Saturday, February 28, 2009

wardrobe!!!!!!!!!!!!!


 it was a rockin good time tonight!!! this is a pic from beans & gravey sherry that makes the best of things; what a good snapper she is! :) will write more later... thank you, bands & friends & loved ones, for going to last night's show!!!!
about to hit the rd w/jani to the coast, where she's speaking. happpy happpppy happppppppy to anyone reading this! :)

Saturday, February 21, 2009

achievements monumental & mundane

just finished the BTC 1/2 marathon, but came home in a blue mood (not cause of the race). then an acquaintance told me father damien is going to become a saint, & i feel better... have always had such an uncanny feeling for father damien, the way a person's inexplicably drawn to, compelled by, certain things, magnetically, often. in his before pic, as a new priest, he looks like our young dad, or young frederic march; in the last, he is a weary monster, gnarled & beautiful.
here is the article: father damien to be sainted ... if anyone deserves to be a saint, tis damien, who truly was the hands & feet of god.
if you wanna learn more, go to the link @ right or get the movie "molokai'i." i drew a cartoon about my experiences going to kalaupapa; it is here: glumglum cartoon... if you're easily offended, don't read the other cartoons... the race: stormin' ed sailed by & finished in 1:40 or so. kent, who said he's "an old clydesdale," slowly & steadily ran THE ENTIRE WAY. i was feeling pretty strong, tho of course got dopey after about 8 miles, but had a plan that at mile 12, i'd speed up & try to come in faster. the instant i did, I GOT CALF CRAMPS BAD!!! it was just awful, since i wasn't even really tired, but i had to slow way down... shoulda had a banana w/breakfast, not just pb&j!! soon, the clydesdale came clopping by, smiling encouragingly. at the finish line, there was beautiful julie p & her girls, cheering me on, & i was nearly hobbling! every time i'd pick my legs to go a bit faster, AAAAH! but all in all, it was a great event. i am so grateful for this life & the friends i get to have now, each so unique & precious; animus facit nobilem...

Friday, February 20, 2009

bragging?

just found out i came in 5th in my age group in last wk's valentine's day 5k!! woohoo!! i started about 2 mins after the race did, so am amazed! it was a real event, too, w/lots of people! am happily puzzled to know i can accomplish such things, even w/my very non-competitive athletic mindframe. (what chomsky said about spectator sports made a lot of sense...)
a teacher at school who looks kinda like john bazz said he used to run competitively & could do a mile in 4:20 in his youth. amazing!! am hoping i'll merely finish tomorrow's 1/2 marathon. think i pulled something in my hip, but am not thinking about it... you can get info here: www.bakersfieldtrackclub.com
and thanks to andy noise (the photo-taking "wogger") for his encouragement! here's his site: www.andynoise.com
gonna go eat some pasta now, then turn in early (i hope). please, squirrel mind, cooperate...

Monday, February 16, 2009

music salves the soul, long live rocknroll, a buncha links but no sausage

-> haven't been able to focus on hw due to familial worries (brain feels splayed) ... so found a bunch of great cramps interviews last night instead. you can see the ones i liked best here: http://www.youtube.com/user/duskdevils (also posted my library school "boy named sue" video there, so thx for watching it, if you do...)
-> immersion in real rocknroll got the pretty little demon hopping, so this morn (president's day) i recorded a song from a month back, one i think is really fun, my version of the coasters. would like to come up w/some kind of tribute to the cramps, but such things can't be forced, plus how to envision a cramps-like song w/o envisioning the inimitable lux howling it?? i guess it'll happen if it's meant to.
-> here's a link to that recording, "evil eye": jenny & the phantoms music: hope you enjoy it.
-> lastly, thru it all, b & i went out this dusk under the most cold & gorgeous watercolored storm skies to the bbq joint & had the greatest dinner... here are the eateries in bako i think have the best piped music: 1) mama roomba's; 2) dave's; 3) prime cut (tho the other night they followed beau jocque w/the eagles & it was truly a wtfuuuuudge moment...)

