Carrie, Murphy and I went to an incredibly fun BBQ yesterday. It was the birthday of one of the boys of the Woodman Crew. It was an unbelievable day and the party was at a really great house. My boy Pasta is quite a chef and he really outdid himself; pulled pork BBQ sandwiches with cole slaw, sweet potato fries with cinnamon and sugar, burgers, pork ribs with one of the best BBQ sauces I’ve ever tasted (Pasta made it from scratch even), baked beans, and a bread pudding made from Krispy Kreme donuts. You heard me. Bread pudding with Krispy Kremes. It was downright sinful. The day culminated in one hilarious baseball game in the back yard. We played with a rubber ball and had to make up rules to suit the situation (any ball caught in a tree is a ground-rule double, two bases on an overthrow, etc.). I wish we had a video recorder because not only was it funny watching us hitting balls and running around, but some of the shit-talking was priceless. The game ended after four innings with my team winning 23-19. HA! Afterwards, I relaxed in the pool with a beer. I slept like a baby last night. It was so much fun.

I still haven’t gotten the rough takes from the recording session. This is pretty annoying, I’m really anxious to hear them. I got a call from the studio yesterday saying that a CD was ready for me but when I tried to call today to schedule a time to stop by I didn’t get an answer.

Playing at the jam session tonight, I’m looking forward to it. I haven’t played in the past couple of days.

I grew up with the Indy 500. It was always a special day in Indianapolis and the month of May was always a special time. But when the owners of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway split off from CART and my favorite drivers I lost interest. And to tell you the truth I haven’t really given a flip about the 500 since my high school days.

But this year Danica got me interested again. First off, dig what a complete hottie she is:


There was a lot of hype around her. She qualified in 4th place and many thought she was a real contender. She was on talk shows, late-night shows, ESPN, you name it. So I decided to tune in to the 500 for the first time in years.

And did it ever bring back some memories; poolside BBQs with the race broadcasting over the radio, walking to the track from my aunt’s house for qualification days, watching Rick Mears win his 5th Indy 500 from seats right across from Pit Row, riding along 16th St. Memorial Day Weekend looking at all of the freaks and drunkards … great memories, great times.

Now with all of that pressure facing Danica you figured a letdown would be inevitable. But that was not the case and boy did she deliver. She was in the top five at the beginning of the race, she then stalled her car while pitting and fell to sixteenth, then she wrecked and made an unbelievable pit to keep on the lead lap, then she climbed all the way up to the lead. She was leading the race with ten laps to go and it looked like she might win it, but it wasn’t meant to be and she ended up finishing in 4th, where she’d started.

Still, not too shabby for a rookie. Or for a chick. Especially for a hot chick.

Thanks for the ride Danica. I’m a 500 fan again.

I was poking around on Tyrell's website and found this pic of myself with Stephen Stills (of Crosby, Stills, and Nash) and Jon, Steve's keyboardist. I was happy to find this one because I rememeber taking it but had never seen it. This was taken at a club in Bel Air we played at.

Here's a picture of the band from the last tour. I've been thinking of becoming Italian lately. The track suit is a good start. I'm learning to cook, pinky ring and gold chain are next.

Go to this website http://www.hyfntrak.com/johnstevens/AFF15701/

When the window pops up click on one of the album covers and watch the video. It's a promo video for John Steven's new record. When he starts to talk about recording the song "This Love" don't blink and you'll see me in the background rehearsing with him.

The session today went really well. Steve, Quinn, and Tom all played their asses off. And Kevin at f.Boo (the engineer and studio I’m using) was easy to work with as always. We got multiple solid takes of four different tracks. I have a lot to work with and am happy with what I got down.

I went in to last session having worked out basic ideas of what I was going to play for the bass parts. I had licks planned out and really knew what I wanted to play. One of the tunes we did at the first session was an original of mine called “Big Slick.” We did multiple takes of it and for the last take I threw out everything I had planned on playing for my solo and improvised off the top of my head … and that ended up being the best take. So this time I came in without many preconceived notions of how I wanted my solos to sound. I just went in and played and I think it worked out for the best.

This time we recorded some covers in addition to originals of mine. The tracks were; “Beatrice”, a jazz composition by saxophonist Sam Rivers; “The Funky Supervillain, and original of mine that is fast and aggressive; “Red Baron,” a funk tune written by drummer Billy Cobham; and “Such A Beautiful Girl,” a ballad of mine.

