I feel like poo-poo.

I was just sick a couple of months ago and somehow I got it again. What a drag. I'm sneezing all the time and my nose won't stop running. I'm so tired. It's the same routine. You wake up with a tight throat and the next day your nose is chapped from blowing it 150 times an hour. Then after a few days the crap finally moves down to your chest so you have an attractive wet cough. From there you just pray it doesn't move back up to your head so you have to start the whole process over again. I hate it.

I'm going to call the doctor tomorrow and get on some antibiotics ASAP. I typically like to hold off for a week on that, but next weekend I leave for Iowa for my brother-in-law's wedding then I'm off to Moscow. I definitely don't want this hanging around for the 20 hr. plane ride.

For a while there I was really wondering how I caught it. I take a multi-vitamin and ecanacia every day. And I've already been sick this year! But I soon realized how when Carrie and I went back to the accountant's office and half of the people there were either blowing their nose or coughing.

Yes we went back to the accountant to inquire about our enormous tax debt. After waiting over an hour and a half in the hallway (you heard me) we finally got in to see the accountant. See, the first time I went a couple of days ago we met with one of his assistants. We were really blown away by how much money he said we owed. How much was it you ask? How does $5,000 sound?! But we saw the head accountant today and after looking through our paperwork and making a few quick slashes with his pencil he had our tax down to a much, much, MUCH more manageable total. How did he do it? I have no clue. And I really don't care.

Accountants rank right up there with lawyers and car salesmen if you ask me. All are professions that can seem really shady.

Early tomorrow morning I have a gig at a Middle School. It's one of these gigs where you give a concert then talk with the kids about the instruments and music. I usually look forward to stuff like this. But this cold is going to make things tough.

Tax day ... not go ... so well ....

... owe much, MUCH money ...


lots and LOTS of money we have to pay to the ... IRS *groan*





another joy of being self-employed ...

... was pretty fun. Saturday I went to the gym then that night Carrie and I had dinner with another couple, friends of ours from back when we lived in Michigan. We went to Cheesecake Factory. I usually am no so hip on huge chain restaurants, but you have to give it up to this place. It was great. I ate too much as usual.

Sunday Carrie and I went to church. We go to a simply enormous church in Bel Air and there had to be close to 1000 people at the service. The music was great as was the sermon. The only negative was the babies crying ... or more accurately the mothers and fathers who didn't take the crying babies outside. After church I took Murphy to the park. It was absolutely PACKED with people. There were families EVERYWHERE grilling carne asada and hot dogs, throwing footballs, hunting for Easter eggs. Carrie and I live in a really poor area mostly 2nd or 3rd generation Mexican immigrants. It was really good to see so many people enjoying a public park like that. You don't see that everywhere. Afterwards we went over to another couple friends' place for dinner. Had a good time, ate too much again.

For some reason I fell asleep really early, 10:00 or so. That's early for me. I'm a napper, not the kind of guy who sleeps for 8-10 hours a night. So of course I wake up at 3:30 AM and can't go back to sleep for close to an hour. Our bed is a piece of crap. Maybe if we had a better one I could stay in there longer, but I had to move to the couch since I was so sick of tossing and turning.

Tomorrow is tax day. Today I have to add up all of my deductions which are extensive. What a drag. Hope we don't owe too much.

The next two weeks are pretty light as far as gigs. Then once the first week of April hits it seems like I don't stop until the second week of May. Going to my brother-in-law's wedding in Iowa, touring Moscow, Houston, upstate NY, Atlantic City, and Pennsylvania with Steve, and work in town.

Feast or famine with my job.

So I'm trying to nail down another recording session for my record, this time with the singer.

I desperately want to write another song for the session. But the absolute worse time to find inspiration is when you trying to hard to get it. I have some musical ideas, but nothing I really love. And lyrics? Fuhgettaboutit! Writing words is not something that flows naturally out of me.

Hopefully if I quit trying so hard something will come to me.

I can handle seeing low-carb commercials, looking at silly "carb-conscious" menus at restaurants, watching people eat a hamburger with no bun, and sifting through a million different "low-carb"-labeled items at the grocery store. But last month I realized that the shit had gotten out of hand.

I lost a little over ten pounds last year. I did so by working out and eating Slim-Fast bars. I tried every kind of bar they had, chocolate, nuget, vanilla, fudge, etc. They all sucked. Then I finally found a couple that I really liked. They weren't dense and chewy like the other bars, they were like granola bars. So that's what I ate, peanut butter and chocolate chip flavored Slim-Fast granola bars. They were really good too and I was successful in shedding some pounds.

