Long time no write
Sofie had pneumonia last week, and was in the hospital for 3 days. I had stomach flu.
I now have bronchitis.
I feel like crap.
Sofie’s greatly improved… a bit raspy, but otherwise playful.
We started watching Pirates of Penzance Sunday. She seemed especially smitten by Kevin Kline.
My sister, Elysia, is flying into town this Wednesday. Wants to nail down some details for her wedding here in May.
She’s repeatedly tried calling Bella Dolce to arrange for a cake, but no answer. Anyone know what that’s about?
Okay. Time for me to make some tea. Just wanted to pass forward this awesomeness that George shared.
I’ll be back soon to write. I have lots to say. :)
Enjoy!
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I got something to say you know but nothing comes.
Janine, Tori, and me. May, 1992.
I’m psyching up to go see Van Morrison tonight at the Hollywood Bowl and came to my computer to put on some tunes. Of course, whenever I turn on my computer, I immediately get sidetracked from what I’m SUPPOSED to be doing. Stream of consciousness web surfing, if you will.
My musical poking around led me to MTV’s music video site. I feel the need to specify it’s their music video site since it’s been well over a decade since MTV has been about music videos.
I’m glad I grew up in the 80s if only to have witnessed the birth of that pop culture phenomenon.
Anyway, so my visit there led me to the clip I’ve posted below.
I recall the first time I heard this song. 1992.
GN was, well, he WASN’T my boyfriend, if only because I wasn’t really emotionally available. I suppose you could say he was a lover. An incredibly patient, kind, (and gorgeous) guy who came into my life at a time when my heart was broken into a million pieces and my confidence at an all-time low. He had just moved to Berkeley a few months earlier, having lived in Spain. I had just moved to Berkeley from NYC following a painful breakup. We met in March, 1991.
At the same time that GN entered my world, the person who broke me wanted to try to see if we could be put back together.
So both guys were in my life at the same time.
Anyway, GN and I were at his friend’s apartment, somewhere in Oakland. I wasn’t paying any attention to the television, then this video appeared on the screen.
The video… the song… the artist… literally stopped me in my tracks. Frozen. I was moved (or should I say paralyzed) in the way that great art can do.
Not long after that, Tori Amos went on tour. GN and I had the opportunity to see her perform during her tour stop in San Francisco at Bimbos in May 1992. Bimbos is an amazing venue to see any music act. We found a table raised on a platform, which we shared with Janine and David. Not having met before, we all quickly clicked, venturing out into North Beach after the show for late dinner and drinks.
A few months later, Tori returned for another SF performance, this time at the Legion of Honor. Actually, it was for 2 performances, back-to-back in one evening. This time, just Janine and I went. She and David had a friend who was doing the lighting for that show, which enabled us to stay around for the second set in the lighting booth and go backstage afterward.
Tori in concert… Well, I totally connected. She would speak between songs… just random stuff. At one point, she asked the audience what we thought of her eyebrows. She drew on some new ones for the night. She totally won me over right there. I’d never heard anyone contemplate as such about their eyebrows as she did - and I did and do. I told her so after the show when I had the opportunity to chat with her. For that minute, we were BFFs.
Janine and I lost touch a few months later. I dunno… Life moved on. It always made me sad to have not nurtured that developing friendship. I owed her for the whole experience, and she was a kind spirit. If anyone knows of a person named Janine who makes magdalena veils, put me in touch, please. I continue to want to repay her kindness. :)
Interesting side note: one of my once upon a time best friends, Kat, dated a man named Jon Evans. She met him when she went to a club in SF. He was the bassist in the band. She declared he was cute and one of the best bassists she’d ever heard. She talked him up, arranging for him to give her bass lessons. Clever ruse.
Actually, he IS an amazing bassist. He had (has) a band, Red Fish Blue Fish. He is also an incredible jazz musician; I always enjoyed his performances.
Well, eventually their relationship came to an end. Nearly a decade later, I discovered that he had become the bassist for Tori Amos, beginning in the late 90s, and continues to perform. This discovery was made when I went to a Tori Amos concert in Santa Barbara. When my panning eyes eventually landed on the bassist, I was like, “Is that JON?!?! WTF?!?!” I spent most of the concert distracted, trying to figure out if it actually was him. Toward the end of the show when Tori introduced the band members, she confirmed my suspicions. Yay, Jon!
So as I sit here procrastinating, I am very glad to share this work of art which is important and meaningful to me.
I guess I’ll go finally start doing what I’m SUPPOSED to be doing, now that I have my Van Morrison soundtrack cued and ready to play.
p.s.: I miss you, Kat.
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