blablablablablablablablabla, but not at all "blah"

how are you? i am well. now, since on a blog, one writes about one's life/etc, how to describe the last many days? will try.
had fast, smooth ride out to donna's; feeling naturally wired lately seems to make time pass quickly & entertainingly, tho at worst, i am confused & discombobulated due to inability to organize... got to my friend's & we leaped on ea other w/happiness & headed to denny's, where i was rewarded by one of her spontaneously slapstick moments when she somehow stuck the soda straw in her eye... donna can be quite serious & intense, but i also have had some of the funniest moments ever w/her, face hurting from all the laughing we do (actually, another friend of mine, now that i think of it, much reminds me of this; i'd been prepared for him to gig me on april fool's day, convinced he could NEVER do it for a 3rd yr in a row, but dang if he didn't!!)... friends now 20 yrs, donna & i caught up; when i told her about my crazy fun peripatetic life these days, she commented, "everyone wants a piece of jenny. you're popular!" zoinks! i laughed out loud; me? popular? wow!! whether it's true or not don't matter; i was delighted & shocked to hear this - me, who used to cry when teacher'd call on me. :) how life can change people, if we stay open to it, huh? :) i think the comment speaks as much, tho, for my friend's generosity, to compliment me that way :) ... next a.m. brought SPECTACULAR fun running the claremont "mills," this wilderness running/biking course up & down tall mtn paths; oh! what a wonderful time that was! i wish i had places like that, well-traveled, well-defined paths overlooking nature, that i could visit every day... here is all wilderness, of course, but the defined runs are along the stinky highway, or only a mile or so... anyways, onward:
(was just outside & vagabond kitty, who comes to visit, then is on her merry way for another adventure, was sniffing my truck bumper. i wonder what it smelled like that caught her nose?)
ok, we went thrifting & yardsaling, as is donna's & my bargain-hunting m.o., & just after i told my friend i was looking for yard art, an awesome statue appeared at one yardsale, this cambodian or chinese or some east-asian figurine, for THREE BUCKS!!! "wow," said i, "some folks would say we manifested our reality just now." she replied matter-of-factedly, "i always do..." hmmm... she does have the most impeccably decorated house, all super-thrift, but all super elegant-looking, too, truly!, & i've noticed she'll say, for instance, "i think i'm going to change my color scheme to tans," then we'll go out & dang if she doesn't find a whole bunch of linens & decorative stuff in tans for dirt cheap! she got me a lovely skirt that i will wear to france... taking it on train tomorrow to show to becky, who's leading our tour of la belle france (have i mentioned this here? dunno...) & hope she approves. becky wants us to look "elegant" for the blue monday rockabilly fest we're playing. "elegant" is NOT my strong point. i hope i'll get up to snuff...
on a whim, donna said yes, she'd like to go listen to music, so we embarked on a madcap drive on the freeways of lost angeles & wound up in a dark, smoky blues club packed w/revelers & bluesmen & impeccably taut & sexy burlesque dancers... i kept wanting to leave, once i'd heard the acoustic, old-timey wingnut set i was interested in, but she was enjoying the music, so i left her at the barstool & spent much of the eve outside looking for stars in the cloudy sky & smoking, tho i usually don't, & met a fun, crazy gal who told me she makes her boyfriend's stage suits (how cool is THAT?) & riffing & jumping & promenading around w/mad others, then we headed home & got completely lost, but it had to be funny in the end. we must've driven 50 extra miles getting home!! next day we went to the pomona arts colony, where they were having a flea market. yesss!!!!! i got a tiny strutting baby figurine that might be quite old, judging by his little outfit, plus a tiny old-time radio figurine, each for a quarter from a nice old man, & some pretty dresses, one i hope will work for france... i hit the road for points south to, i thought, listen to more music, but my friend who was having the show, i later learned, got hurt & was m.i.a. for the eve. still, oblivious to the extent of things, i ultimately had sufficient fun, walking around a beach town & having a juice & then some miso soup & then some apples & bananas, then, feeling all healthy, a cigarette, & that night saw bridesmaids & a cool cartoon show called "adventure time" & had a pleasant-enough, nice breather... next morning i headed to big's in fullerton for rehearsal w/karling & the atomics in the joint's small conference rm; all were gathered at the table, maybe nursing hangovers, & i got a free plate of grub from the buffet (good stuff!) & we all waited for brian paxton to get there from bakersfield, then set up & had a nice rehearsal... karling