Todderworld

10 Dads: A Dad's Day Tribute

10 dads I wish I was like. In no particular order.

1. My Brother in Law Kevin. He has the patience of an old Golden Retriever. He should be sainted for the amounts of estrogen he’s been made to endure after a life with only one son, three daughters and…my sister. He loves his kids. Cries at their graduations and is the first dad (aside from my own) who had an impact on me.

2. My brother Dennis. I never figured him for the fatherly type growing up but he happens to be one of the best. He endlessly challenges his super smart daughter’s incredible brain and spends hours playing catch with or at Nationals games with his baseball-obsessed son.

3. My brother Allen. He lost his wife last year and finds the strength to get up every day and push forward for his 10 year old son. As the oldest brother he’s always looked out for me in a protective father-like way. Damn near old enough to be my dad :)

4. My friend Petey. Has fought for and gone through hell for his children. Has two beautiful girls. I have a special place in my soul for dads with daughters.

5. Luke Brindley. 1.2.3.4 kids. FOUR kids. He became a dad at an age when I wasn’t even thinking about leaving my parent’s basement. His freakish talent runs deep in his offspring. His oldest boy could and might be a force to be reckoned with in this business of music.

6. My studio comrade and friend Jared Bartlett. You can’t love your children more than he loves his. You might love ‘em as much but you can’t love ‘em more. The man glows when he talks about either one of his kids. He’s the real deal.

7. Dr. Alan Wayne. Pediatric Oncologist. Hero. Loves life, his wife and his two beautiful daughters. The kind of guy who changes your life in one conversation. Did I mention that he’s a pediatric oncologist??

8. Mike Simons. I never met him. I never will. If, when i’m gone, my daughter talks about me the way his son talks about him I will have left this world a better place than it was when I got here. He very obviously was a great dad.

9. My girlfriend’s pop. You are a patient man :) You are also an impossible act to follow…You’re a great hang. Thanks for the man-dates to movies she wouldn’t go see and for the hours of profound political and historical conversation.

9.5 Ryan’s stepdad Jeremy. How many split family fathers actually get to say that? I used to dread the thought of a step father, now I couldn’t be happier to have him in her life. He is the best-case scenario :)

10. My dad. My dad can tell a story. His voice is lower and slower now, the tales take longer but the punchline is always worth the wait even when it’s the 10th time you’ve heard it. He is a flirt, a gentleman and he knows everything. He’s a yellow dog lifelong democrat from the heart of Tennessee. He and his old Gibson guitar are my earliest memories of wanting to make music. He loves his grandkids and will make the 200 foot trip that takes him 30 minutes to go down to the river and fish with them (even if they only stay for five). His comic timing is impeccable and he always unashamedly says something inappropriate. He hasn’t been perfect but always did his best. He’s a damn good dad.

There are many more. Too many to name..Prescott, Stilson, MF, Murphquake, Lavesy…

This is just a small salute to dad’s on our day.

Happy Father’s Day

One Way I'm Smarter Than My Dog

i just realized that when my dog is in the backyard and hears a much larger dog in the distance barking savagely he responds by barking back. He’s visibly freaked, running around in full-on WTF mode and yet yapping his little sausage shaped brains out.

This is the human equivalent of walking into a dangerous situation and exclaiming your whereabouts to your would-be assailant.

Say there’s a serial killer loose in town and he’s been hacking people’s extremities off with a rusty old wood saw just after he cracks ‘em over the bean with a ball peen hammer. Now let’s say you are out walking late one night out of necessity (because people generally stay IN when hammer-wielding murderers are loose). On your way back home you hear the faint sound sound of peen-meeting-skull followed by a saw stroke or two followed by maniacal laughter followed by silence. Were you a human version of my dog Bruno this would be the part where, instead of running for your fuggin life, you would start yelling “Oh Snap!! I’m Scared!! I’m VERY VERY scared and i’m RIGHT OVER HERE!! No, not there. HERE!! HERE IS WHERE YOU CAN FIND ME AND KILL ME!!”

This makes me smarter than my dog.

For Emma...

Some of the Good Ones...

The music biz can, at times, really blow. This is nothing unknown…but last Friday I had the pleasure to share a stage with a band that writes, sings and plays its collective ass off..and to top it all off they were good, good guys.

Some history: I had a meeting at Atlantic Records a few years ago that my manager had set up for me and my buddy Scott to try and get some co-writes with some of their artists. After our meeting with the VP of A&R there he handed us each a copy of the second and forthcoming record by a band called The Click Five. I took a look at the cover and thought “well they look good…bastards.” When i got in my car to drive back to DC i threw the record on the floor behind the passenger seat and forgot about it.

A few days later I was driving around with my then 4 year old daughter when she noticed the CD on the floor. My daughter is not a typical child. She digs great music. She shuns Hannah Montana for Cyndi Lauper, U2, Toto, Gnarls Barkley, Flight of the Conchords and AC/DC. There was a brief Wiggles phase but we all have our guilty pleasures. I obliged and put the disc in and actually LOVED the record. I’m a power-pop fan first and foremost and this was unapologetic pure power pop at its finest.

Over the next few months we wore the record out. Ryan (my daughter) brought the record everywhere she went. It played in the car of everyone who drove her anywhere: Mommy, Pop, Granny, Aunts and Uncles…For Ryan’s fifth birthday party I forged a letter from the Click Five and gave it to her. She was beside herself. I had to do something since one of the things she asked for was TCF to come to her birthday.

About a year ago they came to town and played Jammin’ Java. My friends own this venue and everyone who knows me knows of Ryan’s deep passion for this band. The club did me the amazing favor of putting me on the bill as an opener and Ryan was allowed to come early and watch soundcheck. She met the band (albeit briefly), took pictures, saw her first rock show and that was that. I’ll never forget because it was “Dad’s Night” at her preschool and we had to skip it for TCF.

Last summer the lead singer Kyle Patrick came to play a solo show at JJ and, of course, we were there. This was a more intimate gig. Smaller crowd and Ryan busted out of her shyness and actually talked to him…quite a bit actually. He was very sweet to her and she was, yet again, all smiles. Actually “smitten” might be a better word at this point God help me. She took home Kyle’s solo EP and learned it word for word while jumping on her bed for hours on end.

Which brings me to last friday. I got to play with the guys again at JJ. The first time was fun but this night their fans were especially great to me and the guys in the band were beyond kind. They invited me to sit in on an amazing cover of ELO’s “Telephone Line” and played an incredible set of old stuff, new material and killer covers.

Ryan wrote a note for Kyle. It said “Dear Kyle. Do you remember me? My daddy is playing with you tonight. I think you are the best. Love, Ryan.” She put it in an envelope and covered it in heart stickers. When she handed it to him he opened it, read it and gave her a hug. On stage that night he gave her a shout-out in front of a sold-out audience and called her “adorable.” Above and beyond. She screamed when he said her name. She felt SO special.

Now i’m sure these Click Five guys don’t have any kids…but one day they may and when they do they’ll understand how much this meant to me.

She will remember that for the rest of her life.

So will I.

Thanks Click Five.

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