nostatic at all...

That weekend was never three days...

What do you do when you have two days of meetings at a location 80 miles away with a tai chi class inbetween? Why you drive back and forth and back and forth, of course...never mind the waking up at 0600 part.

Jeez, how hard is it to find a damn drummer?!? I'm even payin'...

Another gig tomorrow, but i'm on the hook as the "leader," and have to juggle multiple instruments and a lineup that never existed before. Well, kinda. I've played plenty with Sam, him on guitar, me on bass (and various other people in the mix. And I've played plenty with Harry, him on bass, me on guitar. But never with both. And I'll have to do a schizophrenic thing flipping between bass and guitar. Oh, and I finally did find a drummer, and of course it is someone I've never played with. So at least we'll all be on the same footing with the drummer. Got my book together, figured out most of the keys, but sadly the charts for the other guys aren't in a great state. We'll just have to wing it. Been there, done that, have the t-shirt.

Gigs are a lot easier when you're a sideman. You just show up with your gear and play what you're told. When you're the one calling the tunes though, it gets a lot more complicated. Plus I had to haul (and first buy) the PA in addition to my instruments. Oh well...at any rate, somewhat back to my old tricks albeit with a few twists. And even some jazz.

A busy weekend. Gig Saturday night, then an early call (well, noon is early to some of us) for the funk band rehearsal. And then back to woodshedding for the Steely Jam thing. All music, all the time...

90 minutes that is. Being a sub in a band is an interesting life. Periods of nothing followed by a few days of chaos. In this case, a last minute gig for Thursday with Steely Jam and their regular bass player couldn't make it. So the second rehearsal goes from working on new tunes for the band to running the entire 90 minute set to prep for the show. And of course I didn't get a few of the charts until today. The big deal is endings, but in general these tunes are not straightforward and if you screw up everyone knows it. No pressure...

This Steely Dan stuff is hard. Well, not hard, just complex. And exposed. Not just "hey, let's groove in E..."

Well, never let it be said that I didn't put forth the effort to nail the gig. The tricky ones are I Got The News and Babylon Sisters, and for some reason Don't Take Me Alive just isn't happening. Uggh. Back to the tracks...

Unfortunately st had to fly to Indonesia (!), so no pics from the Waterfront gig. Was an interesting night. A few clams on my part, but I wasn't the only one so just part of the overall mix. Some high points, some low points. But a night playing Steely Dan tunes (even if imperfectly) is better than most nights...

...of a very long week. This work thing is killing me.

Another pair of nursing home gigs, a few blocks away from each other on Pico Bl. The first one was a tiny room...stuffing 9 people into a small room while likely violating numerous fire codes. The second a much bigger area, with a pretty vocal crowd. Though I'm not sure about how well it works to talk about learning Xmas songs for later in the year when 99% of your audience is Jewish.

I pride myself on being prepared (usually) and not screwing up (usually) but sometimes the veneer cracks a bit. Some rather uncharacteristic gaffs at rehearsal tonight. Part fatigue (a lot of gigs the past few days along with my day job), and part distracted by this stupid eye issue that the doc thinks is sinuses. Whatever it is the meds aren't doing anything (yet - said it might take weeks) and it is a little annoying having your left eye being a little blurry. I have much more sympathy for glasses wearing types now...

Brilliant

hi acquaintance

Listen me, I am in a good feelings so may I tell you a thing? I'm a sales agent supervisor target in your region.
As a rep, I'm given permission to offer out 7 giifts phone per week as "returns" to frequent clients.
We just obtained the new Apple iPhone 4G!
Actually, nobody has claimed theirs yet for the month (I don't feel they really believe we do this :p)

so if you claim one before the night shift ends, I'll be happy to ship it to you .

Nearing the last day at work. Well, in the current building. ICT is moving soon and I'm a step ahead of the curve in packing. Just pens and scissors left to pack. Mostly I threw stuff out. What's in my backpack now?!?

4+ years of my work life (which composed a big chunk of my "life") spent here, and today I walked out of it for the last time. See ya, ocean view. Was an interesting ride...

Another year, another block party. The "clairtet" so to speak...

Well, maybe it is time to break the streak. I have posted "every day" for the past few years on this blog. Truth be told sometimes they were back-dated, but they did/do pertain to the day/date published. I'm on a bit of digital burn-out though, part of it just too much work, part being hacked (again) on my FB account (killed - again), and part is that I'm going on "vacation" for a week so I'm trying to stay off grid. Back later. Maybe. Probably.

Back from a week or so mostly off the grid. Various views from Kona - aloha.

Usually I'm flying east and then back west - somewhat easier to deal with upon arrival for an insomniac. The reverse this time, flying west, getting used to 3 extra hours, then back having it 11pm (on the clock) but 8pm (in my body) is problematic...

First day in the new office building. Still under rather heavy construction, but my office is assembled, and I only moved about 7 boxes so unpacking was quick. Now to actually get work done...sigh.

Ok, wtf is up with my left knee? I know I haven't been kind to it over the years (between sports and the coyote incident), but now it is stiff and I don't remember hurting it. Maybe I'm a gymnastic sleeper...