August 27, 2006

10:20 p.m.

The Pinks

Would that be the opposite of The Blues? Technically I suppose Orange is on the other side of the color wheel, but I'm not so big on orange. Amber, maybe. But amber is more like sensual to me; sensual and intense and spiritual with a dash of intellectual. I'm more like, um, what's that word... yeah, happy. I'm kind of happy right now. A little rosy.

In the continual effort to find and maintain balance on a rope that is swaying gently in the breeze, or perhaps lunging sideways in a gale force wind, I am, at the moment, relatively peaceful.

More tinkering with my editing work, and ramping up to a couple more little projects, did not, however, interfere with spending most of this day in entertaining myself. This was due in part to the need for much reminiscing about the lovely weekend I just spent here with James. Well, it wasn't the whole weekend -- Friday early afternoon until Saturday evening -- but it was the longest we'd spent together and he stayed over at the garret. The word blissful comes to mind; fun, romantic, copacetic. I cooked, he washed. We walked around my little town center. Ate breakfast at a local cafe. Watched hilarious British comedy. Talked and made love and began to learn how to please each other. Went to Rose's (temporary quarters) for a cookout. She and her beau liked him very much. (No, we didn't grill him. It was a chicken.) No big lumps, no scary stuff, no red flags, no disappointments. He acts rightly, he smells good. He's honest and strong, even when he's scared. He played some songs for me on my guitar even though he felt intimidated by having seen me play. He said he was rusty; still, he has good chops. I liked his voice; we could sing together. The ranges match. We were nice to each other and found it good.

I like him very, very much. The ambivalent days are over.

********

Meanwhile, I had this solo gig last week, a split with my friend Wes at a local eatery. I hadn't played solo for what, four years or so now, and we did it as a lark because it's right down the street from us and he knows the owner and it's an easy little gig to do. I had done an emailing to our list, everyone in the local area, and put up posters around town. Still, I know that band fans are mostly interested in the trio, and I didn't expect a lot of people.

The place was packed! I didn't know it could hold that many. I saw faces I knew from band gigs; one couple came up and said they used to come hear me when I played out with my (bipolar ex who killed himself) in the early 90s. There were also old fans of Wes's, at least one of whom had a very old LP he wanted signed. It was a jolly, enthusiastic crowd, and we played long and they didn't mind. Between CD sales and the tip jar I made over $300, not having expected to come away with any significant money.

My old songs were still a little rusty, but I interspersed them with more solid material so the overall performance was okay. I enjoyed hearing my voice and my guitar clearly (without having to distinguish them from within the large sound the band makes). I proved I could still front a set, and had fun developing a rapport with the crowd. It was nice to play with Wes, too; we'd been lame about getting together beforehand, but we said we'd book another date there and prepare some harmonies next time. He's made a documentary about Elvis, too, which he'll show there next month. It's called "200 Cadillacs," about all the cars Elvis gave away to people in his lifetime.

Car maintenance early tomorrow, and working with Carol on her parents' anniversary scrapbook. Later in the week, we'll receive our NEW CD!!!! in the mail and do some big mailings. I might possibly go to New Jersey over the weekend; James has invited me, not wanting to wait almost another month to see me again. :) I'm playing it a little by ear depending on what's coming up afterwards, but it might be nice to go...

Bedtime, meanwhile.