candye kane, dusk devils tomorrow! (read below) + coolnesses #1-23

it's been so dang long since i wrote, i'm just gonna list:
1. we pulled up to the lamplighter in visalia & saw in the winders posters for our show! we swung open the doors & the kid at the desk said, "jenny! we finally meet!" everyone was smiling. we felt like royalty!
2. everybody got his or her own room!! in mine, two beds, sliding glass doors, microwave, fridge, wifi...
3. philbert & i walked around downtown visalia & ate at a diner. the waiter comped us french toast!
4. phil offered to unload all my stuff, so i had time to foofoo up w/o worrying. this was a big deal!
5. i descended the hotel stairs in the cool spring eve feeling like touch of evil - teetered over to the gig & there was brian, covered w/road dirt & grinning. he'd ridden over on his motorcycle from the run he was at!
6. phil & i winged some songs w/jd from motel drive during sound check... stomping fun!
7. john bruce, all draped out, introduced us & we crashed on in. everything i said, the audience laughed! i love that. brett got our sound dialed in quickly... i could really hear myself, which means i was able to sing just fine. as sick as i've been, my voice & energy cooperated surprisingly well!
8. there was so much energy in the rm! during whole lotta shakin, i swear i could hear people roaring & cheering while we played. it was wild!!!
9. after, all these young folks were heaping on the compliments. we walked around & jawed w/lots of folks, including becky's new drummer & his girlfriend: what nice people!
10. motel drive was fun! my band watched from outside, hanging on the wall like the little rascals.
12. we went joyriding w/mark & geanna for a while... came back as becky was going on. those guys are tight & high-energy these days!! fun to watch...
13. back at the rm, i ate the comp french toast & surfed the net. phil told me the next a.m. he buzzed off the pillow all night, didn't sleep a wink! we had a quick bite & he got me back to the oildale mtg by 930 am. cool!
14. the next saturday me & phil rode out to famoso & waited in the dust at the coolest abandoned diner... agreed it'd be a swell place to snap band pix! phil was decked out - spectator creepers, vintage pineapple shirt, black slacks... that guy can really style!
15. the others showed & we caravanned out to relay for life at the high school. people were sooo nice, but the sound from the stage was nonexistent! as sick as i've been, i thought w/doom, if the 2nd gig's like this, i'm gonna be dead. i was singing really hard, tho i knew i shouldn't, just to feel my own voice & gauge my pitch! w/no monitors, the others had to watch my lips the whole show to know where we were..
16. highlights: a southwestern granny w/beautiful gray hair & red lipstick/shirt bopped away gently in her seat, on her face such a look of happiness & longing, my heart melted; a chubby, darling, bespectacled little girl just stood there, head cocked like a puppy, smiling up at me...
17. they whipped us up delicious carne asada tacos & sodas for the rd. yum!!!! i think i ended up eating most of them...
18. we sped back to bako to the johnny burnette trio & started hauling stuff down the sandrini's stairs for the pub crawl gig.
19. where's all the people? i asked mark, & he replied, oh, they'll be here. boom! suddenly the rm was PACKED elbow to elbow w/all these young people in blue shirts - all roaring drunk!!! the underground cave-rm was a cacaphony of screaming, whooping, yelling, guzzling, happy little borrachos!
20. we began & everyone started jumping up & down like mad, writhing, wriggling, pointing, howling, jumping on the stage... kids were even dancing on the tables!! at the end of each song, they would scream at the tops of their lungs & snap a million pictures, wild w/alcohol happiness... who'd've thought it'd've been so wonderful to play for a packed rm of young inebriates? they looked so happy... i wish i could get some of those pix...
21. the promoter slapped the dough on mark's amp & charged out like the pied piper, the screaming blue shirts in tow... just like that, everyone was gone to the next pub & we suddenly could hear how ear-bleedingly loud we were! the bodies had been soaking up the noise all along...
22. we packed up & took phil's friends to jake's tex-mex. they ate like birds & we had jake's cake, which is so tasty, it seems indecent.
23. i don't guess there's been any more gigs since last wkend... we have had to turn down a few, in fact, due to phil's boy scout commitments! i say that's a great reason to miss out, tho... but stay tuned for tomorrow night: we open for candye kane at the doubletree... whoo-hoo! come on down! (read below)

CandyeKane-DuskDevils Fri in Bakersfield!!!

here's the flyer. come early cause we might start at 6:45!! don't miss candye!! don't miss us!!! they're doing a deal where you can get a ticket OR a meal, so call world records to get the scoop. ... the photos below of the lamplighter show ALMOST make that writing muse stir (she's been hiding under a rock, i think)... boy, that was sure a fun event!! the blurriness & tone on the smaller one remind me for some reason of a j.s. sargent exhibit i once saw in d.c.... i think pt of the block is at all recent shows from dex romweber to lamplighter to last wkend's two-fer, people've taken pix & videos & said they'd send 'em, but i haven't seen a one!! so it all feels kinda inconclusive (like seeing a photo of oneself brings wholeness? but don't they steal the soul?) ok, well maybe after friday's show, the muse'll blink alive & jump. we'll just see...

uh-huh-uh-huh-uh-huh-uh-huh...

(sound of panting, sound of jogging, sound of too too busy, sound of exhalted king lux huffing a microphone...)
today i got the best possible health news from my biopsy results & then zoom!!! everything took off like a rocket!! anyways, i guess i'll catch up w/last wk later - no time now! a friend said now should be a time of celebration of good health, but i just gotta get this done & get some shut-eye!!
tomorrow: 5k at csub, registration 7-8, race (shudder) 8 am, $10 plus can of food, pancake breakfast after, whoopee!! details here or here: www.andynoise.com or www.bakersfieldtrackclub.com
the rest i'll paste from myspace. please come out & see us, if'n you can & wanna!!! :) :)
-> 4/25/2009 2:30 PM - Dusk Devils, Relay for Life Wasco/Shafter
Wasco High Football Field Wasco, California 93280
Cost:? Description:Wasco High School Football Field (corner of Palm Ave. & 5th Street). We’ll do a mini set at 2:30 pm. You can catch us later that day in Bakersfield, 4 pm (read up).
-> 4/25/2009 4:00 PM - Dusk Devils at Sandrini’s, Downtown Pub Crawl
20th/Eye Streets Bakersfield, California 93301
Cost:? Description:We’re on as part of the Downtown Pub Crawl... Come on down, all the way down, to the basement pub called Sandrini’s, and whup it up with us. :)

tomorrow is the Big Day

i go to the rx for maybe the most important medical announcement for me ever. maybe. but heck - who knows - a person can only get OLDER!!!! anyways, throw some salt over your shoulder for me. since last monday, i've completely changed my diet, am mostly off caffeine (gott in himmel!!!), & am taking herbal remedies. only the great pumpkin, or blessed virgin, or fate, or the winds, or the doorknob know what's next.
haven't even written about the wonderful wkend that was last. or the wonderful person i spoke w/today, the latest angel in my life... so after tomorrow, i will write more. or go off the deep end!!!!! maybe this is goodbye!!!
we play saturday at wasco relay for life, 3 pm, location here: www.duskdevils.blogspot.com
ohhhhh, rockin' in the graveyard
ohhhhh, rockin' in the cemetery... (whistling in the dark; i ain't scared; tweet tweet tweet)

