Well, dear readers, here I am, high in the sky on an aeroplane and on my way to the city that never sleeps. We took off right on time and I was, of course, the first one on the plane. It seems to be only a little over half full, but naturally I’ve got two people next to me whereas every row around me has an empty middle seat. It’s all right, though, as both people (father and son) are fast asleep. The fellow across from me has finally shut his trap – he’d been yakking non-stop to his gal pal next to him – I don’t think she had time to get a word in edgewise. Then she did the smart thing and opened a magazine and now he’s just sitting there like so much fish. I have to say that I am amazed that I used to do this trip twice a month every month for six years. I don’t know that I could do that now. Maybe I’ll stop feeling the way I do about traveling but it’s become something I’m just not fond of doing. Oh, once I’m on the plane it’s okay and once I’m wherever I’m going it’s okay, but it’s the packing and being a nervous flyer and getting to the airport and security and waiting because I get there way too early (thanks to being a nervous flyer) – it’s draining. I wish I was one of those people who could just get to the airport an hour before the flight, but I’m a ninety-minute to two hours person.
I have ordered my beverage but am really waiting for the snacks so I can have my two teeny-tiny bags of nuts. I’ll feel much better after I have my two teeny-tiny bags of nuts and damn it all to HELL the idiot in front of me just put his seat back and I HATE that even though I’m in an extra leg room seat and now see what’s happened because now we’ve got one of those confounded run-on sentences that has rum amok and there’s just no end in sight all because the idiot in front of me just put his seat back and if it were possible he’d put it back even further and then I’d have to start my subtle form of aeroplane torture to those who put their seats too far back and someone throw me a period okay? Whew. Well, that wasn’t a period it was a question mark but it did the trick. Have you ever seen it do the trick? It is quite a good magician and it just did the disappearing coin trick. Well, perhaps the idiot in front of me divined that I was writing about him because he just moved his seat forward. And that’s a good thing. They don’t seem to be in a hurry to get us our beverage or our nutmeats. Here’s a question for our frequent flyers: Is JetBlue the only airline without wi-fi? It would be ever so much fun to play on the Internet and would help the time fly by, like a gazelle gazing at the Big Dipper. Well, I guess I’ll continue these here notes when I am happily ensconced in my hotel room.
I am happily ensconced in my hotel room, having just had a wonderful get-together with dear readers, Ben and his ever-lovin’ Anthony, FJL, ChasSmith and my LA pal Holly Long, who’s just moved here as of last week. It was so nice to sit and have good food, good laughs, and a good time. The weather is lovely and please send excellent vibes and xylophones that it remains that way until I’m back home.
After I checked in, I went directly to Duane Reade where I bought some travel-sized toothpaste and six bags of chocolate licorice to ship home. Other than that, not much to report as of yet. I spent most of the plane ride making notes for Daisy Eagan for her show. I also managed to nod off for an hour. There was very bad traffic for the first fifteen minutes of our drive, then it cleared up and we got to the hotel pretty quickly. Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must get a good night’s beauty sleep so I can be alert and awake and but alive, but alive, but alive for our long recording session.
Today, I shall be up early and then on my way to the studio to produce an album for the East Coast Singer. I’ll be there at nine for a ten o’clock downbeat. It’s been a very long time since I did a big session like this, so I’m sure it will be fun. It’s Lanny, so I know it will go down easy, and our engineer has already spoken to my LA engineer so he knows what to do to give me the sound I like to hear when monitoring. It’s a fairly big band, around eighteen to twenty players. I will, of course, have a full report. After the last of the three sessions today I’ll meet up with Alet and Andy Taylor for dinner – it’s their anniversary and I’m happy they wanted to share it with the likes of me.
Tomorrow, we do the songs that have the smaller groupings of instruments and we have a tap dancer coming in, too. I’m sure we’ll all go out after we wrap. I’ll also have to come back to the hotel briefly to print out my boarding pass. Wednesday I shall be whisked to the JFK airport and then I shall be on my way back to LA.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a long recording session and then sup with the Taylors. Today’s topic of discussion: What was your all-time favorite trip you took? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happily ensconced in my comfy room at my comfy hotel.