Thursday, February 12, 2009

dusk devils rock&roll pizza & catalina 5k slide show

happy valentine's day to all, whether you have a sweetie, sweeties, or are your own sweetie... if romance be not your momentary fix, recall the many forms of love! (oof; that sounds preachy; but it's something i never used to consider... "MORE than romantic love? what??") school will be crazy & fun tomorrow. :) i love my library kids. :)


just looked up love quotes. here are my faves: "every time we love, every time we give, it's christmas. - dale evans." "you call it madness, but i call it love. - don byas." "the heart has its reasons which reason knows not of. -pascal." "love life and life will love you back. -rubenstein." "There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved. -george sand." "there is no remedy for love but to love more. - thoreau." "i love people. i love my family, my children . . . but inside myself is a place where i live all alone and that's where you renew your springs that never dry up. -pearl s. buck." "this is my beloved and this is my friend. - song of solomon." "love all, trust a few. - shakespeare." "when you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love. -marcus aurelius."

Monday, February 09, 2009

prayers for uncle henry; thinkinbout lincoln & the one who wore black for the poor & beaten-down...

-> our uncle henry just went in the heart hospital a few hrs ago, so i am dropping off the dog boys to head over & wait w/mama while aunty rita holds his hand & no doubt keeps him laughing while he waits for the doc. why am i writing this? well, i hope you know someone like uncle henry. and i'm likely stalling... uncle henry has always been 120 lb dripping wet; i am an amazon compared to him. he's been pickled to the gills since before he grew a whisker; he's smart as a whip, smarter w/every belt he takes, w/a memory that matches mama's (but mom doesn't partake of the vine), a fortitude that's always caused me both admiration & envy. he & his wife, aunty rita, weave wild blue tales so creatively, rapidly, & w/such profane pleasure, they'd make redd foxx blush. small & brown, aging, jack spratt & his wife, they draw crowds w/their ribald & wild repartee. they are just plain fun, tho sometimes terrifying fun, like drinking fun can be: the rita & henry show can make a person want to hide at times. for the most part, tho, they are ambassadors for the human race, which is how i read people like them aptly described in a NYer one time. i guess bubba - president clinton, every married woman's "freeby," as our cousin, aunty rita's daughter, described him - is the same. such folks make a person feel happier to be alive, wilder, more mythical, more included, braver, more pleasured to just draw breath. you can tell them dang, i stepped in dog crap, i ruined my new shoes, & w/in minutes they'll have spun that sucker into a gut-splitting epic that from then on is forever & always family lore... & you don't feel embarrassed: you feel like paul bunyan, like annie oakley, like zeus. :)
-> uncle henry was on a nuke sub for 30 yrs. then he worked as a shut-down operator for power plants for 20 yrs. the devil knows what he's got glowing & growing in his system. i just know his fierce life force has carried him much farther than such a seemingly-fragile frame would seem to be able to endure...
-> on another note, i did my library school HW today, a podcast about mr lincoln & video of "a boy named sue". if johnny cash & president lincoln aren't your true-blue heroes, well, i don't think you'd be here reading this, actually, so here is a link: http://ynnej.pbwiki.com (look on the right side for titles... both were created for mid-school kids w/hope to inspire them...)
-> please say a prayer or send a kind thought to our uncle henry. he deserves the goodwill of the universe, as do all such leaders & inspirers...

