After a Spring and Summer of much activity and many travails, I think I'm up to starting to post some blogs again. I haven't been around, but man do I have some good excuses! It's been a pretty difficult period...at one point I had two funerals and two weddings in one month, I'm trying hard to get my new band off the ground (check out their site at www.theshelterdogs.com, by the way), Cynthia and I have been scuffling to try and just make ends meet with our business suffering in this crazy economy, and of course my "Little Friend" Bipolarity knocking me periodically into...well, if not total catatonia, then a sort of Walking Pneumonia state of depression where I get my essentials done and then just go lie down...so, as I said, I've got my excuses.
A hopefully quick update then: My old band The Anti-Gravity Kings is no more. While we went on hiatus for a few months (everybody was busy with their other lives) my dear friend and Kings Keyboardist Tom Wall died, quietly at his home from natural causes probably quickened by his alcoholism. He lay there for the better part of two weeks before he was discovered by Cyn and I...it was a very grim and sad thing that still haunts me. I had been calling periodically and getting no reply...and hoping that it was because he'd entered the rehab he'd been talking about...but apparently he'd just lain down on the couch, fallen asleep and his body had just shut down. He'd been so sick for so long, and he'd driven so many of his friends and family away...I hope that wherever he is, that there's some peace for him, and some really great music. It's still very hard to write about this.
My cat population has increased by two, now making seven and putting me firmly in the Crazy Old Cat Man category. Tom's cats, trapped in his house, had broken out through a screen window and were living out in his backyard, totally freaked out and dispirited. The detective who had interviewed us on the night we found Tom had left some kibble outside, but they'd run through that, and they were so traumatized. There was no one else to take them in...so now they're here. Anyone want some lovely cats? Both Winthrop and Inkster were in great condition, I think that at the end Tom was just buying whiskey and cat food. Nice animals...both glossy black cats, one small, one about 25 pounds! I guess we'll just have to keep 'em...they're very sweet and easygoing, and I guess I can deal with the Crazy Old Cat Man thing as long as I can afford the kibble and litter.
My new Beowulf Kingsley CD is essentially done...the mastering just needs a final tweak. I have the art and all ready to go, but my finances are so low that I've had to wait on it. Making these albums that only connect with an eclectic few (like hopefully some of you out there) are NOT something I do for profit, they're something I do because I must. That said, I think this one sounds really good, perhaps better than Arphus, and I liked that one a lot. Perhaps there's some genius marketing agent manager Brian Epstein kind of guy somewhere that can find the audience that will love my stuff, I don't know. As I say, I've been busy, and that kind of thing is obviously not my forte...but you can never tell what'll happen. Hopefully though, I can get some of these out before the holidays.
The OTHER band, my Rockabilly/Swing/Country/Old-School Rock ensemble The Shelter Dogs, are a going concern these days. We're playing out a good bit (check that website for dates!) and people seem to like it a lot. They were originally an excuse for me and Pete Bullard to mess around as a duo (and for me to get my chops up on the Upright Bass), but Tom Twiss wound up playing drums for us and it's just a really fine sounding trio! A lot of great standards, and of course some of the Beowulf Kingsley tunes get inserted...Bazinga, Hoodoo Stick, Gumbo and others. Apparently we have a CD coming up with them as well...Recorded in the good old-fashioned way, live in two nights. That was refreshing, and the guys are such good musicians it was easy and fun to do. I'm STILL waiting for Mark from Mac's Traxx to get the mixing done though! It's a little frustrating...I know he's got other fish to fry and he's doing us a big favor, but I coulda got that part done pretty fast myself. I'm gonna try and just get the raw tracks and do that, too, if he doesn't have time in the next week. We'll see what happens!
Booking The Shelter Dogs is part of my life right now too. I was always a sideman, so this is one of my infrequent forays into the world of booking and I have to admit it's one of my least favorite things to do with the world of music. I'm making a LOT of phone calls, and getting the ball rolling is painfully slow. I figure it's 30 to 50 phone calls apiece to venues before I even get a yes or no...I'm not kidding. Where IS that Mr. Epstein anyway? Oh yeah, right, I forgot.
In the mundane world of survival, Cyn and I are hanging on for dear life to our downsized cleaning company. Due to the economy we've lost several clients, which I hate to see but totally understand. This is not the business I'd choose to be in, but it's been keeping us in groceries (and kibble and litter) for the last few years and till our other ventures take off it's what's for dinner. I'm starting a new Di Medici Cleaners ad campaign this week, hopefully we'll have a few new places soon.
My folks have now got Personal Care Assistants in at their house 12 hours a day, mostly watching Dad and making sure he doesn't fall over or forget his meds. It's a great company and allows me a lot of peace of mind...neither I or my Mom can keep track of him every minute, and he's not always gonna use his walker. For a very careful man he's got an incredible talent for denial when it comes to his physical abilities. I'm just glad that his meds are keeping his Parkingson's mostly manageable, and he seems much more with it these days.
I'm starting to realize that I'll have to finish this update in segments, as this is getting to be a much longer post than I anticipated already! But it feels good to get some of this down, whether it's read by anyone or not. At any rate, for those that are interested, yeah, I'm still alive! Sometimes it's good, sometimes not, but there's a lot to like in life, and I'm gonna try to appreciate as much of it as I can. More later.
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