dear friends and loved ones (and all yall),

here's a little card i made up for the holidays (boy, i miss photoshop!!)... this has been a year of big change for many of us. here's to the hope that in all change is growth as well as opportunities for reflection, greater knowledge and wisdom, and, ultimately, satisfaction and betterment.
i wish you happy, peaceful holidays and a bright new 2010.
if you're interested in our show w/rev horton heat and 800 lb gorilla at narducci's on fri jan 1, 2010, please contact any of the following guys for tickets:
phil hickerson at philman.dude@hotmail.com
mark powell, markdoodage@aol.com or firebrats@gmail.com
randy journey, randy@journeyac.com
with warmest wishes and love,
jenny

slog fog grog glog nog blablablabla blog

how be you? wed i started taking a med that has knocked me flat... after several days of going to wk, mtgs, LA, two gigs in a somnambulant state, mama suggested i 1/2 the dose... so now i feel merely groggy. toni told me the body'll adjust: the stuff's sposed to balance me, not knock me on my butt!!! from all i've read, i need to give it at last a wk. but what a wk! i'm used to being over the moon w/hahahas, wawawas, not near-comatose!! anyways, somehow i got to covina fri night & got to play a gig w/manuel, russell scott, raul, & then ruben showed up, too! me playing w/the blazers: who'd've thought, back when i was their #1 fan nearly 20 yrs ago? the sound took forever to dial in, then turns out the snake for the PA had gone bad, so they whipped out a little one just like mine, & it worked fine! russell was fun to talk to & it was cool to watch him thump away to my left as he called out changes to me w/a sleepy smile on his round face... yes, there was no set list @ all, no rehearsal, & yet i hung w/the big boys!! what a lucky gal i was that night, yessir... after, manuel & i had tacos & talked about Life, then he gave me gas money & i somehow got to dear donna's, was there long enough to chat a bit, yard sale, then pour myself back in the truck & home, listening to a great npr show about "a christmas carol," then got dressed, loaded up, & was out to the branding iron. the place was pretty dead for a while tho a nice cowboy who can really dance ended ea of our songs w/loud cheering & "we love you!!" then the place started filling up w/among others robert & dear angel, then wes & jennifer from token okies, then my family came streaming in, mama, dad, aunt rita, danny, aunt dodie, even uncle ralphy, aunt pam, & cousin aimee from seattle! (uncle ralph's a honcho for the seattle indian health bd & was even on the cover of the NY times the other day!). it ended up being a swell load of fun & the band played REALLY great! i felt, thru my stupor, that it was quite an evening, in the end. :) next day was a family party w/lots of grub & music: yes, brian had the piano delivered back from our old house to mom's & dad's & it felt like home to play that dear old beast again. dad & uncle ralphy sang christmas carols, then i crawled in the back rm & passed out... the last few days since 1/2ing the meds've been a bit better, tho all i've done is clean the house, wrap gifts (to memphis mike's awesome awesome rocknroll christmas dvd he sent!!), do big book wk (yeccch), laundry, went this morn & lounged w/our darling dog boys (b went to colorado for the bit)... about to go pick up toni, then it's band practice again... anyways, tomorrow'll be prep day for the yuletide, then head back east. may you be warm, well, & happy. :)

better cleopat than giant andre, i spose

"Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale
Her infinite variety; other women cloy
The appetites they feed, but she makes hungry
Where most she satisfies" (antony & cleopatra)
(blogger won't let me add the image i'd like to, of mehitabel from don marquis' archy &..., one of my all-time favorite reads...)
i got the "cleopatra" comparison again this past wkend & then again today, which is much more flattering than if i were told i resembled, say, andre the giant, but it prompted me to look her up & find this awesome quote... the line favoring her over other women makes me a little queasy, for isn't that the problem for too many of us fems? comparing your outsides to my insides? revolted by but under the lash of "you can never be too rich or thin"? that whole line of blah?
despite it, i felt a tad powerful reading the quote, tho it's not about me, & maybe becky (cattie ness) would say it's the uncanny recognition of the goddess w/in, or maybe it's just a cool quote... ok, just sitting here glutted on oatmeal waiting for it to digest so i can go for a jog, then go play at the school's winter concert this eve, then a little party, then hope to hit at least pt of my home mtg... if you're in covina fri, come see me w/the big manny band! sat dusk devils are at branding iron! (read post below for links)
happy warm eve to all. :) xoxoxoxxoxoxoxox

radio free bakersfield

when i lived at the old house, i had a music rm where i'd record songs on a tascam portastudio kind of thing... spent hundreds of hrs in there... nice memories of my old life (actually, i have many, if i think back)... anyhow, many songs are on the link @ right that says "jenny angel/ex-girlfriends/DIY music"... two days ago, 7 mos after moving here, i busted out the tascam & hooked it up. it was revelatory, reminding me that the creative process can not just be cathartic, but can & does positively redirect the magic magnifying mind: curse (thoughts too often heavy) turns blessing in a moment. what a happy thing for which to be grateful!... seemingly coincidentally, jorge from (the revivified, original created by bako's jeff burgess) radio free bakersfield then emailed & said he was running one of my old songs, recorded w/the tascam, on his show. it is one of the 1st ones i recorded, back in 07. listen for it here: http://radiofreebakersfield.com/ ... thinking of vonnegut's quote about music & wishing all a happy end-of-approaching-winter-break week... may you be filled w/& cheered by the restorative creative spirit.

