I'll Have More of the Marsala Please

Father's Day. What an awesome holiday? I used to think it was kind of boring (because no one celebrated me). But now, it's wicked awesome. For example, I get presents. It's like I have TWO birthdays! When I woke up on Father's Day, I found the following on our living room rug:Happy Father's Day in presents! Now before you go judging Caitlin for over doing it and spending thousands of dollars on me, note that many of these gifts were low cost but equally tender gifts. For example - A Mountain Dew for my drive to church, bag of PB M&Ms, new crazy socks, a frame with multiple pictures of Max in it. I also got a t-shirt that said, "Just Because I'm the DJ Doesn't Mean I Can't Dance" which you may recognize as my 2010 motto.

Max wanted to give me gift "F" for father. He was a little hesitant to give it to me at first, but finally caved.

Thanks dude.

A matching shirt for Max!!! Hooray for twinners! It was a precious day to be a dad, I must say. Caitlin wanted to make me any meal of my choice, so I told her I wanted chicken masala. She made the following:

Weird. That appears to be...yep, it is. Chicken marsala. Apparently my pronunciation blows. She was a little confused when I asked for curry spiced kale with chickpeas and naan as sides.

But let's be honest - it was scrumptious. Thanks woman.

Motto Comes To Life - Sort Of

That's right Max. Just because your dad's a DJ, doesn't mean he can't dance. No truer words have been uttered...er, written...er, printed on a t-shirt. What I'm trying to say Max is that yes, sometimes your dad IS a DJ and he certainly dances while he's doing it. Case in point:

The Stake Dance in South Chicago I dj'd on Saturday.

Yep, it was on for round 2 (cause I did it last year. If you don't know, now you know...people).

To remind you, this is a Stake dance that has pretty much equal parts White, Black and Hispanic. Its a dance full of insecure kids who are at that stage where nothing matters more in life than acceptance and self discovery. This leads to the following problems from a DJ's perspective:

1) They don't come to just dance. This means that their motives for being at a dance is to hang out with friends, look for mischief, or possibly dance with that boy/girl they kind of like (kind of, sort of, maybe). There motive is not to let loose and just dance the night away.

2) They only like a certain kind of music and all other music is inferior or lame. Yes, this means you can only really satisfy 20-30% of the audience at a time, unless you get lucky with the right song (to be discussed later).

3) If you don't play their music, they will not dance. Worse, they will yell at you, roll their eyes, or boo your song off.

4) They have no idea what other people like because they have trouble seeing outside of their own world.

So, with those thoughts in mind...I showed up to DJ. I decided that this year I would be on stage so the kids couldn't look at my computer. Instead, I put out a sheet of paper for them to write requests. Here are a few I got:

Bity Bity Bam Bam - Selena
Rock that Body - Black Eyed Peas
MISSSSSSSS MURDER!!!! - by AFI (pretty please smiley)
Pretty Boy Swag - Soulja Boy
El Malo - Aventura
Take On Me - Real Big Fish
Teach Me How to Jerk - Audio Push
Any song by Radiohead (come on kids, its pretty tough to dance to radiohead)

Etc, etc, etc. Man. Tough night ahead.

Unfortunately, I can't tell you the order I played the following songs because my Itunes mixed them all up somehow since Saturday night, but here is the list.

Around the World - Daft Punk
Know Your Enemy - Green Day
Teach Me How to Jerk - Audio Push
Forever - Chris Brown
Somebody to Love - Justin Bieber (did not get the response I was expecting, almost got boo'd off)
Casper Cha Cha Slide - Casper (The kids love this song...everyone. They all participate. Its the easiest 6 minutes of the night both years)
On to the Next One - Jay Z
More Than Words - Extreme
In Da Club - 50 Cent (even though this was edited, it was a little risky for a church dance...but it was a girl's birthday and I announced it then played the song. The kids responded with love)
Party in the USA - Miley Cirus (After about 5 songs about 25 white kids walked in from the Naperville Stake and were standing all awkward in the corner. I played this song to make them feel more at home. They responded with shreeks of joy and crazy white girl dancing. Black kids looked on with disgust, but eventually joined in).
Bust a Move (Don Ramini Remix) - Young M.C.

