Derrick & The Black Sea

James has been very busy these days, what with the normal classes and homework that come with being in law school along with a few freelance jobs, in addition to being on the board of a student group AND now the journal he's been working on for the past year, all while working on the ongoing litigation against our former landlords and being a present and active father and husband...so I am very happy to report that he has been able to find some time to focus on something that has always been a passion for him; his music!

James has been performing with our good friend Derrick Karg as part of his band Derrick & The Black Sea. Still a fledgling trio, James, Derrick and their musical partner Richard Ruggiero have a really awesome, unique style - the 'name' of which genre, I understand, is somewhat controversial; "hard folk" and "folk metal" have both been suggested, but Derrick insists that it is "dark country rock"...They perform mostly original work, so I guess the moral is that you'll have to go out and hear them, and then decide for yourself what to call it (and, I suppose, report your conclusions)!

I had the great fortune to actually attend one of their concerts recently (a rarity since they tend to play bars and clubs that are understandably inappropriate for the little ladies) and had a blast. I've posted one of their songs below, though it is one of the more traditional songs that they played early in the set...I totally recommend that you all come see them really rock out in person!

Happily, you'll have the opportunity to do just that TONIGHT!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

FREE

7pm at Spike Hill, located at 184 Bedford street in Brooklyn.

Go out, support some great musicians, and Enjoy!

Oh, and check out their facebook page, too! Just click here!

Below is a (terrible sound quality, sorry) video of Derrick & The Black Sea performing Colorado & Down at Sullivan Hall.

Quite a Conversation

Cadence really doesn't like Dora the Explorer.

She's seen a few episodes, and developed a fairly pronounced distaste for the series - she found it condescending and uninteresting. It used to be mostly a non-issue, but lately a lot of people have, for whatever reason, started asking her if she likes it. I think she feels somewhat attacked by these inquiries, and has started vehemently correcting folks who mistakenly assume that she must like it because she is a girl of a certain age. (Go Cadence, really...) She's not rude, just quite blunt, and will refuse toys, stickers, or other small items people offer to gift her by saying "well, I really don't like Dora, so I won't really like that." or such to that effect.

A nuance to this is that a couple of years ago, before she'd been exposed to the show, my agent gave her a plush Dora doll which she treasured greatly. Her appreciation for this doll hasn't waned much over the years, but she did become somewhat disenchanted with it once she realized it's unwelcome associations. This all culminated the other day in what I think is kind of an awesome conversation.

Cadence: Mom, I really don't like the word (with a viscous, dripping disdain) 'Dora'

Me: You mean you don't like the name Dora?

Cadence: Yeah, I don't want her to be named Dora anymore.

Me: Well, you can always rename her if you want to.

Cadence: Yeah, I want to. I'm going to give her a new name. She has a new name now.

Me: Already? What is it?

Cadence: From now on, she's going to be called Zsa Zsa GaborPaper.

And you know what? It stuck. If you happen to see this lady walking around with her plush companion, remember; it's not ice-skating Dora, it's ice-skating Zsa Zsa GaborPaper.

That's my girl.

Sisters

Behold:

Cadence, age 9 months.

Hazel, age 8 months.

Yup, they're sisters alright!

Busy busy busy

We're still here, friends.

Life's just been so full, and we've been spending our time trying to keep up with the moment, and revel in every awesome little bit of it, and thus we lose track of silly things like time...what, I'm 6 months behind in updates here? um...

Oh look! Cute kids!

Hopefully we'll be back with more consistent updates in the near future. In the meantime, know that we're sending warm thoughts to you all. Much love!