Life has been pretty laid-back since returning from NYC. Well, as laid-back as you can get with a three-month old baby. Friday night I played poker with the boys and had a very poor showing considering how well things went for me in Atlantic City. No biggie, you can't win all of the time. Friday I also had the first session with my personal trainer. My gym is running a special, 5 sessions for $100 so I figured "why not?" Of course I've been sore ever since. Yesterday I had a gig with a great vibes player Nick Mancini. The performance was part of a benefit happening all weekend long for the Pasadena Jazz Institute which is a really, really nice club in, well, Pasadena. The gig didn't pay since it was a benefit but I think I got a show for the Lower Level out of it. That will be pretty sweet if it happens.

Today we went to some friends for a cookout. I made the Macaroni and Cheese I made for Easter but souped it up Mexican-style (with bell peppers, adobo sauce, jalapenos, etc.) since they were grilling up tacos. Before leaving for the cookout I watched a bit of the Indy 500, disappointing finish. I hope to take Milo to the race one day.

Not much on tap for tomorrow (besides another session with my trainer, ouch!). Hope everyone has a good holiday.

(If you care about the Sopranos and haven't seen the past couple of episodes, stop reading.)


I don't watch many TV shows regularly. At the moment I'm only watching Sopranos, and when I'm on the road it's hard to catch the new episodes on Sunday night because I'm usually working. So I missed three episodes while I was on tour. After I missed the first week I said to myself I'll just wait until I get home and watch all three of them back to back on On Demand.

So the second week of the tour we're in Connecticut. Late Sunday night I get in the elevator after the gig to head to dinner with guys. The elevator stops at a floor and two couples walk in. One of them says:

"Let's go play roulette like Tony."

I see what's quickly going to happen so I immediately say, "I didn't catch tonight's episode so please don't say any more"
One of the guys says, "That's okay, you didn't miss much."
Right after that one of the ladies says:

"Well Chrissy died."

Now, if you don't know the show let me just tell you that this was big BIG news about one of the original and main characters getting killed. I was FURIOUS. The lady grabbed her mouth and said "shoot, I always do stuff like that."

How rude. What an idiot. I mean I'm waiting for weeks to watch these episodes and this lady spoils it for me.

Funny thing is on my way home from NYC there were two guys sitting next two me at our gate at the airport. One turns to the other and says, "Did you watch Sopranos last night?" I quickly covered my ears. The guys says, "Thanks for doing that man, I won't say any more." Crisis avoided.

So I'm all caught up now. Even though one of the episodes was spoiled for me the series is really getting good. I can't wait to see how it all ends.

New York was fun. Milo and Carrie had a good time, we'll put up some pictures on the baby blog soon. Mostly we saw friends and walked around the city. I got more than one funny look when I talked about bringing my infant son to NYC but everything really worked out nicely. Even with all of the noise and people and smallish hotel room Milo really took to Manhattan. Maybe he'll go to school at NYU.

So I'm at the airport headed home finally. Carrie and Milo flew out a few hours earlier (they are flying in to Burbank Airport which is much more convenient than LAX where my destination is). The next few months are really light as far as touring work with Tyrell and I couldn't be happier about it. I think this is the longest stretch of time off of the road I will have had in over a year and a half. I'm really looking forward to practicing a lot, writing and recording some music, and working back in to the local music scene in L.A. It's time for some more direction as far as my music is concerned. Plus I'll have a lot of time to spend with my boy. I don't think I've had much time to step back, reflect, and take stock of things since he was born.

Two weeks until the Milo World Tour continues in Indianapolis and Chicago. They boy's going to be a road warrior like his old man in no time.

New Top Five up. Go dig it.

With Milo and Carrie here there is no getting drunk until dawn, no seeing music I couldn't see anywhere else, no riding the subway with my iPod on traveling all over the five Burroughs to see friends, no shopping for CDs or clothes at my favorite spots, etc.

This time NYC is all about the baby as most things are these days. And that is a-okay with me!

