Let's launch this thing!

Well I'm back from the Chicago cold and in Los Angeles in time for the rain which by God we need, don't we, and I'm glad to be in my own house once again even if the roof seems to be leaking slightly, and I'm launching this beautiful website, and it's about time. Thank you, Mike Allison. Spent 2 weeks in Chicago working on a new Mavis Staples record, and then another 2 weeks in January doing same. Cold weather, it snowed at one point and it was very pretty for a few days. Then it warmed up a little and snowmelt was dripping off the awnings on Michigan Ave., even though it was still damn chilly. In between the Chicago trips went to Paris with Janiva for Christmas and that was cold too but what a beautiful place, snow on the rooftops, the streets strung with Christmas lights, brass bands playing in the cold, we found a Lebanese restaurant for a memorable Christmas Eve dinner, visited the Musee d'Orsay, drank hot mint tea outside a church in St. Germain du Pres, shopped for clothes.
  It's getting closer to the official release date for "Five Horses, Four Riders", even though the cd is for sale already at gigs and at McCabe's Guitar Shop. Planning a show there Sunday, Feb. 28.
  Played a show last night, with Steve Patt on guitars and vocals, Steve Mugalian on drums, and Tony Gilkyson on guitar and vocals... Steve Patt put the thing together, calls it "Guitarology", it's every Wednesday night at 8 and the Bar Melody, 9132 S. Sepulveda. Tony was the special guest this week. Rob Douglas played bass on most of Tony's songs and I played bass most of the rest of the time (Steve P. played bass on a couple of my songs). Anyway. I had heard Tony play guitar a bunch of times, but hadn't heard him sing. Soulful as the day is long. One of the first songs he sang was Percy Mayfield's "The Voice Within", what a knockout choice. He did some of his own songs as well, and song apparently written by his dad, "Man About Town". I had a ball myself. The place filled up respectably, and I saw some friends, including Mike Thompson and Bobby Tsukamoto. I'll be there next week, playing and singing.
  All for now. I'm listening to Percy Mayfield. Gotta feed the kitties and take out the trash.