This is a very cool pic of Elvis with a Fender Precision bass. This pic gets a lot of love in the bass-playing community!

Girls on the Run 2010

Melanie running in the Girls On The Run 5k, Dec. 2010

Some more fun words from young Jakey

"Dace" = Grace, Mel's good friend

"Sissy Dance" = Mel's dance studio

"paygow" = playground

"pasha" = pasta, his favorite food

"fietuck" = fire truck

"Iceytruck" = Ice Cream Truck, one of which he has yet to see live in person. But he has seen lots of pictures in books!

"Bus stop" = school bus. He is still working on the difference between the bus and the bus stop. Interchanges them when referencing them in a sentence.

Identifiable if not perfectly articulated words include:
cookie
juice (pronounced very slowly and deliberately so he gets it right, very cute to watch him say!)
pancake
waffle
school bus
sorry
come on, as in "come with me!"
"taa daa" with big raised hands, one straight over his head, and the other aimed at whatever he is referencing, for purposes of introducing whatever he is presenting when he says it. Also very cute. He does this for dinner. "Sissy, come on, dinner!" Then when she gets there, he gives a big taa daa with the hand gestures. Gets us laughing every time!
whip cream
pizza

Jacob vocab cont'd

More fun words from our big guy.

"Lie-kee-KEE" = Lightning McQueen from the movie Cars

"Hoo hoo truck" = ambulance/firetruck

"A-yah" (say the letter "A" and add "ya")= Aiden (baby brother)

"Kie" prounced like Cry without the "r"

Fog sounds like the f-bomb. Its Mom's favorite right now.

Also we had a good laugh when Aiden surprised us the other day and rolled across the room, onto Melanie's homework, and proceeded to drool all over it. A new twist on the dog eating the homework. Melanie's teacher understood and was very gracious about the whole thing.

Jacob's talk at 26 months (Jacob-saurus

I've been wanting to do this for a while. We have been getting lots of video of the kids, especially since Aiden was born, but I wanted to document the fun and cute things that Jacob says now, especially since his speech advances quickly the older he gets. Here is a glimpse at some of his words that we hear the most.

Today for the first time I heard him say "dog" when referring to his best friend, Blue Doggie. BD used to be known simply as "woof."

"Massey" = paci(fier)
"Shhhhooshe" - his painstakingly articulated and very deliberately executed attempt at "juice." This is one of my favorites, mostly because it takes him so long to get it out. He has to slowly form his mouth, then gently push that first "sh" out. I think he goes so slowly with it because he is trying to say the "j" sound each time. He just has not figured out how yet.

"Shoosh" a quicker version of "juice," this time it means "shoes."

"Shews" is his word for "Jews." Ok, I am kidding about that one.

"Sissy" for Melanie, who also is known as "Meh," not to be confused with his word for Mommy, which is "Ma."

"Boo Foo" is Blues Clues

"Shoo shoo" is train ("choo choo"). His current favorite books are all Thomas The Tank Engine, and he loves anything train-related on TV.

"Mice" is mess, one of his most frequently recited words. He is a very neat 2 year old. Sometimes.

"Bice" is bus. Another frequent word, particularly when in the car.

"Chuck" is truck, the word that is used for all non-bus vehicles on the road. He will get car sooner or later I am sure...

My all time favorite so far as to be his word for chocolate. "Ca-ca." I rolled on the floor for days when I first heard him use that one! Of course, now we all have adopted this word when asking for or referring to chocolate.

"Ah-mo" is Elmo, of course. His favorite TV character. He has not really come up with a word for Barney, but he still loves the episodes we recorded for him 2 years ago.

"Miwk" is milk

"Yan-yee" is Landry, our cat

"Ah-ga" is a word he used both for our neighbor Audrey (one of Melanie's best friends) as well as Ah-ga's younger sister Juliette, another good friend. Juliette is a good sport and tries to help Jacob learn her name. She takes it well that for now she had to share a name with Ah-ga. Now Jacob is able to say "Ju-ju" for Juliette, and Audrey is now just plain "Audrey."

"Ba-oon" is balloon

"Do-Do" is Diego, one of his favorite TV shows.

Cantaloupe Island

Here is a recent video of Triple Double Jazz Band

Results of my P-bass pickup replacement shootout, Fralins v. Lollars

Fralins:
http://www.mediafire.com/?m3kygyjmwzi

Lollars:
http://www.mediafire.com/?do0dim13kmi

Jacob at almost 21 months

These days he likes to hold a tissue to his nose, covering his mouth, and spit into the tissue, mimicking the sound that is made when a person blows their nose. it is hysterical! He also loves to say "whoa" when something impresses him, like his sister's makeup for the Nutcracker show this weekend.

Download MP3's.zip from Sendspace.com - send big files the easy way

Download MP3's.zip from Sendspace.com - send big files the easy way

A download of several sound files recorded live with my new and very fun Zoom H2 recorder. Triple Double Jazz Band, 1-16-10.