(I should say that I managed to sneak in to a club the other night and see a fantastic guitarist Johnathan Kreisburg playing in a trio with bassist Matt Penman. There were twelve people in the club and they were all digging the music. Only in NYC.)

Here I am once again in NYC. We just rolled in about 30 min. ago. We are staying near the Village this time so the neighborhood is much cooler than what we are used to. The hotel is fine, and there was even a crib waiting in my room since mommy had called ahead and ordered one.

The rest of the run in Connecticut was nice. The Mohegan Sun is probably the nicest casino in the country and they treat the band really well there. The shows were well-attended too.

So I have the night off. I'm going to hang with some friends and ready the city for Milo's East Coast debut tomorrow.

We're sitting in the train station in Philly waiting to travel to New London, Connecticut. I know I've said it before but I love riding the train, I have some episodes of The Wire to watch (thanks Cousin Kathy). The rest of the gig in AC was cool but we are all glad to be leaving (even if I did clean up on the poker tables).

New Top Five up, go dig it.

I have been playing a whole lot of cards since we've been here in Atlantic City. A lot. A couple of nights ago I played a midnight tournament at the Taj and came in 5th place out of 115 players (got back to my room at 5 AM). I'm up in the regular game I've been playing here at our hotel too. Needless to say I'm up quite a bit. I can finally say I'm a decent poker player. Since this poker fad got so huge a few years ago I've heard a lot of guys tell me how good they are and even how they want to be a pro player. That's jive. Being a pro player would be so incredibly hard and anyone who tells you he's good is full of it. I mean, why would you want a stranger to know you are good? So they'll be intimidated and NOT want to play you? I just want to be a profitable player so I can play 'for free' which I'm on my way to doing.

Other than that AC is fine. The shows have been going well and the weather has been pretty good. Two more nights then we leave for Connecticut.

Five years ago on my birthday I was on the road with Mistah Tyrell in Atlantic City. I'd been telling everyone it was my 26th birthday but no one seemed to give a rat's ass. Then at the show that night Steve stopped, sang happy birthday, brought out a cake, and gave me a Peyton Manning jersey. It was really pretty nice. A security guard backstage asked me how old I was, when I told him "26" he said "you have your whole life in front of you." I was glad to hear this since I was at that moment officially in my late-twenties.

Five years later and here I am, it Atlantic City on the road with Mistah Tyrell. When I first realized this coincidence I had a fleeting thought of "wow, the same place five years later?" It briefly made me feel like I hadn't accomplished much since then. But of course that's not the case. But considering this and considering the fact that I'm officially in my early-thirties, indulge my aging ego and allow me to toot my own horn and list some accomplishments I'm most proud of since my last birthday in Atlantic City to help me put "31" in perspective:

-toured the country from Hawaii to New England and all points in between
-toured the entire world throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia
-was on my first major label record release
-bought a house
-added the adorable yet lazy Murphy Medeiros to the family
-made my first record and actually sold a few
-held successful Record Release shows in Indy and Hollywood for said record
-received an Alumni Award from my alma mater
-never screwed up bad enough for my wife to leave me
-and of course, my masterpiece, my magnum opus,Milo Walker

Okay so I've done quite a bit over the past few years. I should keep this in mind instead of bumming out from the ugly Atlantic City boardwalk and ocean and missing my boy so much.

So I think I'll go to the Taj tonight with some of the boys and watch the De La Hoya fight. $30 just to watch the fight but hey, it's my birthday.

I dig Boston. I remember back when I was at BSU and hadn't really been anywhere Jason would always talk about how great Boston was after visiting his cousins there. It is a great place. We're playing at this pretty renowned jazz club Regattabar in Harvard Square. Of all the places we've played in Boston this one is in the coolest location. Harvard Square is pretty cool, I've decided that if Milo isn't going to be an artist or athlete he can be an academic and go to Harvard. Shouldn't be that hard, HA! I'm also surprised by the number of transients around here. Granted there are homeless people everywhere but it's an odd juxtaposition to see them around Harvard.

