Don’t Be So Groovy, Baby!

Last night I finally got to watch the 1992 Academy Award nominated Chinese film, “Raise The Red Lantern”, adapted by Ni Zhen from the 1990 novel Wives and Concubines by Su Tong, a Mandarin Chinese writer. It is set in 1920’s China, shortly before the Chinese Civil War, where the protagonist Songlian, who marries as the fourth wife (or Fourth Mistress) in the wealthy Chen family (her father had died and she struggled with poverty) Despite being treated with wealth and royalty at first, with spiffy foot massages every evening, bright red lanterns, and steamed tofu with spinach and stir-fried bean sprouts every lunch, she learns more about the social hierarchy taking place within the family, where the master would choose which wife he’d spend the night with, thus is constantly dueling with the other “Mistresses” for the affection and attention of their husband.



As the rivalry gets more intense between wives, Songlian fakes pregnancy to try and garner the attention of the master, though the second sister Zhuoyan, described as having “the face of a Buddha but the heart of a scorpion” takes advantage of her relations with Songlian’s maid to learn how she feigned her period, and is dishonored by having her lanterns burnt out and covered with black cloth. However, it is discovered that the maid had a secret illicit affair with the Master in Songlian’s bed, and her room is full of red lanterns, thus is punished by having all the lanterns burned and she chills to death in defiance in the freezing winter cold. In the end, Songlian decides the competition is entirely puerile and ridiculous, as each wife is subserviently nothing more than one of four "robes" that the master may wear and discard at his discretion.



As time goes on, where being part of the wealthy family used to have a sense of freedom to her, it begins feeling like a prison to her, and she even contemplates suicide to free herself from the heartache of being a concubine. She also overheard before of the Third Mistress Meishan, an opera singer who she befriends, and her affair with the doctor who checked up on her while faking her pregnancy, and when intoxicating herself on her 20th birthday during her depression, she accidentally blurts out the details of the affair, which leads to her murder which emotionally traumatizes Songlian further, and finally, the following summer, Songlian goes completely insane when she learns the master now has a fifth wife.



Definitely not an endorphiny, happy-dance inducing movie by any means, but a most touching and important film. Despite the film being a destined classic for generations to come, I have to confess that this first-ever DVD issuing of the film has to me (performing an impersonation of The Simpsons’ Comic Book Guy persona, also known as Jeff Albertson) got to be……the worst…..transfer……ever! I encourage everyone here to please see this brilliant film, but I also urge y’all NOT to purchase the DVD version. The beautiful directing, cinematography and artistic vision of the legendary Zhang Yimou, is all spoiled here, and is really a slap-in-the-face to Yimou and his widely-respected labor of love here. The picture has that sort of snap-crackle-pop quality, where in the original issuing of the film the director shows a mastery use of color and poetically illuminating the psychological undertones and social conflicts that are present, but on the DVD, all the colors bleed together and that aura is cancelled out, and you can even see black and white scratches on various picture frames.



Then, you have the musical score also negatively affected in consequence of this. There are musical numbers representative of each of the seasons, and the events and transitions between each one, from the flute solo at the very beginning, to Meishan singing, to Songlian’s realization of her social status, to the “House of Death”. And the poetry of it all is also hindered by the dicey sound quality.



It’s almost as though those responsible for transferring the film used a second-generation VHS copy to do just that, which wasn’t dusted off and sat in the attic for three decades. The saddest part of all is that anyone who watches this movie for the first time on DVD may instantly think of the directing quality as equivalent to that of a second-rate caddy using a decade-old camcorder for the sole purpose of trying to make a quick buck. And worse yet, we’re likely to have to wait many more years until the true DVD we were waiting for is released, and finally makes justice of Yimou’s classic, rather than some half-hearted transfer of a shop-worn 16mm print.