grazie per l'amicizia

the happy easter wk in pared-down prose

->I-5. buds: blue, gold, white, violaceous. paleta, rompope with raisin. santa cruz: pure sky, boardwalk, rides, shrieks, thrills, sweet fried smells, mechanical laughing sal. bathhouse soak, meeting, maralise, woody, tostada, sleep. san francisco: rainy sutro baths, cliff house, bratwurst & sweet mustard at tommy’s joint, bargain hotel on lombard, coit tower, exhaustion, tv, nap, tv, walk the castro, pecan & ginger cookies, sleep. run in cow hollow/marina, best breakfast on lombard at home plate w/scones, homemade jam, fresh eggs; mission, valencia, haight st, ok crepe, outer richmond, twin peaks, nap, hiking yoga!
->deserving its own graph: met very tall & super-fit owner eric kipp at ferry bldg & we took off, hoofing it from the embarcadero to coit tower via steep, verdant staircases w/yoga stops in between; the only student for this particular class, i felt like i had a personal trainer for 75 mins! it was exhilarating, oxygenating, thrilling, allowing a person to see unusual, beautiful pts of the city, amazing vistas, to hike like mad, to learn better hiking & yoga form. highly recommended: www.hikingyoga.com
->brian wasn’t yet ready to pick me up, so hiked wearily, legs trembling, back UP to north beach, wandered to stay warm, got a slice of the most delicious hawaiian pizza, stood at a corner near café trieste bleary w/fatigue, just gazing at the city & munching pizza, lovely; crashed & slept like a happy corpse.
-> rain, rain, great breakfast at joe’s java house at pier 30 (swing music; swell, nostalgic open setting; free parking; million$ vw of bay; cheap grub), frustrated in berkeley trying to find amtrak, hostel; b goes home to bako. am a bit sad, but he wants to get back to the barn, as b does, & we have had a very happy trip already.
-> walking, walking, walking university ave, i admire a thrift shop proprietor’s purple eye makeup & she replies, “ooh, you, too, honey. You got that SWOOP goin’ on!” walk to shattuck, then telegraph, find amoeba where will listen to music, walk past people’s pk where someone strolls by loudly selling acid, nearly cliché in that setting. get $1 milk tea, pink gloves against the cold; at hostel, make bed using all the sheets & comforters (private rm), crash. soon enough, time to walk to amoeba for the music show...
-> dex romweber duo at amoeba: amazing!!! am so happy to be there!!! dex looks little like his professional photos, short/stocky & all head, a born performer that way, w/suffering trout maw & thick swoop of graying hair, compelling, mournful, dignified, wild, shredding away at an acoustic guitar like a love-mad elmer gantry, a house on fire, these beautiful intense songs about romance gone wrong & longing & death. he is “roy orbison mixed with jello biafra,” switching from rich, passionate baritone to rockabilly animal snarl in the same breath, his sister sara playing a cajon drum box, & w/just that & his romantic vox & wild guitar, they swell up that room: you can feel it on the back of your neck, like love or murder or ocean or soaring.
-> immediately after, sara jumps up from the cajon & looks right at me: “you wanna see it?” she asks, meaning the drum box. “YES!!!” i enthuse, & jump on the stage. this cajon is made in sta barbara & basically is an amplified wooden box containing metal strings so that when you hit the face, the strings vibrate, creating a snare sound. a center o-hole, when struck (w/hand or reversed foot pedal) activates the kick. sara is so cute (looks exactly like her photos, a skinny tomboy rockstar chick) & way nicer & more down-to-earth than she needs to be. i turn & dex is waiting there, & when i look into his sea-hued eyes, he is far away; they are the wild distant eyes of the passionate music-mad man, steeped in it; he partially is not there anymore because the show is over. his speaking voice is so-lovely southern gentlemanly; they are both kind & sign my cd & i’m high as a kite for quite a while, riding the music roller coaster.
-> dinner at angeline’s new orleans café: salad w/walnuts, cup of gumbo, chicory coffee. huge nighttime fun walking the berkeley streets & visiting ½ price books, so romantic, so alive… the hostel, on frat row, is noisy all night long w/young partiers.
-> get all clean & showered up, pack up, lovely breakfast at crepes-a-go-go, walk walk walk to kill time, bart to richmond because was told that would be all-train, no bus, get on amtrak, THEY WON’T TAKE MY TEXAS VOUCHER!!! pay for ticket ($45), settle in for long long long ride home.
-> pouring rain in bako! friendly smiling b, cody, doggies pick me up; ice milk at dewar’s; get in pajamas & crash while they watch bolt. man, what a great trip it was, & i’m so glad to be home, warm & safe.
-> next a.m. is a blur. somehow i dress for the show, make set lists. mark & phil arrive & do those guys look handsome! smiling, joking, dressed up, great to see them. we caravan to kern river belle/inn, right over the oildale bridge, unloading 400000 lbs of gear, rick arrives w/his gal patty. the dark, tiny place has food & friendly waitress/cook; the crowd is all-biker. we start to play & a tall man comes up w/a ladder to switch on the stage lights. “i paid for em, we’re gonna use em,” he laughs. it’s bob, owner of the joint these past 6 mos. bob sets the tone; it’s a wonderful gig! the burly bikers come & go all afternoon & many stay, drinking, cheering, laughing: the vibe is so positive & happy & upbeat! b & c drop in for one set, along w/olen; it’s great to see them all! one fellow in leathers, tim, stays all day. he is very much a gentleman in expressing his enthusiasms for the band & i; what a nice thing! 3 chord whore darcy’s mom penny shows up; she loves prof longhair! i love penny! we talk a little music. tammy & byron show up, visiting from the bay area!! tammy requests some tunes… they are the cutest hippie-punk couple i know, great folks! bob & jackie want to hire us back for a full wkend. we make a bunch of friends, the kind you’d definitely want to watch your back if things got hairy. patty & others say we're “f***king awesome.”
-> in no way could some fancy hollywood show’ve been as cool unless the people were that warm & friendly & enthusiastic. the audience made all the difference. wow!
-> consider supporting the kern river inn (address below on flyer) & venues like it, the ones that support live local bands & actually pay them… am so sick of these places that only support tv sets blaring sports & karaoke djs & nothing for the bands. i mean, how does a dj’s effort & ability compare to a musician’s? it just flat does not. paying a dj more than a live musician, who practices, works, toils, labors, struggles to create & produce & manifest soul for others’ enjoyment & even transcendence – well, it’s immoral!!!!! yes, clubs/bars are businesses, which only recalls for me the slogan painted at the people’s park: “down with corporate capitalism.”
-> we loaded out, caravanned to various houses to drop off gear, dined at dave's bbq ... too worn out to eat, i just enjoyed the cajun/rockin' blues soundtrack that makes me love going to that place. home, we watched ram mass: fierce grace & then i collapsed into sleep. happy easter, felice pascua to anyone still reading.

dusk devils sat april 11

tell your friends, tell your enemies, thanks you for spreading the word. :) gracias to robert tidwell for setting us up for this one.

well, i've had my fun, but i ain't gonna get well no more

(little walter)... he meant dope. i, unfortunately, mean my physical health. i hate the little voice in the back of my head that whispers to me that the little walter method WOULD work & i WOULD feel better... stupid little voice.
resorted to a z-pack today. hope that'll be the ticket. that & aroma spa from dr bonnet (661-325-NECK) & some practice time w/the hilarious monsieur phil & maybe just a few more good things on this anniversary day & i can finally start getting healthy again... *sigh.*

dusk devils shwag

apparently, bassman mark has been busy... click here to see: http://www.cafepress.com/duskdevils (my favorites are the ornament & dog stuff) :) thank you, mark!

ant invasion; blablablablabla; alotta hopes

- the mysterious max lingo posted a vid from sat night: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lajvnGZLMTA ... would imbed it here, but my voice is just a little too laryngitic in the clip for me to feel secure about the singing!!!
- ... many kids at school have commented they saw me on tv, youtube... promoters must've done some publicity on that sat show. too bad i was too sick to see any of it!!!
- saturday's was an immense stage. it was ant music for ant people, bad music for bad people, blablablablablablabla... andale: went to book fair today; lost & found cell phone (curse that infernal thing); was brimstone-breathing dragon teacher due to being sick (poor kids, the uncooperative heathens); went to rx; sent song to whiteboy james that i wrote him (he has commented a few times how much he likes my song "bride of frankenstein"!). brian had wonderful retirement party; was so happy for him, to hear that so many others know him as a man of character & heart. hope he'll transition smoothly into retirementhood; he sure has enough interests, between the hard sciences, engineering, numbers, motorcycles, fellowship, reading, invention, & ceramics/stained glass...
- am headed soon to kickboxing & hope it'll remedy my weird stomach ache & bring improved health somehow (found out i have viral bronchitis)... this wkend's the drunk convention (fri-sun @ doubletree); hope am well enough to do the 5k sat am. then it's off for a northern trip to commemorate 11 yr anniversary & visit woodrow. senyor mark will watch the baby boys & satanic cat here; muchas gracias, amigo.
- rereading, i see many hopes. what is life w/o them? tho mine are not always positive, hope usually no longer feels desperate: it's a marker of love, life, possibility...
- that's it; hope all yall be happy & prosperous, however you may define those thingies...

