The Big Whatever

I like the java jive and it likes me...

I dunno...maybe I do drink too much coffee...

She's gone, but I don't worry...

"She" is Sarah, now safely ensconced at UC Berkeley, or "Cal" as they call it up there.  I've been lying low for most of August, trying to have as much time at home as possible. I was originally scheduled to work on the day she was to move (it was a good gig), but the gig canceled, so I was able to be part of the plan.  In fact, I loaded the car.  Every last inch of the Lexus was full.  The pink cloud on top is a seven-foot-long package of pillows made by Albina for the dorm room floor and under-the-loft area.  We left at five in the morning and she was almost fullly settled by six in the evening.  She lucked out with a great roomate, a sweet girl from El Monte.  They've had a full week with no classes to get acclimated to life at Cal.  Best of all, Sarah's cousin Chris lives in Dannville, a short trip by BART.  He's 16 but doesn't yet drive, so he's an expert at negotiating the great Bay Area transit system.

We spent Sunday through Tuesday in Berkeley, and then returned on Friday and stayed until Sunday morning.  Albina and I had a gig in SF, so that worked out well. The break gave Sarah some time to get used  to her life without us, (and ours too) but we also had a chance to say a proper goodbye.

So now we're empty-nesters.  Of course I miss the closeness with my daughter, but we talk several times a day and IM and email.  It's not like twenty years ago when everyone waited for low Sunday rates to call home.  And-she'll be back for Thanksgiving and the December break soon enough, probably too soon for her.  I like the fact that I can reinvent some things about my life now (I'm taking the bus to the office tomorrow), and that Albina and I can be two people together again.

Now - it's time to get back to work, and to my life.

Think I'll see if Sarah's online first.

Where I have been

Out.  Here; there; around.  Gigging.  Rehearsing.  Chained to my desk.  Mostly, for the past week, getting rickfleishman.com/visualmusicservice.com up and live.  Also working on lorisflowers.com for Lori.  Playing with the Monktet, Steve Carr, and others; dealing with the Encino stuff.

Got into an interesting gig for a group called Music For All Seasons.  They send live music to various kinds of institutions-shelters for women and families, hospitals and hospices, etc.- at no cost to the recipient.  The gigs pay, uh, enough, but the real satisfaction, cliche though it may be, is that you're bringing music to people whose entertainment choices are pretty limited.  It's something of a humbling experience, but it's also fun.  These kinds of audiences are so grateful for both the attention and the change in their routine, unlike the somewhat jaded crowd I usually see.

Interesting time to be a dad.  Sarah will be attending UC Berkeley next fall, as it turns out.  She was lucky enough to have to choose from several great schools, but how do you turn down Cal?  Of course, we're as proud as can be; this is no small potatoes as we all know.  The reality of senior year sets in - proms, limosines, hotels, graduation, college in a few months.  It's not for chickens, but I'm glad I've done it.

Since I've posted (I've been busy; OK?) "Rumor Has It" has come and gone-DVD is out today-and "Poseidon" hits the streets on Friday.  "Click" next month.  "Flags Of Our Fathers" due in the fall.

I'm back (really)...

So here's the thing - I've been really busy over the summer.  I know you think you're busy, but I was fuckin' busy, OK buddy?  Now that that's out of the way, let's see what's been happening...
Movies: "Poseidon;" "Grandma's Boys;" "Click;" "Gridiron Gang;" "Flags Of Our Fathers;"
TV: "One On One;" "Girlfriends;" "The West Wing;" "Sex, Dreams and Secrets" (RIP); "Numb3rs;" "House"
Clubs: Chakra; Spazio (thanks Judy); Sheraton 4 Points (thanks Julie); Reata Grill (RIP; sorry, guys);
and casuals, sessions and the usual stuff.  On the road to Denver, SF, Napa, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Chicago.  I got to write and produce and conduct some film music for some of the above media projects as well.  And passed the July 4th weekend on the Colorado River, which was about the last place I thought I'd ever be, but I had a great time.
I don't know what else, but it's all been fun.  I met some cool people this summer, especially a lot of young musicians that worked on my various projects.  The future of music looks good, I can tell you that.  Also found some new bike places to go.  Loving the bikeway on the new busway that runs from Woodland Hills to North Hollywood. Join me for a ride some Saturday morning.

Not so sure on the future of the world.  I wouldn't have thought one year ago that we'd still now be in the same fix, in the same lame war with no end in sight.  There is no political context for the elections and the adoption of the constitution in Iraq, so it's hard to see the long-term meaning of those accomplishments.  There is no clear sign of where things are going there, of who will eventually hold the power, and this president of ours offers no hope for a solution.  The mess that he so clearly didn't foresee has only worsened and deepened into something that is so big and complex that he can't see into or around it, and certainly can't lead us out of it.

