little drummer boy(s)

Last night turned into a bit of a jam session last night at Panache. Some nights you never know who's going to show...I was taken by surprise when I arrived to see a drumset sitting near the band area. A local drummer decided to come out and play with us. This would have been fine and dandy...provided he had asked if it would be ok to play before simply showing up with his equipment. I had already spoken with another drummer who wanted to come out and play with us that night--a young guy who is just looking for opportunities to play--and we had agreed that Thursday would be a good night. So then I was put in the position of having to tell drummer #1 (the one who brought all his stuff out) that we had someone else coming and drummer #2 (the young guy) that another fellow beat him to it. Everything worked out...we just made sure both drummers got playing time by having one play the first half of each set and the other taking the last...but it was still kind of awkward at first. Again, gig etiquette rears its head. Sigh.

We had fun though, and the crowd dug it. Kevin brought his vibes and we decorated them with Christmas lights. See the picture above...you'll see the lights, the Mallet Man himself, and yours truly, complete with prego belly.

Well, it's Friday night and since the Pere Marquette happy hour was cancelled I'm actually home. It's going to be a very exciting evening. Kevin has a gig in Champaign, so I'll be spending my time doing laundry and baking the final installment of pizzelle cookies. Hope your evening is as relaxing as mine...happy holidays to all!

quiet nights

Greetings, all.

I don't have a lot to say but it's been quite a while since I last checked in, so I figured I should at least update with something.

All the Xmas parties I was scheduled to play have passed. I also had a chance to play for my friend Derek's wedding, which wasn't-really-but-sort-of-was a holiday party, too, since he got married so close to Xmas. So we made sure to throw in a few festive ditties here and there. Now my gig schedule is waning...just Panache on Thursdays until the end of the year. The Pere Marquette (Fridays) even got called off because the hotel didn't have many events booked and they're afraid there won't be anyone hanging out in the lounge. So the Fulton Street Gang is off until the new year.

I've been in baking mode (cookies, cookies, cookies!)...I usually make cookie plates and give them to friends for the holidaze. Still have some shopping to do. The tree is up and the inside of the house is decorated, but we haven't done anything with outside lights because of the early snowfall we got this year.

Geez, this is the most boring entry ever. I'll spare you any more exciting details (and a nap) and report back when I can at least word these uneventful events in a moderately clever manner. Happy holidays to all!!