Good morning! 9:48 here in the capital city, a nice sunny Winter day out there. I think the magalomaniacs left all 50 of our state capitals alone yesterday. Their Cult Leader was down at Mar-a-Lago enjoying a sulky game of golf. But enough of him! We have people in the White House now who actually know how to do their jobs, and will bring people into their cabinet based on qualifications rather than connections. It's all good- for a change. 'Nuff said.
Music news. Got my CDs in the mail around 3:30 yesterday afternoon, after having waited a day and a half. The Sam Crain Quartet, in all our glory.. Better late than never. All the music sounds just fine. The only bad news is that the cover picture didn't quite extend to the whole frame, so there's a white border around it- which, if you squint just right, looks like a letterbox version. It's much more of a DIY operation anymore, making these records. I'm not a graphic artist, but am getting better at it.
The Sam Crain Quartet is supposed to go live on February 1st. That's the earliest date I could get. So, come Feb 1st, it will be on Spotify and iTunes and all those digital companies. And for the first time since March of last year, CD Baby is asking me to send them CDs. This tells me that they're planning on re-opening their warehouse, even though no formal statement has been given. More good news. I could sure as hell use it....
I've been using a different guitar for the YouTube videos. It's a Takamine electric, from the 80s. I call it my Ventures guitar because of the fins, resembling the Mosrite guitars they had an endorsement with. Folks, Mosrite guitars are pieces of kindling. They're junk. In real life the Ventures played Gibson or Fender guitars. Possibly Peavey guitars as well.
Remembering a scene back in the old old days of Walko Music Co on 2nd street. I had a student who was considering buying a Mosrite guitar, and who asked me to take a look at it before he bought it. Much to the chagrin of the seller, I told my student to save his money for a real guitar. So I performed a necessary Guitar Intervention. I look back on this as an act of kindness..
And that's pretty much it for right now. I did get my parting gift from The Donald, a check for $600. Every little bit helps, and it gives me an errand to run. . Gotta get out of the house every so often. In the Winter I have to worry about both Jack Frost and Jack Torrance.. So far so good. Just excited and relieved to see a new administration. Thanks as ever for stopping in and reading. Happy Thursday to you! For now, ich bin outa here. More later. 
PS Today's picture goes back to working days. I don't know what or who I was King of, but I was giving it my best autocratic ruler expression. The despotic King. Today's song is called, appropriately enough, New Day. It's from --and sorry for the plug again--an album of the same name i put out this past year. Smooth but quirky jazz.