Later I saw him playing the SAXOPHONE in plays. After I saw that, I didn't know what to think.
What else does Jeff do? What else don't I know about him? Does he beatbox? Write love poetry in Sanskrit? Practice the art of the Japanese tea ceremony? Probably. Who knows? Who really understands the limits of Jeff?
I don't.
In Apocalypse Town Jeff plays the bass guitar and the acoustic guitar, and sometimes he does other things that I didn't know he could do. I think about those possibilities after rehearsal, when we go to the bar around the corner from Kirk's house: the Happy Go Lucky. The sign for the Happy Go Lucky promises Houston's best mixed drinks. The sign for the Happy Go Lucky promises free music, but music is somehow spelled with the number 4. The sign for the Happy Go Lucky depicts two people toasting, or perhaps boxing. Inside the Happy Go Lucky is dark, dark, dark. Black carpet and unlit corners. Japanese television show with Korean subtitles are playing on two big screens. Somehow it's not possible to make out the shape of the room. We sit at the bar. The place is run by two or three older Korean woman. The oldest and plumpest one—the one who looks like the boss—sits at the bar too and examines us with a half-smirk on her face. The Happy Go Lucky feels like it might be a dive for older guys on workers comp, or the easiest off ramp from Telephone Road for day laborers, or a brothel, or a karaoke bar, or all those things. It doesn't feel happy go lucky. But it feels like a good place for drinking.
We order gin and tonics, and we talk while the bartender searches for the gin among the dozens of unopened champagne bottles left over from the holidays. The Happy Go Lucky looks like it's ready to serve Corona or champagne, but nothing in between. The boss listens to us long enough to get the gist of the conversation before interrupting.
“YOU IN A BAND?”
And we say yes.
“WHY YOU NOT PLAY HERE?”
At the moment, it doesn't seem like a real possibility. I'm going to make a guess and say that no band has ever even considered playing at the Happy Go Lucky before. But later Jeff says that we should.
I swear that I don't understand his limits.
- t
p.s. I love you, Ex-Yugo music. As far as I know, this singer has no relation to Apocalypse Town or Kosovo. I've just included his video because of his amazing suit.
p.p.s. I love you too, Houston.