I also got to have lunch with the esteemed Dr. Patrick Eaton yesterday. He performed minor surgery on a lady in the restaurant who somehow got a mussel shell lodged in her arm. Dr. Eaton removed it with a warm butter knife, a clam shucker, and a bottle of Balsamic Vinegar McGuyver-style. Nice job Doc!

Its been really beautiful here in Boston, I have to enjoy it while I can because the next stop is Atlantic City which I don't think has ever been referred to as 'beautiful'.

Today I leave for a 17-day trip to the east coast. Boston, Atlantic City, Connecticut, and NYC. Luckily the Milo World Tour continues at the end of the trip and the rest of the family is meeting me in New York. I'm looking forward to that, I think we'll have a lot of fun with Milo in the city.

(in this ongoing series our writer looks at different social quirks and practices that annoy the shit out of him)

(please note the use of the word 'topper' in this post does not imply any homo-erotic connotation, perv!)

Of all the different types of people you meet the Topper is without a doubt one of the worst. We all know people like this, we work with them, we went to school with them and somehow we've had conversations with them without slapping their face off. A Topper is one of those people who has to top whatever you say. You can't tell them what a bad day you're having without them immediately stopping you and telling you how worse their day has been. You can't tell them how good a concert you just saw is without them cutting off your story and telling you how great some concert they just saw is. It's epidemic.

"I love Pearl Jam's second record."
"Have you heard their third record? That's the one to get, the second one is good and all but the third one is so much better."

"My feet hurt today."
"I don't want to hear about your feet. My feet have been killing me forever."

"I've been really busy lately."
"Well there's no way you've been as busy as I have."

I fear we will never find a cure for the Topper. All we can do is avoid them at all costs or at the very least remind them that everyday conversation is not a competition. These people are just insecure and looking for someone to either tell them how cool they are or feel sorry for them. Don't indulge the Topper, it will only make things worse!

P.S.
I'd like to add that recent pop culture has birthed a new form of Topper I like to call 'The Office Topper'. These people can't let two words go by regarding the American version of The Office without telling you how infinitely superior the British version is. The Office Toppers are so pervasive these days that I've had to boycott the British Office. Never will I watch it! It could be Citizen Kane and I'd never know it because it's been ruined for me. If you encounter an Office Topper I suggest employing the following strategy:

"Did you see the Office last night? Steve Carell was so funny."
"But have you seen the British Office? The American one is good but the British one really is better."
"Oh yeah? Well have you seen the Ugandan Office? Man, the Uganda version is the best of all!"

New Top Five up. Go dig it.

I got to Vero Beach, FL last night for a gig with the bossman. We played a private tonight, a wedding for the American Ambassador to Tanzania's daughter. There were over 275,000 roses there. Needless to say it was a really nice wedding reception.

But private gigs are all the same, a drag. Back home tomorrow. I've spent way too much time in Florida this year.

Yesterday Carrie and I broke down and got a Costco card. Most folks in LA have one but I'm always leery of a place where you have to purchase a card just to browse around. But with all of the diapers and formula cans we're going to be buying it's a good idea.

How many people need crap this big? I was in need of hot sauce and all I found was packages of two quart-sized bottles taped together. What am I going to do with that? Sure it might look like a good idea, but when you consider how much money your losing through you mortgage using up storage space for Tobasco bottles that will last you seven years, it's really not a good purchase at all. You can't buy anything reasonably sized there. But I will say they have some good DVD prices and it seems like their meat department was pretty good.

From corporate monolith to small-time sellers, we left Costco and headed for the weekly Farmer's Market in Northridge. Carrie and I decided that we're going to buy all of our produce there this summer. They have great quality organic stuff (cheese too) not to mention food stands (shave ice!) and rides. Milo had a good time eating cotton candy and caramel apples.

Speaking of Milo, he's going to have surgery soon. Carrie and I have spent 40% of our lives over the past couple of months picking up his pacifier and putting it in his mouth only to watch him spit it out whereupon we retrieve the nummy and put it back in to his mouth only to watch him spit it out again whereupon we retrieve the nummy and put it back in to his mouth only to watch him spit it out again whereupon we retrieve the nummy ... you get the picture. To help with this desperate situation we've decided to have his pacifier surgically attached to his mouth. It will make eating and breathing a bit more complicated, but it sure will make life a little less redundant.

