good bye 2025

Highs and lows.

We lost our Cletones bandleader, and my pal of nearly 30 years, Cleto Escobedo III on November 11. The doctors and nurses of UCLA showed incredible grit and heroism, and we were there until the bitter end, rooting for our guy.

We miss him dearly. A loyal and true friend.

The Cletones will forge on and figure this out. So thankful for the crew of Jonathan Dresel, Rhonda Smith, Toshi Yanagi, Takeshi Akimoto, and our real champ of champs, “Cleto Sr”, who have been a musical force and shown up as a collective spirit in Cleto’s absence, as he would have wanted it.

I’ll be headed to Japan with Steve Lukather and Michael Landau (along with Keith Carlock and Tim Lefebvre) in mid January to the Billboard Live clubs. Check the live dates tab for details, if you’re planning somehow on heading to Japan. Luke and Mike have never toured together, and they’ve been close friends and colleagues since they were 12 years old. Obviously- they are THE LA session guitar legends, and total rascals. It’s an honor to have been asked to join them.

Steve Martin and Martin Short gear back up in late January too.

We’ll see what 2026 has in store for us. Until then, godspeed and happy holidays, and thanks for supporting music and musicians like me.