hello. i'm jenny page.
long ago, i had a kick#ss band in bakersfield cali, the dusk devils. you still can find dd music online. i'm from a wonderful family & now live in the mountains of cali with my dear spouse, whiteboy james, aka james or other names i won't list here. we're as happy as two nuts can be. life's an adventure, a chore, a beauty, a choice, a turn -- short, but as good as you make it (in this culture, anyways), so let's not forget that!
halloween's coming... all st's day... dia de los muertos... so to balance the grim post of yesterday, here are halloween links for today: bride of frankenstein on youtube - there, you can watch the entire movie in serial form as well as clips from young frankenstein & my own DIY BOF song/video, which appears as "bride of frankenstein (j.a.)." ... in bako, there's bound to be much to do this wkend, tho i'll be in bay area at the study-hostel & i hope at russell quann's teenage dance craze party, or watching soul goblins of transylvania in the mission (both shows are near-free to free)(tho might be too hard to get into the city, even on bart, w/the bay bridge being closed)... can't wait to go back to SF/berkeley, since haven't been but once since my grad from NCOC. finally, a pic of horror's royal couple (in my opinion). this eccentric british duo were, of course, the hunchback/dr moreau/director of touch of evil as well as the bride/mary shelley...
just wrote entire book about my depressing time yesterday. no one needs to read such self-indulgent, depressing blah. deleted it. just tried to write capsule version (why???) & accidentally hit backspace key & deleted it. someone/thing is trying to tell me something. like shut the f up. am sick today w/burning head & swollen throat & soul that feels limp, moribund. it's "going around" (physical pt). maybe ill body, lacking good rest, is sickening my mind? vice versa? can't sleep, feel horrible, like when 1st forced to become a teetotaler. life got better then, so it will get better now. but when????? divorce is like death. i don't know how to live well & happily in this world right now. thank the universe for gina marie & my band, all of whom i hope to see today. thank the universe for people who continue to put up w/me while i'm on the worst rollercoaster in my life. if this ride doesn't even up, it's gonna kill me. i am sick. i am going back to bed.
some nice things continued to happen this wkend. got opening spot for rev horton heat on new yr's day (thanks, ollllen)! jogged to farmers mkt, found grapes like used to grow across st from grandma's/grandpa's in delano, some nice apples, a good cookie. yum! in dollar tree, they played awesome halloween music: strange days, dr demento, scary monsters! phil arrived to get me & we drove to kern river inn. nice setup, no stress, not too hot. good to great little show! pretty silver-haired nora asked, "are you italian? you have laughing eyes." got compliments again on piano playing. this is happening more & more! my family arrived, including my aunts. joe played some pedal steel. phil got kudos on his awesome guitar playing! mark & randy were rock-solid! we got some great band pix. the band's got some good mojo going, i think... saw some friends! played googoo muck for tammy (livelys came down from alameda!). loaded up, had burritos & tacos @ el taquito. went to cool little oildale place, the branding iron. they had xmas lights up! we're gonna played there before the yuletide. watched token okies, a tight band, for a while til exhaustion overtook us. young lena, bass player's pretty daughter, has lovely voice, a real songbird! tore-up tired, visited for a while w/friend & shared pix of respective wkends. now sit here w/cup of coffee, too tired to get off this chair. however, i love my band, & life sings again. amor y amistad a todos.
:)
a little boy named v, who checks out lots of fantastic four graphic novels from our school library, enthused the above. he & his mom danced while we played (along w/others). he also added, "it's like i have a rock star for a librarian" (&, again), "you're the COOLEST!!" having never seen such a reaction from this boy, i was very pleased!!! little s, who comes to the library every single day on every single break, stood motionless, right by the speakers, & stared w/saucer-like blue eyes, transfixed. "jenny," said mama. "that little girl was mesmerized!!"
