#2350: Tuesday, September 24: Fun at open mics

Post 2350

- 8 years and 267 days since I started this blog -

  

Daily Comment

Last night was a good night for me, in that I got to lead two excellent sets. And play a song I have really liked for a long time for the first time, and it came out well, too.

But first....

I had a bumpy wait for my spot at Limp Lizard's open mic. For various reasons, I got there late. No excuses, but I made choices that made me late, and the things I chose were good. But I got bumped a bunch of times along the way to my set. The last bump was when guitar God Mark Hoffman got up on stage by himself, when I was going to go up with him.

He did a number, then said, "We should all appreciate that we are in a historic moment. The impeachment has started." 

The response was mostly... none. I don't think people were listening, having possibly been turned off by him playing a banjitar (a banjo with a guitar neck and six strings), which sounds a lot like a banjo when played. Solo banjo is probably up there with accordion and bagpipes with things people reject listening to.

So he added, "I don't know what you all think of that." I cheered. There was some applause. Then Dave Porter, one of the main players among the hosts, said into the house mic (from the mixing board), "We're here for music, not politics."

And he shut off Mark's microphone. Mark started to reply, "I was just telling people..." then he realized the mic was off, and expressionlessly turned away from it and started preparing to leave the stage. Which he did, quickly, and then, with me and a few people congratulating him, left Limp Lizard. If I had to guess, he won't come back.

I assume he was going to say he was just reporting breaking news (he may have been the only person in the room who knew that it was announced formal impeachment hearing proceedings were going to begin tomorrow.

So there was a misunderstanding. My parsing of the situation was that Dave and Mark have opposite reactions to the impeachment thing, and, in my opinion, Dave did a wrong and hurtful thing. If Dave had been on the same side as Mark, I think he would have taken it as it was meant: Reporting good news.

I changed what I was going to play. As I passed Mark, clapping him on the shoulder, I decided to play, "For What It's Worth", the Buffalo Springfield song about the Sunset Strip Riots, which began as a protest against the Viet Nam war. Obviously and pointedly a political song.

Dave, who was onstage with the rest of the house band (except Edgar, the bass player) backing me up, got it, and actually mentioned it when the song was done. I felt satisfied that I had made my point.

But mainly I was really happy because it was a killer version of the song, easily the best I'd ever done.

That was the beginning of what turned out to be a wonderful evening of music and friendship, including me playing 'Centerpiece', a song from my first favorite jazz record, Lambert, Hendrix and Ross! The Hottest New Group In Jazz, which I have loved for almost fifty years.

I am endlessly grateful.

Food and Diet 

Today's Weight:                    201.6 lbs.

Previous Weight (9/23/19):         201.8 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     - 0.2 lbs.

Diet Comment

Downside noise. We'll see if, despite a lot of bread, including (horrors!) the sweet white bread bun of the Burger King, and some ketchup, the low-calorie aspect causes some weight (water) loss tomorrow.

Food Log

Breakfast
Skipped.

Lunch
7:00pm: Two parts: At my friend Al's, a burger with a fried egg on top on whole-grain, multi-grain bread and a salad with blue cheese dressing. Then, a free, free! Burger King Impossible Whopper - a vegetarian Whopper that tastes just like a Whopper, maybe even better, although I haven't eaten a Whopper since sometime in the late seventies... and it was smaller than I remember them being. But then, everything is...

Dinner
1:55am: A Quest bar.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 2;   Coffee: 0 oz.;  Water: 78+ oz.; 2 shots of Jameson's Irish whiskey.

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#2349: Monday, September 23: Weekend update

Post 2349

- 8 years and 266 days since I started this blog -

  

Daily Comment

I had a good weekend of playing, except Saturday night I succumbed to inertia, and watched TV instead of going out and listening to two bands that I like a lot.

Friday, I was invited to sit in with a singer/guitarist who's just come on the scene the last few months. When I got there, I found out an excellent drummer would be sitting in as well.

What followed was three hours of really, really entertaining music, every bit of it improvised, as the three of us hadn't rehearsed anything - it was not the first time any of us had played with the others, but it was the first time the three of us had played together. It just clicked.

I had a good night Sunday as well, returning to the open mic at Valley Blues House, I got to play a lot of sets. One was awful, backing up a singer who just couldn't figure out how to put her voice to the songs she chose. Her set was short. But the jams that happened after were excellent.

It is so very gratifying to make music. I get totally in the moment, totally focused on the one thing I'm doing.

I smile a lot. I don't hide my enjoyment trying to show intensity. I just lay it down, hope for the best, and usually everything works out fine for me.

I also enjoy the social scene. The scene out back, everybody smoking pot and laughing.

I'm grateful for what I have.

Food and Diet 

Today's Weight:                    201.8 lbs.

