Get Off The Bus

i want one

i finally got to visit with my friend paul and his little darling, oona. i haven't seen her since she was about a month old. she's now ten months and dangerous cute, super tall, with a very charming, very british little space between her front teeth.

i say model.

he says doctor.

i'll let the photos help you decide.

then i got to visit with my pal amber's new addition, a little hot dog chihuahua named etienne. she rescued him from from an undesirable living situation and the poor thing was literally covered in fleas but he's happy, clean and healthy now, thank god, because aunties jeaneen and cindy can't stop nibbling on his little puppy ears and feet...HE IS SO CUTE!!!

and while i'm on the subject, my friend robin has the cutest twin calico kitties in the world. the cutest.

 

work club session 1: wig party!

i've got a new gal pal and her name is robin. i met her on a video shoot a couple of weeks ago, like me, she was doin the hustle as an "extra". after sharing our stories (weirdly similar) and filling our purses with craft service, WORK CLUB was born.

WORK CLUB is essentially robin and myself sitting around, drinking beer and brainstorming better ways to remain blissfully unemployed and still pay the rent. we are also all about cheap thrills, and on this particular wednesday night that meant WIG PARTY!

with a mini keg under one arm and a bag full of guacamole fixins in the other, we arrived at her friend natsuko's house. i was chopping onions and trying not to cry when in walks supertwin ashley from my old job, the little seed (aka punky brewster's eco-friendly baby store). sister megan was on her way and we all had a happy little reunion while grilling out on the front porch.

i'm not really sure how it all started but this guy came outside wearing a wig and we of course all wanted a turn.

then we found these and it got real weird:

robin working on her new look, the "i dj at little joy and get paid in free pbr" 

i kinda loved this one. maybe i should cut the rest of my hair off?

my new band (conceptual, not actual)

ANDY WARHOL ARMY

we sound like sonic youth (probably)

ashley's final look of the night was a winner:

look back, go forward

back in the 80's, when i was about to start the 3rd grade at a new school, i decided i needed a haircut. i had long straight hair, a lot like my hair now in fact. my sister chopped it all off into what was to become my default haircut over the years, a louise brooks bob, but this very first try had a twist. let me just reiterate that IT WAS THE 80's. 

she cut everything off except one long strand which fell at the very front of the left side of my face. we braided it. i was teased mercilessly at said new school. the braid was chopped after a few days of just being a little too different. it was, in hindsight, unbelievably cool and cutting edge. i was 9. 

this was also the year i sported leggings everyday, ballet flats (real ballet shoes mind you), grecian sandals, knee high mocassins, my mother's beatle boots from the 1960's and a leather motorcycle jacket my sister brought back from london. i had tea and toast every morning, listened to adam and the ants and read The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole over and over again. i wonder (now that i know teachers are real people) what they must have thought of me.

this was (not surprising) my fave video and it explains everything:

Art of Noise - Close to the Edit Extended Video Mix

as i got older, the hair got weirder. for years my family never once saw my natural color. purple, blue, "flamingo pink" and "pillarbox red" were the norm. somewhere in my mid-twenties, i gave up. every disgruntled kid from the suburbs within driving distance of a "hot topic" had rainbow hair, tattoos, piercings and a nouveau lunchbox-type purse. i jumped ship, grew my hair out, listened to psych rock, ate mushrooms and read I'M WITH THE BAND over and over and over again. 

but something is happening this summer, after driving across the country and being able to spot every retro groupie in their GTO's finest i feel the same impulse, to jump ship, to flee from a "tribe" that no longer bears meaning, only fashion sense. 

so, hello tom tom club, hello bow wow wow, hello bananarama, hello fuzzbox. hello baggy ripped jeans. hello desperately seeking susan. hello giant men's button down shirts. 

after wearing my summer hat to cover up my hippy hair EVERY DAY for two weeks it was time for a haircut. i couldn't stop thinking how before we graduated to full on crayola colored hair, we used to shave the under sides of our heads, bleach what was left and dye it crazy colors. you could only see it if you pulled the rest up into a ponytail, it was all business when your hair was down. we used this tactic to trick our parents and gently ease them into the "punk years". it was that memory that inspired my search for the perfect summer do. after much trepidation, i allowed franny to slice away miles of my long, long hair and take off almost everything underneath. we cut the sides a little short so you won't see me flipping it to one side and spiking out the rest for a couple of weeks. that'll give me time to find the perfect color manic panic...

