Let’s Chat With Ronnie Faisst..Nuclear Cowboyz

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Let’s Chat With…
….Ronnie Faisst Nuclear Cowboyz

Recently, I had a chance to check out Nuclear Cowboyz. What a fantastic night! You can read about our night by clicking here!  I also had the chance to catch up with Ronnie Fiasst  before the show. Wow! He is extremely talented, very humble, and could not have been any nicer. Thanks for the great interview Ronnie and best of luck achieving your goals!

Diane: Hi Ronnie. First up. Although I have two sons that are pretty daring, I hate to admit it, 
but I don’t know a lot about motocross. Can you quickly fill me in for all the newbies?
Ronnie: Sure. Motocross is a form of competitive motorcycle racing. Freestyle Motocross (FMX) is a variation of the sport where riders compete with aerial tricks and complicated stunts. Nuclear Cowboyz is a non-competitive but intensely choreographed FMX show where the tricks and stunts include riders jumping side by side as well as three wide flips and trains of up to 12 riders at once.
Diane:What age did you begin riding? When did you know it would be something you would want to wrap your life around?
Ronnie: I started racing when I was 8 years old and by the time I was 10 I knew I wanted to go to the pro level.
Diane: Scariest moment?
Ronnie: Scariest moment(s) for me were the three years that I worked on landing a 360 at the X Games (2006/2007/2008) in 2006 I crashed which resulted in a broken my wrist and separated shoulder. In 2007 I tried twice and crashed both times – broke my foot on the second attempt. Finally in 2008, I landed it!
Diane: Most exciting ride?
Ronnie: The most exciting moment had to be finally landing the 360…it was a major personal achievement! That was enough though, haven’t done one since!
Diane: How much time do you put into practice/riding?
Ronnie: When I am home for a regular time block, I mainly ride the track at my house Monday through Friday and take weekends off. If I’m on tour, I usually only ride two days a week at home.
Diane: How do you prepare mentally for an event?
Ronnie: Mental preparation is important for me. I like to listen to worship music and I pray. I find that these two things help me get focused. I still get nervous so these things help!

Diane: What is your life like when you are not riding? How do you keep grounded into reality?

Ronnie: I keep busy at home by taking care of my house and track. I like to do yard work and do track maintenance. I just bought a dozer, that’s been really fun. I also spend a lot of time making sure I stay fit and I go to church.
Diane: Tell me about the tattoos. I’m intrigued by them. First tattoo?
Ronnie: I love tattoos, got my first one when I was 14 years old. I got a dragon on my foot. My Dad took me to get it.
Diane: Tell me about your faith in God.
Ronnie:  I became a Christian six years ago and when I did my whole lifestyle changed. I try to be my best for God and others now.
Diane: It seems that you went with your heart and reached for the top. What advice do you have for others?
Ronnie:  It takes a lot of hard work and time to get to the top, but if you believe you can do it, you can and you should never give up.
Diane: What goals do you have set at this point? What do you see in your future?
Ronnie: I earned a Bronze medal in Speed n Style at X Games two years in a row (2010 and 2011.) This year, my goal is to bring home the Gold. I also continue to keep my faith and live for God. This is my life goal.

Disclosure: Review/Giveaway tickets thanks to Nuclear Cowboyz. Special thanks to Ronnie Faisst.
All opinions are that of 3decades3kids/DianeSullivan
Email: ELGeorgia@aol.com



Let’s Chat With ..Jack Forman of Recess Monkey

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 Let’s Chat With…Jack Forman
of Recess Monkey..
Recess Monkey is a great musical group made up of three elementary school teachers that know how to bring the kids to their feet with their fun and interactive rocking music! Recently, I had the chance to catch up with Recess Monkey at Symphony Space NYC.
RecessMonkeytown.com 

Interview: Diane Sullivan with Jack Forman
Diane: Three teachers? I need to know more about this! Tell me about the
 inspiration behind Recess Monkey! It’s especially interesting to me, since
 hubby and I are both teachers!

Jack: The band really came together organically. All three of us taught in the same elementary school for a number of years and got to know each other, first and foremost, as colleagues. Over time, we discovered that we were listening to a lot of the same albums and, wouldn’t you know it, all played rock instruments. The writing was on the wall- we needed to be a band! The school is a small independent elementary in Seattle called UCDS where teachers are encouraged to bring their creative pastimes to the classroom. We started playing indie rock in local clubs here in Seattle, unaware how much enjoyment would come later once we blended our classroom lives with our musical endeavors. It only took a few dozen mid-week rock shows that got us home at 3 in the morning to realize that either our musical or professional lives had to give! Luckily, we realized that if we made music with our students in mind, we could have the best of both worlds. And it truly is the best: family audiences are the most giving and exciting audiences that we’ve ever played for!