still not pushing up daisies

- spring fest: beautiful weather; great crew & staff; nice dressing room; humungous stage!! (note photos above - we all look like ants, tho brian got a great close-up of the men.) totally blinding spotlight!! i could see dear mom & dad & ramirezes out there, not really much else... on the periphery, some figures dancing, kids running around, stacy from rabobank singing along!... mark was really sick. phil kicked butt!!! rick was solid. i made it thru the set w/some voice still left, but it was raspier & more painful the longer we went. drank too many energy drinks to make it thru; made it home & buzzed buzzed buzzed like a bumblebee for hrs.
- the nicest moment was during sound check. we finished, & i heard a child's voice: "mrs b!" it was one of my favorite library students. her eyes were lit up & she was grinning ear to ear. "i didn't know you were a singer," she said sweetly. i swear those eyes were full of love. that's how kids are. :) i know i love them, anyhow.
- after the show, a young teacher i know brought his little girls up & they hugged me. before the show, david & yolanda brought their grandkids to the dressing rm. i am so fortunate.
- and today, i only kind of feel like i have the plague. there is hope!!!!
- we have many shows coming up. maybe at one, we'll all be well. :) wouldn't that be something???? all shows are listed at www.myspace.com/theduskdevils ... a most blessed & beautiful day to any who might read this...

let's get out of here, now, with a little bit of this stuff here

(mark made this flyer)... re title: name that EP; it's the best EP ever pressed, ever... show starts 530, we're on at 830. been so sick, can't waste one iota of mojo... let's rock; everybody, let's rock...

sickness

rip, dear reba. what a kind, responsible, cheerful lady. good thoughts to her memory, & to leon. memorial is sun 2 pm at the club. many will speak about her, remember her fondly. am glad to have known her even a little; her happy face will be missed. hope she rests comfortably, wherever she may be now.
struck down by illness yesterday afternoon (the library job is a killer - so many germy books), am home today seriously sick, pain pain in throat, ears, ohhhhh... we have a show tomorrow. the show must go on, tho i might be dead afterward. wish me luck, if you read this, or to break a leg. i wish it to you, no matter what your wkend looks like, good times, life, seize the day, for as the dead remind us: eram quod es, eris quod sum
yowch. i just swallowed. to quote bill cosby, "ice creammmm...."

dusk devils on art fein's poker party (r.i.p. for now)

art posted my least-favorite of my songs, which i wrote thinking of my friend becky, the haughtily-glamorous cattie ness. it's my least favorite, i think, because i'm not haughty!! but on becky, the quality's very alluring. :) i think it'd be fun to be haughty, maybe... the best part of the vid is art's little whoop at the end. it's great to play when he's there bc of his enthusiastic response, like a little kid. :) please watch & rate & thanks.

duskdevils saturday march 28, 8:30 pm, free outdoor show, bring la familia!, plus blablabla

mark made this:
it is amazingly lovely here in bako right now... am not even jealous of art fein for being at sxsw & i'm not!! :) he called a few days ago to say wish you were here or maybe thumb his nose, so i called him back "on behalf of the working class of america" to announce that SOME of us schlubs have to WORK!!!! (look for full AF sxsw report on www.sofein.com) (my tx cousin was here, lessening the injury: her bawdy joy really makes anyplace feel fun as austin, tho certainly in a more quotidian way...) actually, things worked out best w/ddevils NOT going to sxsw, since we all have had family or other issues, & family always will trump band, to sound decidedly unrocknrollish... this wkend dear friends F&B are here, & last night we supped at mama roomba's, & today visited the once-but-no-longer-secret hot springs in the canyon & i hiked around & climbed up rocks & sang w/the birds & the wildflowers (how could a person not?), then we grubbed at the dam corner (well, they had salads; i grubbed) & man, you should hear the avian symphony going on up here in this 2nd-floor aerie right now.
must be 1st-day-of-spring syndrome: beauty is everyplace, & i don't know where i'm going, but at this sec, it's to the shower, & later i hear we'll have pistachio ice cream or maybe the elvis sundae at moo creamery (ice cream, bacon, marshmallow, banana, peanut butter). (ahh... PB... god bless george washington carver...) not much could be better, not at this second, & may this day bring you, too, kicks & grins a-plenty.

now i know why phil's always so tired when he comes to practice from work...

phil hickerson old-school wrestling clip
three things about this clip make me happy:
1. this phil hickerson was a heel from memphis, as was sputnik monroe, integrationist & hero
2. the video setting much resembles that in a scene from my most favorite movie so far this yr, "the wrestler," & w/o the stomach-churning gore
3. the guy dressed as elvis (naturally)
- read below about our upcoming shows, as well as at duskdevils on myspace (i finally got all the dates & times straight)

dusk devils upcoming shows!!!!! (others at www.myspace.com/theduskdevils)

pinetop, yancey, & pete, meade lux, ammons reborn

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this is my new song about something i have sometimes imagined late @ night while sitting in the music rm. finished it at 3 am, then being a dork (& whacked-out tired), immediately emailed it to some of the world's greatest roots-american music musicians before relistening & realizing one piano solo was off. this is the fixed version, the best i could do! one cool thing i figured out was to split the one analog track into 2, then put a 0.001 lag on one side, which gave it a(n) (i think) neat echo! i hope you like it.

a near-perfect g-rated day: dulce est desipere in loco

coffee, ezekiel toast w/pb for breakfast. took love wagon up granite rd, b driving, stepson cody shotgun, dogs wrapped around me in back, listening to NPR. purple, yellow, pink, pale blue, white wildflowers everywhere, shimmering, magical, verdant hills, sheep, goats, steer, cows, deer, scrub oak, dramatic sky, clean air. stopped at oakgrove cemetery near glennville, a lonely & lovely spirit place. the thin dark headstone of margaret, "my beloved wife," sighed under a spidery tree. baby benton's tiny headstone sat way off, all alone. i had a vision moment w/sunlight & windchime in tree, & i'm suspicious of such things, but it happened... on the rd again, a red tailed hawk flew down, then floated, brilliant!, right in front of the love wagon before soaring off... roadside chile verde monster burrito near ducor, home along porterville hwy, headed up bluffs to mom & dad's. mom & dad smiled, aunty rita had her hair done & her red lipstick on, smiling, uncle henry was there for the 1st time in wks, frail as a baby but w/white teeth flashing. i don't remember my little uncle being so handsome. his breath is just a whisper, but his spirits high. so much laughing, & of course, tons of food, from enchiladas to (more) chile verde. i took a run down panorama toward union until b & c picked me up, then at home, we watched the gorgeous LA apocalypse movie "miracle mile," god, i so love that film, then cleaned up & headed to speaker mtg where got to hear handsome old burt read "ch 3" in his sonorous tones, which in a flash i realized are positively johnny cash-like; i could die listening to his voice... then my old friend dan spoke & tho i've known him 13 yrs & see him wkly at our home mtg, i've never heard his story; he was so charming, so sincere, so real tonight. i'm so proud & grateful to know people like him.
now it's time to go mix some music tracks, then head to sleep, & tomorrow, no work! tho i love my library kids more & more, a day off's a wonderful thing. :)

he was a boogie-woogie boogy boogy man

-> some say words alone mean little: divorced from sound, emanating from higher brain, they're less "real," spontaneous, more studied, more potentially ironic... i don't care! i lean toward primitivism, too, like only the fortunate do when such a bent is not intrinsic, but to the devil w/what inhibits fun! plus i like my little story here & hope you do, too. :) wrote it mon night, played on it yesterday (but gita's bd song & extreme squirreliness were higher list), recorded it tonight, hope to mix it tomorrow. my stupid right hand is a real bummer... yet i have such piano-playing fun!!! :) :) :) if i have your email address, i likely might spam the "music" to you once done... cheap, fast, sizzling, salty, sweet spam... (insert homer simpson drool)

