congratulations to angie & doug!!!!; music; my ex, my friend; blabbity blabbity blab blab

- art fein posted the pic (below on this blog) of ruby friedman & i on his site, calling us "femmes flagrant," which i only can translate as "obviously females." i take this as compliment (ruby is ultra-glamorous &, like i do, favors short dresses/long hair/platforms/makeup); thanks, @!... that led me to poke around art's site & find again this pic, which i love & repost here not just cause it's funny & shows two eccentric, ultra-talented cuties, but because of what i think to be a strange phenomena: their physical resemblance extends also somehow to their musical interests, lifestyle habits, & vocal chords (structural similarity = similar physiognomy? do women whom i resemble lean toward thyroid & mood imbalance, addictions, athletic & musical tendencies, mad magazines & monsters?)... it makes sense two throats similar in shape & size possibly also could emit similar singing voices, tho in phil's & james's cases, that voice is so unusual! the similarity just interests me, as if this truly were a case of "brothers from another mother," tho phil's old enough to be james's uncle...
- it has snowed & stuck here today, the hillside outside still gleaming faintly in the dark, & earlier flakes flitted & danced & swirled while the dogs played outside, their thick dark coats sugared icy white (brian brought them up; we had a nice lunch & he told me about the "old man motorcycle" he's built as well as that his former job wants him back, which doesn't surprise me bc brian is a well-liked genius). too bad it didn't snow yesterday when cattie ness & the revenge were here! they stayed for the weekend, another "band sleepover," as becky calls them; she outlined for fabi & i our upcoming trip to france in spring (to be tourists & to play @ the blue monday rockabilly festival in lyon). we played a lot of music, recorded by friendly drummer johnny. in a stupor of food & 2nd-hand band smoke, i sat rather than stood as we played & played & played, barely able to keep my eyes open most of the weekend!... this wkend we'll be pt of a rockabilly show at anaheim's doll hut (contact me, if interested), & friday i hope to see petunia & the vipers, the canadian band of whom fabi & james've spoken highly, along w/phil alvin & exene cervenka. but we'll see.
- today i'm thankful that friends having major life events are making good progress, it sounds like, but best news of all is that my sister was proposed to today by her preacher boyfriend, a rough-hewn, friendly bear of a man who works hard to help others & has never tried to proselytize my family, which i very much appreciate. anyone w/sense, which he has, would look @ my family & see, tho they are not specifically religious, they are moral, upstanding people of generous spirit, not in need of "saving." "i guess i have to be good now," mama said on the phone, but the joke is, she already is. personally, i know i could afford to gossip & swear less, to live more the way that my conscience knows that i should (to quote one of my favorite books, marcus aurelius' meditations, "if it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it"), so i'm happy for the potentially positive influence of this "christian man" in our family. plus, i just like the guy!
- my sister has been so much happier since meeting this man, which makes me so happy for her. little angie is kind, smart, talented, loyal, hard-working, & so many other things positive; she deserves a good fellow! i hope & wish she & her husband-to-be will enjoy the rests of their lives together as a team, through the good & the bad... for there always is bad along w/the good, as any sensible person knows. nunca te rindas!! the trick w/any relationship is to commit to growing together, as brian & i did for many yrs before we grew so much, we got too independent of one another & grew apart!... despite this, i am thankful today to have such warm feelings toward my ex-husband, who is quite a fine man. this might sound weird, but i hope he finds love again w/a woman worthy of him (& that anyone unworthy will be sunk in the kern river). of course, i hope, too, that when i am ready (i'm not) i will find love again w/a dependable someone w/whom i will commit & grow. this liminal life-stage i've been in for these past yrs can't last forever... can it? :)
- still, i gotta be happy w/what i have, which is a life more filled w/love & friendship than i've ever known. tomorrow, for instance, we'll celebrate the women's meeting here @ my home, & i can't wait to get my place all cleaned up & welcome my friends here to share valentines, food, drink, laughter, & hearts w/each other (boy, THAT didn't sound corny!). :)
- "love is an offspring of spiritual affinity," wrote kahlil gibran.
happy valentine's day to anybody who has read this far :) here's some more cool stuff to read, if you're interested: quotes from marcus aurelius love to all. :)

