Saturday, September 10, 2005

stage-divin' piano, trippin' with fein art, walkin' in LA


READ BELOW ABOUT THE HURRICANE RELIEF BENEFIT SUN 9/18... the other night brian p & i got a wild hair & did the open mike at fishlips -- i did i'll go down swingin, me & my chauffeur blues, then he came up & we did heartbeat, let's go (paladins), rebound, red hot. it was rough fun! we heckled jason, who sat at the bar. he returned the favor by conspicuously leaving to use the can for our set. i played my little 61-key yamaha, my starter keyboard, & at one point it tried to stage dive (the stand was real rickety), but we grabbed it & i kept on playing. that evening started a series of fun days i've been needing... next morning i hopped in the truck & drove to art fein's lovely mansionito by the hollywood bowl. he described the lush, winding enclave as "the beverly hills of the silent era," an apt, witty, succinct & therefore artish description. then i was treated to a few hours of music-listening & video watching & lunch-eating... on 4 hrs sleep, i felt about as witty as a gerbil, but the reptilian brain was in full function, so i was prime for the great rock & roll music & oddball screenings & tales art dished out. i like how his eyes get all glazed & wacky when he's in the moment. he says things like, "if i'da seen this footage when i was a kid, i woulda jumped outta window. my head woulda exploded." then he'd put on bo diddley or joe maphis or the sparkletones & we'd jump up & down & laugh like crazy. what fun. he sent me off with a generous package of music, heavy on his all-time faves, the heaters... dig the cool pic of art with the zydeco king himself. all i can say is wow!. . . like things couldn't keep being so great, i next went to hollywood book & poster where my friend scott just happened to be working & gave me a huge discount on a something weird dvd & directions to amoeba, so there i went, on an impromptu walking tour of hollywood on a lovely breezy day with bougainvilleas blooming all around & shopped for music for a few luxurious hours (the meter was broken -- free parking -- yowza!), then headed inland to the pomona area to visit my dear friend & her family (tho dad ruben was off playing music all weekend). art called about an extremely fun sounding event at wacko, but my friend wasn't up for it, & i was in george romero land by that time, barely able to breathe from lack of sleep, so i had to beg off, feeling like a stinking dud anyway. i passed out that night real early. well then tonight my friend was too beat, so i hit the LA county fair solo, loving the nighttime lights, the happy throngs, the music, soaring over the glittery laughing fair city on the scary, exhilarating sky tram, the cotton candy & barbecuey aromas, the shiny swirling rides, the blast of fireworks, the fair, representing so much that's good about america, man, i needed it. i didn't "do some huggin' and lovin' at the county fair..." but it was a happy & lonesome, wonderful time that filled up my heart & gave me hope, dang it, hope.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tootsie, You make LA sound so cool, i almost want to be there!!!! I wanna go to the mansionita (I think that's what you called it), next time you go there. And to Amoeba also! See ya soon, LRP

Anonymous said...

I was searching for Timothy Carey and somehow got here. Did you know the great actor? Very strange.