happy bd to ruben, grandma mary, billy mize, & a goodbye

we just got back from ruben's bd in the desert. i've known ruben & family for 17 yrs!! ruben is 55 going on 30. he's a life-long working musician who teaches guitar & puts out LPs. he is light-hearted, a super guy, lightning on the guitar, always gracious & fun to be around. :) i used to follow his band, the blazers, & was entangled w/their old bassist. i had to get sober because of that, so it was all for a reason! plus i made some life-long friends in him & his ex (they're still friends), mi "comadre," donna, who's the most resourceful woman i've ever met... :) the blazers were on rounder, now little dog. the new LP comes out in august; ruben said there was info on www.littledogrecords.com , but i can't seem to find it!! the site's worth checking out, if you like roots-americana alt-country, etc.
anyways, here's 2 pix from the party. we rolled in yesterday & their lovely daughter, my bd buddy, asked me to help her play the beatles' birthday song at her dad's party... we went thru it twice, then had to hit the road. of course, i couldn't hear the keyboard when i played (monitor pointed away). no se importa: the surprise bd song had R teared up w/happiness. :) we also played volver volver, tiburon, another cumbia, a few blues tunes, & johnny b. goode. then the music got real mellow, so we headed back to the barn. this a.m., R & B had a long discussion about the physics behind guitars (B is a biker, but also a "mad scientist"). then we all stuffed ourselves on mexican food & B, the boys, & i drove home in the love wagon.
R heads today to the chris gaffney benefit at the doll hut, where his high school buddy & blazers mate manuel (whom everyone now calls "big manny") will play along w/many others. chris gaffney recently passed away after a brief illness; you can donate at www.helpgaff.com. meanwhile, candye kane is swathed in love, recuperating after her major cancer surgery; bakersfield this afternoon celebrates billy mize's bd at trout's(www.myspace.com/troutsblackboard), & my family lovingly remembers dear departed grandma mary, mary elizabeth ollivares forquera, who would have been 97. she is gone, but never will be forgotten by us all.
a nice weekend. so good to have friends & family. so good to have music. both mean love & life, in my book.