Last weekend was incredibly busy. Spent Friday night rehearsing with Dan for our Sunday Jazz Brunch gig @
The Sidecar. Woke up Saturday morning to a message that my regular bass player couldn't play the gig, so I had to get Dan to sub for our Saturday night gig last minute. Saturday,
Leafblower performed @ The Grape St. Pub with
Mr. King again, then I had to hastily pack up and get back to The Sidecar for our first June installment of
The Sidecar Allstars. A tenor sax player I've recently met showed up just as we were wrapping up. He ended up coming upstairs to hang out with us, and I managed to talk him into coming down to the Jazz Brunch gig the next day. Jazz brunch was a little slow, but as it got later in the day, the crowds for Odunde started packing the bar (well after we'd finished playing). Adam ended up asking me to work the bar with him, so I've officially started training as a bartender. That should be some decent extra cash.
I have some videos I can post of the weekend, but that will come later after I manage to find some time to do some video editing.
The real purpose of this blog posting is to copy the world on an e-mail I sent out today to some friends regarding Geno's Steaks and a sign they recently posted up in their front window, calling for everyone to order in English. The original news article is here:
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/14697552.htm[rant]
Ok.
First of all, do I need to be the first person to notice that Italians are barely 2 generations away from being the hairy-backed landscapers of America? And YES I know I'm Italian-American.
Secondly, I don't know if any of you noticed this, but going to Geno's is hardly a gramatically and linguistically correct experience. Even though I am already a vegetarian, if I ever eat another cheesesteak in my life, it will be from Pat's across the street (or Tony Luke's). Geno's has too many freaking ordering rules. Example:
"Gimme One" = Cheesesteak (with cheese whiz, if you didn't know it comes with Cheese whiz, tough)
"Gimme One, wit' prov" = Cheesesteak (with provolone)
"Gimme One, prov wit'" = Cheesesteak (with provolone and friend onions [wit' = with onions])
This is fvcking english? Call me a Jersey boy, but when we order a cheesesteak, we call it a cheesesteak. We ask for fried onions specifically by name because grill workers aren't grammarians. We ask for exactly what we want so that we can be clear. We don't speak in some sort of "la familia old boy's club" style of speaking. Call it "New World Style" ... we can get our fries AND our sandwiches from the same person at the same counter. We don't need to go to a different counter to speak to a fry and softdrink specialist. Ironically, this isn't the only Italian-American spot in Philadelphia to adopt ordering protocols like this. If you've ever been into Lorenzo's Pizza on South St., you've seen the "No toppings, no sandwiches, the answer is NO! NO! NO!" sign, and maybe even been greeted by gun-waving sassy Italian woman behind the counter (who loves to say hello to me directly for some reason). That's infinitely more inviting than this sign.
Signs like the are all over America. While most of us who live in big cities tend to have a more laid back and accepting attitude toward ethnic diversity, there is a large swath of unwashed honkies out there who fully support Joe Vento's sign. Maybe this guy needs to hang up his cheesesteak bib and get involved in politics. He doesn't seem to have any problem putting himself out there as being supportive of sending Mumia Abu Jamal to the gas chamber, and he seems to love taking belligerent stances regarding 9/11, Iraq, and just about every other hot button issue today.
Statement from Mark D to Joey V:
Look bub, stick to putting up signed headshots of Playboy Playmates, stars from the cast of The Sopranos, and b1owjob denier Bill Clinton on your outside walls. Leave goodwill diplomacy up to those of us who can pronounce the H in WITH.
Sincerely,
Don Mark
[/rant]
