Jim Alfredson

Looka me! I'ma walking stereotype!

It's time for "Guess What Monocultural Food Icon This Is!"

Onward to Chicky Wahwah in New Orleans tonight!

Just landed at LAX. My birthday is actually tomorrow, the 25th. Not sure why I have some early birds but thank you. Playing a festival in Oroville, CA tomorrow.

How did I miss this?

Looka me! I'ma walking stereotype!

New Orleans was out of control last night at Chickie Wah-Wah. Two day drive to Lincoln, NE next. See ya, NOLA! Hope to be back soon.

Thank you to everyone for your birthday wishes. It's rather overwhelming. The good news: I get to play this afternoon with Janiva Magness and the boys. We're going to light the stage up! There is no bad news. Life is good.

On a rainy day like today, this song seems to fit perfectly.

Happy Birthday to my eldest daughter Zora who turns 12 today. 12!!!! She has been the most challenging and amazing child but in the last year she has settled into a very easy-going, responsible young lady... for the most part. And she can play a mean French Horn. Love you, Zora... and I'm immensely proud of you.

Boo. Just dropped my iPhone and the screen shattered completely.

I have a humungus hankering for a root beer float.

The Cubase IC Pro app for the iPad is handy. Wireless DAW control from a touchscreen. What will they think of next?

The Zoo Bar in Lincoln, NE tonight! 6pm showtime.

Invitations to LinkedIn are like the Jehovah's Witnesses of the internet.

So out of curiosity, I just checked the status of stuff I've pledged to on Kickstarter. Of the 12 pledges, 6 have been delivered. Of those 6 undelivered ones, three are supposed to ship by June, so we'll see. The other 3 seem like a lost cause. So I guess that's not too bad. But it still gives crowdfunding a black eye, imo. I take pride that I deliver on my promises with the crowdfunding campaigns I've run. I'm about to begin a new one. Stay tuned.

"Researchers warn against surging online breast milk market: It’s not going to treat cancer or erectile dysfunction." Kind of depends on what you're into, doesn't it?

Tonight I'm recording a big band. Going over my list, checking it twice, to make sure I don't forget anything. This should be fun.

Ah, Herman Cain. Proof positive that business and government are two separate things (for good reasons). And that acumen in one doesn't automatically mean proficiency in the other. Oh, and don't sexually harass people if you want to become president.

So, according to various news outlets, National Stuff Your Ignorant Face Day, aka Chik-Fil-A Appreciation Day, initiated by that smarmy self-righteous wanna-be musician Mike Huckabee, netted the company a day of record sales! Oh, how proud all those bigots must be to cowardly hide behind their religion in order to justify discrimination against their fellow man! So Christian! Nothing like gorging on fried chicken for hate in the name of Jesus!

Burlington Discover Jazz Festival in Vermont tonight at 7:30pm (7:15pm if the rain continues) on the Long Trail Live stage (Church St).

Playing Libby's in Jackson MI tonight and tomorrow night. Tonight I have Mr Lawrence Barris on the guitar and Scott Veenstra on drums. 8pm.

I had a lot of fun and also learned a ton recording the MSU Jazz Orchestra 3 last night at MSU. First thing I learned: make sure you have the cardioid capsule on the acoustic bass mic instead of the omni capsule! Yikes... lots of bleed from the drums, guitar, piano, horns, that fly on the ceiling, the keggers on MAC Ave, and residual microwave background radiation from the Big Bang in that mic (ok I'm exaggerating on the last two). Thankfully it still sounds good, so no big deal. But a bit more isolation with a tighter polar pattern would've been better. Second thing I learned: the two channels I used for the room would've been better spent on spot mics for the soloists. And thirdly, stereo overheads on the drums is gratuitous and I should've used one mono overhead and the other mic on the snare.

But overall, it came out good and the students played really well. It will be enjoyable to mix.

Tracking with organissimo today in the ol' home studio. Jazz on!

I'm currently reading three books: A thick tome on art in Vienna circa 1900 (still wading through that one... good but very dense), a book on Roman history, and revisiting my childhood love of Hans Christian Andersen.