Previous Weight (9/20/19):         202.3 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     - 0.5 lbs.

Diet Comment

A half-pound loss, a weekend? That's good news.

Food Log

Breakfast
6:20pm: LEO (lox, eggs and onions) on riced cauliflower with chia seeds.

Lunch
10:55pm: Cottage cheese and a Quest bar.

Dinner
1:05am: Vegetarian sloppy joe (Quorn Grounds, kale, spinach, Grandpa's Sauce.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 2;   Coffee: 0 oz.;  Water: 72+ oz.;

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#2348: Friday, September 20: What you get when you're not looking...

Post 2348

- 8 years and 263 days since I started this blog -

  

Daily Comment

There's this old wives tale told to and by young men: You'll find a woman as soon as you stop looking for one.

I don't believe it holds true all the time, or is exclusively for romance. I think there is a big element of being ready, and a big element of removing your expectations that is contained in that maxim.

I stopped looking for a woman a long time ago - first, when I found one seventeen years ago, and then again when that same woman participated in, and precipitated, a life-changing personal disaster. That time I was uninterested, for reasons both pragmatic, emotional (fear, mainly), and physical, in the complications of another relationship.

As to not being limited to romance, I do like my musical moments, and being ready (prepared to play at a moment's notice) and of having minimal expectations - I put myself in situations where I get to play, but know that I may have little say about what and with whom I play, or how much time I get, if any - does let a night like tonight happen.

A few months ago, at one of the open mics I went to I met Justin, a guitarist/singer/songwriter performing solo. I then started seeing him at other open mics, solo, usually. At some point, he asked me to play with him, and it went well enough for him to ask me again.

When he got a show at one of my regular open mic and band concert stops, Valley Blues House, Justin invited me to sit in on bass.

The longest amount of time we had ever played together was probably no more than twenty minutes. I went into this evening with few expectations beyond playing a few songs with him, possibly leaving early to see another show with some friends' band at the Dinosaur BBQ.

Instead, I played just under three hours, to an audience - not the smallest audience, though not large for the house - that was very enthusiastic.

I think the gig turned out great. I had one of my favorite local drummers, Kevin, usually a jazz guy, but able to do great things with this more r&b-flavored punky music. I had a great time. The audience liked it so much, I actually got paid and got bought drinks - far more than I usually allow myself in one night - and given pot to smoke.

I even made contact with a woman I found very attractive, although it turns out she was a pro waiting for her date. I know she liked the music, anyway.

It's another time when being grateful for whatever comes my way pays off in unexpected ways. And I am.

Food and Diet 

Today's Weight:                    202.3 lbs.

Previous Weight (9/19/19):         202.6 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     - 0.3 lbs.

Diet Comment

A quarter-pound loss, as I've said, is just noise. But better noise than a quarter-pound gain, right? Looking forward to losing more over the weekend, but, as I mentioned above, I had a large amount of whiskey and that may throw things off. We'll see. Nothing to worry about.

Food Log

Breakfast
4:50pm:

Smoked salmon and greens sauté (with eggs, kale, spinach, onions and peppers, butter, coconut oil, turmeric, pepper).

Lunch
8:10pm: A Quest bar and cottage cheese.

Dinner
1:05am: 

Arugula, cabbage, chard, kale, spinach, roasted turkey breast, shaved parmesan cheese, walnuts and balsamic vinaigrette. Not shown: A Quest bar.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;   Coffee: 0 oz.;  Water: 64+ oz.; 4 shots of Jameson's Irish whiskey.

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#2347: Thursday, September 19: I don't like him/her

Post 2347

- 8 years and 262 days since I started this blog -

  

Daily Comment

All my life, there has been a minority of people I don't like among people I know or am acquainted with.

The reason is basically always the same: They have behaved in a way that was hurtful to me or someone I liked.

I have judged them, and put them in a special status (people I don't like) based on that judgment.

That isn't something I like about myself, that judgment. Basically, it says as much about me as it does about them. I know I don't want to feel like I'm being judged, as much as I like compliments when I get them from someone who has judged me and found something they liked.

In my defense, two things: I judge myself just as much, and only in recent years have I learned to forgive myself for those things I dislike about myself. And, in the past, I have been much more forgiving of other people, those I like and don't like.

I have also changed my mind, and come to like somebody I hadn't.

Because judging assumes understanding, and understanding other people isn't something I or other people I know do a good job of - it isn't in humans to see that deeply into ourselves (so much of our behavior comes from subconscious influence) or in others (we are not a mind-reading species).

So, I believe in judge not, lest ye be judged.

Judging is never kind, even when the judgment comes out positive. It is ego-centered. It is imperfect, as it must be when done by imperfect humans.

I still do it. Certain behaviors put me on the defensive.