But wait, it gets even better, LOL! Despite the howling dreadfulness of this DVD, in a way it sure got those endorphins engineering in my bloodstream last night! J The English subtitles were an absolute hoot! There were frequent misspellings all throughout the film (including “savant” for servant, “cate” for cat, “secrete” for secret, and “Forth” and “Fourth” used interchangeably) and there was even one unintentionally hilarious, knee-slapping moment where Songlian was speaking to Meishan on the roof of the estate and speaking of her thoughts of suicide, where the sub-title reads, “Don’t be so groovy. Look at me, I try to be happy!” LOL! I think it was meant to say “gloomy”, but anyway, that sure was a jocular jolt of amusement! (giggles) Also, at the very end of the film, the very last subtitle reads, “She has gone completely insane. Production Credit.” LOL! Also, there is an instance in the film where the Fourth Mistress is addressed as “Mister” in the subtitles, LOL!



I was just ruminating earlier today, “Oh ho ho, I should start a cult merchandise & paraphernalia line in honor of the “Raise The Red Lantern” DVD release, LOL, complete with T-shirts, coffee mugs, lunchboxes, key chains, mouse pads and ping-pong paddles featuring the picture frame with the sub-title, “Don’t be so gloomy! Look at me, I try to be happy!“ as well as limited-edition action figures, even “Jingwu Ma’s Shanxi Sensations”, featuring your culinary Asian favorites based from the film, including, you guessed it, steamed tofu with spinach and stir-fried bean sprouts, readymade in just five minutes from your home microwave! LOL! Well, if “Napoleon Dynamite” could get away with it, then why the heck not for “Raise The Red Lantern”? (giggles)



Worst…..transfer…..ever! So I beseech you, please, pretty please with Mee Krob on top, RENTAL THE VHS VERSION, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! (giggles) Should you choose to go DVD, it will be a decision you will eternally live to regret, hehehe!
Now that that’s out of the way……who wants pickled shanghai cactus? Henhao! :)

XOXO,
Noah Eaton
(Mistletoe Angel)
(Emmanuel Endorphin)

Hoboken Special On The House!

Yeppity-yeppers, it's that time again! Let's shoot another poetry bubbly from the south to ring in this fine summer splashdown! And please be careful when you coast head-first on that Slip 'N Slide, I've had some unfortunate mat rashes, LOL! :)



***

Soda Jerk (Give Me Something Refreshing)
By: Noah Eaton
6/18/06

Hey, Mr. Soda Jerk,
what’s buzzin’, cuzzin?

(Ah, hey there, Gunther Toody,
and what can I get for you today?)

(Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray, Pops,
and keep ‘em comin’!)
.
.
.
Give me something refreshing,
give me something great,
give me something refreshing,
to quench me this hot summer day!
Give me something refreshing,
give me something with ice,
give me something refreshing,
that’ll leave me kickin’ on cloud nine!

Hey, Mr. Soda Jerk,
what’s you tale, nightingale,
fix me something,
that’ll make my taste buds wail!
(Illuminate me with your illuminations!)
Puts in time and a half with a belly laugh,
makes music shakin’ each carafe,
just rev up that fountain jet,
and use your imagination!



Give me something refreshing,
give me something great,
give me something refreshing,
to quench me this hot summer day!
Give me something refreshing,
give me something with ice,
give me something refreshing,
that’ll leave me kickin’ on cloud nine!

Watch him work that ice maker,
just like a high school paper maker,
he’s got more stamina,
than a thousand pledge takers!
Watch him work that ice maker,
just like a high school paper maker,
he’s got more stamina,
than a thousand pledge takers!)

Hey, Mr. Soda Jerk,
what’s you tale, nightingale,
fix me something,
that’ll make my taste buds wail!
(Go ahead and razz my berries!)
I’ve got a hot date,
at a quarter to eight,
and I’ve got a bent eight,
that’s got me made in the shade!
(Top this bash with a maraschino cherry!)



Give me something refreshing,
give me something great,
give me something refreshing,
to quench me this hot summer day!
Give me something refreshing,
give me something with ice,
give me something refreshing,
that’ll leave me kickin’ on cloud nine!