I still haven't talked to anyone in NOLA that I know.  I presume that they're well but scattered.  As the damage became clear, I was in airports trying to get to and from Colorado for a gig, and checking out CNN as the story developed.  It's strange how you lose track of things as you travel; set down in another town a few hours and a few time zones later and everything has changed.

What do you think?

Ooops....

Y'know, you never know who's reading this stuff.  If you're a parent of a kid that's involved in the current TV project (you know the one), welcome.  You may want to censor some of this before the kids see it, though they've probably seen a lot worse.

Grits ain't groceries....

Here's most of the band from this year's grocery party.  You have to give props to a company that has well over a hundred employees who have stayed over twenty years. Let's be frank: in many cases it's certainly not because of the intellectual challenge of the work, so this must be a damn good company to work for.  It was certainly a damn good band last night, as it has been for quite a few years now.

And the string trio from "Nana's Boys," which I think will be out as "Grandma's Boys." Is the ethnicity, the very grit and grime of the big city implicit in the term "Nana" too much for the movie studio brass?  Is it too 'New York?'  Is it simply too damn Jewish?  Can you not sell a movie with "Nana" in the title, and the resultant popcorn,T-shirts, action figures and knickknacks in Iowa, Montana and red-state America?
  It's Jackie Johnson and Xin Xin on "Numb3rs."  Jackie is getting dolled up as she and Xin appeared--actually their hands appeared--playing the 29th Goldberg variation, which somehow helped solve the crime.  Don't ask; it's a gig, and a good one at that.

Lastly, the band from the new version of "Yours, Mine and Ours."  Proving that, eventually, they will remake every existing bit of film, including you dad's home movies from 1953.

Oh-

Note new books, links and music on the lists.

Talk to me. And I'll tell you. What's goin' on, what's goin' on, what's goin' on...

Well it hardly seems like THREE FUCKING MONTHS (and that was just a note), but who's counting?  Suzi says I must be overloaded...that's not far from true.  It all came down... with me coming down with a deep cold/light flu last week.  Could've used that time to blog, I suppose, but I stayed in bed and did bloody nothing for two days and that seemed to fix things right up.  It's just been busy; what can I say:  If you know my life, you know what that means; if you don't then it probably seems like a threadbare alibi. .

But when you put together being a dad, being a free-lance musician trying to have both a creative and a commercial life, being a brother, trying to have a decent marriage; wanting to cook, do home maintenance, take care of my dog (she'd drink my bath water and I hadn't walked her in a week), plant the garden (bought plants and seeds, not planting yet and it's April); finding time to excercise, read something that isn't written in HTML, stay current with "DiGrassi," and "Deadwood," read the trades, practice, write, make travel arrangements for road gigs, and who knows what else, it's amazing that anything at all gets done. 

It mostly comes down to having a lot of work bunch up--late nights blending into early mornings.  Sessions, sidelines, some producing, a lot of playing gigs. Busy in the home studio too, lately.  That's good 'cause I can stay home, but it means maintenance and updates and downloading drivers and conference calls.  And that's just to order lunch (cymbal crash, snare hit).   Nobody here is complaining, by the way.  It just makes blogging seem like a luxury reserved for the leisure class, and I have had precious little of either of late.  I'll post pix to document all of this, maybe tonight. 

TV production is largely over for the year, but features have been calling: "Yours Mine and Ours" for Sony and added footage on "Rumor Has It" (formerly "Otherwise Engaged;" formerly "Untitled Rob Reiner Project;" formerly "Untitled Ted Griffin Project").  What else?  Don't fucking ask.  Oh alright-"One On One," "Las Vegas," "JAG" -- goodbye "JAG;" it's been great (more on that later), "Numb3rs," "Gilmore Girls," etc. 

And playing lots of jazz.  Thanks here to the Sheraton Four Points LAX (60 kinds of beer!! 60!), Spazio, the Jazz Bakery, etc.

Gotta go.  We're back, baby.

Too much going on...

..to post. It's all good, just busy.  More later.

Baby it's cold outside...

...especially when you're outside all day.  I was, today, as "American Dreams" shot the obligatory graduation episode.  The small string group played--what else?--"Pomp And Circumstance" as the gang got their sheepskins.  Tune in next spring to see how it all turns out.  Pic is up at the moblog. Had a great young bunch of young players, largely through the American Youth Symphony, augmented by Rachel Senescu making her sideline debut.  Rachel continues in the family tradition started by dad Bob, furthered by bros David and Michael.  The orch included blogger Peter Kibbe, whose interesting journal is here.

Otherwise, I gig, I go home, I sleep, I gig some more. Lotsa work last week, but who really cares?  "One On One" still busyfor the band, so that's good.  Oh--don't forget the new date at Spazio--Dec. 26th.  Y'all come. Off to Omaha next weekend, the old home place to the Fleishmans, for a gig with the Earth Angels, though I'll not have time to be a tourist.

Must say a word bout the new TSS: sucky.  That's the word; 'nough said.