Those of you who know "Blue" Lou Marini our sax player in Tyrell's band from time to time might also know that he tours with James Taylor as well. JT gave a concert at the Greek Theater and Lou came up with V.I.P. passes at the very last minute. When I heard from our keyboardist Jon that he had procured a couple of tickets I was in the middle of cutting potatoes for dinner. Needless to say I dropped everything, jumped in the shower, and left for the show.

Traffic was a little hairy and when we finally arrived the show had already started. But our seats were amazing, four rows in front of James himself. He billed the show as James Taylor and his Band of Legends and there were some world-class musicians in the band including Lou, drummer Steve Gadd, percussionist Luis Conte, and guitarist Michael Landau.

I can't begin to tell you how great the show was. James Taylor is without a doubt one of the genius musicians of our time and his musicianship really shines on stage. Besides all of his hits he did some great covers including "Wichita Lineman", "Everyday" by Buddy Holly, and "Oh, What A Beautiful Morning" from Oklahoma which had a gorgeous vocal arrangement. He really brought the house down with long versions of "Mexico" and "Steam Roller Blues" where the band jammed and grooved their asses off.

As if the music wasn't good enough, I sat two seats away from the devastatingly beautiful Laura Prepon (Donna from That Seventies Show). Prepon was so hot I planned on breaking up with my girlfriend Selma Blair who I met on the Tonight Show so I could go out with her, but I didn't get a chance to talk to Laura so things are still on with me and Selma.

And if that wasn't cool enough we got to go the V.I.P. party afterwards where we hung with the band and gawked at the odd assortment of celebrities in attendance including Cybil Shepard, Huey Lewis, Jeff Garland, and Jimmy Kimmel (alas, no Laura Prepon at the party). Random right? I also met a TV personality I knew from an ESPN reality show and video game/pop culture channel GV, Zach Selwyn. He was shocked that I recognized him so we hit it off immediately, what a funny guy. The food was good and the beer was free, it couldn't have been a better party.

As of 6:30 PM yesterday I had no clue what the night held for me. Crazy right?

If you followed the last discussion on trans fats you probably read me and my cousin Kathy's concerns about the dearth of junk food in poor neighborhoods.

Well, it appears that sentiment is a popular one. L.A. is going to put a year-long moratorium on new fast food establishments in an impoverished part of the city.

Right on.

5.4? Puh-leez ...

Wake me up when a real earthquake hits.

Whenever you hear that the Music Business is in big trouble you're not hearing the entire truth. What you're hearing is that the Corporate Music Business is in big trouble. But if you're not signed to a major label, it's a wonderful time to be alive. Sure CD sales are down, nobody is listening to radio, etc. But that crap only makes a difference if you want to be a rock star. On the other hand, if you but a humble arteest trying to get your music to the masses with the endless possibilities of the internet the business is only getting better.

(I need to interject something before I go on. While this is an exciting time for musicians as artists who want to write and release their own material, musicians who are often in the employ of larger acts as backing musicians are experiencing some lean times as a result of the downfall of major labels. There is never Yin without Yang.)

We've heard how the internet is killing the music business and while I staunchly agree that pirating is wrong the internet is the solution, not the problem. The Music Business voiced the same concerns when printed music began to be published and sold widely, when recorded music came along, and when cassette tapes came in to fashion. For some reason the music business has trouble adapting. But now its much easier for artists to take matters into their own hands. Seriously, you think one of my songs could have been included on a Japanese compilation 20 years ago? No way somebody in Japan finds out about my music without worldwide CD distribution.

Take the case of Julia Nunes. I discovered Julia via the YouTube widget on my Google homepage which shows me the most viewed videos of the day whenever I log on. Weather she knows it or not (I expect the latter) Julia is a music marketing innovator. She's a singer/songwriter who plays ukulele and guitar and makes these adorable videos of her singing covers of anything from "God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys, to "Build Me Up Buttercup" by The Foundations, to "Survivor" by Destiny's Child. She overdubs her own backing vocals and the videos are cleverly shot and edited. But her best videos are of her original songs which are melodic and well-written (check out "Balloons"). She's a YouTube sensation with over 36,000 subscribers and her videos regularly have hundreds of thousands of views. I think she's great.

