Aaron and I had a great talk about this. Who is The Man? In the movie, The Man is a woman – the principal of the snobby prep school. That’s a good start. But the man need not even be a person; the man can be a system, like the expectation that the kids will behave and get good grades and play only proper classical music. That’s ultimately what they’re sticking it to. Aaron and I are thinking that maybe this is a key difference between rock music and pop music: rock music is about sticking it to the man, and pop music is about dancing and being in love. Aaron also thinks that rock’s sticking-it-to-the-man shows in the music itself, because it breaks the rules of proper composition and performance: sometimes the singers yell instead of singing beautifully, and sometimes the chords are parallel fifths. Great stuff.
Monday, August 20, 2018
The Man
Somehow none of us had ever seen the movie School of Rock, and when rock band camp came around, it was a must. So much fun!! I love knowing that the kids played all their own instruments, I love how their musicianship is visibly due to their classical training, I love how Jack Black respects their skills while also wanting them to let loose, and I love what he has to say about the nature of rock: that at its heart, it’s about sticking it to The Man.
Aaron and I had a great talk about this. Who is The Man? In the movie, The Man is a woman – the principal of the snobby prep school. That’s a good start. But the man need not even be a person; the man can be a system, like the expectation that the kids will behave and get good grades and play only proper classical music. That’s ultimately what they’re sticking it to. Aaron and I are thinking that maybe this is a key difference between rock music and pop music: rock music is about sticking it to the man, and pop music is about dancing and being in love. Aaron also thinks that rock’s sticking-it-to-the-man shows in the music itself, because it breaks the rules of proper composition and performance: sometimes the singers yell instead of singing beautifully, and sometimes the chords are parallel fifths. Great stuff.
Aaron and I had a great talk about this. Who is The Man? In the movie, The Man is a woman – the principal of the snobby prep school. That’s a good start. But the man need not even be a person; the man can be a system, like the expectation that the kids will behave and get good grades and play only proper classical music. That’s ultimately what they’re sticking it to. Aaron and I are thinking that maybe this is a key difference between rock music and pop music: rock music is about sticking it to the man, and pop music is about dancing and being in love. Aaron also thinks that rock’s sticking-it-to-the-man shows in the music itself, because it breaks the rules of proper composition and performance: sometimes the singers yell instead of singing beautifully, and sometimes the chords are parallel fifths. Great stuff.
"Aaro"
[Band camp was in mid-July.]
Aaron did rock band camp the week after Jordan and it was equally awesome. Our kids have so much music experience, but it’s all classical. Aaron found that in rock, he had to bang on the piano like crazy to compete with the drums and amplified guitar – which was a great time, if tiring. And the experience of coordinating music with peers was new, too: in choir, you strictly attend to the conductor, and in classical piano, it’s just you. What a great thing to add to their repertoire.
Aaron’s band was called “Aaro,” a name formed from all of the kids’ first initials. Aaron played keyboard, and sang lead on three of their four songs! He initially felt he could not both sing and play piano (too much to keep track of), but he pulled it off. So awesome. They played Lonely Boy (another Black Keys song), Let it Be, Soul Meets Body (by Death Cab for Cutie), and Smoke on the Water.
I am sure they can’t wait to do this again. And we have the band basement, so they don’t even have to wait for rock band camp!
Aaron did rock band camp the week after Jordan and it was equally awesome. Our kids have so much music experience, but it’s all classical. Aaron found that in rock, he had to bang on the piano like crazy to compete with the drums and amplified guitar – which was a great time, if tiring. And the experience of coordinating music with peers was new, too: in choir, you strictly attend to the conductor, and in classical piano, it’s just you. What a great thing to add to their repertoire.
Aaron’s band was called “Aaro,” a name formed from all of the kids’ first initials. Aaron played keyboard, and sang lead on three of their four songs! He initially felt he could not both sing and play piano (too much to keep track of), but he pulled it off. So awesome. They played Lonely Boy (another Black Keys song), Let it Be, Soul Meets Body (by Death Cab for Cutie), and Smoke on the Water.
I am sure they can’t wait to do this again. And we have the band basement, so they don’t even have to wait for rock band camp!
"The Craftsmen"
[Band camp was in mid-July.]
Rock band camp was a first this year and wow, what a good time! They did it at Seattle Drum School (not the School of Rock franchise), because we have a friend who has been happy with his lessons there and it seemed to me to be the most musician-oriented. Jordan was placed in a band with a terrific guitarist and drummer; he played keyboards, there was a lead singer, and the counselor played bass. They called themselves The Craftsmen and they were amazing. They played songs by the Black Keys, the Beatles, and a couple others. Here they are at the Friday concert, attended by parents and friends.
Finally, they sang Beat It, and to my complete amazement – Jordan sang! For all his singing experience, this is something we’ve never seen him do. (Though now that he’s in Vocalpoint, more is on the way.) I was beside myself. What a fantastic growth experience.
