My heart overfloweth

I just wanted to say, that it looks as though I have more than two readers. So...thank you. I love you all.

Jaunt to Canada

(to my one, maybe two devoted readers)

I was able to go to Toronto for the IAJE (International Association for Jazz Education) Conference through work. We stayed in a killer hotel, and I also got to hook up with my good friend Steve Cooper who lives there, who I haven't seen since my wedding in over 10 years ago. We had a good time catching up, and walking around downtown. We also had hat night in the Toronto Souvenir Shops. Always a good time.

The conference was okay. Nothing spectacular. I got to hang with a bunch different AF Band cats, and hear a lot of good stories about that. So that was pretty hip. I'm glad I got to go, but I think they should rethink having their conference here ever again.

Until next time...

Goodbye to the Booty

For those of you out there that understand, as a drummer, the bond between you and the bass player is essential. And when you lose a bass player that you have that with, you have to basically reinvent the wheel with another. Well, I had to say goodbye to two bass players this week. Suck! They both left me, and so I am here all alone awaiting the replacement. Now, I am told he's a good player, and he seems really cool. So, that's exciting. But it's also discouraging, because I don't know how permanent he will be.

So, here's to you "The Hafe" and "Mr. Smiss". You will both be soarly missed. I know we will cross paths again to have some D&B action. Until then...

Last Day of the Horn Band Tour

If only they could all be like this. We played at Downtown Disney on a Friday night, the first day of Christmas at Disneyland. Great crowd. We probably had about 500 people at any given time in the crowd. The band was on, and Niko was just eating up the crowd. We also had a film crew there to document the whole thing from start to finish, so I'm anxious to see that. It feels good to play for a large crowd of people that are genuinely digging what you're playing. One day, they'll all be like this...one day.

Pics from Palm Springs

If you know Lou...

you will know that this smile is not a smile of happiness, rather a smile of complete anger and frustration. We get to the gig at Palm Springs, which is potentially going to be a great gig. The stage is huge, the power is awesome. Everything is going our way. (So something has to go wrong, right?) Right...We're setting up and getting ready for sound check, when we hear a snap, crackle, pop. (Not a good sound, unless your sitting down to a nice hearty bowl of Rice Krispies.) It turns out, Lou's monitor console tanked right before the gig, hence his mood described above. Needless to say, we did pull the gig off. It wasn't the most ideal situation, but thanks to our tech savvy sound guys, we were able to give the audience what they came for. (oh wait, they came to hear a 50's band, because that's what the radio promoted us as.) So, we didn't give the audience what they came for. We gave them something better!

Part Deux