(Make it smooth and sturdy,
rich like Richie Rich,
sweet like sugarcane,
mild like Milo & Otis…)
.
.
.
Got any tonics,
that’ll send my tongue down the conga line,
how about a sample,
of Pink Love Potion #9,
or something to agitate the gravel,
make me a souped up goof,
maybe a longneck,
of Siberian sun ginseng brew,
in fact I’m feelin’ a bit outlandish,
can you make a brussel sprouts smoothie,
Ciscoe the TV gardener said if I eat ‘em,
I’ll be as handsome a stud as yours truly,
How about a Purple Yam malt,
or a Turkey & Gravy-flavored potation,
maybe a Kim-Chee infusion,
or a Wild Atlantic Salmon temptation?



(Let me show you how the Soda Jerk does it,
belly up to the bar!)

First, we’re gonna twist it, choke it like that,
twist it, choke it like this,
and then make it crackle out loud,
righto, we’re gonna twist it, choke it,
make it crackle out loud,
split one, shoot it yellow,
shoot one from the south.
We’re gonna twist it, choke it like that,
twist it, choke it like this,
and then make it crackle out loud,
righto, we’re gonna twist it, choke it,
make it crackle out loud,
split one, shoot it yellow,
shoot one from the south!

Watch him work that ice maker,
just like a high school paper maker,
he’s got more stamina,
than a thousand pledge takers!
Watch him work that ice maker,
just like a high school paper maker,
he’s got more stamina,
than a thousand pledge takers!)

(Good luck, kid,
I hope your date is a blast,
don’t forget your mirror warmer,
wow, that sure brings me back…

…how about my Hoboken Special for the road?)


Give me something refreshing,
give me something great,
give me something refreshing,
to quench me this hot summer day!
Give me something refreshing,
give me something with ice,
give me something refreshing,
that’ll leave me kickin’ on cloud nine!
.
.
.
(ding ding ding)
.
.
.
(Hey, Soda Jerk,
what’s the word from the bird?)

(Goin’ steady, buddy,
how ‘bout a Dusty Miller?)

(Thanks, Pops,
and keep ‘em comin’!)

***



***

Summer Always Answers Prayers Best
By: Noah Eaton
6/19/06

Today I walked along the boardwalk,
and I imagined you were here with me,
an hour before dawn kissed the summer sky,
checking out whatever seemed interesting,
you were like my maiden of the mist,
the starry surprise of your eyes made me swoon,
and right before I could feel your pristine kiss,
I’m left trying to preserve the glow of this honeymoon.

And I know,
I can feel,
your heart song momentarily,
and through all these winters,
I’ve found there’s an invincible summer,
chanting inside of me…

I believe summer always answers prayers best,
searching the seasons wildly on love’s quest,
there’s a feeling I have only fireflies can express,
when you leave nothing but tulip beds,
and golden threads in my head...

There’s something about the mystery of summer,
that makes you suffer but enjoy it immensely,
my heart beats thunderously chasing you around,
with sensitive eyes searching densely and intensely,
like a ladybug that lands on my shoulder,
you’re like a sweetest memory I’ve yet to understand,
fulfilling the promise of dozens of months past,
with the touch of your gentle hand...

And I know,
I can feel,
your heart song momentarily,
and through all these winters,
I’ve found there’s an invincible summer,
chanting inside of me...

I believe summer always answers prayers best,
searching the seasons wildly on love’s quest,
there’s a feeling I have only fireflies can express,
when you leave nothing but tulip beds,
and golden threads in my head...
.
.
.
.
.
.
And I know,
I can feel,
your heart song momentarily,
and through all these winters,
I’ve found you're an invincible summer,
chanting inside of me...

I believe summer always answers prayers best,
searching the seasons wildly on love’s quest,
there’s a feeling I have only fireflies can express,
when you leave nothing but tulip beds,
and golden threads in my head...

***



***

Alchemy Hour
By: Noah Eaton
6/15/06

*

Woahhhhhh, salty sister,
dawn patrol is beckonin’,
what’d you say we go shreddin’ the gnarl?

(Ahhhhhh, that’d be epic,
but,
all I got is this Woody Parsnip,
and I don’t want to look all Squarepants Spongekook!)

