nostatic at all...

The media jag continues, this time as still photographer for the obligatory group shot. The lighting sucks in this room.

Oh, you can shoot the ones that didn't make it later and photoshop them in, right?

On the bass, not me. The electronic gremlins made a come-back Friday night at the gig (figures the one night I only bring one bass it acts up on me). Tonight saw all the strings getting pulled off (a $40 experiment that didn't work that well), a little cleaning, and the "new" preamp board re-installed. Still the same problems with no calibration light on the D string and a weak B, but better than crackling. A busy week ahead with rehearsal and two gigs with different groups. Back in the saddle...now to do some writing.

i'm feeling a little peaked
maybe it's just the heat
i'm passing those defeated
at least it tastes like meat

i'm chewing up my fine time
dropping leaflets on the news
i'm reading all the fine print
and you're covered if i lose

stay away from the deep end
i know you love it so
stay away from the deep end
i know yours likes to grow

i'm much bigger than the sea
but oceans apart from being
i'm smaller casting shadows
but still having trouble seeing

we're combining things except
that stupid fold-out couch
we're dividing things, respect
how my boxes seem to slouch

i'm seeing the deep end
as a last resort and refuge
i'm bleeding in the deep end
dry within the deluge

i'm out of the deep end
i shouldn't have to defend
every third word
and maybe a fourth
bring me a fifth
tell me, chi le ma?

i laugh at the deep end
but feel left out
like the serious ones passed me
without even asking
going to save someone else
or themselves

a deepening scar doesn't stretch
its tight but holds in place
the angle of omission
the memory and the pace

i'm plugging in my cables
my signal is now quite strong
i'm turning up my faders
'gonna drown out his stupid song

rice recovered and now in the molds
i'll use the potatoes and capture the role
of the white cotton and blue frog buttons
flying north might help to make it whole

i'm draining the deep end
so we can skate the curves cleanly
i'm draining the deep end
where the water's best sent begging
i'm filling the shallow end
this is over

i'm stepping through your window
trying hard to avoid the pane
i'm looking for a clean t-shirt
'cause this one's wet from the rain

i'm afraid of the deep end
i'm just too tired to swim
i'm afraid of the deep end
i can't live up to him

oh, great, now he's here
not like it couldn't get much worse
he's diving in. he's the swan
the water knows he's coming
they bead and sweat away
it's time, the swan is coming

lead him towards the deep end
we'll get him after dinner
violent redirection and repulsion
does wonders if you're thinner

the swan thinks it is won, but those
are shallow end rules
in the deep end it changes
and all bets are off
except the one between me and you
i'll double down there and give you odds

nothing sucks me in
now i'm routed out
integral lost in translation
the derivatives will shout

i'm rolling my eyes but can't help it
like to stand up and make amends
i'm still going to ruin your time here
and stay clear of your deep ends

In marked contrast to the '06 show (which had the loud drunk chick along with a somewhat lackluster set), tonight's Steely Dan concert at the Honda Center in Anaheim rocked. Seriously. About as good as I've ever seen them. Fagan was in great voice, with his pitch probably better than I've ever heard. The backup singers were wearing fro wigs and cranked out some wicked soul, and the band was...well, it's the band. The standout of course was Keith Carlock, who is pretty much the best drummer going these days. Period.

More musings later, but suffice it to say that Home at Last was sublime, Show Biz Kids was wicked, and the Dan makes me want to make more music. Which I will later this week...

Main set: Overture / The Royal Scam / I Got the News / Show Biz Kids / Bodhisattva / Two Against Nature / Hey Nineteen / Godwhacker / Home at Last / New Frontier / Gaucho / Babylon Sisters / Parker’s Band / Josie / Aja / Love Is Like an Itching in My Heart (band intros) / Peg / My Old School
Encore: Don’t Take Me Alive / Kid Charlemagne

Though Sam was a no-show (friend in town from China...right...), and Claire was under the weather, the rehearsal must go on. A laid-back affair running a few tunes and a few beers. Just the way music is supposed to be. Just gotta play the shows now...

Concert Monday night, rehearsal Tuesday night, give the boy a ride to camp Wednesday AM, work all day, throw down food, cruise to Italian Bike Night, hit Tai Chi class, have a drink (non-alcoholic, thank you...on the bike) to catch up with a friend, then head east. The week is speeding up...

making a comeback - or something

Back to Encino for another night of playing trio jazz. Funny thing though...turns out we couldn't really out-draw the Olympics...

Well, I can now say that I've played Santa Monica Civic as well as Coors Amphitheater (though neither on the main stage). A fun gig, though it wasn't our best sounding night. And sadly Claire is off to NY so the quandry of the next lineup remains.

photos - s. tse

A good reason to live here - and to ride here. Encinal Canyon Rd.

The opening ceremonies were stunning, but evidently not perfect thanks to M$. At least if they'd used Macs the spinning beach balls would have seemed like part of the show...

The vagaries of eBay. Or fleaBay. Or evilBay. However you slice it, sometimes it just doesn't work out right. Oh well...