BOOGIE-WOOGIE BOOGY BOOGY MAN
i was just sitting on a night all too same
outside an owl kept on calling my name
i could tell that it was getting real late
i finally whispered, mr. owl, why frustrate?
i was just sitting watching the shadows creep
the way they move real slow when the hour's deep
the black of night-time parted, i stood and said
who goes there, spirit, and are you alive or dead?
IT WAS A BOOGIE-WOOGIE BOOGY BOOGY MAN (2x)
(pete johnson-style piano solo)
he warmed up with the fives, of course in "c"
the shades began to swirl as he bewitched the keys
i saw the specters smile as he went round the horn
pinetop, yancey, and pete, meade lux, ammons reborn
HE WAS A BOOGIE-WOOGIE BOOGY BOOGY MAN (2x)
(ammons-lewis style piano)
he rocked and rolled those ivories til dawn was near
the room transformed into a juke joint without peer
8 to the bar, hop, jump, stride, shuffle he did play
the morning shade flew up, he vanished in the day
HE WAS A BOOGIE-WOOGIE BOOGY BOOGY MAN (2x)
(closing piano)

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggghhhhh!!!!!

am trying to post a max fleischer-style youtube library vid to my library school wiki & IT WON'T WORK!!!!!!!!! anyways, whatta wkend. the show, what fun, vince rocked, philbert rocked, we rocked, 3 chord whore rocked, rock rock rock everybody, lotsa friends, cool!! then jani & i went to the coast & her dang vw window broke! so our host bob rode us to a body shop to get it fixed & we bummed around town, jawed & laughed, got the car back, she spoke & did a swell swell job @ one of those seaside mtgs where folks just don't seem too happy in general; maybe it's the beach thing, trying to "find oneself" & just getting more lost in the process, anyhow, our host wasn't that way, a swell & helpful fellow...we got late-night pizza then i hunkered down on the couch, all swaddled up like a papoose in our little b&b & watched directtv til i hit some button & messed it all up, then the next am jani was SICK AS A DOG all of a sudden!! so i went for a run, waiting for her to pull herself out of bed, went down to the beach, poked in the tidepools, said a prayer for uncle henry the sailor, headed back toward land & saw a bunch of deer gentle & beautiful as angels, took the last 1/4 mile straight DOWNHILL, legs flying, boy, was that fun! finally jani was well enough to get in the car (we concluded she might've had a little food poisoning), so we drove back to bako, then it was time for my sponsor's party & what a lovely corny happy event that was, w/food & singing & dancing & SHE gave US presents, tho it was HER birthday!! i sang frankie lymon, ruth brown, shirley & lee, then delphi & i did joan jett, then we kissed everyone goodbye & headed home.
we dusk devils have a bunch of shows coming up, but for now, i'll leave it at that & try to calm down a little to go watch the simpsons. es todo. espero. calmame, por favor... we'll see...

wardrobe!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 it was a rockin good time tonight!!! this is a pic from beans & gravey sherry that makes the best of things; what a good snapper she is! :) will write more later... thank you, bands & friends & loved ones, for going to last night's show!!!!
about to hit the rd w/jani to the coast, where she's speaking. happpy happpppy happppppppy to anyone reading this! :)

dusk devils this friday night, BORN BAD w/3 chord whore, grizzly owls, vince galindo

thank you for spreading the word about this show!
ps - on esnips (link at right), ex-girlfriends, the phantoms, & the appendages = me.

achievements monumental & mundane

just finished the BTC 1/2 marathon, but came home in a blue mood (not cause of the race). then an acquaintance told me father damien is going to become a saint, & i feel better... have always had such an uncanny feeling for father damien, the way a person's inexplicably drawn to, compelled by, certain things, magnetically, often. in his before pic, as a new priest, he looks like our young dad, or young frederic march; in the last, he is a weary monster, gnarled & beautiful.
here is the article: father damien to be sainted ... if anyone deserves to be a saint, tis damien, who truly was the hands & feet of god.
if you wanna learn more, go to the link @ right or get the movie "molokai'i." i drew a cartoon about my experiences going to kalaupapa; it is here: glumglum cartoon... if you're easily offended, don't read the other cartoons... the race: stormin' ed sailed by & finished in 1:40 or so. kent, who said he's "an old clydesdale," slowly & steadily ran THE ENTIRE WAY. i was feeling pretty strong, tho of course got dopey after about 8 miles, but had a plan that at mile 12, i'd speed up & try to come in faster. the instant i did, I GOT CALF CRAMPS BAD!!! it was just awful, since i wasn't even really tired, but i had to slow way down... shoulda had a banana w/breakfast, not just pb&j!! soon, the clydesdale came clopping by, smiling encouragingly. at the finish line, there was beautiful julie p & her girls, cheering me on, & i was nearly hobbling! every time i'd pick my legs to go a bit faster, AAAAH! but all in all, it was a great event. i am so grateful for this life & the friends i get to have now, each so unique & precious; animus facit nobilem...

bragging?

just found out i came in 5th in my age group in last wk's valentine's day 5k!! woohoo!! i started about 2 mins after the race did, so am amazed! it was a real event, too, w/lots of people! am happily puzzled to know i can accomplish such things, even w/my very non-competitive athletic mindframe. (what chomsky said about spectator sports made a lot of sense...)
a teacher at school who looks kinda like john bazz said he used to run competitively & could do a mile in 4:20 in his youth. amazing!! am hoping i'll merely finish tomorrow's 1/2 marathon. think i pulled something in my hip, but am not thinking about it... you can get info here: www.bakersfieldtrackclub.com
and thanks to andy noise (the photo-taking "wogger") for his encouragement! here's his site: www.andynoise.com
gonna go eat some pasta now, then turn in early (i hope). please, squirrel mind, cooperate...

music salves the soul, long live rocknroll, a buncha links but no sausage

-> haven't been able to focus on hw due to familial worries (brain feels splayed) ... so found a bunch of great cramps interviews last night instead. you can see the ones i liked best here: http://www.youtube.com/user/duskdevils (also posted my library school "boy named sue" video there, so thx for watching it, if you do...)
-> immersion in real rocknroll got the pretty little demon hopping, so this morn (president's day) i recorded a song from a month back, one i think is really fun, my version of the coasters. would like to come up w/some kind of tribute to the cramps, but such things can't be forced, plus how to envision a cramps-like song w/o envisioning the inimitable lux howling it?? i guess it'll happen if it's meant to.
-> here's a link to that recording, "evil eye": jenny & the phantoms music: hope you enjoy it.
-> lastly, thru it all, b & i went out this dusk under the most cold & gorgeous watercolored storm skies to the bbq joint & had the greatest dinner... here are the eateries in bako i think have the best piped music: 1) mama roomba's; 2) dave's; 3) prime cut (tho the other night they followed beau jocque w/the eagles & it was truly a wtfuuuuudge moment...)

dusk devils rock&roll pizza & catalina 5k slide show

happy valentine's day to all, whether you have a sweetie, sweeties, or are your own sweetie... if romance be not your momentary fix, recall the many forms of love! (oof; that sounds preachy; but it's something i never used to consider... "MORE than romantic love? what??") school will be crazy & fun tomorrow. :) i love my library kids. :)

just looked up love quotes. here are my faves: "every time we love, every time we give, it's christmas. - dale evans." "you call it madness, but i call it love. - don byas." "the heart has its reasons which reason knows not of. -pascal." "love life and life will love you back. -rubenstein." "There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved. -george sand." "there is no remedy for love but to love more. - thoreau." "i love people. i love my family, my children . . . but inside myself is a place where i live all alone and that's where you renew your springs that never dry up. -pearl s. buck." "this is my beloved and this is my friend. - song of solomon." "love all, trust a few. - shakespeare." "when you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love. -marcus aurelius."

prayers for uncle henry; thinkinbout lincoln & the one who wore black for the poor & beaten-down...