Awww shibby!
No worries, ya crippler chick,
today’s too coolaphonic to get chode burn!
Here, borrow my grom board,
I’m kinduva necter canvas commando myself!

(Really?
Wow, this is Gnarmax!)

Righteous,
let’s hit the fall line, beach bunny,
alchemy hour awaits...
.
.
.
.
.
I’ve gotten all proned out,
chasing the mare’s tail upon the glory trail,
I’m a fresh gale on the third rail,
that’s never ready to flail,
I’m a pastrami of a swami,
all soaked and I’m stoked,
nothin’ like an expression session,
to invoke that ancillary stroke…

I should have worn my rashie today,
cause I’m totally Burnt Reynolds,
the summer sun’s blazin’ white gold,
the Nectar of the Gods is drippin’ uncontrolled,
some say I possess some fourth power,
rippin’ lips in these rainbow showers,
and I tell my crew it’s all about attitude,
cuz this is a magic moment we call,
alchemy hour…
.
.
.
I behave like a stavewave,
engraved to the ragin’ riptide,
babelinis think I’m a hoot in my spring suit,
while quantum leapin’ the pipeline,
I’ve been over the falls,
I make them look notorious,
shreddin’ through Orbitsville,
into downtown Flushopolis.

I should have worn my rashie today,
cause I’m totally Burnt Reynolds,
the summer sun’s blazin’ white gold,
the Nectar of the Gods is drippin’ uncontrolled,
some say I possess some fourth power,
rippin’ lips in these rainbow showers,
and I tell my crew it’s all about attitude,
cuz this is a magic moment we call,
alchemy hour…
.
.
.
.
.
Come on in, lil’ dally,
forehand through this oceanic rift valley,
eskimo rollin’ and cajolin’,
through this tubular skittle alley,
the soul kiss of the solstice,
is my kind of sabbatical,
inside the pope’s living room,
born a church of the open sky fanatical.

I should have worn my rashie today,
cause I’m totally Burnt Reynolds,
the summer sun’s blazin’ white gold,
the Nectar of the Gods is drippin’ uncontrolled,
some say I possess some fourth power,
rippin’ lips in these rainbow showers,
and I tell my crew it’s all about attitude,
cuz this is a magic moment we call,
alchemy hour…
.
.
.
(Thanks a zipload,
that was haggard!)

Hey, ciara,
wanna head over to the Thursday Night Surf Club,
and catch some grub?

(Wow, dat’s da mamie, Gandelf!)

***



***

Cosmologicicle
By: Noah Eaton
5/23/06

Herschel Circinus is a space cowboy aerobatic,
a dreamer to the manner born, cream gravy idiomatic,
chooses not to see the world as monochromatic,
floating above the clouds a gospel sharp cinematic,
looks like everything’s in apple pie order,
penetrating the cosmos as a spaceship boarder,
bungee launching on course to Sadalachbia Stadium,
tanning in lunar hot springs till his cheeks gleam like palladium,
snowbird of space, silver-surfing footloose,
barrel rolling between the uplink and the abstruse,
having a delicate flair for some solar flare,
leisure wear made exclusive out of thin air,
space scout, may I have a readout,
riding shank’s mare can make you a devout,
rebounding from the black hole to the bean sprout,
hey, kid, what’d you got to lark about.

I know this universe is too diverse,
time too precious to waste and stickle,
so stick out your tongue,
and taste a dripping of this cosmologicicle.
I know its flavor keeps changing,
from each velvety trickle,
so stick out your tongue,
and taste a dripping of this cosmologicicle.

Namby-pamby Bambi’s off on a yellow rocket,
deep into the outer limits’ dry socket,
sweet surrender from the modus operandi,
this intergalactic inner-tube should come in handy,
howling like Serendipity Dog, fruit-batting like Metal Mickey,
snorkeling in the Orion Nebula where it’s always sticky,
hop aboard a Unicorpian to travel the red deserts of Mars,
fly to Dwingeloo to meet Pegasus Dwarve superstars.