i thought the perfect way to end the day would be to go dancing with a couple of my fave ladies from way back when.

when i finally get another job, i want to be martha stewart

i decided when i got home from tour i would just try to relax a little. if you know me, you may think this is a good thing because usually i'm working 3 jobs, running around like a maniac and missing out on everything fun. it feels like my first summer vacation ever and i love it.

last saturday started with a cemetery screening of 16 Candles. i was sort of devastated that kime missed it (she was in chicago having an art opening) because she is the only other person i know who freaks out as much as i do about the soundtrack. the REAL soundtrack. the one when you rent it is a gyp. the only way to hear the real deal in all it's glory is to borrow it directly from universal pictures (or so i've heard) and it was totally worth it. all those times i've watched the film (post seeing it in the theatre as a kid) i have these moments where i think, "that's the wrong music, wait...am i making that up?" but i wasn't, and it is AWESOME and i wish everyone i know could have been there...

fran was there

and we know how to throw a picnic...

after-wards we headed to chinatown to see friends bands WE ARE THE WORLD and ARP. the directions were like a treasure map, all secret passageways, walk 10 paces, turn left at the dumpster, watch out for wobbly cobblestones, look for the red door, go down the black staircase...we found ourselves in a dark, steamy basement surrounded by crazy dancers in wild costumes. and then there were the performers...

we are the world

ARP

after we danced ourselves soaked with sweat, we hightailed it over to LITTLE RADIO for the HIT + RUN party. it was, as the kids would say, "off the hook". free drinks, free custom silk-screened t's, free photo booth...PLUS i got to witness the emergence of FRAN THE SERIAL PHOTO CUDDLER.

what "off the hook" looks like

free drinks

free shirts

fran cuddling her pal henrick

fran cuddling up on miss britt

fran cuddling up on some random dude

fran on moi

invisible cuddle? no is fran

fran's face has "i love you, i hate you" written all over it. those last drinks were a BAD idea.

i look mighty confused. i was even more confused when i woke up in my car the next day (never drive drunk!)

despite an epic sunday hangover (day of rest!), fran and i managed to turn out quite a bbq. she made a bunch of yummy salads, bought salmon and steaks for the grill and told me to get my ass over there to make some sauces and sober up with a few more cocktails. well, ok.

i wish i had pictures but we'll do it again soon and my brain will probably be working by then.

summery salmon sauce:

1 avocado (firm) diced

1 mango diced

1/2 red onion diced

1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 handful cilantro, chopped

3 limes or lemons, halved

salt & pepper to taste

throw everything in a bowl, squeeze enough lemon or lime juice over the mixture to cover, stir everything up, salt and pepper and throw in fridge so the flavors can mingle a bit while you grill the fish. spoon over fish. eat. 

bourbon-ed cherry bbq sauce for steak:

ok, this one was definitely an experiment. i had a bunch of cherries in my fridge i was dying to use for SOMETHING...not sure if you could really taste the bourbon in the final product but it was pretty yummy regardless. i would maybe soak the cherries in the bourbon overnight if i had more time...

big handful of cherries, halved and pitted

red onion, very thinly sliced (not too much onion, i did prolly 1/4 of an onion)

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

drizzle balsamic vinegar

bottle store-bought bbq sauce

bourbon

salt & pepper

throw the pitted cherries in a bowl and cover with bourbon (using something with a bit of bite, knob creek say, might work better than the too-mellow jim beam that i used)

drizzle a little olive oil in a pan and add the onions and garlic, cook until soft. drizzle a little balsamic in there and cook a bit more. dump the cherries and bourbon in the pan and cook until liquid is evaporated and cherries swell. stir in bbq sauce (maybe half the bottle) and heat through. salt and pepper to taste, and add a little more bourbon if you like or if the sauce seems too thick. spoon over sliced steak (i like it med-rare).

