luddite: the boom is back

using the program "slowgold" (the old99 band bought it for me for my bd!), i no longer have to try to use my "ear," but can use a "computer program" to actually SLOW DOWN the songs, "loop" sections of them so that they play over & over & over, & then be able to parrot solos to the best of my (limited) ability... (www.slowgold.com) i used it the other day to learn pt of "the auctioneer," & mebbe it'll help me learn to yodel like old99 rob (oh, i mean "iceman").
on the 1-wmn band front, i've been playing my bass drum backwards.
properly "orientated," it now booms again! :)
i'm glad brian lee hubby discovered this before i go record w/franky lee producer next wkend down south... :)

duskdevils "green door" youtube / POST #200!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

art fein put a new (old) video up on youtube of the dusk devils. (also videos of candye kane & carlos guitarlos!) it's listed on his page at www.sofein.com (look for screen shot of me looking like the wicked witch of the west) :)
you also can see it at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc18WHzIsJE (copy & paste that address into your browser)
ps - if your comment disappeared below, it's cause of a misunderstanding w/art over what he wanted posted as a comment... i had to hide all comments under that date so's not to inconvenience/embarrass mr. fein, who's been so kind. you can't delete just one on here...

9/30, bakersfield sound music, fishlips, high noon

here in backwardsfield tomorrow, the real deal, the good stuff!... google "fishlips" & "bakersfield sound" for more info... hope you can go! :)

vinyl fetish

you have to click on it to open the coolest web graphic ever (below) :)

the unifying of "opposites," the illusion of separation, myspace, & the boring lives of teachers

today's local paper had a postage-stamp tiny color pic of dusk devils from yrs back on a pg 1 story re myspace. then in class today, coincidence?, we talked about media products & manipulations, like myspace, so i told the kids to for extra credit find my pic in the paper ("why were YOU in the paper?!?" they exclaimed, maybe a little horrified, because how possibly could a TEACHER be interesting enough for print?)... as pt of the lesson, we analyzed bakotopia a little, since the school district has myspace blocked. after, 3 girls got bkotpia's url. on the small chance they'd go in & find my profile, i figured i should write a short bio, do some positive propagandizing...
after writing it, i realized it's sure nice not to have to hide. i don't have secrets w/these kids. i play music, i write, i worry, i fret, i ponder, i'm wimpy & vacillating & bossy at times, i'm kinda weird, but i know in a good way: just a human, in other words. there's no worry about running into them or their families when drunk or being somehow else inappropriate because i'm just not that way, haven't been for a long, long time. i'm even trying not to cuss, tho everyone stubs their toe now & then. (and i do enjoy creative cussers like aunt rita & tammy.) it's good to feel clean & mostly true...
i thank the secret society that saved my life. they're a bunch of do-gooders & lifesavers, & i learn all the time from them how to live somewhat peacefully, usefully, & happily, w/my dreams & goals in line w/the greater good, i trust. my recent masters degree experience in sf at new college, a life-changing deal, didn't hurt, either. :)
here's the updated profile: http://www.bakotopia.com/home/User/jennyangel