Diane: Are you all currently teaching? Same school? What do the students think?
 Have you performed in the schools you have/do teach at?

Jack: Drew and Daron still teach, but this year I’ve taken on more band responsibilities as I stay home with my young son. Since our schools are pretty progressive, all of the faculty go by their first names and spend most of their time working individually with kids, so we haven’t had as much of a culture shock as what would happen if a “traditional” suit-and-tie teacher put on an indie rock uniform and played on stage. The difference between our stage selves and our teacher selves is a lot more subtle, and kids aren’t too weirded out by it. In the classroom, we spend a lot more time listening to kids on the figurative stage than the contrary- we strive to make our shows similarly interactive.

Diane: I find Recess Monkey quite intriguing! How did the group form?

Jack: We started by accident- Drew wrote several songs based on the pre-K program for a professional development class he was taking. We recorded them in a classroom at school, trying to decipher what makes a kids’ song different than for-adult music… And we discovered that there doesn’t really have to be any difference. It took an album or two for us to build a voice and understand our audience a little better, but we constantly benefit from being surrounded by kids. Our classrooms and playgroups are like focus groups for what’s going on in kids’ minds at different stages of development. I’m really excited for my son to start talking, because I think there will be a lot of great material coming!

Diane: Being a classroom teacher for twenty years, I find the Recess Monkey name quite humorous. How did you come up with the name?

Jack: It’s funny- Daron and Drew got the joke right away, but it took me literally 2 years to get the pun. I felt so stupid! I’m IN the band!!! I won’t ruin it for your readers 🙂

Diane: Favorite moment ever?
Jack: We’ve played over 500 shows, and there are tons of really special moments from them. I remember a couple of summers ago we were driving up the hill to play a show at the beautiful Getty Center in Los Angeles, and suddenly a live show that we had recorded on SiriusXM started playing in our rental car… How crazy is that? We were listening to ourselves play a live show on our way to go play a live show! I remember the feeling of looking out at a big crowd of 800 kids and parents, many of whom knew the words to our songs, and realizing that we were the luckiest band in the world.

Disclosure: Review tickets provided by Recess Monkey. All opinions are that of 3decades3kids/DianeSullivan
Special thanks to Recess Monkey and Jack Forman for the great interview! You Rock!
Email: ELGeorgia@aol.com

Nuclear Cowboyz at IZOD Center March 3rd!

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Nuclear Cowboyz
At IZOD Center
March 3rd
Check link below for more dates!

Tonight I had the pleasure of attending my first Nuclear Cowboyz Show at IZOD Center. I really did not know what to expect from the show. I have seen some motocross in the past, but I have never seen anything like this before. Nuclear Cowboyz is not a competition, it’s a choreographed  highly timed out motocross show filled with death defying stunts  that will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the performance.
 I was thrilled to be a part of the VIP Fallout Zone Party and get to chat will ALL of the riders! What a perfect preshow event and the riders could not have been any nicer. In my next post I will share my interview with Ronnie Faisst.
Nuclear Cowboyz is very family friendly, and everyone can enjoy it! I was there with my 5 year old daughter and 12 year old son and both had a blast! They loved the show and the music, too!
I enjoyed that Nuclear Cowboyz was not just a stunt show. There was an actual storyline to follow that kept everyone interested in what would happen next. 
I don’t believe I have ever been to show like this before. Lasers, smoke, and fire were just some of the staples of the show that gave it a real futuristic feel. The motocross stunts were out of this world amazing! It’s incredible to me to watch the riders over and over as they engaged the audience with their talent! 
We sat stunned as one stunt outdid the next. The music rocked the house and the energy was out of control! 
If you are looking for something both fun and exciting, you need to check out Nuclear Cowboyz! You will not be disappointed!
You can still catch Nuclear Cowboyz at IZOD Center March 3rd at 7:30pm. For more info and tickets please Click Here!
Nuclear Cowboyz, you rocked the house!
Nuclear Cowboyz on Facebook

Disclosure: Review/Giveaway tickets provided by Nuclear Cowboyz. All opinions are that of 3decades3kids/DianeSullivan.
Email: ELGeorgia@aol.com

Nuclear Cowboyz at IZOD Center March 2&3rd! I’ll be Tweeting LIVE from the VIP Fallout Zone Today!

