January 31st update

Tonight, the two-year Bette Midler show run ends at Caesar's Palace. Thanks for hiring our Fat City Horns, Bette, and for sharing your energy with us (not to mention your band incredible members, who've sat in with Santa Fe numerous times). We will miss all of you.

Below, gig at Bugsy's later today:

I'd go to that, but I'm fixin' to go do my gym rat thing this afternoon. I gotta get back in my game.

Tonight, The Bootlegger at 8:30 pm, our bro' Brian Czach (BackBeat Village US) appears with Skye Miles and friends (including Billy Tragresser on keys). I'll be there.

Tomorrow night, our post-show big band hang in the Lounge outside the Tiffany Theater at The Trop.


BTW, The Trop is continuing the $39.99 Monday hotel package Santa Fe special. Early check-in, late check-out, breakfast buffet for 2, and VIP seating at our show. Awesome deal.
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Oh, yeah...

AFTERNOON UPDATE:
FROM THE L.A. TIMES...

"The path used to be clear -- you got a major-label deal, they got you on the radio, you toured and recorded albums," said Steven Scott, guitarist and singer in an L.A. band called the Afternoons. "Now all that has changed, really, and the new path is . . . well, what is it? And where does it go?"

Interesting article, "The path to success is no longer labeled"

...Flea, the bass player with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, one of the most successful L.A. bands ever, said the old daydreams of rock are outdated: "When I was young, it was about the magical record-label guy who tapped you on the shoulder and suddenly you're playing the Forum, riding around in a limo, getting that shiny tour bus. All of that doesn't exist anymore."

In a way, Flea said, the new scaled-down expectations may end up being better for the purity of the art even though they may limit the audience. He also said it may be the best time to be a music fan, with the technology that makes any and all music instantly accessible. For artists, of course, that deluge makes it hard to stand out.

Some artists -- including the pop group the Black Eyed Peas, nominated for six Grammys tonight -- have responded by embracing corporate sponsorship deals and relentless television appearances to achieve stardom through the persistence of their image across media...

"Corporate sponsorship deals"? Precisely what I've been working on for our cats. My first big pitch attempt fell on deaf ears, but that won't stop me.
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BOOTLEGGER HANG SHOTS

Skye Miles is a great performer. Total pro, and very funny. Totally in control of the house. Bobby Black and Tony Davich both sat in. Bobby did "Ain't No Sunshine" and Tony sang a duet with Skye of "When Something's Wrong With My Baby." Electric, all of it.

Yeah, that was all pretty cool.

See y'all tomorrow night at The Trop.
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OFF TOPIC



"The Known Universe takes viewers from the Himalayas through our atmosphere and the inky black of space to the afterglow of the Big Bang. Every star, planet, and quasar seen in the film is possible because of the world's most complete four-dimensional map of the universe, the Digital Universe Atlas that is maintained and updated by astrophysicists at the American Museum of Natural History. The new film, created by the Museum, is part of an exhibition, Visions of the Cosmos: From the Milky Ocean to an Evolving Universe, at the Rubin Museum of Art in Manhattan through May 2010."
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Enjoy. Ruminate...