ronnie mack's barndance

click on the pic to read the caption. photos are courtesy of rebecca caraveo & walter van buskirk (+ my ipod). it was a real fun time!

HAPPY BD TO JANI!!!!! :) plus: "i've never cried at a session before..." & singing it "more cholo"

-> my dear friend jani is having her bd week... happy bd, my friend!!! :)
-> today in music in my tiny life, i finished playing a glockenspiel pt on "silent night" & looked over & there was "big manny" in his armchair, in tears. "that was so pretty," he said, wiping his face & smiling. "usually at sessions, i'm like, 'you son of a b**ch,' or want to slap someone..." & then he laughed. next, after a little coaching (he's teaching me to be a bit less obvious, more complex musically), i did a fake strings pt & there he was again, sniffling, so i stepped over & gave him a big hug & felt so happy cause i knew i was on the right track... "thank you, you guys; i'm so blessed," said generous manuel.
-> manuel & bassist/engineer leo record on manana time, but it's so nice to hang out w/manuel & family, i don't mind, long as i have the gas $$, time, & stamina to get to his little place off the 60, as well as the understanding spouse who lets me go go go (phil & i were talking last night about our respective huge fortune in this area). in the fall, manuel & i developed a take-off on a terrific 60s e-side soul song i don't wanna name yet but think will be a real holiday hit if it gets out there - truly! so, bonus, he let me sing harmonies on it this eve, & what fun, to really belt out into a nice condensor mike a cool, funny song w/leo & manuel bopping their heads & grinning. (even aged uncle guillermo, sitting on the nearby couch, was smiling some.) manuel stopped me at one pt & said, "no no no -- you're losing your character. more cholo!" so i sang it again "more cholo" & he beamed, "ah, jenny, you're a real live performer." i wasn't sure what he meant, but it felt good!
-> as i rushed out the door & hugged everyone goodbye, guillermo stirred from his seeming nap & took my hand & shook it. "i like you, too," he said softly. :) then it was back on the yoyo to bakotown, w/b smiling, "you have that light in your eyes," & he did, too, having spent the day w/cody, so home we sailed to the swingin, rockin&rollin sounds of a bitchin comets LP recorded at rollin' rock studios, & such a night, oh such a night it was, it really was such a night!!

skip heller honky-tonk trio thurs 7/10; dusk devils in studio; this'n'that

1. go see skip's free show, 7:30-10:30 at narducci's (flyer below)
2. we're gonna finally record a live session w/sharon marie end o'this month. whoopee!! then we'll have professional-quality recordings for people who've been asking. :) and thank you for asking, people. :)
3. had such great sound & met wonderful folks at safari sam's sunday, from friendly DJ "texas" jeff to smokey miles, art fein, russell scott, randee & george, & of course birthday boy cody & friends; got to eat brunch (french toast - yumyum); got some dough; i got swung around the dance floor by a big feller named walter who's light on his toes as gene kelly; met & got critiqued by skip heller, who said i need a clavinet, & "you stick to that shuffle & gene taylor thing," & i thought, "well, that's all i got!" - his thoughts on music were prickly but interesting & i appreciated his perspective. & he's gonna get me some recordings of 5 royales (mine were stolen) & the diablos!!!
4. art fein's comment when i told him of skip's critique: "pope catholic?" :)
5. by now, all blasters fans know that bill bateman's back in that band's drummer saddle & jerry angel's joined touring band shurman. best wishes to gentleman jerry!!!!
5. "i'll never swim kern river again"... on a recent 100-degree-plus afternoon, orangy smog & smoke-choked sky like the apocalypse, b wanted to take his motorbike out into the kern river canyon & as we whizzed along that scorching ribbon of tar, brown walls above & angry water below, i started thinking about the men who've recently gone missing in the river. then the signs popped up: "help find beto." "help find gonzalo." :( too often, the people who go under in the "killer kern" are mexican & from southern california. i think when the weather's this miserable, the lure of a cool river dip overrides the fear of drowning. this is the kind of heat that raymond chandler wrote about: "meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands' necks." it's desperation-heat, crazy-making, brutal, brutal, brutal. to want respite from it, no matter what, isn't much different (tho more innocent) than the depressed soul turning to a hit of dope.
6. so many people drown in the kern while trying to save someone else's life. doubly sad. i saw a car pull to the roadside & a brown-skinned man & boy got out. when we circled back to return to bakersfield, i noticed they had edged near the river, carrying long sticks & sad faces. they were searching the reeds for a dead man.
7. can you believe that people here criticize the river's missing & dead? people who blame the river victims remind me of those who blame new orleanians for wanting to stay in their hometown after katrina, or return to it. when you have the money to have a leisurely life, to travel, to conspicuously consume, to move w/out much life-disruption, or to just swim in a swimming pool when you feel like it,... well, it's easy to criticize the people who have to seek out a river or watering hole, who barely scrape by, who live desperately, who don't have the resources to move & start over, & beyond that, to whom many times home is where the heart is, even if that heart resides in a storm-prone delta bowl.
8. am reading harry crews' "car" right now, & if you want something good, go get it.

elvis show whoopee!!! wow!!

we didn't really get good pix (except, of course, of the ever-photogenic blasters), but what a night, oh what fun! the most exciting moment for me was when gene taylor unexpectedly walked in... he was supposed to be in austin before heading home to belgium next wk!!! he did a duo w/bill bateman & played w/the blasters, just one wonderful moment in a/n (for me) unprecedented night of music! i got to rub elbows, give & receive many compliments, play to the largest crowd yet, enjoy excitement & thrill that kept me up all night long, have my folks there as well as my hubby. overall, what a wonderful opportunity it was to celebrate & share in an amazing night!! this yr, i was overwhelmed by the sense of being part of a greater good, w/everyone communing to provide the audience w/the greatest show on earth (well, in LA, for that night, anyway). :)
severely sleep-deprived, i will have to write more later. thank you, art, for having us for the 5th yr, & les, for filling in on bass!! & of course, thank you to phil & rick, whose enthusiasm, talents, & dedication make this thing so darn fun.
today, i am exhausted & very grateful. :)