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 tight family of brainy do-gooders & now live in the mountains with my spouse & pet children. i'm happy as a nut like me can be, in spite of the infernal coconut. 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!
this eve at practice scotty mentioned this video... what a delight to see it! this was the song where i really felt the music soar... to be in the middle of such a thing is quite a feeling!
al, dear man, threw us a curve ball toward end of song, as in his happy enthusiasm he tends to do, but laraine, his wife, shut the video player off right after that. :) i remember we caught the ball & brought it all home just a moment later... w/no video evidence, you'll just have to believe me. :)
time for bed, for tomorrow the gias bring chorizo & egg breakfast to the scores at SVDP & then i will get to hold peoples' sacred trust again, reading & writing & chatting w/them, as i got to do last wk.
life, o life, where will you take us all next?
upcoming: sat jul 9, noon-4 pm, al hendrix backed by canadian band six gun romeo at ethel's old corral... also, please spread word about the below event, taking place to help my dear friend, gentle man, & monster of powerful, melodious rocknroll american-roots guitar:
- just glanced out the window while typing here on a beautiful spring-break mountain morn & saw andy noise from bk hiking up the hill! i knew he was planning to bring a group up here sometime to hike, so talk about coincidence! they might swing back by, if time allows before the bus back to bk. it's the best deal around - $3.50 one-way, $1.75 for seniors/disabled... a huge savings compared to driving it!
- oh, to type while looking out pic window @ pine- & oak-covered mtn topped by baby-blue sky, heavenly clouds wafting along their journey... wow! for the 100th time, i'll say it's difficult to get discombobulated up here, not just cause of lack of poisonous air (was sick last wk & up til yesterday bc of too much bkfld time), but bc of the calming beauty & ever-changing weather. who needs tv? the nature show's unbeatable!
- what's on your gratitude list? here's some for me on this lovely morn:
1. dogs curled up @ my ft; 2. pb&j sandwich w/coffee; 3. good fri dd rehearsal, tho al hendrix did not make it; 4. trip to trout's to see brian lonbeck w/the blackboard playboys, a rock-solid country band w/fabulous banny bannister on piano! this is top-notch "country" musicianship, people, every fri-sat nite, just $5 to two-step or study the pros on their instruments all night long! brian did a cool version of "16 tons" & i got to yak a little w/rockwell about how to turn bk into the next branson & then have a heart-throbbing slow dance that thrilled me to the bone! i realized i haven't had a slow-dance like that in a public place in over 20 yrs!!! sad? mebbe. i was just glad to have it at all. then i took a moonlit drive & had a late-nite super-nosh on the edges of town & my heavens, what a nice time!
5. visited my folks, who, like i hope you feel about yours, are the best; 6. had very short practice w/al @ scotty's cool NE pad; 7. then really fun show w/family, many, many friends, & laughing, dancing ppl!; 8. met super-nice geri boyd, musician w/friendly drawl & twinkling eyes, who is not just a) female; b) keyboard player; but c) a professional in a helping profession; & d) athletic (tho geri does team sports & i pretty much eschew competition)... however, geri trumps me in cool bc she plays SAXOPHONE!! wow!!! i was flattered on break when she came up & wanted to know how i played some piano pts. she said, "when you kicked that messaround off, i jumped to mah feet!"
