Hey, JF Gaziano, Pablo Picasso was 5-foot-4

Add comment August 28th, 2008

It’s been a long time since I’ve been out on the town in Rockford on a Wednesday night, hanging with such diverse crowds.

Early on, I snagged shrimp and crab cakes at the Radisson Hotel at a reception for David Oliver Relin, co-author of “Three Cups of Tea,” a book about Greg Mortenson’s quest to build schools in remote Pakistan and Afghanistan villages for girls. The president of a heavy-hitting Rockford company was there, along with Chuck Prorock, who is running for Winnebago County State’s Attorney.

After writing a story about Relin’s lecture a few hours later at Rockford College before about 600 people, I grabbed a beer at Big Cities Lounge downtown. A few dozen people were there, but it was hard to tell who were audience members and who were performers. Blues/soul/rocker Hamilton Loomis and his group of Texas, who had performed earlier in the night with his group at Kegel’s party for Harley’s 105th anniversary party ride, were playing.

Then, a guy who works at Kegel’s starts playing guitar with the band, then another Rockfordian grabs his own guitar, Mark Kegel starts playing harmonica, and JF Gaziano of Rockford — who regularly performs at Big Cities on Wednesday’s I’m told — gets in on the gig. And with his gravelly voice, he sings some hard-hitting, even funny, blues.

One tune lamented that women fawn over cubist Pablo Picasso, despite his being 5-foot-3-inches tall, though the singer didn’t get that kind of respect.

Anywho, Gaziano, a few of us were wondering if Picasso really was that short. Not. According to the Internet Movie Database. He was 5-foot-4. Just FYI.