She has a CD out which she links to in all of her videos. So I don't know how many she's sold but I wouldn't be shocked if it were 5,000-10,000 including downloads. I bought her record on iTunes but I must say I was a bit disappointed. The recording quality was a bit poor and it wasn't mixed very well at all and all of the great harmonies she overlays in her videos was missing. But that's neither here nor there.

Julia is a glimpse of the future. Or is that the present? She's established herself not through touring or hawking demos to labels or entertainment lawyers but by putting herself out there on YouTube (which is a lot less hassle and a lot cheaper). People come to see fun covers of songs they know by a cute girl with a uke but discover her original music at the same time. Its brilliant. From what I can tell she's well on her way to becoming an established artist and I would be appalled if she didn't have interest from record labels and management.

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

Since I'm talking music I have to mention the monumental comeback of The New Kids On The Block rising like a fiery phoenix from the carnage and debris of O-Town, N Sync, 98 Degrees, and other fallen boy bands.

NKOTB was the bane of my existence as an eleven year old boy who watched every cute girl at his school fawn over the pre-pubescent sex gods (dig that phrase!). I hated them, they were the dorkiest most un-cool band in the history of the universe.

But despite all of my adolescent hostilities I must admit *gulp* I like this new song. The Kids have receding hairlines and a couple of them look like they've had some work done, but the song is good pop music and they aren't trying to re-live the past or be something that they are not. For once, NKOTB is respectable. Right?

I remember a nice, polite little discussion on this topic some time ago when NYC decided to ban trans fats. Now California has become the first state to ban them (ya know, the Governator has actually done a few things in office that has endeared me to the man). I'm sure some will think this means the end is nigh and that when the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse come Barak Obama will be leading the charge yielding a lofty sabre that eliminates trans fats with one swipe of its blade but a little corporate responsibility is exactly what we need. Especially when you consider Coronary Heart Disease is the #1 killer in California. I'll let you know if California falls off the face of the Earth once the law goes in to effect.

Home again. The gigs we did with Linda Eder went really well. They were both in outdoor theater-in-the-rounds. I'd never played something like that before. While the weather in Mass. was really hot and humid I had a lot of fun playing and the crowds were pretty enthusiastic. And Linda is a beautiful lady with a beautiful voice.

Now I'm home for pretty much the rest of the year. There are a couple of short trips in September but besides that I'll be here in L.A. I'm looking forward to the time at home.

So there you go.

I saw the Dark Knight today. After discovering online that the movie was sold out everywhere in Philly for the next four days me and one of the boys decided to try our luck at a small independant theater that was showing the flick a few blocks from us. Not only did we get in but the ticket was only $6, and only another $6 for a small popcorn, Jr. Mints, and bottle of water. I haven't paid prices that low in a decade. But you get what you pay for, the screen wasn't that big and there was no Dolby surround sound.

It didn't matter. The movie kicks so much ass. It's one long, grim, epic, intense, intricate story that is relentless with its drama and action. It will be hyped beyond belief and deservedly so. I'm sure everyone will be seeing it so I really don't need to go on any longer.

Early morning tomorrow, heading to Cohasset, MA to play a show with Broadway star Linda Eder, then we play another show with her in Cape Cod on Sunday.

The Today Show was a lot of fun. Details and pictures to come. But I had to get up at 4:30 this morning for our soundcheck after flying in from L.A. last night. Now we are going to get into a van and drive to Jersey for another soundcheck and gig. I'm so tired already.

Zombie bass anyone?

So I just found out that we are playing one song in the 9 o'clock hour, the second in the 10 o'clock hour.

But everyone is going to have to check their local listings because in many markets the Today Show is broken up so the local station can air Regis at 9, so for some of you the 9 o'clock hour will air at 10, the 10 o'clock hour at 11.

If you're not confused, we'll see you Thursday morning.

