Why Do We Pay for Pre-School?

Paper pirate hats, obviously.

Progress Report

When I said that the new Johnny Tightlips album would be done any day now, I knew I was lying. But I have made some decent progress as of late. All of the drums tracks are recorded, save our lackluster cover of "Blitzkrieg Bop" and a few other covers, and the bass tracks are done as well. Guit and vocals are almost all-the-way done for one track (our newest song) and will hopefully be mixed (and posted!!!) shortly.

On a related note, I'm proud to report that I sold enough CDs on eBay to afford to buy a new version of (recording software) Cubase. This edition has pitch correction, which will allow me to, at worst fix my missed notes, and at best sound like T-Pain. Awesome.

Say It Ain't So

What happens when you combine my two favorite things--8-bit music and Weezer tunes? I become a very happy boy. If you don't know what 8-bit music is, this will be a great introduction for you. If you don't know who Weezer is, well, you're an idiot. There, I said it.

The full album is available for free download here.

Hooray for Pearl Jam

Finally, a post-1994 Pearl Jam song to get excited about. "The Fixer" is surprisingly soft-hearted and perfectly poppy. Sounds like the band's been listening to some Paramare. Yes, Eddie Vedder has been reinvented as a 15-year-old girl. I love it.

Pool Talk

The Sutherlands took their first family swimming trip of the year on Saturday night. This is was Curtis's first time at the pool (excluding his infant days) and Paige's first chance to show off her swimming lesson skills.

Not surprisingly, Paige can't swim. But she does like to stand up and walk through the shallow end, moving her arms as if she were swimming, and repeat, "I'm swimming! I'm swimming!" Thank you, Murray City for giving our child a false sense of confidence.

Whatever. At least the kids had a good time. Apparently, Traci did as well. Here's an excerpt from one of her monologues of the evening:

I'm officially the whitest person here.
And I'm fine with that.
I have red hair.
It's only society that says I need to be tan.

Maybe it's not Murray City that's giving Paige her confidence, maybe it's her mother.

Traci Was Right...But We Knew It All Along

Sure, I had my doubts. The second I opened the email from Snoop, I had the feeling I'd been duped. But come 'on, what's the fun in that? Isn't it better to just go a long for the ride sometimes?

Today SL Trib music writer David Burger posted the article from his email interview with Snoop. One quote seemed to stick out:

"I go in tha booth and I get it done. Clark Kent ain't got nuthin' on me. Ya dig?"

That sounded similar--or rather, exactly the same--as a quote he gave me. Coincidence?

Friend of the Manifesto, Josh Ligairi, said it best:

"Sorry, man. That is the only reason I can see going with the email interview. My guess is that he has about fifty canned answers for his fifty most FAQ and then an intern mix and matches to complete the interview. No offense to Mr. Broadus, but I could tell from his first video with Dre that he wasn't to be trusted. Also, as a married man I have to tell you--when in doubt, always go with the wife."

So I'm disenchanted, disillusioned, disappointment. Tha Doggfather has let me down.

He's Behind You, He's Got Swine Flu

I spent the day at home, having swine flu. No, not really. Just a fever and the chills. This was very inconvenient on the day when Gieger the Ukrainian came to clean out our air ducts. How are you supposed to tell if your air conditioner is working better when you already feel like an icicle, or when you're literally sweating through a game of Dora Memory with your daughter (may be the sweating was actually due to the high stakes of winning the most matches)?

The Streets - He's Behind You, He's Got Swine Flu

Who You Gonna Believe? Traci or Snoop Dogg?

Traci doesn't believe that my email from Snoop really came from Snoop. Sure, anyone in his entourage certainly could have typed the note as if they were the D-O-Double-G. But I have no reason to disbelieve Mr. Dogg. He's never let me down before. Plus, he called me "neffew." That's certainly not as close as "son" or "bro" but it's still pretty good.

Latest Rock Interviews

I've been doing a bunch of phone interviews with bands lately, with mixed results.

Death Cab For Cutie



I was very excited for this interview, even though it was with the drummer (the lowest in the band interview hierarchy). I was so excited, in fact, that I was two hours early. I still struggle with time zone conversion. Jason McGerr was plenty affable, even though I'm pretty sure he thought I was a crazy fan when I told him I was two hours early for the interview.

Check out my article here.

I was surprised and disappointed when their press person didn't come through with tickets for the show. But apparently I didn't miss out on much. I guess I'm not the only one who thinks Death Cab kinda sucks live. (Or rather, they suck when they try to be too much of a rock band. They were great when I saw them back in 2004.)