I know this universe is too diverse,
time too precious to waste and stickle,
so stick out your tongue,
and taste a dripping of this cosmologicicle.
I know its flavor keeps changing,
from each velvety trickle,
so stick out your tongue,
and taste a dripping of this cosmologicicle.

Have a taste of Centauri Inari,
with a splash of Mu Cephei’s Red Dwarf Tamari,
follow me into the Tarantula Nebula on an epic safari,
park in the Crab Nebula for some of Yesh Yesh Winks’s calamari,
peddling our telescopomobiles by the solar cycle,
and may I remind you not to forget to solar recycle,
from where we’ve been, there’s no final destination,
all you believe is destined not to be simulation.

I know this universe is too diverse,
time too precious to waste and stickle,
so stick out your tongue,
and taste a dripping of this cosmologicicle.
I know its flavor keeps changing,
from each velvety trickle,
so stick out your tongue,
and taste a dripping of this cosmologicicle...

Hang on if you wanna tag along...

***



***

XOXO,
Noah Eaton
(Mistletoe Angel)
(Emmanuel Endorphin)

Feelings, Finesse, Fear & Festivity

It’s that time of year again...that time we’re reminded that Charlie Parker is as right as ever when he said, “Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art.” That time of year where when most pop listeners are taking their aspirin, many blues Magoos are out enjoying the vitamins of the blues. That time of year where we understand, ever more than we usually admit, that as Peter Tork said, “The blues isn't about the blues, it's about we have all had the blues and we are all in this together.” and we find ourselves brought back into the fold of music’s purest functionality.



Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival Official Site

You got it! Next Friday, the 2006 Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival kicks off at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in the heart of the City of Roses and my home sweet home that is Portland, Oregon, and I will be returning to share on-site remote anchoring duties with other fellow KBOO Community Radio volunteers to bring thousands of listeners across Oregon and Southwestern Washington the pure American voice of the crossroads. And you can catch me live on the airwaves from the festival next Saturday from 3:00-7:00 P.M Pacific Standard Time, joined with fellow KBOO volunteer Julie Sabatier, who actually is the super-cool friend who helped get me started in the KBOO News & Public Affairs Department in April of last year when she shared temporary PM News & Public Affairs Director duties with Jamie Heim. I also encourage y’all to check out her wonderful blog, “The Littlest Blog”. She has embraced the heart of the community, which her frequent reflections, production of her new monthly KBOO program “DIY (Do It Yourself)” and freelance writing from Free Speech Radio News to local newspapers proves out loud. I believe Julie understands more than most people what Robert McAfee Brown meant when he said, “Taking community seriously not only gives us the companionship we need, it also relieves us of the notion that we are indispensable.” Her will and altruism are indispensable, and I strongly believe she’s destined for many great things, and while my politics in particular are not quite like hers, I absolutely respect she stands for what she believes in and am glad she’ll be sharing on-site anchoring duties, yay! :)



I’ll go ahead and admit that blues music isn’t exactly among my top five favorite genres of music actually, LOL, as I guess blues music isn’t exactly “endorphiny” and once you listen to it for a while it can get a little monotonous. Nonetheless, I absolutely respect the culture behind blues, jazz and the roots of rock and roll, for I believe it’s there where some of the purest, authentic American soul can be found, it’s the voice that speaks of the deepest struggles, both socially and with everyday emotions and matters at hand, and its call and response can be traced back to a darker past where plantation workers communicated through field holler, some of the earliest song and communication in African Diaspora, as well as through work calls, chanted by peddlers in cities everywhere. What I think many often overlook or miss about blues music these days is that the call and response is still there always, it’s just the response doesn’t come from someone else, the response comes from the singer him/herself. Where W.B DuBois and Langston Hughes was for literature, Booker T. Washington was for blues music, for he believed that the individual determines his/her own destiny, thus is how blues music has become personified as it is to this day. Albert Collins said, “Simple music is the hardest to play and blues is simple music.” That’s why I have a profound respect for the musical culture even while I don’t consider myself a huge fan of the musical genre; you just have to respect these many artists for forging their destinies, speaking it as it is, and it’s in doing just that where, as Ralph Ellison said, it becomes an “art of ambiguity, an assertion of the irrepressibly human over all circumstances, whether created by others or by one's own human failing.”



