was on board, and I bought the tickets.

Day of, we left rather early and made the multi hour trip up. We stopped at a combination Long John Silver / KFC. If you're into salt, this is really a nice pairing. I got the hot chicken, she ate the pickles, and she got a fish platter and we feasted. The drive up was easy, low-traffic, and we made it in plenty of time to get flowers and wonder a bit.

25 extra minutes for flower hunting turned into a waste of time as we couldn't find an open flower shop or grocery store near enough. This left just enough time to sprint to the bathroom, and make it into the auditorium on time. Ray's plays have been at the Collingwood Arts Center, a converted cathedral chock full of Hogwarts old world design and super progressive artsy people. Fun fun place. We got to say hi to Sam before the play, and shared the plan with him; he seemed quite pleased.

The play started, and immediately it became apparent that the writing and acting levels were a step above his previous plays. Ray did so well! He's always been one to pour his effort into it, memorize all of his lines when it wasn't necessary and do all he can. This effort was now coupled with a level of comfort and nature in his delivery. It was really sweet to see him perform so well because I know he loves it so much. I am so very proud of him, we all were.

After the play, Ray and I teared up as he noticed we showed up to surprise him. His mood was so bright and his happiness was contagious. We got a few pictures together, and then showed him the tickets. He got really excited, and we hung out by the stage for a bit before he got changed and we headed to the movie theater. It was funny seeing him in his street clothes but still with all the make-up on his face lol.

Our collective moods went from happy to stoked the closer we got to Fallen Timbers. Marvel conversation and dad-puns littered the air along our journey. I parked my car as far away from the theater as I could, and we went in to pee and get snacks. Peeing was important as the movie was 3hrs and we were not about to take bathroom breaks for the finale of the Avengers saga lol.

We settled into our seats and began working on slushies and popcorn as the trailers passed the time. The Rise of Skywalker trailer was particularly epic on the big screen. Then without much ado, the opening scene of Hawkeye's family ranch set the mood for what was to come. The next three hours was chock full of fist pumping, contained excitement, shaking the shit out of my sons, laughing, crying, just the full range.

The credits had hardly settled as we started our family chat about the movie, breaking it all down, our favorite parts, what worked, what didn't. I typically reserve my judgement for a movie for 6 months to a year as they have a way of gaining or losing charm with multiple viewings. And I understand I am about to lose an amount of credibility with movie connoisseurs, but I care not. Shawshank Redemption has long stood as the movie I enjoyed the most overall since I saw it. I enjoyed Endgame more. It did more. It made me laugh, hard. It made me angry. It made me cry several times. The visuals were insane. The use of color and contrast. And it made me want to punch a hole in the sky from sheer elation. Say what you will, this movie pushed my boundaries of what I thought possible on film, and I've never enjoyed any other form of entertainment quite as much as I did this one.

That should have signaled the end of Ray's birthday surprise, but I couldn't let it. Like the great night out with friends when you stay up til sunrise because the company and times are just too good to sleep on. We walked through the outdoor mall talking about the movie. We went to Red Robin and smashed burgers and shakes so we could talk about the movie. All of us were all smiles and just enjoying one of the better days our foursome has ever spent together. Appropriately so, for the last Avengers movie.

In 2012 when we were fairly new, cramped in the condo, Smom as a new idea, the Avengers became a thing we could all get behind and enjoy together. We hunted down all the action figures. We all claimed our heroes. We got all the dress-up toys. As the years went on we got themed Halloween family outfits (we actually trick or treated as the Avengers in our current neighborhood before we even lived there). Instead of a unity candle at our wedding, we all placed our Avengers' Lego hero on a scene together. It's just a thing.

Sam: Iron Man. Cool, calculating, smart as hell and uses his brain to gain advantages over his adversaries.
Ray: Hulk. Smash, just tear shit up. But also super endearing, smart as hell, and has a great heart.
Smom: Black Widow. Dressed in black, aesthetic. A badass, but get to know her and is a total softy.
Dad: Captain America. Team leader, but a real dork and gets made fun of. Looks good in a white t-shirt.
Jules: Spider-man. Late addition, but really spunky and fun to be around.
Remy: Thor. A 5lb chihuahua in a Thor outfit, nuff said.

I'm 37 years old. I've seen a lot. I've done a lot. It takes something decently special to grab my attention. I am seriously so thankful to the MCU and the Russo brothers, for taking such good care of this series. I've seen so many bad finales, or series that just drop the damn ball at some point. But Infinity War and Endgame were such a beautiful and energetic end to something that defined the childhoods of my oldest boys, as I got to experience it: one weekend at a time. 

I love you guys. I hope we stay as great a team as we've always been. Avengers Assemble. 'nuff said.

