« 2005-06 | HomePage | 2005-08 »
Monday, 25 July 2005
Heading back to LA ...
Wasn't I just in LA? And now I'm about the head back down there again. Busy busy busy ... next time I decide to throw two of the biggest parties I've ever done, how about I make sure they're not both within two weeks of each other, huh?
Yup, Bootie LA and the Bootie 2-Year Anniversary Party ... within two weeks of each other. WHAT were we thinking?
So we spent four days in LA ... we stayed with our friend Andrew, who ... did my hair! Mmmmm ... fresh red dreadlocks. We also flyered our asses off, trying to flyer 3-4 clubs or bars a night. Met with Paul V., who rocks as a co-promoter. I think he's just as much of a control freak as we are – which is actually a good thing in a nightclub promoter. He's gotten us some great press, been helpful in securing our night at The Echo, and has had his ducks in a row the whole time. So refreshing to find someone like that in the nightclub scene, which is notorious for being populated with flaky people.
We also ended up seeing The Possession of Mrs. Jones at the Zephyr Theatre. It's a rock musical/play by D'arcy Drollinger that I happened to be in about nine years ago, when it first opened in San Francisco! I couldn't believe it! We were just walking around on Melrose, flyering the shops, when I look across the street and see a sign for "The Possession of Mrs. Jones." I had no idea that they were mounting a production in LA! The play's original director, Charles Herman-Wurmfeld, also directed this version. I HAD to go! So D and I got tickets for the next night, since it was closing weekend. Of course, I ran into D'arcy, who I hadn't seen since he moved to New York, and Craig, one of the producers, who I also hadn't seen in YEARS! It was quite fun to sit in a theatre and watch another actor play a role that I originated (a small role, but, you know, there are no small roles, only small actors, blah blah blah). Quite a treat!
So right after we got back from LA, it was time for my big "Smashed & Trashed" mash-up theme night at Trannyshack, a show that I not only co-hosted, but also completely put together from start to finish. As it turned out, it was one of the best shows at the 'Shack in a while! Everyone really went all out, and it was one of the post prop-intensive shows in a while! A big success, and I'm glad that Heklina, despite her dislike of mash-ups, indulged me in putting on this show. Too bad Rev. Michel wasn't there to take pictures, otherwise I'd post some here! But Jimmy Loveless videotaped the show, so hopefully I can post some vidcaps later.
Thursday was the Smash-Up Derby show at the Eagle, and it totally rocked! We were tight, Trixxie and I played well off of each other ... it was, I don't know ... just a really good vibe. Some shows are really on, and you don't really know why, they just are. And this was one of them. I love my band!
Finally saw The Lovemakers on Friday at Cafe DuNord. I hate to say this, but they've outgrown small clubs. The place was totally packed, the sound was off, but they still put so much energy into it. But they're bigger than the small stage at DuNord, and I hate to say this, but I'm looking forward to the day I can see them at a bigger space, with great sound and lights, and where singer Scott Blonde can really go nuts doing his crazy, goofy dances.
Went to Midnight Mass on Saturday night to see "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure," which I hadn't seen since it came out! I've been to those dinosaurs on several roadtrips! You know what I'm talking about! "Tell 'em Large Marge sent ya!" First Midnight Mass in a while that I've done sober ... interesting! Still tons of fun actually.
I've spent the past few days systematically getting shit done and crossing things off my extensive list of "stuff to do before Bootie LA." Club stuff, burning CDs, mixing songs, printing crap, just all these stupid little club things. All this, despite fending off an impending cold or something. I've been pounding down the Vitamin C and antioxidants like they're going out of style. I'm holding up well.
I'm also performing at Trannyshack tomorrow night. I'm doing a straight-up lip-sync (with guitar-sync) of Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone," my favorite pop song in, like, forever. The theme is "The Now Sound," and you can't get more "now" than the feel-good pop hit of the summer. And then we leave for LA the next day... Bootie LA, woo-hoo! Looking forward to it! There seems to be buzz, I hope writing about it in this blog doesn't jinx it!
21:00 Posted in Blog | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this
Tuesday, 12 July 2005
Juggling balls while keeping my head above water
There is so much going on. Or rather, there is so much going on, and then there's going to be even more stuff going, so therefore, I really need to be on top of it so I'm properly prepared for all the stuff going on that hasn't happened yet, but will. Soon.
Still, I'm not totally stressed out or anything – yet – because I'm doing all the pre-production stuff way before it gets to be crunch time. So what's coming up? Fun stuff. Parties, shows, events. Mostly Bootie stuff: Bootie LA on July 30th, and the Bootie 2-Year Anniversary Party at Rickshaw Stop on August 13th. And then there's my mash-up night that I'm co-hosting at Trannyshack next Tuesday, July 19th, which I'm calling "Smashed & Trashed." I'll be singing a live Smash-Up Derby medley ... a new song every minute! And speaking of Smash-Up Derby, we're playing at the Eagle on Thursday, July 21st. Whew!
