Allan Holdsworth

After Gretchen's party celebration, Tony and I went to IMAC in Huntington to see Allan Holdsworth. What a great show! Allan on shredding guitar of course, Jimmy Johnson on bass, and Chad Wackerman on drums. Although Allan is a shy and reserved kind of guy, he came out and said, "It's been such a long time, I am so sorry I took so long to come back but I am very happy to be here!" The place went crazy!! The show started about 8:15 and they played till 9:05 and then took a break. The place was packed, with only a few seats left to be had, and the crowds energy and cheers were deafening! I can't even tell you the names of the songs he played (!!?!!) although at least 2 were from Road-Games (my fav Holdsworth album ever!) (I can't remember *all* the names because my Road Games and IOU albums are on tape (that are severely worn and pretty wobbly after nearly 20 years of listening, and I never wrote the names down!) My favorites though are Tokyo Dream and Three Sheets to the Wind as well as Road Games :)
After the break, about 9:20, they returned and set 2 continued. I know he played a song off of Metal Fatigue (my other fav album btw) although once again, I only knew it when they started playing but can't recall the name (!!!)
Allan was incredibly insane as usual! Man, it's almost unbelievable that someone actually plays so clean like that!! He was playing so fast and whaling that 2 or 3 times after a song he was vigorously shaking his wrist out and even left the stage twice doing it! Before another song, he laughed as we did when he said, "I'm afraid I'm going to screw this song up!" LOL... but of course he didn't...

Chad had a nice drum solo of course - although Tony and I agreed that (dare I even say this??) it could have been better !. I know, I know, Chad is an absolutely amazing drummer and was tight playing but we just felt he didn't give us that drum solo *hook* or groove. But that's what jazz is sometimes all about anyway I suppose... I mean it was amazing but just not as good as I have seen him or others in the past.
Maybe it's also because I have ALWAYS adored and loved Gary Husband on drums, with Allan, better!!!. Man, Gary with Allan is just beyond amazing! I couldn't help but voice my wishes that I wished Gary could have been there. Like Brian agreed and said after the show, (Brian being the only die-hard to show up btw lol) "Allan and Gary just always meshed perfectly!" True true true!

So the second set ended about 10:15. We cheered em out again of course, and they came back and did an amazing fast paced encore song!

So, all in all it was a really great show and I was thrilled to be there, being in the presence, breathing in the same air, note after notes filling my ears, sharing Allan for the first time live with Tony, you know- you know.. ;-)
I thought quite a bit about my friend Ken Cruse in a few songs and riffs..
He would have been there no doubt enjoying it as much as we were with smiles and jaws dropped. I know he was at times...

I did feel the show was a little short! As they all are usually, but one or 2 more songs would have filled the gap and long time absence a tiny bit more for me.
But I can't complain.... Allan was just incredible as he always is.
Let's hope he comes around a bit more often now :)

Celebration

Yesterday was an awesome day for us :)
We started off the day in Northport by spending it with Jean-Paul and friends celebrating the life and work of Gretchen Rau, at her beautiful home. (see previous blog about Gretchen from a few weeks ago.)It was such a beautiful day and SO many friends turned out. We sat on the edge of the water, drinking wine, eating delicious foods, talking about Gretchen, and watching the kids (who instantly bonded as kids do) throw big rocks onto the shore line making all the pisser clams shoot their waters up! I had never seen anything like that before.. and of course we all cheered when we saw the little clam waters shoot up into the air!.. lol. The kids also made a floating boat of some sort that they decorated with cray fish shells (they look exactly like baby lobsters) that were served at the party. They tried launching it a few times but it kept floating back in which was very amusing :)
It turned out to be a perfect day! Esp. with the threat and downpouring of rain that we've been experiencing here the past days!! The sun was shining and it was just perfect. Just as Gretchen would have wanted it.

The library room was decorated with tons of beautiful photographs of Gretchen taken over the years including this tribute article from the Times of Northport about her:

Gretchen Rau beautified big screen and Bayview:
Set designer leaves 'evergreen' impression on neighbors..
By Joshua Diamant

April 19, 2006
You didn't need to be a movie buff to know that Gretchen Rau, a longtime Northport resident who died last month at the age of 66, was a set designer of immense talent. All you had to do was walk by her house.

"I think the most interesting conversation I had with her was over a tree she'd planted in front of her house," recalled Northport Village Trustee Arlene Handel, who was a neighbor of Rau's on Bayview Avenue. "It was an evergreen magnolia, an unusual choice for this part of the world. This beautiful specimen typified her style. It was unexpected, beautiful, stylish, and she took a chance on planting it there. She had style and wit, and the tree is flourishing."

The New Orleans-born Rau died quietly in her home on March 29 of a brain tumor and received a private burial. Her passing was not widely noted until nearly two weeks later, when an obituary appeared in the Los Angeles Times. Nearly all of the nation's major daily newspapers quickly followed suit.

Three weeks before she died, Rau was honored with an Oscar for her design on Memoirs of a Geisha, an award she shared with production designer John Myhre. "She was just thrilled," Rau's son, Taylor Pattison said. He and his brother, George Pattison, both of whom live in Northport and work in film and television, accepted the award on her behalf at the Los Angeles ceremony.