Staycation 2017

Yes! A genuine staycation. I take two separate weeks off each year to return to the land of the living and pretend I'm not linked to the proverbial yoke. The Christmas times off are a bit of a wash. While it's my favorite time of year, there's no real sense of being "off" as we dart from house to house to house visiting everyone. Last summer's week off kicked off with moving into our new home and spending the remaining days unpacking. This past week, on the other hand, was truly relaxing.

Sunday July 2

We had already kicked off my 9 day vacay with our little family unit, but were able to pick up Sam and Ray on Sunday. Jojo rode up with me to surprise them. Sunny skies and light traffic made for an almost pleasant trip home. We had big plans for the week, so upon our return we all just watched Moana as a family for the first time (albiet the 15th for Eliz, Jules and I). I love that movie. I may or may not tear up every time she sings How far I'll go.

Monday July 3

Heath pool ya'll. It was Jules' introductory year, and it didn't disappoint. Like his dad, kid is obsessed with water. He took right to playing in all the splash pads, but it took him awhile to realize that he could walk in the shallow water. He just stood still and looked around confused. By the end of the day, he was wading up to his chin and had to be forcibly removed from the pool. Sam went down the big twisty slide, and Ray took it upon himself to try the drop slides and both the high and low dives. Brave little ones. Eliz and I retreated to the house while the boys stayed with Jojo and Felicia at the Newark fireworks. They texted us that Ray proudly ate an entire funnel cake. In the morning they texted us the puddle of vomit he left on their bathroom floor as a result.

Tuesday July 4

Kind of the hit of the week. Our little neighborhood had a 4th of July parade and the boys decided they would like to decorate the wagon and pull Jules. It was about as cute as it gets. It had stars, stripes, and little cut out letters that read 4th of July. The police and fire department led the parade around the loop. They must have been in a hurry as they took off with the kids on bikes and left most of us behind. No matter. I had equipped the wagon with a bluetooth speaker and we marched on to Lee Greenwood's God Bless the USA. At the end they had cookies, and Little Hugs to drink. Little Hugs! Guess what? Little Hugs suck in 2017. Another reason why the 80s are way better than this jerkass decade. Pooled-out from the day before, we spent the heat of the day lounging in conditioned air before carting our sparklers and smoke bombs to Jojo's for an evening of shenanigans. Takeaways: Jules likes playing with fire (both literally and metaphorically), Ray is a wild man and should be supervised even with tame fireworks, and Sam, while cautious, is a sure bet not to intentionally injure himself.

Wednesday July 5

As if we hadn't had enough excitement yet, we awoke to make grand plans for the day. While deciding between Young's Dairy and the Newport Aquarium, a quick google mapping revealed that Young's was roughly on the way to Newport. A two-for-Wednesday was born. A miscalculation on my end coupled with Eliz' famous ability to underestimate how long it takes to get ready meant we had about 35 minutes to spend at Young's Dairy. Word to the wise, this is not long enough. The ice cream was creamy, and outside they had a few free farm attractions. Jules could not get enough time behind the wheel of an old tractor, and they all got to feed goats and see cows. Young's has a putt-putt and a potato-sack slide that I intend to experience when we return. Past Yellow Springs we drove by a train-themed splash pad that we also want to go to at some point. Newport aquarium is an interesting place. It's cool enough that you want to visit it occasionally, but it's not cool enough that you feel great about having driven 2 hours to get there. Oh, and when you're done, you get to drive 2 hours to get home. The boys all had some ahh moments, but I think if I didn't have Dewey's pizza afterwards I may not have enjoyed myself as much.

Thursday July 6

Having blown most of our budget of both energy and money for the week, Thursday took a turn down Chill lane. In fact, we penciled in the word chill to a great number of slots on our Staycation calendar. I took the boys for a ride past a few of our family's old houses and went to visit the graveyard where a few of my grandparents rest. We spent the late-afternoon at my Grandma Charlotte's house, and it is amazing how a bin of old toys can still amaze my children in this age where Kindles rule. I love her dearly and appreciate getting to spend time with her. Having blown right through dinner time, we ordered pizza on the way home and downloaded Big Hero 6 and spent the rest of the evening chilling.

Friday July 7

When the boys lived at home with me, we spent a great deal of time playing with toy cars. While amassing a nice Hot Wheels collection, we must have watched the Cars movie 20-30 times together on DVD. Cars 3 came out this summer, and I was touched when the boys said they wanted to wait to see it with me. We left Jules & Smom at home for this one and headed to our favorite movie theater. Keeping spoilers out, watching Lightning's maturation process along side my babies who are now pre-teens was more emotionally than I had bargained for. It was my dad moment for the week, and a beautiful one at that. Thank you boys for coming with me.