New Top Five up. Go dig it.

I've started a new blog: TOP FIVE.

" ... what really matters is what you like, not what you are like... books, records, films -- these things matter."
-Nick Hornby, High Fidelity

If you've never played Top Five before, it's a lot of fun. This week's topic: Gangster Movies. So hop on over and tell everyone your top five gangster flicks.

The little tour went well. The festival in Cleveland was a lot of fun and Botti's band really put on a great show. As far as gigs that touring jazz musicians have, festivals are my favorite. There are basically four types of gigs we do; theaters, clubs, festivals, and privates.

Theaters-Theaters are what we typically do with Tyrell these days. Theaters usually have a stage crew with a soundman and lighting guy. Theaters are nice because you typically only play one set and dinner is catered. But the crowds are older so sometimes the show doesn't have a lot of energy. Plus since they are usually one-night engagements doing a tour of theaters means a lot of traveling.

Clubs-Jazz clubs are fun because it's more of an intimate setting and there's usually a younger, hipper crowd ready to chat and have a drink with you after you play. The club usually serves food which is nice but it isn't always free. And you always do two sets at a club which can be exhausting. There's usually only one soundman and if he doesn't know what he's doing the sound can be a total drag. But playing at a club is usually a multi-night engagement so you're in one place for a while and have your daytimes off.

Festivals-My favorite. The sound and crew are usually tight because they are dealing with so many acts and there's a lot of hospitality for the artists. The best thing is hanging out with the other musicians who are there and seeing other shows for free.

Privates-The absolute worst. These can be anything form huge corporate parties to weddings to a rich lady's birthday party. You're usually treated like you're hired help (enter through the kitchen, dry sandwiches for dinner, wear a tux, etc.) and no one gives a crap about the music; the audience is more concerned with selling some real estate than checking out the tunes. But they usually pay the most so they are a necessary evil.

So we did a private in St Louis on Friday and a festival in Cleveland on Saturday. Now nobody will be confused when I refer to my gigs.

My blog about my life so I get the final word. My blog is no autonomy!

In the end my opinions about the libertarianism still hold true. Honestly when I first posted the last blog I was hoping to get into a discussion about ideologies; communism, capitalism, libertarianism, etc. But we immediately directly to gun control, not surprisingly. I think we all agree Casinos and drug bars next to schools are a bad idea but we certainly differ on gun control which does nothing to disprove my hypocrisy opinion.

As for the selfish nature of libertarianism and gun control specifically I'm going to end with this: If I loved guns as much as I loved comic books then I'd be one serious gun collector. So let's imagine that Lyman collects guns, if I were on my way to the gun shop two weeks ago and a genie popped out of my Happy Meal and told me "Lyman, if you take a psych evaluation, wait another month, change your intended purchase from an uzi to a rifle and registered all of those handguns you have there is a 20% chance that a terrible tragedy on the campus of Virginia Tech and the death of 33 innocent people will be avoided."

I'd do it and I'd do it without thinking twice about it. I know if maniacs want guns they are going to get their paws on them, I know crime can't be completely avoided. But even if there is a small chance that some of the thousands of people killed every year by guns could be saved it would be worth a little inconvenience for me.

Some think their personal right to bear arms is more important than that. It may sound harsh but that's how I see it.

Feel free to comment if you like but I might not answer. I'm on the road again away from my family and missing my boy's cute little double-chin immensely so I might not be in the mood to debate this further. Besides, we probably scared my poor mother away from the blog, I think this is the first time she's failed to comment on one of my posts. We're in St. Louis playing a private party tonight then heading to Cleveland to open for pretty-boy jazz trumpeter Chris Botti at a jazz festival. This should be great because while I don't particularly dig his playing his band is phenomenal. I'll be back in LA on Sunday so at least I'm not away from home for too long.

