Journal

August 30, 2003
Saturday

Correction regarding yesterday’s post: we saw Garrison on August 14th and he died the weekend of that week. In other words, 2 or 3 days later. I still can’t get over it.

August 29, 2003
FridayDear friends,

I write this with tears in my eyes.

It is mind boggling to me that just about two weeks ago I wrote about seeing Garrison White after not seeing him for years. Today I stumbled upon an article that devastated me. Garrison died last weekend in a car accident on Benedict Canyon (around Malibu). The following URL is the article

http://www.australianfestival.org/news/news08212003-a.htm

After years of looking, I finally found him playing at Ireland's 32 and saw him about two weeks ago. We talked for quite a while and exchanged emails. I was going to help him with another Armenian song (he learned "Asumen Teh" via me) and told him about a couple of other Irish pubs where he could play. I cannot believe that he’s gone.

I feel like I've lost a close friend. In the hell years of 1997, I'd often go see him at the "Little Rock" in Reseda. As depressed and tired as I was in those days, listening to him was the most soothing experience I could find. We'd talk music, life, personal issues, and much more. I remember when he told me he was getting a divorce. I remember going over the phonetics of "Asumen Teh". I remember him telling me how he stole the show once when he played "Asumen Teh" at a Russian-Armenian function and in Japan. He was an extremely talented musician and a kind, kind person. He was also very cultured, intelligent and well spoken. I'm so sad that he never got the exposure he deserved. I’d never seen anyone play the 12-string guitar (or any acoustic guitar) like he did. His voice was warm yet powerful at the same time. When Aylin and I saw him two weeks ago, I wanted to take my camera and take his picture with us. I decided to do it "later". Now I'll never have that chance and I'll kick myself forever.

Life is interesting. I didn’t see Garrison for years. Then I saw him two weeks ago at Ireland’s 32 at last gig there. God gave me the chance to hear him play music and talk to him one last time before he left us for good.

Fly to your cloud and rest in peace my friend. You will be remembered by many people whose lives you touched and filled with joy and warmth.

Molly Malone's will have a tribute to Garrison on this Sunday at 4 PM. Aylin and I will be there.

August 29, 2003
Friday

Aylin had her remaining three wisdom teeth extracted today. She’s doing well considering. She doesn’t lie down like she should. Aylin’s in love with Midori (our little kitty) and keeps playing with her until she starts to feel the pain. Geez…

The date of our Carlsbad gig is still unknown. The club has been pretty flaky about calling us back even though they remembered us immediately when Gary called. "Oh, yeah, I remember you guys. You guys brought the house down!" So much for that!

P.S. If gasoline prices go up any higher I’m going to start riding my bicycle!

August 26, 2003
Monday
Aylin and I got a doll of a kitten this last weekend! Her name is “Midori”. She was a little timid the first day but she’s come around. She’s sleeping in our laps, playing around, and so on. In fact, she's become a real fireball! She’s an orange tabby just like my Kookie. You can see her pictures in the “Misc.” album of the photos link. We may also get another kitty next weekend. We visited him this last weekend as well. If all goes well, he will be Midori’s adopted brother. We plan to call him “Martini”. :)

August 20, 2003
Wednesday

Everyone who knows me knows that the Beatles are my all-time favorite band and my biggest musical influence. I’ve been listening to the Beatles for over 20 years and I still am not tired of it. The music is still fresh, relevant and exciting. Now, I know that there are people who don’t like Beatles’ music but what I don’t understand is people who create websites exclusively devoted to one message: that they HATE the Beatles. I visited some to see what the websites were all about and throughout my search I couldn’t help but think “Why bother creating a website about a band you hate. Why not create a website for the band you dig?” I suppose everyone is in the belief that they have something important to say and that we all should listen (including yours truly J). One thing I’ve found with these people is that they don’t know much about the Beatles or their music and their opinions are based on limited information (read: ignorance.) I mean, I can’t take the people who hate the Beatles seriously; actually, I feel sorry for them. They can’t help it if they are musically retarded. >;-)

The good news is that for every one “I hate the Beatles” website there are countless websites that love the Beatles. So there’s hope for the world after all.

And with that thought, I will leave you with the following words of wisdom:

And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love
You make
“The End”, by the Beatles

August 15, 2003
Friday

In my college years, my friends and I used to go to an Irish pub called Molly Malone�s http://www.mollymalonesla.com/. It was one of our favorite hangouts because it had an authentic �Irish� feel to it, the girls were gorgeous, the people were friendly, and there was one awesome guitarists/singer by the name of Garrison White http://www.kinkajourecords.com/garrisonwhite.htm. I had never seen anyone play the 12-string guitar like him. His rendition of Irish/Celtic, pop, rock, foreign, and blues songs were second-to-none. We would go to Molly�s regularly until Garrison moved to Ireland. We lost rack of him, found him back in the States, and lost track of him for a while by early 1999. Just last week I saw his name on the marquee at Ireland�s 32 (on Burbank near Woodman) and I was ecstatic! Aylin and I went to see him play last night and he is still the same incredible musician and hell of a nice guy. He can sing in a variety of languages (including Armenian with very little accent!) and he can play the guitar �just like a ringin� a bell!� He�s someone you have to see to believe. So far, I know that he plays at Ireland�s 32 every alternating Thursdays. Check him out!


Armen

August 13, 2003
Wednesday

There are 247 candidates for the governor’s job in California -- from actors to porn stars. Those of you outside of California may not know this butt 8 million Californians have signed a petition to recall governor Davis. Note to self: if you’re ever in public office, do not, I repeat, do not propose legislature that wipes out a surplus and creates a $38 billion deficit. Speaking of politics, I will meet Dr. Keith Richman at a Health Care conference today. Dr. Richman is the 38th district Assemblyman (covering Northridge, Chatsworth, Granada Hills and other areas.) I used to work for him about 10 years ago. I remember someone telling him once that he should run for office and his response was something like “No, I can’t do that. The bureaucracy and the inefficiencies would drive me crazy.” There you go!

On a personal note, my sister-in-law is expecting and she’s due August 30th. I’m so excited about being an uncle J I can’t wait to see what he/she looks like!

Here’s a quote from Chris Rock that you may have seen but it’s worth remembering:

"You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese, the Swiss hold the America's Cup, France is accusing the U.S. of arrogance, Germany doesn't want to go to war, and the three most powerful men in America are named 'Bush', 'Dick', and 'Colon'. Need I say more?"

Armen

August 2, 2003

Hi Everyone,

Check out the Favorite Links page just added to our site. I have added the old NFU site to our page for those of you who are a bit nostalgic about the band. On this site, you can also hear samples of NFU songs.

Keep checking back. This site will keep mutating!

Armen

August 1, 2003

I get really tired of hearing so many people complain about so many things. I think it would do everyone good to take a good look at what they are complaining about.

Consider yourself lucky that you can complain about your job because you have a job to complain about. There are many who don’t.

Consider yourself lucky that you have parents and family that nag you or don’t understand you. There are many who’d give anything to have their parents back or a family they can call their own.

Consider it a luxury that you can complain about the size of your house, how small it is, and how it’s too congested. There are many who wish they just had shelter.

Consider it a luxury that you can complain about how much you pay in taxes. There are those who don’t earn anything near what you earn to make that complaint.

I’m sure you get the point. You can add on to this list. In fact, I ask that you do. Email me your list and I will post it along with your name (if you wish) on the Journal.

So, my point is: strive for the best, do all that you can to have whatever you want, but always be grateful for what you have because you never know what you got ‘til it’s gone.

‘nuff said.

Armen