Saturday July 8

Slip. And. Slide. We resurrected an old tradition of slinging ourselves down 100ft of sheet plastic in my parents' backyard. When we were deciding on activities for the week, the boys opted to cut out a few other traditions in favor of this one. It's a blast. It's always a blast. This year I fiddled around and added a wonky pool to the bottom. We tried to bolster it with bags of mulch, but some serious re-engineering will be required. I also need to figure out a way to keep the slide from shifting down the sides. Our buddy also came down and brought his GT350 for me to see for the first time. That is an incredible machine, but I can't let him know that.

Sunday July 9

We did chores most all of the day. What started as a good team effort degraded into the usual bitching from Sam about having to do any work. He's a lot like I was at that age in that regard. I have no idea how to get though to him, because nothing ever got through to me. Chores suck, and like yardwork, are best left for retirement. Around noon I was disassembling the parade wagon decorations that served as a physical reminder that my vacation was at an end. Being stubborn, I convinced the wife that we had to hang on to our remaining hours. We had another family movie night with Cars, ka-chow. With the kids in bed, we had a few drinks and played video games until too late on a work night.

Time is slipping away. I'm a year older, and again roughly another 6 months from a week's reprieve. But this was a week well spent. I am rested. My family has more memories together. And I want to sock every penny I can into our home so we can retire and make this a permanent thing.

Vacation

As night fell across the Magic Kingdom, I watched my oldest son of 10 run ahead of me adorned with requisite Mickey ears atop his ever-growing head. Time paused for a moment as the universe seemed to tell me that this was a point in time that I'd never have back. It sounds magical, but in truth, my son was running ahead as he was about to shit himself, and I was grumpy that we had to backtrack 5 minutes to find the nearest bathroom. But the image of him in that park with that silly hat made me take pause and remember why we were here. I get precious few moments with my two oldest boys, and this was a beautiful one. I'm thankful that it reset my mood so we could enjoy our last few hours in the park.

Sometime around January of 2015, we announced to the boys that we were going to start saving our money for a trip to Disney World and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. For two years, they along with us, scrimped and saved up for the trip. They should be quite proud that they managed to come up with the money for their tickets and some extra for nifty gifties.

Waking everyone up at 3:30a to catch our 6a flight out of Columbus was easier than I thought. I wasn't alone in my excitement, and Grandma Vicki's Honda Element Express arrived promptly at 4a to whisk us away to CMH. As we taxied to the runway, Ray was glued to the window as Sam slowly shrunk into my lap. The take-off really got to him, but once we were airborne he had a lot of fun. Arriving in a warm weather climate after leaving cold weather is so nice. I picked our flights to give us some bonus time on travel days, and we spent the first one getting pizzas from a place called Flippers. Really good stuff, made to order, and I'll never turn down a Peroni in an Italian restaurant. The boys went nuts for a few hours at the resort pool as Eliz and I drank our alcohol from buckets. The Floridays resort had lost a bit of its luster, but that evening was as good as any I've spent relaxing.

Our first day at Island of Adventure was an interesting one. Each mishap seemed to be followed by a high point. We forgot the effing tickets to the park, and Eliz scrambled to get on her phone and they got us in. We rushed back to Hogsmeade and the boys were in awe of the snow-capped rooftops and Hogwarts Castle, that is until we learned that the Castle ride was out of order. So off we went to Ollivander's to save the experience, and the boys were chosen for the wand ceremony! Sam's wand wilted the flowers, and Ray's made the bells go crazy. I fought back the tears and gripped Eliz' shoulder so tight I thought I'd left bruises. And when it came time to make purchase of the wands, Sam for reasons unknown, turned down the offer. You're killing me smalls. Some things I'll never understand about my kids.

I dragged my reluctant children through the line for the Dragons roller coaster because I'm a dad. While Sam seemed sheepish, he quietly boarded the coaster. Meanwhile Ray proceeded to flip out and repeatedly scream from the top of his lungs, "I don't want to die"! Eliz and I were seriously second guessing the whole trip at this point. His screaming turned to laughing during the actual ride, and after we finished he couldn't shut up about how awesome it was. Some things I'll never understand about my kids.

We had a blast over the three days we spent at Universal. Diagon Alley was a wonder. You really get the sense that you're in a hidden section of streets in London. The boys had a blast with all the simulator rides, but Spider-man seemed to be the hit. I may have preferred Gringotts though, I'm a sucker for magic (and that dragon is fantastic). The most memorable moment may have been when Sam cast the Aguamenti charm at an interactive fountain at the park and a sizable shot of water landed square on Eliz' head. It was a bulls-eye for the ages. I bought her firewhiskey as a consolation prize.

