Post 2240
- 8 years and 105 days since I started this blog -
Comment
On the one hand, I ate a bunch of party food over the weekend, and drank a lot, and gained weight.
On the other, my Syracuse music experience came full circle.
When I finally went out to find the musical community in Syracuse, about five months after I arrived here, my entrypoint was the Sunday night blues show on Public Radio.
Airing from seven to ten Sunday evenings, it was hosted by Tom Townsley, a master of the blues harp, who I have gotten to know, and played with in the ten years since he was just a voice on the radio.
At nine every Sunday, he would announce, "The music at Rooters Bar's blues jam is just getting started around now." At the show's close, he would announce, "I'm getting ready to go down to the blues jam at Rooters - see you there!"
So, in December, 2008, I went. I had no expectations. I googled 'Rooters' for the address, brought a bass with me, and got there just about nine-thirty. My feeling was, I might play, I might not. Just checking the place out - it was reconnaissance.
There were some musicians playing when I got in. I studied the signup board, which was like nothing I'd seen before. It was a whiteboard with a grid, and people signed up to play a set based on their instrument. I signed up for the first available slot on the bass row, but needn't have bothered - as the song being played finished, I was immediately asked to get up and play.
Now, two things - I was rusty, not having played at all in more than four months, since leaving North Carolina, and that made me a little nervous; and I was lucky, because my set was with some good players, mostly from the house band - I've gotten to know them better over the years, and count them as friends. The set went well.
When the playing was done, I got to actually meet several people, and got my first dose of the warm, welcoming Syracuse music community.
Among the things I learned that night were where there were other open mics I could play at.
This was Ground Zero for my Syracuse experience. Everything good that has happened to me in Syracuse originated from that first night at Rooters.
Fast-forward to last December, when Jimmy Rooters sold the bar (he wanted to retire - it had been up for sale for about a year - to husband-and-wife musicians Lenny and Heidi, friends of mine. When I left for Lisbon in mid-December, the bar was going to close for renovation and waiting for licensing for the new owners. A month later, Jimmy died suddenly, unexpectedly. I was in Chiang Mai. I wrote a eulogy for him on Facebook, and it was one of the most 'liked', commented-on posts I ever made.
The bar officially reopened Saturday, It has a new name, Valley Blues House, even though the old Rooters sign is still up.
I got there at three PM, thinking that was when things kicked off. My plan was to stay and play awhile, then do some grocery shopping, errands, eat at home, and come back for a while in the evening. Instead, when I got there, my friend Frank, who was finishing setting up the PA, asked if I had a bass amp with me (I did) and I became the house bass player.
Sometime around a half-hour later, I played the first live music in Valley Blues House. A thrill and an honor.
There were no other bass players for the next five hours, and I played most of that time. I also played an hour out of the next three, then I left for the night.
I returned the next night for the first regularly-scheduled resumption of the Sunday night open mic, and got some good playing time with more than a few players I hadn't seen since I left for my winter travels. The weekend was a blast, a total blast.
An aside: I went for a surgical consultation today, to have him assess what to do about the small, completely symptom-free hernia my doctor discovered last year. He and his nurse (and I) all agreed there was no reason to do anything except "keep an eye on it". So, more joy!
What a life! I'm so grateful!
Food and Diet
On the other, my Syracuse music experience came full circle.
When I finally went out to find the musical community in Syracuse, about five months after I arrived here, my entrypoint was the Sunday night blues show on Public Radio.
Airing from seven to ten Sunday evenings, it was hosted by Tom Townsley, a master of the blues harp, who I have gotten to know, and played with in the ten years since he was just a voice on the radio.
At nine every Sunday, he would announce, "The music at Rooters Bar's blues jam is just getting started around now." At the show's close, he would announce, "I'm getting ready to go down to the blues jam at Rooters - see you there!"
So, in December, 2008, I went. I had no expectations. I googled 'Rooters' for the address, brought a bass with me, and got there just about nine-thirty. My feeling was, I might play, I might not. Just checking the place out - it was reconnaissance.
There were some musicians playing when I got in. I studied the signup board, which was like nothing I'd seen before. It was a whiteboard with a grid, and people signed up to play a set based on their instrument. I signed up for the first available slot on the bass row, but needn't have bothered - as the song being played finished, I was immediately asked to get up and play.
Now, two things - I was rusty, not having played at all in more than four months, since leaving North Carolina, and that made me a little nervous; and I was lucky, because my set was with some good players, mostly from the house band - I've gotten to know them better over the years, and count them as friends. The set went well.
When the playing was done, I got to actually meet several people, and got my first dose of the warm, welcoming Syracuse music community.
Among the things I learned that night were where there were other open mics I could play at.
This was Ground Zero for my Syracuse experience. Everything good that has happened to me in Syracuse originated from that first night at Rooters.
Fast-forward to last December, when Jimmy Rooters sold the bar (he wanted to retire - it had been up for sale for about a year - to husband-and-wife musicians Lenny and Heidi, friends of mine. When I left for Lisbon in mid-December, the bar was going to close for renovation and waiting for licensing for the new owners. A month later, Jimmy died suddenly, unexpectedly. I was in Chiang Mai. I wrote a eulogy for him on Facebook, and it was one of the most 'liked', commented-on posts I ever made.
The bar officially reopened Saturday, It has a new name, Valley Blues House, even though the old Rooters sign is still up.
I got there at three PM, thinking that was when things kicked off. My plan was to stay and play awhile, then do some grocery shopping, errands, eat at home, and come back for a while in the evening. Instead, when I got there, my friend Frank, who was finishing setting up the PA, asked if I had a bass amp with me (I did) and I became the house bass player.
Sometime around a half-hour later, I played the first live music in Valley Blues House. A thrill and an honor.
There were no other bass players for the next five hours, and I played most of that time. I also played an hour out of the next three, then I left for the night.
I returned the next night for the first regularly-scheduled resumption of the Sunday night open mic, and got some good playing time with more than a few players I hadn't seen since I left for my winter travels. The weekend was a blast, a total blast.
An aside: I went for a surgical consultation today, to have him assess what to do about the small, completely symptom-free hernia my doctor discovered last year. He and his nurse (and I) all agreed there was no reason to do anything except "keep an eye on it". So, more joy!
What a life! I'm so grateful!
Today's Weight: 205.4 lbs.
Previous Weight (4/12/19): 202.8 lbs.
Net Loss/Gain: + 2.6 lbs.
Diet Comment
Food Log
Breakfast
Skipped.
Lunch
9:15pm: Green and pink fretta: Kale, spinach, eggs, smoked salmon, pepperoni, cheddar cheese, onions and peppers.
Dinner
1:15am: Pepperoni, cottage cheese, and a Quest bar.
Liquid Intake
Skipped.
Lunch
9:15pm: Green and pink fretta: Kale, spinach, eggs, smoked salmon, pepperoni, cheddar cheese, onions and peppers.
Dinner
1:15am: Pepperoni, cottage cheese, and a Quest bar.
Liquid Intake
Espressos: 1; Coffee: 14 oz.; Tea: 0 oz.; Water: 56+ oz.;
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