-> our uncle henry just went in the heart hospital a few hrs ago, so i am dropping off the dog boys to head over & wait w/mama while aunty rita holds his hand & no doubt keeps him laughing while he waits for the doc. why am i writing this? well, i hope you know someone like uncle henry. and i'm likely stalling... uncle henry has always been 120 lb dripping wet; i am an amazon compared to him. he's been pickled to the gills since before he grew a whisker; he's smart as a whip, smarter w/every belt he takes, w/a memory that matches mama's (but mom doesn't partake of the vine), a fortitude that's always caused me both admiration & envy. he & his wife, aunty rita, weave wild blue tales so creatively, rapidly, & w/such profane pleasure, they'd make redd foxx blush. small & brown, aging, jack spratt & his wife, they draw crowds w/their ribald & wild repartee. they are just plain fun, tho sometimes terrifying fun, like drinking fun can be: the rita & henry show can make a person want to hide at times. for the most part, tho, they are ambassadors for the human race, which is how i read people like them aptly described in a NYer one time. i guess bubba - president clinton, every married woman's "freeby," as our cousin, aunty rita's daughter, described him - is the same. such folks make a person feel happier to be alive, wilder, more mythical, more included, braver, more pleasured to just draw breath. you can tell them dang, i stepped in dog crap, i ruined my new shoes, & w/in minutes they'll have spun that sucker into a gut-splitting epic that from then on is forever & always family lore... & you don't feel embarrassed: you feel like paul bunyan, like annie oakley, like zeus. :)
-> uncle henry was on a nuke sub for 30 yrs. then he worked as a shut-down operator for power plants for 20 yrs. the devil knows what he's got glowing & growing in his system. i just know his fierce life force has carried him much farther than such a seemingly-fragile frame would seem to be able to endure...
-> on another note, i did my library school HW today, a podcast about mr lincoln & video of "a boy named sue". if johnny cash & president lincoln aren't your true-blue heroes, well, i don't think you'd be here reading this, actually, so here is a link: http://ynnej.pbwiki.com (look on the right side for titles... both were created for mid-school kids w/hope to inspire them...)
-> please say a prayer or send a kind thought to our uncle henry. he deserves the goodwill of the universe, as do all such leaders & inspirers...

whoo-hoo!! we got the moon (support your local female one-man band)

-> http://www.esnips.com/web/jenny-angel-dusk-devils-ex-girlfriends-music/ - go to the song "we got the moon," which i was able to record w/drums in proper time bc i moved them over so my headphones actually would reach from the drum set to my little tascam ... meanwhile am listening to richard berry - haven't heard this cut in a long while!!! this - i believe - smash LP was one of my best scores ever: i traded a reissue buddy holly double LP for original vinyls of RB & JIMMY REED on veejay! in VG+++ condition, both! my only better trade was when i traded chris goodsell the blasters on rollin' rock (which i then got them to sign) for some vintage shirts for the gal who later became his wife. so we both got a good deal, i think...
here's a few pic from last night's show. :)

whirlwind of love, my darling, whirlwind of love, my dear (charlie rich)

what a busy busy few days. have felt continually grateful in general, tho when under-rested, like right now, the enemy between my ears tries to attack, so will write a bit & not allow it any space… the wk @ work was amazingly busy!!! arrgghh!! :tho all in service to the kids, so all bearable… fri i left a bit early (as opposed to always late) bc my kind boss said he owed me some time, picked up my dear bud jani, & we drove thru biblical downpour to long beach, she chatting amiably away so i wouldn’t be scared by the deluge, cause she’s that kind of dear friend. nighttime across the channel via catalina express was dark & fun & we pretended we were on a train so we wouldn’t be scared & had a quick friend in lovely jennifer from sta cruz, who also was going over to the island to do the buffalo run… when we got off the boat, it was pouring still, but balmy, magical, the village’s windy streets lit up w/ moonglow & rain dollops. we decided to hoof our bags to the rm rather than wait in the taxi queue, & the walk was enchanting! i kept exclaiming, “this is like disneyland!!” which is a place i never go, but our nighttime raintime avalon trek felt like maybe the magic kingdom does to those who love it so… the streets were empty & lovely & our rm was beautiful & we returned to the night to walk & had coffee & little tacos w/pico de gallo at an outside table as music echoed from the bars & the rain drizzled off the eaves… back at the rm the bed was huge & we had 6 pillows & many extra blankets, so my friend who’s always warm could leave the windows open & i who am always cold wrapped up like a mummy & slept soundly. the next morn the view of village & ocean & billowing clouds stunned us; we ate steel-cut oats @ a hawaiian-themed joint & marveled at how clean & lovely & nostalgic & also vacant everything seemed. mexican locals zipped around on carts (few autos on the island) & we registered & i snapped photos of all the dazzling tile. we watched the ½ marathoners take off, old young fat slim brown white yellow but all grinning & all getting soaked from the continuing rain, then it was our turn. the 1st half of the course was uphill & very rainy & i had a good strong feeling of fuel in the muscles, made it all the way to the top, amazed as i passed many folks tho i was not at a racing pace, but on the way down the puddles were deep & i was slowed as my laces came undone EIGHT TIMES, even after i started double-tieing them, & i was glad for the finish line because in the last ½ mile or so, i could feel that my oats were not fully digested. yet there’s little better feeling than after a run, & i waited w/exhilaration for jani to return. she showed up w/a new friend, mary; they’d walked together, & mary, a school nurse, had encouraged jani to finish! that was just one more lovely thing that happened… we got cleaned up, checked out, & were strolling & window-shopping when they began to announce the medals. as i listened, i noticed many of the medal-winners’ times were slower than mine… they called my name! i’d gotten a 3rd place! then they called jani’s name, & mary’s name, & we all laughed! mary grinned, “see? if you live long enough, you get rewarded for it!” … we grubbed on peanut butter waffles, then napped on the boat back to LB. the weather gods were good from then on & we got to the rock & roll pizza gig w/more than plenty of time. jani convinced me to change into my show togs at the neimann-marcus across the road: the restroom was more like a posh dressing rm! i put on a shirt i made w/lux interior’s face on it, to honor the recently departed cramps genius… brian arrived w/philbert & they both looked really handsome in western-piped shirts, & since everyone was dressed nicely, we took a few band shots then they had some pizza (i only had a bite bc it kills my energy to eat before a show). r&r pizza put our name up on their marquee & displayed the newest poster permanently in the john, so we felt quite special & happy!... the show: tho the sound wasn’t the best ever, & phil didn’t even have a mike!, i feel it was totally fun, & like the last one there, one of the more happily memorable ones we’ve had. i asked phil to help me get up on the stage & he reached under my arms & tossed me up there like a cat! we started & after a few mins got the sound mixed to where i could hear that wanda jackson squalling-feline sound coming from my pipes as i sang, so i went w/that. the audience was beaming, & little girls kept coming up w/little notes they’d written to us, notes w/hearts & smiley faces on them. phil was killing on the guitar!! he's just unstoppable, the greatest, when he's in his groove! (moreover, several people including b commented phil & i have great stage rapport: another blessing). when we finished, the owner autographed the awesome poster he’d made for the show (below) & booker steve gave it to me... we loaded up, got some dough, some cookies for the road & caravanned back to bako, readied to be snowed in & have to get a giant rm for all 8 of us (band + brian, jani, geanna, julia), but like i said, the weather gods were good & so back to the barn we sailed under clear black sky… today i’ve had that after-show hangover feeling, but it’s most all good (tho like i said the brain attacks at times), b & i brunched at los cabos the pupusa house, over on brundage/baker, a lovely salvadorean eatery w/food every bit as good as mama roomba’s, & then we saw the wrestler, a gory but beautiful movie that just killed me, w/the most gorgeous ending i’ve seen in any movie lately, like it didn’t have to be stupid & obvious, & best of all, best of all, my dove has come back & is cooing outside right now as dusk settles… bella bella bella, todo es bien.