blablablablablablablabla

the blablabla never ends! how bout for you?
fat sparrows in tree! so cute! just got off phone w/a few ppl & while we spoke, i watched a black cat in the arroyo loll in the sun & survey the bushes as if he were king of the jungle. animals: heartening, fun, mysterious, & w/o the many problems that emanate from the "higher mind" of their homo sapiens brothers!
gotta get this place cleaned up & pack to head down the hill. the kern transit here runs to-from FP-bksfld, only $3.50 one way - a lot cheaper than driving! i'll walk about 1 mile down to the stop & board for this little adventure, which i've not taken for some months... yes, it's easy to glide into happy sloth, being semi-retired like i am these days... i try not to feel guilty, but instead be grateful. in this society, i believe these days i get to live a rather unusual existence: not working, living off savings, playing music, enjoying my life! i know, tho, i'm in this life-place because i've always been able to save my dough, thru gainful employment, long marriage to wealthy, hard-working husband which allowed me to further save my own monies, thrift taught us by our father, & lack of my own children... i so love kids, & at times have pangs of wishing my life were different, but then i remember how silly it is to "borrow trouble," as donna would tell me, suffering over what isn't, so i think i'll just enjoy this while it lasts & leave the guilt to someone who deserves to feel thusly, like the violent or liar or hater or greedy...
anyways, the elvis show was really fun, tho lower-key for me than usual because NO BLASTERS were there this yr! phil alvin's been recuperating (i hope). bill bateman showed up, tho, vulpine, grinning, grayed, just to hang out. when i looked at the lineup (over 40 acts!), to my slight dismay i saw the only folks who didn't show up were my friends james & manuel... i was looking fwd to seeing them both! oh well... introduced by art as "one of the best secrets in rock n roll" (!!!), we did a very "up" set as dusk devils, w/rockabilly-punk cutie (women swoon over him, tho he is happily married!... all i know is, sure doesn't hurt to have attractive ppl in a band!) AJ on doghouse bass & smiling stevo, looking like a baby fidel castro in hat & cigar, on drums... then we played a short set w/cutie-pie karling, in lovely black dress, & i REALLY enjoyed backing her. in fact, that's pt of the reason i felt less nervous this year, i think: playing w/more than just my act for some reason calmed me, & how nice it was to get such compliments afterward from people like skip edwards, russell scott, dave stuckey, ronnie mack... however, i was BLOWN AWAY that my "biggest fan" that eve was the amazing & gorgeous ruby friedman!, who ran up to me & announced herself to be that. ruby adores jerry lee lewis, so that might've been the appeal. she also told me, "you do your eyes like mine" (tho her eye makeup is more theda bara & glamorous than my smeared egyptian eyes), complimented my bangs repeatedly, & told me she'd been drinking (as are most ppl in that setting), so maybe she was being especially kind under the sweet sway of drink, but in any case, she was happy, droll, intelligent, & fun to gab with!... heck, beautiful ruby, amazing chanteuse of powerful pipes & passionate performance (she blew away "fever" & "hound dog" -- w/big mama lyrics, of course!), told me she wants to get together to play music, even!! art's eyes glimmered when i told him that & he smiled. "that's what i do," he said, yoking his hands. "i put ppl together." excellent, art, & thank you so much, if you're putting me together w/ppl like wonderful ruby! her passion onstage is nearly unbeatable, & her voice & star presence are unlike any female i can think of... i know many amazing frontwomen (candye, karling, becky), but ruby puts her whole body into the show; her soul blazes, palpable when she's onstage; she's like a "force of nature," i'd say, a whirlwind, a hurricane.
prone to hyperbole, i can write such a thing & know what i mean... :)
yes, to continue to gush, i'd say her voice is one of the best i've ever heard, & her compositions, tho they tend to make me plunge bc i'm overly-sensitive & that's why i stick to performing happy music, are complex & deep & very real... the eccentric talented supernovas i get to rub elbows w/ -- ruby & james, primarily -- remind me of a great quote from oscar wilde: "be yourself. everyone else is taken." ...
here's a pic bsp took before we post-show hit the road for bako. the ride over & back w/the paxtons & stevo was low-key, friendly, & fun -- what a thing for which to give thanks! :) the music is swirling, exciting, barnstorming drama enough; in the rest of life i'd prefer (tho i know it can't always happen) to have friendliness, gentleness, kindness, love, even tenderness... good day to you who may read this. :)

