Wednesday, February 8, 2006

I just got in from Guero’s. What a night. First off, it turns out they didn’t have a PA system, an amp, a microphone or microphone stand so I had to pack up all that stuff and take it with me. I lugged it all a block and a half to where I’d parked my car Monday evening and when I got to the parking spot where I’d left my car, my car was nowhere to be found. At first I thought maybe I’d gotten it wrong somehow and had actually parked it somewhere else but then, when I thought about it, I was pretty sure I’d parked there. I forced myself to remain calm and not panic.

There was a police van passing by so I flagged them down and told them my car was missing. “Maybe the Marshall got it,” one of the cops said. “No,” I said, “I don’t think so. I don’t have any outstanding parking tickets.” I’m very careful about that because it’s very expensive these days to get a ticket in Manhattan. There’s a $50 surcharge on every ticket now.

One of the policemen asked what the make and year of the car is and the license plate number, then he pulled out his cell phone and made a few phone calls. When he’d hung up from the last call, he said, “Your car’s been relocated.” “What does that mean,” I asked. Well, apparently, a film company decided they needed to shoot on that block on Tuesday and they just had my car relocated. I didn’t know they could legally do that.

I was so pissed. I had to take a cab to Amsterdam Avenue, which cost me six bucks, and get my car. I’m going to find out the name of the film company is and not only are they going to reimburse me for the cab fare but they’re also going to pay for my pain and suffering and inconvenience.

Thankfully, the MTV folks weren’t able to come tonight. They’re finishing up another project and are on “a tight deadline.” I have to schedule something in Manhattan over the next week or so for them to come and film. Otherwise, it will have to be an open mike situation.

Anyway, by the time I arrived at Guero’s I was exhausted and in no mood to start lugging gear from the car and setting it up and then having to lug it back to my car and so on. So I just took my guitar in with me and decided that would have to do. After all I’d been through, they were lucky to have me, especially since they weren’t paying me. I agreed to perform because I thought a) it was a good cause to support and b) it was an opportunity for me to build up my fan base. I made up some fliers on the computer and gave those out at Guero’s and also sold some CDs. I gave half of the money from the CD sales to the organization that put together the event (Institute for International Cooperation and Development, www.iicd-volunteer.org) so that they could further their plight to bring attention and aid to the street children of Brazil.

I met quite a few interesting people and gave them all my website address. I also got a cool tee-shirt.
My friend, WCC, came down to see the show and afterward we went to a Japanese restaurant and had some sushi. Then I dropped him at the train station and headed home.

One of the good things about having friends on the west coast is that midnight is not too late to call them, since it’s only 9 PM there. I called my friend TDJ and we chatted on my drive home and I listened to him brag about the 80 degree weather they’d had that day. Why am I still in New York? Oh, yeah, the music.

My mouth is really dry from the soy sauce. I’m going to have some water, brush my teeth, wash my face and get into bed. I have to get up early tomorrow because I couldn’t find a parking spot on the right side of the street, which means I have to move the car by 9:00 tomorrow morning.

Time enough to sleep when I’m dead.

More soon...

© Daughter of the Sun. Reprint by permission only.

MTV Comes - The MTV folks came and went Monday. It was all quite fun. I was up and dressed by the time they arrived at 9:00 AM. “We have to film the entire day,” they said and they made me put my pajamas back on and get back into bed. Then they filmed me getting out of bed, going into the kitchen and having my first glass of water for the day. They wanted to film that twice so I had to drink two large glasses of water before it was all said and done. More...

MTV- I sent off a CD and letter to MTV for their Made series. Sunday afternoon I got a call from them saying they want to film me for their “A Day In the Life” series. More...

Insulted - I got a call from a woman today who books acts at a café in Montclair, New Jersey. She wanted to know if I was interested in performing a short set of about 3 or 4 songs at her café on Tuesday. Not only was she not offering to pay me but she wanted me to buy an entrée while I was there. I was highly insulted. More...

January 13, 2006- I’ve been in bed all week with the flu. Not my idea of the best way to start off the new year but I suppose it could be a lot worse. As a matter of fact, I feel almost completely better. Just a little tickle in my throat, which means I won't be going to the movies over the weekend and making everyone in the theater hate me because I'm coughing every few minutes. More..

Woodstock- I’m so over New York. I went up to Woodstock for Thanksgiving and I loved it so much I’m ready to pack up my stuff and head north.
The guitarist from my band days, when Columbia Records was footing the bill, has stayed in touch me and we were planning to get together and work on music over the Thanksgiving weekend. He has a house in Woodstock and invited me up for the holiday weekend. We didn’t really work on music but we spent a lot of time socializing and partying, which was a lot of fun and something I hadn’t done in a while. Unfortunately I partied a bit too much Friday night and wound up hugging the toilet at the local watering hole but the booze genie was kind and I awoke Saturday morning without even a trace of a hangover, ready to party again Saturday night. More...

November 18, 2005- I just got in from a temp assignment. They didn’t really have any work for me to do. I printed out one letter and answered about five phone calls, which was fine with me. I took plenty of paperwork with me, so I got to categorize and enter tons of receipts. I worked there on Wednesday as well, so I knew what to expect today. I also spent a lot of time on Craig’s List responding to postings and listing my upcoming show on several musician sites. More...

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