Good morning and TGIF! Currently 10:29(I should probably also give a temperature reading!), just about halfway through that first cup of Morning Joe. The actual TV news show Morning Joe is way too early for this one. I'm no longer a night owl, but still not a true morning person and probably never will be. Mid-morning is more my style. Screw carpe diem! Ease on in to that day...
Music news. Basically winding down the year from here. My new album Near-Miracle on 33rd Street is now available through all the usual channels: Amazon, iTunes, Deezer, Spotify et al. It was just released at the beginning of this month, so it's still too early to see any results. But it's in the bloodstream, so to speak. And I've got the actual CDs. You can buy them from me. $12,50 if I mail it and $10 if you stop by the house and pick it up--wearing your mask of course...
One thing I like to do on my CDs is to give out shouts in the liner notes, to show my appreciation to a few friends who've been particularly supportive. If your name is on the shout, you get a CD on the house. Everyone else can pay the "exorbitant' ten bucks. And I often sell them half-price on gigs. Whenever I have one again, which should be some time next year, I'll have them on hand.
This Pandemic wiped out my whole gig circuit, which was Robbie's and the various Nursing/Assisted Living facilities. Curious of course to see what comes back in the coming year. One gig I always enjoyed was the Artist on the Plaza series, doing an hour of solo guitar on the Square. It's a pretty good workout, and I'm always pleasantly spent afterwards. And there's usually someone you haven't seen in ages who shows up.
Otherwise I tend to like the quieter venues. With the Dan Rivero Trio, we had a number of such gigs. One was III Tommasso's, a restaurant near Scheels. We were off in a corner, far from the madding crowd. It was a joy to come to work. Occasionally we'd get a crowd, and the dance floor would be packed-which kinda sucked in my opinion- but ordinarily it was nice and quiet. Likewise, a nice little run at another restaurant, this one right across from Vinegar Hill Mall. Those were the days...
We'll see what gives in this coming year. I'm still having fun in my 'cloistered' music room, but missing working with other folks. I was kinda working on my social life before all this happened, and look forward to resuming that. One thing about playing gigs as you get older is that they don't really provide a social life but just remind you that you don't have one. So all these things will have some kind of resolution come 2021.
Okay. It's that time once again. Thanks as ever for stopping in and reading. Happy Friday to you, especially if you've worked all week! Time to do my Lumosity games, which is a daily thing to try and keep this old brain working. Plus they're fun! For now, I'm outa here. More later. 
PS Today's pic was taken at the Walnut Street Winery in Rochester, date unknown. Don Cochran, Bill Schlipf and me. Another small, intimate place to play. Loved playing there with Dan and Wayne as well as my own trio here.