Like most of you the recent tragedy at Virginia Tech really has me thinking lately. I post quite a bit on a comic book message board and there's a poster there who has used the tragedy as an opportunity to spout off on how gun control isn't the answer, more people need to be armed, etc. He tells me all about his libertarian ideals and how he should have the right to own whatever weapon he want to. I've come to a conclusion over the past week or so: libertarianism sucks.

I know people who own guns, I have friends who own guns. The problem is that most folks in this world aren't as good or responsible as my friends are. This killer in Virginia had obvious mental problems yet was allowed to purchase an instrument of death without any regards to his mental state. Would it really be that much of a hassle for first-time gun owners to see a mental health professional before buying a weapon? I'm in favor of gun control, I could go on and on about it. (And if you really want to hear an ear-full just ask Carrie about gun ownership). But that's not really the point I'm trying to make.

My recent conclusions about libertarianism began to take shape over the weekend during our trip to Vegas. I love Las Vegas, I really do. I'm always down for a party and the party in Vegas never stops. The laws there are obviously quite easy on gambling and drinking and since I can do both responsibly I think Vegas is a great place. But it got me thinking, what if every state had the lax laws that Nevada does? Well, every city would be like Vegas. Think about it, Nevada allows all types of gambling and prostitution and as a result that's what the state is known for. The thing is, I don't want to live in Vegas or a city like Vegas. It's fun to visit a casino but I don't want one next to my son's elementary school. I think it's fine that there is safe prostitution there but I don't want my boy to see flyers for different hookers or strip clubs on his way to school (and you see many, many such flyers in Vegas).

So here's my first problem with libertarianism; there is an obvious disregard for the good of the overall community. A libertarian would say you have a right to own whatever weapon you like and run your business wherever you like, but is that really what is best for the people around you? The first thing I hear out of a libertarian's mouth is "I have the right to ..." and their argument usually starts and ends there. Well, how about thinking about those you interact with directly and indirectly on a daily basis? Is what's good for your pocketbook or your peace of mind really good for your neighbor's elderly parents or your child's classmates?

This leads to my second problem; the inherent hypocrisy of libertarianism. If you have libertarian ideals and are reading this saying "Lyman, that is crazy. Nobody wants a casino next to a schoolhouse" then I'm talking to you. Here are the questions I pose:

1. Should citizens have the right to own nuclear warheads?
2. Should citizens have the right to run cocaine/heroin bars within two blocks of a public school?

Those questions seem crazy, for sure. But if you say 'no' to them then you are saying that the government should limit a citizen's right to bear arms and right to run a business. And it's there that the whole thing breaks down. If the government can limit what kind of weapons that the people carry, what type of weapons should be limited? Who is going to make that decision? You?

Our rights are not absolute. They need to be scrutinized and voted on and re-examined by elected officials. Who knows how many more would've died in Virginia if the killer had easy access to fully automatic weapons?

If there is a silver lining to the tragedy it's that we will undoubtedly be debating and finding new ways to allow the right to bear arms.

We're back from our Vegas adventure. Things went well for the most part and we got a taste of what traveling with Milo really is like.

I played with Tyrell at the Golden Nugget over the weekend. Considering the relatively short drive and free hotel Carrie and I figured it would be a good trip for her and Milo to come on before she starts flying with him all over the country. The trip out on Wednesday went pretty smoothly; the trip usually takes 4.5 hrs. but it took up more than 6 since we had to stop and feed the little guy a couple of times.

The Golden Nugget is downtown in old Vegas. I really like it down there. If you stay on the Vegas Strip it's really hard to get around. Every sidewalk runs up to each casino and sometimes it's really confusing to find your way to the street (they don't want you to leave). Downtown is a little more chilled out and the casinos are closer together. If you recall the dialouge from Swingers about casinos on the strip then you feel me.