Still, because I know that my judgment, my thinking, is imperfect, I don't hold a grudge. I try never to be rude to people I don't like. And when I see someone I have passed judgment on in this way, I turn it around and ask myself, what is it that they did that I don't like in myself?

Because when it comes to these things, it's all about ego - all about me. 

I am grateful for the lessons this kind of thinking - about judging - have taught me.

Food and Diet 

Today's Weight:                    202.6 lbs.

Previous Weight (9/18/19):         204.9 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     - 2.2 lbs.

Diet Comment

Nice, big move on the day. There's hope for tomorrow! Always.

Food Log

Breakfast
4:45pm:

LEO salad (wild-caught smoked salmon, free-range eggs, onions, turmeric, arugula, chard, kale, red cabbage, spinach, walnuts).

Lunch
Skipped.

Dinner
11:45pm: London broil and cole slaw, carrots and homemade mayonnaise, and a Quest bar.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 2;   Coffee: 0 oz.;  Water: 72+ oz.; a shot of Jameson's Irish whiskey.

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Thank you!

#2346: Wednesday, September 18: Short non-comment

Post 2346

- 8 years and 261 days since I started this blog -

  

Daily Comment

I've been writing three pages a day of personal stuff, not for publication or for anyone else to read, for the last thirty-four days, with only one day where I didn't complete three pages (ref: 750words.com). I'm on a twenty day streak now. 

I'm also on my forty-third straight day of Spanish lessons on Duolingo.

I'm taking a day off from commenting here today.

I'm grateful to be alive.

Food and Diet 

Today's Weight:                    204.9 lbs.

Previous Weight (9/17/19):         203.9 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     + 1.0 lbs.

Diet Comment

Lose a pound, gain a pound. I'm back where I started this week. not good.

Food Log

Breakfast
4:00pm: Blue-green protein smoothie with almonds, kefir, large organic egg, chia gel, kale, spinach, blueberries, whey powder (24g protein), coconut oil, hemp seeds, hemp protein (7g protein), raw organic cacao powder, moringa leaf powder, fo ti (mushroom powder), cinnamon, turmeric and stevia-inulin blend.

Lunch
7:45pm: A Quest bar.

Dinner
1:05am: London broil and parmesan cheese with coleslaw, carrots and homemade mayonnaise, and a Quest bar.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 2;   Coffee: 20 oz.;  Water: 74+ oz.; 2 shots of Jameson's Irish whiskey.

 Please leave a comment when you visit my blog.
Thank you!

#2345: Tuesday, September 17: More of the usual

Post 2345

- 8 years and 260 days since I started this blog -

  

Daily Comment

Tonight I played at a couple of open mics.

That's kind of what I do. It's fun. I do fun.

I try not to have expectations. I don't expect any place or event to be fun. But it isn't a stretch to say that any place I go, I have fun. Because it isn't a goal, it's a mindset that converts most experiences to fun.

It isn't perfect, but...

It tends to be the kind of thing where an attitude that doesn't place demands on a situation or a scene, that approaches a situation trying to make a good time happen out of whatever is there will attract a good time, and people will want to join in, participate.

Tonight, I did that twice. First, at Limp Lizard's open mic, I played on two sets accompanying a people I've played with before, who asked for me to be on their set, and everything clicked and it sounded great, which means everybody had a good time.

Then, at Maxwell's open mic, I played my first ever bass-and-vocal set. I did it as a kind of goof - a statement about the fact that nobody ever does that, and it went over well. Then, the host asked me to jam with her. Although I've known her and played with her for nearly nine years, this is the first time that has happened. It came out great, and I got a chance to improvise on a song I'd never heard before, and even took a couple of solos.

Which led to the next (and last) set of the night, where a couple of guitarists asked me to stay up and play with them, also songs I didn't know, and they were very happy with the results.

And we all had a good time.

I couldn't be more grateful for how this seems self-perpetuating.

Food and Diet 

Today's Weight:                    203.9 lbs.

Previous Weight (9/16/19):         204.9 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     - 1.0 lbs.

Diet Comment

I'm impressed that, even with the gigantic quantity of food I ended up eating last night, I still managed to drop a pound.

Food Log

Breakfast
5:15pm, at CoreLife Eatery: 

Korean BBQ Pork: Quinoa, kimchi, cucumbers, spicy broccoli, Sriracha sprouts, fried egg, slow-roasted pork, ginger, and korean bbq sauce. Not shown: Two-scoop ice cream cup with a scoop each of Gannon's Chocolate PB and Espresso Chip ice cream.

Lunch
Skipped.

Dinner
1:05am: London broil on Super Grains bread with homemade turmeric mayonnaise, riced cauliflower with chia seeds, butter and parmesan cheese, and a Quest bar.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 2;   Coffee: 0 oz.;  Water: 72+ oz.; a shot of Jameson's Irish whiskey.

