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Tuesday, 26 April 2005
I could live in LA ...
... but I don't really want to. Great place to visit though, which is what D and I did this past weekend, driving down there to stay for four days and four nights, crashing with our friend Andrew, and mixing some business with pleasure. I can't believe we haven't been to LA in 2-1/2 years. Not since that craptacular Sigue Sigue Sputnik show at the Cleopatra Records 10-Year Anniversary Party. And that seems so LONG ago! So much has happened since.
I used to end up in LA on a fairly regular basis, usually because of my band Blue Period. We were down there ALL the time, playing shows, schmoozing, whatever. Our manager Danny moved down there, and with two self-released albums and a ton of well-received shows under our belts, we really hoped we might get a few industry nibbles. In fact, for about a year, the entire band considered a move to Los Angeles. Our guitarist, Tommy, actually did move down there. But alas, that whole new, resurgent, glam-influenced "Hollywood rock" scene that was brewing at clubs like Makeup and The Pretty Ugly Club circa 1999-2001 pretty much went nowhere. The few bands from that scene that did get signed (Beautiful Creatures, Other Star People, Orgy) didn't get very far. And then, when rock did make a comeback, it didn't sound at all like the kind of rock we and our peers were playing. Instead, it sounded like garage-influenced indie rock – the Vines, the White Stripes, the Hives. So much for the "glitz rock revival."
We were a good band with some great songs, but let's face it – at the time, we didn't stand a chance in the music marketplace. (And we still wouldn't.) Making it in the music industry has more to do with luck and what's trendy at the time than it does with actual talent or charisma. I mean, when even a band with as much buzz as the Toilet Boys couldn't get signed, it's foolish to think that Blue Period (who had a similar aesthetic) ever would have "made it." We might have gotten signed, but we simply would have ended up in the $1 bin at Amoeba within a year.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm really glad I never ended up moving to LA back in 2001! Hindsight is 20/20, that's for sure. Besides, I'm quite happy with where I'm at right now with the DJ and club career, and I'm certainly having fun with Smash-Up Derby and the various other music projects I've got going on. Speaking of...
D and I met up with DJ Paul V., and we're cooking up some exciting party ideas. Hopefully it will all pan out. We also met up with Danny, and recovered a bunch of Blue Period videotapes. However, he didn't have the Blue Period master tapes, and no one in the band seems to know where they are. Yes, the master tapes for our "Nightlife Casualties" album are missing. So much for me using them for some remix and mash-up work. Hopefully they'll turn up somewhere. How they disappeared is a bit of a mystery.
On Friday night, we went to Fubar for Trannyshack LA – and it was too damn crowded! Before the show, we hung out backstage with the performers, but when it came time for the performance, we couldn't even leave! We were trapped in the dressing room, because it was so jam-packed. So I watched most of the show on the security monitor, and socialized. Quite fun, actually. And then there was the after-party at Mario Diaz's house. Mario's in the electro band Dirty Sanchez, whom I like a lot. He played some new tracks off their upcoming album, and then we sang along to Styx songs. Definitely a good time.
Strange how much clarity I have about the weekend ... I think it's because I wasn't drinking that much, because I was the designated driver. I figured it was the least I could do for Andrew, who always has to drive to clubs and such. I didn't mind, although by the end of the weekend, I was a bit sick of driving. That's the one thing I really don't like about LA – having to drive everywhere. Andrew and I ended up at an after-party in Hollywood on Saturday night, and he wanted to stay late. Which in San Francisco, would be no problem. But in LA, it's a logistical nightmare, because cabs are few, they take forever to get there, and then it's a $30 fare. In SF, you can pretty much walk out the door (depending on where you are, of course) and hail a cab. My apartment is a $7 cab fare from just about everywhere I hang out. I gotta admit, that's awfully nice, especially if you like to drink when you go out. And who doesn't? Oh yeah, all the clean-and-sober people, of which there are TONS of in LA. It's like, it's a town full of extremists. Everyone is either a complete mess, or they're on the other end of the spectrum, and going for the AA thing, like it's Scientology or something. Can't anyone in LA drink or do drugs in moderation?
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Wednesday, 13 April 2005
April's Bootie was INSANE!
I love it when a plan comes together. April's Bootie party with DJ Zebra was great. What an INSANE night! Our biggest crowd EVER at Cherry Bar! Over 400 people ... the place was insanely packed, hot and sticky with people dancing their asses off! DJ Zebra didn't get completely naked like he promised, but he still took off his shirt ... as did Party Ben!
Yet another mini-bootlegger convention at Bootie, amongst all the punters. Earworm, Jay-R, DJ John, Matt Hite, Tristan Shout, Dada, Party Ben, A plus D, and of course Zebra -- all in the house! Anna Conda performed to our very own "Decepta-Freak-On" (and it warmed our hearts) and we did our best to warm up American/French relations!
And of course, Party Ben transformed into "After-Party Ben" at 2 AM, when Cherry Bar kicked everyone out, and we all partied into the wee hours of the morning, with Princess Kennedy practicing her French with Mr. Zebra. Definitely, a good time was had by all.
Words cannot express how proud D and I are of the mashup scene here in San Francisco! So much energy, creativity, and just plain fun.
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