I had a fantastic time in Seattle. Its such a cool city, urban but laid-back, artsy but down-to-earth, I know I've mentioned this before but Jazz Alley (the club we played) owns this great old home that has been converted in to condos in this great, funky neighborhood called Eastlake. A scene like that really makes you feel like you're living there. I didn't miss L.A. at all (notice, I'm talking about the city not my family, natch).

But I must admit whenever I told a Seattle native "I really love Seattle" they quickly replied "that's because its not raining." Fair enough ...

I'm here only briefly before heading out to NYC. That's right folks, Lyman is going to be on TV AGAIN! Set the DVRs and lets hope we don't have the same problems we did with the Tonight Show. We will on the Today Show Thursday morning in the 10:00 AM hour and we will be performing not one but two songs. I'm really excited even though my wife informed me I'll be slumming it since we will be on Kathy Lee's hour and not Matt and Meredith's ... HA!

I'm headed back to Seattle this morning. This is my second trip to Washington in about a month, including the Bay Area most all of my touring has been in the Pacific Northwest recently. Not a bad place to visit in the summertime.

I'll take you through a brief account of my day at NBC Studio 3 (take note of the amount of waiting involved when appearing on The Tonight Show or on any TV program in my experience). I arrive at the studio around 10AM and wait for about two hours while things get re-set on the stage. We then rehearse and sound check for about a half hour or so then wait another hour before doing a rehearsal in front of the cameras so the crew knows how they will shoot the performance. After running through the song a couple of times we then wait for about three more hours until the taping begins. During that time we are just hanging out in the dressing rooms (which are constantly being supplied with dough nuts, bagels, sandwiches, etc. The kind of stuff you graze on all day but never really get the feeling that you've actually had a meal, but I digress). During this last bout of waiting I was reclined on our couch asleep when Jay Leno barges in our room, looks at me, and says "Don't work too hard guys!". That was funny.

I get some makeup (everyone at least gets a little powder so your face doesn't shine under the lights), change, and the taping begins. I am backstage watching the Tonight Show Band when the first guest of the evening walks in front of me and waits to go on stage, it is gorgeous actress Selma Blair in a knockout! dress. My knees got a little weak she was so stunning. I'm eager to how her appearance translates to the small screen this evening.

After funny guy (and 'Weeds' co-star) Kevin Nealon it is our turn to perform. Now let me explain how this works: The Tonight Show (and most late night shows) aren't live, they are taped-to-live. This means when the taping begins the show lasts exactly how long it will last when it airs the same evening, the audience simply listens to the band during commercial breaks. So you're not on live television but the pressure is the same. I thought I might get nervous but I did not. Actually, I almost did when I looked directly to my left and saw Jay, Selma, and Kevin standing there staring at us but I quickly diverted my attention elsewhere. I do believe we doth rocked.

Afterwards I got to shake everyone's hands, I told how Selma how beautiful she was and Nealon told us how he likes to play bluegrass banjo and James Taylor stuff on the guitar.

It was a fun day, hope you all dug the show.

*ouch*

I'm so ... sore ...

beach volleyball + beers + good times = body aches

how was your holiday?

Well the wife and kid are back home again in Indiana and Murphy and I are left to fend for ourselves here at home. We've been getting by okay. Yesterday I hung out with some friends and went to a late-night jam session that I hadn't been to for a long time. I saw a lot of musician friends of mine, it was good to reconnect. I need to get myself back into the scene here, for sure.

Today was laid-back. Long nap, few errands, a hang with a friend.

The San Fran trip was so great. It would be so much fun to live in that city. I actually didn't make it to the restaurants I wanted to go to because I uncharacteristically hit a couple of tourist traps: Haight & Ashbury and The Fisherman's Warf. I had a good time at both actually.

Only a few more days of solitude. The Fourth is coming up, I still don't know what I'm going to do. What are you up to?

Don't forget, The Tonight Show is Monday, I'll be sending out some reminders soon.

btw, here is a great article on the interpretation of gun laws. Some gun-lovers were quite excited over the Supreme Court's Second Amendment ruling last week but this author points out that the law allows use of deadly force only if "immediately necessary" and with the increasing availability of non-lethal weapons such as Tasers, using a gun might not be 'necessary'. Its a great point and one that will hopefully be realized.