Fight Or Flight

• More On The Fight
• More On My Flight
• My Musical Aspirations

I have been frustrated by the library computers, because the Blogger W.Y.S.I.W.Y.G editor doesn't load properly and is useless. I have to spend my time using HTML code, like This, just to enlarge text...
This will be another blessing of getting out of here for a while...speaking of which..
A quick addendum to the fight story of yesterday.
Yeah, I actually sat there and took verbal abuse from the punk; even to the point when he punched me in the cheek (but not even hard enough to knock my glasses off) but it was when he knocked my hat off my head and I saw it laying on the sidewalk (and I think he was ready to stomp on it and kick it into a puddle of water/piss/spit/motor oil/pidgeon droppings/snots/semen/ear wax/tears and Popeyes Chicken) and it conjured up the memory of having been gifted it by Dorise;

and it was as if the guy had attacked her, in a sense, and I snapped so completely that I actually sent the guy flying backward with my first punch to his face and then; as soon as he righted himself, I was there with a shoulder to his shoulder, which knocked him onto the hood of a car; and then an elbow to the jaw, sending the pigeons skyward, and the rest was an adrenaline fuelled blur.
I started to pummeled him so hard in the kidneys after knocking him down again that the girls went back inside Popeyes.
They had been smoking a blunt and were probably afraid that police were about to show up...
The guy actually got up out of the puddle, dripping all of the above and came over to me and said: "If you ever come at me like that again, I'll kill you!" and got right back in my face.
He may be someone who enjoys being beaten.
The next morning, my shoulder was sore and I had scrapes on one elbow and one knee...
My Knight

Bilal Can Sell You This

I happened to tell Bilal, who is the curator of a French Art Museum, and whom I have jammed with on occasion (he likes to set up his amp and play his expensive guitar in front of the place after getting off work sometimes) the story.
He assured me that the guy would never bother me again, should I point him out to him. "You're connected. You have some powerful friends; don't worry, my friend..."
My Night
I played at the Barnaby spot last night, and had only gotten about 3 bucks when I took my first break, to go and spend one of them on a beer.
I returned and played from about 10:30 till a little after midnight and netted another 4 bucks.
Purgatory
A pack of cigarettes and beer for the night is the same value of a brand new set of strings...
The reason that (when I think as a "spiritually minded" person) I deem NOLA to be like a Purgatory on earth is just such occurances.
It is like a test to see: "Can he go all night without smoking and drinking, so he can buy a new set of strings in the morning?"
And when you look at the top grossing street acts Tanya/Dorise and Doreens Jazz Band; you see bottles of water by their sides; and never any cigarettes.
You could say that this is part of their "professionalism" and that those things would detract from their presentation (Tanya with a Lucky Strike dropping ashes on her clothes and drooping from her lips as she tears through a solo?).
Doreen needs all the lung capacity that she can muster...
The Hokum High Rollers have bottles of expensive beer at their sides and actually perform with cigarettes hanging out of their mouths, as a notable exception to this rule; but, in their case; it is like window dressing, adorning their "hillbilly" shtick...
And, when "Wolf" (see hilarious video above) plays the trombone along with Doreens Jazz Band, a pint of Evan Williams Whiskey will tell you which chair he is sitting in, by which seat it is sitting under...but, again it actually helps the stage presence; in his case...


Coming Soon: Vote For Your Favorite

French Quarter Passed Out Guy

Aspirations
There have been a couple mentionings in my comments concerning my "musical aspirations," or lack thereof.
At this point I am focusing entirely upon getting better at playing.
I have been getting feedback from people (Barnaby is an honest critic) and have even given up upon trying to match the right song to the people who are walking past and have been practicing as much as performing, lately.
I will, in the future, go back to "promotional" activities...
To wit: If I make it to Boston, my old friend, Ted Broughey has a fully functional digital studio in his studio apartment.
He is an excellent drummer and an excellent friend, who has invited me to crash there; get cleaned up; and look for a job waxing floors or whatever; and all the while having access to all kinds of techno gadgets (He is a cameraman for one of the local TV stations).
My goal is to make a "leap forward" (to quote the lamented Chairman Mao)in my next media incarnation -to become "ready for prime time," to drop another phrase, in one fell swoop.
I am cramming scales and arpeggios and learning songs such as Drunk On The Moon, by Tom Waits, which has a jazzy progression which will port to many other songs; opening the door to learning jazz "standards," which can a lucrative endeavor here.
I've actually had to learn it in chuncks over several days and it took about a week to be able to make the chords swing -proof of its worthiness as way to improve upon my playing.

Paul (in red) "Keep Doing What You're Doing."

And...should I return here, after becoming cleaned up and having worked waxing floors and bought equipment and burned CDs of professionally recorded versions of my songs, then my present "aspirations," would have come to light...

But, right now, I am learning from Paul and Tanya and Doreen and Brian Hudson and even Christina Friis; each of whom have a unique lesson to teach about different aspects of the "business," and specific advice to pass on.

Paul especially has encouraged me to "keep doing what you're doing."

Brian has told me: "Just make up your mind that you're not going to drink while you play...have a few afterwards..."