Let's just say I had a little bit too much fun at last night's CD release party. Let's just say beer, tequila, and rum. Let's just say hot girls in summer dresses making out on the cushioned booth. Yeah, let's just say that. At one point, I turned away from the stage to see that the front room had been transformed into
The Tequila Scene from Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. It was like a dream, I tell you, and it may have been the most wonderful thing I've ever witnessed in my life.
Tequila!
Attention Screen played, too. Prior to the show, Bob Reina said he felt more comfortable than ever. You could tell he was ready to rock; the dude practically fluttered about the room with anticipation and joy. One by one, the band arrived: Don Fiorino with his assortment of tools; Chris Jones with a new bass guitar; drummer Mark Flynn with mallets, brushes, sticks. Everyone was happy to see Mark back with the band after several months away—especially John Atkinson, a big fan of Mark's drumming. Friends of the band occupied two walls of the small room, while other guests slowly appeared as the band took the stage.
I was happily surprised to see
Michael Lavorgna enter the room with a plastic, LP-sized bag in hand. He held it out to me and in typical ML fashion, he quipped: "Happy birthday. I hope it fits."
Inside were two LPs—one big, one small:
Where?, Ron Carter's debut as a leader, with Eric Dolphy, Mal Waldron, George Duvivier, and Charles Pership, and Roman Soldiers' "Warmer" b/w "Yuppy Fires" 7". Dude knows what I like!
Soon after ML showed up,
the Monkeyhaus' John DeVore walked in with a bag of banana chips in one hand and a brown paper bag in the other. "Happy birthday, dude," as he offered the brown bag. "Is it edible?" I asked. "Yes." Inside was the most delicious cupcake. "It was baked by a really hot girl," he informed me. Dude knows what I like!
Other familiar faces included writer and photographer
Ken Micallef, audiophile Beau Ranheim,
Stereophile music editor
Robert Baird, and bassist Art Guevarra. It was great to see everyone together and happy. It's something we should do more often.
JA captured the entire event on his laptop rig, and I snapped a few shots with my modest, old digital camera. Visit the gallery to
relive the magic. But don't drink the
Shrunken Head. And, whatever you do, don't drink
two Shrunken Heads.
