Click for Part I. Click for Part II. A butterfly flapped its wings, and caused a hurricane on the other side of the world. A horny young...

To love a musician is one of the most painful, yet highly rewarding loves known to exist. Musicians are worse than sailors -- and...

We were deep in the thick of rehearsals for Next to Normal, and had been fitted into potential costumes only once. In fact, that...

Click for Part I. How do you move on from an intimate friend's and an almost lover's mutual betrayal, when you can't escape it? Of...

...that was all that kept me alive during my first two trips in Asia. You see, I wasted no time picking up an intestinal parasite. My...

Never date a man you meet while wearing full stage makeup: that was the wisdom I'd acquired thus far in my young career. Or at least, I...

Our jazz history professor brought in a guest speaker in lieu of a lecture one spring day. The presentation was to take place in my...

Sailing east to cross an ocean is miserable: each day, you lose one hour as you enter a new time zone. In crossing the Pacific, the...

It was my junior year of college, and the first time I ever studied true jazz. I had been invited to join the jazz combo class as a...

Steven Mallard's favorite type of restaurant was an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. When his show band was on the road, we always...

My crazy cat is SO accident prone. If there’s a scrape to be in, he’s in it. This one particular week of January 2012, he got himself...

I think I'm allergic to romance. For as long as I can remember, ever since I've been old enough to think about such things, I sneeze...

Another weekend on the road lay before me. I had packed my survival kit, which consisted of my homework, my body pillow, and my knitting...

Who would take the personnel of two full bands in one 16-seat passenger van from North Carolina to Miami, Florida? Who would expect the...

Tour in Europe, they said. Provide us with health benefits, they said. Make it big and win a Grammy, a Tony, and an Emmy, they said. ...

Click for Part I. Click for Part II. Sunday, April 8, 2012 The light was blinding, and the air so brisk. The sound of the surf chopping...

Click here to read Part I. Saturday, April 7, 2012 Could one accurately use the term 'wake up' if one never fully fell asleep? My alarm...

Friday, April 6, 2012 I packed my gear and crawled into bed early, three whole hours earlier than the usual hours I keep as a musician. ...