has quite a strong, street-corner voice, i think, when she goes unmiked. cool! my old friend manuel (big manny) couldn't make it cause he was recuperating from knee surgery, but i had a nice talk w/him while waiting & will see him on may 7 for the special "gene & eddie" barndance at joe's in burbank... yay!... the opening band, high energy, did some songs we do in dusk devils, like mercy (last week's openers, dead zed's choppers, a band i enjoyed, do blue moon baby), then handsome young michael walley came up & did some bagpipe tunes, like he'd done last week in lompoc, tho sans his kilted garb, & the vibe of the joint immediately went into a sort of mysterious reverie & even reverence when the first drones sounded... then we went up & i got to play facing a table of the cutest little girls! from harsh experience, i know i always, always need to bring my amp (never again will i go thru the house; that just sets me up to have bad sound), so since i could hear, i was able to play some stuff that had me thinking, wow! where's this coming from? it was too cool... the set went really well; karling twirled & twirled, which is always a good sign, & anthony redhorse, guest on doghouse bass, filled in very musically. i thought we sounded really tight, & karling said afterward people told her her band's never sounded so good! :) soundman tim maag, he of the punk rock lineage & sly bedroom eyes, complimented me highly on harmonies & playing. "i soloed you on the buck owens songs," he said. "you sounded really great! like buck owens!" i got some dough, then snuck out to see if my injured friend was ok. if he wasn't gonna be at his sunday jam up in whittier, i would head to echo park to see my stepson & his gal, the latter whom i'd not yet met, & then be able to get home a day earlier. i pulled up to the frog pond & walked on in to compliments from a handsome biker! wow!, & there was my friend, looking ashen & kinda banged up, but vertical... he came over wild-eyed & said, "you got your keys?" i said yes, we went & grabbed them, & i got to play more music w/him & his guitarist, even! wow! these are well-known, accomplished, & beloved musicians... it was so swell! again, having my amp right there, i could play what my mind heard for the most part, & on a lot of it i tried to stick to horn-like stabs, since already there were two guitars on the stage, tho i did rip out some solos they threw me, & some sounded ok-enough, i must say!... they wanted me to sing, but all i could come up w/was "my babe." after, my friend said it hurt to sing cause of his injury & dang, if i'd known that, i would've tried harder to think of more bluesy songs! as-was, others came up & sang & it was fun to back them, see the enjoyment in their faces as they vocalized... the coolest part of this stint was when one little gal was singing & this biker chick to my side lit the cigarette i'd been goofing w/& i smoked & played piano & looked around & people were laughing! my friend, who was watching, later said, "you're really funny. you're like a comic. people dig you a lot!" that was the best of all... also, several people came up at both gigs & quizzed me on how long i'd been playing piano & complimented my technique. one big samoan-looking fellow, who turns out had mutual friends, said, "yeah, i told myself, 'she knows what she's doing; it's just natural to you, you can tell'," & tim maag had said some amazing things, like that i had "economy of energy & motion." wow!! life can be strangely wonderful, don't you think?
i hung out a bit, then hit the road for echo park & greeted my stepson at his bitchin pad off glendale blvd. he had to get to bed for work, & so next morning i got to explore old, hilly, seedy, beautiful, urban but leafy echo park for the 1st time. loved climbing steep, steep streets, right there in los angeles, for pete's sake!; at one particularly cool, large old rock house, an elderly mexican lady in peasant-looking garb was sweeping her porch & as i passed her house, i spied her million-dollar view of los angeles! it made me happy that real folks had these amazing views, not just rich folks... cody's girlfriend kate, a brilliant, science-minded, sweet girl, told me that's what in-part attracted them to the neighborhood, that it was such a mixture socioeconomically & racially... before actually meeting kate, i found her a beautiful blue sparkly dress i thought would look nice on her, & which i was so happy that she loved!, & him a shocking t-shirt w/graphic of gorgeous mummy-woman at out of the closet's $1 rack, plus a t-shirt i'll wear today at practice that announces, "i just don't listen." because it's true. i'm not sure why i don't listen. but i don't... stepson has taken a long time to meet someone to love, but now he has, & they have a lovely life together, i can tell, in the coolest condo overlooking echo park itself & the gorgeous LA skyline, & i'm so happy for him. :) little cody, happy at last. :) everyone deserves to be happy, i say!!