dusk devils liner in LA weekly & a really cool flyer!!

what great artwork! we got a little liner in the LA Weekly, too: "female fronted rave-ups, bakersfield style." short & sweet... like us! (except phil. he's tall.) if you can't read the address, go to www.myspace.com/theduskdevils or www.myspace.com/rrpizza

r.i.p., lux: when i die, don't you bury me at all, just nail my bones upon the wall, beneath these bones let these words be seen,

...here's the bloody gears of a boppin' machine (cramps' revision of ronnie dawson's rockin' bones).
this makes me so so so sad. is it true? he's "died" many times... i'm sad, tho i never met the cramps, only saw them perform (not sure how many times). but isn't that what used to make movie stars STARS??? they were not FRIENDS, they weren't like us, & i never deluded myself i'd get to know such stars. they were punk-rock royalty, beautiful monsters, vinyl fetishists, dadaists, preservers & purveyors of the best of american shlocky movie & musical midnight CULTure. historians. archivists! art used to manage them (they fired him; he can tell that story) but saw them at the movies a few yrs back & said, w/typical understatement, "lux & ivy still cut quite a figure." greg got snubbed, heck, screwed by them when he printed his interview w/them in the wrong mag. (he can tell that story.) but really, who expects nicety from such folks? they were above & below that. yrs ago, our old bassist robert ran a crazy mag out of vegas & he erased the tape he interviewed lux on, so he just made it up. it was one of the funniest things i ever read; wish i had a copy.
they were monstrous & magical & probably saved 1000s of outsider kids & people in general from committing suicide, just be BEING. (i know i felt less alien & horrible when i listened to the cramps & gazed at their alluring amazing mythical weird & wild visages & dreamed about being that cool & bad & knowing i never would & feeling transcended...) yet for their site, they picked this lovely pic, which is "tarzan & his mate"-old-hollywood glamorous. there was so much romance riding under the dark wild thrills of the cramps.
i guess i just wrote a lot. this whole thing ain't about me, but part of my youth just died, so that merits a bit of blabla, is what i think. :(
here's the report. be sure to watch the videos. my favorite interview's not yet on youtube: in it, lux, looking like boris karloff in drag, drops weird, gentle, spacy one-liners like jonathan winters. it made me wish i knew him. a real star has fallen.
http://www.thedailyswarm.com/headlines/cramps-lux-interior-rip/

john updike, rip; the blush of 1st dawn creeps, the morning dew, it chills , &

gud morgen. wie gehts? bleh. it seems so uncivilized to be up every day before the sun, like right now. shouldn't a person wait? after you? el sol: the king: seems almost impertinent to go 1st - but obviously i'm being ridiculous & also very bourgeoisie cause how many people have no choice?? so i justify since at this life-stage i am privileged & therefore can say i just don't like it... john updike died this wk. in undergrad days (ha - so snobby, that sounds) i loved updike, which was weird bc he wrote mostly so specifically about the frustrations of the american male. maybe it's cause i've always thought i was sposed to be male, but that 2nd chromosome just kept growing (boy, it IS early) (tho i think many females feel that way here & there, since the society's built for the view of & to appease the male)... i loved updike's specificity, the way he caught the ugliness & shimmer of everyday life. i guess that's that.
good gravy; hurry up, toast.
what the heck am i doing on here? waiting for my toast, drinking coffee, standing up thinking then i'll type less that way, typing at this ridiculous, cumbersome, child-sized keyboard, trying not to feel sick... needed to check if the fellows could do a gig (they didn't call back; story of my life) (well, phil did, good old philbert) & must save time! must always save time! oh, i hate those metaphors; makes going thru life (there's another one) seem like empty commerce. stressful!
- well, at top are lyrics for a song i wrote but i pulled from esnips bc it's for a male to sing. so of course i tried to sing it, but there's no amount of smoking or forced coughing that can bring my vox down to the appropriate register. so it's gone. but i was pleased w/the weird little storyline of this one, called "when they find me," kind of a gothic unrequited love thingy set in a delano grape vineyard, like maybe even the one that used to be in front of our grandparents' house, & the pleasing thought that a story CAN be told in a 2-min song. i've known it, just never w/story so fully in my head. since then, there've been a few more, & maybe the band will learn some of them, but if we don't, i have them, & they keep coming, like little gifts (tho sometimes it's a necktie or a lump of coal).
toast's ready. i hope my skull & sinuses stop burning.

aaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!! a possible show & 6 new songs!!!!!

->hi, hej da, hi-ho, what's happening, hola! see below & above for info on dusk devils' two upcoming shows, sat 2/7 & fri 2/27. am working on booking a show w/the band of one of my favorite all-time actors (based in sta fe, but coming thru town -- whaddaya know!!) ... his band's called the troublemakers & he "blows harp" (i quote cause all i know about harmonica begins & ends w/my love of little walter jacobs) authentically, not phony & embarrassing like some who when they play (WHY?) make me want to hide my head in their honor. we'll just see what happens... more important to me al momento is that FINALLY i was able to upload some more of my tunes. the hosting site's been all messed up, but here are six more, all one man band recordings, which means rough rough rough rough rough, but hopefully done w/spirit that makes listening fun or cool or teeth-gritting or whatever. the newly uploaded songs are the 1st 6 listed at http://www.esnips.com/web/jenny-angel-dusk-devils-ex-girlfriends-music :
- hey bus driver
- hideaway
- no pills, no booze, no way
- mexican blanket
- two left feet
- one final night
thank you ahead of time, if you listen, & esp for feedback.
be happy, be well, be be be be be be... again, here's the link:
http://www.esnips.com/web/jenny-angel-dusk-devils-ex-girlfriends-music

it's gotta be R&R music if you wanna dance w/me

or even if you don't, which i recommend if you wanna save your toes. unless you like to pogo or twist, since i don't remember the two-step & b doesn't dance & the good male leads i know are in smellay (well, except philbert, but we can't play & dance at the same time, i'm just not that good), so i ain't gonna be relearning any steps anytime soon...
likely i'll post 18,000 times more before these shows, but just got the 1st flyer from markymark & made 2nd last night. whoopee! :)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO "BIG MANNY"!!!!! :) :) :)

dreamland hodge-podge

waiting to go to dr king breakfast w/union... it's sure cold in this house!

