"the girls at trout's"...

- that was donnie's caption to accompany this image; i like the bangs: L to R, short, medium, long... the other eve i got to practice very briefly w/karling, donnie, cesareo, & AJ at AJ's home, teeming w/food, joyful young family, & cool mexicano-rockabilly motif; then it was off to rick's for DD practice & i've said this before in past yrs w/past lineups, & maybe it just happens when there's a happy union of ability, talent, friendliness, high energy, & dedication, but we REALLY SOUNDED GREAT!!! bsp claims nearly each wk he's not been practicing, but (between you, me, & the net) i think he might be fudging a bit bc ea wk his playing rocks harder & more genre-appropriately... too, happily for me, he & i, who maddeningly used to fight like cats & dogs, now seem to be getting along just fine, & there's nothing that can aid musicianship for me than shared friendly feelings...
- i'm especially now looking fwd to our show sat w/james & the blues express (flyer below) cause i think we'll have a real chance to wow all & ourselves w/what we know we really can do... at our 1st oasis show w/them, i forgot my piano stand & had to play on a barrel that rocked & rolled on its own, making playing a bit tough! at another (maybe the same one?), our old bassist showed up late, so we did the 1st 6 songs bassless, which isn't horrible, but feels bottomless compared to the usual! at the last one, our former guitar player was a little shook up that night, i now know, cause he'd just gotten reamed by james for telling him he was leaving the band... so this'll be our time to shine @ the oasis (not having expectations, just hopes!)... at any rate, i know i'll have my fun, & i suspect the others will, too! :)
- after our awesome DD practice, it was out to trout's, where i saw a ghost from the past & our interaction, i'm thankful, was happy; got to catch up w/the kidwells, lisa p, lynda fette, & russ davidson, asking the last to deliver mark powell a happy bd from me; met craig garrison for the 1st time & later learned we both love alice the goon; & bsp & i got to play a few songs as pt of karling's "bakersfield band" (lineup listed at top)... all this activity acknowledged, am starting to realize the most exciting news of late is i just found out this morn i'm going to france w/becky & fabi, & we're gonna play the good rockin' tonight festival!! will be in la belle france long enough to learn some french, find jogging paths, enjoy local cuisine & soak up culture as i follow becky around (she knows the ropes), maybe even take a side trip (visit gene taylor? how far's antwerp from where we'll be, i wonder?)... fabi also really piqued my curiosity re travel to mexico city, from which she hails... life life life! love love love! carpe diem, friends, carpe diem! :) :) :)