make yourself one of these before you sit down to eat:

prosecco blackberry muddle

fill glass with ice

fill 3/4 full with prosecco

throw 2 big ripe blackberries in the glass

crush a sprig of mint and throw in the glass

muddle the blackberry & mint a little

top with ruby red grapefruit vodka

squeeze of lemon

drink

die happy

home is where the hustle is

it is tough for me to accept that over a month of my life has slipped by since i last sat down to write. between the long drives everyday, the 24 hour "babysitting" (as my friend calls it), the finding of the hotels and subsequent finding of the black angel's (party) room at said hotels - i was exhausted. and i never had a minute. i barely took pictures. hopefully when the time is right the tales will all come flooding back and i can reminisce a little.

no looking back for the moment for i found that after paying a few bills, i am BROKE. work your ass off for two months and return home with empty pockets. i don't know how bands do it.

so after exactly one day of relaxing naked by the pool in silverlake, i was back doing the doorgal shuffle. putting the word out that i am home and i will do almost anything for money. you may have seen my craigslist posting for "art model available". that's right, i am yours, naked for $15 an hour.

things i have done this week for money:

$40 - Music Video Extra. little australian gal called LENKA. never heard of her, my friend's production company was handling the shoot, 3 days later i heard the song during a commercial on ABC. so maybe she'll be hugely famous and i will add it to my roster of music video appearances including: HOLE - MISS WORLD (i'm the one stage diving)

$50 - Rock & Roll Nanny. the japanese band BORIS needed a sitter while they played at the echoplex. i've decided i'm now only having kids if they are cute, tiny, mute, hello kitty obsessed (japanese ones). she fell asleep in my arms while her mom played some of the noisiest music i've ever heard.

this is her sleeping in the green room right before she woke up from some crazy nightmare all panicked and muttering a bunch of gibberish (japanese). i want one just like her.

$50 - Photo Assistant? Poor Jeaneen essentially paid me to keep her company on a shoot for this band called MORNINGWOOD. she also had a real assistant and an intern. then she took me to dinner. i feel terrible. jeaneen = my sugardaddy. i swept up the star glitter so i could feel like i did SOMETHING.

$50 - Shop Girl. i am sitting in the SHOW PONY writing this. kime is in chicago having another fabulous art show. pretty sure she'll blog it HERE when she gets home again.

$40 - Door Gal. echoplex. tonight.

as stressful as it can be to not have a more predictable cash flow situation, i never want to have to get a "day job" ever again. hello life, i love you! i love waking up at 3 in the afternoon one day and 6am the next just because. i love deciding to go grocery shopping at 4am. i love knowing i could just drive to the beach right now if i feel like it. i love going out dancing every chance i get. i love being able to just "hang out" with friends and not be rushing off somewhere. i love sitting in my mom's backyard and reading newspaper clippings with her. i love FREE YOGA in runyon canyon. i'd heard of it's existence but since i always had to work when it happened (everyday 10:30 - 11:30 am and weekdays at 6pm) is may as well have been a unicorn. fuck the man! quit your job and yoga for free!

i also love having time to play with food, plan picnics and deviled egg parties. tour blog on hiatus. this food blog now! sort of ludicrous since i am broke...check this real e-mail i sent fran re: spread for 16 CANDLES at the cemetary. maybe my next gig will be catering.

i am bringing a big quilt to wrap up in + 2 big pillows. dont think i
have anything to throw down on ground but guessing i can find
something...if i remember correctly, the ground gets really wet, maybe
i should grab a shower curtain at 99cent store to put under blanket?

i of course compiled a massive list of things i want to nibble,
roughly grouped into two platters (this is pathalogical because i have
$20 in my bank account)

savory:
baguette or other yummy bread
feta
fresh mint
sliced cucumbers or tzatziki
tiny tomatoes
assorted olives and cornichons
rosemary marcona almonds

sweet:
brie
carr's whole wheat crackers
red grapes
cherries
dried apricots
goat cheese
fresh figs
honey
cashews
dark chocolate

and of course wine, wine, wine. red i guess since white would have to
be chilled (although nothing would make me happier than a nice glass
of 2007 kim crawford marlborough sauvignon blanc) maybe we bring bag
ice + bucket?

and maybe lemonade for simon who doesn't really drink

i am insane, no?