so our little show at my school went quite well. :) student j ran sound, & the little guy did better than most soundpeople we've had!! angie & mama came up afterward & exclaimed how good it all sounded. "we should hire the kid!" everyone agreed. it was great to see my family there, too, & a few friends here & there in the crowd...
it was funny, kind of weird, & ultimately really nice to play before all these kids i know as "student" (as well as their families). my bandmates were wholly cool thruout, too: mark danced around & was sillier than usual while performing; phil patiently explained about all his gear to the kids; randy smiled & smiled. before, philbert brought over these gigantic cupcakes his daughter had made, & afterward, we hung out a little @ my houselet & my cooler broke & the guys fixed it & then marko & i grabbed a burger & caravanned to a house party where the wichitas played & i got to see the tidwells & chris goodsell & remember what an awesome frontman olllllllen taylor is. the band was tight, & bruce jones is the best. we all squeezed on the couch to watch the band &, sardined between randy & mark, i got such a kick out of randy, who can be one of the most genuinely happy-seeming & generous-spirited fellows i've ever met. he smiled & smiled & cheered for his friends as they played & complimented everyone around him, too.
time for a cup of joe & then to go for a run before readying for today's show at the kern river inn. the weather's lovely! a happy day to anyone reading this...
(flyer below) Dusk Devils 10/23/2009 5:30 PM at community carnival and car show 1101 noble ave, bakersfield, california 93305 Cost: free; all ages OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! we’re doing a short set at washington middle school for this event-fundraiser. they will have hotdogs, ice cream, popcorn, games, prizes, DJ tunes, ranflas, rides, as well as dinner... come out and support this local school and hear the dusk devils, too!! the event runs from 4-7 pm. Dusk Devils 10/24/2009 2:00 PM at ddevils at kern river inn north chester just north of the kern river bridge, oildale, bakersfield, California 93308 Cost: gratis; 21 & over come out and enjoy with us bob’s place on a saturday afternoon. he’s a guy who supports local live music and its musicians! they’ve got great grub, full bar, little dance floor. every time’s been swell at bob’s!
1. the lost rocker al hendrix (bakersfield's 1st rock & roller!) has a new video - he resembles grandpa munster, but much cooler!: - the original of this song, & my favorite al song, "shaving lotion," is available at http://www.myspace.com/alhendrix1 & read there for more info on swell all, who's coming to bako on nov 1 for pioneer days!
2. at our last show, which went pretty rocky (staid crowd, to put it mildly, more interested in jawing than our music), friends walked in looking like tv actors... one was grinning ear to ear &, not noticing the sedate crowd, swept up this woman & started dancing like mad! he grabbed his camera & wanted to snap pix w/"the star" (me), & altho those pix are perhaps forever lost in his camera/on his pc, it was a nice moment.
3. the evening picked up & i got, more than singing or showmanship, compliments on my piano playing, which is amazing to me...
4. after this seemingly unending eve, philbert & i danced one & he dipped me! philbert, my friend, you are a lifesaver at times & maybe don't even know it. :)
5. randy, such a generous gentleman, chauffeured us there & supped us all up at a nice tehachapi joint. we are so lucky to have him! i need to do what i can to make the evenings less stressful for him, tho... so appreciate randy & the others. :)
6. did super yoga for ONE HOUR!!! it was great fun, but i definitely felt it later...
7. went to kc fair... it was a nice time, tho 200 degrees outside, esp playing w/soap bubbles in the kiddy sci section... then we drove up the hill tw tehachapi to see cesar chavez's grave, beautifully landscaped, at la paz in keene, peaceful, holy, spare, landscaped in a style redolent of new mexico. the quote above chavez's tomb teared me up, but of course i can't recall it now... then we had the most wonderful dinner at la bella amore in tehachapi - glittering lights, great food, etta james piped in (& the owner even knew of etta! so that made two times - the other being when penny knew about prof longhair - that i've met women in kern county who knew the music i do!!!!)... i had a moment of sort of romantic wonder, listening to etta & dreaming on those lights, stepped out of time/place/space, & was grateful, so grateful. life is so beautiful in those brief moments when my vision clears & i really can see...