red bulls + monsters + vitamins = no sleep

of course, like some curse, i got sick three days ago, w/a showlet tonight. bolstered w/vitamins & red bull, i was dragging myself out the door when brian got popped right in the eye w/a flying bungee - blood everywhere, just horrible!!! i thought we were gonna have to take him to emergency, but once we got him patched up, he insisted he didn't need stitches & wanted to go to the show... later we were so grateful the bungee hadn't hit 1/4" lower because (mustn't go there -- shuddddddder)... as is, he told everyone all night, "you shoulda seen the OTHER guy!" he's gonna have quite a shiner. i was so thankful he wasn't hurt worse & was so willing still to go to the party. brian is quite dear... :)
tammy's party was such a success!! i knew that girl had tons of friends, but tons of family, too? she is widely & well-loved, it is obvious: there must've been 150 people there for her! :) i saw people from the distant past, & longtime pal, writer greg goodsell, showed up as "doctor death" (the party's theme was funerary)... after the basque feed & tammy tributes, byron played acoustic tunes, opening w/"6 days on the road" & "little red riding hood"! vince galindo & i approved; byron has great facial expressions & personality for the stage. next up was an old-timey country-bluegrass trio from kernville, very professional, would've sounded right at home on prairie home companion: david nigel lloyd & daughter ursula fully enjoyed their set, & their woman singer/guitarist had a lovely warmth. then i was up, & as i suspected, i couldn't hear (should've gone w/instinct & used keyboard amp, too: monitors never seem set up for high female voice/keyboard, or maybe it's sound guys who aren't used to dialing that in), & my dang high hat took a crap halfway thru the 2nd song!! shantell then let me use hers, which was a marked change (much nicer), but then i was thrown off by playing the stiffer drum & i know my timing stunk in too many spots. oh well; the audience cheered like i can hardly remember ever hearing, seriously: it was amazing -- & i know tammy was happy! (looking at the pix from brian, i see i never should wear this dress again when i have to sit... it was very flattering til i sat down & some circus tent effect took over!! i know i need longer hems now that i have to sit to play drums, but i guess not quite this long & puffy & bustled... this is something i guess i'll figure out as i go...)
"FINALLY we could hear your singing," said david kindly. (i guess, therefore, the singing sounded ok - i couldn't tell! good news from david!)
"that must be like going for a run," commented nathan (glen), a guy i knew 20 yrs ago. funny, i didn't sweat tonight like when i have practiced. maybe it was all the red bull i drank (no sweat left!) to get myself off the sick bed. no dinner, either! too nervous from brian's eyeball incident! anyways, yes, it is quite a workout to do all the music by myself.
"i've never seen anything like that," a guy remarked about my set-up. and yes, ladies & gents, i DO believe what i'm now doing is unique! the good part is, it's bound to get better, so heads up, bloodshot bill, i'll be hopping on your traincar pretty soon here... :)
next was 3 chord whore. those gals are really onto something!! their eff-it, liberated, woman-love punkrock presence really goes over big, w/gals dancing wildly every time they play. darcy has the most wonderful expressive pretty frontwomanly face, & heather does, too. i'd love to have big popping violety eyes like those two have, but i have to make do w/my squinty hispanic-mediterranean ones, instead. shantell is a heckuva hard-rock drummer, & i'm always impressed by how much sound those 3 women make, w/heather's punk power chords, shantell's thunder-drumming, & darcy's full throated singing. they speak to lots of gals in the audience - guys, too. i hope whatever they want to have happen for them career-wise, flat does.
... now it's 1:45 am & here i is. bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......... tired, but heart palpitating. good old energy drinks.
thank you, tammy & byron, for your extreme generosity & friendliness to many, including me. a good night to be alive it was, once again.
ps - thank you thank you thank you to all my friends who showed up... :)

AARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!

note to self (& you, if it applies): when teaching middle school, don't ever go to work when sick.

sat set list, county fair fun, birthday bashes

woohoo, am i excited!! not only is the kc fair starting this wk, i get to do my one-wmn act this wkend! i need to stop exercising so much, tho... it's darn tough to drum w/shin splints!!! tammy's party's gonna be great - she sent funeral-style invites instead of bd party-type ones, & everyone's wearing black! she & hubby byron are feeding basque food to all invitees! then me, 3 chord whore, byron & hard rock, & more music. brent milton's doing sound. all in all, yahoo!
here's my lucky-13 set list: 1) ready teddy; 2) mercy; 3) googoo muck; 4) mean mean man; 5) rock house; 6) running scared; 7) tearin' my hair out; 8) rock boppin' baby; 9) fujiyama mama; 10) heartbeat; 11) me & my chauffeur blues; 12) funnel of love; 13) railroad bill.
next mo, my childhood bud kris(ti), who 12-stepped me so long ago & helped save my life, will hit her big bd, too, but her bash is at a socal yacht club... that same wkend, i'll go record with frank lee sprague in "noho" (haha - that makes me laugh near as much as "we-ho")! fls is quite a talent, writing all from rootsy americana to classical, award-winning. here's his site: http://duckking1.tripod.com/ ... i know frank'll do me up right & know just what sound i'm looking for. wow!!!!
last wk was the la fair w/the chinese acrobats (donna & i were in the 1st row!! i couldn't even watch in some parts -- too hair-raising!) & this wk our fair will have cinnamon rolls, rides, lights, music, exhibits, kettle corn, smells, people, hay,... oh, is there anything much better than a county fair????? i'm happy & expectant, but autumn does that, don't it? :) be toujour gai, like mehitabel sez...

