The Album Artwork is Done

I present, the cover to The Funky Supervillain

Posted at at 8:51 AM on Wednesday, August 31, 2005 by Posted by Lyman | 9 comments   | Filed under:

Rachael Yamagata at the Hotel Cafe

Last night I went to see singer Rachael Yamagata at this club in Hollywood. I've posted about her before, I'm a big fan of her record, her voice, and her songwriting.

A friend of mine is playing guitar with her right now, so not only was I excited to see her, I was stoked to see him play as well. They both were great, really great. I was skeptical because she's not touring with a drummer I guess. Even worse she has no bass player (can you believe it?!). It's just her singing and playing piano (or guitar), a guitarist and cellist. But the show was great regardless. Rachael has such a phenomenal voice, I was floored. Her pitch was nails, I didn't hear her sing an off note the entire night. We had a good time.

This club, the Hotel Cafe, used to be a little dive where we would have late night jam sessions a few years ago. They've totally revamped the place and made it a lot bigger. It's a totally different place now.

I got back from a weekend gig with Tyrell yesterday. We played a benefit at a "resort" (I use the term loosely) on the Lake of the Ozarks. It was a fine gig, the band sounded good.

So I've got two weeks of nothing on my calender right now. This is good because once I hit the road again I don't really stop until next year.

Posted at at 8:43 AM on Monday, August 29, 2005 by Posted by Lyman | 2 comments   | Filed under:

"Quizas, Quizas, Quizas"

The shoot went well. It was a lot of work, I think I was there for almost twelve hours, but it was still fun. Whenever I do stuff like this I always think to myself, "no wonder everyone in this town wants to be an actor." Craft services is always there with a bunch of food in addition to all of your meals being catered, you have a dressing room all to yourself (typically), you have a wardrobe person dressing you, a hairstylist doing your hair, and a makeup person covering your blemishes and powdering you between takes. Not to mention that you seem to be killing time more than shooting something. Nice work if you can get it.

They tried to get me to wear the fedora ... but I held my ground!

I just downloaded a bunch of Nat King Cole songs off of iTunes. I go back and forth daily over who the more perfect singer is; Nat or Frank. Nat wins this evening.

Posted at at 2:15 AM on Thursday, August 25, 2005 by Posted by Lyman | 0 comments   | Filed under:

What is it with fedoras?

I got a call a couple of days ago from the wardrobe lady working on the video tomorrow. She was telling me some stuff to bring including a fedora (if I had one). Let me tell you something; I've been a jazz musician for a long, long time now and I've never, EVER seen a serious jazz musician wearing a fedora. Maybe some of the commercial swing bands wore them back in the late 90s when that crap was hot, but none of my heroes wear them. Why the heck is that a jazz stereotype?

So I'm off to the shoot tomorrow. It should be fun even though the pay is slave-wage ... that's good ol' Disney for you. I'm getting my hair cut at 7:45 AM then shooting off to the studio.

For those of you wondering Carrie is feeling better and her medication is finally taking effect, very good news. Dr. Lyman can cease giving the shots now.

Posted at at 10:32 PM on Monday, August 22, 2005 by Posted by Lyman | 2 comments   | Filed under:

I hath been memed:

1.Ten Years Ago-I was 19 years old. This would’ve been the summer after my freshmen year of college. I wanted to stay in Muncie (where my university was) instead of living at home for the summer. I sublet for a friend and moved in with my buddy Ryan. My cousin Neil gave me his old car, an 80s Chevy Citation. I was broke as a joke and had to work at a Burger King which actually wasn’t a bad job. That summer the legendary funk band NoodleBoy Stout was formed and I played all of the campus bars for the first time with them. I was clueless about girls and didn’t date at all.

2.Five Years Ago-The summer of 2000 was a monumental one for me. In that summer I graduated with my Masters degree, got married, honeymooned in Hawaii for a couple of weeks, drove across the country with my wife and moved to Los Angeles. I also attended the Henry Manicni Institute for the second time during the month of July.

3.One Year Ago-Last summer was a little slow for me. I was in town most of the time and went on the road very sporadically. I accompanied improvisation classes at the Mancini Institute and worked quite a bit in Orange County with a pianist/singer. I also started getting compositions and rehearsals together for my record which still isn’t done.

