[Dixielandjazz] Multilanguages, smoke, and more

[Jim Kashishian]

First of all, please excuse my ramblings everyone, in my last email.  The
post was supposed to have had a theme, but I wandered, and kept adding
things to the subject line!  :>
And, please don't interpret any of my comments as bragging.  I've just found
over the past that some people enjoy reading about the different behavior
experienced in other countries.
For my part, I am constantly thankful to be able to play as much as I do,
and with such exceptional musicians.

Larry answered my email with various questions.  Here are the comments:

Jim: Our band is Spanish,
Larry:  OK two solutions - refuse to speak anything except French like the
French do or like us, only English.
Jim:  Nope!  It's a Spanish band, and Spanish it is!  Even stuck to Spanish
when we played at the Dresden festival (Germany).  Wouldn't play until
everyone in the audience returned my greeting  of Buenos Dias.  It worked,
and we got greeted at all our further festival concerts in that manner..

Larry:  I'm sure the night life would be a whole lot more lively if our
drinking age wasn't 21 but 16 like in Germany.
Jim:  it is 16 here, but most Spanish kids get watered down wine with their
meals.  Drinking always, always is accompanied with something to snack or
eat (tapas), so there is little of the "falling down drunk" behaviour.

Larry:  Smoking is now banned in all Illinois night clubs and other public
places. 
Jim:  it's banned in Spain, also, but no one pays any attention!

Larry:  Our fire codes here limit numbers of people in a given room...
Jim:  yeah, funny thing is, we had an American trumpeter with us for awhile
in the 1970's.  He was fine playing all our crowded joints.  After he
returned to the U.S. he was caught in a terrible fire in a restaurant he was
playing at.  He survived, barely.  And, that was with all your laws........

Jim:> Yep, afternoon is from 3pm to 10pm.  Nite begins after your dinner (at

> 10pm!). And, dinner is always with good red wine!
Larry:  Don't people go to work there Jim?
Jim:  that is the usual question I get after making such comments.  Well,
the Spanish just place the order of importance in a different manner.  Work
is ok, but life is for living.
I always say, Spain would be the top producer in the world if the work force
put all the effort they use in planning their vacations into their work!
:>

Cheers, Jim