we'll have to see how that goes tomorrow...in the meantime, i was missing miss kim who is in chicago and who LOVES deviled eggs. kime, come home! i made something for you!

curried deviled eggs

this is what i did. sorry no measurements, i just throw things in a bowl and hope for the best. i think some of the best cooking is intuitive so just go for it.

boil eggs, cut in half, remove yolks
mash yolks with a few spoonfuls of greek yogurt (consistency will be creamy/fluffy)
add a heaped spoon of curry powder, stir and add if you think it needs more
squeeze half a lemon into yolk mixture
sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
spoon mixture into halved eggs
sprinkle with chopped cilantro and that lime-chile-salt stuff they sell at the mexican store to put on fruit.
chill.
yum.

p.s that is a ROSE SODA that i got at the armenian market down the street. i freaked because i love just about anything that tastes like flowers. it was delicious. but maybe not the best with curried eggs.

no sleep til ?

june 22, 2008
chicago

i think i said this before but i'm really busy. too busy to do much with this blog. but today is a day of rest in chicago at my dear friend mike bulington's gorgeous pad in wicker park. he plays in this really great band called grimble grumble who opened up for the warlocks the last time they were in this neck of the woods. we were supposed to have a studio session today but had to cancel because bobby is on the verge of losing his voice and with 9 shows and no day off on the horizon, it was the necessary thing to do. anyway, mike is an amazing host, letting us have the run of the place and i'm finally relaxing with 2 bottles of wine, some brie and a whole lot of photos to upload...

this is the gorgeous facade of the theater in denver. i finally had a sit down dinner with ryan at a nice thai place. you have no idea how amazing thai food is until you've gone 4 straight days on a diet of taco bell, mcdonalds and hardees.

blue

red

the artist and her work in rapid city, sd. she also stayed over at our fire-pit equipped tree house in the woods. before bed she changed into a bright red union suit. i think she should move to new york or maybe berlin. i have a feeling she would blossom into something quite special.

jc found my fave pinball game, the playboy calendar girls. you'll find me in ny at max fish playing this in a couple of days.

bob and his new job doing projections for the black angels

this is really blurry but if you know jana, know can tell that this is a picture of her balancing a cup on her head.

dancing girls miss merch and jana cup-on-head

stephanie from the black angels either right before or after the insane jam session that ensued (i have been trying to upload to youtube for days to no avail)

more foot photos. someone is drunk....(p.s. how cool is that carpet?)

jana stole alex's (black angels) hat and she has his moves down cold.

the promoters invited us to their place in the woods. it seemed like the kind of place that inspires horror movies but i took one look at their giant dreamcatcher and slept like a baby.

we awoke to the sound of thunder and rain and wild peacocks screeching like pterodactyls.

we tried to get one of the happy grey cats to come with us, they reminded me of my esmeralda back home...

after some necessary errands (oil change already?) we stopped in town for some exploring and shopping before heading to fargo. the historic hotel had a fabulous ceiling (looking like my next tattoo).

bob bought some fancy collars for the kids back home.

then we stopped at wall drug so i could buy assorted dreamcatchers and some hootch.

i left my heart in salt lake city

portland is sort of a blur because i was so wiped out from the long drive from the bay area. yes, i drove the whole way by myself. yes, i am bad ass.

our big outing the next day was a walk across the bridge to whole foods. funny, i feel like i was just here.

heed the sign and remember to LOVE, people...

what is the deal with people and their wacky cars in seattle? this is like, the third one i saw.

it is a well known fact that touring bands are in general, poor and desperate for a decent place to sleep. what is lesser known (or applauded) is that it is usually the kindness of strangers that gets you around. the kindness of girls mostly. it's unfortunate that the term "groupie" is so associated with slutty girls waiting backstage and offering up sexual favors because i'm not sure what to call these kind souls who open their doors, feed, drink and sleep us. saints? welcome wagoneers? i wish i had some photos of the lovely ladies who put us up in seattle. big love and big thanks!

the battery in our van keeps dying and everyday i get up an hour early in case we need (another) jump. this is all our fault most likely. our van is so tricked out with gadgets we can't even figure out what's draining the battery. here's jc at the mechanic's who told us everything would be a-ok if we could remember to not leave all our shit (ipod, cell phone, gps) plugged in overnight.