Well, I've put some of those pounds back on. So I figure "I'll try eating those granola Slim-Fast bars again." I go to the grocery store. I find the Slim-Fast bars but can't find my flavor. I'm looking and looking. I soon realize that every Slim-Fast bar is "carb conscious." They are smaller and have entirely different flavors. And no granola bars.

That's right folks. Diet bars have become "carb conscious." DIET BARS!!!!

Take the bread off the ham sandwich, I get that. But to say a DIET BARS isn't as good for you because it has a few grams of carbs!?!? Ludicrous.

***************

Last night Carrie and I saw a play down in Hollywood starring one of my friends and written by another friend. It was good. We had a great time and it was good seeing m'boy in action.

I love drawing parallels between artistic disciplines. There are certainly quite a bit between acting and music.

The gig tonight was in the most magnificent mansion I've ever been in my entire life.

The owner of the home was a billionaire. One of the five richest guys in L.A. which is saying a helluva lot. I forget his last name, he's one of these rich guys that doesn't make a lot of noise about himself so I doubt you would recognize him anyway. He's a movie producer and television mogul from what I gathered. All I know is he has more money than I could even fathom. He's the largest landowner in Malibu, and that's some expensive real estate.

The mansion was on twelve acres in Bel Air. The place was enormous. The head of security used to be Chief of Police in Malibu. Full-time staff. A parking garage that could easily hold 30 cars. Pavarotti is a good friend of the family and stays in the guest house whenever he's in L.A. There were pictures of this guy with Reagan, Bush, and a whole mess of other important people.

But the most incredible part about it was his art collection. I saw three prints of Lautrec's. Pieces by Monet, Degas, Pizzarro, Kahlo (he produced the movie Frida), Picasso, and a really great Magritte. It was just amazing.

We played for a dinner party after everyone was done eating. Sly Stallone and Jacki Collins were there. Didn't get a chance to mingle though. I don't think they wanted the bum musicians fraternizing with any of the guests. Typical monkey-boy treatment. Oh well. That's rich folks for you.

But the house really was fantastic. I've been to the Playboy Mansion before. That place looks like a shack compared to the mansion I was in tonight.

Carrie comes back tomorrow. While Murphy and I have had a good time running the place it'll be good to have her back. We don't sleep as well without her.

Yesterday was fun in that I didn't do anything at all. I worked out in the morning. Then I stopped by the grocery store to get provisions. When I got home I fixed an enormous sandwich, chips, cookies, and a couple of brewskis. I then sat my ass down on the couch intending to watch the ENTIRE Lord of the Rings Trilogy back-to-back-to-back. I'm talking the extended versions now. This is over 10 hrs. of movie.

And I'm ashamed to say that I didn't make it. I got through 3 of the 6 DVDs and had to retire. I love those movies to death but I just couldn't hang. Maybe if I hadn't already seen all of them at least 3 times apiece I would've made it through. Oh well. It was fun trying.

Today I went to Hollywood Park Casino and played a poker tournament there. I didn't win but I had a real blast playing. I always have a lot of fun playing the tournaments there. I grinded out for over 3 hrs. and made it to the final 7 tables out of 20 or so but still didn't finish in the money. Doesn't matter. Still had a good time. And more importantly I played fairly well and didn't make any huge mistakes.

Big day tomorrow. Got a last minute gig with Tyrell, somebody's having us play at their home for a party or somethin'. And I have to pick Carrie up in the morning. Traffic is going to be hell.

I was going to stop by this jazz club called the Baked Potato tonight for their jam session that some friends of mine play in. But it's really raining here and with the early morning and all I think I'll just call it a night.

More driving, more driving, more driving, more driving, more driving ...

Last night I hauled my ass down to Newport Beach for the gig with Gary. While the drive took over an hour each way, I had a great time playing. The trio sounded really good and we got into some really good grooves and improvisations. Wish I had a tape of it. I love playing with Gary. I want to start a jazz trio with him when I'm done with my record.

Then today I drove down to Long Beach for WizardWorld L.A., a comic book convention. It was fun. I love comic conventions. You don't have to worry about getting your geek on. I saw a buddy of mine Koop who I know from this online comic message board I post at. His wife is a big fan of Tyrell's and they've come out to see the show when we played on the East Coast. I think he's seen us 4 times. Then I see him at the LA and San Diego comic conventions as well. Koop is a comic dealer so he goes to all of the conventions, sets up a booth and sells books. He's a good guy and a good friend. It was good seeing him again.