4.Yesterday-I hung out with my wife and her sister and husband who are visiting from Chicago. We took Carrie to the blood lab so she could get some tests done, ate breakfast at a really good spot Jinky’s, lounged by the pool all day long, ate dinner at a great Caribbean restaurant Ginja Lyon, then came home and played the classic Midwest card game Euchre. Carrie and I rarely get to play as it’s not popular here in L.A.

5.Today-Woke up and made pancakes for our guests. Read Lena’s blog and got memed, here I am. It’s still early.

6.Tomorrow-Hopefully get a haircut and manicure for the video shoot on Tuesday. I have a gig tomorrow night on a boat in Marina Del Ray.

7.Five Snacks You Enjoy-bananas, chips and salsa, Oreos, grapes, nuts

8.Five bands I know the lyrics of most of their songs-The Beatles, Soul Coughing … I dunno, I know a lot of the tunes Sinatra sings. That’s probably about it, most of the music I listen to doesn’t have lyrics.

9.Five things I would do with $100,000,000-Buy a great house, buy my mother a great house, build a fantastic recording studio, buy the greatest bass I could find, start a record label.

10.Five locations I’d like to run away to-I like where I live but I’ll say Kona, HA; downtown NYC; Saugatuck or any other nice lake town in Southwest MI; Melbourne, Australia; London.

11.Five bad habits-hamburgers, french fries, Coke, cookies, donuts.

12.Five things I like doing-playing my bass, kissing my wife on the cheek, experiencing great art, going to the comic book shop, listening to a hot new CD.

13.Five TV shows I like-Curb Your Enthusiasm, The World Series of Poker, Blow Out! (guilty pleasure), SportsCenter, any Dodgers, Lakers, Colts, or Pacers ball game.

14.Famous people I’d like to meet living or dead-John Coltrane, the apostle Paul.

15.Biggest joys at the moment-My dog is the cutest around, Carrie is starting to feel better finally, the wonderful SoCal summer weather.

16.Favorite toys-My GameBoy and GameCube fo’ sho’.

17.Five people to tag-I don’t read that many blogs … Jason and whoever else would like to do it.

Posted at at 11:24 AM on Sunday, August 21, 2005 by Posted by Lyman | 3 comments   | Filed under:

My new website is up!

LMBass has launched everybody. Dig the new site here:

LMBass

Still under construction, but let me know what you think.

Posted at at 2:19 PM on Friday, August 19, 2005 by Posted by Lyman | 5 comments   | Filed under:

The past couple of days have been interesting to say the least.

I’ll make a long story short for you guys. Yesterday Carrie woke up with some swelling in her leg. She has had pain in that leg for the past few weeks. I took her to the Emergency Room at a nearby hospital and we soon found out she had a blood clot behind her knee. They immediately checked her in and started her on an IV that contained a blood thinner. She stayed over night and came back this afternoon. She is good right now. She’s going to be on a blood-thinning medicine for a few months and she needs shots twice a day for the next few days. (Guess who gets to give her the shots … Dr. Lyman!!). Hopefully the clot will begin to dissolve soon and stop making her uncomfortable. Being in a hospital is always scary on a certain level even if the problem doesn’t seem critical.

Thank goodness I was able to clear my schedule and be with her, I’m really glad I wasn’t on the road. Carrie’s sister and her husband are coming for a visit this weekend; I’m sure some fun will be good for her.

If you’re curious the doctor suspects the clot was caused by a combination of birth-control pills (which can cause them) and a long plane ride. Carrie’s leg started bugging her after we came home from Indiana a couple of weeks ago. She has a tendency to pass out from takeoff to landing. Staying still for that long probably did it. I’m glad my bladder hates airplanes and I have to “go” so often during a flight.

So there’s the skinny.

In other news I’m filming a music video with Tyrell next Tuesday. The video is for the song “Bella Note” from the Disney movie Lady and the Tramp. Steve’s new record label is Hollywood which is a Disney company. They are going to put the video on the Lady and the Tramp DVD that is being released next year. I might get a manicure before the shoot since every cameraman I’ve ever been in front of loves to get a shot of my hands playing the bass.

If I do get a manicure I offically become a certified, card-carrying metrosexual. Set the VCR to record Blow Out! and make sure I have the right pomade before heading over to check out the new Kenneth Cole selection at Robinsons/May!