Jacob at 17 months

Some fun things that Jacob is up to now, and some words that he is starting to use:
"Uh-oh"
Every time he sees someone close to the stove, oven or fridge he says "ot, ot." So he has learned temperature, but he uses the word "hot" to describe hot or cold. He does the same thing in the bath. Its a riot! And he blows on his food, but he does it using an "F" instead of a full-on, cheeks-puffed blow.

He yells out for people, when he wants them. But he pretty much uses the same word for everyone. Sounds like "Ahn" or sometimes "Ahnnie" if he is looking for Melanie.

Autumn Leaves from Brion's Grille, 9-18-09

Here is a video from our show this past Friday night. We had a lot of fun!

Facebook interface, Four by Miles Davis

Here is Triple Double Jazz Band playing Miles Davis' "Four."

Triple Double Jazz Band at Extra Virgin - A Success!

Saturday night The Triple Double Jazz Band played a gig at Extra Virgin restaurant in Shirlington, VA. Great restaurant, the food was really good. They like the band so much that they asked us to play the entire night. We were slotted for 7:30 to 9:30. We worked out a deal for us to stay the extra time, and we will be playing there again as the manager and owner really liked what they heard. I was thrilled to say the least. Thanks much to all who have helped us get this far, and thanks to Michelle for hanging in there with me for a much longer night than we originally thought! Below is a video of one of the tunes we played, one of my favorites, Miles Davis' "Four." Enjoy.




And another video from the same night. This is "Autumn Leaves" by Johnny Mercer, whose grave site I have seen in person. Creepy, I know.

Here are 2 videos from Jimmy's on Monday night. The first song is a great standard, a true classic by Miles Davis called "Four." This song is on most jazz musician's list of top songs to learn and play at gigs. The second song is "Cherokee," an even older standard from way back to the 1930's. I wonder if any of today's music will still be played by musicians 70 years from now. Enjoy. Also, I finally am figuring out how to use Windows Movie Maker program, so I added title and credits.

August 3, 2009 at Jimmy's Old Town Tavern

Here is a video of The Triple Double Jazz Band playing an old standard, "Cherokee." Enjoy! We had a great time playing again at Jimmy's. He is a great guy. And he makes a mean cheeseburger!

June 20 Party, After Hours Band

Here is a clip from a party I played at on June 20. Notice the pool in the video. It is the shape of a guitar! I love it!

Playing With The Big Kids

So this weekend I had a special treat. I managed to book a jazz brunch gig at a private party and invited my friends Paul and Jamie to play with me. They are old friends and we used to all play in a band called Glass and Apples that featured Jamie's original compositions. Its been years since we all played together, so this one was really special.

These guys are pro jazz musicians, so in this clip and during the brunch I was just trying to hold my own without causing the whole train to wreck. It worked out well, with some bail-out help from Paul!

Thanks guys!

The Latest On Jacob

This kid is so much fun! Lately he has been waving to everyone and everything. Waves bye and hi to everyone we see, strangers, fire hydrants, dogs, miniature trains. I know people tend to get enamored with their kids, but its not just me! Everyone says how cute he is. We just love him. I am feeling very blessed right now, not just for having him, but for having my whole family. Good times, for sure!

First Real Jazz Gig

So last night I played my first "jazz gig" in that it was a live performance of only jazz, not affiliated with any wedding or other event, and it was at a "club." That is, if Jimmy's Old Town Tavern, a fun softball hangout, counts as a "club". Anyway, We had a quartet that included Ed Gallagher on guitar, Joey Whitney on sax, both of whom I met at Tom's during a jazz jam that he hosted. Yesterday we were able to add a different Tom on drums. So we played, having only played together maybe 4 times or so, as part of a bigger group. And Tom was brand new to us, having played a gig with the other 2 guys the previous night. I had never met Tom before yesterday. We captured some video of the show which I will post once I am done editing it into separate sections.

The fun part was when Dan, the booking manager from Icehouse Cafe directly across the street, heard us playing and came to listen. He liked us so much he asked us to submit a demo so that we could play at his club. I was totally floored and flattered. Demo? We barely know each other's names, and don't even really have a name. I came up with Triple Double Jazz Band because we had to have a name of some sort. Better than "Spaghetti Fusion," which is what I came up with last time anyone asked me to name a band. After the gig I thought, "well, its a good gig if one of the only jazz clubs in Norhern Virgina thinks so much of your group that they want you to play there."

Thanks for all of your contributions to me being able to even attempt jazz in a public setting. Nice part was that prior to playing I was not nervous at all. Probably because the guys I played with were all very accomplished jazz players. My job was to not take away from anything they were doing. Manged to do that for the most part, save Up Jumped Spring. But when I got lost, Ed generously and smartly decided it was time to let me solo my way out of my own confusion. And it worked! Thanks Ed!

The Latest Band

My latest musical endeavor. These guys play jazz standards. They are Fender Telecaster, lap steel guitar, drums and bass. Nice guys, fun tunes. I'll post when we get a gig.