8. went to LA fair w/my friend donna & saw gorgeous african horticulture, the happy, teeming city that is the fair, no chinese acrobats or sky-tram this yr, just nice hanging-out time w/my dear amiga & her beautiful smart friendly quirky teenagers. donna is all strength, but kind & tender, too, & i'm so fortunate to have known her these 18 yrs... we went to dinner at a place an ex i had in that area used to promise he'd take me (but never did). over chicken fried steak, liver & onions, rolls, baked potatoes, a real hearty home-cooked kind of meal, we laughed & talked about surviving misery & life & men & lessons learned & toasted lee for never taking me there so that i finally could go w/donna...
9. got these crazy skecher shoes called "shape-ups"... they were also crazy-expensive, but how could i say no to the nice shoe saleslady? they already were on my feet. these things are ugly as sin (i wear them, in that sense, in memory of uncle henry, who said i buy all my shoes from "the ugly shoe store"), but just walking in them straightens your posture & works your legs & rear! that's right, just walking in them makes you healthier! you're supposed to wear them for 25 mins & slowly build up, but of course i wore them for 4 days straight & was sore as a mule!!! i'm sure it's just a trend, but what terrific fun in footwear...
10. my friend gary wray's talking about making a little short film, silent movie style, in which greg goodsell & i'll play kids! ha! it sounded from our conversation like john waters meets little rascals. perfect! :) we're looking for 3 actorly types to play hobos... please email me if you've got a real mug & would fit the part!
11. every day, & especially during the "hard times" from which i've recently emerged, i go to work & thank the universe for the students at my school, angels, all... if i pay attn,1there's no way to disavow life when amongst such promise & innocence; they make a person happy to be there, to watch them grow, to appreciate them. they refresh!
12. the weather's cooling & the best time of yr (besides spring) has arrived. the weekend was wonderful (w/one speed bump). a smartly-presented education seminar at csub affirmed a lot i already know & contained an interesting exercise involving one of my favorite novellas, "dr jekyll & mr hyde." saw big dan there as well as a few good people from the past... my sister angie worked her butt off at via arte, the annual sidewalk art show at the mktplace. my sister is talented, a survivor, funny, smart, stylish, & generous w/her students. she is a good role model for me in these ways, as is dad & beautiful mama, who has been coming to school regularly to help my little valerie learn to read. valerie read words for me for the 1st time today, after working w/mama, & her little face glowed w/such gratitude & happiness, how could i say there's no god in nature? if i really think of it, i want to blubber, so let's move on except to say mama is an angel & i'm so proud to be her daughter. :)
13. my little house lately is comfortable, warm, & homey. i watched movies this wkend, scary & imaginative, & tonight look fwd, after bba hw, to reading (thoreau, how the beatles destroyed rock&roll). friendships continue to build & deepen & i've been assured that as i clean out the crap, have realizations, & my faith becomes freed to grow, so will my patience, love, trust in others, honesty. i believe they will, if i work for them, & i want to do the work! anything's better than where i was these past months... am grateful for so many: gina marie, brigette, amy, pat, jani, angie, donna, dan, dan, art w, art f, m.mike, thursday & sunday friends of bill, facebook friends, students, mom & dad, aunt rita, work friends, linda, brian. tomorrow i get to see strong, loving, honest gina marie, then practice w/my 3 of my favorite guys. life is good & i'm so glad i lived out the gloom. love to you who read, & oh wow: read these!: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/h/henry_david_thoreau.html
& now, "it's good for the young, good for the old, i like myself a little rock & roll, so come on"...
well, the school carnival, anyways. :) please consider coming out to support our school, located in east bakersfield... it's where my sister & i went as kids, & now i teach there! dad's got me beat: he taught at TWO schools where he'd been a student! our students are really nice kids; maybe you'll stop by on the way to another friday evening event... thank you for spreading the word!
