This picture of a guy standing in front of a women's room is on the door of the men's room... I think.

We recorded the first bits of the Firstcom chamber pieces at Wendell's studio. I drove John Doolittle over with his flute, soprano sax, clarinet, and bass clarinet to lay down the reed parts. It sounded amazing!

This article is about Valerie Vitale, who sixty years ago was principal harpist for the Minneapolis Symphony. She ended up marrying one of the trumpet players, John Bass. I tuned their piano today. There's more: she was the first student of legendary harpist Alice Chalifoux and briefly played in the Cleveland Orchestra; John went to Julliard and was on the original national tour of Porgy and Bess. John's father played cello in the New York Philharmonic.

Someone stole the sign from my customer's street. He called the city but they sent the wrong sign. So they taped on a cardboard sign with the right name on it.

Ron Davis big band at fancy wedding

5-26-07 Ron Davis big band at wedding in Pocket

Baby picture

Pigs on a truck

We spent the afternoon at UC Davis Medical Center and came back with these great pictures!

It's like your mother always told you: "Don't repair your cane furniture with duct tape."

Why does this lawn have red lines spray painted on it?

I played tennis on the brand-new courts at City College. They are so new that they still have the chalk lines used to mark off the painted lines.

Last night Steve and I went to the Mondavi concert hall to see the Philadelphia Orchestra. I got comps from one of my customers. That was one of the best concerts I've ever seen. And Christopher Eschenbach is one of the best conductors I've ever seen. I could actually understand everything he was doing.
Steve is in a band now called Hole to Beyond, or maybe he said Hole to Be On. Or Whole Doobie On. They remind me of Frank Zappa.

Those fish are going to discover that it's hard to sustain a relationship based solely on sex.

Music Video at Queen of Sheba restaurant

This used record store took over the space vacated by Tower Records. It's so hip that it doesn't even have a name.

But who will heal the sausage?

Wendell has rabbits living in his backyard. The picture I wish I'd taken: another rabbit sitting on wood shavings in the fireplace.

Mad Scientist Device

A module in Wendell Yuponce's studio.

If you don't mind driving your kid ten miles to the nearest high school, you can live in some awfully rural-feeling areas of Sacramento County.
A guy told me he was once in a band called Poi Dog Pondering.

I tuned this guy's piano today and he recognized me even though we last met eighteen years ago. He was then married to a woman in the Gilbert & Sullivan group that I was playing with. He is a veterinarian who also plays clarinet well. After I tuned his piano we did played some two-beat jazz together. He's still got it!

My customer had this Victrola on the piano. While I was tuning the vibration of my playing caused the horn to fall off. It's such thin metal that it hardly made a sound when it hit the floor.

I've been waiting forever for that grand fire trine.

This is the side of Taki, a venerable Japanese restaurant. Years ago, it was a dive famous for Governor Jerry Brown eating there a lot. The door on the second floor makes us wonder about the original use of this building.

City College has begun breaking up the old tennis courts to make way for a parking structure. Today there was a big hole next to the court we were playing in.
The good news is that they have almost finished the new courts at the back of the campus!

This is the Mother's Day card Rachel sent Jennifer. It shows Lincoln giving the Gettysburg Address. I don't think he mentioned mothers specifically, but it's definitely a subtext.

The prop table for the Franklin High revue. The show came out very well; it helps to have great direction even when the talent isn't all there. The audience loved it. Long show, though; with the intermission, it ran two hours and 45 minutes... with continuous music.
The stage manager gave me a box of chocolate-covered macadamia nuts.

I went to the Scottish Rite Temple to tune a piano for a performance the next day. The janitor, who hardly spoke any English, directed me to an old upright on the stage. After I was almost done tuning it, he appeared sheepishly pushing along a small grand piano on the floor below the stage. Apparently this was the piano I should have been tuning.
I was really upset, but I managed to quickly tune the grand and was only a little late for the next appointment.
I can't remember the last time that happened.

Giant Parol (Lantern) Festival

I love finding old business cards from long-dead piano tuners inside pianos. The hole is from the thumbtack that held it to the piano.
I especially like: "You must be satisfied."

This poster describes Aaron Garner as a "talented young jazz pianist." We're the same age, born in 1957, so I guess I'm young too!

I'm telling! I saw you cross the red line.

This pillar at Tower Cafe has a crack in the tile which someone has filled in with chewing gum.

The stylin' way to always have a pencil at hand.

Christmas lanterns

Go here to see a really big lantern.

This malachite stone belongs to one of my favorite tuning customers, Ginny Sajac. She is really excited to be mentioned in this blog!

Another fine multinational corporation

Today's youth wants to know...

At a convent