Dee Dee's Kid Blog

It never gets any easier.

Taj Jackson — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 07:26:02 +0000

April 1st has always been a difficult day for me. While everybody else is enjoying their April fools jokes and pranks with each other, I am sadly reminded of my mom's birthday. Each year on this day, I reminisce about the great times I had with her. In such a short period of time, she was able to instill all the key values I would ever need in life. She was and will always be my main moral compass. When I was younger, she would definitely keep me in check and did not let me get away with anything. I still live by her rules today and can hear her in my ear whenever I am about to head in the wrong direction. I am so thankful that I was able to spend the little time I had with her. I will never forget her and her influence on me. She will always be a part of me.

Code Z : The Series (BTS, part 1)

Taj Jackson — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 01:49:39 +0000

Click here to visit our Code Z: The Series youtube channel as well and subscribe.

"After this, we're doing films."

Taj Jackson — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 08:00:00 +0000

Those were the final words my uncle Michael would ever say to me.
It was at the end of our family day at a Beverly Hills Indian restaurant. While I was saying my goodbyes to the rest of my family, I went up to my uncle and hugged him. I told him that I loved him and that I was proud of him and proud to be his nephew. I also said I would see him soon because I was planning to go to the UK to see his shows. He responded by saying that he loved me more. He then paused, looked me straight in the eyes and said, "after this, we're doing films."

That was our master game plan. You see, my uncle had another huge passion besides music... that was film directing. We would always talk about making films together, me and him, we were going to be a 1-2 Jackson power combo.
That's what I loved about my uncle. You truly believed like you could do anything when you were with him. He made you feel like that. He was so inspirational.
Since he's been gone, a huge hole exists for me. One that can never be filled. An emotional, spiritual, and mental hole. The only thing that helps, is knowing that I am doing exactly what he would want me to do. Doing what he taught me to do…. and that's film. And that's why Code Z is so important to me. It's about a promise. A promise to direct films. A simple promise that I made to my uncle, who was and always will be the greatest.

I know someone could say that Code Z is just a zombie series. But it's much more than that too. It's the official start to my film career... when I finally stopped talking about it and started doing it.

I really want to thank all of you for helping me keep that promise.

Taj

Long Live the King

Taj Jackson — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 17:36:33 +0000

Happy Birthday to my Uncle and Idol Michael Jackson. There will never be another MJ, period. He raised the bar so high that those closest to it can only look up and marvel at how far they have still yet to travel.

The fun we shared and the great memories I have with him will last me a lifetime.

I miss and love him so much and will work hard to make him proud and continue his legacy.

I think Berry Gordy said it best at the Michael Jackson memorial service.

"The King of Pop isn't big enough for him... He is simply the Greatest Entertainer that ever lived."

Taryll's Birthday

Taj Jackson — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 16:25:31 +0000

If you want to send birthday wishes to Taryll, post them here. :-)

My Birthday

Taj Jackson — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 08:18:41 +0000

Can't believe it's my birthday today and that I am now 36. Seems pretty old.. Funny thing is, I still feel like I'm in my early 20's. :-)

Tj's Birthday

Taj Jackson — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:00:20 +0000

Many of you have asked me to send birthday wishes to Tj. You can post them here. He'll be happy to read them.

Great Bass Lines and Bass Songs

Taj Jackson — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 07:00:00 +0000

As many of you know by now, I really love the bass guitar. My true love for bass goes back to when I was just a child. It didn't take any time to realize that most of my favorite songs had great memorable bass lines. There was definitely a connection. That's what made me want to pick up the bass in the first place. When my uncle Jermaine found out I was starting to learn the bass, he gave me his Gold Fender Jazz Bass. Not only was it beautiful, but it sounded and played great. I still enjoy using it today. By the way, who's my favorite bassist of all time? Besides my uncle Jermaine :-) of course, it has to be Paul McCartney. The bass lines he creates and plays are so melodic and memorable. It's been one of my dreams to learn how to play like him.

So what are some of my favorite bass lines?

Let's do Jackson family first...

I Want You Back
Petals
Sugar Daddy
Smooth Criminal
Billie Jean
Can you feel it
Shake your body
Thriller
You Want This

Next up, Paul Simon...

You Can Call Me Al
Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes

How about a little Queen...

Under Pressure
Another One Bites The Dust

And my favorite... Paul McCartney

With A Little Help From My Friends
Something
Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite

I also LOVE the "walking" bass style he uses in...

All My Loving
Penny Lane

Here are the rest of them in no particular order....

Everyday I Write the Book (Elvis Costello)
Lovely Day (Bill Withers)
Take A Walk On The Wild Side (Lou Reed)
Super Freak (Rick James)
The Joker (Steve Miller Band)
Rock the Boat (Hues Corporation)
Video Killed The Radio Star (Buggles)
Back On The Chain Gang (Pretenders)
I Love the Nightlife (Alicia Bridges)

Did I miss any? What are some of your favorites?

So how was the movie?

Taj Jackson — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 19:00:00 +0000

Everyone is asking me what I thought about the movie yesterday. If you haven't see it yet, and are planning to, you should definitely proceed with caution. There will be "spoilers" posted here. So I suggest you stop reading now if you haven't see it. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Well.. I first heard about the movie in the states, where it is called "Knowing", from a trailer on TV. It looked pretty interesting and loved the idea of someone being able to predict the future. I also like Nicolas Cage a lot. Some people say his "acting" bothers them but I totally disagree. He has always been pretty consistent for me and I know that his films will be somewhat enjoyable.

I also learned later on that Alex Proyas directed it. I recently became a fan of his after seeing "Dark City" for the first time last year. Talk about weird and strange..lol. But I really enjoyed that movie. So that made me more excited to see "Knowing"

The "icing on the cake" was when I found out a week ago that the film was shot not on film, but on aRED camera. I am a technical nerd when it comes to films and movies. I have been watching the RED camera develop for a long time now. If you don't know what the RED camera is, it is a digital movie camera that looks a lot like film. I definitely think it is the future of cinema.

Eventually, everything goes digital. Is it for the better? Notnecessarily, but it is a lot more affordable for sure. Photography and music have made the leap to digital and have never looked back. I think Movies are next.

Okay, so how was the movie.. Did I like it?

Of course I did. :-)

Maybe it helped that I saw it with all of you.

SPOILER ALERT(Spoiler's below)

But I thought the story was very interesting and kept me intrigue throughout the movie. And let's not forget the special effects. They were spectacular to me at times. I really loved that plane crash sequence and THE END sequence.

Yes the ending was a little strange and some of you might think it was WEAK. But I liked the fact that the mother does die on that day like predicted and that the aliens or whatever they were, wouldn't let Nicolas Cage go with them because he was not chosen. Not to mention that the world gets destroyed and Nicolas Cage's character dies. It had such a dark gloomy ending. They(the producers and the studio) could have wimp out anytime and given us that typical hollywood ending, but they didn't. And that's why I liked it.

I am also very curious to hear about what you guys thought about the movie. You don't have to agree with me too. Let's discuss :-)

Thanks Guys

Taj Jackson — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 18:30:00 +0000

I had an incredible time catching up with all of you. Thanks for making this a memorable day. :-)

Taj