During the above song, Brig's mom handed out glow sticks and the kids went wild. This was a top moment of the night for me. They loved the techno version of this song and jumped wildly until they ran out of energy:

Down - Jay Sean

Day 'n Night - Kid Cudi (always a clowd pleaser)

One, Two Step - Ciara

I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas (I played this song last year and the kids really didn't respond, but the requests kept coming in and they owned this song)

Suavamente - Elvis Crespo

Krazy - Pitbull feat. Lil' John

American Boy - Estelle feat. Kanye West

Thriller, Beat It and Billie Jean - Michael Jackson (even though he died last year, the kids are still in mourning and they kept wanting more MJ)

Like a Star - Corinne Bailey Rae

Bad Romance (Skrillex Remix) - Lady Gaga (this was the winner of the night. Alright Lady Gaga, you win again. Last year it was Just Dance, now this. You officially own teenagers. But I refuse to play your crappy A song Alejandro. It sucks. The kids were not happy when I told them I wouldn't play it.)

Perfect Situation - Weezer

Young Forever - Jay Z

Nine In the Afternoon - Panic at the Disco

Sell Out - Reel Big Fish (the white boys went nuts - everyone else thought they were retarded).

Come Away With Me - Norah Jones

No Es Una Novela - Monchy and Alexandra

A Moment Like This - Kelly Clarkson

El Sonidito - Hechizeros Band (I was told later that the latin kids were really happy with me this year and recognized that I had made great strides at finding out what they like. That was good cause last year they were hatin' up on me.)

Crazier - Taylor Swift

OMG - Usher (Another tough choice. The actual lyrics to this song say "Oh My Gosh," but I was worried a leader would come get mad at me any way. No one did, and the kids freakin' died when I played this song. Hey, its a great track.)

Dios te Pido - Juanes

Gettin' Over You - David Guetta

Telephone - Lady Gaga

Dame Tu Amor - Alecranes Musical

Cupid Shuffle - Cupid

When You Look In To My Eyes - Jonas Brothers

Ob La Di - Beatles (Here is where I learned a great lesson. My instincts told me that kids won't dance to music they don't know well. But someone requested it and I gave it a shot. It was boo'ed off within 2 minutes. The party died. Lesson? Kids don't know what other kids like. Don't trust them, shut them down)

Juana La Cubana - Aniceto Molina

You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift (I got boo'd by the boys at first, but by the end everyone was dancing and singing this song. Sorry kids, you got owned by T Swift and her power over your kind)

Just Dance - Lady Gaga

You're a Jerk - New Boyz

Dile el Amor - Aventura

Winner - Jamie Foxx feat. Justin Timberlake

Evacuate the Dancefloor - Cascada

Your Love is my Drug - Ke$ha

Gold Digger - Kanye West (This went over really well...this is about as nostalgic as these kids can get)

I let another kid play a song from his iPod and it stopped the party cold, even though he said it was a great rap/dance song like the Cupid Shuffle. He got boo'd. Big mistake.

Overall, the party was hot and I entertained them the best I could for 4 hours. Claire never said it would be easy, she only said it would be worth it.

Oh, and I danced nearly the entire night to own tunes.

Hello Baby...

Did you know Caitlin and Max are out of town?

Yep.

Yep, indeed.

Here's what I do with my time.

Boy Dat Shirt is Sharp!

Have you ever seen me wear a shirt that has this on the front? Liar, you definitely have. I wear this shirt constantly. I love this shirt. I have loved it from the day I saw it at a craft fair in Brooklyn and purchased it for $10. That was three years ago. Since then, I have received an innumerable amount of compliments on this shirt. The people who comment range from little kids up to old people. One time I got three compliments on this shirt from the gate at the airport to the baggage claim. Its crazy. Every time someone asks me where they could buy one, I have to say, "sorry dude, I bought it on the street."

Flash forward three years. Caitlin was visiting her mom and dad in DC. As they walked around they stumbled on a street market. Caitlin couldn't help but wish, "man, I'd love to find that t-shirt guy again...I could surprise Jeff with a new shirt since he couldn't come on this trip." Low and behold, she ran into him. Their reunion was sweet and she bought me another shirt:

Awesome. Love it.