We spent 3 of our 4 park days at Universal since the kids were more well versed in Marvel and Harry Potter. But much like our Honeymoon, Disney rose up and simply stole the show. The Magic Kingdom has less thrilling rides, no simulators, and nowhere near the comprehensive plan for immersing visitors into a world. Somehow, by sheer charm and old school marvels, they manage to make you love them more. Eliz and I always felt this way, and much to our surprise, after just a few hours the boys agreed.

We planned to open and close the park, which allotted us 16 human hours in Mickey's playhouse, and we did just that. From ride #1, Peter Pan, the boys were hooked. Yes, they upped the ante with the line going through the house in London, replete with Tink flittering about the children's toys and dressers. But the true magic happens on the god-knows-how-many-decades-old ride when you fly over a model of London, and through haphazardly painted dioramas of the Peter Pan tale. It just grips me. I don't even know if I've seen the movie all the way through, and it's my favorite ride in the park.

In less than 90 minutes, we hit Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Buzz Lightyear. Getting there early pays off. Next time, I'm staying on location to get another early hour. I literally beat Eliz by a factor of 100 on the Buzz Lightyear ride. I giggled for about 10 minutes. The longest wait we had was for Space Mountain. The boys were getting a little nervous before this one as well, but they had a great time. I enjoyed it much more at 10:30a than I did at 8a first thing during our honeymoon.

We had the day mapped out much better this time. Restaurant reservations are a must, and even though the Liberty Tree Tavern was a bust, dinner at Tony's more than made up for it. Don't get me wrong, you spend Cameron Mitchell prices for Applebee's food, but when the alternative is cafeteria hot dogs, sitting down for 30 mins at Tony's is a win. After dinner was our mad dash to the finish. Crowds had died down, and we had until midnight to hit the rest of the rides on our list. Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo, Seven Dwarfs, Speedway cars under the fireworks, Haunted Mansion again, and closed the day out the way we started: Peter Pan.

The ride had some malfunctions, and we waited in line for a long time. The boys were falling asleep at our feet. Exhausted, we asked the boys if they wanted to leave and the both said they wanted to stay and ride one more time, bless their hearts. We toured London and Neverland in our little ships, and soaked up every last ounce of bad paint and magic. After the ride, we walked back thru Main St. USA and turned around to get a last view of Cinderella's Castle. Damn, that thing is majestic. The silhouettes of the boys' Mickey ears against the backdrop of the lit castle gave me the perfect punctuation to our vacation. It's a moment in time of our boys being boys before they grow into men. We took them at the perfect age, and I'm thankful for the stories that we'll get to wear out on unwilling listeners for decades to come.

Staycation 2016

Well, this was a different sort of stay home break from work.

On a typical year, as I have done for the past few summers, I take a week off to stay home with my boys and make my best attempt at showing them how great a summer in Westerville can be. I did the same this past week, only with two major changes. I now have a third baby boy in tow, and on the first day of this vacation, we moved into our new home. Needless to say, many of our normal traditions were tossed out the window as we scrambled to unpack boxes and set up shop so we could eat and sleep.

Sunday, July 3

After a rush of moving from my parents' basement, getting into the house, having our buyers back out of the condo purchase, then getting back in contract within hours of relisting, enjoying our first housewarming gift with my brother & his wife (Woodford Reserve), wading through boxes, finding parts for beds, priming and painting the boys' room to cover up pink and lime green (!), I took a breath, and headed off for Toledo Ohio to fetch my kin. In typical style, I lied to them all the way home, telling them they'd have to live with pink paint and that I wasn't sure where they'd be sleeping. They were pretty elated when they saw it was all set up. Sam walked all through the house taking a picture of each new room. After all the work, it made me so happy to see that they liked it. Ray went out into the backyard and did a few sprints with plenty of room to spare. A big reason for the move was to get them some more space, and to get into a neighborhood where they could let loose. It filled my heart to see them get to enjoy it all so quickly.

Monday, July 4

This was a pretty big shopping day. After 3 days in the new place, we had determined quite a few items in need of procurement. I went electric on a lawnmower, so far so good. No gas. We dragged the boys to Target. We bought a bunch of boring house items, but the boys were more than thrilled with the folding papasans that helped complete their rec room. Since they still had to share a bedroom, we made it a priority to set up a place where they could spread out and play without being on top of one another. We also picked up a store-bought fireworks set for the evening. Asparagus, strawberries, and brats on the back patio satisfied my need for a break from pizza. We didn't have the Westerville fireworks extravaganza in our front yard any longer, but it was more than adequate to enjoy family, sparklers, smoke bombs, and a few neighborhood patriots who shot off some impressive fireworks of their own. 