my friends the artists; on prodigies, perseverers, & poseurs; more blablabla

-> last night b & i went to a local coffee house to support friend david nigel lloyd as he performed, celebrating his new record "rivers, kings, & curses" being named in the top 15 celtic albums of '08. we walked in & there was his beautiful daughter ursula doing sound for her dad & his amazing wife gita sitting at one of the crowded tables, papermacheing this ENORMOUS HEAD for an upcoming festival!, & there was greg goodsell, slurping it all up like an enormous cat while he posted on his horror/sci-fi sites. we were yakking away, tho i tried to keep it down, watching david & thinking, in another duhhhh moment, sh*t, he is such a PICKER, & not a flashy, show-off one like some i've known, but a technical adept suffused w/heart.
-> i found myself continuously moved, so leaned over to lisa lobasso to state so, & she turned to me w/these tender tears in her big blues. my words would've been gratuitous at that pt; we already were too much like max cady, anyhow, me, b & greg, braying away while david played out his soul, so i shut up... looking at the lloyds in their various spots around the joint, i thought what a crappier place this bakersfield would be w/o them & people like them, & dang i wish there were more. i don't know jack about the role of the artist or really even what an artist IS (i mean, i have my opinions, but the heck do i KNOW??)... but i know it's them.
-> gita, the most remarkable painter/artist i've ever met, one time spooked me when i told her how talented she is. normally laid-back, she turned & looked at me very soberly: "it's NOT talent. it's yrs & yrs of hard work & study." and she went on to say how even offensive it is when people just presume she walked into this world w/the considerable ability that she now has: "oh, you're so LUCKY. i wish EYE could do that": - that kinda thing. in other words, talent is EFFORT, tenacity, altho, tho gita didn't say it, one must also have that flame, be it a smolder or inferno, that creativity & vision, that inspiration (as in "in the spirit"!) that makes the difference between a blake, a bukowski, a bizet & a... (no need to name names. every community has its poseurs).
-> there was a NYer article about types of genius, the born kind & the learned kind basically was what it boiled down to, so what gita was saying, i think, is the artist most often is that learning kind, the one who works, tries, perseveres, processes, sweats, bleeds, cries, realizes, adjusts & adapts, until the muses start to sing.
-> then david was calling me up to sing w/him on his "country" (yeah, what DOES that mean, anyhow??) tune "cúchulainn in bakersfield." it's been about 2 yrs since i'd last sung that w/him, when i did my tiny pt on his record, so ego said stay in your seat, but my gut said your friends the lloyds would like you to go do it, stupid, so go do it, so long story short, i did. david introduced me like i'm wanda jackson, which was very embarrassing, so i said, of COURSE i came up: you were stalling! or were you storytelling? "i was stallytelling," he quipped. we sang it & i don't know how well i did, that wasn't the important pt. the important pt was, i hope it made my friends & the audience happy. and now i need to go play the piano for a while.
www.davidnigellloyd.com and www.gitalloyd.com

the overeducated dunce, the lettered know-nothing

- (not like the u.s. know-nothing party... shudder)
- the next time i went back to school, i hoped it'd be to become doctor jenny. that just sounds so ridiculously fitting: doctor jenny. like doctor termite or doctor kermit the frog or doctor homer simpson or doctor charo. anyhow,
- i'm going back to school starting tonight & it's not the full boat but another credential. more hoop-jumping. but sono fortunata (unlike fortunato, seeker of amontillado) & it is online, so i hope to whiz bang zip bounce thru it like a pinball... & maybe learn something interesting, is the hoped-for cake of it.
- brain's a little sideways, tired from work & full of conspiracy (been reading john le carre), & hands sho is cold... females are more susceptible to that; it's called reynaud's syndrome... eventually the trivia will squish my all-else cerebral til i remember the lyrics to chuck berry's catalog but not where i live (right now i know both, to boast a bit).
can i say this? a fellow at work is an arshole (le carre calls them)... & another former student found me on myspace. the last part is nice! nice not to have hidden pts, to feel mostly whole; it's a caveat of encroaching antiquity & lessons learned from wise others...
salvos to all. whiz bang zip crash hurrah!!

elvis show 09 at the avalon slideshow

our photographer was more than a bit under the weather, so these were the least-out-of-focus shots... thinking of phil & lisa... hoping b & i get better soon...

weird weird weird weird weird

-> the elvis show at the avalon last night for me was a weird experience, tho not a bad one, i must say. but phil had a family emergency & couldn't be there!!! so manuel filled in (thank you, manuel!!!!). meantime i was nervous the whole show, since we hadn't rehearsed together at all & the songs weren't just straight 1-4-5's... manny did his set (super rockin'; killing that amp!), then i went & spoke to him at side stage (loud, where he parked) about the keys, the changes, but MAN! we'd practiced w/phil! & i was sad for phil, too... then this bako guy i hardly know shook my hand in a way that hurt it! that was effed up! the band & b wanted to go punch him in the gut, but we let it go & left it at "some people have problems..." the blasters sat around & waited & waited for phil (alvin, that is), & when he finally showed up, he was babbling & swearing a mile a minute - one of THOSE moods. he was nice to me & to everyone, but UP & disconnected (he walked right by manuel w/o even seeing him, for instance), & when he took the stage & did the calls from the beginning of rufus thomas's (elvis's) "tiger man" (which the blasters always do), the audience started calling back, which did NOT fit the timing; it is NOT a call-response song!... then art announced candye kane was gonna be there, but had gotten in a car accident! (she is ok, i found out this a.m.)...
-> the best parts were seeing art, the terrific house band, count smokula, skip edwards & lisa haley, barry holdship, the blasters, justin & sally jo curtis, ray campi (we always talk about school), jimmy angel, dave raven, paul body, just all the great & many talented folks who are always there, & friendly lisa & brian paxton, & hearing the great music (like rip masters' ripping piano! & strawberry alarm clock, whom i've never even heard, did a killer instro! & skip edward's piano & marty rifkin's steel playing!) amidst my nervous moments & the funny stuff people said. steve joseph gave me a mix cd & i bought the new one off carlos guitarlos, who always does this steam-rolling-cool version of "promised land" (tho i was surprised he had a word sheet!). when carlos got on stage, he strummed a chord & barked, "this amp's on the manny setting. what is that, manny, 20?" & when he was done, he strode offstage & told manuel, "man, there's a lotta white people out there!"
-> groovy rednecks, lightning willie (who looks like kinky friedman, w/a HUGE band!), then we were up. mark's friend brett walked up w/guitar in hand! - he & mark had practiced the songs that day! so i figured, heck, let him get up, too... we all got up there & did a good job, i could feel the audience's energy match ours, it felt really up & positive, & it was great to look back & see manuel & hear his rockin improv leads, & brett just did solid rhythm like i'd asked him to, & so helped it all really be grounded... but it wasn't my band, really; i just felt weird & sad for phil & oh well. we didn't mess up & the show went on & i was grateful for everyone's help... art said some real nice things when we were getting off stage; i wish i could've listened closer! but we needed to keep the show moving, so i shouted of my keyboard, "let's clear this elephant!" & manuel shouted, "i'm coming, i'm coming!" :) no one was there to help, so as we strong-armed it off the stage i said, "i had 2 guys at the beginning, but now they're gone," & the stagehand woman said, "that's men for you" :) when finally i was done & met back up w/b, he looked so obviously sick (we've been, of course), i felt really bad & realized we had to go right then, tho the show was not yet even over, so we missed a bunch of great acts, but really, we gotta have our health... thinking of phil & family, & thanks to art for having us, & to manuel, brett, rick & mark, & of course to b, & to you who read...

elvis show thurs (read below)! and video from krambo (rightchere)!

we all look like oompa-loompas! i gotta hope that's the camera adding 10 lbs thing... or the band needs to get together & go to a fat camp! it's a fun performance, tho, i must say... :) :) :)

happy birthday elvis happy birthday elvis happy birthday elvis

flyer by mark! pert-near-full lineup at www.sofein.com!