I should get a CD of what we did within the next couple of days. I can’t wait to hear it.

Yesterday I went into Hollywood to rehearse a little bit with the guitar player for the recording session tomorrow. Another trip to Hollywood means another trip to Amoeba Music and more new CDs.

I picked up the new Ron Blake record. I’ve been excited for this record ever since I first saw it advertised. Ron is the sax player in the Christian McBride Band, one of the hottest groups today featuring one of the baddest bass players walking the planet. I have Ron’s first record; it was good but not really earth-shattering. I could tell there was a lot of potential there though. Me'shell NdegéOcello is the producer on his latest disc. It’s really good. I haven’t thoroughly sunken my ears into it yet but I could tell from the first listening that it’s what I was looking for. It also came with a disc of remixes.

Also picked up a retrospective compilation of a band called Red House Painters. My good friend and seriously talented musician/songwriter Matt Boyer plays guitar in a band called Sun Kill Moon. The leader of Sun Kill Moon was also the leader of Red House Painters, Mark Gozalek. I saw Sun Kill Moon last year and really dug their music. So I picked up this Red House Painters retrospective knowing the music would be in the same vibe.

Last night I played at the same jam session I did last week. It was fun. Bass players hardly ever show up to jam sessions meaning I play the entire night. That can be a drag but its good for me. Like bass cardio exercise or something. Again, a lot of good players showed up which always makes things more fun.

Today I’m just going to relax and make sure I’m well-rested and that my head is in the right place for tomorrow’s recording session.

Got to the venue last night, the show was sold out. That’s what I get for not calling ahead. So much for all of that hype!

On a positive not I picked up a great CD by Ethan Iverson yesterday. He’s the pianist in The Bad Plus (one of my favorite bands right now … they are playing at the Knitting Factory next week and you can bet your ass I’ll get tickets ahead of time) and a real talent. It’s his trio with Reid Anderson (the bassist in The Bad Plus) and Billy Hart. Billy’s a legendary drummer who’s played with everyone from Miles Davis to Charles Lloyd. Billy also taught at Western Michigan while I was there so I got to talk to and play with him quite a bit. Also, his son Lorca lives here in LA and was the drummer for the first session of my record. Anyway, I was kind of skeptical of the CD, I have a record by Reid Anderson and I wasn’t that impressed. I was thinking that maybe the guys in the Bad Plus just work well together and not with anyone else. Then I picked up a GREAT CD by a band called Happy Apple that features the drummer from The Bad Plus and I dug it. So I decided to try out Iverson’s disc. And it is really good as well. Good pick-up for me, I’m glad I bought it. The jazz element is a lot more prevalent on this disc than The Bad Plus records. Both this record and Happy Apple will be seeing heavy rotation on the iPod.

One of my favorite bands in college was called Soul Coughing. They were a great, offbeat group that sort of combined poetry, sampling, and crazy lyrics and wrote some exceptional songs. They broke up back in 00’ and I missed the chance to ever see them live. When we were in Rochester a couple of weeks ago we hung out with one of the promoters the night of our show. Through conversation I found out that he was a big fan of Soul Coughing and knew their lead singer Mike Doughty quite well. He gave me a burned copy of Doughty’s new disc and I really dig it. So I’m looking through the LA Weekly a couple of days ago and lo’ and behold, Mike Doughty is playing in West Hollywood tonight. My good friend Vinnie is a big Soul Coughing fan as well so we’re going down to see the show in a couple of hours.

I don’t see rock shows as much as I should, so I’m pretty excited.

We tried out a new drummer today for Tyrell’s group. He sounded good and I think he’s going to work out well.

Finally I have another recording session for my album scheduled. It’s been over two months since the first session and I’ve been getting pretty anxious. I was having real problems scheduling something with the drummer Lorca. As a result I had to call someone else for the next session. No big deal, this guy is great too. His name is Tom and he’s been playing with us with Tyrell for a while. He also plays with Chick Corea. Not bad.