Tuesday, July 5

Costco day. It had been over a month that we made a real shopping trip, so I loaded up all three boys and headed out. We were rolling two carts deep: one for the baby/toilet paper, one for the food. The boys were a great help, we finished in an hour and capped the trip with a slice of pizza. Home we went so I could keep unpacking. The boys were becoming increasingly vocal about wanting to finish their rec room (I can't blame them, Disney Infinity awaits). That evening we shuffled some furniture around the house to get them set up, and after they very cutely and efficiently arranged their own toys, they were up and running! Between that, and their new bedroom, they were in hog heaven.

Wednesday, July 6

It was hot and muggy: a wonderful Ohio summer mainstay. I was able to try out the new mower, but was generally irritable as I was working outside. I broke the monotony by telling the boys to go out in the backyard and clean up their mess from earlier. But the mess was actually a bucket of water balloons, and by cleaning, I meant throwing them. I blasted them both at point blank, only to then tell them they'd be dead if they hit me back as I walked away. It was surreal to see them run around in the yard playing the same way I did when I was a kid. Visions such as these make all the work worth it. 

Thursday, July 7

We probably did something this day, but all I remember is cardboard boxes and plastic totes. I did, however, get some good Puffin Rock time in with Jules that afternoon :)

Friday, July 8

After spending most of the week trying to unpack while caring for an 8 month old and keep track of two boys, I decided it was time to get out and do something fun. Jules went to Nana's house for the day, and I took the kiddos out for some minor adventure. I decided to treat myself to a drum-kit makeover and spent an hour or so toying around at the music stores. Afterward, we hit up the Westerville batting cages and knocked some balls around. I am really bad at baseball. Much to my delight, I asked the boys if they like Chipotle, and they said they did! We had a great lunch together, then came back to the house to set up my music room. Having a room for playing has been a dream of mine, and with this new house it is becoming a reality. With my amps set up, and guitars hung, we settled in for some frozen pizzas and watched Ant-man to round out the evening.

Saturday, July 9

Saturday, I took the day to have some "me" time, as my brother and a buddy were coming down to play music. I spent the morning getting the house ready-ish to host, which mainly involved taking boxes out of rooms and putting them into others. By 4p, the first official jam session was happening. I've had all the stuff for years, but couldn't play in a condo with shared walls. We were able to turn up and really have a good time. It's a really nice stress release every now and again to let it rip. When the boys got back from the pool, we had pizza (again) and everyone listened to some records and played frisbee outside. To cap off the night, my brother had a fire on his patio. It was nice to only have to walk 3 doors down to enjoy it, as well as to stumble my way back to go to bed. 

Sunday, July 10

Last day off. I can't believe how fast it went, or that we had lived in the house for over a week. It felt like one endless day of unpacking, and it still wasn't finished. In between getting stuff done, the boys and I went for a wonderful bike ride over to a local park. We connect to a bike path, and it's going to be great having access to so many places with it. The local fire station has a water shack for bikers which is a nice touch. When we came back, it was amazing to see Ray, and then Sam be older brothers to Jules. Ray has a natural way of playing with him, and Sam really stepped up and helped me watch him while I finished clearing out the garage. We went for a walk around the neighborhood and talked about life; Sam has a bright future ahead of him. After dinner, we had a wet and wild backyard bonanza which basically consisted of Jules in a blow-up pool and they boys smashing water balloons. Bunch-o-balloons are an amazing time-saving invention, but I think it robs these kids of the appreciation I had for a water balloon when I was young. They went through about 60 of them in under 10 minutes. 

Monday, July 11

Well, back to work and reality after a week long working honeymoon at the Casa di Mara. My mom treated the boys to a trip to the Lego Store at Easton, as well as the AMC dine-in theatre to see Secret Life of Pets. I was entirely jealous. For the evening, we had a Harry Potter night. The Sorcerer's Stone is far longer than I expected: nearly 3 hours! We snuggled up on the couch and shared a magical viewing session, that is until I fell asleep during the movie.

Tuesday, July 12

My mom took all three kiddos to the Zoo. I imagine they saw many animals or varying shapes and sizes. We received our request-to-remedy for the condo, so I took Sam with me to do some minor work. He read the instructions for Stratego on the way there and back. He's also becoming a pretty adept helper. When we got back, I played my first match of Stratego with Sam. It was a throwback to a time I played my neighbor on his back porch when I was a kid. Ray watched as Dad destroyed his son, and walked away to let the boys duke it out themselves. They played several more times during the week. 

Wednesday, July 13

The boys had a water balloon fight at Grandma Vicki's. At home, Ray wanted to do his geode kit. There wasn't much to it, he put on the glasses and smacked them with a hammer. The results were pretty however. We plan to decorate the headstone at Gigi's grave with them soon. When I was a kid, I found buckets full of flint, and used it to decorate my Grandfathers' stones. The boys know this story well and are eager to continue the tradition to pay their respects.

