Sunday, May 31, 2009

bill gruggett guitar show, trout's, bakersfield; the wheel o life goes round & round


yesterday i had so much HW for this accelerated class am taking for library school (difficult to be accelerated w/cobwebbed brain), but got done enough in time to get to the above show for a while. have no mirror in this place, so just threw on a dress & these turquoise boots have had & got compliments! -so that was nice. one old-time country performer called, "well, there's that little girl w/the big voice!" :) a woman drummer recognized me from when i played bass in a hard rock band 10 yrs ago: that was both cool & embarrassing... saw all kinda people i sort of know from local music & ended up sitting w/my old bandmate brian paxton, who was very kind. jeremy, monica, & ryan from don't scratch the wax visalia were there, real friendly & rockabilly-styling to the nines. hope we can get some shows going... rugged brian lonbeck, child prodigy & joe maphis apprentice, got up backed by deke dickerson & chris sprague & things really moved! he kept prefacing songs w/"i don't know if my fingers can do this one," but then whoopee! he'd kick into one of this high-gear flat-picking country-rockabilly romps & boy! you'd need slow motion replay to see what he actually was playing... deke played a cool mostrite bass & brian a mosrite double neck, like larry collins & deke play. i wondered if brian lonbeck knew larry collins, joe maphis's other prodigy, way back when. after, brian l said he was playing that night out in pumpkin center w/bobby durham & i think that'd be a fun late-night drive sometime. deke, who seemed even taller than ever (tho i wasn't wearing my stilts, come to think of it) told me some places to go while in new orleans & some possible tips for seeing fats domino & was very nice. all in all, i was quite happy w/the whole experience, so will save that one in my happy bank, which i've been withdrawing on where i can lately.
- the 1st dusk devils practice friday night at this new place felt weird & free... more rm to move, not worrying about spending too much time w/the band instead of doing other stuff, all the windows opening out to neighbors sitting on their porches & not running inside or calling the cops & therefore i think ok w/the music... am so lucky to have my band fellows; music is saving my keister these days.
- when the guys went to leave, a neighbor had left a note on the porch: "my 7-yr old daughter loves your band! she wants to go to one of your concerts. she is dancing in the living room right now!" wow. in the midst of heartache, how can a person be so lucky?
- people've been so kind, & keep telling me to be gentle w/myself & give a certain person the dignity of his own experience: stop assuming, stop misery-making, leave him be. for me, & for you, if you are suffering, stay in the middle of the herd, as jani's husband says; take it easy; pause when agitated; count your blessings... a dove is cooing & the birds singing away outside, my basil & roses are still growing, i got this little rather lovely place, & i guess all things considered, life is pretty good. it's really rather ridiculous & infantile to think somehow right now i'm supposed to be happy... tho i always dread it, change is the only constant. am living in change, must face it, no getting away from it, & there must be a lesson here, so need to be cognizant, watchful, see if i can espy, maybe even fully view & realize it, & grow. my wish & prayer is that everyone who's hurting in this situation right now also will grow, maybe even blossom.
- to shift gears, my dear friend dan monji, the gardening guru, said this last wk: "plants grow best in sh*t." &, as dear texas stacy (RIP) used to say, "when you're in a bag of sh*t, remember: the zipper's on the INSIDE."

Thursday, May 28, 2009

what doesn't kill us makes us stronger


- november 1995-may 2009
- i'm no nietzchean, but lately a few of his ideas seem to help. the existentialist, suffering brings meaning ones, i think... today's the last day of school. last night i watched an old sad, wild, angry, beautiful vid of dexter romweber & put together a bookshelf & lamented, grieved, tried to shake it off, couldn't, sort of came out the other side. it's like peeling an onion: i'm the onion. each layer removed takes me closer to the center. but what if there's nothing there when i get to the last bit of skin?
- bill wilson talk helps much: this, too, shall pass - the good, the bad, the everything. it'll all be over eventually. what can i do w/now? just ride it out.
- happy last day to the wild, sweet, infuriating middle school kiddies at my school, & all the others. if i could only get more than 5 hrs of sleep a night, i know it'd help... meantime, today'll also bring the saving wonder of music w/my dusk devils bros. hail hail rocknroll.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

without music, life would be a mistake (nietzsche)

"he who sings scares away his woes" (cervantes)
"music is moonlight in the gloomy night of life"
"music is the medicine of the broken heart"
and this one
"it's gotta be rocknroll music
if you wanna dance with me" (chuck berry)
but i don't feel like dancing lately... this, too, shall pass.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

mom & dad likely wouldn't much like the first flyer...

... but here it is, with another cool one from r&r pizza. :) we're on at thunder run at 1 pm, at r&r pizza at 9... in between, i'm gonna go on a long train trip to texas & to new orleans. have waited my whole adult life to see NOLA. i'm finally gonna do it. love & happiness & peace of mind to all who read this...

