A., Midnight Pumpkin and I!

A., a beloved friend for the past 4 years, was someone I met in the net. It was perhaps sometime in 2002 when I met A. My crazy friend, MK introduced me to Yahoo B&L Chat. Back then I stopped chatting in Grex and though was using Yahoo messenger day and night, I was a drifter as far as chatting in a chatroom was concerned. It was MK who hooked me to B&L.

B&L was the room that someone such as I wanted. There I could insult people left and right and yet come out unscathed. My rude remarks offended the sensibilities of the most of them; and yet they were decent enough to talk to me in friendly terms. But in the process I made many friends (by then, of course, they came to know that all my abuses were harmless and I was a friendly person, and not another horny guy asking them A/S/L). Nf, the non-Texan Texan, for example, offered (on his own) to lend me a coupla grands when I was moving to the US. He also advised me "Not to do other people's dreams" but rather to follow my own!

Toni Price was someone I never heard about, until one day I walked into the local branch of LA Public Library and saw her Midnight Pumpkin on the desk. It attracted my eyes not because of the quality of the music or anything (because I had not listened to it yet), but because of the cats! I borrowed it, and after listening to it, I liked a few songs. Later I read about Toni Price and was very impressed with her down-to-earth approach to music and fame.

I talked to A. about Toni Price because A knew my love for cats; I even adopted her cat, though I never met him. Don Cervantes de Vito Escobar y Macondo was unique, not only because he loved Champagne, but also because everyone (death to the cat-haters!) who saw him, loved him instantly. A. and I often used to talk about the mischieveous nature of the venerable Don. However, unlike me, A was quite knowledgable of Toni's music. She apparently listened to all of Toni's Albums, and told me about them. We both loved Toni Price!

The other day I was reading about Toni's music in Amazon. None of the reviewers said anything bad about her, including one reviewer who remarked about her album "Hey" that, despite the cover looking like an advertisement for a deodorant, Hey is a very good CD.

Toni is a contended woman. She lives in Austin with her daughter, and rarely travels. She performs every Tuesday evening at a local club and people stand in long queues to listen to her.

She says that performing for her fans is like the act of lovemaking to her.

As someone puts in: Toni Price has always approached her music on her own terms, refusing to go on tour, refusing to give up her cherished Tuesday night gig at the Continental Club, even refusing to stand up while she sings. Her casual and relaxed front porch style of delivery don't take any power from her bluesy vocals. In fact, she claims that sitting down to sing actually enhances her vocals because she can "really crunch."

I quote from another source: By the time Price sashays onstage around 6:30, Burnett says, "the Continental Club is standing room only, with a line snaking out the door. Eyes closed, head thrown back, her arms curling overhead, Price looks like a sultry Hindu goddess. Onstage, she sips Tennessee whiskey and flashes her arm tattoos: a Mayan snake, and a heart bearing the name 'Keith,' as in Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. He's no ex; she's just a fan."

Price's music is hard to categorize. Burnett describes it as a fusion of bluegrass, blues, rockabilly and R&B, "with occasional detours to Billie Holliday and Django Reinhardt."

A. is now busy with her own life, and she will be even busier after a week or so. But everytime I will listen to Toni's music I would remember A. and our chats and the "Hola".
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Sources:

http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2002/feb/price/020218.price.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/artist/glance/-/87500/104-9218560-2183143
http://www.lonestarmusic.com/artists.asp?id=478
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005KJ2S/104-9218560 2183143
http://www.hrmusic.com/artists/tpart.html