Only in the middle of Hollywood would you ever find a 7 inch record like this. Yeah it’s a theme song from a soundtrack, but not from your typical movie, this 45 pop record is from the soundtrack of a soft-core pornography hit called "Diary of a Stewardess." Imagine the treasures we could have unearthed if only Amoeba hadn’t opened its doors on Sunset Blvd, but instead, opened for business deep in the heart of the America’s well lit, scantily clad, steady-cam ready, zoom in, action, work-it-a-little-slower-honey, bedroom community known as the San Fernando Valley.

Released in 1972 and sung by Bob Grabeau, Diary of a Stewardess b/w Fasten Your Set Belts (released on Segue Records and based in Canoga Park!) is an actual artifact of the valley’s 1970’s pop-porn culture, a culture that resurfaced with the 1997 film “Boogie Nights.”  I bet many of our Dads saw “Stewardess” in a triple bill with “Deep Throat” and “Behind the Green Door.” Okay … maybe not your Dad …

The song Diary of a Stewardess was co-written by the legendary Buddy Feyne, celebrated for his swinging hep-cat lyrics and penning some of the biggest hits of the '30s and '40s, including Tuxedo Junction, Jersey Bounce and After Hours. During his career he wrote more than 400 songs collaborating with legends like Raymond Scott, Al Sherman, Avery Parrish, Louis Jordan, Erskine Hawkins, Lester Young, and even Milton Berle. Feyne’s compositions might even be considered essential to the hipsters of that era, actually any era, as a matter of fact: Bee Bop On the Range, After School Swing Session, Aristocrat of Harlem, Cream Cheese and Jelly, She Works In Men's Pajamas - the list goes on and on.  Feyne also wrote the original lyrics to something called Dolomite that a certain bon vivant named Rudy Ray Moore re-navigated into his own signature song.

Well right now my wife is making homemade preserves, and then canning them … I’m not sure who this person is, but I do recognize her in that pair of Levi’s …

Mixology: well I am an old timer, so whenever I here that word, I think of cocktails. Then again, I often think of cocktails. Do you know that one of the oldest known cocktails was first concocted in New Orleans in the 1850’s? Called a Sazerac, it mixes Cognac with bitters. Just useless information I  picked up along the way, back when I ran a
speakeasy in the old country.

So I was thinking that many adult beverages would benefit by a soundtrack, the right
soundtrack. Humankind’s millenniums-long fascination with booze and music (they go hand in hand) is in many respects the zenith of civilization. I bet early humans invented some kind of alcohol long before they discovered fire or invented the wheel or prostitution or god. Perhaps music existed before the advent of booze. I’m not sure. But then came club owners, and it’s been down hill ever since.

 

It is a widely acknowledged thought that I am a man who enjoys his Irish and Scotch Whiskey. As sinful as it sounds, I often like my whiskey with a couple cubes of ice, and sometimes I even enjoy a whiskey with a splash of seltzer, like my man Sinatra.

Here we go, today’s taste:  Jameson Irish Whiskey. The back of the bottle reads, “John Jameson founded his whiskey distillery in Dublin in the year 1780.  All the craft of the centuries-old tradition of making Irish whiskey is used to produce ‘Jameson.’ From the rich countryside of Ireland comes nature’s finest barley and crystal clear water. These natural ingredients are carefully distilled 3 times, and slowly matured for long years in oak casks to create the natural smooth whiskey that is Jameson.”

A couple of nights ago we headed on down to the bottom of the hill to see Erase Errata and Adult.  I have seen Erase Errata probably like 30 times but it has been a year or so since I have seen them.  Not so long ago I actually played in a band and we played with Erase Errata every once in a while. The band has gone through a couple changes the last couple years and is now just a 3 piece band. Sara Jaffe left the band a couple years ago. They then added a dude as the vocalist. However, this kind of ruined them for me. Luckily they decided to just remain a 3 piece, keeping Jenny Hoyston as the vocalist. They put out their most recent album last year, NIght Life.

I really love the bottom of the hill. It is such a nice little place to see a show. It is located in a place kind of away from everyting else but not too far away to be really far away. It often gets a bit too crowded on sold out nights but I still love it. It is very intimate and you can see the stage even if its crowded. It also has a great backyard where I have spent many nights smoking with friends. Even though there is no more smoking for me, I still enjoy heading to the back with my friends to  talk and catch up with their lives. I seriously think the bottom of the hill backyard might be one of my favorite places in the world!

We got there a little before Erase Errata, so we had some time to hang out in the backyard, It seriously is a great place to people watch. I always like watching these ladies on stage and have never gotten bored with them. They are just always good. Unfortunately the crowd was not the dancing crowds that I am accustomed to seeing at their shows of the past. One of the best shows I saw of theirs was a record release party for their 2nd album at some high school auditorium type place in the mission. It was a prom theme I think. Kind of feels like a dream but I am pretty sure it was real. Seriously, if you have not heard this band you need to. Especially if you like good nowavey kind of music. They make me feel all good inside.