Thursday, July 14

Paw Paw, Grammy, Danica all arrived in town in the afternoon to spend the weekend with us. It was the boys' last night with me as they would be picked up while I was at work on Friday. I didn't see them much, as having a cousin in the house makes for a good opportunity to play hard. We enjoyed a big family meal (skillet brats, don't count 'em out), and I rounded out the evening by doing "our favorite thing" of the staycation. It was good to reminisce, as I saw that amidst all the unpacking, we did manage to have a good time. 

Saturday, July 16

I skipped a day, but it wasn't until after Eliz' dad left that I felt the void of an empty house. Jules was terribly constipated and having a terrible time, and it hit me that after two weeks the boys weren't with us full time. It was quiet. It felt off, like my soul was hungry. Typical ending I suppose, but I love you boys more than you know. Thank you for breaking-in our new home with so much energy and love.

PS- Jules finally pooped that night. Crapsplosion. After such a terrible 30 hours, it gave me such relief to see him back to his normal self.

Foxx Tone Machine

Playing guitar and buying equipment are two pastimes in my immediate family history. I was in 3rd or 4th grade at our old house, and remember my dad pulling his pre CBS Jazzmaster out of wherever he had it stored to reveal to us that he played guitar when he was younger. To a young boy cutting his teeth on Nevermind, Use Your Illusion, and the Black Album, he might as well have donned a cape and spandex.

As the next few years went on, and my brother and I began to play and acquire gear for ourselves, while exploring Dad's old junk. Or at least we thought it was junk. The aforementioned Jazzmaster, a 60s Blackface Deluxe Reverb, and a Foxx Tone Machine fuzz pedal, total value on today's market pushing $10,000; all of which were sold (pause for tears). The Foxx Tone Machine was a nasty fuzz/octave pedal to begin with, and his was in ill repair which made it even worse. At the time, we all laughed at the outdated technology and sound, as we tossed it aside and moved on to more modern distortions and effects. 

He sold the pedal, and a few decades went by without giving much thought about it. A few years back, it crossed my mind and I began to watch videos to see what was what. My ears and mind were blown away by the "thick ocean" of fuzz, which when agitated by the octive* switch (misspelled on the original release), unleashed a raspy lighting god snarl that would make children cry. I had to have one. A quick eBay search revealed that original Tone Machines went for $400 - $700, and inferior reissues for around $300. A more in depth hunt showed me that the owner of Danelectro was actually the designer of the original Tone Machine, and had released a cheap replica of the circuit, called a French Toast, to the tune of $40. Click. Buy it now. Shipped. Fuzz heaven. 

I played it in spurts, the sound was nearly identical, but the quality of the pedal housing was crap. A month ago I decided to pull the guts from the Dano and research parts/theory to rewire it with good components in a metal housing. When all the parts had made their way to my house, I set up shop at my desk and began the process of desoldering the junk from the effects board and researching how to wire it back up. While much of the theory is still above my pay grade, I got quite the education on electronics during this process. I also grew angry and disappointed often as I encountered speed bumps of all kinds. 

Yes, I know it's ugly...

During the removal of the trim pots and other components, I was also getting initial practice with a soldering iron. Bad time to learn, and I damaged many traces on the board. On day two I wired in a few pots, and by day three I had wired ins/outs, leds, 3pdt switches for both fuzz and octave. Trial run, could it be this easy? Plugged everything in aaaaaaand... nothing. No power, no signal, but my true bypass was wired correctly and I had a clean tone when disengaged :) With no multimeter, I tried to logic my way through the trouble shooting, rewiring to points past traces I had lifted, checking joints, etc. Tried again: nothing. This process continued for a few days until I broke down and purchased a meter. I spent an evening or two poking around checking continuity and voltages. Total $$ invested was well over $150 at this point and it appeared as though I was making no headway. 

Friday evening, after a long drive I escaped to the basement to play with the meter some more, on the verge of throwing the aluminum brick hard into a dumpster. I couldn't figure out why no power was reading through the DC jack. On a whim, I removed the shitty jack from the Danelectro board and wired it to my new build. POWER. Holy cow, the Hallelujah Chorus erupted and I dashed to my amp to test it. It made fuzz sounds. Even better. The switches were not wired properly, but that was a quick fix and I made plans for Saturday to finish the wiring and purchase a new jack. 

Saturday morning I took my eldest to the nearest Radio Shack, purchased a jack, and spent the car ride talking circuits. Got home, wired up the new jack outside the box, POWER. That settled it, with switches wired properly, I mounted the jack to the box and made a final test; it didn't work. Christ. To the internet, and I should have realized, metal jack, metal housing, I was sending all my volts directly to ground. The following day I insulated the jack with some rubber O-rings and electrical tape, spent some time sorting out the wiring of the pots, and at long last, everything functioned without major issue. Phew.

