Aubergine's music scene closed last night and took everyone by surprise. The Thugz had the date booked for a while, and then it turned out to be a grand closing event. Of course, Mike invited Stephanie, Adam, and Bradley from the Jug Dealers to join in. Their band had many great nights there, topped by their memorable CD release party. The Thugz also had some Thugz Associates/Alumni show up - Shawn took over on drums, just like the old days, and Marc Baskett drove in from L.A. to sing and play next to his old band mates. We even brought Drew down from his sound booth perch to do a great "Samson and Delilah." He does it all so well. Drew will certainly miss his sound system job at Aubergine, and many other loyal staff will have to find other work as well. There are so few good places to enjoy live music in the area, and it's a great shame to see Aubergine go. The tribal scene of west county music lovers has become a "moveable feast" - just searching for a home. Stephanie was obviously a bit shaken by the suddenness of the closing and didn't want the night to end. She shared her thoughts with the crowd and essentially urged everybody to keep their spirits high. We all have the music to keep our hopes and dreams on track and keep us "...playing in the Heart of Gold Band." I think all the Thugz played really well last night, with gusto! "Sugar Magnolia" brought everybody out to dance and commune with the "vibe." So we said farewell to Aubergine in Sebastopol - which reminds me: "...one in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right..." Take care. Love, Sylvia