On Rock 'n Roll and waiting for it...

I'll write this one as a dad, and a very proud one; both for my patience and, of course, the gift of a prodigy the gods of Rock have given us all: OWEN JAZZ IV.

The out-of-wedlock-child-of-1940s-Blues, Rock 'n Roll, scurried into ears and veins during the long family trip vacations, I hated at the time but cherish deeply now, through the Atacama desert. Alongside my 3 siblings, crammed into a 1988 Nissan Sentra, our missionary father ventured into the rebellious nostalgia of his pre-conversion days and blasted with an extreme sense of loyalty and duty-of-passing-down the endless hits of Wilson and his crew: The Beach Boys. My mother, far more traditionalist consented with this "playing with the devil" solely because it eventually led to the infamous Emmons-4-part-harmonies which come dinner time are only topped by the Vontrapps at the peak of their career. 

Fast forward 20 years. Now it's my turn to infuse my kids and their friends with the sound antidote the gods have given us to make it through adolescence and its reoccurring waves through adulthood. 

Owen Jazz, my first son, has been getting music since his days swimming in the womb. When it came his turn to make music he was keen towards the hand drum. I attribute this largely towards the insurmountable stories he has witnessed always to the beat of the eagles heart. He knows not of a story told without a drum.

But for almost the entirety of the 2 years in our kindergarten in Jinan, I had hoped for him to gather around for a tickling of the ivory. There was no way. No interest. And on my end I stayed true to what I have learned: continue to create the peripheral learning and interest possibilities while from time to time bringing up the question again and again.

Towards the end of our time in Jinan, bordering age 6, already far later than when I had begun playing piano, I started playing Rock and Roll videos for the kids of KeyU Kindergarten while they were working on their drawing. God bless my buddy Matt Thiessen and his soothing melodic punk rock. Owen and his friends were hooked. Next time I was by the piano I started playing Relient K's 2005 hit: Be My Escape and, just like that, the piano became cool! Owen could be found at the keys at all times. His friends soon joined in with drums and vocals and Jazzers first band was born, as they call it: THE ROCKERS.

Last week they performed with the ease of a seasoned touring band on their 25th date on a state-wide tour. Check it for yourself:

Now, there is no stopping them. In the Originateve Holistic Kindergarten we developed programming for, one part of the program was to have SHOWS every 2 weeks. The idea behind it was to make ART a way of life rather than something saved for the "special occasions". For this last show, Owen was not impressed and did not buy into the whole "SHOW" quality. In his own words he said, I WANT TO PLAY A REAL SHOW. Go figure, him and his friends had been juiced up with the Jack Black classic: School of Rock. Now, they are shooting for the stars and they've sure got the rock in them. 

(See also: Owen Jazz covering punk rock classic: At Your Funeral by Saves The Day (Covered by Owen Jazz))