we gotta big blues train coming to your town

pix from rip cat records/whiteboy james and the 44s show at narducci's... a good time was had by all. :) :) :)

new posts... literally :) ....

- ouch! overdid it again today (tho didn't sustain too many bruises & didn't smash my hands) &, exhausted, my thoughts are jello, sweet & shallow & mooshy-swooshy... behold my nascent career in carpentry (not!) -- the bedframe porch railings (thought it looked a little new orleansy) & doorknob fencepost (our dear dad was delighted by the latter & proudly told friends, "that's why i admire my girls so much: they're geniuses!")
- oh! the joys of having a funky house & (many will relate) bargain-hunting eye. it's like going on an easter egg hunt each time the bargain-hunter "shops" -- so much more fun than going in stores where generally overstocked, overpriced & uniform items are RIGHT THERE, no hunting involved at all, not to mention imagination! too, bargain-hunting, being a form of recycling (this was a nice realization por moi), is environmentally kinder. :) ... oh crap; where was i? there's one synapse pinging in my head like a game of pong: bloop!... bloop!... the downside of dressing up my funky house on the cheap (my sister, bless her, crowed, "oh, how i love your watts tower house! everytime i come visit, there's something new to look at!") is i get way too involved in its decoration/repair & work like a demon til i can't move or breathe or think cogently... so here i is, & you is there, & ain't that a peach?
- the internet's dangerous @ these moments of giddy over-fatigue. consumption! i want to find a subaru brat! & tow it back home! a pair of snow boots (this would seem to be the time of yr to buy some)! whiteboy james! he plays all wkend in kern county. wow!
- the stupid part: we aren't opening for him this time bc of our recent guitarist problemo... little do james & co know, tho, how well brian paxton's been filling the bill while eddie has been out of action waiting for his 2nd eye surgery. (btw! two benefits for eddie will take place @ 1. trout's, aug 14, 3-11 pm [thank you, rockwell & lynda!]; & 2. alano club, aug. 20, 3 pm, -- flyers to come!)... yes, we've all been having fun playing together! bsp's learned everything mucho-quickly (he's a smart feller, yknow), pulled some awesome instrumentals out that are genre-spot-on, & even requested a vocal rehearsal so that 5-6 songs now have cool harmonies (not ever sounding "happy days," either, which is my fear)... now if we can figure out how to get rid of his mullet, we'll all be styling at our next shows!
- oh yes, add to this a perfect little pizza cooling on the counter. i'm reading about 80 books (god bless the public library!), the most delightful being life in paris by julia child, whose spirit can only infuse the reader w/joy. so when i just opened the oven to a steam-furnace blast & was able to use my peewee-herman-huge spatula to perfectly remove the perfect, bubbling pizza, it was a julia moment. oh! i wanted to crow in her distinctive voice, oh! how i LOVE to cook! ... however, that would've been a lie, coming from me; i merely loved the moment of pleasure i got to experience, now informed by & desiring julia's indomitable, lovable way. what a fascinating, unique character she was. and oh how i do love characters!
time for pizza... & tomorrow, yard sale up here on the hill, then dusk devils will meet to see the one & only whiteboy james!... sunday, our dear mama will have her birthday. her ex-son-in-law & nephew-in-law will be cooking for her & my ex-husband will be among the well-wishers. mama is so well-loved!
eat well! go to the library! sing a song! hug someone! use your mind! do some pushups! be a little weird! smile! wishing you a beautiful weekend.
bloop... bloop...

she's hackin' & wackin' & smackin... the killer awoke before dawn...