trout's on a friday night, tour d'backweirdsfield

the best thing that happened at trout's tonight was when joyce simpson kindly forgave me for something stupid i did yrs ago... she & red were there, & chris sprague said he was "shaking" to be in red simpson's presence. i stuck close to friendly frank lee sprague, who provided burly barrier between me & drunk fellows not put off by a wedding ring. i forget what can happen when people start bar drinking on a friday night, since mostly i'm in such places (& then only rarely, esp lately) only to play music myself... standing around not playing can be a spooky deal. larry petree was dressed to the country-gentleman 9's, wide-smiling & inviting as usual, & rockwell shook my hand. lovely joyce told me her grand daughter just graduated from berkeley (in 3 yrs!) & is coming back HERE to teach! i was happily stupefied to think someone so obviously precocious & idealistic would bring her talents back to this place so known for "brain drain"... the honky-tonk & truck-driving tunes rocked the dark saloon & tho a bit scary to me, the large drinking young cowboys were nice enough in the end, as well as were the line-dancing gals. i would go back to trout's again, in a second, especially if i had burly barrier, which my electric piano might nicely provide... i made the spragues a tour d'bakersfield, suggesting spots like okie ray's, the old river theatre, oildale saloons, el taquito, downtown signs & residence hotels, the arizona cafe, & the usuals like luigi's, old eastside basque places, & of course the palace, where buddy allan plays tomorrow night w/the buckaroos... i'll meet the spragues there at that time if they stick around, but i think hollywood'll call them back 1st.
frank gifted me TWO of his merseybeat cds, as well as the offer of use of his recording studio, stories of musicians far & wide, & talk of tx, from where he & bro chris hail, then walked me to my car so i wouldn't be killed (not that i would, but i'm a chicken). a nice evening, in other words. and like i said, best of all, forgiveness. dang ego sure makes me an ass sometimes. i was grateful joyce touched me with her grace. oh yeah, & tonight's meeting was good, too, & i even got a nap in earlier. :)

chris sprague & 18 wheelers @ trout's this fri

chris & frank asked this local to help promote their bako show, which'll be a palomino night at bakersfield's trout's - woohoo! here you go, fellers.

we got five years, my brain hurts a lot, five years, that's all we got, five years, what a surprise...

i guess the time it takes a band's name to get round (bands made of peons like me & us, that is) must be five years. i formed the dusk devils w/other humans, specifically brian p, in fall 2002. now, 5 yrs later, the dusk devils have 3200 myspace friends and i get show offers 3 times a month (as compared to never to 3 times a yr in the past): festivals, one setters, all nighters, stuff out of state, out of country, waaaaaah!!! it'd be fun. or maybe the idea of it is funner than it'd actually be.
one thing's clear - it sure don't matter right now.
oil well, as people say round here!
it's nice to feel wanted, tho for now it's posthumous. :)
happy weekend to all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"i wear the black for the poor & beaten down..."

