So both of my sons have won the prestigious Principal’s Award at their school. Hooray… for Beth, “the good parent”, as some would call her. Ellie can sorta sing, is made for the stage, and all that. Hooray… for Beth.
MY contribution? Here’s a picture of Toby, my 8 year old. At Guitar Center. Playing Crazy Train. I almost cried.
crazy train
I know the feeling. Zane, our 7 year old is very close to having the Imperial March from Empire Strikes Back down on the piano. Next I need to get him doing vocal pitch correction in ProTools.
I’m not paying for that.
I know a few studios down here who would probably hire Zane. The people they’re using don’t have much more experience.
Chad, your vocals don’t need correction, right?
Well certainly not.
(…but if they did, and I’m speaking totally hypothetically, I think I’d prefer that you do it….)
It’s way more indie to have the mix engineer’s son tune the vocals.
That’s true, except that with today’s technology, he can tune it to the Thomas The Tank Engine theme song, and that just won’t do.
Whatever, Corey. That song is SOOOOOO easy.
Zack wins for “guy who most missed the point”.
Zack wins for the guy who doesn’t freakin’ hijack the one microscopic window of opportunity I have to claim that my boys are somehow improved because of THIS half of their parenting.
Sorry Corey. Congrats on getting some Texas into your boys.
I think you’ll all realize just how sarcastic and silly I was being, when you know that I can’t play the intro to Crazy Train. Yup, after 15 years of self-taught guitar playing, 8 year-old Toby is better than I am.
Sometimes, I mask my jealousy and rage with cynicism. And dick and fart jokes. (”Franks and beans!!!!”)
You see, I’m not sure if Sara will even allow me to contribute to our (non-existent, yet, or forever) future children’s education. She can teach them about spirituality, physical and mental health, balance and security. I can teach them how to open beer bottles with a cigarette lighter, how to drag your knee on a motorcycle, and the opening solo from Metallica’s “Sanitarium”.
Yeah, our kids are gonna be well-rounded, for sure.
Zack can open a beer bottle with a cigarette lighter?
The man has mad skillz.
I can’t believe lil’ Tobs is 8 years old. Geez. I think it’s awesome. His hero worship of his good ol’ dad is pretty sweet. I bet he’s totally excited to have you all proud of him as a guitar player. Sweet.
you have no idea. Both of the boys are having me teach them Crazy Train in sections. We broke the song up into 6 parts and they learn a couple of bars at a time. They’re like little birds in the a nest yelping for me to teach them the next part. Once I do, they scatter off around the house with my guitars in hand so they can practice the next section. Even Elie borrowed Toby’s 3/4-size strat so she could start with part one.
The thing I love most is to see the personalities come flying out. I teach them all at once. Toby has the part under his fingers almost immediately, plays it a few times, then kinda loses steam- because in his mind, he can play it. Nolie needs me to show him multiple times, then come around the guitar and “play” the part from his perspective until he finally has enough concrete instruction to go on. Then he’ll go practice for 90 minutes until it sounds like Randy Rhoads. Ellie stands in front of the full-length mirror and watches herself hold and strum the guitar. For her, guitar playing is less sonic and more visual.
I see little pieces of my own guitar personality in all three.
Now all he needs to accomplish is this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25_0eg4_eDU&feature=related
-PC
You’re totally Ellie. Guitar strap & shoe matchin’ DIVA!
Yah, but does she put her foot forward and make the “I smell somethin’ nasty” face on? Now that’s daddy as a rock star.
Actually, yes. Yes she does. But her dance repertoire is so much deeper than mine. I have the gaspedal foot and the “who farted?” face. She has dozens of stances and faces. Most of which are borrowed from Beyonce’ and Iggy Pop.
So Mike got the Summer Sweetwater Cataloge in the mail the other day, and along with it comes the “Sweet Notes” of all the local events and happenings.
Who is in the center picture of the “A Look At Gear Fest ‘08″ but our very own Corey Witt, a “keenly skilled manufacturer representative (who) showed off (his) chops on guitar…” Nice.
We want pictures, Gretchen. Fire up the scanner…
Corey, you’ve been Canonized! You glorious, glorious king among nerds!