Good morning, whoever-reads-this! It's straight-up 11 in the a.m. I started to say another knocko day, but it's starting to cloud up. Well, it's another day, regardless of Mother Nature. Working on that first cup of coffee, and bringing the world into focus.
Music news. I'm inspired, from the two back-to-back trio gigs I just had. Me bass and drums is my favorite way to fly. Hopefully I'll get a few more opportunities along this line. At this juncture, I don't have a regular group, but I do have some good people I can call.
In the past, I've always had my own group plus one group in which I was a sideman. I was a sideman for Frank Trompeter in a few of his groups; and with Dan Rivero and Wayne Carter. Also Ocean State, for whom I still sub from time to time. Sideman work is fine, but I do feel restricted after awhile.
My trio lost its long-time bassist in 2013, and finally faded away about two years later. So all my gigs from then on were on somebody else's show. I kept going, but it was like the bottom fell out. It messed with me more than I realized.
I had some bouts of insomnia which started about that time. Like a third of the population, I have this occasional problem. But it got hairier. With my Doctor's help, I was able to whittle those back down to maybe one a month. I figured, initially, that it was just part of being retired. Looking at it now, I can see that it had much more to do with the gig situation.
So I hope to do more trio gigs in the future, at least for my own mental health. I've been “thinking trio”, working on playing more chords in my solos, at least to outline the form. Many times I just forget to play chords at all, going off on melodic ideas. I did have a drummer complain once that I got too carried away playing lines. Thanks, Rich. I am now cognizant of that when I'm playing. Just for you, pal!
And that's all the news I've got for you for the moment. Thanks as ever for stopping in and reading. Happy Saturday to you! For now, ich bin outa here. More later. 
PS Today's pic goes back a couple decades. Me, Steve Adleman and Gene Haas. I don't remember the name of the place, but Lou LaBonte ran it. PPS Today's tune is called Twitchin' in the Kitchen. It's from my album Oop Bop Sh'Bang. Me, guitar; Andy Burtschi, bass; Craig Russo, drums.