...she licked her paw.
- this gorgeous creature is my houseguest right now. i don't think she'll last here since 1) her owner wants her to settle in a house w/kids; 2) the jury's out on how she'll get along w/my doggy boys; & 3) we have coyotes here. she arrived in shock, as cats do when moved, so i coddled & cooed over her stricken, pretty furriness, hoping she wouldn't croak (she looked like she might). then last night as i was reading, insistent, inflected, burbling, even conversational little mews came from beside the bed. i looked down to see that kitty, looking once again like her old, healthy self, had a mouse. she looked at me w/blankly beautiful eyes, then began batting the tiny glassy-eyed corpse thru the air like a kid w/a volleyball. only felines & humans torture prey -- horrified, i whispered "good kitty" thru my rictus, wanting the animal to know i approved, tho as she set to devouring the mouse, her enthusiastic crunches & slurps sent chills down my spine. it was like that twilight zone episode where the little boy sends everyone to the cornfield: "it's GOOD you ate the mouse, kitty. that's a GOOD thing you did..."
- her stomach full, kitty walked neatly away, leaving a grand guignol scene from a romero flick: all that remained of mousey was jellied spinal cord & rear end, along w/ ghostly hind legs & tail.
- cute little field mice, eaters of amp cords, stealers of pet food, droppers of droppings, squeakers & scratchers in the night, beware: skittles is in town, & your numbers are up.

happy independence day!

here in laverne, ca, which is a kind of mayberry of east LA county, 4th of july is celebrated big time!! it will be great to celebrate the country's (&, on so-much tinier scale, my own) independence w/my dear friend, in the place where 16 yrs ago to the day i was forced to end my drinking "career." today when the air finally, mercifully cooled enough to do so, we rode bikes along long, wide, flat roads to a large camping & boating area heavy w/trees & smelling of barbecue & flowers & wind & roasting marshmellows, even, packed w/happy holiday revelers & families, & then past a huge swimming area in the beautiful sprawling lake, filled w/squealing, splashing figures, then, legs churning, up & down windy mtn roads over a dam & lastly sailing back down into verdant town w/streets lined w/towering pines & immaculate arts & crafts homes & chairs already set up for tomorrow's parade & flags.
yesterday we all celebrated big manny, such a well-loved soul... we showed up @ taste of texas in nearby covina to find the big barbecue joint-dancehall PACKED w/probably 500 people, over the course of the night... here are some pix from the happy, love- & music-filled evening... the highlight for me was seeing faces i haven't for 20 yrs, playing w/manuel (altho we didn't get to do any chuck berry, & i couldn't hear my amp), especially when he reached over & tinkled the keys w/me, in his gentle silly way, as well as dancing the night away w/santa monica walter, a super-fun & funny friend of jackie gleason girth & grace... what a dance partner! he swung & twirled girls around the dance floor all night long, & when it was my turn, i felt like i, too, could dance! walter's that good a lead.
happy independence day to all! may you be a bit more free...

don't drink, don't smoke, what do you do?

in santa monica, i took a quick vid of elviss simmons & the memphis strutters singing "blue suede shoes" into "goody-two shoes" (heretics!!) for art fein (lover of the king of rocknroll, as are all who have heart) & my sister (long-time lover of adam ant) -- it was crazy fun (tho blasphemous, maybe) stuff, "the ultimate party band," quipped memphis mike: a plus-sized, hairy, hammy elvis impersonator w/gene simmons facepaint; a hepcat doghouse bassist; FOUR horn players -- two slender women playing saxes bigger than their own selves, even! -- in fedoras, shades, & gold lame; a hessian-hard rock guitarist; & three femme backup singers in rockabilly pinup-dia de los muertos getup... anyways, the vid won't upload here, so look for the band elsewheres... :) this wkend i found out 1) the beach ain't bad (that could maybe sound weird, but i've had a fear of the mighty, mighty ocean for some time); 2) i could get used to it, mebbe (new idea: the ocean's power is awe-inspiring, not terrifying, perhaps), & it sure is great to be able to be outside at any time, under blue or cloudy skies, w/perfect ocean breezes cooling the body & soul; 3) i LOVE, LOVE BOOGIE-BOARDING, which works the body & feels like flying!!!; 4) what fun it is to be outdoors, meander, adventure, not plan, walk forever, explore; 5) how lucky it is to be in mid-age & still physically mobile, even agile; 6) i must always, w/o fail, take my "happy pills" (actually, pill) cause when i do, life's light, happy, so swell, but w/o it, i'm the titanic, a timebomb, a highway pile-up, pompeii... & so are all around me.
the perfect, crowded, suntanned, privileged, beautiful sta monica beach, & its funky messy colorful 420-heavy venice counterpart, are cool, balmy memories affixed now to my head. places i'm grateful to've settled for the week... now it's time to get ready for bakersfield, & this wkend, for big manny's benefit (read below). he's back to playing the guitar, so things're looking up for the  gentle rockin' giant... & today's news is that guitarman eddie's eyes are on the heal (benefit TBA), so there's much to be thankful for, yes indeed. if you're in bakersfield, or someplace else hot, stay cool, brother... the cool within can cool the without, so use it, don't lose it, & may all be copacetic for you & yours. semper ad meliora, friends. :)