pretty much everyday, bob and i try to find a cute dog. we found this one in a parking lot outside starbucks in twin falls, id.

p.s. bob takes pictures of dogs incessantly and you can see them on itookthisonmyphone.com , this genius site where you can send all yr pics from your blackberry. which is so smart, i mean, it's in your hand ALL THE TIME right? here are a few of bob's pics, he's already doing a much better job of documenting this trip than i am but i'll be all set up with my own itookthisonmyphone.com pretty soon.

another day, another dog. i think this one is from SLC.

me & JC in seattle

for the record, salt lake city is really far from seattle. we were relieved to just BE somewhere. we weren't prepared for the bonus: everyone in SLC is gorgeous. i'm not exaggerating. again, i should have taken photos to prove i met 4 out of my next 5 husbands that night.

these liquour laws look mormon to me

there's that poster again

black angels rock. look at the photo close and you will see that christian is totally see-thru he is moving so fast.

3 blurry warlocks on a couch, salt lake city.

jana

the lovelies that put a roof over our heads

bobby & bob. best friends and finally a photo to prove it.

get in the van

last dinner before the warlocks tour with the ladies meant pie and fries at the fab "pie & burger" in pasadena followed up with the "sex & the city" movie. we looked around and were by far not the only foursome of ladies taking in the flick. which embarrassed us quite a bit. at least we weren't all dolled up carrie, samantha, miranda and charlotte style. everyone else was.

last warlocks show before leaving for good (ok, 2 months)...the ink & iron fest at the queen mary in long beach. hard to believe i've never once set foot on the luxurious ship, even though i grew up in los angeles. bobby and i wandered the creepy corridors (imagine "the shining") and wondered how people don't lose their minds when they set to sea. it's actually a hotel now and apparently haunted. don't think i would ever stay here but i heard they have a fantastic brunch.

our sweet ride, nelly (courtesy BANDAGO) she's got two screens, dvd player & playstation. in other words, more amenities than my apartment.

she works hard for the money. actually, i was napping when the promoter came and dumped our settlement all over my bod. possibly he was flirting.

we (i) drove through the night, arriving at sausalito in the wee misty hours of the morning. when miss merch (molly) led us to our quarters i thought i was dreaming but maybe i was just hallucinating from the long, long drive.

like something out of charlie & the chocolate factory in reverse, we took this lift to our digs:

the ride didn't faze bobby, jana or cindy

but bob didn't fare so well

i don't blame him, look at this thing!

whatever, it was totally worth it. check out the view from sea-level:

yeah, i could live here.

the show in san francisco was epic. off to a great start! suffer through my blurry photos, i've never been much of a photog (my sister got that gene) and i refuse to use a flash.

tonight i am in sioux falls, sd. been totally hectic ever since i left home but will try to catch up on all the cities in between over the next few days. don't have much to tell, haven't had much time to write and my camera is never around when i really need it. i just hope the best stories don't disappear into thin air before i can get them down. my life, this tour, everything moves so fast. i am a blur.

better late than never

wow. it's really easy to let a whole week get away from you sometimes. i wrapped up the kills tour in atlanta on may 28 and am finally posting the pics from the last day of tour.
i think i may have mentioned this before but sometimes tour is all about passing out and then waking up in a parking lot in another state.

here is the parking lot du jour:

we've got the spooky piece of hair

the vacant lot, trash heap next door

and the load-in entrance to the club

who says rock & roll isn't glamorous?

i think my friend plucky would enjoy the mural in the parking lot because i'm not sure if he loves anything more than PBR, except boobies and it's got both.

i got to spend some more quality time with dexy.

she gave me a little glittery unicorn so i could take some magic home with me.

dexy & chris valentine. making LOVE cool again.

look at this fucking magic sequin love jacket...i contemplated a mugging.

this is my merch buddy john. he played drums with the opening act dax riggs. john also plays his own brand of amazing as a solo artist:
john barrett's bass drum of death

he has a show coming up in LA soon...go!

oh look, i'll be back very soon:

a bartender gave me a giant jar of sweet tea to take home. i gave it to russ, our amazing driver for his long drive home to dallas.

