Me, Gary, And The Trio Plus!

garyandtheTRIOplusyesterday i plugged in the TRIO plus and jammed w/gary. we work together at homer’s. he and i have been saying “we need to get together and jam!” for a long time… and then it finally happened. having the trio plus was like having a rhythm section on standby, because that’s basically what it does– it adds bass and drums to ANYTHING! we jammed for 4 hours before we started recording. here are a couple of tracks that made it to the hard drive:
work daze
island life

The Day After The Ball

kids_dogsyesterday was the stay home and read a book ball, and MANY people like the kids in the pic above were doing just that. the johnson county library hosted this event, and encouraged everyone to stay home and read a book from 8am-8pm. they also accepted donations during the 12 hour event. one of the organizers asked me to make a music video, which i did with chris mull’s help. other local artists that made videos included kate cosentino, electric needle room, and bailey west.

My Old Mirror

smaller UPthe best ribs i ever had didn’t come from kansas city. they came from a little tavern in williamsburg, ks. that’s the town where chris’ brother roy lives. roy invited his siblings (& us) to his place for ribs from guy & mae’s tavern. they tasted so good that my eyes rolled back in my head. when i regained my sight, the first thing i noticed was roy’s union pacific mirror… it looked just like the one i had in my bedroom when i lived at home.

Stay Home And Make a Video

jillandramonea couple of months ago bryan voell at the johnson county library asked if i could make a music video for the stay home and read a book ball. my response was… HECK YES! here is the final result after collaborating a few nights and afternoons with my faithful compadré, chris mull.

Vicarious Living

2017_80s_cruisesome people go on cruises with rock stars and escape reality for a week. i can live vicariously through these folks. there is an annual event called the 80′s cruise that i’ve heard them talk about. brad and steve host trivia nights on the 80′s cruise, they also host my favorite podcast, stuck in the ’80s. they just got back from a warm 2017 cruise where they bumped elbows with band members from the go go’s, berlin, and a couple of original mtv VJ’s. they also brought back pics and podcasts for those of us that had to stay on the mainland.

The End Of Two Days

dinerthe last two days seem like they were jam packed with “have to do” type of things. i barely had time for a nap. there were a couple of times i needed to be in 3 places at once. i could have used a clone. now i just wanna crawl inside an 8-bit greasy spoon, and rest my head on the counter.

Staying Alive On Valentine’s Day

taraonkclivefebruary. other than groundhog day and the occasional leap year, most people associate this time of year with valentine’s day. ironically february is also heart health month, and this morning, tara wakefield was on KC Live showing the co-hosts how to do CPR. you can click here to watch the segment. tara hired me to teach CPR a few years ago, and a few techniques have changed, but we still tell people to “push hard, and push fast” when doing chest compressions.

Aladdin’s Castle

aladdins_entrancethe entryway to this arcade looks a lot like the one that i walked through more times than i can count at northpark mall back in the 1980′s. i saw this photo on retroist.com, and a flood of memories started coming back. i played games like frogger, centipede, popeye, spy hunter, moon patrol, and so many others. the image above looks brighter than it really was. i remember that place like it was a cave, and the only thing that helped us see in the dark was the dull glowing screens and marquees.

“Proceed Until Apprehended”

motorcycle_in_the_raini googled the phrase “proceed until apprehended” a moment ago and there was 77,500 results. google’s findings associate it with career tips and leadership lessons, but someone else explained it to me as sticking to your principles, and holding fast to what you believe is right. louise mathis was the first person who gave me this advice, and i am forever grateful. by the way, i don’t know if i have permission to use the image above, but i’m going to leave it up until someone makes me take it down.

Space Age Dinner Music

musicfromoutofspacesometimes when jenny & i eat at home, i need dinner music. my usual “go to” destination is the retro cocktail hour. it’s on the radio saturday nights from 7-9pm, but the shows can be heard any time on their website. when i hear the beat of the bongos, and the swell of the horn section, i feel like i’m wearing a smoking jacket, and drinking a martini, even if i’m just wearing a t-shirt and pajamas.