Watched King of Kong again. What a great movie - fully good vs. evil. Not to give anything away, but one walks away from the movie feeling good about good triumphing over evil. Or did it?!?

A sequel perhaps?

This stuff is whack - and doesn't really mix with tequila. Well, if you want to remember anything...

Another night, another gig. This time one of the audience produced a trumpet. Always an adventure...

Thankfully he was an ok player. Then Gary played it. Who knew?

A brief bit of sadness last night. For some reason I though the olympics were over this weekend. A quick serach on the web indicated that there is another week to go. Not that I'm watching them religiously (not enough time), but rather that for better or for worse, my internal psychological clock uses them as time markers in my life. I vividly remember watching the '72 games as a young kid, and then '76. '80, not so much - part of the lost years. But then back in '84. But it was the '72 and '76 games that stick in my head, partly because I was in the heavy kid sports years, and also starting to "come of age."

2 or so hours of sleep is plenty, right?

Different people have different associations and landmarks. Time passes, things change, and the outward signs can be quite distinct. Today is the day to retire the hat.

s. tse '08

Well, that is some interesting use of fruit...those wacky Taiwanese directors...

No, not the olympics. Push hands in class tonight. A little friendly competition. I won the first round 5-0 but lost the finals 5-3. We were 3-3 and then I started thinking about what I was going to do instead of feeling what I was going to do. Next thing you know I'm on the floor. Damn lessons...

Thankfully not me. I live on a corner and people drive like idiots. In this case three small children in the white car, but apparently no injuries. The "no cops" plea from one of the drivers didn't give me a warm fuzzy - especially as I just dealt with insurance coverage on my bike today and was contemplating the uninsured motorist aspects...I think I'll keep it high and my eyes wide open.

A little rushed, but what is life without a little...rush. Dealing with work in the AM, then hitch a ride down to Orange, CA, then back up to LA on the new steed, then pack it up, and continue north. Destination? Well, for now Santa Barbara. Eventually? We'll see...

I suppose that "north" is a destination. Or maybe it is a journey. Who knows? At any rate, north it was, ending up at Laguna Seca. A year ago I was racing my car. This year it was just to watch, spirited there 2-up and 2-wheeled. Oddly enough my old car was there. Matt, the new owner, was running it and having a good time. Though maybe I was back luck or something. Shortly after I got there and chatted with him in the paddock, he went out for his next run session. We were up on the hill watching cars come down the corkscrew. I noticed that I didn't see Matt and my old car. Upon returning to the paddock I saw the car coming back on a flatbed. Uh oh. Evidently he was getting into position on the grid and heard a "snap", then the steering wheel spun freely. A nut backed off and the spline on the rack got stripped. We all noted that he was lucky that didn't happen at speed on track. There also was a Boxster that rolled coming out of turn 9. Driver wasn't hurt, but I was reminded that while fun, racing isn't the safest thing in the world. Of course I'm riding 800+ miles in a weekend on a motorcycle so what do I know...

Back to reality, but first Hwy 1 through Big Sur. Well, before that Peets in Monterey. I was worried about doing 350 miles or so in a day (I've done it once before with my Triumph), especially 2-up. Left Salinas at around 10am, rolled into LA around 8pm. A tidy 10+ hours in the saddle. Other than a jerk in a red truck on Hwy 1 who didn't know what a turnout was and ridiculous traffic through Santa Barbara on the 101, fairly painless. Well, except for my butt and surrounding regions. I think I need a better saddle...

I love them interwebs. From advrider.com - arguing about motorcycle forks:

"a bag of apples is better at becoming pie than a GS. so im gonna sell my GS and buy some pickles, so i can shave my dog."

The spooks in town for game testing. A fine 8 hour meeting. Exhausting, but the game works and proved the point. I need a nap...

Evidently the game was a hit, as the powers-that-be want another one. Woohoo, return customers!

random views from the park in late summer

In music (especially jazz), garnering a regular audience can take some time. I've been doing a jazz trio thing outdoors most Friday's in Encino, playing in a small patio area of a strip mall. Not where you'd expect to find live music and that is part of the issue. But slowly people wander by and say, "wow, you guys are good, I never knew there was music here..."

Now we just need another hundred or so people. I suppose a band name a picture would help :-p

I never met Paul Newman (though an ex had brunch with him on the Cape once - that's as close as I ever got), but we do share something - the love of a fast lap. David Hobbs commented last week that had Newman chosen racing over acting he would have likely been a champion. As it stands, not only is he one of the greatest actors (and humans) to walk the earth, he was a pretty good racer as well. And now at age 83, nearing the end of a fight with lung cancer, he's going out on his own terms. Earlier this month he took his Corvette GT1 out for some hot laps at Lime Rock. Funny that last week I was watching hot laps at Laguna Seca, but this time just spectating. At least a bike (BMW R1200GS) was my transport. I think he would have approved. As for the laps, I'll be back. And Newman will be battling with Phil Hill, Senna, and others at some point down the line. We all will some day...but Newman will be able to keep up. God speed.

Was I that much of a drama king when I was a kid? Am I now? Egad...