I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Carrie, Murphy and I had a great time. They've been in NYC for a week and we've been doing fun NYC things ever sincea; Rockefellar Center, Central Park, Carrie went Ice Skating, etc. On Christmas Day we went with Carrie's sister and her husband (who are in town visiting us) to a friend of their's home where their mother made a fabulous Christmas dinner. We had a roast, stuffed mushrooms, roasted potatos, brussel sprouts, rolls, soup, baked apples, fruitcake, and turkish delight. Quite a menu. Afterwards we played Scrabble. I haven't played in years yet Carrie and I came a close second. I think I like the game and would like to play more. I have all of my professional Scrabble moves down after watching the world championships on ESPN2.

Before we left for dinner we opened presents and had brunch here at the apartment. I got an iPod video from Carrie. Quite a nice gift!

Week 8 at the Carlyle was nice. Katie Couric came again and Steve Martin was there Friday night. Only eight shows to go. Hard to believe, at times it has felt like this last week would never come.

But here it is.

Sunday Carrie and Murphy finally arrived. It was so good seeing them again and really good having them here. After watching the Colts LOSE (WTF was that about?) we went to dinner for the Boss's birthday at a really nice Italian resteraunt in Brooklyn. We ended up going out afterwards and Carrie was treated to one of my late-night NYC hangs first-hand.

Monday was the Christmas party and it turned out to be a blast. We were busy all day long getting food, making phone calls, etc. (we did take a break in the middle of the day to see the absolute WORST holiday movie I've ever sat through, The Family Stone ... please stay far away from this movie). The party was supposed to start at 8, I had all of the food out and was ready to go and no one was there! But by 10 the place was hoppin'. I had invited 10 or so people and at one point we had 20 folks in our apartment. And I live in LA! That was really nice, everyone had a good time. Guys from the band, friends from NY, friends from the Carlyle, Paul Schaefer even showed up at my apartment for the party with Lewie. Crazy. It was a lot of fun for sure.

Then we woke up to this MTA strike. How terrible is this? My wife finally gets here and we are looking forward to enjoying the city over the holiday and now we are stuck in our neighborhood. No subways, no busses, no fun! Taxis are now $10 just to get in and making our way to the Carlyle is a lot of trouble. I don't see how something like this could happen. My love for NYC has dwindled a bit. It's too bad the selfish parties involved cannot reach an agreement at Christmastime. Pathetic.

Week 8 at the Carlyle has begun. Not much longer before I'm headed home.

Week seven? Wow, seven weeks. You might think that time would fly being in a place like this during the holidays but that's not really the case. It certainly feels like I've been away from home for seven weeks. I'm to the point where I'm really looking forward to going back to LA and being at home with my family.

But THANK GOODNESS my family will be here in a few hours. These next two weeks will be great with Carrie and Murphy here. We're going to have a great Christmas. Her visit starts with a bang tomorrow with the boss and his girlfriend taking everyone in the band out for a nice dinner. Monday is our Christmas party here in the apartment. I'm looking forward to both.

The gig is ... the gig. Still going strong, still fun to perform, but still feels like a day job. No celebs I can remember but the crowds are still good.

Two weeks left.

I'm late getting this post out. My roommate Jon went to Florida on our days off and I was left without a computer.

Last week at the Carlyle was fine. I was sick most of the time so it really felt tedious. I'm feeling better but I haven't kicked the thing 100% yet. Miles Davis's widow Francis came as did Ronan Tynan. If you don't know who Ronan is he's the Irish Tenor who sings "God Bless America" at Yankee games. He has a fantastic voice. He and Steve sang "Smile" together, it was a lot of fun and an honor to play with him.

Sunday I played a really fun gig with an old friend of mine from Western Michigan who is a New Yorker now. We hadn't played together in a long time, I had a blast. And I got some folks to come out and see me (shout out to Jeff!). That night I saw some music. Monday some friends from LA were in town and I went to see their concert as well. It was a good couple of days off.

So we started back up tonight. Hopefully the gig will be more pleasant for me now that I'm feeling better. And only a few days until Carrie and Murphy arrive!

I have a cold. I thought I could escape NY without getting ill but so much for that one. It is so freezing cold here, my body can't take it. And I haven't left Manhattan for a month. And I'm no doctor but I think partying until dawn consecutive nights does no good for your immune system.

Whatever the reason, I'm miserable. I'm a bad sick person anyway but here I have no dog or wife to complain to. And I HAVE to go to work, no calling in for me.

I've been taking vitamins, Airborne, Tylenol, and anything else I can think of so hopefully I can kick this soon.

Please direct your sympathies here ...

Work went really well this week. I like the set we've been playing (it includes two tunes I sing on, not bad) and the crowds have been really enthusiastic. No big celebrity sightings save for Fran Davis, Miles Davis's widow.

Last night the drummer and I went downtown after the gig to see my buddy Lew Soloff play (Lew is on my CD, now available). The resturaunt he was playing at was fantastic, the food was really good. The musicians were incredible as well. It was a great hang. Afterwards I walked outside to catch a cab home and found that it was snowing. It made me realize that I haven't seen snow for a couple of years. Then I was reminded of my very first year in Indiana. I have very few memories of my early childhood, but this one stands out. I was in kindergarten one day when it started snowing. My teacher realized I had just moved to Hawaii and asked me if I had ever seen snow. I had not to my recollection and I stood by the window watching the snowfall as she walked outside and scooped up a glassful. She brought it back in for me to look at.

These days I'm glad I don't live around snow, too much hassle for me. But walking through the snow last night I realized what warm memories I have of the stuff, in particular my grandmother.

... a very nice way to end the week

It seems like everyone wants some details about the Letterman show. I'm afraid there's not too much to tell. We rehearsed in the afternoon at a studio that the drummer and guitarist own (right across from the Ed Sullivan Theater). Regis showed up and we ran through the songs a couple of times. He was nice and funny and gregarious. You can tell that he's a really good guy and that there's no Hollywood bullshit in him. After that we went to the stage and soundchecked. It was really cold. It was funny seeing Biff the stage manager, he seems like a nice guy as well. Everyone there was all business and we cranked out the soundcheck.

We waited for about an hour watching the taping from our green room (we had a different green room than the other geusts). Then we went to the stage where we were joined by the Donald (he didn't show up to the rehearsals and everyone was worried that he'd mess up the perforance, but he was fine). We did the song (my sister in law Kelly likened it as an "odd post modern performance" ... I totally agree) and everyone left. That's about it. Didn't meet anyone else really (besides Biff). I'd already known Paul and the other guys in the band as they are friends with Tyrell and his crew.

And I did buy a coke from Rupert at the Hello Deli.

I have to admit it's pretty cool doing shows like this where there are a bunch of fans standing around and you get to walk right through them into the stage door. Makes you feel more important even if you are just the bass player.