Posted at at 9:07 PM on Wednesday, August 17, 2005 by Posted by Lyman | 1 comments   | Filed under:

7 of 9 is stalking me

Jerri Ryan, the unbelievably hot actress who played “7 of 9” on Star Trek: Voyager has been following me around. First I see her last year at the Cheesecake Factory in Sherman Oaks, then I see her at the Hollywood Bowl party I played at a couple of months ago, then she’s on my plane to Philly last Friday. She’s gorgeous and all but I’m married, ya know? I have to think of a way to let her down easy.

Posted at at 10:20 AM on Monday, August 15, 2005 by Posted by Lyman | 4 comments   | Filed under:

The Red Eye

What a week it’s been. What a summer it’s been. I was looking at my calendar and I noticed that from July 26 to August 19 there are only two days off. Two! Out of twenty-five … I know, I know … cry me a river. But it has been a hectic summer. It looks like things are going to ease up some next month though. Tyrell just cancelled a grip of dates. That really sucks because it’s around two weeks worth of salary I was counting on, but in a way it’s alright. Next month I can relax a bit and finally finish my record. The wheels are in motion for the mixing and CD design. Hopefully it will be pressed at the end of September.

Yesterday I had a really long meeting with my friend Vinnie. We began work on my new website. It looks really good so far. It should be up and running next week. It will still be under construction when it goes up so you’ll have to bear with me for a while, but I’m really excited about it.

Today I had a really big gig downtown at CalPlaza. I didn’t play my best for sure. I was a little disappointed with my performance, I think all of the running around I’ve been doing caused me to lose a little focus. Oh well.

So tonight I’m taking a Red Eye tonight to Atlantic City, NJ for a gig tomorrow with Tyrell. We don’t get into Philly until 6 AM or so and then it’s another 2 or 3 hours to AC so it’s going to be a rough trip. But I’ll be happy when the gig is over and I can play some poker. That should be fun, I’ve never played in AC before.

Be back on Monday.

Posted at at 2:47 PM on Friday, August 12, 2005 by Posted by Lyman | 2 comments   | Filed under:

New Strings/New Records

I finally bought some new strings for my bass. I hear you’re supposed to change your strings every year or so (and seeing as how a set of upright bass strings can run you from $100-200, that’s not so bad), but I’ve probably had the same set of strings on my axe for over two years. It was only recently that I started noticing a sound difference. You have to understand changing strings can be a real drag, they take about a week darken up and lose their brightness, they slip out of tune, it takes a while for your bass to settle with a new set, etc. Even though I’m really busy it couldn’t wait any longer. I went to the music shop I go to and they put a new set on for me right before a gig at the Mancini Institute accompanying an improv class. I was a little concerned with their sound during the class but once I got home and messed with my bridge and played them a little more I really think they sound great. I think I’ll change them every year from now on weather I hear a tonal difference or not.

A lot of bassists experiment quite a bit with different strings going through many different sets looking for the right sound. My opinion is the longer you dwell on something like that, the bigger problem it becomes. I found a setup that works well for me (orchestral gauge D’Addarios for the top two strings, standard jazz Spirocores for the bottom two) and will probably stick with it.

While my bass was getting worked on I killed some time at Amoeba Music. You know how I’ve been saying that I’m behind on my listening? Well, let me tell you that didn’t stop me from buying four new records today, three LPs and a CD. I seriously need to chill out and catch up but I found some really killer deals on used LPs, what am I supposed to do? Once of the LPs I picked up is a solo bass record by Ron Carter. Nothing but bass, I didn’t know Ron had a record out in that setting. It’s nice. I listened to it and realized that his sound these days really lends itself to solo playing, maybe even more so than group playing.

I'm pulling another double shift tomorrow; a recording session for the Institute from 10 AM to 5 PM then a rehearsal for a concert this Friday from 7 PM to 10 PM. Ugh.

Posted at at 10:27 PM on Monday, August 08, 2005 by Posted by Lyman | 1 comments   | Filed under:

Epic Birthday Jam

Yesterday we took Murph to the vet. She gave him a couple of shots (antibiotic and antacid) and told us to bring him back if he didn’t get better. He hasn’t pukes since around 5 PM yesterday so we think he’s feeling better. We’ll be able to start feeding again this evening, only bland food though (boiled chicken and rice). I think he’ll be fine in a day or two.

Besides that all I did yesterday was take a nap and read a lot of comics … ideal way to spend a Saturday afternoon, no?

