So..., this weekend was a blast!!! The gig on Friday with i2eye went exceptionally well and we were playing rather musically, I think. There was stuff coming out of nowhere like a 6/8 african improv, that turned into Wayne Shorters "Footprints" without a hitch. Was great to be playing with Ruben, Craig, and KD. It was also nice to finally play with sax player, Mike Bagasao. The group played with a very mature sound, especially for really being our first time to play together in this ensemble. Saturdays gig with percussionist/composer Neil Sadler went amazing! Neils music came off pretty damn well, I think. We finally got to rehearse around 6 pm that night, with the exeption of Bruce Fowler, who was in the Spiderman 2, soundtrack session. He arrived @ 7:30!!! A half hour before the start!! You wouldn't have hardly known it. Kurt McGettrick, on Contrabass clarinet and Bass sax, was playing some great solos! I was really digging what he was playing. Some of his notes would actually be in my Basses range(!) and we would get these cool unisons and dissonances. Mike Keneally was really friendly/funny, and was really playing his ass off! He is a very vesatile player and not just a shred-wanker, also, he's a guitar player who can read. Is the world coming to an end? Jason McKenzie is a man on fire. We had to play 300+ bpm bebop, an uptempo drum n' bass groove, a rock/funk groove in 4/4 + 7/8, and another uptempo, double-kick induced, rock groove during the two sets and Jason never faltered. In fact, he was kicking my ass for most of the night! Milen Kirov, the pianist, was exceptional as well. He came in reading almost everything and did a spectacular job. Milen plays with a great touch/tone and balance between both of his hands and he really listens and picks up on things. So, all of those out there who didn't come and see these gigs, missed some great nights of music. I know I'll be playing with i2eye again, and I sure hope Neil is able to play more dates with his band and keep this going.