i thought our grandpa, a retired kern county sheriff's deputy, was johnny cash (& that muhammed ali & elvis were the same person). this seeming dumbness has puzzled me a little. then in today's paper, they announced a new dvd set from cash's tv show, which my family used to watch, & i realized that i was an infant & toddler when it was on!
our grandpa did look like j.c. i wish i had a picture. 6'4," large-framed, curled lip, weary, wary, but kind eyes, square jaw, solemnly handsome. grandpa just LOOKED like a 1950s detective, the "good cop" who'd bust up the bad guy in the last reel cause he had to, or a hero, or... johnny cash.
"man in black" & "sunday morning coming down" always make me cry. cash's dignified gravitas, gentle humor, bravery, & social conscience touched many (tho i guess with friends he was a real prankster!). he was a "unifier of opposites" more than any public figure before or since. reds & blues loved him equally. if more like him existed, people would realize that their separations are surfaces! an army of johnny cashes could bring the world together, tho "army" is the wrong metaphor, & there was & only ever will be one j.c.
i hope i can go out & get that box set.
man in black video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfI9B8e9tW4
man in black lyrics: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/johnnycash/maninblack.html

the well or mountain or the man with the plan speaks glissfully

glissando update, for you piano players: "For the UP, you might just release the thumb and use which ever combo of index, mid, or ring-fing nails & upper-digit flesh that feels more comfy. I JUST found out I tend to use the mid & ring nails as a combo. This DOES require toughening the skin area, just below the nail. Also, I try to keep everything else outta the way. For DOWN, it's basically the same, but using the thumbnail instead of the fingernail. You may need to hold the index finger behind the thumb to get the index-nail outta the way. My nails are very hard but I keep them short anyway. I know this is sometimes difficult for women, from an aesthetic point of view, but unless you have Howard Hughes nails, you just need to keep all unused 'surfaces' out of the path. I'm assuming you use your own electric piano most of the time? If you use others (especially acoustics), you should always give them a pre-gig test. If I have trouble with a hard-glissing piano, I either shorten the gliss, forgo it entirely, OR bite the bullet. :-( I'll try some different glisses on my acoustic later today and report back... [2nd dispatch]
"...The DOWN should definitely be the thumbnail, supported by the index finger... Hope this helps? -----taylor 00"

blooody fingers!!!!!! "you got to go to de-well to get to de-water"

i'm practicing wine spo-dee-o-dee, the JLL version, & ripping my fingernails off on the glissandos, so i went to the mountain & emailed gene taylor just now for pianny advise... i'd email carl sonny leyland, too, cept he already gave me his suggestions ("everyone's fingers are different"), so i'd be embarrassed to ask for more specific help than he already offered... the time has come for me to put in serious hours PRACTICING, not just playing for fun, like learning to hammer on & watch that right hand, as carl said to do. the buck owens songs we're doing, otherwise, have lotsa nice singing but little drive. i know i can be better than i've been, & w/o brian paxton's wall of shredding rockabilly guitar, i'm left naked to actually have to play!
i guess it's good i'm having to learn to play better. heck knows i got the exhilarated slouch thing down pretty well. re that, i think i will bill myself for Tammy's Birthday/Wake at Narducci's as "jenny angel & her four appendages"... she requested "funnel of love" & "mean mean man," so yessir, i've gottem down -- bloodshot bill emailed encouragement & said "ain't nothin' punker than a piano-pumping chick stompin' her foot!"
i am blessed to be in such company, even cyberly. :) and i really like my new job!! :) even the stinkers - they just need some kind attention & firm direction, i think. i really like middle-schoolers, too. :) maybe i'm crazy... but actually, i think it's just the fool bone-deep teacher talking. it's in my blood, like love & music & words. :) the lovely lunch lady is dutch, reminding me of my old friend femke from putten, & she's reviewing with me many dutch phrases in her cute accent, so i say to all, "goedenacht," and may you have all the green m&m's.