Sunday, February 08, 2009

whoo-hoo!! we got the moon (support your local female one-man band)


-> http://www.esnips.com/web/jenny-angel-dusk-devils-ex-girlfriends-music/ - go to the song "we got the moon," which i was able to record w/drums in proper time bc i moved them over so my headphones actually would reach from the drum set to my little tascam ... meanwhile am listening to richard berry - haven't heard this cut in a long while!!! this - i believe - smash LP was one of my best scores ever: i traded a reissue buddy holly double LP for original vinyls of RB & JIMMY REED on veejay! in VG+++ condition, both! my only better trade was when i traded chris goodsell the blasters on rollin' rock (which i then got them to sign) for some vintage shirts for the gal who later became his wife. so we both got a good deal, i think...
here's a few pic from last night's show. :)

whirlwind of love, my darling, whirlwind of love, my dear (charlie rich)

what a busy busy few days. have felt continually grateful in general, tho when under-rested, like right now, the enemy between my ears tries to attack, so will write a bit & not allow it any space… the wk @ work was amazingly busy!!! arrgghh!! :tho all in service to the kids, so all bearable… fri i left a bit early (as opposed to always late) bc my kind boss said he owed me some time, picked up my dear bud jani, & we drove thru biblical downpour to long beach, she chatting amiably away so i wouldn’t be scared by the deluge, cause she’s that kind of dear friend. nighttime across the channel via catalina express was dark & fun & we pretended we were on a train so we wouldn’t be scared & had a quick friend in lovely jennifer from sta cruz, who also was going over to the island to do the buffalo run… when we got off the boat, it was pouring still, but balmy, magical, the village’s windy streets lit up w/ moonglow & rain dollops. we decided to hoof our bags to the rm rather than wait in the taxi queue, & the walk was enchanting! i kept exclaiming, “this is like disneyland!!” which is a place i never go, but our nighttime raintime avalon trek felt like maybe the magic kingdom does to those who love it so… the streets were empty & lovely & our rm was beautiful & we returned to the night to walk & had coffee & little tacos w/pico de gallo at an outside table as music echoed from the bars & the rain drizzled off the eaves… back at the rm the bed was huge & we had 6 pillows & many extra blankets, so my friend who’s always warm could leave the windows open & i who am always cold wrapped up like a mummy & slept soundly. the next morn the view of village & ocean & billowing clouds stunned us; we ate steel-cut oats @ a hawaiian-themed joint & marveled at how clean & lovely & nostalgic & also vacant everything seemed. mexican locals zipped around on carts (few autos on the island) & we registered & i snapped photos of all the dazzling tile. we watched the ½ marathoners take off, old young fat slim brown white yellow but all grinning & all getting soaked from the continuing rain, then it was our turn. the 1st half of the course was uphill & very rainy & i had a good strong feeling of fuel in the muscles, made it all the way to the top, amazed as i passed many folks tho i was not at a racing pace, but on the way down the puddles were deep & i was slowed as my laces came undone EIGHT TIMES, even after i started double-tieing them, & i was glad for the finish line because in the last ½ mile or so, i could feel that my oats were not fully digested. yet there’s little better feeling than after a run, & i waited w/exhilaration for jani to return. she showed up w/a new friend, mary; they’d walked together, & mary, a school nurse, had encouraged jani to finish! that was just one more lovely thing that happened… we got cleaned up, checked out, & were strolling & window-shopping when they began to announce the medals. as i listened, i noticed many of the medal-winners’ times were slower than mine… they called my name! i’d gotten a 3rd place! then they called jani’s name, & mary’s name, & we all laughed! mary grinned, “see? if you live long enough, you get rewarded for it!” … we grubbed on peanut butter waffles, then napped on the boat back to LB. the weather gods were good from then on & we got to the rock & roll pizza gig w/more than plenty of time. jani convinced me to change into my show togs at the neimann-marcus across the road: the restroom was more like a posh dressing rm! i put on a shirt i made w/lux interior’s face on it, to honor the recently departed cramps genius… brian arrived w/philbert & they both looked really handsome in western-piped shirts, & since everyone was dressed nicely, we took a few band shots then they had some pizza (i only had a bite bc it kills my energy to eat before a show). r&r pizza put our name up on their marquee & displayed the newest poster permanently in the john, so we felt quite special & happy!... the show: tho the sound wasn’t the best ever, & phil didn’t even have a mike!, i feel it was totally fun, & like the last one there, one of the more happily memorable ones we’ve had. i asked phil to help me get up on the stage & he reached under my arms & tossed me up there like a cat! we started & after a few mins got the sound mixed to where i could hear that wanda jackson squalling-feline sound coming from my pipes as i sang, so i went w/that. the audience was beaming, & little girls kept coming up w/little notes they’d written to us, notes w/hearts & smiley faces on them. phil was killing on the guitar!! he's just unstoppable, the greatest, when he's in his groove! (moreover, several people including b commented phil & i have great stage rapport: another blessing). when we finished, the owner autographed the awesome poster he’d made for the show (below) & booker steve gave it to me... we loaded up, got some dough, some cookies for the road & caravanned back to bako, readied to be snowed in & have to get a giant rm for all 8 of us (band + brian, jani, geanna, julia), but like i said, the weather gods were good & so back to the barn we sailed under clear black sky… today i’ve had that after-show hangover feeling, but it’s most all good (tho like i said the brain attacks at times), b & i brunched at los cabos the pupusa house, over on brundage/baker, a lovely salvadorean eatery w/food every bit as good as mama roomba’s, & then we saw the wrestler, a gory but beautiful movie that just killed me, w/the most gorgeous ending i’ve seen in any movie lately, like it didn’t have to be stupid & obvious, & best of all, best of all, my dove has come back & is cooing outside right now as dusk settles… bella bella bella, todo es bien.