!!!!RAEY WEN YPPAH

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! may yours be happy, honest, purposeful, creatively fulfilling, & w/o too many regrets.
THE ELVIS SHOW IS COMING... see www.sofein.com for the flyer. :)
just got back from "vacating." the dogs were patient & stalwart travelers. iron butt briggs got us home by new year's eve, for which i was grateful. summary:
-> day 1: 574 miles to richfield, ut. food: cracker barrel dumplings. music: voodoo jive, chuck berry oh yeah, jimmy yancey vol. 3. conditions: white christmas snowy. cold!
-> day 2: 466 miles to denver. food: mexican in denver. music: just rockin’ & rollin’, more bad habits, the sadies. conditions: 4wd on icy roads, snow everywhere, frigging cold!!
-> day 3-4: boulder-denver. food: lucile’s boulder (biscuits, grits, beignets). music: rockin’ bones boxset from generous paul! conditions: cold, snowy, yuppie boulder, downhome denver, good women's mtg.
-> day 5: 200 miles to trinidad, co. food: feta pizza at whole foods denver, lee’s bbq trinidad – the best! hershey’s chocolate shake, buttered vienna roll, bbq sandwich, battered jalapenos, nice service. music: rockin’ bones, npr. conditions: warming up, found jawbone at truck stop.
-> day 6: 251 miles to albuequerque. food: overrated harry’s roadhouse sta fe, delicious homemade tortilla & empanadita in las vegas, nm, sopaipillas & sweet rice at garcia's kitchen abq. music: night train to nashville. conditions: cool little towns like raton & las vegas, lost in touristy santa fe, nice old square in abq.
-> day 7: 804 miles to home. food: couscous & tofu pudding at macy’s flagstaff. music: the very best of the 5 royales. conditions: long invention & brainstorming session w/b as we head for the barn, pedal to metal. fog in kern county, blessed home.
-> home: overly tired, meltdown. today: tired but copacetic. happy new year. :)

merry christmas! & whoohoo!!!! let's celebrate the king (of rocknroll, that is) (some would disagree, but falalalalalalalala)... :) :)

the avalon is at 1735 vine st (at hollywood), LA CA, 90028. show starts 5:30 pm. proceeds benefit the firemen's fund. for more info, keep checking www.sofein.com ... i know we & manuel will be there, & many of art's friends, wonderful performers from famous to little-known... it will be great to hang out w/manuel & listen & watch as everyone remembers elvis!!!
packing for colorado... brrr.... merry christmas, happy hannukah, happy festivus, happy new year!!!! :) :) :)

merry christmas & a happy new year

the laughingstock speaks; move over, guy

- i'm the butt of family jokes, as is whoever's not in the rm, when my family gathers -- cheapskate (they don't know i save every cent for when they all are in the poorhouse due to their flagrant ways); "the makeup" (old family nickname: morticia); wild past (now the far past, except when our texas cousin comes a-visiting & she tells my every dumbass drunk tale since for some reason she was with me near-every time i was especially inebriatedly stupid). they can't joke anymore about the church falling down if i walk in because i've got mother mary goddess-worship going on (in memoriam, dear grandma) & rapture (not the holy roller kind) when w/in mother church (tho must plug ears tight in spots so can be rapturous instead of despairing)... tonight our meeting got on the topic of humility & a lovely pal talked of "the universe's" (i'll call it) will oftentimes being uncomfortable & seeming unfair, but that it's not about her, but the greater good, & another spoke of sacrifice & the magnificat & i thought, oh crap, we're getting awful religious here, but next was near-tears... such talk doesn't make me wanna barf anymore & in fact brings moments that feel like revelation, freedom, possibility of relief from the infernal self, the cunning varmint that won't go way. faith works for & brings peace to much better folks than i. who am i to judge?
- the family says i can't cook. and they're right. nor do i want to. except lately we saw that show w/the funny chubby guy fieri laughing & shmoozing & eating at all these delicious fun roadside joints & so then tonight i made not just dinner that didn't injure my spouse, but energy bars, & they came out dang good. just goes to show: know thyself... then watch that self change.
ynnej's energy bars:
- big handful dry flaxseed/oat cereal
- 2 big handfuls dry oatmeal
- a big handful of raisins or craisins
- handful of peanuts, handful of almonds
- small handfuls of sesame &/or flax seed
- 2-3 packs of the pink stuff (sweetener)
- pinch each of cinnamon, nutmeg, even ginger
- dose of vanilla flavor (the non-alcohol kind)
- big splash each of fake eggs and applesauce
1. mix until batter consistency. 2. spray down a cooking dish. 3. plop batter in cooking dish & shape it so it looks nice. 4. top w/whatever you want -- dried cocoa, drizzled honey, marshmallow, etc. 5. cook at 325 degrees for 25 mins or until crispy. 6. let cool. 7. be near the can. this stuff is fiber-heavy &'ll clean your pipes. makes 6-8 bars, depending on how big you cut them.
- i think a banana would work in here, too. look out, guy fieri.

kicks!

-> listen to manuel's cholo-rocking christmas tune "santa claus" (farmer john) here! :) :) :) -> http://www.crackedpistonrecordings.com/music-53.html
-> we got to take the train to hanford yesterday w/47 great friendly folks & sat w/the funnest couple, dan & marylou, who spun ideas for inventions & movie scripts (lately have thought it'd be fun to do a film short)... like if i were gonna make a movie, it might come out something like this poster (gene v, esquerita, & sputnik m would appear only in ghost form)(& i dropped the library-murder scheme dan suggested, tho librarians'd probably laugh w/great satisfaction at it)... they really fired my imagination. philbert suggested a storyline wherein we go town to town playing music, then i lure people in & he kills them by hitting them w/his guitar & we all split to the next gig (once again, i realize philbert & i are more alike than it appears) & dan & brian concluded the movie should be strange, shocking, nerdy, kitschy, noirish, funny, innocent, yet redemptive. good lord! what a task! so i'll just make a poster for now & call it good... still, i know so many folks w/really good character mugs & great personalities. it'd be so fun to see them on the b&w big (or small) screen; then if anyone saw it & enjoyed, that'd be the lagniappe!
-> ... mebbe i'll try to do this. only the great eggnog knows...
-> am still recovering this a.m. from the ice cream sundae we had in hanford at superior dairy (AFTER dinner! it was somewhat obscene!): banana & maple nut ice cream w/walnuts & marshmellow. if i lived in hanford, i would be sideshow-big bc of this wonderful place -- was slurring my words after just a few bites: it was that sugar-overloaded delicious... now it's time for a little penance, a nice run, my 1st in near-2 wks cause i'm finally getting well!!! then philbert & marko come over & i will give them new songs to sing. so what a nice day, & best to you who might read this... feliz navidad, prospero ano y felicidad....

geez louise. bettie page is gone.

- was posting manuel's xmas shows (tomorrow at the game in temple city; go to www.myspace.com/bigmannyband to see) & chuckling w/him excitedly about the record when i read that bettie page died. :( 85 yrs old. (not young; she had a heckuva hard life: abuse, pinup yrs, holy roller, insanity - tho in her last photo, at age 80, she looked great!) she made the rest of us women look like little men, i think. considering she's a patrician blonde, gretchen mol did a pretty darn good job as bettie in "the notorious bettie page," getting her spirit (i suppose), but gretchen mol, too, looked like a little man compared to the real bettie.
- she exercised daily before most women did. she had the most perfect, lovely figure (revealed most beautifully in bunny yeager's shots) & bewitching features. i saw color film footage of her once & she was indigenous-brown. she was a teacher for a while. she didn't drink or smoke, which gave me hope when my life was very dark. later in life, she struggled big time w/mental illness. (i did too before i stopped drinking, tho i never stabbed anyone. bettie did.)
- i think if i hadn't had to clean my life up, i'd've been one of these rockabilly gals steeped in bettie-worship, who blackens & rolls her hair just like bettie, dresses just like her, drives herself bonkers being in love w/"being" bettie, but i did, so i don't. plus who am i kidding??
- she was more magical than 500 of her impostores. none can come even close because soul, which bettie had, is organic & free-flowing & imitation is studied & ironic, the opposite of soul. in black & white, she was the sweetest angel, the naughtiest devil, the mightiest queen, & everything in between. the wanna-betties (that sounds harsh; what's a better name?) can't imitate that amazing quality because it was spontaneous & authentic; like elvis impersonators, they can only ape. oo-oo-oo!
- but heck, i guess it's cooler to ape bettie than say... heck, most anyone else. so don't mean to sound unnecessarily harsh, but i think the point is, why ape at all? there'll only ever & always be one bettie page, & now she's gone. so just be yourself!... whatever THAT means!!
- row row row your boat, c'est la vie, memento mori... forry, bettie, the evidence keeps building. i guess ain't none of us getting out alive, so go have fun, friend, kick up your heels & go.