#1366, Wednesday, February 11: The Como effect

Post 1366, Day 42 of 2015
- 1,503 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

Last night was supposed to be an i am Fool rehearsal or recording night, but it was canceled, so I went to a relatively new open mic that I had been to only once before.

This is a remarkable jam session, in that the musicians are consistently excellent, and the style is mostly modern electric funk-jazz.

At least until it's my turn to play. Then we get old-school.

And these capable musicians love it, embrace it. They fall all over themselves to get on stage for these simple jammy, open songs. Last night's set? Besides a jamming drummer and guitarist and the house keyboard player, I ended up with a violinist, a tenor sax player, a percussionist (djimbe and congas), and another guitarist.

And the audience (this is such a good jam, that there are people in the audience who aren't waiting to play) responds. They dance. And, because of everybody's enthusiasm, I get to hold the stage a little longer.

It is the second time I've been to the jam, and the second time I've had this great response.

While I don't take it for granted, and I don't really need it, it is validating.

I've become a stylist. I play what I play, the way I play it, and I'm not trying any more. I just let it flow, and it does, and there's a great measure of joy.

I believe that is what the musicians and the audience respond to. I'm not that good a player technically, I see tons of more accomplished, versatile and virtuoso players, regularly. I choose the songs at these jams for their openness (and ease of teaching - nobody knows these songs out front), and for their simple bass lines, because that is all I can sing over. So the songs are simple and the bass lines pretty easy and repetitive - nothing showy. I leave that, if it's going to occur at all, to the other instrumentalists.

I just fulfill the part of bass as foundation, and lay a simple, easy and basic (no pun) floor for everybody to dance on.

Still, in the context of the jam, I told the guitarist I felt like Perry Como jamming with Coltrane. He laughed and said, "Everybody dug it. But, good reference."

Food and Diet Section

Today's Weight:                   203.4 lbs

Previous Weight (2/10):           201.8 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:                + 1.6 lbs

Diet Comment

Here's some good news/bad news. I am, late in life, developing a taste for beer. Not a tolerance, though. I had a draft last night that mellowed me plenty, and led to a late-night feeding frenzy. The result? Not good. But not permanent. I wasn't hungry until lunch-time.
 

Food Log

Breakfast
Skipped.

Lunch
At Ling-Ling's Chinese Buffet and Grill:

Brussels sprouts, kimchee, and, from the "Mongolian Grill", my go-to dish: pork and chicken with cabbage, onions, mushrooms, green peppers and broccoli. Not shown: Dessert Quest bar.

Snack
Pepperoni.

Dinner
At Eskapes Lounge:

Blackened salmon with sauteed vegetables. Not shown: Toast and a slice of lemon mascarpone cake..

Liquid Intake
   Coffee:  28 oz.   Water: 80+ oz. and a glass of Pinot Noir

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