High School Photos and My Family Tree

So, I was digging through old photos today when I came across some pictures of my family. Let me just tell you, high school is a precious time in anyone's life, and these pictures my friends, are priceless.

Let's start with my grandfather on my dad's side of the family, Giovanni Gesepi Vitale:



Giovanni, the first American born son of two hard working Italian immigrants (and an obvious stud), left an indelible mark on his high school, not to mention his high school sweetheart (and future wife), Josephyn Salerno:



Giovanni and Josephyn eventually married in their hometown of Brooklyn, New York before deciding to uproot, settle down, and start a family in their new home on the West Coast, Visalia, California. The fruits of their sexual labor led to one child, Pasquali Vitale:



Pasquali, my father, is a gentle man of few words. However, after meeting his future wife (my mother Claudia Rabee):



his enormous prowess led the way as his family grew… and grew:

My oldest brother, John (who doesn't strike much of a resemblance to the rest of us chitlins, aside from those charming eyes and that voracious smile… however, he does remind me a bit of Cornelius, the mail man).



Susanne, my oldest sister (what a beauty… she almost won a pageant once when she was nine):



Matthew



Dan



… and my freshman photo:



Wow, I'm getting teary-eyed just talking about everyone with you folks. I hope this blog finds your family well!

~ Mike

PS

If you've got some time to spare, you might do what I did and kill three hours of your life making ridiculous photos like these:

www.yearbookyourself.com

I'm a fan.

Dear Girl From Junior High That Inexplicably Punched Me in The Balls Unprovoked

Dear Girl From Junior High That Inexplicably Punched Me in The Balls Unprovoked,

Do you even remember doing that to me? You probably don't. However, I can tell you in all certainty, I do! Let me refresh your memory. We were sharing a Grey Hound bus seat together (not by my own choice mind you… you just sort of plopped down next to me like it was a good idea); it was the end of our eighth grade school year, and we were on our way to the second happiest place on Earth (Six Flags Magic Mountain) with the rest of our entire eighth grade class (there must have been hundreds of us awkward-plague-faced-sexually-aware-plenty-of-nonsense-know-it-all kids riding in formation on several dilapidated incarnations of the same style of Grey Hound bus down I5… yet we ended up on the same coach, and now I'm sharing a seat with you… go figure). We were traveling at a snails pace through the loftier sloped portion of the grapevine towards Los Angeles. You were making small talk with me (with something that might have later resembled wit… it's hard to say… I'm not convinced many eighth graders posses this sort of social gift at this junction of their pubescent life… well, from an adult standpoint… you were on your way though… you had me laughing). However, this sort of jovial banter came to a screeching halt with one physical moment of awakening and pain that will never quit flush itself out of the shitty toilet bowl memories of my existence… you punched me in the junk! That's like punching my future children in the face. Why? I want an answer. Here, I'll break down the order of events for you just to massage your recollection:

1. We were talking (nothing overly rude that wasn't already provoked by your junior high potty mouth… or overtly sexual, just talking smack I think).
2. You punched me in the nuts.

Do you remember now? (It doesn't really matter; that was a rhetorical question). The important thing is why! Is it because you thought I was cute? If so, these would have been some suggested methods in which to better display your affection:

1. Tell me I'm cute.
2. Continue talking to me (minus the socking me in the nuts part).
3. Exercise the age-old art of flirtation.
4. Kiss me on the cheek.
5. Hold my hand.
6. Compliment silly parts of my body (like my chin or elbow).
7. Tell me you like me.
8. Etc.

There is a certain part of me that feels sorry for your husband (let me give you a clue… it rhymes with chesticles). May someone have pity on that poor man's soul… and scrotum.

Best Regards,

~ The Guy You Punched in the Balls (A.K.A. Mike)

Full Band Rehearsal for New Album

This is just a quick update folks...

I rehearsed with John Bach and Nick Schaat last night... let me just tell you, it was magic. I seriously felt like Michael Jackson at a NAMBLA festival (hahaha, I'm sorry, I just made myself chuckle).

Anyway, "The Only One I Need" was nothing short of incredible... I practically wanted to cry (in a very manly way of course). It is rocking in a way that rock songs should rock.

"Joy" is sounding amazing. Reggaelicious.

"I could be dead by tomorrow" is gaining some serious ground and is going to be dope. Shazzam!

I was tossing around the idea with John Bach last night (over a post rehearsal double western bacon cheeseburger) about maybe doing a video blog from the rehearsal room... what do you think? Get a lot of comments on this here blog and maybe we'll see what I can do by next week. Show me you want it (and I mean REALLY want it), and I'll make it happen, like magic:



~ Mike

New Album

Yeah, new album.

Just thought I would post something about this, in case people were curious... I don't know... are you all curious? Post blog comments. Questions? Comments? Let me know you're interested, and I'll spill the beans. ;)

Ok, so this is how the game will work. The more comments I get to this blog, the more I will tell you about the new album. I got three comments right off the bat, so I'm going to revise a bit of the blog right here with some additional info. If you have any direct questions regarding the new album, feel free to post a blog comment with the particular question, and I will answer it! With out further ado, here are some tidbits:

1. I started rehearsing this last week with John Bach from the band Sleepless Me (www.sleeplessme.com). To say the very least, it was A LOT of fun and I was bummed that we could only rehearse/jam for a few hours. BACH is seriously bringing the ROCK! We worked on, "The Only One I Need" (I'm loving how this song is sounding), "Joy" (this song will probably be the first that we track... it's already sounding amazing!!!), and "I could be dead by tomorrow".

2. The bass player on the new album is going to be Nick Schaat. He's a good friend and the best bass player that I know. I can say in all truthfulness, that he makes the low end his bitch.

3. Scheduling the next rehearsal as we speak!

Keep the comments and questions coming!

~ Mike

Deep Thoughts... Michael Jackson

A recent conversation with a friend of mine led to this blog:

He tried to warn us…

He's Bad



"You know I'm bad, I'm bad, you know it!"

He's Dangerous



… so we really should just beat it





because he won't stop until he gets enough (hahaha, I'm sorry, just looking at his hands in this picture makes me laugh):



I personally can't stop listening to him… but that doesn't mean I'll EVER leave my child with him when I have one.

~ Mike

PS

So, I wanted to imbed the original videos for each of these songs, but unfortunately, the Michael Jackson camp is VERY anal retentive and doesn't allow the embedding of any of the original video footage used on MTV.

In other news:

Got a great show coming up tomorrow (Wednesday September 3rd)

Dipiazza's
5205 E. Pacific Coast Highway
Long Beach CA 90804

Show starts at 8:00 PM

All Ages!

Sharing the stage with me that night: Brett Bixby, Sas, and Chris Paul Overall

$8.00 at the door