honoring the king as well as the king & queen of rocknroll music

every yr i'm so amazed art keeps asking us back to this fantastic show... this yr, i asked him if he had any requests. "well," he replied, "no one's ever done ready teddy. or long tall sally. or tutti frutti." his next email read, "and certainly not ever has anyone done them as a medley." my heart flipped & i took the hint. what a task!!: to not just honor the king of rocknroll, but to put on the mantle of the one & only mister penniman, self-proclaimed king AND queen of rocknroll!... i don't know how well we'll ape, but good heavens, we'll sure have our fun singing & playing those tunes!! in fact, everyone that night will have fun -- even if we fall off the stage, totally crash & burn, we'll be but a tiny grinning, swinging part & the show will go on & all will have fun! happy upcoming birthday to elvis, on the heels of baby new year...

fragmenticity, shifts in tense, sleepy can't-sleep ramblings

-can't sleep!
- going to nyc! among other things, for a meditation seminar... need to mellow out. so excited, tho!!! want to ice skate (haven't since 1x in child yrs), jog & explore central pk, walk & walk the upper east side & everyplace, see coney island, eat pizza. anything beyond just being there will be lagniappe. art said, "i'd never sleep if i lived there. i can definitely feel the pulse of the city..."
- lately - beautiful karling abbeygate & my friend manuel! palmer & leo were there, too, w/me therein reuniting the big manny christmas record crew... :) cool retro marina hotel. late night drives. denny's pancake puppies & peppermint shake! dusk devils music. scotty adds ideas to evil eye... yes, new songs! monster drinks. very cool gigs upcoming, more pending!! long mountain hikes with friends. i look out from the vista on which i stand & realize: the mountains are my backyard! wow! transitions, arguments, amends, lonely times, better times. good mtgs around here! visit from mom & dad... then hollywood w/art fein: john tottenham art exhibit; in the midst of it, surprise glimpse of beautiful erin, who's gracious enough to let me make amend to her, albeit brief (i'm sure i spooked her; i'm sure she didn't expect to see awful me there... but she looked happier when she left, less stressed, & i was so happy, too, to get that unexpected chance to try to make right a wrong); friendly paul body w/his roach-stomping, high-gloss cowboy boots; phil alvin... phil alvin! at the art opening, just like that, incongruously!... (why do i say "incongruously"? i don't really know the guy! just certainly didn't expect him there... nor he, me [us?], by his pleased gape.)
-just a bit more on phil, w/whom i've been obsessed for decades (tho i have had to admit in this past yr he'll possibly never be my future ex-husband): he stood there grinning at me -- at ME!! -- like bugs bunny or the heehaw donkey, rooster-chested, shoulders thrown back like the one bad stud, in a black thrift-store suit & white dress shirt w/wife-beater showing beneath... his hair was dyed, jeffersonianly, & his manner was dim, hip, regal, friendly. "hey, di-d-did i hear ya moved?" he asked me, jutting forward at me for a bit of emphasis, & then we all talked for a bit & i piqued him w/news of the mysterious museum of jurassic technology, a dang place never open when i'm down there... phil was there to hang out, to schmooze, but i got freaked out!, so went to "look at the art." can't be that crazy hot-to-trot for someone for so many yrs then stand & shoot the bull w/him. just can't. it was too much!!
- art had a little wine & was done, said it didn't make him drunk but just feel weird, tho also relaxed so that he "could talk." malcolm gladwell, accordion, relationships, living in paris (he has; i've just visited), some gossip about a musician-knothead everyone knows, & of course, music music music, lots of talk & it all & all was quite a cool & even amazing evening... headed to cabana club off sunset for stunning, wonderful ruby friedman orchestra, ruby leading her crescendoing songs w/these magnificent silent-era eyes & lips & arms that floated like butterflies. then she'd rock & shake like the child of joe cocker meets janis & it was the coolest thing i've seen ever in someone not a whacked-out rockabilly eccentric. she was so haunting, sincere, lovely, rock-opera intense - yet a giggling sort of friendly gentle hippie girl in repose, which made me like her even more.
good gravy, i need to go to bed...