new shows!

we got some new shows & had a great practice last night - i threw "just wanna boogie" on the pan & the band flat-out fried that sucker up! what a treat that was... that tune will be quite a dance-hall destroyer (ref to randee vee, rockabilly drummer queen & hoofer) when we get it really dialed in...  wishing all teachers & students (& their families) a happy last few days of school, too - vacation, here we come! whee! :)
here is a link to our shows: jenny fri w/big manny, dds @ elvis bd bash, sat @ branding iron - hope you will come out & see us, if you can & wish! now it's off to the salt mines... :)

arrrggg... happy dang weekend.

out of the blue, i gotta call from manuel this p.m. saying he was playing in bakersfield at 2 pm & for me to bring my keyboard down. i work til 3!! then they didn't give me the name of the place!! then his bass player for this gig called & said come on down, but his message was too garbled for me to get the place!!... so i was all excited & called them back & said i'm here, but no call backs. so here i sit, waiting on males. story of my life... i imagine they'll have to jump back to LA, anyways, w/this awful weather, or risk getting stuck on the grapevine in snow. still! i have a well-working heater! instruments! a few amps! extra blankets! a floor! we could have had a heckuva fun jam session right here in my houselet! oh well. i spose i should be grateful they asked me... wasn't meant to be... now gotta called philbert & let him down gently. he was gonna try to get some of this action, too... rockin christmas songs will have to wait.
www.myspace.com/bigmannyband

well, i usually never put this kinda thing up

but i think both these are pretty funny, tho one, mordantly so. thank you, toni!! well not much is up except it's freezing here in bakingfield. (my students would write "wtf???" & i spose i just did, too.) last night randy hosted practice & then got us naked juices & frugatti's pizza, a "noni's special," which was pretty great: basil, garlic, cheese, that's it. i learned in NYC they call cheese pizza "plain," not "cheese," so there's a tidbit for you, if you're a californio, like i am... am going out that way @ the holidays & am trying to regenerate some excitement for the trip, for i fear i'm not just gonna be lonely, i'm gonna freeze... on the other hand, w/this trip, my whole life could change, blossom, bloom again. i certainly cannot foretell which it will be; maybe it'll be something in the middle (imagine that)... guess all happens for some reason, so making the best of it & trying to have no expectations is probably a wiser mentality. i mean, for heaven's sake, i'm going to NEW YORK!! no matter what happens, like my NOLA trip, it'll be an adventure... heading to see one of my angels now... stay warm, friends!!!

happy hohoho & a little christmas card cheese

-> the soundcheck at amestoy's was terrific. because it's near the holidays, i went into "run run rudolph" & "christmas in jail" (sorry, randy [he'd never played them]) & people ran in & started dancing & cheering. a snowy-haired fellow named digger, retired professional hornman, exclaimed, "keely!" (as in smith)... what a compliment! we ran in the bar & listened to "oh marie" while he told stories about sam butera. then we ran back to the stage & cesareo jumped up & sang "just a gigolo." we waited & waited to start, then vince got up & did some of his outlaw country. cesareo & i jumped up & backed him. then the dd's started. did i tell you everyone showed up in matching black & white piped western duds? boy, the guys were handsome, & we looked styling. our set went fine, tho i think it lacked the necessary oomph. we need a dd's exercise regimen so that everyone can keep the firepower up, play thru fatigue, keep blowing out that big 2 & 4... people danced & hooted, tho, most conspicuously a beautiful, smiling blonde named davia, & afterward the owner said we were now his most favorite local act. gallows to graves started up, a power roots trio w/cesareo on drums. the place filled up & we old folks were blown outside by the decibels. we dd's stood outside, eating jojo cookies & freezing w/vince & kindly friend jk, then at the witching hr philbert took me home, i tried to wait up for krambo to come get his stuffo, but just couldn't make it. next day i took him his gear & got some dough & he & brett & i sat around for a bit & yakked.
-> no runs this wkend (ankle tweaked), tho did do some yoga, had nice 2nd thanksgiving w/family, visited miracle hot springs, did good bba wk w/april, gina marie, monica, & dear toni, not a bad wkend. however, now i feel fairly sick, as is my seeming usual, home on a work day w/a mouth & throat full of pain...
-> on another note, here's a little "christmas card" made on a dare. on some level, i know it's not really risque. just hope it's not too foolish looking!!! oh well; i've never been one to think too much before acting... the inspirational burst sometimes steers me wrong, but many times brings fun!
-> last note: thinking of candye & wishing her true fine love. she deserves it & i do, too, but think i'll have to somehow leave my brain at home if i'm gonna find & keep it. stupid brain. (heard in a meeting: "my mind's like a bad neighborhood. you don't wanna go in there alone.") things aren't so bad, really, tho. gonna go lie down, rest a bit, try to read & stay warm, then see what the next moment brings... happy holiday season from your friend in backwardsville, moi.

dusk devils, gallows to graves this saturday night!!