Ian Alexander Munoz

It's Val, mom to Max and Ian.

I found one of my favorite pictures of Ian and since I posted about Max, I thought I should share a little something about Ian, my 16 year old angst ridden teenager.

Ian was the coolest little boy. He has always been a huge fan of music, he liked Donovan and used to play Season of the Witch over and over on a little toy cassette player. Strange choice of song for a 4 year old, but that's Ian. He went through a huge oldies phase, lots of Delfonics and Brenton wood. He even dressed like a cholo for a while, El Guero. But, he moved on and got into the Misfits and learned to play the drums.  Ian and Max were in a band called the Super Satanic Sea Monkeys, they did a mean cover of Die, Die My Darling and Skulls. The Super Satanic Sea Monkeys broke up due to creative differences. It may be a scientific thing, brothers + band = break-up.

Ian has this thing against restaurants that aren't Chico's Tacos or McDonalds. He was super pissed when we went to Crave for dinner one evening. He sulked, whined, kissed his teeth. But then something magical happened, he angrily took a bite of his sandwich, had a few fries, and then...quiet. He ate his food, smiled, enjoyed dessert, and I captured the moment. Proof that he can still be the coolest boy ever.

Drums: All We Need is Just a Little Patience (and mad dedication)

Hi, it's Marina. I had my first El Paso drum lesson from a super cool and super patient fellow named Blake.  Some people, no matter how young they actually are, are old souls. Blake is an old soul. To be blessed with that kind of patience and eloquence and to be able to transmit that cool-calm-wise energy to others is a gift.  I thank Blake tremendously for taking me on.

Rock Camp gave me the power of knowing that yes, I can play drums. Blake is giving me the power to think about the sound I want to make and then make it happen. Sounds easy, but getting all of my limbs to talk to each other is really complicated. He said something that makes a ton of sense: good drummers are good not because they get all fancy, they're good because they are confident and in control, no matter how simple or complicated the beat.  Watching drummers, I think that all the sweating comes not so much from actually playing, but from all the thinking that goes into being a bad ass on the drums.

The plan is this: Blake comes over once a week for a lesson, I spend the rest of the week practicing my butt off.  At the moment, it's all about practicing to move my limbs at different times.  He gave me a few beats that were simple and I was able to do, but then we found one that had me stumbling all over the place.  It is now my job to practice until I don't stumble--but it doesn't stop there. It's to practice that beat until it feels natural.  So here I go...

Here's my Franken Kit being kept company by our cats Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie. My kit is missing a few pieces (notice I'm using a crash as my high hat), but it's a good kit for where I'm at. Note: I will NEVER be that drummer with monkey bars.

Junkyard Willie Makes the Move to Texas

Hi! It's Valerie. I'm excited to announce that we have a new addition to our family. His name is Willie and he is one cool dog! We brought Willie back with us from Tulsa, where he was rescued from a life in and out of a junkyard and the streets. Willie has a huge scar from a wound that was the result of getting his head stuck in a fence - you can tell that this dude has had a rough life. But, now he joins the Munoz/Reynolds clan and I think life is going to be pretty good for our new boy.