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

dusk devils liner in LA weekly & a really cool flyer!!


what great artwork! we got a little liner in the LA Weekly, too: "female fronted rave-ups, bakersfield style." short & sweet... like us! (except phil. he's tall.) if you can't read the address, go to www.myspace.com/theduskdevils or www.myspace.com/rrpizza

r.i.p., lux: when i die, don't you bury me at all, just nail my bones upon the wall, beneath these bones let these words be seen,

...here's the bloody gears of a boppin' machine (cramps' revision of ronnie dawson's rockin' bones).
this makes me so so so sad. is it true? he's "died" many times... i'm sad, tho i never met the cramps, only saw them perform (not sure how many times). but isn't that what used to make movie stars STARS??? they were not FRIENDS, they weren't like us, & i never deluded myself i'd get to know such stars. they were punk-rock royalty, beautiful monsters, vinyl fetishists, dadaists, preservers & purveyors of the best of american shlocky movie & musical midnight CULTure. historians. archivists! art used to manage them (they fired him; he can tell that story) but saw them at the movies a few yrs back & said, w/typical understatement, "lux & ivy still cut quite a figure." greg got snubbed, heck, screwed by them when he printed his interview w/them in the wrong mag. (he can tell that story.) but really, who expects nicety from such folks? they were above & below that. yrs ago, our old bassist robert ran a crazy mag out of vegas & he erased the tape he interviewed lux on, so he just made it up. it was one of the funniest things i ever read; wish i had a copy.
they were monstrous & magical & probably saved 1000s of outsider kids & people in general from committing suicide, just be BEING. (i know i felt less alien & horrible when i listened to the cramps & gazed at their alluring amazing mythical weird & wild visages & dreamed about being that cool & bad & knowing i never would & feeling transcended...) yet for their site, they picked this lovely pic, which is "tarzan & his mate"-old-hollywood glamorous. there was so much romance riding under the dark wild thrills of the cramps.
i guess i just wrote a lot. this whole thing ain't about me, but part of my youth just died, so that merits a bit of blabla, is what i think. :(
here's the report. be sure to watch the videos. my favorite interview's not yet on youtube: in it, lux, looking like boris karloff in drag, drops weird, gentle, spacy one-liners like jonathan winters. it made me wish i knew him. a real star has fallen.
http://www.thedailyswarm.com/headlines/cramps-lux-interior-rip/