cody treated us to soup plantation, then i hugged them goodbye & hit the road. like always, as soon as i spotted my mountain town, all my stress fell off & i just sighed a big "aaaaaahhhh"... in my house, i felt peace & calm, a different kind of happiness. it had been such a great trip, but how nice it is to be home, lovely, sweet home. :)
if you're still reading, i thank you for your intrepidness, & hope you'll comment. carpe diem, friends. carpe diem! :)
time to pack up & go again! feliz dia, amigos!

big manny & the corn man; crazy clancy rocks the house; dusk devils por vida :)

-> we were in manuel's front room in e.la., practicing a christmas rocknroll tune, when he stopped mid-song & cocked his head, like a kid who's heard the ice cream truck. from behind the screen (not green) door, i heard a clown-horn honking & a shout: "elote! elote!" so i ran out & stopped the corn man, his cart loaded w/all kinds of goodies. we all feasted on gigantic corns on the cob dripping w/butter, salt, & chile. "watch out, jenny," manuel joked. "if you hang out with us, you WILL gain some weight." we also had apricots, fresh limeade, & his wife terri's delicious, fried, smashed meat-bean-papas tacos w/fresh pico de gallo & more... manuel is a lovely & loving man w/melodic talent & heart to match his king-sized frame. i'm doing what i can to help him w/his wish to tour texas these holidays w/"the big manny christmas band." :)
-> brian & i just helped along the "fatten jenny up" path by hogging out at the newest chain bbq joint, which was a surprisingly fun experience! very charming plump server w/beautiful espresso skin & flashing white smile; more-than-decent music; so so much sauce; that lovely drunken feeling that comes as blood rushes from the brain to aid the glutted gut... i'm gonna lay off on the big meals for a while now, tho - i know it's better if i pig out on music than on food, & also that i can go overboard on most anything pleasureable, if i'm not watchful. (not to mention that if i do these things too much, guilt kicks in & ruins everything...)
-> "just kill me!!! just kill me now!!!!!" lovely lunatic speaker, friend clancy, exhalted to the heavens last night about a particularly wonderful moment he'd experienced... i could say the same. the love was palpable, the joy everyplace, the excitement, well, wow! there were about 200 people stuffed into the club & we all sweated together like stuck pigs (a terrible but convenient simile), smiling dripping happy dancing pigs... yes, dancing!! clancy's a swing dancer, so from the podium he many times enthused, "let's have a dance!! jen & the dusk devils're playin' after this!! let's have some fun!!" so when he was done & i thought the place would clear out, everyone stayed, & more came in, & we started up, boom! & folks started dancing!! the kindly snakecharmer vibe slithered up my spine: quiet song, everyone danced small; big fast song, bodies flew all over the room! i loved seeing the surprise & happiness in my many friends' eyes, the ones who didn't have a clue i "do this"... :) the fellows rocked everyone's socks off, & phil & mark BOTH debuted their songs. it was great to hand the show over to each of them, & the generous & enthusiastic applause that they each got. early on, someone flipped all the lights off in the middle of a song, & i thought, well, i can't see what i'm doing, but cool; it's kinda like a high school dance! so i said this, adding, "except i never went to one," and everyone laughed. :) having the lights out swelled my heart up w/this huge feeling that performer & audience were one, that it was truly a "we" thing, & i've never had that feeling so fully while performing; it was certainly a spirited & spiritual deal. :)
-> i announced our cd, & our hopes to send it to austin for sxsw, & everyone cheered. :) at one pt, i was having so much fun singing hard, something in my throat went sideways & suddenly i sounded like eartha kitt! or maybe etta james! or maybe a munchkinlander on a bender! it hurt a bit, but i went with it cause it sounded cool! but then we had to stop early when i felt my voice totally blowing out. "i sound like madam," i croaked, thinking of the drag-queen puppet, & then announced the last song. people sitting down jumped up to dance, too, & there were my folks' & brian's beaming faces in the crowd as they all hopped up & down in a genial snoopy kind of dance... afterwards, people came up wanting the cd, & their insistence flattered & surprised me. :) a beautiful newcomer gave such a sincere compliment, about happiness & really being able to smile for the 1st time, that my tender-hearted bud jani burst into tears. i was so very touched, too, but was too beat to blubber. it all let me know, tho, that my instinct to do the show was right: it really was a "we" deal thru & thru, & my many fellowship friends, as well as others who came out to see us, had a great time.