let's help big manny. + "i've been waitin a long long time, just realized it's true, that my heart will always be in love with you."

this eve at practice scotty mentioned this video... what a delight to see it! this was the song where i really felt the music soar... to be in the middle of such a thing is quite a feeling!
al, dear man, threw us a curve ball toward end of song, as in his happy enthusiasm he tends to do, but laraine, his wife, shut the video player off right after that. :) i remember we caught the ball & brought it all home just a moment later... w/no video evidence, you'll just have to believe me. :)
time for bed, for tomorrow the gias bring chorizo & egg breakfast to the scores at SVDP & then i will get to hold peoples' sacred trust again, reading & writing & chatting w/them, as i got to do last wk.
life, o life, where will you take us all next?

upcoming: sat jul 9, noon-4 pm, al hendrix backed by canadian band six gun romeo at ethel's old corral... also, please spread word about the below event, taking place to help my dear friend, gentle man, & monster of powerful, melodious rocknroll american-roots guitar:

i know we'll meet again some sunny day

a friend of mine, i think, is suffering. i hope my friend, whom i no longer see, will be better sooner rather than later. let's both & all remember, if possible, that this, too (& all, & everything), shall pass.

dads, dusk devils, prayers

angie & i are blessed to have the greatest dad, a father we could never have dreamed up. he is gentle, intelligent, humble, hard-working, a life-long servant of society (like mama, like angie), an iconoclast disguised as an astronaut, movie-star handsome in his youth & a head-turner still at age 70, & has ruined us both: we assume all handsome men are as good as gold, that is, good as dad.
they're not... tho i'm coming to realize in general they're not as bad as i've tended to think. if i live to be 100, i'll still not have much figured out, in other words...
today we celebrate our dad, as well as our wonderful, generous, voraciously bright mama, & it's a pleasant, balmy day in bakingfield, somehow not yet blazingly hot, &  this morning i sat in a meeting rm w/warm-hearted, brave drunks, one being my kind & dependable ex, & dusk devils somehow have shows upcoming tho tragedy befell our latest member several wks ago...
next, please send out kind thoughts of good health to eddie, candye, manuel, chet, terri, karen, as well as any whom you know are suffering or just needing support. there are so many! when i consider how things could be instead of how they are... well, again, wow... mustn't take any thing for granted, not anymore.
upcoming shows, dusk devils:
july 8 - big's fullerton w/karling abbeygate & other rockabillies
july 16 - mr t's bowl los angeles w/devil doll & other rockabillies & burlesquies
please surf the net for more details... happy pop's day to all. :)

happy.