 Please leave a comment when you visit my blog.
Thank you!

#2344: Monday, September 16: Weekend update

Post 2344

- 8 years and 259 days since I started this blog -

  

Daily Comment

What a weekend! 

It began with a drive to the Philadelphia suburb of Ardmore on Friday, bringing Frank to the first tour date with Black Uhuru, and ended with a drive from New York City back home to play at the Valley Blues House pro jam.

In between, I met up with some friends from the old neighborhood, at Little Bay Park, in Queens, under the Throggs Neck Bridge, where we used to hang out in the sixties and seventies.

Every bit of it was a good time. 

The drive to Ardmore was easy and the show was great! 

Meeting up with Merv in Manhattan turned out to be a trial of patience, as the traffic was seriously bad, with streets closed and parades (St. Gennaro's Feast) creating a nightmare getting out of Manhattan. The reward was getting together with friends I have known for almost sixty years, with the opportunity to catch up and have lots of laughs, then even more of it all at a good deli nearby.

The drive up from the City couldn't have been much smoother, until the very end where I encountered rain in Onondaga County (where I live). But the rain was gone by the time I went to Valley Blues House, and I had a good night there. In particular, a drummer I had enjoyed playing with once before turned out to be one of the best bass players I've ever heard, with great tone and exquisite technique; but he still insisted on accompanying me on drums - he wanted to play with me. I was flattered and grateful - it made my night.

The only negatives involve what I didn't get to do, and what I ate.

What I didn't get to do is see my brother and sister-in-law, and visit some more friends.

What I ate was a bunch of excellent-tasting, high-quality off-plan food, OR (while traveling) some convenient shit.

So it goes. The good far outweighs the bad (pun intended).

Times like this, I appreciate my life. I'm so grateful to have good friends, great opportunities to enjoy myself, and good enough health to enjoy both.

Food and Diet 

Today's Weight:                    204.9 lbs.

Previous Weight (9/12/19):         201.3 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     + 3.6 lbs.

Diet Comment

While I didn't anticipate this much of a weight gain, while I was eating the delicious and fattening food I had for three days straight, I knew what the result was going to be. So, we begin to lose weight now. Or maybe, tomorrow, because my eating got out of hand at the end of the night.

Food Log

Breakfast
4:45pm:

Warm salmon and eggs salad (wild-caught salmon, free-range eggs, turmeric, sauteed greens with onions and peppers, arugula, chard, kale, red cabbage, spinach, balsamic vinaigrette).

Lunch
7:30pm: A Quest bar.

Snack
9:30pm: A Quest bar.

Dinner
1:05am: London broil/grilled cheese sandwich on Super Grains bread, carrots and homemade turmeric mayonnaise, and walnuts and greek yogurt.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 2;   Coffee: 0 oz.;  Water: 84+ oz.; 

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Thank you!

#2343: Thursday, September 12: Long weekend coming

Post 2343

- 8 years and 255 days since I started this blog -

  

Daily Comment

Today, I played with Frank and Mike, the drummer who introduced us more than ten years ago. This was the first time this trio has played together in more than six years, when we played at the Vermont Reggae Festival. It was a blast! Mike is one of my favorite drummers to play with. The outdoor gig started under threat of rain and ended in sunshine. It was a barbecue for a Charter school, and I really enjoyed the diversity of the audience (teachers, parents, students). 

It felt great. 

Tomorrow I'm driving Frank to Philadelphia where Black Uhuru (he's their lead guitarist for about thirty years) are starting a short East Coast tour.

I saw the band once before, at a festival (I don't remember any details, or Frank being in the band then - it was decades before I met him). I wish I didn't know about all the internal bullshit and squabbles, but I've seen a lot of video of the band playing live, and I'm really looking forward to seeing them tomorrow.

I have concerns about my car, but not much.

Saturday is the annual reunion with my Clearview friends. This will, without a doubt, include a bit of a memorial for Bobby Axelrod, who died last weekend. Still, looking forward to seeing my old friends.

Sunday? Well, we'll see.

Tomorrow's a travel day, so no blog post.

I am grateful for such an interesting life. Every moment.

Food and Diet 

Today's Weight:                    201.3 lbs.

Previous Weight (9/11/19):         201.5 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     - 0.2 lbs.

Diet Comment

Holding pattern.

Food Log

Breakfast
6:15pm: Salmon, eggs, kale, spinach, onions and peppers sauté.

Lunch
Skipped.

Dinner
1:05am: Dubliner cheese and walnuts, blueberries and greens smoothie (blueberries, kale, spinach, almonds, kefir, chia gel, stevia-inulin blend.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 2;   Coffee: 0 oz.;  Water: 64+ oz.; 1 shots of Jameson's Irish whiskey.

 Please leave a comment when you visit my blog.
Thank you!