I also saw Jim Mahfood. It was good talking to him face-to-face. He was again really complimentary of the music I sent him which was cool. He also laid some music on me including an album that he did the cover for. It looks great and I'm excited to work with him.

By the afternoon I was wiped. I had to head home and take a nap. All that driving can wear you out. Since Wednesday I've driven:

from the Valley (where I live, in northern Los Angeles) to Palm Springs
from Palm Springs to San Diego
from San Diego to the Valley
from the Valley to LAX and back
from the Valley to Newport Beach and back
from the Valley to Long Beach and back

I bet that's around 20 hrs. Yikes.

*********

Before the gig last night I stopped by this used CD place in Newport Beach. I picked up this record called "4-Sight". The lineup is Peter Martin, keyboards; Ron Blake, sax; Greg Hutchinson, drums; Rodney Whitaker, bass. I had never even heard of this record. How did that happen?! These are some of my favorite players on the planet! The album came out in '98 and I'd never heard one thing about it. Ron Blake is in the Christian McBride Band, one of my favorite bands at the moment. Greg Hutchinson used to play with Ray Brown in his trio and Rodney Whitaker used to play with Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. But more importantly to me the two of them used to compromise the rhythm section of the Roy Hargrove Quartet. I love the records they did with Roy. At one point Whitaker was my favorite bass player. They just swing so hard.

I'm listening to the record now. It sound pretty good. Reminds me a lot of Ron Blake's album that came out a couple of years ago. Not so much traditional be-bop, a lot of different grooves and creative compositions. I dig.

*********

The bachelor pad is in full effect. Murphy and I are in total control of the place. Dishes stacked up in the sink, dirt clothes on the furniture, a bed that hasn't been made in days. I love it. Nothing's getting cleaned up until Tuesday.

Eventful week for me so far. Wednesday I ran a bunch of errands in the morning before making the long trip to Palm Springs. It's a pretty nice drive, better than the drive to Vegas (mainly because it's only half as long). Everyone in the band got caught up in traffic but we made it to the theater with plenty of time to soundcheck. Steve Tyrell does really well in Palm Springs, this is the fourth time we've played this theater and it was really packed. Nice venue.

That night we were staying at a hotel/casino (there are a lot of those out by Palm Springs, probably because there are a lot of retirees as well), I was all excited to play poker until I realized that I didn't have my ATM card. Yet another thing to add to the long, long, long list of my belongings I've lost. So no poker. What a drag.

Thursday there was another long drive to El Cajon (which is by San Diego). The theater there was nice enough. The crowd was really energetic and excited about the show and the band played really well. All in all I had a good time on the trip.

Friday brought yet another long drive home. I was pretty wiped when I finally got back to my place. Driving can take a lot out of you. So can beers from the night before. I relaxed, did some more errands and fixed Carrie dinner before taking her to the airport. Murphy went along for the ride and after we dropped her off we went over to Woodman to hang with my boys over there and play video games. Good times. Everyone loved Murphy because he's the coolest.

This morning I had a breakfast an old friend of mine Evin. We actually lived together for a year back at Ball State University. He transferred to Indiana University and we kind of fell out of contact with each other. Then coincidentally enough he moves to Los Angeles right before I do and we end up out here together. He's since moved to Madison and I haven't seen him in a couple of years. It was really great catching up with him.

Tonight I have a gig down in Newport Beach with my boy Gary. Even though the drive is a bit much I always like playing with him.

So Carrie is gone until Wednesday and Murphy and I have the condo in full Bachelor Pad mode.

Watch out!

Tomorrow I leave to do a couple of concerts with Tyrell. We're playing in Palm Springs tomorrow night and San Diego Thurs. It should be fun. It will be a lot of time driving but that's okay. I have my iPod. What a miracle that thing is. Brilliant design, brilliant interface, brilliant software. It's like having a portable radio station where you are the PD. Or a portable song library with readily available and ever-changing compilations.

I had a weird gig tonight. No need to go into details but sometimes I feel really uncomfortable on the bandstand. When bandleaders are acting like jerks, or the venue isn't cool, or the sound is bad, or if the vibe is just bad. Tonight was one of those nights.

I heard from Mahfood today. He digs the music and is charging me a great price for doing the album cover. Hopefully I'll get another rehearsal and studio session booked by the end of the week.