you happy? it's very american (specifically, i think, united statesian) to consider "happiness" to be so important. what about love, usefulness, duty, power, freedom, filial piety, or, for pete's sake, dough?
i just feel happy. so here is my up-to-minute gratitude list.
please make yours.
sobriety- peanut brittle ice cream- birds flying, chirping, singing- 88 blacks & whites- reading (most recently, NYers, the week, runner's world, books first families, wicked plants, & off the grid)- restoration to sanity- wind chimes- family- dallas mavericks' win- talking with cousin jerry in tex about it - sweatshirt & flipflops- cold water- most amazingly, chuck berry & big joe turner on the restaurant radio- sunlight- friends - roscoe & gusgus- kind & noble ex- skittles the beautiful cat- fresh trout - good physical & mental health- refreshing breezes- sleeping- hiking home from the bus- quiet & calm- juicy burger- yucca, oaks, sage, & pine- dexter on netflix- visitors- amazing sister getting black belt- dad the cheery workhorse, mama the reading/cooking couch-cat- frazier park transit bus- my lovely home- safety- dusk devils- cattie ness & revenge- prayers for sick & injured friends & loved ones- st vincent de paul's gorgeous new facility & strong, good-hearted volunteers- nice bakersfield weather- crisp, clean frazier park weather- riding the 2-speed foldable peugeot all over bakersfield- kind, flirty emails from my piano teacher gene - my truck, ugly as sin, that runs like a clock- moolah in the bank- ability to have choices- contemplating road trips

wave at the bus, son!

this is the best ever. dad waves daily to teenage son
to get the full effect, scroll down & look at each & every picture of Dad: wave to the bus

"and my heart soars"

this is how i feel today.
no foolin. it's foreign, therefore slightly scary, tho calmly so... the top or at least heretofore most active layer of my mind, where the craziness, mania, jumpiness, hahaha, go go go, cry cry cry, fight fight fight, & – i fear – creativity resides, is gone for now. i am placid as a lake, a soft-boiled egg, a sleeping cat, my soft soft bed, the billowing, ever-drifting, sighing sea of clouds that fill the sky before me as i type at this amazing picture window, this green, expansive setting of trees & mountains & birds & nature & respite &, 5 miles away tho visible by way of a happy combination of elevation & view, trucks & cars traveling & twinkling along i-5... detached, not worrying, breathing deeply... is this serenity? how long will it last? for now, it's here – may you have it, too. a poem:
“the beauty of the trees, the softness of the air, the fragrance of the grass speaks to me.
"the summit of the mountain, the thunder of the sky, the rhythm of the sea, speaks to me.
"the faintness of the stars, the freshness of the morning, the dewdrop on the flower, speaks to me.
"the strength of the fire, the taste of salmon, the trail of the sun, and the life that never goes away, they speak to me
"and my heart soars.” (chief dan george)
if you were happy to read that, i highly recommend this: earth prayers from around the world ps - just realized this sense of peace might be due to having weed-eated (weed-ate?) the yard for 2 1/2 hrs (i have a big yard)... might just be too pooped right now to be a squirrel.
whatever the cause, i'll take it! :) feliz dia, queridos! :)

Feelin' Good - Nina Simone

"hello" to jp + bang bang: great song, bad idea

hello.
thank you for continued interest in life. and i suppose me.
it's good to maintain a constant interest in life - one's own, others', the life process. good but elusive.
i bashed my noggin pretty badly yesterday, so we'll see where this writing goes -- here're some pix from this past wkend. cattie ness & the revenge: nice, fun-loving full of life, generous, laid-back comrades. becky, strong & beautiful, has created for herself a full artist's life which she kindly shares w/people like me. as you can see, the band pic came out well -- atractive folks, photogenic. however, from now on, i will groom myself for shows, & for life, for that matter, since when i don't, i feel like i'm in drag, an impostor, a midget. becky'd asked the band for an elegant look -- you can see that she (& fabi) are gorgeously coiffed -- mentioning "audrey hepburn." sighing w/doom, i realized i can't even see "audrey hepburn" from here... but "lon chaney"? yes, that look's possible, as you can see from hotel photo of my texting marathon w/fellow monster... ah! society breeding discontent & desperation (damned freud!)... ah! unstructured life condemning soul to sloth & madness (i pray temporarily)... this reminds me, tho, that i glimpsed another kindred spirit in dex romweber when skimming his CD dedication to both st cecilia & chaney & wonder if he's better-reconciled the monstrous & ecstatic impulses, a life of fun & bliss blackened by the hole of heartache & oblivion. thought my fellow monster had it made, but he, too, confessed to sadness & brokenness. arrrgggh.
will there be fun & fulfillment again before this pop stand blows? can we write out a syllogism? what would the fringe physicists say? certainly someplace there are different versions of you & me & everyone we know, & some of them gotta be consistently happy. quantum mechanics thusly alleviates, @ least for this parsec, bleakness & self-pity... w/that, let's toss the gloom & wish happy rapture-that-never-came to all. we're all still breathing, for pete's sake! lastly i must thank a person i know for ratting the demon out so that he didn't have to try to contain her all alone & so she could live another day & maybe get a dang exorcism once & for all. as for mr & mrs gia, there are seats in heaven for them both, & no words can tell how much i love them. bravery to do what the soul calls -- i've had it; i've been there; i seek it again. may your path today be clearly-guided, gentle & brave.

