farewell to meat, hello, my friends, blablabla

just learned that "carnivale" (carne + vale) means "farewell to meat." how timely & comforting, the uncanniness of the etymology & a-ha moment: of course! 40 days of change & increased vigilance w/regards to food, people, & ideas is a wise place to go for sacrifice & continuing discipline. carnivale!
am not ready to go get ashes today, tho... maybe next yr. carnivale, tho, is not just imperative right now, i'm thinking, but a doable task!
it'd've been better, maybe, if i'd spent last night in revelry instead of repentance, but such is life right now & @ least w/each new sunrise & breath, there's chance for renewal. to stop & stand in mistakes, like a pile of stool, would be the only real mistake. (sing along: "go forward... move ahead... try to detect it... it's not too late... to whip it... whip it good!")
san diego county is paradise, the beaches peaceful & less crowded than LA's; friends run deep for me there, ppl whom i admire & aspire to be more like.
the dear mcgraws are the hosts w/the mosts, friendly, fun-loving, generous, tough, & kind. we attended little italy's carnevale & watched brocaded, stilted street performers w/elaborate masks lumber around while mediterraneanesque musicians sang & played & children hopped & twirled & danced & merrymakers gathered at pizza joints & cafes. not just people, but pets, too, walked around dressed like montresor & fortunato or extras in the merchant of venice, & the romantic melodies of each song we heard lingered. bill & i could've driven freddie a little nuts w/our constant happy singing, whistling, & humming except that F&B're too big-hearted to drive nuts; they just love all as-is, always, tho, as i mentioned, pull covers as called for!
got to go to many mtgs. got to hang w/candye & laura in oceanside, watch foghorn leghorn, spend time @ the beach there in meditation & stroll, have a tasty repast @ pannikan coffee & tea near the ocean. got to get a pep-talk from candye, who is generous & caring & strong that way &, as busy as she is, always makes time to bolster others. it occurred to me one night that in january while i was trying to come back to life cooling my heels in new mexico, candye was onstage performing her heart out, telling her own life story onstage! talk about contrast... candye says it's not yet out on DVD, but here's a link to her play, which laura said sold out more & more each night of its run... you know it must be a heck of an inspiring story -- must be quite a well-done production, too, to have generated that kind of buzz! the toughest girl alive

road dogs lift souls with humble good-time blues

gee, just remembered how fun it was to write "real" headlines, w/column/pica count & all that: always a satisfying challenge, like a puzzle. is that another lost journalism art, i wonder, like doing "real" paste-up? oh well... the above right now (6 am) describes for me candye kane & band, to the one down-to-earth, cooperative, generous, friendly folks. not a one of them, from candye to awesome boogie-woogie pianist sue palmer (sue palmer!!!) & all in between, boasted, assumed, or name-dropped; they just played their butts off for the audience & had tio leo's rockin & boppin & hoppin. the worst thing that happened that day was rick again snapped his achilles tendon, so the poor mug played our whole set in pain. (!!!!) the more i think of it, the worse i feel, tho i didn't cause it, the mcgraws (what wonderful friends!) reminded me. will write more later... but wanted to urge anyone who reads this to check out candye & band. what good people, in a "biz" where many aren't, or are so wrapped up in ego, all they talk about is themselves, or are snobs (likely all out of fear, but still no fun to be around)... thank you, candye. :) there's a reason you've got the reputation you do!!
hope someone sends pix... i cancelled texting on my phone (keep it simple, right?) so now i can't get my phone pix to the web. ha! outsmarted myself yet again. que vallen bien & que tengan un buen dia, amigos y amigas. :) ... off to the school library now...

dusk devils downloads available for a short spell

we had a really fun rehearsal tonight (learned THREE songs i've written recently!! & the guys make the songs sound great!!), after b & i spent day visiting cody in smellay (carney's, petersen museum RV exhibit). we dusk devils've got some fun shows coming up, listed above & at bottom of this post. woo-hoo! to all who read this. :) sorta strapped for time lately (to put it mildly), i'm pasting below my blurb from myspace. hope you'll copy/paste & listen to the songs, & that you'll like them!!
-> sharon marie at B2 studios here in bakersfield just put up a song from the EP we recently recorded. it will be available for one week (til next saturday), & here it is (look for "tearin' my hair out' the dusk devils " on the player):
www.myspace.com/b2studio
-> our bass player mark also has some songs on his player. go to www.myspace.com/markallenpowell & look for songs by the dusk devils (mark plays in about 28 bands)... :)
-> if you like the songs, please spread the word. we hope to get everything straightened out & have CDs available w/in the month. we thank you for your kind comments & support, & thank you a bunch. :)
jenny, phil, mark, rick, the dusk devils, www.myspace.com/theduskdevils
upcoming music shows:
sept 27 - b.rider's, 9pm-1am, bakersfield, come down & sit in, have a drink, etc
oct 7 - ronnie mack's barn dance, 8:30, el cid, hollywood, ca
oct 18 - opening for the one & only candye kane, tio leo's, 9 pm, san diego, ca
oct 31 - halloween extravaganza, narducci's, 9 pm, bakersfield, ca