Sunday, May 10, 2009

new dusk devils songs :)

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phil & i recorded these yesterday afternoon. many of them we'd never played; they existed in my mind, or i'd played them alone. so i think they'll just get stronger (esp phil's vocals, which i think will be solid on the roy orbison tune). i wrote all but the last one, but the colorful guitar is all phil.
i added in the bass last night & the drums this a.m. & just mixed it all.
times (so you can skip around):
0:00-2:54 HEY, BUS DRIVER
3:00-6:02 HIDEAWAY
6:17-8:42 BIG FOOT CHESTER
8:53-11:33 MYSTERIOUS
11:43-13:33 EVIL EYE
13:38-16:20 ROUND & AROUND
16:33-18:57 LOVESICK
19:13-END GO GO GO (ON DOWN THE LINE)
you can save this file if you go to www.esnips.com & join up, sez mark.
yesterday we all went to eat bbq & he & phil had an eating contest, more funny than gross. speaking of mark & geanna & family, please say a prayer for butch, & may his soul rest peacefully. as soon as i saw his cheshire-cat handsome face in today's paper, i remembered him as the alway wildly-grinning punk kid who was always downtown. rest in peace, butch, & may your loved ones find comfort & solace sooner than later.

Friday, May 08, 2009

soul stolen, or portal to otherworld opened yet again?




i just got sent these photos from lynda at trout's nightclub & saloon (bakersfield's last-standing honky-tonk) - they are from last yr, w/philbert looking studly & mark, who'd just signed on as a dusk devil, decidedly chico marxian! the other, well, it's definitely me. :) the 3rd was taken by candye kane's superb bassman paul, a gentlemanly fellow who, dusk devils-like, would fit well in a B-movie as a wise- or bad-guy or best-pal... here is a fascinating article about a traditional view of photos: art of stealing souls

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

photos by rebecca caraveo



went for two runs this evening! mama made angie's favorite, spaghetti carbonara. becky sent all these cool photos! the world seems a better place than yesterday... wishing you good health & happiness

Monday, May 04, 2009

"this one goes out to rockin' ronny weiser, who made our first record..."

name that EP (not you, olen, you're disqualified!) :)
here is what mr weiser just wrote me. WOW!!!!:
"Howdy Hi Jenny: I played your tracks on MySpace, and I love your voice, it's very intense, very soulful, wild but also tender and haunting when the mood requires. 'Mercy' is really smoking! Your piano playing is also rockin' solid... Always Rollin' The Rock, Ronny"
my cell phone is still dead. dang banana. i can call people & hear them, but they can't hear me. i imagine there's a nice banana plug gummed up in the mike-piece.
i think i'll get one of those trac phones from a big box store... then when the mins are used up, i can throw it out the window or smash it w/a hammer!!!!

Sunday, May 03, 2009

we're depraved on account of we're deprived

not.
but look what someone sent me today! the dusk devils are an influence... in tx! couldn't get much better unless somehow it's a suburb of austin... http://www.myspace.com/texascherrybombers (look like a cool act! & their next show's a biker rally, like ours is!)
ok, beautiful run this a.m., beautiful weather, intense but important mtg w/loving friends, ruined cell phone when a banana in my fanny pack got pulverized by a water bottle... so if you know me & feel nice, pls send me your ph # so if i must get another cell phone, i can get hold of you!
last time i did it w/a chocolate bar. brian says i need to be "issued a military phone, something that can take heavy damage." it would be a dud if this one died, since it took a trip thru u.s. mail when i left it in a bathroom in idaho & then had it returned... it's a survivor; it has provenance (that reminds me: watch, if you can, the great movie "who the $!&*# is jackson pollock?" - you can rent it at the main kern county library)

Saturday, May 02, 2009

candye kane, dusk devils slide show!!




what a great time!! candye, w/her million dollar smile & aura, was so very kind. :) and what a set of pipes! the world deservedly loves this gal; i know i do! (more exclamations:) laura chavez is amazing! candye was the queen, laura the princess, & i, the 2nd princess... what a fantastic audience!! the good vibes were overpowering. philbert & marcus were handsome & terrific, as usual; all was in the pocket & electric. :) i feel so grateful & know that w/"positive affirmations" (candye told me) & non-stop music music music (my realization), all will be well... gusgus the perennial puppy woke me so he could go potty, so here i am, feeling like in this moment life is a pure treasure & the dawn sings. like candye said, "we have bodies, we have life"... love to all who were there or wanted to be...
lastly, thx to rick for playing w/the dusk devils for 17 months. best wishes w/future projects! he did a great job last night; it was a generous way for him to sign off w/us. :) (lastly lastly, thx to b for taking pix.) :)