Hello Friends, I disappeared for a week there and opted for some full on unplugging from the grid — destruction to details, the unraveling of dreamtime, the slo-mo of summer. My family and I did a lively stint at a Del Mar beach house and had a great time. I love my work but I also love not working. I love it when the clock freezes up and the span of the day is wide. I’m hoping as time moves on my life embraces more of these moments. That’s when it becomes vivid—open up the lens and give me some Technicolor…

Before I blasted off I finished up a hard-hitting rock project with Derrick Jordan and his young friends. Here you see them doing what they do best—the mini attitude with some mysto theories on how life operates thrown in for good measure. I dug our time together and I’m thinking these folks might stir up some noise. I’ll let you know if and when they ignite—not that their music might be exactly yours but it’s a cool one experiencing youth extrapolating…

At the end of the week in Del Mar, with all of its floating time, I had a beach meeting with jazz guitarist Larry Koonse. This is a story of how the mellow vacation comes to a screeching halt—the realization that I’m going to have to work like a madman again.

Larry is one of my favorites and lives in L.A. with his family. For the last 6 or 7 years they do a similar August escape to Del Mar and it turns out our vacation time usually coincides with theirs. One of the added pluses of my slow time is getting to hang with Larry. This week he and I met up to look over the music from pianist Billy Child’s new recording Lyric. Larry plays in the band and did the recording but has a scheduling conflict for an upcoming gig at the Neuroscience in La Jolla. He asked me to sub for him and I’m into it! I have the recording and it’s incredible music and Childs ended up winning a Grammy this year for the best instrumental composition for this recording. All of this is amazing but— within all of it’s beauty this is some full on complicated music. I’m going to have to woodshed it from now until September to be able to pull it off. Here you have Larry and I, beach guitar between us, pages of odd metered, syncopated, fourth leaping, virtuosic notes half buried in the Del Mar beach sand, the sun setting, the tranquility factor running high, and then contrasting that feeling with the notion that Billy Childs’ collection of incredible notes need mountains of attention and I’ve gotta get off the beach and start the flow NOW!

End of vacation, start the wheels of shed. See ya in September and know that I’m really happy about all of this. I dig Childs and I dig challenges…

For this week we’ve got 3 cool hits at my favorite spots and with my favorite musos. Venture below to take in the details. I hope you can make it out …

adios, Peter