Originally I had wanted to do this session with a vocalist, Jessica. But she’s going to be out of town the day of the session. When I first heard that she couldn’t make it I was pretty bummed. Now I have another group of songs that I’d originally planned on recording with a sax player. Problem with that was I had no clue who I wanted to use. So I was considering recording those songs with just a trio; myself, Quinn (the pianist from the first session), and Tom. But I really wanted another instrument in there for a couple of songs. Then it finally dawned on me to call my buddy (and excellent guitar player) Steve. Luckily he’s available and excited to do it. I know, guitar and sax are two different beasts, but it’s more important to me to get a musician who works well with the music as opposed to a specific instrument. I’ve always wanted this to be a funk record with jazz improvisation on it. Steve is very much a jazz player and a good one. Besides, the four of us have spent two weeks on the road together playing with Tyrell so there’s already a vibe there.

Had a gig last night at a restaurant in La Habra. A bit far to be driving on a Friday but luckily I had a pretty fun time playing. The pianist (who I’d never met before) was a nice guy.

Later on today Carrie and I are going to a graduation party for one of her friend’s sons. That should be fun. I always like meeting new people.

It is HOT here in SoCal. Hope yo’ AC works.

Well, that is it. Reggie Miller has played his final basketball game.

After the Pacers lost to the Pistons tonight there season ended as did Reggie’s career. I got pretty choked up afterwards, more than I thought I would. Reggie is the reason I fell in love with basketball. It’s just a shame he’ll never get to have his Championship Ring. He’s a class act and stayed at Indiana throughout his entire career, his house was burned down by insensitive racist assholes and he had to deal with a lot leading this team for the past eighteen years. Through it all he carried himself better than anyone could’ve expected from him and emerged as one of the greatest basketball players of all time.

Thank you, Reggie. Thank you for every exciting moment at Market Square Arena and Conseco Fieldhouse. Thank you for remaining a classy person in a time where the NBA is full of greedy crybabies and selfish players. Thank you for making the Indiana Pacers a competitive NBA franchise. You will be missed.

I’ve been poking around online and I’m discovering that everyone absolutely loves Episode III.

Well, I’m in the minority.

Don’t get me wrong, I liked it. There are a lot of things you know are going to happen in the movie and it delivers in a pretty big way. The art direction is the best out of the first three, there is a lot of action, and the plot develops nicely.

But the dialogue is still really bad. Especially the parts with Annakin and Padme. And while there were many battles in the film, the pacing of it seemed pretty bogged down.

Maybe it was the crowd I saw it with. The theater was packed, I mean PACKED. Remember, I went to a 2:50AM showing. You figure if there are a bunch of people who stayed up that late to watch a movie, they’d be pretty enthusiastic about it. Not the case. No thunderous applause at the end, no hollering when Yoda kicks some ass, none of that. I guess you can attribute that to the early hour, but I just don’t think the movie is as dramatic or grandiose as it could’ve been.

That being said, it still is a lot of fun. Lucas didn’t pull any punches, this movie is dark and seeing Annakin become Darth Vader is pretty impressive.

So there you go. This morning I didn’t think I’d have an interest in seeing it again but now I’m having second thought. Carrie wants to see it of course; maybe I’ll go again with her. Maybe that will give me some more perspective on it.

I mean, it’s still Star Wars. So it’s still pretty cool.

Yesterday I ended up getting a last-minute call for a gig down in Hollywood. It was for a jam session in the house band. The session just started last week but the turnout was pretty good, quite a few really strong players. Then some of us headed to a diner in Los Feliz afterwards. It’s always good making a hang with other musicians. Jazz music is so much about interaction and communication, being part of the jazz community is pretty important.

I discovered something really great about my bass last night. When I arrived at the club and started to set up I soon realized I left my pickup at home. (A pickup is a device that attaches to the bridge of the bass so you can plug it in to an amplifier). I took my pickup on tour with me a couple of weeks ago and forgot to re-attach it to my instrument. So I thought I was sort of screwed. Now let me explain, playing acoustically (without amplification) is always preferred when playing a double bass (heck, that's why it's also called and acoustic bass). I had no qualms about playing without an amp all night especially since the club was small. But that just meant it was going to be more work for me and I'd really have to play loudly to get my sound out. But luckily I didn't have to do that. There was a P.A. system at the club and an extra microphone. So I took the mic, wrapped it in a bar towel, and shoved it under my bridge at the bottom of the bass. And let me tell you it sounded GREAT! The problem with pickups is that they don't accurately re-produce the acoustic sound of the bass. But with the mic it sounded spot-on. Every time I've used a mic in the past it has been on a mic stand pointed at the bridge. For whatever reason putting the mic at the bottom of the bridge gave it a lot more sound. I'm tempted to buy a microphone and experiment with it and my amplifier.

