My Blog
Over this past weekend, I had the immeasurable pleasure of taking a road trip with the Garfield High School Jazz Band. (Well, to be more accurate, bands, as in I & II.) Our destination was the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival at the University of Idaho in Moscow. I signed on as a chaperone for the trip. By some anomaly in nature, Emmett, who plays guitar in Band I, had no issue with his goober mom coming along for the ride, even if it meant she…
My 13 year-old son is gaga over Lady Gaga. Sadly, this has caused some divisiveness within the family. I guess Enzo started getting into Lady Gaga last fall. I noticed her coming up on his i-Pod on the mornings I drove the carpool to his school. At the time, my feelings about Lady Gaga were pretty benign. She was simply just another pop icon, far-removed from my own musical landscape. Until Enzo started playing her in the car, I probably couldn’t have identified even one…
Holy Shit! Planned Parenthood has been taking it from all sides lately. While this outstanding organization has long been the target of religious zealots and anti-choice lunatics, they’ve recently been subjected to a new wave of attacks aimed to undermine their credibility and ultimately bring them down. The anti-choice group Live Aid has recently orchestrated a campaign, which involves the creation of deceptive videos of pseudo patients in select Planned Parenthood locales. The videos feature a “pimp” and a “prostitute” seeking health care services for…
About once or twice a week, I receive a notice, usually either via my Facebook page or email inbox, that some musician friend has been nominated for some kind of award in some kind of competition. These notices typically come with a friendly request that I click on a provided link and cast a vote for that person. I receive these on a fairly regular basis. If it’s a friend, then it’s no problem. I’m happy for them and I’m down. I click and vote…
A few weeks ago, I was hanging out at Tula’s, chatting it up with a jazz musician pal. We were talking about jazz venues around the area. The name of one particular club came up and he dismissed it because “they only book chick singers.” Chick singers. And he said it as if it were a bad thing. While I don’t want to jump back into the conversation about the curious relationship between jazz vocalists and musicians, I will say that I respectfully disagree with…
January 22, 1992. My most vivid memory from that day was of standing completely naked in my living room. The scene around me was frenetic and chaotic, but I remember feeling like I was in slow motion. It was early in the morning, maybe around 5:30am or so. The front door was wide open. It was frigid out and dark. I remember the flashing lights from the firetruck and ambulance in front of the house. I can still see the firemen walking into the house…
Hello people. January has roared in with a bang, and I have some cool gigs to tell you about! Boxley’s Thursday, January 13, 2011- 7:00pm Duo performance with Randy Halberstadt on piano Boxley’s has all the elements that make it a great place for live jazz: a big, ol’ Steinway piano, a great sound system, upscale but comfortable décor, very tasty food and cheerful service. It’s truly a terrific place to enjoy a slow, relaxed dinner and take in a little live music. Although it’s…
Ah, it’s New Year’s Day and here we go again: retooling, tweaking, course correcting and generally polishing up our less-than-perfect lives. New Year’s Day is, in essence, the giant do-over. I’m taking a pass on resolutions this year. (I’m always trying to lose weight. What’s to resolve?) But there are a few things kicking around in my heart and mind as we step out, step up and step into 2011. Life as a Tango…
Ah, the season is upon us once again. Many of you probably celebrate the Christmas holiday or some variation of it. If so, it is quite likely that you are well schooled in all things Santa Claus. You know the stories. You’ve sat on laps and tugged on beards. You’re down with the “ho, ho, ho.” You’ve done a few turns around the block on Candy Cane Lane. You know the drill. But what about Santa’s compadres? I’m talking about that elite, nine reindeer team…
My good pal Jason Parker recently posted a link on his Facebook page to an article about musicians and depression. It was from the blog "Behind the Music." The post was about a list complied by Health.com of the top ten professions with the highest rate of depression. Artists ranked fifth on the list. Further, artists who have a secondary job as a source of income, such as waiting tables or mopping floors, rank second on the list. It seems that plenty of musicians, writers…
