The Agenda Lounge and Restaurant

Tonight I'll be performing two sets at the Agenda Lounge and Restaurant from 7:30 to 9:45. I haven't played in a few weeks due to the recording and needing to concentrate on that, so it will be nice to be able to sing in public. I'm looking forward to playing with Murray Low,Tom Bockhold and Curt Moore. We're even going to try out a couple of the songs that will be on the new CD. We haven't had a chance to rehearse them, however, so it will be a true adventure to see how they go. Knowing these guys, I'm pretty confident that it will be just fine. The more difficult arrangements will have to wait until I can put together a rehearsal. I actually love the challenge of putting something in front of the musicians I play with and seeing how things turn out. They always sound great. Do I fall on my face sometimes? Of course!! But that is part of the risk I like to take. My philosophy is if you don't dare yourself to take chances--especially on stage--you will never grow as a musician and as a human being. Music is a constant series of adventures. I try and sing each song differently every time I perform it. That way it stays fresh for me and for my audience.

The month of July is completely free of gigs. Yuck!! That's probably due to the fact that I will be recording the vocals two weeks out of the month and Murray will be in Europe with the Stanford Jazz Orchestra for a couple of weeks. Of course I can do gigs without Murray, but I prefer it when he is on the gig. We just understand each other so well, he understands the music better than anyone and he's SO talented. Everytime we play together I learn something new. August, however, is shaping up to be one of my busiest gig months ever! I'm hoping this is the beginning of a steadier work schedule where I am playing at least 4 times a month. I know I need to learn patience when it comes to developing my career, but I really have none and am getting nervous about my financial situation. I want to be able to give this music career a good strong chance at fruition.

Today I go to the kick-off meeting for the Hike for Discovery program I have committed to. I'm looking forward to starting the training. I will be going on hikes every Saturday morning for the next three months--when I can--and preparing to be able to hike for up to 9 hours! This is going to be a great challenge for me and my somewhat out of shape body!