First off, my deepest condolences to the death of the great Lam Chun Keung, one of Hong Kong's most prominent lyricists, artists, columnists, and funniest figures. To review some of his classic oneliners, click here.
Jammed with Rockin' Bones last nite at Clarendon Ballroom. They are really the truly authentic 50's Rockabilly band in town. I love playing with these guys b/c they really bring out the essence of Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Elvis, Carl Perkins, etc. I grew up with that music! Thanks to my friend Bruce Katsu, the lead guitarist, for inviting me out. It was a privilege to share the same stage with vocalist Eddie Day, bassist Paul Cleary, and Danny Gatton's drummer Dave Elliott. I must have made an impression to the band members as well as the even organizer Tom Kerner as he invited Clarence Turner Blues Band to play at one of the swing dance gigs in January/February.
Nov 17 12:27 am
Weekend was great! Lacking Ledbetter meant more time by myself and my loved ones. Went to a moderately disappointing Galactic concert at 9:30 Club. Don't know why all these jazz fusion bands now choose to adopt a more "spaced-out" approach. Tired of groove and funk? While Stanton Moore sounded great on drums, their new songs just don't have the same punch of their classics.
Saturday was even more mellow. Had dinner w/Stephanie, my good friend Karen's sister. Now I feel like I know the Jones family pretty well. Sat in and took pictures for the Janine Wilson Band at Summit Station, Gaithersburg. Was lucky to be on the same stage with the talented Deanna Bogart again.
Got a lot of studying done, thanks to Ryfie's inspiration. Actually, the 4-hour+ Common Grounds studying session turned out to be the highlight of the weekend. I had the pleasure of reading Ryfie's murder mystery piece "Sweet Dreams" with a haunted ending a la Stephen King novels. Ryfie has a natural talent to write. In return, she finds me "intropsective," which means "examining own sensory and perceptual experiences" in my dictionary. This reaffirms, or adds deeper meaning to, my Chet Baker mood.
Nov 14, 5:06 pm
Went to the Corcoran Gallery w/ Summer last nite for the J. Seward Johnson exhibit. It was spectucular. Johnson created these life-size sculptures out of classic impressionist-era paintings, He adds humor and precision into his works. Solidly amazing! The highlights include Van Gogh's bedroom (Think "Cat in the Hat" absurdity) and Renoir's boathouse party where Johnson invites his own guests. Definitely worth a visit and bring your camera.
When I took the metro back to White Flint, I realized I have decreased my chances of romantic encounters by seldom taking public transportation these days. Think of how many people you can potentially meet on the metro. I have met many people or run into my old friends this way. Now that I drive all the time, I'm spending a substantial amount of time with myself and my car stereo (and if I'm lucky, Gwen Stefani's sexy vocals). I should take the metro more.
Congrats to Munish for passing the NY bar!! Been invited to an obscure "paint-ball contest." Relieved that I wasn't supposed to go to that. Adam has the strange notion that he can invite anybody to anything that he's been invited to, including exclusive VIP only events.
BTW, I have hiccups when I'm writing this entry. Have a good weekend (and be charmed by this M. Hui photo).
Nov 9, 11:16 pm
...Slowly coming back to the Chet Baker mood again; and feeling lonely & depressed again, but with style. I was pleasantly disappointed w/ Love Actually (See film ratings). Went home and watched Charlie Brown X'mas (take the quiz here) on DVD for the first time. What a treat! The magic of Vince Guaraldi is that he can incorporate his hugely swinging jazz and expressive ballads in an all-rounded children show, not unlike the talented Johnny Costa did for Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. (That shows means a lot to me emotionally.) I guess these days I''m just content with listening to cool jazz, having a nice cup of eggnog latte, & reflecting on my past. Some red wine would help too. Quoting a hero, "sometimes you just got to let a pimp vent." Come into my life, won't you be my neighbor? It's been 6 months, baby.