Incubus

I've never listened to an Incubus album, so I was even more nervous for this one. I talked to DJ/keyboardist Chris Kilmore (DJs rank even lower than drummers). The fact that I didn't know anything about the band wasn't much of an issue, as we spent our time talking about DJ Jazzy Jeff.

Here's the article.

The Dear Hunter

Their press agent was begging the magazine for an interview. I said I'd do it because I vaguely recalled listening to one of their albums once. It turns out I had listened to the indie band Deerhunter, not prog-rock opera creator The Dear Hunter. Whoops. Fortunately, Mr. Dear Hunter was friendly enough.

Dear Hunter article

An Email From Calvin Broadus

1, 2, 3-and-to-tha-4, I got just about as close as I ever will to Snoop Doggy Dogg (or Dr. Dre) knocking at my door. I still remember walking to the mall to buy “The Chronic” on cassette, listening to it over and over on my walkman, and hiding it under my mattress so my mom wouldn’t find it. So of course I jumped at the opportunity to do an interview with Tha Doggfather himself to promote his upcoming show in Salt Lake.

There were a million questions things I wanted to ask him about—his fallout with Death Row Records, his friendship with Tupac, his foray into the adult entertainment industry. But alas, I was thwarted. His press agent dropped the following knowledge:

1. Snoop is only doing email interviews
2. I was not to ask about his personal life
3. He may or may not actually respond to my questions

Though I was certainly a bit disappointed to not actually get to talk to him, I followed the rules and emailed him some generic, tour-related questions. To my delight, he did in fact response (and even ahead of schedule). Because the spelling looks like it came right out of his patented “Shizzolator,” I decided to leave it as-is.

ME: A lot of hip hop artists shy away from touring, but you're always on the road. What is it that keeps you touring?

SNOOP DOGG: Tha fans. Tha money. If u ain’t got a show, u ain’t an artist and if u ain’t got a tour, u ain’t makin’ money. If u ain’t makin’ money, u don't have a fan base. It’s a math equation and I'm solvin’ it.

ME: How was the Bonnaroo show?

SNOOP: I'm goin bacc next year. That's all I gotta say about that, ya dig?!? Chuuch!!!

ME: What's the Snoop Dogg festival experience like?

SNOOP: Party. Worth every dollar. Classic music. It’s tha present day hip hop Woodstock. It’s tha party of all parties and we do it tha best with tha help of Dogg Pound and Tha Snoopadelics. Shout out to Slightly Stoopid and Stephen Marley.

ME: Do you have any pre-show routines before you go on stage each night?

SNOOP: Listenin’ to timeless music and get my mind right. Maybe beatin’ one of tha homeys in Madden on Xbox or NBA 2K. Those are tha 2 favorite video games of tour. Fight Night, too!

ME: You're always multi-tasking—reality shows, movies, clothing. How do you find time to do all this stuff in addition to recording and touring?

SNOOP: I'm Snooperman—I go in tha booth and get it done. Clark Kent ain’t got nuthin’ on me.

ME: Next to music, which of your other endeavors brings the most satisfaction?

SNOOP: Tha Snoop Youth Football League—over 3,000 kids and gettin’ bigger and better each year. I coach tha Pomona Steelers and we are bacc to bacc Snoop Bowl Champs, hosted at the Home Depot Center each year in December. It’s an event that's puttin’ alotta smiles on these kids faces and that's what's most rewarding and enjoyable. You can't beat that or outsell that.

ME: Luckily for us, Utah has been a frequent stop for you over the last few years. Have you had any memorable experiences here?

SNOOP: Every time I come here I have a blast and imma continue to come here and do tha same thang, ya dig?!? Make sure u there to see it, neffew.

Vic-tor-y.

It was a miracle I was even able to snap this pic, what with the miraculous speed in which the subject flew by.

After a decade of saying it, Traci finally did it--running her first 5K at this year's Murray 4th of July Parade. With the help of my sister Sarah, Traci was able to take a respectable 488th place. You best watch your back, Usain Bolt.

The Evil One

Over the last few weeks, Curtis has gone from being the quiet one, to the one who is constantly shrieking, biting, and being generally malcontent. He pulled a new, sneaky move at church on Sunday.

I was sitting between Traci and Paige, with Curtis on my lap. The second we all shut our eyes, Curtis reached over and pulled Paige's hair and then turned to the other side to smack Traci in the face.

He's been so ornery lately that we thought he may have yet another ear infection. I took him to the doctor yesterday. After checking him out, she said everything was fine and that "sometimes kids are just ornery." How's that for a prognosis/diagnosis?