Rockin' the Suburbs

I grew up spending lots of time in church gyms, parks and dance halls. My dad played in band called Milestone with his brother and two friends that were sisters. On the weekends my parents would load up the sound system, guitars and all five of us kids and drive hours to Idaho or Wyoming or wherever the band job was. I was young enough that I mostly remember running around empty churches searching for chalk and hiding in the girls bathroom with my cousin Jamie to escape our teasing older brothers. During the off season, our siblings would rock out to the bands demo tape that had about 30 seconds of each song they played. It took me a long time to realize that the Electric Slide didn't actually morph into Old Time Rock and Roll. 

Lisa, one of the sisters in the band, had crazy blonde hair that suited her husky voice. She wore animal prints and big earrings and I idolized her. Uncle Jeff would play one of the guitar leads with the guitar behind his head and that and him the best guitarist in the ENTIRE world. Cheryl was some musical prodigy that everyone was always talking about because she has perfect pitch. But the coolest of them all was my dad; because he has a voice like butta that woos a crowd like no one else in the world.

Last night my dad's band got together for a reunion at a neighborhood block party. They hadn't played together in a few years and they didn't practice at all but I loved them just the same. They were still rockin' and got me on the dance floor which is saying something. I love the way my dad's band always brings the family together to reminisce about the "good old days". It was D's first time hearing the band play, and while he enjoyed the show, I think what he loved most was getting a glimpse into my childhood.

Because seriously, it was awesome.