9. the dusk devils kicked butt! highlights: phil's blistering guitar, creative, spot-on genre melodies, & good-natured hip-shaking during "whole lotta shakin'"; rick, in fine form, catching every beat, that tho he never even got to practice w/al!; scotty adding two tunes, his nice stage thing adding more humanity to dds. western-swing hall of famer, drummer jimmy phillips (late of the go-daddies) sat in for some songs, & original dd's guitarist brian paxton even came in & did a set! his lovely wife lisa provided these pix, from which i learned i need to burn these light-reflecting, unflattering pantyhose!! (oh well.) lastly, @ end of ea set, rockabilly hall-of-famer al hendrix, a fun, friendly senior, came up & sang... "georgia kate," one of al's originals, naturally soars, but it really did as we played & i looked over @ phil & he @ me & i knew we were sharing a hair-raising moment of happy musical thrill! (congrats to phil, too, who AT THE SHOW found out he is a grandfather. what a nice, nice moment for p & his family.) :)
10. a long-time friend, csub prof, emailed to say she's lost 30 POUNDS listening to "let it roll" while on her treadmill. wow!! she showed up, slim & smiling, w/hubby & friends. i didn't see alicia & doug, nor sincere & soulful, devoted-to-the-band john k & lovely wife susan, dance, but the beams from their tables really lit up my heart, as did smiles from gita, danny, aunty rita, mom & dad, vita, eric, hoss, henry, kim, franky, kirby, & so many others whose names i might not know, but whose friendly faces definitely are familiar... if i didn't list you, well, thank you so much for being @ this quite-special show, as well as thanks to al & ethel's for having us. :)
11. tho i was ill sunday & missed lunch w/the hendrixes due to lingering valley allergies, the day was nice, allowing rest & a gorgeous sunset walk on bluffs. friends watched tv basketball & i did not have to get uncorked bc competition & spectator sports -- like chuck berry, like hotdogs, like road trips, old motels, labor unions, honky-tonk & the blues -- are simply pt of our american culture.
(actually, tho, probably roman culture.)
- & when one basketball team represents NOLA, the lovely lovely crescent city where i hope to one day lay my head & also put fingers to keys, well, i sure can back that.
- spring is here! easter is near! happy season of rebirth & possibility to all! "a fonte puro pura defluit aqua!!!"
just found out that BRIAN LONBECK is playing w/blackboard playboys @ trout's on fri-sats, too!! really looking fwd to saturday's show w/al, plus going over to trout's to catch flying-fingers lonbeck, as well as see the tidwells & banny bannister... (ps - currently i have no graphics program -- hence the irritating gigantic white border on all recent flyers/graphics! oil well. if anyone reading wants to trim this flyer & email it to me, i thank you!) :)
ohhh.... it's so very nice to be in my home again... i do love road trips, but that I-5 gets old!!! just saw this online: 'Matt’s [Munoz's, of bakersfield californian] Picks: April 16! Al Hendrix and The Dusk Devils at Ethel's Old Corral, 4310 Alfred Harrell Highway, Saturday, April 16th, 6 p.m., free, 661-873-7613. If you're looking for some real rock and roll, you should plan on taking a little drive out to Ethel's this weekend. Appearing live will be the great "lost rocker" himself, Al Hendrix. He's performed with many of the legends of the Bakersfield Sound, and is slowly getting his due respect as a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. He'll be playing all his hits, including "Monkey Bite" a song that caused quite a stir in '62 because of it's suggestive lyrics. That's rock and roll. Backing Hendrix will be Bakersfield band, The Dusk Devils.' - i just found out, tho, we're not backing... it'll be like a full-blown dd show, w/al "helping out." i'm sure glad to've got that clarified w/the lost rocker before this wkend!! anyways, i'm looking fwd to a fun, fun time w/my pals. :) the weather should be perfect! ethel's serves a mean hot dog, too, so will have to break the seemingly-interminable lenten meat-fast, or rather, switch my sunday for a saturday, i think. the latter is, after all, the sabbath in many cultures, so the lord shouldn't care too much... i'm sposed to make a flyer, so i hope i do... al'll be doing the above show on his way to viva las vegas. he called w/good news, which was that deke dickerson'll be backing him on bass sax at viva... sounds like he'll have an all-star backing band! the other good news is, mr tidwell's recuperating nicely, which is a relief to hear. :)
- just finished a bunch of valentines for the kids at my school, tho i'm not there. could only recall them as a whole (about 100) by going into the online library program & selecting my top patrons, then going thru kids' names & trying to match w/faces. can't believe it's so difficult to remember after just a few wks away from school, but i guess that's typical of the state i'm in (not golden...)... my personal, prized valentines are universal monster ones my sister gave me one yr, but i never fill them out & give them away; i just keep them, which mebbe is valentine abuse, as having a drink & setting it down bc you're "starting to feel it" is alcohol abuse (well, just kidding, sort of...). here are a few valentines that are similar to mine; one i think's real pretty (the bride truly made the wrong choice).
