April Foolishness at VivaFresh, Cafe 322, LATimes Fest of Books

So we were sitting around, trying to come up with a list of excuses not to practice.

We'd gotten up to No. 396 (Large Hadron Collider in operation in Switzerland, throws banjos out of tune worldwide), and when we weren't looking, our April calendar filled up with gigs.

"Tell us more," we hear you yearning....

Oh, all right...

• Monday, April 5, Viva Fresh, Burbank: The inaugural Bluegrass Monday at Viva Fresh Mexican Restaurant in Burbank, rumored to have the best fajitas in town. Bluegrass at a Mexican Restaurant? Of course, haven't you ever heard of Kentucky-Mex cuisine? There will be other bands each Monday of the month, and they no doubt will raise the standards  musically. The Flaw, on the other hand, will lower them precipitously every first Monday. It's kind of like a bluegrass roller coaster; you may want to raise both arms and yell, "Whee!"

• Wednesday, April 7, Cafe 322, Sierra Madre: Another inauguration, and we have nothing to wear: Cafe 322  will be the location for the first monthly "Who Left the Barn Door Open?" bluegrass night. The project is guided by Paul Dorn, bass player extraordinaire for about 30 bands on two continents (including Switzerland's "Large Hadron Collider Mountain Boys"). Italian food this time, splendidly prepared and purveyed. Unfortunately, the cuisine will have to contend with the Flawed atmosphere. But our band's attitude is if you don't have at least a few patrons running for the restrooms, you're not doing your job. Good bands always involve their audiences in the performance. Cafe 322

• Sunday, April 25, L.A. Times Festival of books, Westwood: Inexplicably, the Flaw has been invited back to the Etc. Stage at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. This must be the fifth year, and you'd think they'd learn by now. Nonetheless, we're on from 3-4 p.m. You'll not want to miss it because one of these years it will be the Flaw's Farewell Performance. You can find Festival of Books information here. Tickets are free and with the Flaw you always get your money's worth.

It gets even worse in May with a return to the Coffee Gallery Backstage at 8 p.m. Sunday, May 2. You've been warned; more about that later.

As always, you'll want to jot all these dates on a piece of paper and staple it to someone you love.

See you Monday, Wednesday or April 25, or all three if you want to earn your Flawed Groupie Merit Badge.

The Flaw