So everyone who has ever asked me about that shirt or enquired as to how they too could have one, you can go to SHARP SHIRTER by clicking HERE! He also has women's shirts and many other prints, as well as laptop covers and other shiz.

There. You have been informed.

Jeff

ABC, BBD (The East Coast Family)

I am DJ'ing a stake dance this Saturday and I've been working on my playlist. I asked that the stake collect songs that the youth want to hear. One of the requests was:

That Girl is Poison - Don't Know the Name of the Band.

What?

What the Frizoodles?

You don't know the "band" that sings the song Poison? (NOT "that girl is poison")?

I might not play that wicked awesome song just to punish you for not knowing who Bel Biv Devoe is. Geez, what are you people - like 15? Oh wait, yes you are. Forgiven. That song came out way before you were born.

When The Dealin's Done

Patrick and Mike studied their cards furiously, looking for any way to win. It just didn't seem likely though. No matter of skill nor luck is enough when you are playing the ultimate of card sharks. I player so skilled, he'll rake in all your money and take your girl with it.

Max. The ultimate gambler. Okay, maybe we were just playing Phase 10 and maybe Max thought it was boring so he only stayed for one round. But still, he seems pretty natural with those cards.

Me? I was getting pretty frustrated cause I suck. Oh well, at least its just Phase 10. What I really cared about was that Patrick was in town and he came all the way up with Mike to visit us in Evanston from downtown Chicago. Caitlin cooked a delicious meal and then we hung around and played cards while we chatted it up. I also had the chance to go out on Friday night with those guys and talk about whats been going on since we all graduated. They are both doing good things and having a great time doing it.

Plus they got to meet Max, which is a privilege to be earned! Max approved of their visiting and said they can come back any time.

Can you feel the love tonight? I can. Max wasn't just making that face cause of a poopy diaper...neither was Patrick. Can't wait for you to come back for a visit soon dudes.

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy First Fathers Day Jeffie G! Today Max and I celebrate you. Max wanted me to let you know that he loves how you make him giggle and screech will pure delight when you play with him. Max also loves how you read him a bedtime story every night before he goes to bed.

Kids are obsessed with Jeff especially Maxers and our little buddies Davis and Ella. Thanks for being such a fun dude Jeff!

Ella throws both hands in the air for Unky Jaymoo!

Hope you have a great day Jeff and that you feel loved and celebrated!

Do Something Good For Once In Your Life

Hey Everyone! I need your help. Well, to be more specific, a friend needs all our help. There is a lovely woman in Boise named Makita who does so many things for others. I'd love to help do something for her and her daughter Brynn (pictured). Recently, Brynn was diagnosed with Retts Syndrome, which is a disorder caused by a mutation on the X chromosome, so it affects only girls and symptoms appear around 6-18 months old. After a seemingly normal development, they begin to see regression in speech, motor coordination and many other areas. It is a very hard disease for both child and parents.

Well, Pepsi is doing a something called the Pepsi Refresh Project and we can help Retts research get a boost of $250,000 from Pepsi if it receives enough votes. It actually has a good chance of getting the money if we all pitch in. Retts is actually a disease that is getting closer to being solved, this money could really help.

All you have to do is CLICK HERE! Every day, click on this link and vote. You can also link to it on Facebook and vote straight from Facebook if you'd prefer. Myself, Caitlin, Pamsky, Makita and Brynn would really appreciate it.

Thanks my friends. You rock hardcore.

Pimp Max's Ride

You've seen this before, right? Need a reminder? WATCH THE VIDEO! Anyway, that carriage is actually ours. Caitlin and I picked it up for free at a garage sale. It's a truly vintage baby carriage from the '60s, not unlike the one seen in the epic, but messed up, film Rosemary's Baby. The only problem? It's old, rusting, and starting to brown inside.

See what I'm saying? Well, that doesn't stop people like myself and D Wo. All the way back last December we got the idea that we needed to Pimp Max's Ride - before he was even born!

D Wo was pumped to be a part of the transformation. We started by sanding off all the rust from the metal and preparing it for paint.

