when sunny gets blue

It's been a couple of miserable days. Been dealing with a migraine, one of those terribly annoying & painful headaches that just don't let up. I can't take anything other than Tylenol, which has never worked for me, nonetheless I keep trying. So I've been sleeping a great deal and watching really bad daytime television through hazy lids. I've seen the aerial footage of the destruction of Hurricane Katrina a million times on the news (morning, noon, 5 o'clock, 6 o'clock, and 10) and I feel badly for all those who have been displaced from their homes and businesses. Those of us in other parts of the country are suffering somewhat too, the authorities tell us, since gas prices have risen yet higher. That sucks, and I've done my share of complaining about it, but at least we still have our homes and families in tact.

Thought I'd update the blog since I'm beginning to feel as if I can concentrate on something for more than 5 minutes and the pain in my right temple is becoming slightly more sporadic. I don't have much music news, except to state once again that certain people really need to step back sometimes and realize that when it's not their gig, they have no right to make demands. Like the drummer who told me that he's coming out to play with us at Panache this week, and requesting that we please start on time and play til the end. (The gig is 7.30-10.00 and sure, sometimes we start at 7.45 but it's really no big deal...even the biz owner is fine with this...and we always play until 10.) ARRRRGGGGHHH. This is the same guy who recently played a gig with some friends of mine (sitting in, once again) and got tired of the ballad they were playing so he quit in the middle of it. What is with people?!

So anyway. Maybe I'm not in the right mood to be writing so I'll sign off for now. More as it happens....

perdido

Title post inspired by the wonderful jazz duo I'm currently listening to live at Panache. I think the pianist is hot. I'll be taking him home tonight. (That's not as crude as it sounds. Anyone who knows me also knows that I'm married to the guy.)

When I logged onto Blogger a moment ago, I saw a note about adding word verification to avoid comment spam. Interesting, isn't it? Why would someone spam in comment form? I've gotten a couple of non-sensical responses in my guestbook...mostly stuff saying, "Nice site design! " What's the point of this? Needless to say I haven't followed any of the links. Do others do this? Weird stuff.

This has been a generous summer for gigs...but I must say I'm getting kind of tired of playing outdoors. (I know...musicians are never happy.) Then again if it weren't for the outdoor gigs I would probably just be playing my 2 steadies (Thurs. & Fri. nights) and the occasional summertime wedding reception. I've got outdoor stuff booked through October, so I hope the weather is kind once fall arrives. The summer has been so darn hot that it just hasn't been any fun to play. I've noticed on those hot, humid days that I often feel short of breath for the first half of the first set. I can't hold notes out for very long and I have to keep phrases fairly short, otherwise I get dizzy. Guess that's a surefire way to keep solos short, anyway. After I get used to the heavy air I'm fine. Sweaty, tired, and grumpy, but fine.

But I digress. From what I'm not certain...I don't particularly have any useful insight to share today, so I'll keep this post short (like those solos). Have a great week, and make sure to get out and support some live music this week/end, wherever you are!

one note samba

What a slacker I be. Almost 3 weeks, I believe, since my last post. I'll spare you the details of why I haven't bothered to check in more frequently...let's just say things have been very, very busy.

This summer has been quite productive in terms of gigs. Lots of outdoor opportunities, and since we've only had a total of about 3 inches of rain in the last 3 months, all gigs have taken place with little concern of the weather causing cancellations. Unless you count the risk of heat stroke...we've had a number of 90+ degree days (15 I think) and it's been humid to boot. Kind of a miserable summer. I'm ready for fall!

Last week a unique & notable event occurred: I appeared as DJ for a Day on WGLT. This summer the station has invited a number of local musicians into the studio, allowing us the opportunity to pick tunes for an hour and talk a bit about our influences, the music scene, our experiences, and a host of other things. Everyone's done a great job and it's been fun to see what sort of jazz other musicians really like to listen to. Thanks to the staff at GLT and the hosts, Jon Norton and Mike McCurdy for making everyone feel at ease and allowing us the opportunity to share our thoughts with listeners.

A couple of folks have responded to previous posts re: the great prodigy debate and interesting comments mentioned at gigs. Check out the comment section to follow up on these insightful posts. Thanks for responding...it's great to create a dialogue about this sort of stuff.

My gig schedule (see left column) has also been updated. Since we're halfway through August already I figured it was about time.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend, all!