-> a little more bragging (cause if i don't write it down, i'll forget it immediately): "i haven't seen that much dancing at one of our events in years!" jani said. "total success," mark m smiled. :)
-> it was even fun breaking down, joking around, w/everyone so sweaty, it was comical. i'm so pleased & fortunate to play with phil, mark, & rick. the dusk devils are what i've hoped for. :) now we just need a few saxamaphones & we'll be really styling, tho not as styling as "the phil" was last night in his cowboy-rockabilly dude garb. :)

"me, i don't care what people say / talk is cheap, anyway / if you got nothin good to say / well, it's best you don't say a thing" :)

- the blazers & me -
things've been down, w/death of friends, post-surgery complications, painful realizations i've had to make re music/friends... i was surfing & came across - yeegad! -a T-shirt i designed 15+ yrs ago for the blazers! it came up along w/the most rockin' tune, too (lyrics excerpted above), & took me instantly to a better place. a worshipful moment! music again saves a life...
back to the T-shirt: actually, manuel gave me the frame, then i took it to dr derek lamar, who then had the art dept downtown, & we put the design together... & there it is still online today, along w/that cheerful blazers song from way back in the palomino days.
i was intoxicated on music & substances 24/7 back then, & so enamored of the blazers' down-home roots-rock&roll innocence, grit, & heart, i could scarcely touch earth. flyweight ruben & sumo-ish manuel, buddies since childhood w/ea other & w/los lobos, led this east-LA band, their repertoire influenced as much by vicente fernandez as chuck berry. i was crazy (really, tho i didn't know it) over their then-bassist, a 6.5' ladies' man w/penchant for dark humor & drink, & became the blazers' "#1 fan" (there've been many since, & such a determined creature features heavily in any band's success, i think!): wrote their monthly newsletter; designed show flyers; press kit; copied & mailed out promo tapes; wrote 50-60 letters to record co's (one actually got bill bentley's attn & they were signed to rounder!); drove down 2x or more per mo to watch their shows (& hang w/"boyfriend," of course). all this from bksfld, & them in e-los! i couldn't dance, but my skirts & enthusiasm were so high, i don't think most cared. the blazers filled me w/good cheer, w/life, w/soul when i could only find it elsewhere in bad habits.
manuel & ruben don't play together much now, tho both still have many options, ruben working w/pete anderson still. they are well-loved & respected individually, but i think most who know them pine for the day they'll reunite. i'm so lucky to still know them both, good men, brimming w/musical spirit & humanity & humor. i hope eventually they'll reconcile musically, as i always hope i will, too, when i have to part ways w/a friend...
eventually, love & communication & music can bring rebonding; if not, probably there was nothing to a relationship to begin with. (some people never come back because they were never meant to be there in the 1st place...) i parted ways w/the blazers having to get sober. it was painful, but from it, a new & better life came. like they say, "pain is the touchstone of growth." old-timer mudd, may he rest in peace, used to say, "i'm gonna grow, or i'm gonna go..." positive action, tho too often prompted by pain, is what is needed to keep evolving, to honor this beautiful life.
i'm there. it's time. like manuel wrote, "talk is cheap, anyway." "if you're feelin sad & blue, don't sit around & cry, no one's feelin sorry for you, you're just a-wastin your time." wise words, pleasantly put!!
blazers links follow: discography: http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/artist/Blazers/a/Blazers.htm ; manuel's page: http://www.myspace.com/thebigmanband ; the blazers' page w/music! http://www.myspace.com/theblazers