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Nuclear Cowboyz
 at IZOD Center
 March 2&3rd! 
I’ll be Tweeting LIVE from the
 VIP Fallout Zone Today
Follow Along on Twitter 
6-10pm
#IZODNC

I’m so excited to join the high energy of Nuclear Cowboyz. I will be catching up with the riders before the show. I am excited to bring you LIVE Tweets from the VIP Fallout Zone! After it I can share my full interview with Ronnie Faisst and Ronnie Faisst Sr. but for now I’ll just give you a sample and some important info for you if it’s your first show!

From our interview: Let’s Chat With Ronnie Faisst…
Diane: Hi Ronnie. First up. Although I have two sons that are pretty daring, I hate to admit it, but I don’t know a lot about motocross. Can you quickly fill me in for all the newbies?

Ronnie: Sure. Motocross is a form of competitive motorcycle racing. Freestyle Motocross(FMX) is a variation of the sport where riders compete with aerial tricks and complicated stunts. Nuclear Cowboyz is a non-competitive but intensely choreographed FMX show where the tricks and stunts include riders jumping side by side as well as three wide flips and trains of up to twelve riders at once.

To check out or get tickets to  the Nuclear Cowboyz 
See you at the show!

Disclosure: Review/giveaway tickets provided by Nuclear Cowboyz/Feld. All opinions are that of 3decades3kids/DianeSullivan
Email: ELGeorgia@aol.com


.

Reviewers Retreat 2012 I WANNNNNNNNNNA GO!!!!

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Reviewers Retreat 2012
 I WANNNNNNNNNNA GO!!!!
Presidential Scholarship
Whenever I think about Reviewers Retreat 2011, I get a little fuzzy inside. It was my very first bloggers retreat and  I loved it. 
I had just started out blogging last year, not long before Reviewer’s Retreat 11 and I was very curious to find out exactly what the blogging world  was all about.
After spending 20 years as a classroom teacher, I did have a love for writing. After being a mom of three children, I did have a love for telling the world about them. So, I combined the two and decided to blog. When I started 3decades3kids I was unsure about what direction I wanted to take with it and exactly what my goals were.

It ALL became VERY VERY CLEAR to me after just three days at Reviewer’s Retreat 2011. I was a bit nervous about Reviewer’s Retreat at first, but felt so comfortable after chatting with Double Duty Divas and  with everyone on the face book and twitter feeds about  RevRet12. I was already learning about the blogging world and the retreat did not even start yet. I also noticed brand after brand appearing on the fb page and could not believe I was actually going to be a part of it. 
I was wondering what to wear, what to say, who would be there. It was mix up of every emotion available.
The funny part is from the moment I arrived at the Great Wolf Lodge Poconos, I just knew everything would be okay. The warmth of the environment and friendliness of the fellow bloggers I met was immeasurable! I felt so blessed to be there.
Since then I have only been to a few conferences. Since we are a family of five with our oldest a junior in college and our youngest a preschooler, it is not easy to just find extra funds. As you can see, I am writing this post in hopes of being able to attend this year’s Reviewer’s Retreat 12. My blog grew last year after the retreat and I made some wonderful connections with people I have kept in touch with and have learned to care about as friends during the past year. 
I learned the ropes last year. I think that without Reviewer’s Retreat 11, I may have thrown in the towel. The small atmosphere and friendly round table sessions gave me the courage to ask the questions I needed answered and get immediate feedback. I had intimate access to both bloggers and brands at the same time. Priceless, as I have come to learn in the past year.
I think a year later, I have a whole other list of questions. They are different questions that I would love to have the chance to ask fellow bloggers and brands face to face.
My blog is growing, but is not where I would like it to be. I think that attending Reviewer’s Retreat 12 would be just the right environment for me to get the boost I needed in the first place. 
I have been thinking and thinking about what I would do if I actually have the chance to go to Reviewer’s Retreat12. I am focused on the goals of my blog and since last year I have also taken on a second site which holds a whole other list of questions. That site was started with a connection that was cemented right in the conference room at the Great Wolf Lodge last year during the conference. 
I would like to use Reviewer’s Retreat12 as a vessel to discover new ways to balance both sites and bring them to a higher level of success. I feel Reviewer’s Retreat is the perfect place to LEARN LEARN and LEARN more in a small setting within a wonderful learning space. I think the combination of “class” time and “fun” time is just perfect to form long lasting partnerships in the the blogging world. I am thankful to be a part of Double Duty Divas and to have had the experience of Reviewer’s Retreat11 as part of my life. Hope to see you at Reviewer’s Retreat12.
For more information on Reviewer’s Retreat please here!
All opinions are that of 3decades3kids.blogspot.com/DianeSullivan
Email me: ELGeorgia@aol.com