That afternoon I removed the guts, and made a first attempt at flocking the housing with my middle son. It was a messy rush job, I was trying to fit too much into our weekend. Luckily, most folks online suggest a second coat. It didn't end up perfect, but the second coat left it pretty well covered and thick. Most importantly, it was fuzzy.

As the final coat dried, I took to Gimp (freeware photo editor) to rework a Foxx label to match my rearranged pedal. I added an octave switch, and realigned the titles to match my pots/inputs layout. I printed it on an ID card maker, the label is plastic, but gets the idea across. I had to reduce the size significantly to make it fit between my components. That's what I get for not planning ahead, but oh well.

Last but not least, I bolted the guts back into the flocked housing, tested it to be sure it was working, and once I was assured she was sound, hot glued the logo to the pedal. So, many weeks of money, research, work, and headaches later, I had my take on a Foxx Tone Machine. My version has LEDs, true bypass, 100k pots, and a footswitch for the Octive control. Satisfied with my work, I got reacquainted with the pedal in its new skin. It is a rich and thick tone, which gets beautifully nasty with the Octive engaged. It begged for some Hendrix, Nirvana, and a staple in our household, the riff to Blue Oyster Cult's Godzilla. Somehow, looking down while playing and seeing a replica Foxx housing made the sonic experience more satisfying.

This effort boils down to a bit of a tribute to my dad. The Tone Machine is piece 1 of 3 to rebuilding the rig that got my brother and I into guitar in the first place. It's certainly not a perfect build, but the imperfections will be part of the story. I love the sound, feel a bit more connected to my history as I play it, and hell, I'm getting a lot out of it just looking at the damn thing.

3/28/16 Edit. While functioning sound wise, I've discovered it has a nasty habit of burning out power supplies. I am getting some advise from the friendly folks at DIYstompboxes.com  Pictures below are for troubleshooting purposes.

Christmas 2015

Wednesday, December 23

Who likes waking up at 3a for a 4a start to a road trip with a two-month-old? This guy. One of the better decisions I made this holiday season (and between you and I, that is saying something.) Hardly any traffic, just beat rush hour in Indy, and we were in Columbia in time for coffee. Jerry snagged Jules as soon as we got there and they proceeded to nap together several times throughout the afternoon. It was a pretty lazy day, and I appreciated that. Arriving at her Dad's house, Renee put together a gift package of baby supplies which came quite in handy, as we had forgotten to pack a great deal of care items. 

Thursday, December 24

Christmas Eve in Waterloo. It was a cozy and relaxing day. Eliz' Dad kept asking if we were bored, but I think we were both quite content to just sit around and enjoy each other's company. Eliz watched It's a Wonderful Life for somehow the first time in her life. Jimmy Stewart screaming "Merry Christmas" sounds much like a Raptor. Eliz' whole family came over to her Dad's to meet the baby. Her Dad smoked a turkey and it was delicious. Jules, on the other hand, decided not to sleep very much, which kept us up most of the night. C'est la vie. 

Friday, December 25

Christmas in Columbia, IL. I'd been around for one of these before, but this was the first time for an actual December 25th to my recollection. We had biscuits and gravy for breakfast. Well, biscuits, gravy, eggs, OJ, sausage, cookies, the works. It hit the spot. Her family seemed to fly in and fly out, but looking at the clock, 5 hours passed in no time. Seeing Meaghan's backward stocking always gives me a laugh. We flipped it around so it faced the same direction as the rest, but then her name was hidden. It's a win/win situation if you ask me. We made a quick stop at Great Aunt Delores' house before getting back to Chez Dell. An elf fixed the toilet before putting on the family personalized pajamas, and headed to sleep at 6p. Great day, great trip back to Illinois. 

Saturday, December 26

I did a little bit of driving that day. 2a wake up call Central Time to make the trip back to Columbus. Upon arrival I took a nap for an hour or two before loading up some drums and heading north for my now annual Christmas Jam/Sleepover at Ed's house. He had a few friends over and as per usual he got me to drink more than I had planned. We gave Elizabeth a few holiday tunes in the key of Heavy for her Facetime concert. She always gets so excited for those. 

