Let's see how far we've come

what an incredible weekend. full of celebration, laughter, and emotion. after 6 years of school, Jarrett graduated this weekend with his Masters in CIS from Georgia State University. I am so proud of him, and I know that he is glad to finally be done with school....for now.

Friday night, his brother Ryan flew up from Satellite beach for the weekend. sure i was a little nervous. but those feelings faded quickly the minute he walked in the door. It is pretty awesome to have a family that is so accepting and open. we dined at Slice and then headed over to a very interesting party at Atlantic Station.

I managed to get most of my Christmas shopping done early on Saturday. I always wait until the last minute, but at least this time I had a plan. i had a list.

saturday night I had dinner with Jarrett's mom and brother at Room, Bob Amick's new restaurant in the Twelve Centennial Park hotel/condo building. the wine list was extensive and the food was very good. though it has only been open a short time, i fear it may not have the edge it needs to succeed. then it was off to the symphony to hear Handel's messiah.

and then there was sunday. Jarrett's sister flew up to surprise him, and we all joined up at the GA dome for his graduation ceremony. then a group of his friends and family gathered at STATs to celebrate the special day. (by the way, STATs is another new concept by Bob Amick. it's an upscale sports bar that is massive in size with a rooftop deck and has much potential once they iron out a few problems. mainly the warm tap beer... yuck). We had a great time, and I realized today how lucky Jarrett is. His family is so positive and accepting, and made me feel like i was part of the family.

next up: a trip to Florida to visit Jarrett's mom. and maybe a trip to Disney.

The McGills

SNM - Itajai Vibes (Wize remix)

leave a message I'll get back to you

I cannot get enough of Wize these days. I put him right up there with Phunktastike, my other favorite DJ at the moment. Wize is really the alias for Basile Fanon, the French DJ/producer/remixer who founded the group back in 2001.

remix of His production work as well as his remixes are qualility. Wize can best be described as "having a sound that is simply superb; it's a fusion of classic French House and Disco with something extra, giving it an uplifting quality." Well, soon to be released on Watona Sick Record label comes Wize'sSNM - Itajai Vibes. It is a really beautiful and uplifting track. I first heard in on Jody Wisternoff's recent live set on Justmusic FM. Take a listen above.

keep an eye out for Wize's newest production, a track called "Freedom". It is rumored to have incredible crosssover potential.

Keep an eye out for more releases from this talented DJ.

Rairbirds - Calling (7th heaven vocal mix)

so i called a friend of mine

You may be familiar with a funk rock band from the 90s named "Rootjoose", whose style of music closely resembled "surf rock" bands like that of Reef. They were from Cornwall, and their live performances included choreographed comedy dances and light shows that gained them much popularity with the people in the South West of England. The group's popularity grew through the late 90s and they were very close to breaking into the mainstream music scene when their record label went bankrupt in 2001. Well a few of the guitarists of Rootjoose have moved on to form a dance band called "Rairbirds", and I think they are pretty cool.

The band now describes their sound as "Part digital, part analog, part programmed, part played, everything we were and everything we became, for one and all for ever."

Their latest track titled "Calling" is great, with remixes from 7th heaven, skylark, and jerry ropero. My favorite so far being the 7th heaven vocal mix.

Check them out. You can download these tracks from Itunes or Beatport. Take a listen above.