- yesterday i got some bad health AND work news, sort of a double-whammy, but i spose all happens for a reason, be careful what you wish for, take your lumps & keep moving forward, as long you're not pushing up daisies, there's hope... but the poor kids; that's what kills me. at my school, these cuts (not that they had much before) leave them w/nearly zero enrichment, nearly zero for those who need it most. i'm too beat to get on the soapbox, but really, it's not just disheartening, but seemingly evil, or maybe more apt, callous & greedy, that the dedicated counselor; the talented clerk who organizes all the special school events & provides the extra niceties that make the school warm & inviting; & yo are cut by the district while (mama calls them) the "hallwalkers" & politicians downtown remain. my boss is a swell guy; i can only imagine how stressful this whole mess must be for him... :(
- i need to get to band practice. hope i can sing. either way, it'll be so swell to see the guys. :) in summation, the world keeps turning, & happy vday to all. may we all recall the many forms of love & not feel one bit lonely this time of yr... an article i read in a back issue of utne reader wrote of these wisdoms from a kenyan culture: love your community; trust your elders; don't fear death. these words to me speak of true love, a recipe for happy life. nuff for now.
- ps - the lost rocker, al hendrix, will be at the crystal palace fri & sat night around 930 pm, doing a mini-set w/the token okies, & i get to sit in, if buckaroo jim shaw will let me use his piano. so come on down, everyone!!!
well, i'm glad i'm a videonut today, cause look what i found!!! whiteboy james & the blues express is coming to town fri march 26 as pt of pat evans' no stinkin' service charge blues series!! keep your eyes out for venue & ticket price... you will love this guy! the 2nd song below really flipped my ears, sounding like phil alvin fronting the paladins in their early days!!!! talk about teeth-gnashing pogoing laughing grinding intensely thrilling fun... yes, i will periodically on here remind you, dear reader, that the one & only whiteboy james will soon come to town, & w/any luck, the lost rocker al hendrix will be there that same wkend on his way to viva las vegas! more info as i get it. :)
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, i can't get the dang pix to upload, so that'll come later... -> al & laraine hendrix are the nicest people -- met yesterday at trout's 9th annual pioneer days. al will talk your ear off: he's spry (even after recent hip surgery!), kind, & upbeat, & his stories are so interesting -- elvis; ann margret; col. parker; fats domino; bakersfield's wild 50s teenaged r&r band the go daddies! his wife laraine is funny & warm as can be, & everyone at trout's was nice. 3 people knew dad from the historical society (he's pres & the country music museum is affiliated w/it) & they gaped cause i don't look like dad (the astronaut). in addition to the hendrixes, enjoyed seeing/meeting/talking w/don kidwell (annie wasn't there yet, unfortunately), bobby tidwell's (token okie's) wife angel, enid, lynda, & joyce simpson (mrs red, who used to work w/dad). & what a line-up of music!! every "living legend" of the bakersfield sound was there (except merle haggard, who is sick)... lynda took my pic w/mark yeary, whom i finally got up the nerve to go talk to. he smiled in a quiet, impish way & said, "i can teach you everything i know in 5 minutes..." i don't think so!! that's what sue palmer said, too!! these great people are far too modest!! anyways, he motioned me to come up & play, so i stationed myself behind him on the stage & watched HIM play. -> finally, when al sang "johnny b' goode," which i DO know, mark stood up & there i SAT at a really nice roland, banging away w/hands shaking cause i was following mark yeary -- but i heard people came inside to see "the girl playing the piano." (the trained monkey effect, i say, i hope not derisively; really, i & ones like me are inherently a novelty act to some degree, tho maybe not 200 yrs from now...) after the song, mark said, "that was it - note for note, just like the record!" & al said the JLL comment. talk about generous! then they went into a lloyd price (i think) number, & i thought, i could've (mostly) done that one!! but it was really cool to see how mark voiced chords (everything's 5-fingered!), so i'm gonna call him & get a lesson, i hope. it still kills me how many world-class blues-boogie-honky tonk pianists i've gotten to meet. gee whiz!!!!!!!!!!!! -> al rocked & the dance floor was packed! he has a great voice, & i hope he gets hemsby & any of the fests that are calling for him now. truly i hope he won't remain "the lost rocker! he said more than once, "jenny, laraine & i truly think the lord sent you to us, sent you into our lives to help us," & more such kind, kind things, & i kept thinking, i don't go for anything unless i love it like mad cause i just can't, & i loved al's songs & singing BEFORE i knew he recorded in bako & was kinda like the dusk devils' grandpa, & yet my corny stage name, the one that used to make me cringe, really seems apt at times when somehow in spite of the raging ego i get to do something nice, & boy am i lucky to get to live to see all of this, & boy is this a lot for which to be grateful & happy. :) -> after, we all went to dave's bbq & gentlemanly jimmy phillips told some wild & scary stories about being a 15-yr old drummer for the go daddies!! seeing al triggered memories for him, & what jimmy recalled was hair-raising for a boy to have experienced! if i had been his mother, i would've been severely pi**ed, as my cousin would say! "those kinda things happen," he said, "and you can't ever forget them..." i thought how i'd never seen a person outside the fellowship talk so non-gratuitously openly & honestly to strangers. everyone similarly touched me w/their sincerity & plain-spoken kindliness. we definitely were not w/the indignant, cynical, know it all, hipper than thou, or post-anything crowd, thank goodness for that. -> fri (art's show & r&r pizza), sat (manuel & family), & sun, i/we sure got to be w/a lot of down to earth & big-hearted people, more than ever. ciò è così bella vita. and so it goes.
-> some wonderful topics from the wkend to google, should you wish: benoit mandelbrot & fractals (thought the latter were merely wild patterns acidheads trip on, but wow! what an amazing story in both mandeldrot's life & the lay explanation of his discovery!!); betty mcquade "midnight bus"; BCI (wow again! thank the universe for our productive scientists & mathematicians!); the nation; fats domino "be my guest"; pioneer days at trout's (fri-sat); "the spy who came in from the cold" (novel bests movie, natchly) & le carre in general; new pretenders LP; tv on the radio "wolves like us"; pocket coffee; torrones (insert homer simpson drool); bella bella portovenere; bill moyers; hemsby rock'n'roll weekend; uncle henry & aunt rita (oh that's right - you won't find them on google, tho they & our mama together have nearly as much trivia stored in their hard drives...) -> another topic you won't find is "spider boogie," which i'm playing w/right now... can't you just see the little spider trying to work its way up the web? it's such a max fleischer-kinda boogie-woogie thing i get... & after these last shows this coming wkend, we dusk devils i hope can learn some more of my new tunes... as well as some new old tunes i/we just love love love!! -> my library & i're having a mock election tomorrow at school & the kids i hear are excited!!... a good good day is coming to this country, i say w/great hope & happiness... it's like falling in love at this pt: i can no longer deny my heart's yearning, so risking possible total heartbreak & devastation, i must succumb... -> the lost rocker al hendrix & the mixers (a lovely man, w/a lovely wife, what nice & grateful people) will be here this wkend; celebrate the bakersfield sound & a new day at trout's w/pioneer days!!! ...dad & mom are home safely from italia, & now dad kisses on both cheeks & greets all w/a heartier melody in his voice, & life lately, washing closer to music, seems beautiful & tho this, too, shall pass, i wish you a lovely today.