road trip, friendship, a little tip

- glamorous becky & co came up to the mtns yesterday to practice for her bd show, bringing boxes of food: becky's smoky tri-tip & potato salad, fabi's rice, guacamole from johnny's grandparents' avocado ranch, & more. my main contribution was dogzilla, the most gigantic hotdog i'd ever seen, from flying j at I-5. john bruce hipped me to a garage punk site run by ratboy69 & played a fast, fast town hall party-style instrumental i hope they will record. fabi sat on her prettily-painted doghouse bass, pulled up karaoke from youtube on her i-phone, & sweetly sang "volver volver" & "la bamba" on breaks & becky & i harmonized buck & don & i found out our voices blend well! b & f went thru my show wardrobe & found me a dress to fit the "cocktail" theme, assuring me i won't look like a dumpy old lady & that they'll make me look "classy & beautiful." i don't know what to say except i hope they can & will. :)
- cover for the show'll be $10. we're starting our set w/fats domino & closing w/some late-50s psychobilly, a crampsian freak-out to lead-in the psycho- bands to follow. should be a fun time, showing up early for sound-check & so the girls can glam me out as they do themselves, staying at dude boy ranch (aka brad's house), then back to meet dusk devils for mtn practice. woohoo!
- the birds at the window, in the tree, soaring around, on the lines, on the ground are singing that it's a joyful day. my tip for today, read this a.m.: "every day is a god, each day is a god, and holiness holds forth in time" (annie dillard).

wanda, dex, & damien

not that you asked, but this is what i've been listening to lately, along w/cattie ness & the revenge stuff for becky's bd show in 2 wks. i love the weirdness of the wanda album, from its lugosi-meets-elvis valentine cover to jack white's "reverb-drenched" kitschy mix: lux & ivy'd be (would've been) proud! my fave, tho, is dex -- hard-rockin, full-throated, pleading, crazy-in-love, betrayed, sobbing, romantic, sincerely way-out dex... his commitment to music invites such grandiloquence! too, i love his absolutely-no-irony. good gravy, that haunted cat can wail!
some more of my audio favorites are these: james brown live @ the apollo; little walter le roi du blues; professor longhair house party new orleans style; the blasters over there (ep);  get hot or go home compilation; gun club the fire of love; self-titled LPs/CDs by the blasters, the paladins & the flat duo jets, 1st LPs; hank ballard & the midnighters; the stooges rubber legs; the cramps gravest hits (ep); five royales monkey hips & rice (if you have this & rip it for me, i'll give you BIG CASH!!!!*); jerry lee lewis london sessions; clifton chenier bayou boogie; chuck berry the great 28; ronnie dawson monkey beat city; wanda jackson rockin in the country; big sandy on the go; phil alvin's 2 solo LPs; gene taylor's 2 solo LPs; johnny burnette & the rock'n'roll trio tear it up; carl perkins sun sessions; fats domino specialty box set; wild fast & out of control box set (just cause it's got most all the standards in one place); born bad series; preservation hall jazz band; etc etc etc! (* along w/the DVDs of the movies "safe" [1995, todd haynes dir.] & "molokai" [1999, paul cox dir.])... wow! i almost forgot! today is SAINT damien's feast day! see link @ right about blessed saint damien, a gruff, misunderstood, hard-working, humble human being who dedicated his life to the lepers of molokai'i, who loved them & dearly cared for them when they were treated like animals, a true hero, patron saint of those w/leprosy, HIV/AIDS, & incurable disease (such as alcoholism), sanctified last yr.... well, gotta go. the creature that lives in the walls is scratching away. no metaphor there -- i'm talking a real varmint! after all, living in the mtns means we get beauty (snow last night! mother's day snow!)... & also critters! :)