Didn't go to the batting cages yesterday and didn't go to the DMV either. I sucked it up and went this morning. But I was clever about it, I drove to a DMV that was outside of Los Angeles as I heard it'd be less crowded (a city called Newhall, only about 25 minutes away). It was and I was in and out of there in, like, 20 minutes. Good find for me, I'm definitely going there from now on.

Tonight I'm going to see the new Star Wars movie. I should say I'm going tomorrow morning. I couldn't't find anyone geeky enough to want to go tonight except for my friend Bill and he has a gig tonight. As a result we are going to attend the 2:50 AM showing. You heard me. 3 in the friggin' morning. I don't have any work tomorrow so I'll be cool. I'm pretty excited to see it.

It's finally going to be over. Growing up with heaps and HEAPS of Star Wars toys, reading star wars comics, drawing Star Wars battles, watching Return of the Jedi hundreds of times on videocassette, playing Star Wars video games, the new movies it's all going to end tonight. Darth Vader's story will end at it's beginning. And the mythology of my youth will finally be revealed in its entirety.

The first Star Wars came out when I was one year old and this last one comes out one year shy of my 30th birthday.

I can't think of better bookends to my youth.

While I was at LAX leaving for my trip I picked up a magazine called "Smart Computing." It had a great article in it on how to clean out your PC. I've deleted a bunch of temporary files and ran a disk cleanup. Then I just installed a great anti-spyware program a while ago and the old computer is running better than it has for a while--and with no pop-ups! There's still some things I'm going to do (clean out the registry, open my casing and dust the PC, etc.) but I can't understand why I didn't do this stuff earlier. I'm computer savvy, but I just don't know a whole lot about them. And I hate reading texts, their usually so boring they never sink in. Next up I want to learn more about the code that this blog runs on so I can add nifty things like links, audio, create my own backrground, etc.

Played cards last night with the boys, came out a modest winner. I might go to the batting cages later with a friend. I haven't swung a bat in years, it should be interesting.

Basically I'm putting off going to the DMV. I have to renew my license, it expired on my birthday and I didn't even realize it until the other night when Carrie and I were getting memberships at a video store. Man, do I ever hate the DMV. But I heard if you drive a ways you can find one that's not so crowded so if I go to the cages today I'll check it out tomorrow.

I have returned. My neck is sore from sleeping poorly, my back hurts from long plane trips and car rides, I'm dehydrated from all of the coffee and alcohol and I'm tired as hell. But I'm finally back home.

Pittsburg was a lot of fun. We got really great tickets to the Pirates game on Friday night; free dinner and seats right behind home plate. I love the perks of my job. The Pirates were playing the Brewers. It was a good game and the Brewers won it in the 9th. Since I wasn't watching my beloved Boys in Blue I decided to score the game. This is where you mark every at-bat and keep a record of how the game is played out. It was a fun and I think I'll do it again.

That night in the hotel I ran into a friend of mine from Kalamazoo who is touring with this alternative folk singer. It was one hell of a coincidence, we were both staying at the same hotel on the same night. We freaked out when we saw each other. I was so happy to see him doing well. I love seeing other midwestern-types making it for themselves in the music business. It can seem pretty unattainable growing up away from a big city.

The Pacers and Dodgers both lost today. Boo Hiss.

Now for some much-needed rest.

So this is my fourth day in Washington DC and I haven't performed since Saturday night.

Nice work if you can get it.

I spent some time with my cousin Kathy at her home on Sunday and Monday. The scheduling of this unusual amount of time off while on the road was pretty serendipitous, Kathy was also having the family of her sister Beth down for a visit as well. I haven't seen those cousins in over ten years.

Beth passed away last year. She died too young, way too young and too full of life. I could go on and on about what a tragedy her early passing was ... Those of you reading who knew her certainly would agree. Anyway, Kathy had come up with the wonderful idea of planting a tree for Beth on Monday since it was her birthday and since Sunday was Mother's Day. So that made the timing of my days off in DC all the more remarkable. It was great seeing the McLaughlins again. The kids were all teenagers save for the youngest who is eleven. Seeing them again coupled with my birthday last week certainly made me feel old. The kids are smart, full of personality, and really get along well. It was a joy spending time with them.

And Monday morning we planted the tree and sprinkled Beth's ashes amongst the soil. It was the perfect tribute and I feel lucky to have been a part of it.