Geisha, directed by Rob Marshall and based on the novel by Arthur Golden, received lukewarm reviews overall but universal praise for its visual richness; Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers wrote that the film "puts new luster on the word 'gorgeous.'"

George Pattison said that Rau moved to Northport in 1966 and got into the film design business "by accident.... She used to make catered lunches for a commercial company and from there she just gravitated toward the industry." Her big break was the 1980 film Atlantic City, "and from there, her career just blossomed," Pattison said. Other credits include Crocodile Dundee, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Six Degrees of Separation, City of Angels and The Last Samurai, for which she received an Oscar nomination.

Another son, Jean-Paul Menard, also in the family business and also of Northport, said, "It's a field that we all found our little niche in, so to speak. She was definitely an influence."

Rau's line of work meant constant travel, so her involvement in local civic affairs was minimal, but neighbors on Bayview and colleagues across the country alike remember her for an unflagging artistic sensibility, a unique sense of humor, an abiding sense of devotion to family and friends, and a deep love for the Village of Northport.

"They were an incredibly talented family and very artistic," said Gay Wagner, a former neighbor now living in Connecticut. "Gretchen was a fabulous cook. If there was anything ever that I didn't have, I could usually go to Gretchen and borrow it. And she was a rare Southerner in Northport, which was very nice."

Echoing the remarks of several others, Wagner added, "It was always an interesting house. It was very clear that there was someone with a real flair living there."

Henry Tobin, the newly elected village trustee who has pushed for historic preservation laws, said, "She has had a beautiful house, and she renovated it in a way that really accentuates the charm in the original structure."

Another neighbor, JoAnne Moran, described Rau as "a very wise, entertaining woman devoted to her kids. She was always interesting to be around and always had a sparkle."

Myhre, Rau's collaborator on Geisha as well as on Gilbert Grape, said, "She was absolutely fantastic, just a joy to work with. She was such a lovely, lovely person, and she is so sadly missed by everyone out here in Los Angeles.... What was especially wonderful is that nothing was ever a problem for her. We work in a funny business. Every day there are 200 problems. But she saw everything as an interesting challenge and just said, 'Let's do it.' She had a great sense of humor and an elegance about her as well. You knew when she was working with you that you were in such good hands."

In addition to her three sons, Rau is survived by two daughters: Anne Pattison, who lives in London and works as a makeup artist, and Stephanie Pattison, who is a teacher living in West Palm Beach, Florida. She is also survived by sister Roli Deeves, brother Forrest Rau and four grandchildren.

Gretchen Rau's artistry has left lasting impressions — wherever it may be found. "When I walk down the street and past that tree, I'll always think of who planted it," Trustee Handel concluded.

Happy in Paris!

Anyone in Paris reading this?? (Daniel, what are you waiting for??:)
This just in from Vickie:

Date: Sat, 13 May 2006 07:11:36 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Xenu's Sister" xenussister@yahoo.com
Subject: Any French Ectophiles? Want to meet Happy in PARIS?

Happy's going to be in Paris for a week in a couple of weeks,
and though she's not performing, she's doing the tourist thing
(as well as doing some business-related stuff) and would be glad
to meet any fans while she's there.

E-mail me.

The wedding went off without a hitch (except for Happy and Bob
getting hitched, of course).

Vickie

Silvio Rodriguiz

Quién fuera Quién fuera Quién fuera Quién fuera!!!!!!
I am STILL picking! Por la cresta del mundo! ja!

Congratulations Happy & Bob!

Congratulations to Happy Rhodes and Bob Muller! Word has it they are tying the knot (getting married) today in Florida! They went down to Florida last summer to get married but Hurricane Wilma (think that's the one;) prevented their happy day. That brings us to today :)
So best wishes and love to you both - forevermore!



















(that's Happy and I at one of her first house concerts :)
What an amazing time we had!!!



















(Tony and I drew this 'beastly' picture in honor of Happy and our rhode-trip and hung it in our car window on our long drive up to her house concert :) The 'beast' is on the cover of her 1st album, Rhodes I, and the bat-dove is something Happy created years ago and on my wonderful T-shirt that Tony got for me through the wonderful and charming, Kevin Bartlett, a few Chirstmas's ago :)

inner garden

Let's give ourselves the
courage to keep going when
no one else believes in us,
the vision to be able
to see past the fear
to where beauty lives,
passion for everything we do,
truth in always listening
to our inner selves,
and possibilities because
anything is possible
if we really believe.
Let's give ourselves the gift
of responsibility so we may
have a say in our lives!

Cheap Gas

$ It is now estimated that each household will be spending an extra $1000.00 in gas this year!
Thank God we don't drive one of those ugly over-sized, over-exspensive, road hogging gas guzzling SUV's!!
Click HERE and enter your zip code.
It will tell you the least expensive places to get gas in your area.
It is updated every night.
Every little bit helps :)

Kaitlyn Marie Johnson

Mom & Dad & Kaitlyn home at last :)