Carrie leaves for Indiana on Friday. She'll be gone until the middle of next week. So as soon as I come back from San Diego I'm taking her to the airport. Then on Saturday I have a gig with my buddy and excellent pianist Gary Matsumoto down in Newport Beach. There's also the LA Comic Book Convention this weekend that I'll need to hit. Busy week for me.

While LA is great, there is a place I know very well that is even better. On wet, rainy, and cloudy days such as this, I'm reminded of it. Here I am in Kona, Hawaii last summer grindin' on shave-ice braddah! 

It's funny being a musician. Most of the time, your weeks are reveresed. Slow weekdays and busy weekends. Today I did the recording session for the USC film department. It was pretty fun but the day was long. I had to get up at 7:30 AM which just doesn't happen in my world unless I'm catching a plane. I got back at 5 PM and just crashed. Woke up and haven't done much since. Carrie is busy with schoolwork.

So it's a slow Saturday for me. I have the next couple of days off which will be nice before heading into a big week. Gig Teus. night here in town then back-to-back dates with Tyrell in Palm Springs and San Diego before heading back on Friday to take Carrie to the airport for her trip back to Indiana. Then next weekend will be busy too.

Went over to Woodman tonight and played poker after having dinner with my boy Bill (In n' Out, one mo' time!). It was fun but I busted out pretty early. Made another bad all-in call for a lot of chips. I gotta stop making these big mistakes when I play. I'm really solid then *bam* one mistake and I'm down for the count.

I got my amp back yesterday (my big one I should say, I have a couple). It was at the repair shop. I had dropped it on a gig like a moron and busted it. $120 later and it's back in action. I usually only use this amp with my electric bass so I haven't really missed it as I haven't been working much on electric. But the session tomorrow requires both axes.

Bed-time for Bassist.

night-night

So I took Murphy to the park today. It really was an amazing day. 70s, sunny, not too much smog. There's a damn close to my house that has a big park and golf course next to it. I've never been there until today. Murphy had a good time.

When you walk around parks like this in Indiana you see chipmunks, rabbits, and the like. I noticed nothing but lizards at this park. They were small enough not to gross me out though. I'm a wuss when it comes to stuff like that.

The gig last night was fine. I think it'll lead to more work with those guys.

It's Friday night and I have the two best options in front of me regarding how to spend it. Poker with friends or music with friends. We'll see what happens. I do have to get up early tomorrow unfortunately. I have a recording session at Paramount studios for a composition class at USC from 9 Am-4 PM. Ouch. Guess I can't have too much fun tonight ...

I just noticed something odd about the Jason Moran disc I was talking about ealier--it's signed. I bought it used. The front cover says:

(blogspot was screwy for me yesterday, looks like it's cool now)

I played at the No Money Tree again last night. It was pretty fun. Good thing too since the bread suck. But I like to say playing the bass is always better than not playing the bass.

This morning I did a "rehearsal band" at the Musician's Union. These are big bands that meet every week to rehearse and run through charts but never really gig. People do them because it's good to keep reading music (so much of jazz is from memory and by ear, which is the way it should be ... but knowing how to read on the fly is a great skill) and talking with other musicians. It was cool. I wouldn't want to do one every week that's for sure. But every once in a while is alright.

Then I stopped by the greatest record store on the planet, Amoeba Music in Hollywood. It's really close to the Union and I can't help stopping by there every time I do a rehearsal band. I also can't help spending at least $30 when I'm there. This place really has it all. Today I picked up James Brown's Soul on Top, Central Avenue by Danilo Perez, and Soundtrack to Human Motion by Jason Moran. This James Brown record came out last year and I can't believe I waited so long to get it. It's James singing with the Louie Bellson and arrangements by Oliver Nelson. The bassist on it is one of my all-time favorites Ray Brown. Ray is one of the reasons why I play the bass. But that's a story for another time. Central Album is Danilo Perez's follow- up to Panamonk which I think is his best record and one of my favorite jazz records ever. When I was at WMU I saw Danilo and his trio who were touring for Central Avenue and they were great. I never bought it because I heard it so many times back then because all of my friends had it. You know how that is, all of your boys have a record so there's no real need for you to buy it. Well I haven't heard it in a long time and it's good to have it. For my money Jason Moran is one of the very few musicians on the planet who is doing something new and unique with jazz music. His record The Bandwagon blew me away when I heard it and this is the second record I've bought of his since hearing it. It's one of his first I believe and it was recorded back in '99. I dig the musicians who are on it and am anxious to hear it.

