Rock Stars

April 19, 2016
I snuck away for two great music events recently, both "reunion" shows after prolonged absences for LCD Soundsystem at Webster Hall and Ween at Terminal 5. LCD put on a grandiose farewell tour 5 years ago and Ween quit out-of-the-blue in 2012; I was sad to see them disappear, but they have returned as good as ever. Seeing them now is no different than in the first iteration, but my life has changed considerably with the birth of two kids! I took Ivy to Prospect Park to see my political hero, Bernie Sanders on Sunday. She is a huge Bernie…

Podcast

April 3, 2016
Over the past year, my music production has evolved from my typical process of recording, editing and arranging to spontaneous compositions, completely improvised and recorded live. Several factors have contributed to this shift: First, my family now consumes most of my free time, and my potential window for music creation has been reduced significantly. Not that I am complaining: as I've said before their presence in my life is the greatest joy that I could ever imagine, but it is amazing to think about the abundant time I spent making music in the evenings before they arrived. Spontaneous compositions offer…

Barbara Elise Herter

February 17, 2016
My grandma's health was declining and we knew that her time was nearing its end, so we went to see her in Naples, Florida this weekend. Mom and Dad plus Andrew and Caitlin's families arrived on Thursday and had early-bird dinner with her on Friday, but we got in around 1:30 that night and missed what turned out to be her last meal. She died that night and I never saw her. I loved visiting her in Florida growing up (great candy dish) and she would make the trip up to Boston or Cape Cod in the Summer regularly until…

Bernie

February 3, 2016
I remember exactly where I was when I read a tweet stating that Bernie Sanders was entering the presidential election; I was actually so overwhelmed with political pride and hope that I cried. Bernie has been my favorite politician for years: an independent renegade who actually takes principled stands on issues that matter to me.  His honesty and integrity in the House and Senate have always been inspiring and he is clearly guided by values that reflect my own. In short, he is a hero of mine and by announcing his candidacy, he instantly changed my outlook on the possibilities…

Six Weeks

January 19, 2016
Miles joined us 6 weeks ago and it has been a wild and wonderful ride. Although we went through this process with Ivy 2 1/2 years ago, I seem to have forgotten (or blocked) how intense it is. Constant awareness is required and needs must be promptly satisfied or the abyss awaits! Most of the time he is a fantastic baby, quietly eating, sleeping, or chilling, but occasionally, he demands full attention with his primal siren scream -- a hideous wailing frequency that heightens the urgency of any request taking longer than a couple of seconds to complete. It is…

Miles Acadia Taylor

December 12, 2015
My son is born! In LDR 4 at Methodist Hospital, Brooklyn on December 8, 2015 at 10:03, Alaina brought Miles into life. Through an act of courage, strength and love, she nurtured him into existence. There is nothing mankind has ever created or accomplished that can equal the beautiful and heroic act of creating, growing and birthing a baby, performed by every mother on the planet for every single person. The dads have a small part in the beginning (which I thoroughly enjoyed!), and hopefully more once the umbilical cord is cut (which I had the honor of doing!), but…