So I'm taking this opportunity to create a meme of sorts and also organize my thoughts about the best music I've heard with my own two ears.

In no particular order:

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion @ Spanky's Pool Hall (SLC, UT) 1993
One of my old bands, Swimpigs opened for these guys. I'd never heard of them before but I'd have to say that this night left a huge mark on me. I saw Russel Simmons play drums like I'd never seen anybody play drums. This was the beginning of who I have become as a drummer.

PJ Harvey @ The Warfield (San Francisco, CA) 1999
My good friend and musical colleague Joe Gore played with Polly on the tour before this and introduced me to her drummer Rob Ellis a few months earlier. Rob was in town playing with Laika (also a memorable show where I was in the opening band). Anyway, I recall calling Rob at his hotel to ask if he could get me in. Not only did he get me in, but I got the large hook up with the backstage passes and whatnot. After the show I met Polly where she gave me one of them show-biz kisses on the cheek. She left me with a big old lipstick smudge that I didn't wash off for a few days (kidding).

David Byrne @ The Triad Amphitheater (SLC, UT) 1992
This was the tour supporting his Uh-Oh album and had assembled a band from all over the globe. I believe that the band was called the "Ten Car Pile Up" and judging by their abilities, I'd have to say that it was far from a wreck. Special note: The Meters' George Porter Jr. played bass in the band and held it together only the way he could. Somewhere in my garage I have the VHS movie from this tour called Between The Teeth. I recall not being able to form sentences for at least an hour after this show.

David Byrne @ The Warfield (San Francisco, CA) 1998
The band was scaled way down for this show as he began employing a lot of electronics. He came out in a fuzzy pink suit and performed the Talkng Heads' classic "Life During Wartime". Everybody was on their feet and a standing ovation ensued. This video is from the same tour that aired on the PBS show Sessions at West 54th.

Snooks Eaglin @ The Rock N Bowl (New Orleans, LA) 1999
I was in town to play at the LMNOP festival and was with the editor of Bass Player magazine, Richard Johnston. He caught wind that George Porter Jr. was playing with Snooks and we immediately jumped into a cab (thank you expense account) to check it out. Highlight of the night was when the band broke out Stevie Wonder's classic Boogie On Reggae Woman, only slower and greasier and oh, so groovin'. I swear I was about 6" off the ground. To this day, I've never felt a groove like. Incredible.

Fishbone @ DV8 (SLC, UT) 1992
This was post Reality Of My Surroundings as the band was touring to prepare to record Give A Monkey A Brain. The band was still in tact (including the new guitar player) and was at their creative peak (in my opinion). I don't know that another band will ever do what these guys could do as they seemed to be able to play just about every genre of American music...and play it so well. As I've aged, the songs don't really hold up, but boy could they play.

Calexico @ Ego's (SLC, UT) 2005
Earlier in the evening Becca and I had dinner with a bunch of internet super-stars and I invited everyone to join me afterward to go see Calexico at a small-ish bar/club (one of the great side-effects of the Sundance Film Festival is that lots of great bands/musicians play little publicized warm up shows in SLC before heading up to Park City). Anyway, everybody passed in lieu of going to some other bar (except for Becca who went home to bed) and I went alone. Man, they missed out on something special.

Masada @ Yoshi's (Oakland, CA) 2000
I always have wondered what it would have been like to see the great jazz giants in their prime (Coltrane, Monk, Mingus, ect). I can only imagine that it would have been something like this as these four musicians absolutely tore it up. I got to see this group about four or five times and this one was the most memorable. Warning: video contains a drum solo, but it's really good I promise.

San Francisco Symphony @ Symphony Hall (San Francisco, CA) 2001
Every year the SF Symphony has a Stravinsky festival who as fate would have it, happens to be one of my favorite composers. When I lived in SF I always meant to go and then one year a friend of mine who had season tickets declared to me that she hated Stravinsky. I shook my head in disbelief at those words while I pocketed the tickets. They performed Petrushka in addition to The Firebird. I've listened to both of those works over and over again, but once I witnessed them conducted it opened up a whole new meaning as I could break down the composition. I was a inches off my chair for about two hours.

Honorable Mentions:

The Bulgarian Woman's Choir @ The Great American Music Hall (San Francisco, CA) 1999

Elvis Costello & The Imposters @ Kingsbury Hall (SLC, UT) 2006

Marc Ribot & Los Cubanos Postizos @ Cafe DuNord (San Francisco, CA) 1998 and also @ The Knitting Factory (NY, NY) 1999

Laika @ Slims (San Francisco, CA) 1997

Joseph Arthur @ The Knitting Factory (NY, NY) 1998

Medeski, Martin & Wood @ Bimbo's 365 (San Francisco, CA) 1996

So now, I'm tagging Paul to see his list.

Paul?

While he isn't pulling himself up, when placed against something in this position he usually stays there for a bit.

At this pace he'll be walking just in time for St. Patrick's Day 2009.

We started off the month with all kinds of Campbell aunts & uncles & cousins in town for the 4th of July. The Seattle Campbell’s were here for a week in addition to the San Francisco Campbell’s. Of course, the main attraction was baby Thaddeus with his cute little fuzzy head and his ever present charm.

We had all kinds of fun with a mass viewing of WALL•E where nice nice aunt Marni secretly threw down for tickets (thanks again, and you really didn’t have to). We then shot off a bunch of fireworks and shot all kinds of photos with the shutter wide open. I had the new camera and sadly I didn’t spend time before trying to dial in the settings. We got through it though and still managed to get our art on.

This month we also had the opportunity to travel to Moab where I played a gig with my sometime boss Peter Breinholt. I’m embarrassed to admit that I had never been there and initially I thought it’d be about a three hour drive but it turned out to be a little longer. With gas prices being what they are (just over $4.00 as of this writing) I was afraid that this would be a losing financial venture but it turned out to be a ton of fun and we’re anxious to go back when we have more time.

We did spend a few hours in Arches National Park where we hiked up to The Windows and took it in. We wanted to do more, but everyone was a bit crabby (everyone meaning you two) so we opted to hit the road and get home.

I just can’t even begin to express how much fun it is to have a really sweet van to drive around this here beautiful state we live in. When I was a kid my family had a 1970 VW bus that took us everywhere and I have oodles of memories stored away from that time. I can only wish that you have the same.

As if we didn’t see enough red rocks in Moab, we most definitely got our fill as we headed down to Lake Powell for four days. We traveled with aunt Suzanne and cousin Tennyson. We arrived on Sunday evening and spent the night on the slip with the Faldmo’s, uncle Jared and Grandpa Ross & Grandma Julie.

The next day we cruised up to Warm Creek and parked the houseboat Rebel. Sadly the lake was crowded and we couldn’t find some sweet afternoon shade, but our spot did have a nice and fun beach for all the kids to play on.

I could write more detail on our trip, but I think that pictures may do a better job telling the story.

This was taken after day one where we thought it’d be a good idea to get a hotel for the night in Page, AZ. Unfortunately, the entire town was booked up and we finally found a room in Big Water, UT.

This was the hotel we stayed at. I think that the owner must have known that Page was booked up as we were charged $100 for a really mediocre room.

Here’s uncle Jared doing his annual scale ‘n jump.

Ruby, mommy got really inventive and repurposed a cooler for a bathtub where you and Tennyson scrubbed off the sand and lake water.

Tennyson was his usual adventurous self.

Uncle Jason got to drive the new fancy-schmancy SS Jessica all day long.

Cousin Ethan was on flag detail.

Aunt Nicole was trying to get this new fangled surf thing to work.

As did uncle Jason (note that only Dodgers fans are dumb enough to go sans life jacket and surf on a pink board).

Then here’s the family shot that I wish could have been taken about an hour later but due to some x-tra crabby babies we had to take it in full sun as there wasn’t shade anywhere to be found.

The following morning uncle Jared and I took the fish boat back into the slip where we drove to St. George where I flew back to Salt Lake just in time for me to take my very last final. Yep. I’m done. No more homework. No more going to class. No more cramming for tests. Words cannot fully express the relief I feel and how happy I am to have part of my life back.

RUBY-
Oh, Ruby. You’re breakin’ my heart. You’re breaking it with your cuteness and your hugs and your little songs and your demands for popcycles and your little feat pitter-patterin throughout the house.

This summer has been so much fun as you continue to to develop in just about every way. You’re still moody as anything, but I think that you’ve been spending much less time in the naughty chair. At least it seems that way, anyway.

You still crave your independence which has sometimes found you at odds with your mother and I. I still get phone calls just about every day from your mom where she just has to vent. Lately I’ve been coming home for lunch and I think that it helps for you to have someone else tell you “no”.

This is a shot of you and mommy at the 24th of July Pioneer Day parade as you take in all the floats, bands and pageantry.

