Hey DSD!
A story for you because you talked about Hendrix and because if memory serves, your wife is a musician. And because you still have all these wonderful surprises ahead of you...
Tonight I went to hear the first performance of SHOW?.
Never heard of them? Well- I guess not-as it was their first performance, but two of the members of this band bear the last name of Westbrook.
By way of background, it's important to know that I studied classical piano for twelve years, organ for three, and voice for eight. I'm the one you hear singing O Holy Night at midnight Mass, or Rejoice Greatly in the Messiah, you know, the one where kids put their hands over their ears at the high notes.
When I had children, I had such dreams. While my husband fantasized of throwing baseballs and shooting baskets, I heard the sound of sweet boy voices in harmony, I saw myself teaching small fingers to wrap around early Bach. In my wildest imaginings---I pictured a mother-son appearance in Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors.
And as so many parental dreams have a way of doing, these fell on the hard ground of reality and shattered. well-some of them---actually CW began piano at five and was wonderful. We have a tape of his first recital---hair slicked down, little red suspenders, feet still a foot off the floor. Unfortunately he hated it. Then both boys sang in a wonderful children's choir --an English Boys' sound- they even made CD's and sang with the Dallas Symphony. Unfortunately they hated it.
CW discovered computers; Ammo played drums in the school band. Drums? Drums? I moved on to the next dream.
A month ago, they brought home a couple of fellow swim team members. Now our living room is not exactly -umm-well-let's just say that Southern Living has not been beating down the door to showcase us in their next issue of Elegant Texas Mansions. There is a grand piano, but there's also a drum set and several guitars and speakers and keyboards lying around. The guys picked up the instruments and suddenly---a band was born. Since 2/5 of them had never seen a musical note in their lives, it was an interesting hour. I stayed out of the room-though it was hard. The lead singer was totally tone-deaf. I mean- really, really tone-deaf. I didn't believe people could be that tone-deaf; I thought it was a joke.
After one day of practice, I made them move everything (except the piano) to the poolhouse. They have been practicing straight through Christmas break but I haven't heard them. I just feed them. A lot.
Tonight--- their debut. It was a great audience consisting of the rest of the swim team and their parents. SInce most of the team is girls, the band got screams and cries of adoration no matter what they did. When they ran through their repertoire---which is only five songs even if you include their rendition of that Chili's commercial "I Want My Baby-Back Ribs"--they made stuff up. A lot of the numbers were rap so that Chris didn't have to sing in any particular key. He was terrific. A born entertainer. They loved him.
Afterwards we sat in our now more elegant, but somewhat barren, living room to discuss the performance:
"What'd you think of the Marilyn Manson number, Mom?"
(MArilyn Manson? Wasn't she an actress?) "Um-great!- well--which one was that?"
"You know---the one where we all screamed at Chris and he got louder and louder and then Patrick made the guitar do that noise!"
"Oh-yeah---that one". (THey ALL sounded like that.)
"DId you like when I did that thing at the end of the Ice song?"
"Oh-yes---very much!" (Ice? Ice? Was that the one where they hit their guitars with their fists?)
"Did you hear us mess up when I sang the chorus with Chris?"
"Yes-well- um-I did think Chris was singing in a different key-".
"NO-o-o-! I mean when I left the keyboard and jumped in the air! Wan't that cool?"
"Oh!! Yes!!! Very-cool!"
"Mom! MOM! Did you hear my drum solo!!"
"It was-incredible! Sure--I loved when you switched from that 4/4 to 6/8 rhythm!"
"No! I mean did you hear the girls!! They wanted me to take my shirt off!!"
I was lost here, flailing around in unchartered musical seas. They finally wound down and headed to bed. As Ammo went by, he came over and hugged me. "Thanks, Mom"
"Sure, Honey. What for?"
"Because we inherited all this musical talent from you." |