This year’s festival is going to be incredibly special, because as y’all may be well aware, this is the first Waterfront Blues Festival since the tragedy that was Hurricane Katrina last year, which in some ways will forever change New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, though the culture and spirit I’m convinced will continue living on through thick and thin. And so this year’s festival is going to have a very special tribute theme to both New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, with this being the largest line-up of Gulf Coast artists outside of New Orleans’ own Jazz & Heritage Festival nation-wide. The opening night is going to be kicked off by Dr. John (a.k.a “The Night Tripper”) a killer New Orleans pianist and singer who can pack blues, boogie-woogie and rock and roll all into one. His name even came from a 19th century voodoo summoner, so you can imagine exactly how psychedelic just five minutes with him on stage can be. And just for kicks, he just can’t resist providing jingle vocals to many Popeyes Chicken commericals, LOL! Great AIEEYAH-poppin’ flavor even Little Nicky enjoys! J And the closing night, the 4th of July, will be hosted by Irma Thomas, the “Soul Queen of New Orleans”, who has been performing soul and rhythm & blues music for over four decades now in New Orleans and beyond.



In addition, though the Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival has always well-incorporated Zydeco and other blues-based sounds that originated in the heart of the Louisiana bayous and such, this festival is going to feature much more musicians from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast on all four stages and eight Blues Cruises, including Bo Dollis & The Wild Magnolias, Buckwheat Zydeco, The Bluerunners, Marva Wright, the Rebirth Brass Band, and so many more. What many of these artists have in common is that they experienced loss and heartache through and in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina & Rita, where the waters of Lake Pontchartrain flooded the neighborhoods where many of these musicians have lived much of their lives, including those of Phil Frazer of the Rebirth Brass Band, who lost the roof of his house and both his cars, while the band’s drummers lost virtually everything, and Irva Thomas, who lost her home and her acclaimed New Orleans club, “The Lion’s Den”. And so indeed the Hurricane Katrina disaster touched every one of us in many ways, but most of us will never even begin to understand or relate to exactly how much their community endured physically and emotionally, and their presence at this year’s Waterfront Blues Festival will both generate a much greater sense of relational empathy, as well as fuel an incandescent sense of cultural pride and musical spirit that you can only find stronger back in The Crescent City itself.



I can already feel deep down this will be a festival I will never forget, and with an average as many as 120,000 blues enthusiasts packing Tom McCall Waterfront Park at a single time last year, my bet is it’ll easily be far more packed this year with a renewed sense of appreciation coming from millions of Americans following Hurricanes Katrina & Rita toward exactly how special the Gulf culture is, and thousands more will seek a sentimental experience this summer and travel straight here to the City of Roses.



But I don’t only enjoy taking part in the Waterfront Blues Festival to give to KBOO, listen to stunning live music or even soak up that bright-lemon Vitamin D under clouds of dragonflies. I’m also proud to take part in this festival because it also happens to be the largest annual benefit event for the Oregon Food Bank, a statewide network of 894 hunger relief agencies serving Oregon and Clark County, Washington, helping recover food from farms, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, individuals and government source, and distributing it to twenty regional food banks, sixteen of which are independent, which helps feed hundreds of Oregonians, especially children, and hopes to “eliminate the root causes of hunger through advocacy and public education.” Hunger is a scary thing, for many health studies have shown that health status of youngsters from impoverished homes experiencing hunger and food insecurity is much worse than for non-deprived children, who are known to get sick more often, have much higher rates of hospitalizations, ear infections and huge iron deficiencies, thus childhood hunger and malnutrition can cause irreversible, critical health problems later in life for any child. In fact, here in Oregon, we’re ranked as one of the hungriest states in the nation, and one in five people even ate meals from an emergency food box at least once last year, most of which were children, senior citizens on fixed incomes, people who are disabled and people who work hard at low-paying jobs.