Last night Carrie and I went over to my good friend Vinnie’s for his birthday party. A bunch of people were there including the Woodman boys. There was a LOT of good food too. We had a jam session before it got too late, what a blast that was. Vinnie has a lot of musician friends (including some guys from the band Royal Crown Revue) and they were a lot of fun to play with. We layed down some pretty righteous grooves too I do believe. Another friend of Vinnie’s video recorded it so we’ll see soon enough. Killer party for sure brah.

Alrighty, I’m off to another gig (Work on a Sunday? No rest for the wicked!).

Posted at at 10:44 AM on Sunday, August 07, 2005 by Posted by Lyman | 0 comments   | Filed under:

Update

Today was the final day of the summer jazz improv class I’ve been teaching for the past month. We gave a little concert for the parents of the students in the Music LA program (there was a ‘classical’ class as well). It was a lot of fun. I was really proud of our students. They played really well and I honestly think they learned a lot over the past four weeks. I kind of dreaded teaching again since I hadn’t done it for so long, but I’m quite glad I lead the class. It was a good experience for me.

I’ve been playing quite a bit at night in addition to teaching and accompanying classes at the Henry Mancini Institute during the day. Busy schedule, but busy means playing music so buys ain’t so bad. Tonight I had another gig with the latin jazz group I play with, fun times. I dig playing with that band because I can sing a bit. Plus, I dig latin grooves. When they’re played right they swing as hard as anything.

I still haven a lot of listening to get in to. I’ve picked discs by Terence Blanchard, Charlie Hunter, Chick Corea, and William Parker over the past couple of weeks. I’ve liked what I’ve heard, none of them struck me on the initial listening though. I need to dive into them a little more.

On a different note, poor Muprhy is sick. The little guy has been vomiting quite a bit over the past 36 hrs. or so. He’s going straight to the vet tomorrow. Hopefully it won’t be anything serious.

I have a day off tomorrow before another ten straight days of work (including a trip to Atlantic City with Tyrell).

Posted at at 1:02 AM on Saturday, August 06, 2005 by Posted by Lyman | 3 comments   | Filed under:

The Year So Far

Well, the year is half over, more than half over actually. So here’s a list of my favorite things of 2005 so far:

Favorite CD: This is a tough call. I have bought a lot of new music that I’ve liked quite a bit. The experimental jazz music I’ve been checking out has really been inspiring to me but I think Mike Doughty’s “Haughty Melodic” might be the one that has resonated with me the most.

Favorite Movie: Not a great year for movies thus far. Cinderella Man was decent, War of the Worlds was a hell of a lot of fun but not an excellent piece of cinema, steer clear of Must Love Dogs … I’ll say my favorite movies thus far have been Sin City and Crash.

Favorite Comic: Conan by Kurt Busiek continues to be the most consistent comic out there. I really liked Identity Crisis from DC as well.

Favorite City visited: I’ll say Washington D.C. Moscow was wonderful and a great cultural experience, but not really the type of place I would like to live. Too gray.

Favorite Performance: Tough one. While I’ve had a lot of gigs this year, none of them really stand out for me artistically. Maybe that’s because I’m at a point in my career where I want to start playing my own music. I dunno. But the Butterfat Trio gig at the ISB Convention is my favorite for the year.

Favorite Dog: Murphy Medeiros.

Favorite Date: Valentine’s Weekend Carrie and I went to Santa Barbara; that was a lot of fun. The weddings in Indiana and Iowa were fun as well.

Favorite Video Game: Resident Evil 4 without a doubt. My geekiness knows no bounds.

Favorite Sports moment: Reggie Miller’s curtain call during the Pacers final home playoff game. Look for the Colts victory over New England on Monday Night Football in November take this award later in the year.

Favorite Book: Diary by Chuck Pahlaniuk.

Favorite addition to the family: Chloe Barnnett

Favorite Website: http://www.postsecret.blogspot.com/ You have to check this site out. People anonymously mail this guy their deepest secrets on postcards. He then puts them up on his blog. Both sad and funny this is a brilliant idea for a site and will really make you think.


There you have it. The rest of the year is busy as hell for me. A lot of work here in LA this month and then I’m out on the road for a great majority of the year. The 2-month-long New York City gig looms large. As does football season!!

Posted at at 12:20 AM on Monday, August 01, 2005 by Posted by Lyman | 4 comments   | Filed under: