"for the happy couple," learning to live in the daylight hours

cat gave us this picture: last night we started recording a demo to take to las vegas for tommy, but realized we needed to use electric rather than acoustic guitar cause the input signal otherwise was too low & also that james jr needed to sleep, so called it a night. today the great pumpkin decreed james didn't have to go to work, so we'll spend it getting that music together... we leave manana for the trip of a lifetime; am thinking of places i want to stop/places he's mentioned wanting to see: can't wait! james has traveled all over the country by boxcar & w/bands & has exhaustive knowledge of the vampire's haunts (24-hr stores, late nite bars & clubs), but i know the daytime better, having been a boozeless adventurer longer... the other day we went to a big gun show (!!!!) cause he asked if i'd go & i wanna go anyplace he wants me to go; his clean-cut childhood friend & father, a touch of kookoo in their friendly countenances, manned a booth & got us in. i was less appalled than i'd thought i'd be, & james came home with a neat slingshot, lilliputian g.i. joe grenades, & felix the cat figurine. the next day he wanted to go back to help his friend, so i went to the bolsa chica wetlands on the north edge of town & found about 7 miles of roads & trails. the sky & air & breezy smells were pristine; terns, cranes, squirrels, red-tail hawk, ducks/teals, waterfowl & other creatures sailed, soared, & scampered about: what a beautiful place to explore! unlike the hills around the mountain home, the grounds at the beach are pretty picked-over, being traversed by so many more people, but i did find a glittery rock & a rather amazing tiger-striped snail shell. james came home that day w/some cool work gloves that look like something from mad max. a guy asked him, "are those so you can hit someone better?" and he replied matter-of-factly, "no, my fists are MUCH harder."... well, the coffee pot is calling... what's going on in your life?

a triple celebration! make that quadruple: not pushing up daisies

today we received a packet by mail from james's cousin... filled with maps of KY! honeymoon anticipation excitement ramps further! he just told me we'll leave on the heels of next week's gig. "i'll be up, anyway!" he reasoned. we'll drive thru the night; how romantic does that sound? should hit las vegas 4-5 am. will stay at tommy's, tho he, jetsetter self-made gazillionaire, won't be there... wonderful to have family/friends wealthy in spirit & also bucks! the latter means, among a lot of other nice things, they have nice extra rooms they let us crash in at their nice pads... thank you!
yesterday, he celebrated four months sans hair of the dog; the worst of possible days turned into a lovely one of us together making a resolution to commit more to taking care of each other & stepping up our shared spiritual life, our happy gig at harvelle's, then late-night breakfast w/shady lane, where he discovered his long-time friend & he share not just love of blues harmonica & firearms (i must laugh, me, scaredy-cat & pacifist, but both shady & james have specialized military history, so it makes sense, & james definitely is no gun-nut zealot), but a curious affinity for the wheel of fortune game at sin city's casinos... james was delighted. he took this learned commonality as a "sign." i told him since he's now lucky in love, he doesn't have to be lucky at the slot machine. "don't jinx me!" he snarled, & then threw his head back & laughed...
our honeymoon! yes, we can't wait! today mom & dad called, voices brimming w/good cheer, to insist upon financing our honeymoon gas bill, tho they've already been beyond generous (angels are all around, i tell ya, don't you think? i invite you to consider yours) & we celebrated at length our 5-month wedding anniversary... now i hear him happily singing & playing new songs downstairs while i purportedly work on WBJ press kit & contacts for europe & soon we'll all go to dinner w/sister sherri to celebrate his birthday last week... happy four months sober, james. happy five months married, us! no quotes or ponderings or much more blablabla today... life is good, isn't it? we're not any of us pushing up daisies. NOT PUSHING UP DAISIES! every day, therefore, is a plus.

blitz mind returns!

how do you make something out of nothing? -- not like a mountain out of a molehill, but, for instance, when starting a creative project solo, how to get it off the ground? i've tried many methods over the years, from honest word-of-mouth when people see band, newspaper, movies, cartoons, writings, whatever the latest project was, to sneaky stuff like spam... well, james is going to work tomorrow, & news of that for some reason really lit the publicity fire under my butt! today i was prompted by james to follow up on a legal notice about someone who's tried to underhand us, & while doing so, i remembered passwords, shut pages down, before that, grabbing an old graphic of mine & changing it to this: before that, i recorded songs i've written for the band, ultra scratch recordings, i spose, being a single track of vocal/piano into tiny digital recorder... thought i recorded 5 songs, but turns out it was 7! then found out the old dropbox my former guitar player set up is still active. thank you! -- so sent those tracks to the others after editing them down. (all this takes time! even my peanut efforts! but the process is hugely immersive, great fun!) tomorrow, since he'll be at work, i'll finally finish the e-press kit i've told him i'll make for him, then endeavor to get all the venues/names i can from certain people for certain upcoming roadtrips, then hope to get the ball rolling with ever-greater velocity and size, the ball that is entitled JAMES GOES ON THE ROAD & TAKES OVER THE WORLD!!! ... he hasn't yet ordered the t-shirts i designed him (see below) (actually, i drew the cartoon; he decided to make it into a shirt), but the extra work he's taking on will help that happen faster... people've already said they'd buy that cartoon on a shirt! cool!
creativity feels fun... remember the saying: "do something creative every day."
tonight we go practice with the scotts & tony... soon will be honeymoon... life is fun. may yours be, too.

happy birthday weekend past, james a. page, sr.!

blogs: what a curious phenom! public diaries, logs of blablablas, contradictions, i think!
james is truly irish (well, german, too): born on st patrick's day. each yr he has parties & gigs; this yr he said he wanted to do "nothing." "why do i need a bunch of people patting me on the back telling me how great i am?" he commented. "i want to be w/my family." friday we drove to the mtn home to the most glorious blue-skied, clean-breezing day. "i fall in love w/you again every time i'm here!" he exclaimed. "it reminds me of our early days..." mom & dad arrived, bringing delicious home-cooked food for james's birthday as well as their old (our new) dining room table, which we set up in the mid of the music rm, mountain views all around. angie & doug then showed up, along w/skinny the beloved mountain cat, & we had a lovely happy meal; a&d stayed the night & we all got in pjs & watched a happy, sappy movie & laughed our heads off; next day j&i did some yard work, shopped at the little places in the mountain town's center, then plowed back to OC to take james jr to see his favorite band, a gift from his dad, who was greeted by gifts & gourmet cupcakes from james jr & sherri. james & i meanwhile ended up having the most magical eve, stumbling upon billy watson at iva lee's in san clemente. billy watson! we had creole food & laughed & cheered & were awed by this incredible musician & human. "he's not drunk or high," i told james. "he's fully alive! look at him!" he agreed. on break, billy watson gave james a big bear hug & laughed like they were long-lost friends (james said he did that the 1st time they'd met); "he's the modern-day howlin' wolf!" billy told me of james, & a chill ran down my spine... wow! billy watson knew of what he spoke... WOW! he looked at me & then at james & said, "got married? you done good, buddy!" then he hugged me, laughing. "you're the piano player! i saw those pictures of you two & thought, wow! now that's cool!" billy is winning, lithe & wily, the most intelligently exciting harmonica player/band leader you've seen housed in peewee herman's youthfully exuberant frame. he didn't swear at all, but was no cream puff, little-rascals tough & 100x more talented. billy knows his american music! evidence was his top-drawer band: john bazz on acoustic bass, alan west on drums (he carries his set on his motorcycle! he, too, remembered james & greeted him fondly... his splash-kick combos were like fireworks!) & awesome adrian demain on guitar... james nearly had stars in his eyes as he said, "i think this is the happiest day of my life"... next day, his birthday, we mostly slept & rested, venturing out only to visit dave at house of hayden, have a quiet dinner, then sprawl before the tv dozing as "chariots of the gods" played on netflix... i concluded the eve reading more marcus aurelius, whose meditations i remembered to get from the mountain home, & meditating. when in these practices, "problems" & the like roll off me like water off a duck's back. our dad's long-been that way, having read the stoics & zen monks thru his 20s, & it's time for me to step up to the plate. equilibrium, dignity, calm: i want to be like dad, w/mama's generosity & love. they sure teach us how to be... finally, here's james's facebook post, which i put here so it's not lost in the FB shuffle, & so those of you good folks not our FB "friends" can read this spirit that sparkles...
"Hello people! Mr. and Mrs. Page are at the mountain home, stayed there last night, had dinner with The Gias! My new Mom is the best cook on the planet, new Dad is a gift from above, Doug & Angie are a true blessing too! I love my life these days! Ah, yes. James Jr. is the coolest nerd teen/man on the planet. My wife is my favorite thing, leaving ice cream a distant second. What? Did I call My Wife a thing? Well if you want to make something out of it, say it to my face! My wife says I am tough, but she is no cream puff. She's not mooshy inside. She is like a sweet juicy fritter! A cool drink of water when I am crossing the desert dying of thirst!
"Did I mention that my band is cooler than an Eskimo titty in a brass bra?
"Peace out........."

speed blogging revised

writing from the bedroom of my youth in bakersfield while james looks up directions to a party near riverside... what a cool weekend we've had: friday night at narducci's in bakersfield with the blasters; saturday our packed, wildly fun afternoon show at pyrenee's with james, dusk devils (both lineups being scott, scott, & tony), & the clifton bros of mofo party band, where i saw, along w/friday night, scores of ppl haven't for some time (olen, henry, larry, carol & kyle, marc l, robert t, tim/johnny, julie, etc); visiting w/mom, dad ("i love them so much!!" james tells me, & i love him more each time he says it), angie, doug, aunty rita (fresh & frisky tho just sprung from the hospital), uncle danny (james's smoking buddy), this morn over biscuits, gravy, french toast, eggs, sausage, bacon, chile verde, & more... today also i got to play for a good hour my childhood piano, which sits like an old friend in our folks' house. i love my noble, beautiful, resonant old friend, feeling ever-more respect & duty for it & its kind... jamesjr finally called back his dad so that we knew he still was breathing (that relieved his dad & i, as you'd imagine!)... then we got this pic from the show. we'd just gotten done singing & jumping around onstage & receiving the "johnny & june" compliment again, each time more gratifying to hear than being compared, say, to sid & nancy or sonny & cher... thank you, susan r, for the lovely photo! thank you, kaykay, for mounting the show: such big fun all around! we actually had more people, more laughter, more happiness than i saw at the blasters' friday night: no exaggeration. now we hit the road for parts unknown, central valley roadside dates, dried peas, antiques, toys & honey, old town newhall stroll amongst the picture-cowboy sidewalk stars, trinkets at mexican stores, romantic thai food & amazing conversation, renewing honeymoon feeling & mutual intellectual & spiritual respect, then more driving & yakking as he enthuses, "we're adventurers, baby!", then home to jamesjr to hear of his weekend of playing fantasy & video games, to him just as fulfilling as is our itinerant musical lifestyle to us. soon the week starts again. honeymoon in 2 weeks! yay!

this saturday, march 9, 2-6 pm, in bakersfield, ca, usa

movie night & the endlessly musing, tho not always amusing, mind

a good film can be the most complete form of art, i think: visual, musical, literary...last night we watched two great ones, "paranorman," unexpectedly moving, w/in-places startling animation & great score, & "the master," which i have been so anticipating, not having gotten to it when it was in theatres. that one was more than moving, but even startling in its emotional uglinesses truths & complexities, esp for my husband, w/its treatment of topics haunting to him... i knew off the bat it would be a redemptive pic, & i believe we both were grateful for that, its depiction of people seemingly quite effed up, groping for meaning, yet who love life & friends deeply & in that ultimately always will be bettered... later, we went for a late-night walk & discovered that's a pretty effective way for us to hash stuff out while experiencing the nighttime. we are physical people, especially hyperkinetic james, so it makes more sense for us to be able to make progress in this manner, as compared to sitting inside, when, stifled, the soul can start to scream bc outside the night is calling...
well, tonight's a practice w/the scotts & tony in prep for tomorrow night & this upcoming weekend... last wkend i took off to visit my dear friend donna, the highlights being seeing my friend finally living in her own home, a beautiful, spanish-style one w/lovely trees, porch, breezes, & view of the san gabriels; & nostalgic nighttime jog thru the wide, flat, tree-lined streets of craftsman bungalows & quiet. i used to jog at night like that when i lived in bakersfield, thru the downtown tree-lined streets of craftsman bungalows, as well as in my friend's town, listening to the crickets signaling that soon the season will change, the street lights, the way that sounds become more muffled & intimate, least to my ear, when night falls... i returned to the house & we all watched "moonrise kingdom," the latest wes anderson, & next day back home here my-our sister & brother-in-law visited, bringing good cheer & balance. we artsy types can get off balance, but we recalibrate cause we love each other & are smart that way, even if lunkheaded in the moment. anyone married knows this is part of the growth curve, as james said, "part of life." we took angie, doug, & jamesjr to our favorite place along pch in sunset beach & enjoyed pastas & the beautiful stained glass windows, walked along the little downtown there, visited max at his gig at don the beachcomber, & overall, how can i complain, writing all this? this is a good, good life, a fleeting one, & who knows? maybe the idea of "the master" is correct & these vessels will be turned in for new ones at the end of these lives we now live in... maybe souls DO continue in perpetuity... either way, as i wrote below, from a card i received when i was a newcomer to sobriety, how shall we live today?
it is now time to wake dear husband & start the day. may yours be peachy.