prof longhair, i now definitely ain't... long live the king

since my thesis involved rites of passage, in addition to the sf marathon, i marked the end of the masters program & my return to teaching (plus bd) by losing a ft of hair for locks of love (it was a ritual! i grew my hair out for the whole non-working lovely now-gone yr! - all my hair looked pitiful, cut off in a measy ponytail. they said it takes 10 of them to make one cancer patient's wig.)... i don't know if i like it, but i know it'll grow back, plus i know it's more "appropriate," esp starting at a new school, where i know kids always extra-scrutinize the new teacher... in the pix, i'm wearing my 2nd elvis shirt of the day (went to gym today). i went into my 2nd teacher inservice this a.m. & a colleague questioned me on the 1st elvis shirt of the day. "well, you know, he died today," i said, then caught a meaningful & sympathetic glower from the saturnine rsp teacher, who used to teach in the prisons, & who nodded & uttered, "one-sixteen."
i believe i have a friend. :)
actually, these teachers & administrators in general are upright & inspired folks, hard-working, generally humble, organized & purposeful. i'm cautiously optimistic my work will become again more like prayer, like music, like work should be. we seem to all want to help, & i don't smell any drama. i am cautious, but i am happy. :)

elvis has left the building, but elvisianity lives

good heavens - was there any human more perfect-looking than elvis? death week's started in memphis - it's been 30 yrs since the king left this planet! elvisiana or elvisosophy or maybe elvisianity is everywhere - i don't doubt in 300 yrs, he'll be a diety (tho he would've strongly disapproved!) ... last night in gilroy motel en route home from school (the last session!), i was raised from my pillow & struck dumb by big big elvis on tv, pouring sweat, chipmunk-cheeked but greek-god beautiful, maybe even more beautiful because the lard made him effable, maybe more a little like the rest of us shlubs. he sat at the piano & pounded & belted out "unchained melody" in a voice powerful in all registers as an operatic tenor's, as great as orbison's! snobs say elvis was corny & laughable at the end: no way!! vocal wonder combined w/unearthly beauty - even when he was sad, puffy, near his end - the longer he's gone, the easier it'll be to see elvis as near-divine. his ignorances, problems, & addictions: tragic flaws we know all classical heroes possess - too great for this world, they must perish... anyways, rob got sick & no music practice this eve, so i spent 2 hrs in the music rm playing elvis, gershwin, boogie-woogie, jerry lee, platters, & also the one-gal band prep for tammy's bd party in september at narducci's (i'll get to open for surely the most provocatively-named twofer in the central valley that night!: 3 chord whore & black fag!)... i can't get over how draining it is to play piano, drums, & sing. but what a rush when it all comes together!! i pour sweat after just a few minutes, more wind-up monkey than elvis ... oh well. maybe i'll add an elvis tune to my set, brush up against a little cool. we all gotta little elvis in us, anyways, those elvis moments of stardust & wonder & something unnameable, mysterious, everywhere. tcb

"OOH! MAH SOUUUL!!" ... the meaning of life

Learning with Soul <- cleek here... if that doesn't work, try clicking the link at right, reaching it from google, or clearing your browsing history under "internet options" (on a pc, that is)!
...and now back to music! and movies! and funfunfun! wail baby wail!

"well, my hometown's a-comin in sight / if you think i'm happy, you're right / 6 days on the road & i'm gonna make it home tonight"