Then it was back to my hotel to relax and get ready for the gig later tonight. I'd planned on seeing some sights yesterday seeing as how I had nothing planned. But after going out to lunch with our pianist I get blindsided with a terrible allergy attack. Sneezing, itchy eyes, the whole nine. So unfortunately AC and rest were in order for the rest of the day. Last night I went to dinner with some of the guys and hung out a while but that was about it. We'll hit the Smithsonian tomorrow.

So there it is. I'm looking forward to playing again. I'm having a sort of bass-withdrawal. And while I love being on the road I love being with my Carrie and Murphy more, and there's only a few more days until that happens again.

Well here I am in the lobby of a Radisson Hotel in Williamsport, PA. Lots to catch up on over the past few days ...

Happy Birthday to me! I turned the big 2-9 two days ago and the even bigger 3-0 is looming large. I was working on my birthday, we were in Rochester, NY. Steve and the guys played "Happy Birthday" for me during the show and everyone bought me enough booze to get hammered afterwards. The next day was spent in my hotel room watching tv and ordering room service with the drapes pulled. Carrie made me a birthday cake the day before I left. My favorite--yellow sheet cake with chocolate frosting. Yum. Hope there's some left when I get home.

I also bought a really cool warm-up before I left. You know, a track suit like the mobsters wear. It's comfortable as hell and was a great present to myself.

Today we drove to Williamsport and played a really fun gig at a nice theater here.

And the Pacers won their first round series against the Celtics! Reggie ain't done yet!

So tomorrow we are off to Washington DC. And of all coincidences my cousin who was just out in LA visiting lives near DC. I'm going to see her and some more family while we are there. Really looking forward to that one.

Another week before I'm home. Carrie says Murphy misses me and keeps waiting by the door for me to come home. Hope the poor guy can hang in there until I get back.

I just do not understand the out-pouring of sympathy for this woman who faked her kidnapping because of her impending nuptials.

For the past couple of days I’ve seen interviews with friends and family of the girl on the Today Show. They have said they think that the marriage will still happen and that the girl is just confused. Then this morning I saw an interview with the fiancée. This out-of-touch asshole says he still wants to marry her and that she is a VICTIM in this whole thing.

What the hell?! Denial truly is a river in Africa to some people.

This lady has made national news, committed a criminal offense, and ran across the entire country to get away from this guy and this wedding and people STILL think that everything will be hunky-dory. When I first heard the story I kind of chuckled. I thought it was funny. I can just imagine that type of pressure that would come with an enormous, conservative, expensive, Southern wedding. Who wouldn’t want to run from that?

But then I see all of these folks in complete denial about the situation and I really understood what was going on. Here’s a newsflash to the fiancée and rest of the family: the type of behavior you are exhibiting is EXACTLY the type of behavior she was running away from! She doesn’t want to marry you dude! She is not a happy girl who experienced a few days of confusion! She wants to get the hell away from you people!

I pray that the girl doesn’t buckle under the pressure and guilt of what she’s done and marry this butt-head. I also hope charges are brought against her. While I understand why she just ran away, the way she handled it was inexcusable.

There’s my 2 pennies ….

I had a great weekend with my cousins. Traffic to and from my gig was a real drag and by the end of the day I was beat. But Kathy and Tracy rode with me during the day when I had to drop off my stuff so that was fun. Those two are fun conversationalists. Tracy left on Sunday and that evening Carrie, Kathy and I went into Hollywood to see “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” I was a bit skeptical about the movie, but it was really good. The director was great, he really had a handle on the book and kept it interesting throughout without delving too deep into absurdist English humor which can get really dry really quick.

Today I got some errands done. Earlier this evening Kathy and I just hung out, listened to music and shot the shit. It was a good time for sure.

**********

Lately there have been a lot of crazy highway shootings here in SoCal. Some moron just decides to pull up next to a random car and blow the hell out whoever is in the other car. Real nice. And the last two shootings have been fairly close to our neighborhood. Usually this stuff doesn’t bother me. But a couple of weeks ago there were two drive-by shootings in our little city as well. All this shooting piles up on ya after a while.

I’m sure it will be fine. But you can’t help feeling uneasy at times.

We’re celebrating my birthday tomorrow since I’m leaving for another tour on Wed. and I’ll be in Rochester on the 5th.

Twenty-nine years old … Thirty looms large!!