Teaching My Granddaughter To Play The Kazoo

It's amazing how interesting it is trying to teach my granddaughter how to play the kazoo. As a parent and even a grandparent, I realize how important music can be in a child's life. Having played music myself growing up, I love music and know how it can help you with other facets of your life.

I have played in bands since high school. Even after school, I continued to play in bands and even to this day, I jam with a band I started over 25 years ago. Music does give you a great sense of confidence and to be able to entertain others is an awesome feeling.

Now on The Mike & Carla Morning Show, we do a segment each week call "Kazooki-oki Wednesday". We take a song that we play on 96.3 KKLZ, pull out our kazoos and begin to play. The kazoo is an amazing instrument that has been used on every level of music. From The Beach Boys and Beatles to kazoo bands throughout the country.

It's easy to play...you just hum into it and BLAMO! That's why I thought it would be so easy to teach my 4 year old granddaughter how to play. So, we went out to buy her one and let her play with it on her own. To get use to it and comfortable with the sound.

As time went on, here I thought it was time to start giving her lessons. Watch and listen to Papa play it, then do the same thing. How easy right? Not so much! I would sit patiently with her, again, using a song she knows and is familiar with from the movie "Frozen". Humming into the instrument to the tune of "Do You Want To Build A Snowman".

So, I would play, then ask her to just repeat what she heard. Clearly after the first couple of times, we were missing a step! Below is The M&C Morning Show talking about the process...listen to it and see if you can't relate!

https://963kklz.com/uploads/2024/01/TEACHING-KAZOO.mp3

With Christmas officially in the rearview, it's time to sit back, relax and look back on the year that was. Even briefly looking back at 2023, we must say this year was kind of a weird, chaotic one.

This fun, whimsical list isn't meant for recapping earth-shattering things. Oh, no...this list is meant for the leftfield things that seemed to happen for no reason whatsoever. Again, 2023 was far more random than any of us realize until you actually sit and think about it. We cannot stress this enough!

Before moving forward, we would like to make one thing clear: This list isn't about looking back and saying, "Hey, do you remember that (insert celebrity here) died in 2023?" Sadly, we have a whole separate list just about notable celebrity deaths in 2023. While 2023 was whimsically unique, it was also pretty brutal. Many true icons and legends sadly left us.

A lot of strange things happened, as you'll see in the list below. We saw a controversial classic rock song covered and updated by a modern rock band. We had one of the biggest classic rock bands continue to be filled with drama. (And no, we're not talking about KISS.) Plus, one classic rock icon earned a major win he's wanted for decades.

On top of all of that, we saw one notable figure in rock have a fall from grace that was equal parts shocking and laughable. Plus, there were unexpected and welcomed returns, particularly one that happened during the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony.

Without further ado, here are nine things that happened in the classic rock/pop world in 2023 that you may have forgotten about. Repeat: This year was friggin' weird! That being said, enjoy this trip down memory lane. Here's hoping 2024 is just as random. It just makes life more interesting.

In June, Fall Out Boy released an updated version of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire." Their version highlights major events from 1989-2023.

In October, Power Trip took over the Empire Polo Club in Indio, Calif. The lineup featured six major rock acts: Guns N' Roses, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Metallica and Tool.

After layoffs from parent company Paramount Global, MTV News officially came to an end after 36 years in May. MTV News first began in 1987 with the show The Week in Rock. The program was hosted by Kurt Loder, which was one of the division's most popular correspondents. MTV News had a number of notable correspondents in its 36-year run. Among them were John Norris, SuChin Pak, Sway Calloway, Serena Altschul, Chris Connelly, Tabitha Soren, Gideon Yago and more.

In an interview with Rolling Stone published in September, King is asked about a rumor that he was a massive fan of the Lou Bega song "Mambo No. 5." Without hesitation, King said he was. Apparently, he loved all of the various remixes of the track and the 1950 instrumental original by Dámaso Pérez Prado. Unfortunately, King's wife, fellow author Tabitha King, was far from a fan of the song.

" ... I played that thing until my wife just said, 'One more time, and I’m going to f---ing leave you,'" said King.

In an interview with The New York Times published in September, Rolling Stone/Rock & Roll Hall of Fame co-founder Jann Wenner was pressed on why he didn't highlight any Black people or any women in his book, The Masters. The book is a collection of interviews Wenner conducted with seven rock subjects. All seven subjects were white men.

Wenner said, in part, “The people had to meet a couple criteria, but it was just kind of my personal interest and love of them. Insofar as the women, just none of them were as articulate enough on this intellectual level.” Wenner went on to namecheck the likes of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield. However, he stuck to his “articulate” reasoning even with these beloved and respected music icons.

After the interview went viral, Wenner was removed from the Board of Directors of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation.

Jimmy Page and [inlink id="jimmy-page-performs-rumble-at-2023-rock-hall-ceremony" text="his surprise performance"] at the 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in November was one of the best highlights of the show. Following the performance, the guitar icon took to social media to discuss what the performance meant to him.

Page wrote, "I was asked to induct Link Wray into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame; a guitarist, instrumentalist and songwriter that I’d admired from the very first taste of the 'Rumble.'"

He continued, "I first heard it when I was 14, roaring from a jukebox in my hometown of Epsom. As a guitar instrumental, the attitude of it was totally unique in its mystery, imagination and execution — it had a profound effect on me."

Page concluded, "Link Wray and 'Rumble' stand alone at the pinnacle in the world of instrumentals, and I was thrilled to stand on stage in New York with drummer Anton Fig and bassist Tim Givens at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last night to induct one of my heroes."

The status of Journey has appeared a bit strained in recent years, and in early 2023, it took a weird legal turn. In January, ongoing legal issues between guitarist Neal Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain led to accusations against Cain's wife, televangelist Paula White-Cain.

In a cease-and-desist letter obtained by the New York Post, Schon accuses White-Cain of having access to various Journey bank accounts. The letter stated, in part, "We have learned that despite the prior mutual agreement between Mr. Schon and Mr. Jonathan Cain that the business of the band and the Journey Related Entities would be handled only by Mr. Schon and Mr. Cain as individuals, your name appears as an authorized signatory on the City National Bank accounts of Freedom JN LLC."

Additionally, the letter stated, "We further demand that you immediately cease and desist and refrain in the future from inserting yourself in any business of the band and any legal entities used by the band as this contradicts the existing agreement between Mr. Schon and Mr. Cain."

John Fogerty, unlike many of his peers who have been selling their music rights, has regained the rights to his Creedence Clearwater Revival songs in January. According to Billboard, Fogerty purchased the global publishing rights to the CCR catalog from Concord Records.

Fogerty shared his joy via social media saying in a statement, "As of this January, I own my own songs again. This is something I thought would never be a possibility. After 50 years, I am finally reunited with my songs. I also have a say in where and how my songs are used. Up until this year, that is something I have never been able to do."

In March, Bono & the Edge: A Sort of Homecoming With Dave Letterman hit Disney+. The special shows Bono, The Edge and Letterman out and about in Dublin. Additionally, the Disney+ special also features the U2 singer and guitarist in an intimate in-the-round setting for a performance.

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