I've been here three nights now, and it feels like a great home away from home. (or is it maybe just 'home'? Om? Having a lovely morning that includes a swim at the Guest House, some chatting with friends on Facebook, and a delicious bowl of noodle soup with a little bit of pork and vegetables (85cents). I also took a walk through the large open-air market and bought a plastic bowl and a metal spoon which I'll keep in the room for future take out food. A lot of the places will sell their curries or what have you in plastic bags, so I'll now have a place to transfer the goodies before digging in. I felt kind of Gandhi-like with my humble purchases, and I can foresee many nice meals getting consumed with that spoon.
Last night was a GREAT party at my hang-out known as the CU Corner. I played an integral part, as it turned out, and it's hard to put a price tag on the feeling that comes from having a role to play. It started out a bit inauspicously as I ended up playing bass for a guy who started the evening's entertainment. Yikes, it was bad, perhaps best summed up by his version of "On the Road Again" in which he repeatedly threw in these three and a half beat measures, making it a bit of a challenge to keep up with. Let's see, bad singer, bad player, what am I doing here? But sometimes you just have to smile and pretend.... take one for the team, as it were, and I took one.
He finally took a break, and I decided to share my original which I had written for the occassion. Bad timing on my part, the crowd was too unfocused and noisy, so it didn't come off as planned. Oh well, another one for the team. But I played a few more songs, people got more and more into it, and now here comes the first surprise of the evening. There was this good looking twenty something dude who was digging my stuff, and then his friends insist that he come up and sing something. I ask if we know any songs in common. He says he's more free form, sings in Spanish (reggaeton style) usually on top of a reggae or latin groove. I say, how bout something like this and start a little two chord montuno Am to E7 salsa style. He starts jamming en espanol, singing about Thailand adventures and such, flashbulbs are now popping and I'm wondering if he's some famous dude or something. A couple of photographers came right up to the front and were shooting.
Turns out he's a performer from Boston, Mass, (born in the Dominican Republic) in Chiang Mai doing some studying for his degree, and we hit it off great. I didn't catch his name, but I'll find out eventually. People were really into the groove and the party started taking off. There was a table full of Thai women who had all decided to dress up like cowgirls, (one was a lady boy) in their plaid shirts and jeans, drinking, clapping along, dancing and having fun, Thai style. Quite a scene.
The best part of the evening was later, when this Thai musician, 'Apple' showed up with his electric guitar and led the set. He was joined by a dude from Chicago, blues player named Jeffro (not a misprint), and when Jeffro was gonna sing a song and started talking through the changes, the third guitarist had that look of 'I don't get it', and he asked if I'd take over. Uh yeah I would, so that became the best set of the night, the three of us on guitar and a guy playing washtub bass. We did some Chicago Blues, some Marley, a couple of originals including Bhang Lassie (big hit with the crowd) and it was super. Sometimes it takes musicians of a certain caliber to know how to fit in with one another, turn it into the proverbial 'well-oiled-machine, and that's what we had going and everyone knew it. Jeff and Dau (the owners) were pretty much thrilled by the vibe, John (whose party it was) was super happy with how it turned out; it was just what he was hoping for, and we all had a blast. Huge fun on a Saturday night.
I had one drink early in the evening, and I'm so glad that I'm not a drinker. As it was, I woke up pretty exhausted from the exertions, and I wonder about the folks who smoke and drink during these events. The next morning must be hell. But I feel super now, and ready for whatever comes next. Perhaps a Thai massage?
Speaking of which, I went for a massage yesterday (and you would too for the $5 that it costs) but I didn't exactly know which of the many studios I should go to. Took a walk down the main drag and a woman asked if I wanted a massage. I said, 'from you?' she said, yes from me. She seemed nice, the place had three mats on the floor and seemed nice so OK. I was looking for a straight up, one hour massage, no happy endings or what have you. (not that there's anything wrong with it, I'm sure, though I've never had the pleasure, so to speak) The massage starts at 6:30 and she's working on my feet. At 6:35 she says 'Do you have a girlfriend?' I say, no. She says do you want me to be your girlfriend?' I say, 'I just came in for a massage. She says, 'OK sorry'. She was very nice, the massage was pretty good, not phenomenal, but it was an interesting foray into the grey area of what goes on around here. And after a year of remarkably little sensual life for me, I plan on getting a lot of massage, and who knows what else. I think the supply and demand thing works both ways. People need their bodies taken care of, people need money to survive; hopefully there's a healthy way that the mutual needs can be met. It's an interesting topic, quite in the forefront here, and I'm sure that I'll have more to say about it as the weeks roll by.