We chose shiny metal paint to give it a certain glow. I don't think our neighbors really loved us doing this in the basement, but whatever. After about 3 or 4 coats, it was looking amazing. We also repainted the wheels white.

To truly pimp this ride, we needed to bling it out. By then D Wo had moved to Minneapolis, so I was on my own from now on. I bought large faux diamonds and glued them on tight to the wheels.

Bling bling, money ain't a thing for max. I figured this would give it the glow I was hoping for.

But bling bling isn't enough...Max needed to ride in comfort. I was given a big slab of egg crate padding which I cut up to precision. I laced in the interior of the carriage with the softest padding ever.

Awesome. Now I could cover this up with any blanket of my choice and he'd be on the cushiest surface ever.

I also added some dope mirror rims to the wheels for extra pimpness.

And for me, I resurfaced the handle to keep my hands soft and sans callous.

I had this all done by February, but we decided to wait for better weather and for D Wo to return in order to take it for the virgin run. We were ready. We put Max inside and he was instantly loving his life.

The grills and wheels were shiny and bright...blingin' in the noonday sun.

Max was promised cush...and he got cush.

Instantly the coolest dad in Evanston, hands down.

Thanks D Wo for all the help and support. Thanks Caitlin for letting me do crazy projects and spending money on random stuff. Your welcome Max for building you the best ride in town. My next steps? Add a light for the inside of the carriage for night walks and maybe a Mercedes Benz logo on the front. We'll see.

Visitor From a Far Off Land

Okay, not that far off...just San Francisco. Okay, Oakland really. But it was SARAH! Boom. She popped on over on Sunday afternoon after chilling with her friend she likes more than us. Hey, we'll take whatever Sarah time we can get at this point. Its been a solid two years since we saw her last. Max certainly did love having her in town.

Sarah and Caitlin were roommates for quite a while, including the year that Caitlin and I were dating. Poor Sarah was constantly walking in on me making inappropriate advances on Caitlin, which probably made her puke in her mouth and swallow it back down again. Here are some things we love about her:

1) Boom.

2) Her amazing stories, some of which involve her love of drama (though she will persist that she does not seek out drama).

3) Her sense of adventure at the pinnacle level.

4) Her sense of chill.

5) Her pimpness.

Come back.

Tootsie Roll

I was filled with daddy pride earlier this week when Max learned how to roll over. Caitlin and I were sitting there talking when Max suddenly started doing some serious rolling from side to side, as if building up the momentum for the big moment. I hurried and grabbed the camera - would this be the moment?Undeterred by a camera in his face, Max went for the big attempt.

Having overcome the biggest hurdle, his shoulder, he was bound for success!

And boom...it was done. It scared him the first time and he started whimpering...but then we cheered and he got psyched.

And pretty darn proud of himself I must say. Good work duders.

Remember This...

It's been getting much warmer here - and humid. So this requires extra bathing for Max...which he quite enjoys. This picture demonstrates his new thing, which is biting his bottom lip. Its cute, wouldn't you agree? Max had to get all clean on this Memorial Day - because he had visitors coming.

AMBER GOT YOU!!! Amber dropped by from DC with local friends Alissa and Matt as well as some new peeps that are moving up to Evanston.

Matt and ball playin' boy Tate. Or homie. Either way, the hat suits you boy.

These are the new peeps I was speaking of - Kellie and Tyson. They are moving to Evanston soon as Tyson will be starting at Kellogg in the fall. We are psyched to have them cause, well, they seem like good people (whatever that means). Also, Max has his eye on their daughter Alpha.

I agree Max, she is cute.

You ain't so bad lookin' yourself kid. Especially with your thuggin' hat on.

Tate. Adorable. Playa.

Hooray for Memorial Day! After a meal of Mediterranean food (to help us remember our soldiers), we went on a walk. Alissa was OBSESSED with doing this jump photo. I tried to talk her out of it, but there was no talkin' her out of it. Cool.

Men and their babies.

We went to this new yogurt place called "OrgaNicks". Seriously, that name is terrible. But Alissa's purple dressed looked cool with the orange interior. OrgaNicks. Lame name. Decent yogurt.

Max dug it. Fun times on a chill Memorial Day.