just sleep-deprived, that is (name the song & win a prize)... to balance my hypoxic "depravity," here's a nice graphic mark made. i kind of get a kick out of it! mark made this unsolicitedly, which is esp nice bc in the old band, i used to have an ongoing fight w/one fellow about this "jenny angel and the..." thing. not that i so much want to be in charge, but it does make it easier. and in 08, w/the rest of the band wanting me to be in charge, we've accomplished a lot i'm happy about!! i know they all are happy, too: there is enough spotlight to go around. it feels right for now, so i'm grateful for each day of it, & for them. :)
i'm just a-riffin' here, since ah'm so tahrd, as a countryboy beau used to say it... made a graphic last wk for manuel's xmas LP, too, but am not posting that here til he gives it or some spin on it the green light... we're gonna practice again next wkend. this wkend, i'm sleeping for THREE DAYS (excepting dd practice & family fiesta, that is)!! :) the HUGE dog & pony show's going on all wkend at safari sam's, set up by dave alvin to benefit musicians' medical coverage, specifically here for candye, drac, & chris gaffney's family. everyone from the knitters to the blasters will play. yes, it'll be rockabilly- roots royalty sat-mon, & for quite a good cause! (tho one that wouldn't be necessary, were the u.s. health system humane.) i've emailed/ talked w/about 10 folks who are going or've mentioned it; it's gonna be so great, what fun, wow! ...but i just can't go. but here's a link to all, so please go for me & tell me about it: www.myspace.com/safarisams ...
the lost rocker al hendrix won't be here after all next wkend, since his wife laraine's recovering from recent surgery. but you can listen to him here: www.myspace.com/alhendrix1 - he's the dusk devils' musical grandpa, the 1st full-on rocknroller from bakersfield!!!! al will have a new cd out soon - he's sending bb & i a copy this wk. :)
a bunch of the dd's ep songs are live on myspace at /b2studio & /markallenpowell as well as /theduskdevils - & the funniest compliment i got was from st rebekka, the beautiful brainy gal i remember from jr high nerd classes (she wasn't a nerd, tho): "i love your growly munchkin voice." :) soon enough the cd will go live on itunes & a bunch of other places, thx to llewop kram. he da best!!! ... every day i drag home from work feeling like my feet are gonna explode: exhausted. i imagine it's just getting- back- to- work fatigue, plus bakingfield 103+ heat. yesterday i musta had 6 cups of joe, trying to get to respiratin'. rick & i caught skip heller's set at narducci's in the eve. it was fun to hang w/rick, tho i couldn't get my peepers opened all the way. skip injected this show w/moments of dry humor. he'd looked over at us, then play something like googoo muck, or mix recognizable melodies into other songs (tho not smarmily, which is something that bothers me at some rockabilly shows. even when being funny, sincerity is key, in my libro). there were some lovely moments, too, in the way skip, drummer dale, & elegant upright bassist paul would lock in. wish phil had been there to watch the lightning fingers, but he's been working long long hrs, too - outside!!! in broiling kern co, that's a brutal mission... after the show, i had to beat it quickly bc of being so tired, but of course, once home, the caffeine hit & i was vibrating off the bed all night long. so i say buzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, rock tonight, & i say buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, rock it right... well, gotta go to the salt mines now. happy weekend to all who read this. :) :) :)
my fingertips hurt, i've been playing so much. a spot of sunshine: the more i play, the easier it becomes, the more fluidly my fingers move, the more they cooperate, the more the ideas bubble, - no, - seep, sometimes weep, sometimes shimmer - on up. i have hope someday i'll be a little brown-skinned white-haired old lady looking a lot like my mama & grandma, wearing too much makeup & some strange outfit, cheery & useful & a pretty darn good pianny player. it seems lately like i don't have to be average or garden-variety forever when it comes to playing piano if i just keep at it. i'll never be the best, & that's never my expectation. but someday, if i keep playing & playing, i'll be able to play what i hear & be fulfilled by it. for now, i bang & grin & go for the muscle & thrill because i just can't help it, but someday i'll have more to offer musically... for you piano players, here are some tips i've gotten from some great piano players: 1. gene taylor: look at your hands; look for the "islands;" play left hand patterns while reading, talking to someone, writing, so it becomes natural as breathing; think about what each chord "means" depending on what change you're at. 2. carl sonny leyland: watch the right, not the left hand; don't be afraid to hit some wrong notes - just play them through so you can find the "right" ones; the "blues scale" is bulls**t - the guys in the old days were listening for the sounds of the music. 3. earl pool ball - a lot of times w/his band heybale, he completely lays off the left hand, but still sort of paws or claws at it to keep time, but then brings the left hand in when the music calls for that moment of extra boom! & excitement; in western swing, he plays straight time while the rest of the band swings; playing melody w/octaves really allows the piano to sing out from amidst all the other instruments. i hope to get some tips from pat "banny" bannister, soon, but i need to call the man... he can run 3rds up & down the keyboard lightning-fast! ... i found out pat played on al hendrix's record, which was so cool. there are some real nice solos on that record! (www.cdbaby.com/alhendrix) ->well, since i started writing this, my folks came over w/cannoli & we had a really nice visit & i went & picked some grapes from the vines & they were just perfect, sweet, tangy, w/a slight crunch... so maybe things aren't as bad as i think. and maybe i better go play some more piano.
