pair of '91 Festivas anticipated in Vancouver, BC January 26th

[bobstad]

I've gotten four tickets to go listen to a couple of hot Romani dance bands the evening of January 26th in Vancouver.[http://www.orkestarslivovica.org/201...ow-january-26/

One pair is dedicated to Sasquatch currently should he decide he'd like to attend and/or be there with someone.

I've invited Amy Denio too, who drives a '91 stock red Festiva she has who mentions she sometimes drives to Vancouver; here in Bellingham just below the border October 2nd last year, playing a gig with her band Kultur Shock.[http://www.kulturshock.com

That was fun seeing them parked together now the second time,* her fairly weathered looking stock one she has named Petunja in front of the one I drive outside on the street for Kultur Shock. Both with 180,000 miles and a suicide pact between them if we can't get them fixed up: A bottle of champagne at the crusher. Like launching the Titanic.

She'll probably end up living in New York and I'll stay stuck in this stupid apartment until they raze the building, after my two week notice to vacate. Probably with a crew of building demolishers already primed to glean my possessions; is one theory around here, the corporation owning the place now already not paying their bills so that the washing machines aren't getting repaired any more.

If Denio has a gig the 26th or other commitments perhaps she knows an alternate to drive her Festiva to Vancouver who'd also enjoy the music; if Sasquatch decides he'd like to see both cars and/or all the above. Or if anyone else chimes in enthused to view both.

Everyone else is sure welcome to show up; though fair warning the performance has been anticipated to sell out, the first ticket I purchased on-line; while now the on-line place I got the next three tickets at which is different from the first website, is also advertising $20 at the door. So, perhaps attendance will be a little sparse?

This was so at the Yuri Yunakov band's performance and dance September 21st, 2007 I was at in south San Francisco's Croatian Community Center; Bulgaria's greatest alto saxophonist. So, hard to say. When in the famous band led by Yuri's mentor Ivo Papasov playing clarinet they'd play for thousands in Europe.

Papasov had to cancel due to illness for the tour when I heard the first performance of the Yuri Yunakov band; which caused twenty cancellations of the forty scheduled performances on that tour. The INS kept out all the rest of the Bulgarian musicians other than nineteen year-old clarinetist Sal, who'd replaced Papasov; so the musicians had only two days rehearsal together before playing.



*The first time they were parked together was August 12 after her band she is president of, the Tiptons Sax Quartet's performance in Seattle.[http://www.tiptonssaxquartet.com I started calling them the New York Yankees of world famous saxophone quartets; after seeing the movie Two Days in New York with Chris Rock & Vincent Gallo, a month or so later. As we were chatting prior to getting into our respective cars, she mentioned I remind her of her wife. Gotta admit I've never heard a line like that before?

[bobstad]

Wowie!

I'd forgotten all about that movie Two Days In New York. Afterwards inspired by Rock's character Mingus's soliloquy about Amiri Baraka and Barak Obama, I'd gotten into contemplating an elaborate fantasy about world socialism being created by standardizing Festivas and Chevettes, as the new wave of taxicabs everywhere.

The Festivas, still made in Venezuela as now; while the Chevettes would be built in France, with three different style models named after Paris, Marseilles & Nice. The whole fantasy became a very dense one I must've thought about for hours, I've all but forgotten; something like all the Festivas being red ones for people who knew where they were going, with the Chevettes color coded for various interests-while each model of the three also had meaning as to the sorts of resources the driver might take one to.

My first lover Tina Blade I had a five month affair with the winter/spring of '73's father Walter owns Blade Chevrolet south of here in Mount Vernon, WA.[http://www.facebook.com/tina.blade.5 [http://www.bladechevy.net The last time I saw Tina May of '79 she gave me a lift with my ten-speed from Eugene up to near Santiam Pass in one of her father's lime green four-door Chevettes.

When we were in college together, I met in my first class showing up an hour early at the same lecture hall with only one other person there before us I'd been talking with when she got there; she drove on of her Dad's used cars, a pale green four-door Cutlass with red wheels and the stock hubcaps. Fantastic sport to drive downtown late at night from the bottom of the hill going up to west Olympia back towards downtown on the streets in front of Capital Lake since each intersection has deep troughs for lots of surface rain runoff which if you take them fast got the Olds airborne at each of them.

Ever think hard about the word "feral?" You are what you say; no hit backs, humanity!

After I got accepted for SSDI/SSI assistance early in '85, another woman also a former lover Islode Perry who later founded the Sunfield School and Farm in Port Townsend, WA[http://sunfieldfarm.org/ got me to move to Mount Vernon the spring of '85 to study with and assist macrobiotic nutritionist Bruce Berkowsky.[http://www.naturalhealthscience.com/ [http://www.facebook.com/pages/Natura...ref=ts&fref=ts

There I found in the Mount Vernon High class of '69 annual Tina's Dad bought a full page ad with a photo of her in a skimpy bikini draped across the hood of a new Corvette with a bunch of her high school hunks standing around the car, leering at her. Nice to think I can tell people she let me drive her Cutlass but only gave me a ride once in the green 'vette. Truth be told I never drove the Olds either, I just remembered; another guy in our seminar group always did for leaping the car downtown, the three of us in the front seat with her in the middle.