Sunday, December 27

I picked up the boys around 10a, and we swung by Meijer to pick up Christmas breakfast and an angel for Grandma Morrisey. We started off our "Christmas Eve" by visiting the cemetery. I miss my grandma a lot, and not having her around for Christmas still feels wrong. At my mom's house, we ate a lot of italian lunch meats, and I'm pretty sure she had purchased every flavor of Pringles available in the lower 48 states. I tried to prolong the wait as long as I could, but we buckled to the pressure from the boys and opened presents. I feel as though adulthood has sunk in nearly fully, as I let presents stack around me so I could concentrate on the kiddos opening their things. The boys got new Jelly Belly's, of which each olor had a good/bad flavor. My brother and I both grabbed a black one (could have been licorice or skunk spray), we both got skunk spray. I had to spit mine out, it was like a release of toxins into my mouth. We finished off the evening with our annual viewing of A Nightmare Before Christmas. At home, the boys requested that Eliz read Santa is Coming to Ohio, and I gave yet another inspired interpretation of The Night Before Christmas. The boys left a smattering of treats out for Santa and some skim milk with ice in it. I hear he likes that sort of thing. 

Monday, December 28

The boys woke up at a reasonable hour to open stockings. We didn't have to do the usual 5a wake-up necessary for the tour of Christmases we normally do. For the first time that I can remember, I was able to have Christmas morning together with my family without the need to leave the house for other Christmases. It was magic. The hit toy was their emoji splat balls. Basically a squishy ball that splats... They played with them so much that Ray's didn't last the day :) Ray couldn't stand the wait as we made breakfast before we opened presents. He sat and stared in visible anguish at his first gift under the tree. I think everyone liked what they got. Sam was surprised by his robot, and Ray shouted when he opened his Hulk toy, only to ask what it was a few seconds later. I've trained him well. We got to make a mess with all the wrapping paper and didn't have to clean it up at all. It was heavenly. Nana Sherry and Kaitlyn came over later to do their gifts with the boys. My brother, Felicia, and Lexi came over as well. Lex was like a kid again racing slot cars with the boys and getting into a lightsaber duel, or triuel..  A perfect mess of a day. I can't wait till next year. 

Tuesday, December 29

Clean up day. Sam made huge progress on his robot without any help. Given the level of complexity, I imagined us needing to work on it together quite a bit. I'm proud to say that I've only been involved a few brief times and he has done the rest of the work on his own. The boys played Disney Infinity 3.0 as well, it looks like a fun upgrade from the last version (Update: it is.) We watched Inside Out after dinner which was a movie-night gift from Pawpaw Rod and Grammy. 

Wednesday, December 30

Star Wars Battlefront. All I remember is amazing graphics and laser fire. Sam made more progress on his robot, and Ray played with every toy he got for Christmas in rapid-fire succession. Laser fire.

Thursday, December 31

My brother had some extra tickets, so Eliz and the boys went to Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 3D. I'm glad she got to go, and in the meantime I loaded Jules up in the Baby Bjorn and made a large Costco run, which was quite successful I might add. We went to my brother's house that evening for New Year's Eve. The boys stayed up until midnight and Ray was "super dramatic about it". We had a quick jam session on my brother's new drum set. The ladies of the family cracked the Mara argument code, which apparently involves a revolving door of music, sports, and super heroes. I don't have any idea what they're talking about. Closer to midnight, Jules did not appreciate our many attempts to get a picture of us kissing him. He didn't appreciate it at all. Regardless, I got to kiss my lady, and we all got home safely to get a night's rest.

Friday, January 1

With Eliz' family, New Year's Day is a thing, so we went to Nana Sherry's. The boys were excited to play I Found It, a rather complicated I-Spy game designed for 4 year olds, but that required several adults with several college degrees to figure it out. The boys drank hot chocolate from their new lego mugs. Sam made a neat and tidy "S" on his mug, Ray made a rather abstract "trapped gorilla". All things aside, it was some red and blue bricks covered by some white bricks. It was another good time spent with family. 

Saturday, January 2

We went to Grandma Charlotte's for our last Christmas. There are a ton of kids there and it's usually pandemonium with my brother serving as the catalyst. All three boys got some sock monkeys, Ray was unexplainably excited about his. I'm hoping this wasn't related to any penis innuendo, but the more he giggles, the more I think it is. Eliz and my mom tag teamed getting me the apparently discontinued Duncan Heins Fudge Marble Cake, paired with my mom's chocolate butter cream icing. It was fantastic. At home, Eliz got me some awesome gifts, not the least of which was Road House on BluRay. Everyone is entitled to a guilty pleasure. We had some Apple pie and Pumking during the movie, and before I knew it I'm asleep. I'm hoping to squeeze a birthday pizza out of the deal for Sunday (I did.) 

Sunday January 3

Sam and Eliz ran some errands and Sam exchanged a few books at Barnes & Noble, so Ray and I stayed home and played Battlefront. We had our jam session today. Sam wrote a new riff that we worked on, and then the usual tunes; Sam's song, Brain Stew, Smoke on the Water. I always hate the end of a vacation, but I have to say I was quite satisfied with the way this one turned out. So much time with family, and I'm left wanting for nothing. Tomorrow, Eliz and I go back to work; Eliz for the first time since Jules was born. Real life with a baby begins!