The icing on the cake was that the terrific guitarist is, like Jordan, a 9th grader at Nathan Hale in the fall, and lives in our neighborhood, and seemed like a great guy. Let the band play on!!
Rock band camp was a first this year and wow, what a good time! They did it at Seattle Drum School (not the School of Rock franchise), because we have a friend who has been happy with his lessons there and it seemed to me to be the most musician-oriented. Jordan was placed in a band with a terrific guitarist and drummer; he played keyboards, there was a lead singer, and the counselor played bass. They called themselves The Craftsmen and they were amazing. They played songs by the Black Keys, the Beatles, and a couple others. Here they are at the Friday concert, attended by parents and friends.
One guy shouted, “You guys have no idea how righteous you are!” Love it.
Finally, they sang Beat It, and to my complete amazement – Jordan sang! For all his singing experience, this is something we’ve never seen him do. (Though now that he’s in Vocalpoint, more is on the way.) I was beside myself. What a fantastic growth experience.
The icing on the cake was that the terrific guitarist is, like Jordan, a 9th grader at Nathan Hale in the fall, and lives in our neighborhood, and seemed like a great guy. Let the band play on!!
Bike camp
[Bike camp was in mid-July; I'm catching up.]
The kids loved bike camp last year and were eager to return for a second time. This camp is run by Cascade, and it’s all about enabling kids to be city bikers. They do skill-building exercises about signaling, biking near pedestrians, rules of the road, etc. This is great stuff and they really learn it: I’ve biked with our kids, and their road awareness and manners are really excellent. They also teach the kids how to read a bike map.
The big event of every day is that they ask the kids where they want to go - and then they go there! Aaron’s group rode from Magnuson to Log Boom Park, then another day to Gas Works, then another day to Green Lake. It’s awesome. Jordan’s group (with their bigger bikes and longer legs) rode to Discovery Park, which is literally the other side of town, and then another day to Volunteer Park, which is at the top of a heck of a big hill. The whole thing is incredibly empowering. Jordan in particular feels like he can bike anywhere he wants to, in all of Seattle, and I’m sure he’s right. (My testimonial to this effect made it to their website!)
Aaron was amazed to learn that if you are able to bike up a big hill without getting exhausted, that tells you about the strength of your heart, at least as much as your legs. I know this is true, but my explanation of why felt pretty thin. Something about delivering more oxygen to the muscles so they can do their thing better?
Forest cake
[This post refers to events from early July]
Perhaps because of recent camping, the boys asked for a forest-themed birthday cake, and asked for me to design it (instead of them drawing their own design). I had a lot of fun with this. We found a cougar and a wolf among their figurines; the cougar was especially appropriate, because there were cougar sightings near Camp Kalsman this year. They picked up aquarium logs from the dollar store. From the cake supply shop, I got evergreen trees, chocolate river rocks, and chocolate boulders (!). The lake is fondant, surrounded by the river rocks and busted cinnamon sticks.
For the cake itself, I made the frosting into a grassy forest floor.
Fun and delicious!!
Perhaps because of recent camping, the boys asked for a forest-themed birthday cake, and asked for me to design it (instead of them drawing their own design). I had a lot of fun with this. We found a cougar and a wolf among their figurines; the cougar was especially appropriate, because there were cougar sightings near Camp Kalsman this year. They picked up aquarium logs from the dollar store. From the cake supply shop, I got evergreen trees, chocolate river rocks, and chocolate boulders (!). The lake is fondant, surrounded by the river rocks and busted cinnamon sticks.
For the cake itself, I made the frosting into a grassy forest floor.
Fun and delicious!!
Birthday battles
[This post refers to an event on June 7. Better late than never!]
For their birthdays this year, the boys asked to have a joint laser tag party in Gas Works Park, like Jordan’s last year. It was a delightful day. Grownups had blankets in the shade, and party guests had their battles.
Some of the guests were relieved to learn that the battles were optional, and after one good round, joined the adults in sitting and chatting.
After battles and cake, people just hung out. How about these guys?
Last year, there were live knights battling for our entertainment. This year there was a different sight to see: naked bicyclists! Maybe ten of them? They changed (into…nothing) in the restrooms near our picnic spot, set out on their ride, and filed back in as the party was ending. The boys were actively uninterested in this long-running Seattle tradition. Here they are huddled around someone's phone, with the bicyclists just barely visible in the background.
For their birthdays this year, the boys asked to have a joint laser tag party in Gas Works Park, like Jordan’s last year. It was a delightful day. Grownups had blankets in the shade, and party guests had their battles.
Some of the guests were relieved to learn that the battles were optional, and after one good round, joined the adults in sitting and chatting.
Last year, there were live knights battling for our entertainment. This year there was a different sight to see: naked bicyclists! Maybe ten of them? They changed (into…nothing) in the restrooms near our picnic spot, set out on their ride, and filed back in as the party was ending. The boys were actively uninterested in this long-running Seattle tradition. Here they are huddled around someone's phone, with the bicyclists just barely visible in the background.
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