[bobstad]

Tina was also a musician, capably once playing a Joni Mitchell tune singing while playing her nylon string guitar for me alone together in her lonely rented run-down bungalow in the woods in Tumwater on the end of Pioneer Street which isn't even there any more; so well I got her to audition with a quintet featuring a trio of sopranos, singing old swing tunes called Old Coast Highway and Tattoo.

Popular regionally as professional performers, I think all of whom were in college too-the guitarist and bass trombonist musicians I played with in the Evergreen College Jazz Ensemble as one of the reed section musicians, and a couple of the singers in a music class I later took one of whom's younger sister was the third soprano who filled the spot Tina auditioned.

The women had need of someone to take the spot of one of their trio members who'd left the band; and liked Tina's voice though she couldn't read music so they couldn't use her. One of those ladies to give an idea of their proficiency level Suzy Grant, had premiered as a seventeen year-old Leonard Bernstien's Mass and is on his commercially available LP recording-no doubt difficult to find in an unused copy.

[Bert]

Watch yourself when crossing the border, and leave your hogleg at home!

[bobstad]

I'm staying home tonight after all; darn.

Opps! Last minute notice I almost forgot to tell anyone: I'll not be attending since unable to get court documents from Eureka, CA in time; necessary the Canadians take a look at to Yeah or nay me about entering Canada.

Thus, I did get a refund for my four tickets; so if Sasquatch shows he'll be left deciding if he'd like to pay his own way? That should be an interesting report; and/or anyone else managing to attend. What I'd been looking forward to; my pre-9/11 mentality about those sorts of things too. Oh well

Hey Bert; what's a "hogleg"? My guess a big handgun? The handle being suggestively like big pig's foot...

[crazyrog17]

pair of '91 Festivas anticipated in Vancouver, BC January 26th

Bob, I don't mind reading your posts, they're pretty enchanting the way you write but often I find there's no tying relevance at the end of your posts to a topic. Makes me sad that I read so much and left with question marks about my head

[Bert]

Bob, I don't mind reading your posts, they're pretty enchanting the way you write but often I find there's no tying relevance at the end of your posts to a topic. Makes me sad that I read so much and left with question marks about my head

Politely stated and one with which I agree. But do carry on Bob! By virtue of being Festy owners not a one of us 'follows the beaten path'. PS You're correct "Hogleg" is an affectionate western-era term for large revolver. Spooks Canadian Customs whenever someone tries bringing one across on their person, even though that's perfectly legal on the American side.

[bobstad]

So it goes...

Bert & crazyrog17 I'm guilty as accused; though an often difficult process on my end. Creating literary quality product or aspiring to do so isn't easy; and short stories are known as one of the most difficult things to be good at. I'm also trying to liberate myself from the computer a lot; since suffering headaches and not getting outside or enough exercise. I'm also dumping a drinking at home often habit; for similar reasons.

The deal here was an excited plan to be someplace with perhaps both my own '91 Festiva as well as a friend in hers nearly identical except different colors; and the 13" rims and tires I have with the FMS springs.

Hers is entirely stock; and we both suffer the same problems with the driver's side window. Each also with 180,000 miles; though she has had hers longer then me which also seems to be in better general condition too. If I didn't need my own parting that out to enhance hers could be a nifty idea; though as a "world class musician" that woman is so busy and pre-occupied while also a relative pauper all things considered; she is simply lucky her Festiva "Pentunja" seems to be a hardy survivor.

That dance party in east Vancouver was last night; which was something I'd of really liked to've been at; while also reasoning Amy Denio; the lady friend with the other '91 Festiva could be coaxed up there by the lure of a free ticket as well as perhaps some chance of meeting Festiva oriented folks with her car on hand. Though actually she is far too busy preparing for her band Tiptons Sax Quartet's upcoming European tour and next compact disc release; which first rehearsed November 11th, 1988 as Phlegm Fatale' in Seattle.[http://www.amydenio.com]

I think there could and should be an appreciation cadre formed of this website; to recreate her Festiva as befits such a dedicated hardworking cultural worker and exceptionally fine musician. Hard to imagine exactly how that could work; though perhaps a grant or grants could be arranged allowing such a thing? Lately Amy has been allowing me to refer to myself as her "male wife" which is a little mind-bending; except amongst show people not too difficult to relate to-and try to figure out? She is a very funny character; loaded with tricks and lots of imagination.

Her world famous saxophone quartet may not mean much in some ways to many readers of these forums: Though in musical history what is currently a ground breaking force now; not unlike Mozart, Bach, Beethoven & Brahms in their times. Not a lucrative sort of a career in monetary terms most of the time; though fantastically rewarding as a life's accomplishment is a good theory, only the participant themselves have the deepest opinions about.

I'm within a yard or two of stepping on any toes; and I sure know about that quickly. Always wondering if I'm still at arm's length, a little closer on occasion; or lost and forgotten of any particular moment in time. And I've also got my "real" life to worry about; too. A piss-cutter that; particularly with stupid damned cars!

[bobstad]

What a night!!!

Here is a better link I've just found; to Amy Denio's Mythunderstandings Seattle performances Friday & Saturday night to packed houses the 18th & 19th this month.[http://nseq.blogspot.com/

I noticed Gogol Bordello's fiddle player from a distance during intermission; so gave him an "air-violin" gesture he nodded at in recognition. Hey; that's pretty cute with the smiley!