man, am i worn out!!! last night's show was amazing. only one other time have i played to a total "target" audience, & that time, the sound guy fubar'd things up. it's so different when folks know, understand, love the genre. they cheered so loud, i could hear them while we played, & we were LOUD!!! even on my piano solos, people cheered!!! thanks, sonny & don't scratch the wax, for having us. what a treat! deke dickerson watched the whole set! then afterward he came up w/compliments. that was very cool! then deejays sonny & jose put on "that certain female" right after we were done & deke kicked it off w/a big big rocker: that made me think we'd raised the noiviss energy bar. yah! deke played his set w/chris sprague & wally herstam. they're an all-star rockabilly line-up. they must have 10,000 gigs between them. top musicians!! i'd love to get that tight. maybe some day! dd did an instrumental where the guitar sounded like singing - wild!! they did "buck owens' 1st hit," "hot dog" & also "buzz buzz buzz," which we did in our set, so that was a little weird. after, we talked about al hendrix, who REALLY wrote "hot dog" (not buck owens). rick, i have to confess: when you were horsing around w/chris ("drummers rule!! yaaah!!"), i WASN'T hitting record on your camera. i was too embarrassed to tell the truth. sorry!! as he was leaving, i asked bass player mark, "what did you think of the crowd reaction?" & he just smiled, then peered at me & giggled a little, "yeah, that was really cool..." who knows? maybe he'll stick around... for now, he's gonna help us out on the hollywood show. whoopee! :) i have to get a new piano stand, tho. at one point, i did a glissando & raked the keys too deep & the dang thing started to slide off the stand!! that would've been a disaster. i also learned not to eat ice cream before a show. i had to pound two energy drinks to get my eyes opened back up!! my sister & her friend had such a great time. it was so wonderful to look out & see people having a great time. :) what fun what fun what fun!! philbert is the best. what a bunch of guys. i love my dusk devils. :) next show: may 31 in hollywood (read below)... tonight: elvis interpreter don rose at trout's!
have walked a mile in my shoes? (well, that's not what it says, but that's how i read it...) boy, homer joy wrote some good lyrics, there, well-expressing a local mentality, a sort of moral code that's not unique, but better than some i've heard in song... but have you heard of al hendrix??? good gravy - this man was playing in bakersfield for yrs & yrs! is he still alive? is he still playing? i'm trying to find out... just listen to "train of love" (not the strong jc tune), then "monkey bite," then pick some others: http://cdbaby.com/cd/alhendrix ... his voice reminds me of charlies feathers & rich in its resonant expressiveness: brave, humble (both), humorous (some of rich's early cuts), homely (feathers). and many of these tunes blast because the old bakersfield sound was a hash of C&W, rockabilly, mexican, R&B, like eggs w/bacon, grits, biscuits & gravy, & hot sauce! (i like to add jelly, too.) "sounds like a hillbilly," grinned hubby, not derisively a bit. when you're talking vernacular music, that's always a term of endearment - either that or the person speaking doesn't know what's what. geez, i'm sick of being sick. if it's not cold & flu season here, it's allergy season. then there's summer asthma season. oh well; better than being mentally ill, i guess. olen sed his "mr oscat" honky-tonkin' kids' show at border's the other night had 100 people singing along! (see his link at right), & tonight the blasters are playing the 1st ever "grand ol' echo" in hollywood. geez, i'm sick of being sick... but grateful for another day not pushing up daisies! :) hope you love al hendrix & order his cd, like i just did. :)