last wk i once & for all finished the thesis (now 240 pgs) while our friend dan's crew redid the backyard... fri practiced w/old 99, learning new buck owens & other honky-tonk songs w/friends who remind me of a quote i just read about the simpsons: whimsical yet irreverently moral. then drove even further out west of town for late-night dinner w/oldest family friends... sat left 4 am for sf for school at new college (drawing to an end so now, of course, tho it's driven me crazy up til now, i'm missing it something awful! boohoo!!!), picked up marathon gear, did school all day, dinner at tommasso's... sun got up at 5 am & did the san francisco (1/2) marathon to celebrate several life-markers: completion of masters-school-thesis, return to work, & birthday! never done a long-distance run - what a kick! if you haven't, you oughta try one! (bakersfield's is in november.) beautiful highlights: the starting line city of runners cheered on by bell-ringing spectators in the pre-dawn dark of the embarcadero; running thru pier 39 area, 1st water stop, 1st murmurs of dawn; the uphill route behind ft mason hostel, w/fragrant trees on left & ocean on the right; getting into a nice tempo along the fog-enshrouded golden gate bridge & looking into faces of other runners as they pounded from the opposite direction; saying hi to clean-&-sober pathfinders who helped the cops & remembered san jose jack (r.i.p.); staying hydrated w/cytomax & gel & never getting cramps or sick, as a result; hitting mile 10 after long uphill & realizing I'M GONNA FINISH!! then the gorgeous gray-misty crest & wide downhiill view, opening out over the amazing city: exhilarating!; hitting golden gate pk to roaring crowds (not for me, but still! i was part of it! what a rush!), then seeing the finish line & finally full-out running for it, finishing the thing in a tremendous swell of endorphin-happiness & gratitude, grateful that my lungs, muscles, shoes & feet held out & already looking forward to doing another one! what a wonderful, wonderful experience... happy bd to me (& laurel, too)!... after that, my folks & i (it was mom's bd, too!) lunched w/my stepson & then the day receded into fatigue-blur... mon, really stiff & sore, got home @ 4 pm to call from hubby: he & his motorcycle had broke down -- in st george, utah! so grabbed a shower, hobbled to truck & went & got him thru wind & desert cloud-bursts & storm patches & glimmery black night, got into st geo about 1 am (2 am ut-time), came home to pick up "the boys" (doggies), who turns out trashed our friend's yard, so that was a whole other jobber getting that all cleaned up, & BOY IS IT GOOD TO BE HOME NOW! - tho i'm sad we won't see friends & family & all the gorgeous mysterious southwest beauty of the summer motorcycle trip, i know also it obviously wasn't meant to be this time around... and at this point, i'm DONE WITH EVERYTHING except going back to work!! whoopee!!! :) like the old cajun-hot sauce commercial used to sing, "a hot chili mama... hot chili mama, ma-ma-ma, hot chili maa-maaa... life is goooood." :)

I'M DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

my thesis is done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 237 pages!!!!!!!!!!!! it took 11 hrs today to get it finished, & i only have one brain cell ping-ponging in my noodle right now, so this site reflects how i feel at the moment (courtesy of the great grottu) www.zombo.com ... to see a preview of my thesis, click link at right titled "Learning with Soul" -- whoopeeee!!!!!! :) :) :) :)

"why does the sun go on shining? why does the sea rush to shore? don't they know it's the end of the world, cause you don't love me anymore?"

-> time for a breather from music & thesis & 1/2 marathon prep... it's movie night! for my dough, these are the greatest apocalypse movies, ones that actually end with the world's end:
1. miracle mile (1990)- so beautiful, quirky, sad, romantic, wonderful, scary, full of dread & longing!! (spoiler here:) crashing into the la brea tar pits in a helicopter while kissing your beloved as the world blows up... wow!! set in smellay, so one bit better than...
2. last night (1998)- see above! set in toronto, which, tho not LA, is a real cool city, too, esp its incredible international market... what great acting & writing! like #1, a dark & exquisite (little exaggeration there) movie about "love conquers all"...
3. dr. strangelove: or how i learned to stop worrying & love the bomb (1964) - "gentlemen, you can't fight in here! this is the war room!" all the best grizzled character actors deliver the funniest, most awful & cynical lines: this movie makes me cry & laugh both. more quotes from the black-hearted gem at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057012/quotes
-> the next two technically are POST-apocalyptic, both based on richard matheson's ultra-cool "i am legend":
4. the last man on earth (1964) - w/a world-weary vincent price! you can watch this free online!!
... &, of course, 5., the omega man (1971)...
pure cult-cheese, great if only to see charlton heston make out w/rosalind cash (his only better role was playing "the mexican" varga in "touch of evil"...)(look for the simpsons parody, gross & irreverently funny) :)