Here you are at Lake Powell on top of the Rebel just waking up and getting the day going.

And here’s another one of you on the back of the Rebel long before exhaustion kicked in.

And after the exhaustion kicked in.

And this is quite possibly my most favorite photo of you so far. It was the final evening at Lake Powell and you were totally spent. This is what four days of no naps will do.

HENRY-
The big news is that you are finally getting the idea that mobility is an option. You can now go from your belly to sitting up and you are now doing the army crawl when you see something you really really want across a room. This new-found mobility has caused some interesting moments for you in your crib as your favorite new position is to stick your legs through the rails and sit up and put your arms on the crossbar kinda like you are sitting at a bar about to order a drink. I have found you this way a couple of times and it cracks me up as you look like such an adult.

We’ve put you through the ringer this month with all the traveling and for the most part you’ve responded well except for the night we were trying to find a hotel in Page. It was a tough time as we drove all over Page continually being rejected with you crying at the top of your lungs. It was a rough night, but you bounced back well the next day.

Henry, you have such an effect on people. My dad (Papa) I think accurately assessed that you have such a calm about you. Your mom is also more and more crazy about you to the point where she has let it be known to me that I can be replaced. I’m not sure just exactly what that means, but suffice it to say that she adores you as much as a mother can adore her child. Hopefully you won’t be too big a momma’s boy and I’m considering methods I may have to take to man you up...just kidding. I pray that you may always be close to your mother as she’s worth it.

Alright then kiddo’s. I gotta hit the sack. This next month brings with it a lot of changes around the house as we begin spending our refinance money. Lots of news and corresponding photos to follow.

Love,
Dad

That's what four days on a Lake Powell houseboat will do for ya.

FINAL STATS
Cumulative GPA: 3.4
Total Units Passed: 177
Total Years: 21

The crew came one morning at our rehearsal at Woods Cross High School and cornered people asking them if they resembled their instrument. My first answer was that I had brass-like skin just like my tuba (yes, I played the tuba...still do sometimes) and that my arms and legs were like the pipes. I guess that this didn't fly as the producer then prodded me to say that my voice was deep and low, just like a tuba.

And so it was: quite possibly the least interesting segment in all of televised history.

Aside from the pain of watching my 16-year-old self (I come in at the 2:03 mark) it was a real joy to see what might possibly be the greatest teacher of my academic career. Steve Richins was so full of enthusiasm, intensity and life and this video captures just how I remember him. I am forever grateful and blessed from knowing him and was sad when he passed away a few years back.

This photo does not do justice just how bad her hands became by the end of the night. I lost count, but I'm pretty sure we set a record with the wipes.

I was cleaning off my desktop when I came across this.

Read all about Thad's fancy-schmancy lofty-loft of a home here. And buy some stuff while you're at it.

I’m writing this from our hotel room in Moab. I just played a gig with Peter Breinholt and came back to find you two kids and mom asleep so I thought I’d wind down by writing about the going’s on of this past month.

Summer usually brings lots of festival/outdoor type gigs for me. This year I’ve played at the Utah Arts Festival with SLAJO and done a bunch of one-off gigs with Peter B. It’s nice to travel around our beautiful state and play my drums through a PA. To this day that’s one of the most enjoyable moments of my musical life: that moment during a sound check when the sound guy brings up the bass drum through my monitor. I can’t really explain why I like it so...maybe it makes me feel like I’m 14 all over again. I dunno...

Anyway, summer is now in full swing and we’ve seen oodles of family so far. We spent a long weekend in St. George to celebrate your Grandma Julie’s birthday. Nearly everybody was there including Aunt Suzy and cousin Tennyson who are in Utah for the summer while uncle Jeremy studies to take the bar at the end of July.

I flew home to get back to work while you guys stayed for few more days. I missed you but it was a hectic week for me and I was happy that your mom and aunt Suz got to have some precious time together just being moms. They also got to have some precious time with their mom, which just doesn’t happen as often as they’d like. I think you’ll learn that Grandma Julie is one hot commodity and that any solo time you get with her is pretty rare.

You guys didn’t even miss me as you got to go to the Lake where you played in the sand with cousin Chloe:

Went swimming at the neighborhood pool:

From there your mom drove back home with Suz and Tennyson and then stayed with us for another week. Cousin Tennyson is quite the little man with his strut and handsome little smile. Charm just drips off of him and I’m sure he’s well on his way of melting lots of hearts as time passes. Ruby, you just love to boss him around and it’s a good opportunity to see how you’ll be treating Henry as he matures. He takes it in stride and mostly ignores your requests. Your mom and I have a good laugh as we’re the ones at the business end of 95% of your requesting.

