yeah, my uncle is a rockstar.

no, literally. he’s that awesome. 

Its always funny to me when people bring up the conversation of what their first concert was. Out of my peers I’ve heard anything from Hanson to Michael W. Smith to Nsync to being their first show. Definitely not mine. For me, I very clearly remember being very little, very excited, and very overwhelmed back stage of a Damn Yankees concert when I was probably around 5 or 6. Damn Yankees was made up of Ted Nugent, Jack Blades, Tommy Shaw, and my personal favorite, my uncle Michael Cartellone I clearly remember meeting Tommy Shaw and giving him a big hug (aside from my uncle, I thought he was the nicest guy there!).. aaand then very quickly running in the opposite direction when Ted Nugent tried to come near me to get a hug next!! (ha go figure! :P)

I knew all the words to all of their songs, “Coming of Age” and “High Enough” were my favorites, although I knew them ALL, and I would play the cassette tape over and over again.. and listening to them now I canNOT believe what my little five year old mouth belted out (and yes, I do in fact mean BELTED!) “dressed to kill and lookin’ dynamite with her high-laced stockings and her sweater so tight.. i asked her name, she said her name was ‘maaaaaybe’!!” (oh lord have mercy!! thats just the beginning!) Check out the video to see for yourself.. and just imagine me, blonde pig tails in my hair, back stage rockin’ out with these guys :P

These days Michael is drumming for the legendary Lynyrd Skynyrd! I still absolutely love going to see his shows, even though I swear I’m the most out of place person in the ENTIRE crowd at a Skynyrd concert :0) When he’s not “kickboxing with drum sticks” as he calls it on stage, he is also an incredibly gifted painter. He launched an entire series call The Road Series where he captured different behind the scenes views of his tour with Skynyrd. My personal favorite painting of his, which can be found on his website under Earlier Paintings, is Roy. He painted Roy as a wedding gift for my mom and step dad, and I’ve already made it QUITE clear that I have dibs on Roy as soon as they are willing to part with him :0) The detail and emotion he is able to portray is just stunning and so clear. Check out his website at www.michaelcartellone.com to see all of his paintings. He was recently interviewed by CNN and it really never gets old for me to see him in things like this. He is one of the best men I’ve been blessed with in my life and I am so proud to call him Uncle Michael, even if he does still call me JessBo after 23 years :0) Make sure you check out the interview here!! www.michaelcartellone.com/cnn.html Love you so much Uncle Michael!!

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  1. […] you missed it a while back, I did a post on my uncle Michael who is not only the drummer for the legendary Lynyrd Skynyrd, but also now being recognized for his […]

  2. […] singing “Hold My Hand” (Hootie and the Rascals version ;0) ) Next up on the list is Skynyrd in VA Beach, then Keith Urban and Sugarland in August! hmmm now about getting to YL […]

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