Nov 8, 11:52 am
Good morning blues. Saw Johnny Winter at State Theatre last night - wow, what a disappointing gig. First, the audience was ugly. Johnny Winter looks very old and fragile. He can't play guitar licks like he used to. He cannot even sing in key, his tempo is all wrong. What ever happened to my guitar hero? Comparatively, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck (in roughly the same age group) are in much better condition than Johnny. It's funny how drugs can do to you - if you don't have good health, you can't play the blues! His band members were mediocre. His harp player, Dave (last name unknown), sucks. His licks were limited; no soul; but flashy like the White Tiger guy from Vegas. He was more like a magician than a bona fide harp player. I left early and joined BOB at Adams Morgan for a fun two-hour ride of funky music.
Nov 6, 6:41 pm
Stunned to hear about the mysterious death of Bobby Hatfield of Righteous Brothers (sentimental b/c I saw their concert w/my Mom in Vegas 3 years ago). Spent half a day trying to figure out/playing with this Friendster stuff, due to Eddie's coercion. Turns out this thing is pretty cute; beats Match.com by a long shot b/c it's free! Received Charlie Brown X'mas Special & Jacky Cheung on DVD's. Very happy. Will check them out over the weekend. This is the last weekend for me to have fun before some serious studying for the VA & NJ bar exams. No more Chet Baker mood due to hot weather and pouring rain. It was cool a week ago. My Chet Baker mood will resume when the film Love Actually actually opens.
Nov 4, 7:34 pm
Congrats to my co-workers Meredith & Karen for passing the MD bar!! I truly believe in inspiration these days - churned out 3 songs in a mere 2-hour period (see lyrics page) that I actually like. Another uneventful day at work. My quirky brother sent me this quirky article about IQ according to geography (read it here) in which Hong Kong people are ranked No. 1. Is this a racist study or is it ingenious? E-mail me and tell me what you think.
Nov 3, 12:34 a.m. Weekend Update.
Where do I begin? Well, I didn't screw Halloween as hard as I could. Went to Bill's organ trio at Mr. Henry's. It was a good show with Dominic Smith's wig being as realsitic as real hair. No doubt Bill Heid's one of the world's greatest organ players. An eye-candy to watch some jail baits dressed up in Halloween costumes. Thanks Jeff for showing up at the last set, after having sold a car.
Saturday morning was chilled and relaxed. Duff's party turned out to be lame. A gathering for some fat, old bitches who know nothing about music. I left early. Ledbetter was cool as always. Bill was fine on the keyboards as Gene blew his guts out on the sax. Bill and I hit Gavin's party at the last second, catching some herb activities. Somehow I always thought Gavin was going to Russia, but he's in fact going to Amstesdam for at least 3 months. Bon Voyage Gavin. Damn yo' sister has many hot friends.
Sunday
was lazy. The highlight of this action-packed weekend was of course Candy
Dulfer's performance at Ram's
Head. First, West St. in Annapolis is quite hip. I'm gonna hang out there
more. Second, Candy is magnificent on the sax. Her good looks are aptly compensated
with her mind-blowing sax solos. This chick can play!! The only complaint I
have is the electronic/pre-rehearsed nature of some of her music. I got her
autographs and took some photos with her. Damn she's really beautiful in person
(See photo) despite lots of hair on her arms. The night ended with Bill Heid's
electrifying organ performance with Jim West and Pam
Bricker (Get well soon, Pam) at Club Kadafi.It was a Bill Heid kind of weekend.
Oct 29, 11:25 pm
Just came back from sitting in with Esther Haynes & Nick Smiley at Half Moon BBQ. Call me a snob, but I don't do jams and rehearsals anymore. Because one can just sit in with great players like these and enjoy a good time. They're such nice folks. The list continues: Rusty Bogart, Brian McGregor, Tom Newman, etc. You can learn so much from playing with these cats. Yoko called in between two sets. Now I understand why Jeff likes getting calls between sets. It's such a nice feeling. Looking forward to this action-packed weekend.
PBS's
"Martin Scorsese presents 