Forgive me for the first suspension of the Photo of the Week in EIGHT YEARS!
I have been totally immersed in the creation of my new book: MUSIC SMARTS: Survival Tips From The Pros, a 2009 handbook from Boston’s esteemed Berklee Press and the musical media giant Hal Leonard Publishing. Edited by Mix founder, David Schwartz.

It’s a killer compilation of 600 choice quotes and 200 animated head shots, a virtual gallery of the musical life, lined with intriguing reflections on heroes, influences, artistic integrity, improvisation, collaboration, performance, recording, power, money, fame, and rejection—all in one bountiful bento box stocked with hard-won wisdom, surprising pratfalls, stark realizations, and not what you might expect. Here’s a photocollage of faces from Chapter 3, Careers.

We’ll be back soon with a total redesign of this website, and a provocative way in which you, too, can enjoy a “Mr. Bonzai” lifestyle. Why not? It’s a Free Country.

Last week we visited the Getty Villa for a glimpse of ancient art. This week we take you to the Samuel Freeman Gallery in Santa Monica. The gallery was recently the Patricia Faure Gallery and Sam has artfully handled the transition from one of the most respected art institutions of Los Angeles, founded by the Grand Dame of Los Angeles art, Patricia Faure.

The current group show pays ample tribute to Patty, and includes fine art from artists she discovered, befriended, nurtured, and promoted. Suspended on the wall behind Sam is a work by Peter Alexander. Inside the gallery, Sam is listening to the Chattering Man, a work by Jonathan Borovsky. Refreshments included a variation on the Bellini, this time comprised of peach nectar and chilled Prosecco. In Vino Veritas.

We love to visit the Getty Villa in Malibu on Sunday mornings, when the Herb Gardens are empty and the Outer Peristyle’s only inhabitants are statues of pagan party animals. The villa is a recreation at actual size of the Villa Papyri of Julius Caesar’s father-in-law in Herculaneum, near Pompeii. It was preserved by being encased in volcanic ash during the big bang of Mount Vesuvio in 79 AD. Here we have a shocked lady gazing at Bacchus floating around on a wineskin and calling for one more round. In Vino Veritas.

Notable members of 'The Wrecking Crew' included: guitar: Glen Campbell, Barney Kessel, Tommy Tedesco, Billy Strange, Al Casey; saxophone: Steve Douglas, Jay Migliori, Jim Horn; keyboards: Leon Russell, Dr. John, Mike Melvoin, Don Randi, Larry Knechtel, Al Delory: bass: Carol Kaye, Joe Osborn, Max Bennett, Chuck Berghofer, Ray Pohlman, Larry Knechtel, Lyle Ritz; drums: Hal Blaine, Earl Palmer, Jim Gordon. The best-known member of the Crew is drummer Hal Blaine, who has played on tens of thousands of recording sessions, and is believed to be the most recorded musician in history. Among his vast list of recordings, Blaine is credited with having played on at least forty U.S. #1 hits and more than 150 Top Ten records. The Wrecking Crew was cemented into the Guitar Center's Rockwalk on June 25, 2008.

Pictured are (L-R) bass player and fan Lee Sklar and drummer Hal Blaine.

The Wrecking Crew was a nickname given to a group of session musicians in Los Angeles, California, who earned wide acclaim in the Sixties and Seventies. They typically had backgrounds in jazz or classical music, and were the 'first call' players used on almost every style of recording, including television theme songs, film scores, advertising jingles and almost every genre of American popular music, with recording artists from The Monkees to Bing Crosby. The Wrecking Crew were inducted into the Musicians Hall Of Fame on November, 26th 2007 and cemented into Hollywood's Guitar Center Rockwalk on June 25, 2008.

In the center foreground are (L-R) pianist Don Randi, guitarist Glen Campbell and drummer Hal Blaine.

In my new TV show, we meet with Patrick Monahan, lead singer and writer with the phenomenally successful group Train. Their biggest hit so far, “Drops of Jupiter,” got a Grammy for Best Rock Song and is just one of their worldwide hits. Monahan’s solo album came out last year, with a song called “Cowboys and Indians,” a brilliant collaboration with Graham Nash. Train’s new album is due out in 2009. (Photo by FlorianD)

Wishing you a creative Summer Solstice and the beginning of a fantastic summertime!