My big amp has been in the shop for a couple of weeks. The repairist called me today and said it's going to be finished this afternoon. Good timing because tonight I have a gig where the guy wants electric bass and my big amp works better with electric. This thing tonight is a taping of a public television show I think. It's weird. It's with a bunch of older guys I don't play with that often. I guess I'll find out what it's all about soon enough.

I've been in contact with the comic artist who is doing the cover art for my album. I sent him some materials yesterday including the rough mixes of the recording session I did a couple of weeks ago. His name is Jim Mahfood and he's the shit. Definately the funkiest cartoonist around. Check him out at http://www.40ozcomics.com/

Gorgeous day here in sunny Los Angeles.

Had a good day yesterday. Carrie and I went to the grocery store then came home and cooked a big breakfast. I just lounged around the rest of the day playing video games and messing around on the computer. That evening we went over to some friends of ours house for dinner. They barbequed, it was really good. Came home and went to bed early. The way a Sunday should be.

I had the worst experience I've had on a gig in quite a while last night. I don't feel like going into it. Let me just say that for some reason there are some folks who hire musicians for jobs and enjoy treating them like monkeys who are only to be paraded out for entertainment ... Like they are to be "heard but not seen" to reverse a well-known parlance. Well, these folks either need to UNCLENCH or just bring a stereo to play music on. It would really save a lot of drama for all parties involved. 'Cuz the bread ain't worth the stress.

Besides that, yesterday was okay. And actually, playing music on the gig was a good time. There was only myself, a piano player, and a drummer and we had the place rockin' and the guests dancing. Hard to do with an acoustic jazz trio, but what can I say? When you got the funk, booties move no matter what axe you have in your hands. Everyone dug us except for the uptight lady who hired us. But I've already moved on from that.

In other news in a few short months I will have a baby niece. By brother-with-another-mother Jason and his wife are expecting a little girl. Congrats to them. Good news indeed.

I had a pretty good day considering the fact that I had to drive so much and it was raining outside. Road travel and precipitation do not mix well in Southern California. Nonetheless I made it down to Laguna Niguel in plenty of time to check out the bass shop and see a movie before my gig.

The bass shop was great. It's the mail-order bass shop in the country, when you're in school and your teacher tells you to order some specific sheet music or a bass method book and some etudes or anything like that, you call Lemur. If you need a pickup, rosin, bows, anything bass-related you call Lemur. Well I never knew they had an actual shop until I moved down here, and I had yet to check it out. So I finally made it down there today. The owner recognized me from a Steve Tyrell gig he had met me at so he gave me a tour of the entire facility including their bass workshop, machine workshop, offices, library of music, etc. Very cool. But the best part was playing all of the basses he had there. I was checking out all of these wonderful instruments (all in the $10,000-$20,000 price-range) including this great Italian bass. It had a really big sound and a nice, rich tone. I loved it. Only 15 dimes. Next time I have that kind of money lying around I'll go pick it up. I love my bass and all, but it's really not that quality of an instrument. It would be great to have something really nice.

Then I saw this new movie Be Cool. A friend of mine saw it and said it sucked but I still really wanted to see it for a few reasons; it's a sequel to Get Shorty which I really dug, Uma Thurman's hot ass was in it, and it's really the only thing that was playing down there that I had an interest in seeing. Well I liked it, good movie. I mean, it's a gangster movie about the music industry and Los Angeles. Right up my alley. I like movies about L.A. Not just set in L.A., but about L.A. I dunno, strikes more of a chord with me since I live here. (Best L.A. movies include The Big Lebowski, L.A. Confidential, Magnolia, and Bowfinger).

And the gig was fun too. Even if it was a haul to get down there. The group plays an older style of swing, it's fun to put that hat on and really play stylistically. Good times.

Sleepy time ...

Last night I hop into Carrie's car planning to drive and meet her at her school. She and a couple of other teachers were taking some kids she mentors to a basketball game at CSUN. Well her car wouldn't start, at all. I assumed it was a battery/electrical problem and was not looking forward to attempting to get it fixed. But the stress was for not, I jumped the car this morning and drove it to a nearby auto shop. The guy messed with the connection wires a bit and said I needed to clean the posts because the connection was bad and that was it. Easy enough. You'd think I'd be able to figure something like that out on my own. But I'm just not savvy when it comes to cars.