My math class painfully durges along and I’m losing steam fast. I did really well on my first exam, which got me all arrogant and made me question why I was working so hard. Well then I took my second exam and totally blew it. I don’t have the result just yet but when I do it’ll probably be pretty embarrassing. Oh well. Whatever. The words “D- and above” keep ringing in my ears.

I’ve also let the yard go this summer as we’re about to close on our refinance of the house and will have some money to fix up some things. Our first priority is to sure up the foundation and from there we’ll evaluate how much we’ll have left over and that will dictate what yard projects I will be doing. If it all goes as planned we’ll have a fully automated sprinkling system with new grass and a few other landscape features. Honestly, I can’t wait to start as walking over a dead lawn every day is bringing me down.

RUBY-
Oh, kiddo. What’s happened to you? You’ve become a teenager within the last few weeks with all your mood swings and overall bossiness. It’s a good thing our time-out stool is a quality piece of furniture what with all the action it’s been seeing lately. Your mom catches the brunt of it obviously and I get at least one phone call a day from her where she has to let it out.

Fortunately for me this has lead to more lunches together as I am coming home now more often, one of the blessings of working only a few minutes away. There I get to buffer the drama and try my best to divert your attention. Most of the time it works, but when it doesn’t then it’s time for the ol’e time out stool. Sometimes your mom sends you to your room with instructions to “come back when your happy”. To my amazement this actually works when I hear you a few minutes later yell, “Mom I’m so happy now!” Then you come out a new person perfectly transformed.

It’s probably also worth mentioning that this past month brought one the greatest moments of my life. I was getting out of the car after a day at work and you ran up and greeted me with a rendition of “I’m So Glad When Daddy Comes Home”. You got every word and nearly every action correct and even managed to hold onto the melody as you sang. Honestly Ruby, this was one of the greatest feelings I have ever felt. You are such a sweetheart when your toddler selfishness isn’t driving you. There are times when you run up and give people hugs (people you are way familiar with I should mention...strange faces make you run into exile). Anyway, I hope to always be worthy of your love as I cherish it more than just about anything else.

You can also be so sweet to brother Henry. You mimic your mother at times and give him squeezes and hugs like she does. You even call him “Hen” like she does. Regardless of the imitation, I can tell that you do love your brother and treat him well most of the time.

Sometime this summer we will be buying you a real bed as we think it’s time for you to graduate from the crib. Your mom has tirelessly been working on just what strategy we will be employing and as of this writing we will be getting a twin bed rather than a toddler bed. I guess that she figures that a toddler bed is a waste of money as you’ll be in a twin bed soon enough. I kinda think we should get bunk beds as it’s pretty likely that you and Henry will be sharing a room at some point. We’ll see what happens though.

HENRY-

It looks like you’ve finally turned the corner and are becoming less of a slug. While at Grandma Julie’s we pulled out one of those jumper things you hang in a doorway and you took to it like a BYU coed to a Twinkie™. Since then you like to roll around from your back to your front and are trying to lift yourself up on furniture.

You are also sleeping so much better as of late. I even managed to snap a shot of you sleeping which I felt was akin to documenting a dodo bird. We would tread ever so lightly when you were sleeping for fear of waking you up. We figured that you were a light sleeper and that just about any noise would stir you. Anyway, we’ve now discovered that you suck on your left thumb while enjoying what your sister dubbed an “Iss” (basically a silky swatch of fabric).

This newfound mobility has also translated into your sleep habits. We’ll set you down in one direction only to find you 180° from that when you wake up. I guess that it’s about time we install some bumpers on your crib as we’re likely to find you in any possible scenario now.

It’s also just about impossible for us to take you anywhere without you making some fans along the way. Your smile and full head of hair work wonders on the soft-hearted ladies out there and then once you draw them in they see your blue eyes and at that point it’s game over. Now I could go ahead and brag here about my success as a ladies man but that’d be a bold face lie. The only success I’ve ever had in love was with your mom so just go ahead and call uncle Jared if you need that kind of advice.

Alright then...gotta hit the sack. This month promises yet to be another fun one as we’re heading down to our annual Lake Powell trip with the Hursts.

love,
Dad