Outdoor Movie Night

HEY EVERYONE!  RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU WANT TO WATCH A MOVIE IN OUR BACKYARD IN 50-DEGREE WEATHER!

...looks like the majority have spoken

Outdoor Movie Night was quickly put together a week after Laura's birthday party. We brought out the popcorn machine, projector and the heat lamp. Georgia was so excited about it she camped out overnight to ensure she got the best seat in the backyard (not really).

Our makeshift screen worked out well even though it was lacking in safety standards. We had a general rule: if no one touches anything it will be safe. 

A very excited pajama-wearing Georgia.  

The lineup for the evening was as follows:
Opening Act: Tom and Jerry Cartoon
Main Attraction: The Tales of Despereaux
Encore Act: Schoolhouse Rocks! ("Conjunction junction, what's your function?)

This is why I don't let Laura around the camera after a few glasses of wine. To her this probably looked in focus at the time. 

A late night adults-only viewing of "The Human Centipede" and "The Human Centipede 2" was an option for later that evening however the weather was not permitting. There will be a showing of these two epics some time this summer.

Lesson #1 - How to Be a Rock Goddess: Style over Substance

 This is what happens when you let young children watch old videos of Eddie Van Halen.

When it comes to being a true "rocker", there are more important characteristics than technical skills and knowledge of music theory. There is style. Not what you play but how you play it. Georgia has mastered that part of being a rock guitar goddess. It all started when Georgia discovered her play guitar had a whammy bar on it. Georgia hasn't been the same since. Once that majestic harmonic sound entered her ears she lost all interest in substance. It's all about the style!

As Georgia is showing, don't just play the note, you have to feel it!

Georgia recently announced that she's joined forces with another iconic preschool rocker "Riff So Fat" from Tokyo. They are planning a west coast tour with gigs lined up in several Babies R Us stores up and down the coast.

There is some inner strife within the group concerning song selection as well as the band name. Georgia selected the first song to be a remake of the Beastie Boys classic..."Fight For Your Right to Potty". The only music "Riff So fat" wants to play is Wang Chung's first album in its entirety (without synthesizers). The band name issue was resolved quickly once candy was disbursed to the two rock stars. The agreed to the name...

 

Laura's Leap Year Birthday Bash - We're Two for Two!

We did it again, this time with more people. Laura's 36th birthday party was held on March 3rd and since it was actually a Leap Year, like Bristol Palin, we went all the way! My only issue is that Laura bought a hot pink sparkly tank top before I could get one.

Jeff, Josh & Scott

Mitra telling me "you're done" so she could surprise me with her own lyrics. Notice Will's face in this picture. He always makes this face when he hits a really cool accent.

Scott & Becky rockin' with a beautiful disco moon overhead

Jeff's obscene bass playing....which made me laugh really hard in practice. This guy is definately the foundation of this band. We couldn't hold a practice without him. Amazing musician!!!

My girls dancin' to White Lines

Becky and Laura singin' backup for the amazing Geoff Nicolle

That's the place my weasels were born

Mmmmm... Gravy!

Laura's got to know she's a special individual for this much effort and for this many people to make their way into our backyard last Saturday night. Several friends came from out of town, our good friend Mitra came from San Francisco. She's attended the last three Leap Year Birthday Parties for Laura. Jay, Greg and his wife Christy came down from San Francisco as well. Mr. Howard Morey trekked down from Portland.

In comparison, my birthdays suck. :-(



Loren Barroca was such a big help. She helped out so much that day and evening especially the tasty homemade bread and homemade lasagna. Thank you Loren. Laura's mom Daphne also provided some tasty food for all including the Meaty Lasagna. And Laura's dad Al was as always a huge help with the sound. Al and I started early Saturday morning laying cable and setting up the mixer and computer and did not finish until about an hour before the party started. We didn't get to soundcheck the whole band which showed in the first song but oh well.

We challenged our Laura Powers Leap Year Birthday Party Band even more than last year. We expanded as well, including keyboardist and backup vocalist Becky Wicks (I diligently checked her school records and apparently she didn't help our collective GPA...bummer) and of course guitar virtuoso Josh Meehan. I wish we set up more songs for him to play his lap steel guitar. Both of which were very welcome members of our group. Geoff Nicolle provided a magnificent amount of vocal pyrotechnics including an amazing vocal performance of Beck's "Debra" and Zeppelin's "Ramble On". Laura fantastically expanded her role in the band and played sax, xylophone and provided a very nice backup vocal performance. Howard Morey was dragged out of retirement and plopped in front of an audience one more time and he did not disappoint. Mitra Sapienza brought forward a customized version of "Waterfalls" while Jeff Barroca definitely had the "funk" that night dropping down solid bass licks.



My biggest regret is that we didn't get the whole set on video. A couple songs were missed, a jazzed up version of Jimi Hendrix's "Fire" where Howard Morey affectionately opined.."let my residence be within the proximity of your immolation". We also don't have footage of Howard's rollicking version of "The End" by the Doors..."Kukla, Fran and Ollie woke before dawn, they put their boots on. They took the face from the ancient puppet galley and they walked on down the hall...". And lastly our well-orchestrated hillbilly medley original "Weasels/Gravy" went unfilmed as well....
"I got a truckload of Weasels, I'm taking 'em to Reno
'cause that's the place my weasels were born
And I wish I didn't hadda, but I'm takin' 'em to Nevada
'cause they're illegal here in Californ"
...all rights reserved.
CMT will be clamoring for that song in no time.

In terms of the keg...another mission accomplished! We have damning videos and photos that we will hold in secret until needed. Names will not be mentioned but y'all know who you are.

There was a lot of lessons learned in this endeavor. I hope we remember them in four years.