As you can imagine Milo didn't really take advantage of everything Vegas had to offer. He spent most of his time doing what he always does; eating, sleeping, pooping, crying. He did meet some new people who of course gushed over how adorable he is and he accompanied mommy and daddy to dinner a few times. Here's a pic of Milo enjoying the video/light show at the Fremont Street Experience:



I got to catch up with some old friends of mine who I hadn't seen in nearly a decade since my Ball State days. Friday night I went to see my old bass studio-mate Doug play with his blues band at a neighborhood bar. I took Blue Lou from Tyrell's band and everyone went nuts when he picked up his horn and sat in. The band was great and it was a really fun night. Saturday Doug and I had lunch and caught up with each other. That night I went to see another old BSU friend play saxophone at a burlesque show at the Forty Deuce at Mandalay Bay. While the actual burlesque show was too short for me (yowza!) it was great to see my buddy playing alongside of the dancers, he really sounded great.

I even got three poker sessions in and left up about $140. Not too shabby!

Carrie unfortunately had her second bout with mastitis over the weekend so Milo got his first bottle of formula on Saturday. Now, I'd heard the stories about how much worse formula poo smells than breast milk poo but I really wasn't prepared for exactly how bad it would be. Do you remember that scene in Shawshank Redemption when Andy is crawling through the tiny pipe flowing with raw sewage and the smell is so foul he has to stop and vomit every few feet?

I think I would've preferred crawling through the Shawshank sewage line for a couple of miles than smelling that first diaper full of formula poo. Damn that was rank!

The drive home was the roughest part of the trip. Sunday started out well as we had lunch with another old friend of mine Eliot who used to play piano in Tyrell's band. The food was fantastic and it was really great seeing Eliot again. Then as we hit the road I noticed something wrong with how the car felt as I was driving it. As soon as I started to think it might be something with the steering the tire blew out. I pulled over to the side of the road and jacked up the car and began to change the tire but things looked worse to me. I got the tire off and it seemed like the shock had fallen down too far in to the wheel well and looked bent. I thought we might be stranded in Vegas. We called a tow truck and we called Eliot to come get Carrie and Milo. While we were waiting someone from the Freeway Service Patrol stopped and checked the car out. He looked at the shocks and the struts and thought everything looked fine. I put the spare on and drove the car a short way and soon realized that I was being overly cautious, the shocks were fine and I could drive home with the spare.

But that was only the beginning of the trip. Traffic was bad, Milo was fussy, rain was coming down, the bathroom breaks/feeding breaks/food breaks/bathroom breaks didn't match up ... we first left Vegas at 3 and we didn't get home until 11:30.

But we're home now and looking forward to the next leg of the tour.

For Immediate Release

Dates have been announced for Milo Medeiros' first official tour. Dates are as follows: April 11-15 Las Vegas, Nevada; May 14-21 New York, New York; June 4-15 Indianapolis, Indiana/Chicago, Illinois; late summer Kona, Hawaii (dates TBA).

Make plans now to catch the hottest act to come out of the West Coast in years!

I hope everyone had a good Easter. Ours was nice. As you probably know I really like to cook and am always trying new dishes. Yesterday I bought an 8 lb. Pork Butt (butt being the shoulder actually, not the swine's posterior) and roasted overnight for about 8 hours. We went to church (Milo was adorable, pics coming soon on the baby blog) and afterwards I made some baked macaroni and cheese with panko bread crumb toping to go along with the roast. I'd say the meal was quite successful (although I'm usually pretty critical of my cooking and looking for ways to make it better next time; the macaroni and cheese needed more seasoning and I started cutting the pork from the wrong side) although it was a lot of food for the two of us. We're going to be having pulled pork sandwiches for a couple of weeks (with bbq sauce and cole slaw ... ohhh yeah). We waited too long inviting friends over and everyone already had plans.

Church was fun. We went to this Methodist place in Sherman Oaks we had been to years ago. We actually found the place a bit boring and stuffy when we first went there but the church we like is so huge they have to hold their Easter services at the Hollywood Bowl and we didn't feel like messing with traffic so we went back to the church in Sherman Oaks. Last time we were there the pastor was an older white gentleman, well in attempt to liven up the place (I'm guessing here) the United Methodist Church had replaced him with a young black pastor. The congregation had a lot more color and the service was fun and lively. Quite a change from last time.

Here's a pic of dinner, if anyone wants a pork sandwich feel free to stop by: