110 days, that is. New Knee Day will be June 12. So I'm trying to get in as much recording, performing and traveling as I can between now and then. I'd set aside Jan, Feb. & Mar. for the surgery (supposedly to replace the left or both knees) and rehab. Instead, my surgeon is in such demand that the earliest we could have scheduled it was late March....which would have put the kibosh on my family vacation to DC, gigs in VA and WV, the Highlander Local 1000 conference and SERFA 2012. After looking at my x-rays, Dr. W. decided that both my knees were shot; but also informed me that he no longer favors bilateral replacement surgeries because of the increased time under anesthesia, increased risk of infection, and difficulty in rehabbing without a comparatively stronger leg to stand on. And though the left knee has been bone-on-bone for at least a couple of years, I was shocked to see that so is my right knee. My previous surgeon, in Dec. 2010, six months after trimming my torn right lateral meniscus, insisted I had plenty of cartilage remaining. He dismissed my fears that the stiff and painful snapping sensation behind the right knee was a sign of re-injury to the soft tissues. Turns out that snapping sensation is the rough surface of my right femur catching on and abrading what remains of said lateral meniscus. Moreover, I still have limited flexion of the right knee. Fixing the meniscus again would be futile--the rough bone would keep chewing it up and the surface of an artificial knee would replace the articular and meniscal cartilage anyway. So between now & then I need to stay limber without injury, not gain any more weight (ideally, try to lose), and build up both my quadriceps and upper body strength. Knee School (and pre-op tests and blood banking) will be May 24.
The Bar Show was a blast--and my creative clothes-layering made the costume changes nearly painless (the stair-climbing and knee-bending choreography, not so much). The Gramann acquitted itself nobly on stage, as did the wireless system I used to patch into the orchestra pit's mixing board. I got to play guitar in the post-finale "Jr. Partners" and rock version of "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town," too. A last-minute scheduling conflict for the A & R Christmas Show caused a bit of a guest-performer crisis, until my Bar Show buddy Vita Levar and her husband George stepped in for some delightful collaborations to save the day--er, evening. Thanks to all my friends & castmates who turned out for the show! Alas, the Metropolis show never happened: ASCAP & BMI reared their ugly heads a couple of days before the gig and tried to shake them down for an exorbitant license fee disproportionate to the amount of live music they'd be having (I was to be the first concert after a multi-year hiatus, and the collection goons were unconvinced that the cafe could enforce an originals-only policy. This is the only instance in which our courts allow "guilty until proven innocent"). But all was not lost--their booker also has started to book Rogers Park's wonderful new Pillars Social Cafe, which is PRO-compliant, so I'll be playing there Mar. 15 and Apr. 3. See the upcoming March Sandygram for details about that, as well as Grounds For Appeal Mar. 31, the S&G tribute at Gallery Cabaret Apr. 6, the Woodstock FF Benefit Apr. 22, our VA and WV shows at the end of April and beg. of June, Highlander and SERFA, and--a real treat for us--our return to Two Way Street Coffeehouse May 25. My right knee's onstage swan song will be People's Church June 8 & Elijah's Coffee June 9. Its replacement's debut will be at Katerina's on July 9 (I'll be sitting down to play it safe). We even won a couple bottles of Malbec at B'way Cellars' Super Bowl party. Looking forward to their Oscar party too, and especially the Maryhill dinner in March (stay tuned for details as to when we'll be heading NW to play at the winery again)!
We've begun work on the third Andina & Rich CD "Chasing Lightning," our holiday EP "Merry Humbug," and my long-overdue followup solo album, tentatively titled "Candy Apple Red Herring." Choosing the songs has been tough, as I have more than enough for a double album. But taking precedence will be the two songs I'd promised to record ("For Everything," for Bob & Jackie; and "Ed's Song," for Joan), as well as a couple I've already tracked. Interestingly, we'd planned to put the novelty nostalgia song "They Don't Write 'Em Like That" on our CD and my dulcimer-based maturity anthem "Sing" on mine; but Stephen decided the former needs no additional vocals or guitar, and he fell in love with the latter (though I've often played it out, including at Gebhard Woods when I'd played with Susan, he'd never heard it before). Looking forward to an encore of the American Dream Memorial Choir (Ingrid, Roberta, Gary, and us) on the choruses, as well as Roberta's autoharp. We have 12-13 tracked for "Chasing Lightining," as well as an a cappella quartet bonus track we recorded in Brooklyn last Nov. with our good friends Alan & Miriam, aka Stereo Sinai. We've got bass on half the songs already, are adding it to the rest over the next couple of weeks, and bringing in violin, cello, piano, mandolin, clarinet, accordion and even a church organ (not all on the same tracks, of course), and will lend our ears to the mixing and mastering process. No idea yet about graphics.....brainstorming should be fun. We may try another "pick-the-album-cover" contest. We'll let you know about sponsorship options and packages as we crunch the numbers--we expect "angel" opportunities to be limited, so get in on the ground floor as soon as we say "go."
Mother Nature has a sick sense of humor. After the longest autumn in Chicago history (well into January, with a couple of teaser storms and a cold snap in early Feb.), Madison got dumped on last Fri. and today both it and Chicago are finally falling victim to winter. My little front-wheel drive Fusion Hybrid (aka Baby Blue) has done pretty well in light snow--this weekend (should I decide to brave the streets) will be the true test of its traction. It's driven effortlessly down to Sparta & back three times now--on one trip, handling occasional black ice on the freeway and a good 6" of rutted snow in the alley. Still pining for the ideal musician's car: the width of my Fusion (so Bob would feel comfy driving it); the cargo capacity of Stephen's Forester (or bigger); the all-wheel drive of the Forester or Bob's Five Hundred; and the gas mileage of a Prius or at least my Fusion. Alas, the Prius V hadn't yet come out when my Taurus bit the dust, and it lacks all-wheel drive; a standard Prius is narrower with less cargo room than even the small trunk of my Fusion; the Forester has relatively poor fuel economy and none of the electronic doo-dah to which the Fusion has accustomed me (built-in GPS, Bluetooth, Aux-In and USB ports plus AC outlet, backup camera and blind-spot warning system); and Bob's Five Hundred (rebadged "Taurus") has utterly dismal fuel economy--it uses 3X as much gas as my Fusion! We rented a Flex Fuel AWD Chevy Equinox in Colorado last fall, but it lacked the blind spot system and it got only 26-28 mpg. (My Fusion gets 35-40, dep. on weather, and has gotten as much as 44 on some trips; the Forester gets 22 on a good day; the Five Hundred no better than 13-17). Had my eye on a Toyota Highlander Hybrid or Ford Escape Hybrid, both of which get 28-32; but the Toyota costs as much as a small Lexus and the Escape Hybrid, since the last of its kind rolled off the assembly line in favor of a smaller and elliptical all-gas Eco-Boost model, is even harder to find now than a GOP Presidential candidate who doesn't pine for the good old days of colonial Salem.
Fighting yet another cold--the last one took from late Oct-nearly Thanksgiving to leave my lungs & larynx. Had my LifeLine screening tests as well as those at the blood bank before donating. Everything is normal--no arrhythmia, PAD, carotid plaques, osteoporosis, anemia, hypertension or diabetes. (We won't talk about my BMI....just my ASCAP, hahahaha). My highly intimate extreme close-up back in Dec. revealed a hale and hardy set of innards, and I needn't go back till I'm 70. (!0 years out is about as soon as I'd want to guzzle that awful prep stuff again). Off now to snuggle into my comforter & pillows and catch the next episode of my dreams...and hope they provide some more creative inspiration.