[Dixielandjazz] Football

[Jim Kashishian]

This email has little to do with Jazz, other than how it affected our band
last nite & tonite.  Still, some may find it interesting:


>Dear Jim,
Congratulations on the football win. However, if you are like me, you
couldn't care less.
But, did the band get a long, well-paying celebratory gig out of it?
Knowing how the Spanish love to celebrate, I certainly hope so.
Bill.


Strangely enough, Bill, I have received congratulations from various points
around the world, which is a bit weird since I am not Spanish, nor do I
follow "futbol"!  I must say, however, that I am happy for my adopted
compatriots.

A special gig?  Nope.  We are in the middle of a 14 nite run at a downtown
jazz club.  Last nite, we had one couple in the club as everyone was in the
streets watching the game in clubs that have large screens or on the public
screens placed around the city.  

Didn't play until after the match (an hour later than our usual starting
time, and played a one hour set.  It then took an hour and a half to make my
way home (normal time is 10 minutes!).  And, that was 1:30am!!  You couldn't
even SEE the pavement for all the people out...all dressed in the Spanish
flag.  And, those bloody horns!  You could yell into a friends ear and not
be heard for the racket.

A bit of history is due here to explain the euphoria.  I have always been
amazed at the strange mix of a high level of proudness in the Spanish
coupled with a troubling manner of running themselves down in comparison to
the rest of the world.  Anything from "outside of Spain" has been accepted
as being better.  Being "rulers of the world" in their past, and suffering a
terrible civil war (fairly recent history!), and being ruled by a dictator
for 40 yrs, all compounded, I suppose, in creating this mentality.

Now, with Spaniards showing up in the top of tennis, golf, racing cars,
football, actors....well, things are changing.  Spanish businesses are doing
business around the world, with a Spanish company building the new channel
alongside the Panama Canal....Banco Santander taking over foreign banks, and
isn't there something going on with high speed trains for the U.S. now?  

But, then, the "crisis" came.  The world economic woes which affect Spain
more than many other countries due to the collapse (could have been
foreseen!) of the contruction bubble.  (I read recently that 800,000 new
homes are unsold, and being held by banks who can't afford them.)  20% of
the population is out of work.  A much higher level than that amongst young
people, with many living with their parents easily up to almost 40 yrs of
age!!  (Note to young U.S. & British girls:  don't choose one of these
fellows as a mate.  You will get  a 30 something yr old that has had his
mother picking up after him & cooking for him, and he will allow you to take
over from her!)  

Last nite, I was standing on a bench outside the club next door to ours
watching the end of the game with the other guys in the band through the
window. When Spain got that goal at the end people literally "exploded" out
of the clubs up and down the pedestrian mall.  They ran out, ran back in,
ran out, ran back in.  It was the weirdest site.  They were crisscrossing
each other as opposite club doors spit out their occupants & then received
them again.

So much euphoria?  On one point, it's good.  Keeps people's minds off of the
problems.  On the other side, to solve the problems, everyone must put their
minds to it, and get things working again.  I suppose things will settle
down, and we'll begin to have the non-sense strikes that Greece has been
seeing.  The fact seems to be...to get yourself out into the streets:  for
football madness, or to strike when work is the answer.

One other good point has come out of this:  Catalunya (Barcelona area) with
all of its talk about separating from Spain, has been thwarted temporarily
(at least) by the fact that the Catalan players on the Spanish team are just
that...part of Spain.  People of Catalunya are hanging the Spanish flag from
their balconies!!  In the Basque country, also.  Unheard of!
And, Spaniards, who have never waved their flag (still a bit connected with
the Franco period), are flying it from balconies & cars.  In general, they
are proud to be Spaniards, and that is not all bad, to say the least. 

Anyhow, our gig is cancelled tonight (we continue our contract tomorrow
nite!), due to the welcoming party planned in the streets of Madrid tonite
for the returning team. It would be difficult for us to even get to the
club, and with the temperatures barely getting below the 30's (90's F) at
nite, everyone is out in the streets & they don't expect anyone again in the
club and wanting to listen to Jazz. 

Last nite went on to 8am this morning, so the same could happen tonite.

Jim