5AM final goodbye with russ after moving out of the bus. we had REALLY moved in so it took HOURS.

i flew home just a few hours later. zombie-cindy bought these amazing/hideous boots by accident (sort-of):

and then a few hours after that i trotted them out to the SPINDRIFT record release party and 3D extravaganza

road-weary c with the lovely miss jeaneen (who i missed so much while i was gone!)

this is what it looks like when the (3D) party's over:

magic happens

NASHVILLE
5/26/08

so, a year ago my friend dexy decided to move to nashville because she was crushed out on some boy who she had been carrying out a long courtship of myspace messages and flirty photos via text. i rolled my eyes and told her she'd be back in three weeks.

needless to say, she never made it home. instead she fell in love, started a band with her boyfriend and sings songs about their true love bliss that are so catchy and so sincere she challenges all my jaded presumptions and forces me to want to become a believer.

all rainbows, unicorns, prism stickers and lyrics about meeting by the soda machine make me want to fall in love for the first time all over again. the first love. the only love in the world kind of love. magic love.
so i was thrilled when i found out her band would be opening up the shows in nashville and atlanta. when we arrived in nashville it was rainy and memorial day, everything was closed and dexy and chris and sylvester the lion had all just got back from the uk and were jet-lagged major. we decided just to meet up the next day.

left to my own devices for the rest of our precious “day off” i did what i do best...scout vintage stores and eat lots of yummy food.

nashville has all these great little restaurants in converted houses. i wanted to go to my fave steakhouse, jimmy kelly's to have some of the delicious corncakes they serve. they are like little cornmeal pancake things they serve instead of bread. alas, they were closed for a private party and i found myself with nowhere to go. the drizzle outside was daunting and i waited almost too long to finally take a stroll around an unfamiliar town. after walking in a big circle past lots of places i would love to check out but were closed, i found an awesome indian place right next door to the hotel. i ate too much of everything plus some of that amazing rice pudding they make with the cardamom pods in it and passed out early. funny thing about tour, you just sleep and sleep in those bunks and then you pass out early in hotels. too much sleep is never enough. it's ludicrous.

just around the corner from the hotel, i missed my friends ted and aaron (seawolf) by 2 days:

the next day i ventured out early and walked over to centennial park to visit the parthenon. i had first seen the parthenon on a trip to tennessee in 2006, after a jimmy kelly's dinner and several of tennessee's finest whiskies. my friend and i spotted it through the trees and i was screeching, “take me to greece!” over and over until our very patient cab driver obliged. unfortunately, alcohol a.d.d. had set in by the time we pulled up and we were like, “cool. can you take us to a bar now?” i'll never forget how bummed we were at 3am when we realized we had given away an entire box of leftover corncakes to that cab driver. i've wanted to go back ever since.

"The Parthenon stands proudly as the centerpiece of Centennial Park, Nashville's premier urban park. The re-creation of the 42-foot statue Athena is the focus of the Parthenon just as it was in ancient Greece. The building and the Athena statue are both full-scale replicas of the Athenian originals.

Originally built for Tennessee's 1897 Centennial Exposition, this replica of the original Parthenon in Athens serves as a monument to what is considered the pinnacle of classical architecture. The plaster replicas of the Parthenon Marbles found in the Naos are direct casts of the original sculptures which adorned the pediments of the Athenian Parthenon, dating back to 438 B.C. The originals of these powerful fragments are housed in the British Museum in London.

The Parthenon also serves as the city of Nashville's art museum. The focus of the Parthenon's permanent collection is a group of 63 paintings by 19th and 20th century American artists donated by James M. Cowan. Additional gallery spaces provide a venue for a variety of temporary shows and exhibits."

i walked back through the park and said hi to the ducks on my way to lunch.

our driver, russ made me promise to eat at this place. he was so sad they had ran out of banana pudding before he got there. i had my first of many "sweet teas".

ran into the rest of the kids next door in the used bookshop and picked up a few old art mags for miss buzzelli to make pretty pictures from. then off to the venue to meet up with THE MAGIC WANDS!

dexy & chris valentine and me in a magic dress

the third magic member of the band, sylvester

even their merch is magical