The Greatest Play in Baseball

Opening day and I am in LA, light years from my Yankees (who beat the Tigers). I have to resist the urge to start rooting for the Dodgers or Angels as that's all that is on when you you want to watch a game.So this comes by me and even though it is 34 years ago, it make the team seem a little more human. I missed this because at the time, I was performing on Amtrak and was on the train for weeks at a time. But the bigger question that is asked here is...Would this happen now? Would the entire grandstands spontaneously begin to sing "God Bless America?" I hope so.

"The Prostate Blues" Recorded Live at the Towne Crier

Recorded 2-6-11, Super Bowl Sunday afternoon. We filled the place.

and I know...I spelt  "laparascopic" wrong.

Here is a post from after the surgery.

That's Dave Webster on guitar, Benny Harrison on keys, Tony Mercadante on bass and Andrew Caturano on drums,

Thanks to Steve Hoffman and Doug Abdelnour for the video.

Recording Chuck Rainey

Producer David Ackerman just sent this slideshow of Chuck Rainey. The first picture is of Crazy Joe Renda and Chuck in the control room of North Lake Sound during the recording of Chuck's solo record. My body English tells the story. Renda was always taking the spotlight while the heavy lifters were in the background (even though I still love him.)

LOOK at Chuck's discography!

Chuck and David took me to Caribou Ranch in Nederland, CO, to finish the LP. That was Chicago's hot studio in the Rockies. Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney had been in the week before to record "Ebony and Ivory."

Recording basic tracks at North Lake Sound, 1982, Chuck with Dom Romao on percussion. Notice SM57 near Chuck. That was a talkback mike that picked up neck-slap noise that he fell in love with. We ended up recording the entire LP that way (remember LP's?)

Outside the studio at 8200 feet in Nederland CO.

Homecoming PResent

Nothing like a front page story to boost your post-op morale. This was written six weeks ago when the YouTube of the song was really moving. Ken Valenti did a pretty good job, I thought. No links to the song in the paper or online, though.

For those who might have missed it, "Route 22":

Out of the Woods

Which is a pretty inapt phrase, considering I love the woods...but the surgery is over and all things being equal, I should be cancer free when they test in several months. The team headed up by Dr. Roger Riechers out of Mt. Kisco Medical Group was nothing short of HEROES to me. The Doc was the best and he wielded his cool confidence and wry humor like the very useful tools of his trade...his hands.

Hero of the Day, Dr. Roger Riechers

Technical title of the surgery was a robotic laproscopic radical prostatectomy. The "robot" is the da Vinci Surgical System that is "the next generation of surgeons will be working on 3-D high definition displays combined with augmented reality of articulating instruments and image fusion." In short, he peers through 3D glasses at a screen while his hands are in these "gloves" that offer him 360 manipulation of the tools. Regular laproscopy vs. da Vinci: think trying to open your card door with a coat hangar vs. your arm. And he is using several tools at once.

I had read somewhere in the thousands of pages I scoured  about prostate cancer that the robotic system was developed for the military. Can't be, says Dr. Riechers. Although "telesurgery" is being touted and tried and pushed, he maintains that the surgeon must be next to the patient...especially when the computer freezes (no way...computers don't freeze) The robot (the surgical team affectionately refers to it as "Leo") more importantly assists the surgeon in fine-tuned twists and manipulations of the tiny tools at the end of each "arm." Watch the video from YouTube of the actual doctor's eye view   

Here I am before...

And during...

And here is Dr. Riecher's team

   

That's what you want, folks, happy people who are dealing with your survival. I can't thank them enough. 100% removal of the bad boy and all nerves were spared (IYKWIMAITYD.)

By the way, the morning after Dr. Riechers came in my room to look me over and said the surgery took an hour but the photgraphy took 3. I had asked ahead of time if it was OK to bring a camera in and let a nurse or someone take some pix. Guess what? HE did all the photography. And by the way,  the surgery took 5 hours.