it's alive!!!!! friends... good... dusk devils don't die

 -> we've been in shock dealing w/news that phil & his family were MOVING!!! we were gonna record a CD w/art fein producing called "dusk devils die," but the prospect was just too depressing, so we didn't... what to do? at our last show, brian paxton, dusk devils' original guitarist, spelled the phil for a set, & i thank him for that, & phil performed that day/ eve w/the reliability; melodic, blistering playing; good humor; & tons of wonderful traits he's always given the band... it was tough to play, knowing he'd be leaving soon, but what a swell final show it was. :)
-> we sure miss phil, but have to be done blubbering over it & know that if he ever comes back & wants to join up again, dusk devils will be a two-guitar band!!!

the excitement of maybe

that's the title of exene's new record (on bloodshot!)... brilliant! is there anything more exciting than the maybe, potential, perhaps, dream, rhapsody of possibility? sometimes, just sometimes, the reality approaches or even (so rarely) exceeds the maybe... but the ecstasy of maybe!... so easily lulled, i'm always grateful i somehow have a doer's constitution (imbued w/it? nature or nurture? don't matter). plus, living in fantasy & pipedream scares me! i know & have known a "shiftless dreamer" (to quote the addams family) or two & find them romantic & frustrating! -- maybe their imagination & vision is fuller than mine? -- but bottom line is, the maybe calls to all, like sirens to sailors, but i don't have to get lost in it or be destroyed by it...
anyways, my favorite of exene's lately songs has been "white trash wife" from "old wives' tales" -- what lyrics!... two ppl brought up x this past wkend - that exene lives in orange, that a friend does jdoe's amps & that jd still lives here AND (mebbe) in bako... and the maybe is calling to me now, thinking of all this & the other details that go along w/it which i must keep private for now, but i won't be dashed on the rocks of reverie... so i write about it here!
may you glimpse the romance of possibility today... but act in the realm of reality! :) (the most perfect-handsome-romantic-dreamer in movie history: raul julia as gomez addams)

happy may day!!!!!

- what a day for the usa! here is a bouquet for you who read, since i cannot put it on your doorknob, as we used to do for our mothers as we all walked home from school, bearing the flowers we'd made that day in class... this evening's news! resolutely, the man in the white house has proved his vision, intelligence, & strength. no showboater, this president. nose to grindstone, his administration & its navy seals have accomplished an amazing feat. "it's like if america captured hitler," said my friend. "he moved our troops to the country where the REAL war was; he kept his eye on the prize, & he got it."
- i hope those who have poorly veiled their racist motives while purporting to "demand the truth" about our president will shut up & go home now. i hope our president is proud of what happened today on his watch! - tho surely he would not take pride in the death of a fellow human, no matter how malevolent, & glory's not why the president, a man of bravery & brains, nobility & humility would do this. he will move now to the next arduous task, w/o fanfare. he will continue to toil to help us all.
- it happened today. it happened because of president obama. "mission accomplished!"