I have a gig tonight WAY down south in Orange County. It's a 1.5 hr. drive with no traffic (which is never the case). Once again a gig that I thought twice about taking, but the guys in the band are really nice and fun to play with. There's also a bass shop down by there that I've been meaning to check out. Might see a movie too. That's the thing I've learned about taking gigs so far away on Fridays. Better just to leave early and do something when you get down there rather than driving in rush hour traffic.

So I had a gig tonight at a place in Toluca Lake (near Burbank) called the Money Tree. It's known around town as the "No Money Tree" because of how little they pay the musicians. Really, it's embarrassing how little they pay. I had a weekly gig there for a few months when I first got to town. I hated the place and swore I'd never play there again. Not only is the bread terrible but the piano is bad and the way the place is set up, all of the people at the bar have their backs to you. Stupid. But I got a call to play there this week with a friend of mine Gina who is a really good singer and who I hadn't seen in a long time. So I decided to do it.

The No Money Tree is a funny place. A lot of B and C-list actors hang out there. Like tonight this comedian I dig Zack Galifanakis was at the bar. He had a really good show on VH1 five years ago or so (it was probably the last good show VH1 had). He left before we started playing though. There were a couple more actors whose names I didn't know, the guy who played the judge in "A Few Good Men" and the guy who played the cook on "A Different World." You get the picture. Anyway these guys were really nice and tipped really well and we ended up making as much in tips as we did from the club. So that was nice and made the gig a little more worthwhile. And Gina sounded great. It was good playing with her again. So it was a good night.

I just got home a few minutes ago. Carrie's asleep on the couch. That's always bad news. Moving her from the couch to the bedroom in the midst of deep slumber is quite a chore.

Wish me luck.

Look at this guy! 

I'd been in my house too long and hadn't really done much besides work and go to they gym the past couple of days. So earlier in the evening I went over to Woodman to hang with some of my boys.

Wouldn't you know, a poker game broke out. I did pretty well, won some big pots early. I was sitting pretty until I lost a lot of chips in a hand against my buddy Pasta. He called me down chasing a flush and caught it on the river. I lost over 3/4 of my stack on that hand. That sucked. So I had to just wait around and try to double up. I had to go all-in when I flopped middle pair, top pair called me and I busted out in 3rd place out of 6 guys. Not too bad, it was a pretty fun game. The pot for the winner was $60 but 1st and 2nd place just split the money.

So now it's late, gotta go to bed.

I tell ya, it's either feast or famine with my job. Either I'm on tour totally consumed with my career or I'm at home doing a whole lot of nothing. And for some odd reason it seems that whenever I get busy with gigs here in LA I get really busy for a week, then really slow, then busy, etc. When it rains it pours.

Well right now I'm in a slow week. I do have a gig tomorrow night and one Saturday but that's about it. Like I've been mentioning I was knee-deep in marketing and business aspects of my career for the past couple of days. Boy that can get boring.

But now that it's done I can start getting a rehearsal together for my next recording session. I think I'll do this one with the vocalist Jess. I still haven't found a sax player although I think I have a guy that might work out. We'll see.

Carrie and I went to In n Out burger tonight. The best burger joint ever. I'm totally comfortable saying that and trust me, I've sampled quite a few. It's funny, Carrie just finished
Fast Food Nation and the author mentioned how In n Out is great because they don't use heat lamps, they use real beef, real potatoes, food is cooked when you order it ... it's good to know but it's also dangerous. The last thing I need is more incentive to go.

Here's a picture for my profile. 

Well I finally finished my press kit. Boy is it nice to have that done. I haven't had so much as a decent bio since I started playing bass full time a few years ago. Now that that's finished it's time to start working on taxes. I hate tax time. One big drawback to being self-employed and doing what you love.

I started reading The Business of Music yesterday. A great book about the legalities of the music industry, a must read for professional musicians. Between reading that and working on my press kit, taxes, finances, etc. I began to wonder, why didn't I learn about any of this stuff in school? I have a masters degree and not once did I hear anything about how to market yourself, how to file taxes when you don't have a regular salary, how to run your "business", music publishing and copyrights, what a touring musician should know, and on and on and on. It's like school prepares you to be a musician and that's it. Well, that ain't enough. Sadly these days with organizing my own album and being a homeowner and trying to go for bigger and better gigs, it seem like I spend more time of the business side of my career than the artistic. That's not a terrible thing, but it would've been nice to be made aware of it sometime throughout my six years of music school.

Oh well, I have a feeling it's the same for other professions as well. In fact, I was talking to a lawyer after a Tyrell concert in Kentucky. He was saying the same thing about law school. So there you go.