The Waterfront Blues Festival is the greatest opportunity yearly for the Oregon Food Bank (ranked a four-star charity service by Charity Navigator) to collect donations and food to nourish these thousands living and coping with hunger. In fact, last year, blues fans donated more than $348,000 and gave more than 107,000 pounds of food to support their benevolent cause. And thanks to each showing of magnanimity, each month, Oregon Food Bank Network’s 362 food pantries distributes emergency food boxes to an estimated 194,000 people -- 38 percent of whom are children --in Oregon and Clark County, Washington. You know, Mahalia Jackson said, “Anybody singing the blues is in a deep pit yelling for help.” That’s exactly where many of these children and families are, and so let’s let their prayers be answered!



So if you’d like to enjoy some vibrant live music and also give yourself a hug knowing you’ve done something very good for the world, come on by from Friday, June 30 through Tuesday, July 4. The admission is most generous, with a suggested donation of $8 per person plus two cans of non-perishable food. Hold that thought for a moment here. $8 per person, for a diverse, day-long parade featuring many of over 150 shows. I find that easily the best $8 you will spend this entire year, guaranteed, something to satisfy your soul as well as the hearts of many who crucially need that nutrition in their lives.



Last year was my first year taking part in this exciting event with KBOO, and I certainly hope this becomes a tradition for me. I immersed myself to lots of great artists last year, from Buddy Guy to Mavis Staples to Shemekia Copeland, as well as acquainting myself to new talents I was previously unfamiliar with, my favorite being Jackie Greene. I came along two days of the festival last year, making the suggested donations and hauling along 25 cans of food. In all honesty, I kind of felt like a celebrity last year simply by being there. Every 45 minutes or so I’d sit there under the KBOO tent with my headphones on, announcing the end of a featured performance, providing commentary about the next featured act, the Oregon Food Bank, the festival itself and the occasional KBOO underwriting message, and then during each featured performance, I had the complete freedom to wander around the venue, standing backstage behind the curtain watching featured musicians perform just inches away from me like Jackie Greene, or place the Sponsor tag around my neck so I could have access to the volunteers deck, where they had a fine lunch and dinner buffet table arranged, as well as Coleman coolers full of icy cool sodas and Glauceau Vitamin Water. It was so hot you could fry an egg on the sidewalk last year during the festival (in fact we’ve been having a heat wave this entire weekend here, reaching up to 100 degrees yesterday) and they had these suntan lotion packets available which I used liberally, and I’d frequently head over to the volunteers deck for dragon fruit-flavored Vitamin Water (Formula 50 or citrus if not available) and paper bowls full of Chex Mix. The kind folks of Chipotle even offered me a complimentary burrito the first evening I volunteered, and boy was that satisfying! Sure brought me back to my initial home state of Colorado and the many days my hero Philippe Ernewein first got me into the Chipotle craze! :) And finally, I got a complimentary 2005 Waterfront Blues Festival T-shirt for helping out, which I still frequently don to this day! :)



Stream Live: KBOO Community Radio

So you can catch me live on the airwaves from Tom McCall Waterfront Park this Saturday from 3:00-7:00 P.M Pacific Standard Time (10:00 P.M Eastern Standard Time for my friends on the East Coast) at the Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival by clicking on the link above, where you can stream KBOO Community Radio anywhere in the world from your home computer. Or, if you are around the Portland area, you can tune in at 90.7 FM on your FM dial to KBOO, where we'll be broadcasting featured live coverage of the Waterfront Blues Festival all five days of the festival! :)

They say there’s ten rules for getting rid of the blues; go out and do something for someone else, then repeat it nine times. And as Dan Castellaneta of “The Simpsons” says, “Go ahead and play the blues if it’ll make you happy!” where there’ll certainly be plenty of that to go around all throughout the 4th of July weekend here! :)

Love,
Noah Eaton
(Mistletoe Angel)
(Emmanuel Endorphin)