clepto, cats, cattie ness, kleenex, common touch, country kitchen

- i was stuffed in the cab of johnny rage's truck between johnny (drummer) & fabi dean (upright bassist), coming home from practice in bksfld w/cattie ness & the revenge, when johnny swerved & bellowed into my ear, "HEYYYY DUDDDESSSS!!!" as we soared past a band van to our right, pulling a trailer hand-painted "clepto.net." he laughed maniacally & yelled, "those're my buds from canada!! oh my god!!! we gotta run them off the road!!!!!" his friends, "arabs from canada," have a "metal punk" band, & johnny, who plays not just w/cattie ness but w/punk band D.M.F. (dirty m...fers), said, "i really respect those guys cause they quit their jobs & they've been on the road for three years playing; they're livin' it!!"
- we pulled off at ft tejon just as a family of deer were on their gentle way & waited til the unsuspecting clepto van clambered by, at which pt johnny stomped on it & we careened in pursuit, tires screeching, even sailing on two tires for a second as he in his haste rammed the onramp curb... @ the frazier mtn exit, fabi & i got burgers while johnny visited w/clepto, surprisingly mild-looking, sleepy, hirsute young men... then J&F took me right to my doorstep, kind young friends, & took a deep breath of the mtn air here & smiled & sighed, "wow!" before they went home to the big city.
- to back up, this was a wheel-less wkend, a bit of an adventure, 1st walking the mile down thru frazier park "village" to the county transit bus stop, taking that to downtown bakersfield, then walking from there to oildale while listening to rev frost's show on my new ipod... hoofing across the oildale bridge to the sounds of ronnie love's "chills & fever," gazing at the supplely-flowing kern river, the swaying grasses, the cavorting birds, i thought, well, no kids, no spouse, but i do got adventure.
- as i got to trout's, jani pulled up & off we went to pick up our friends, then to a touring company of "cats" at the rabobank, thanks to generous mama, whom we called & cheered a thank you. (when my niece was little, i trained her to call mama "grandma claus" bc of her easy largesse -- just a few days ago, mama took us to see my 1st opera, the silly, sexy rossini farce "le comte ory," at the edwards cinema!) none of my friends had seen "cats," & for me it had been 20 yrs; i was stunned by what i'd not appreciated when i was a kid -- the limber, lissome cartwheeling & twirling, executed SILENTLY by athletic dancers who at the same time SANG -- as well as was ongoingly distracted & chagrined by flashbacks to the "simpsons" parody of the play... despite my prematurely hardened shell, when i'd see "cats" as a cynical kid i'd always cry during the show-stopping histrionics of "memory," the last time copping a resentment cause i knew that dang tear-jerking note was coming, but could do nothing to stave the waterworks. what melodic calculation -- what musical dishonesty!! to save my friends potential embarrassment, i slipped them kleenexes, instructing jani to wait to give one to young jenna, who is sharp & cool & therefore might not even be moved... engrossed in the play, jani directly handed the kleenex to jenna, which then meant i was gigged for the rest of the show. i'd look over & jenna'd be grinning at me, making crying motions w/her face & hands. i'd look over again & she'd whisper, "how you doing, sniffles?"
- a few thousand breaths later, i was having bbq in a teepee in tehachapi, then headed out to the desert to see a friend speak at a meeting. afterward i had thrifty's ice cream &, in the dark desert night, promptly got lost w/no gas in the tank. many unhappy hrs later, i met cattie ness & her band at country kitchen in bksfld & practiced at a studio off union avenue & i do love how becky leads the band w/firm hand, yet how laid-back she can be as well as appreciative of other musicians, & i like how loose & friendly the revenge is & that we played every song today SUPER FAST!!! it'll be a fun birthday show i'll get to take pt in w/bd girl cattie/becky. 2nd guitarist adam -- whose pleasant air, quick ear, mild manner, & even looks remind me of the phil -- & i will be guest revengers that eve, & hellbound hayride & another psychobilly bands will play, too. whee!
- after the happy sardine-can ride home w/johnny & fabi, i got email from a lovely musician who wrote, "would you like to come play w/us?" what a thrill! i hope it happens, but if not, to be asked was nice... so in spite of life's little & sometimes big ups & downs, music, like life, goes on. c'est la vie... c'est la musique!

boogiewoogiepianorama & pure bombast

1st player: "boogiewoogiepianorama" - 1st in series of BW piano pieces & drum practice.

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lower volume on the 2nd player above before listening (i spose its loudness is appropriate for such ham). song: "one night of sin" - recorded in 09 at old house in rm w/great acoustics, real piano(s); vocals redone in late 2010.