And then there's getting ready for Piss Clear, now the longest-running print publication at Burning Man, which I must admit, I'm so not looking forward to. Actually, I'm mostly just not looking forward to the logistical clusterfuck that is involved in getting one's ass out to the playa ... in an RV ... with seven other people. A pain in the ass, I tell you. After busting my ass on events and projects and stuff all summer long, all I really want to do is spend a week sitting in the shade in the desert sipping a cocktail. But unfortunately, I can't just click my heels three times and be magically transported there. Which is, of course, the great thing about Burning Man. It takes effort to get there. But after going for 13 years straight, sometimes I think what I need might be a real vacation – not a working vacation. Because that's what going to Black Rock City is, especially when you publish a newspaper out there.
I'm leaving for LA tomorrow, to promote for Bootie LA, so I wanted to catch up on the past two weeks. Because there's been a lot!
All about that Trannyshack movie critique
I ended up getting tons of feedback – much of it positive – and having lots of discussions due to my last blog entry about the Trannyshack movie. I even got barred from Glama-Rama for a few days, before Deena and I had a 2-1/2 hour chat about it all. So now it's all sorted – it's amazing what a little communication will do. :-)
Much of what we discussed I'd already written about in my last entry, but she did bring something up, which I will relate here. She said to me, "If you don't like it, go make your own movie about Trannyshack." And you know what? She has a point. After all, it's her money, time, and energy being devoted to this project. However admittedly, with any film that documents a scene filled with many different people – especially drag queens – there are going to some very strong opinions about how its portrayed on screen.
I also found out that they ended up editing the whole thing in about 2-1/2 weeks, which is, frankly, just INSANE. They had the deadline for the film festival, and they had to meet it. They're still going to work on editing it down, and make some changes, and I'm sure the finished work is going to be fucking fabulous. I just wish they would have announced in front of everyone that what they were screening was a ROUGH CUT – instead of making a big deal about it being the premiere. People would have viewed it as the "work-in-progress" that it actually was, as opposed to thinking it was the finished product.
Confessions of a closet metalhead
I saw Queensryche and Judas Priest at Shoreline Amphitheatre with Marcy Meow. DUDE! It rocked! We even ran into Heklina and Cookie Dough there! Wow, I never realized quite how GAY heavy metal is until I saw Judas Priest with Rob Halford. The leather, the poses, the DRAMA. Totally gay. He even changed his jacket several times during the set, and he always emerged looking more fabulous. Hindsight is so 20/20. How did I never pick up on this when I was 14 years old, growing up in Cleveland, Ohio? They even did "Turbo Lover," the gayest Priest song ever (the studio version even has synthesizers on it), which I totally love. DUDE!!!
Of course, the highlight of the evening was getting backstage with Marcy Meow, who knows Mike, the new guitarist for Queensryche. Let me just say, Operation: Mindcrime is my single all-time favorite metal album EVER. If I were stranded on a desert island, it would be one of the 10 CDs I would want with me. It's a well-developed concept album, with a real thematic story arc (as opposed to a so-called "concept album" like Ziggy Stardust, where there's not much of a story to get in the way of the songs.) Anyone who knows me also knows that I'm a sucker for a concept album, which is why, even at the height of my pretentious, college-rock, goth-damaged Cure/Smiths/New Order phase back in 1988, I still fell in love with this album.
One of the metal DJs on the college radio station I ran let me borrow it one night. I took it back to my dorm room and listened to the whole thing – on headphones, in the dark – from start to finish. Suddenly, I remembered again why I liked metal to begin with. Lots of drama and bombast, coupled with very smart lyrics and great hooks, with lots of peaks and valleys. And a lead vocalist who can belt it out like an opera divo, and who has been a bit of an inspiration for my own singing. I still listen to this record at least once every six months.
So after that, I was totally looking forward to meeting Rob Halford, who saw my old band Blue Period play back in 1997 and allegedly hit on PF, our bald (at the time) keyboardist, in the bathroom of the Transmission Theatre. But nooooooo ... Marcy got too fucked up, and we had to leave. She cock-blocked me! Oh well. I hate starfucker moments anyway.
Smash-Up Derby finally has a new demo!
And besides, I had to get up early to record a new demo with my band Smash-Up Derby. Scott Llamas just finished building a new studio for PopSmear, and it's great! We got to record with Trixxie Carr for the first time, and it's scary how well our voices blend. The demo sounds really fucking amazing, and we're quite proud of it. You can listen to the new songs over on our web site.
This past weekend
Tried to see The Lovemakers on Friday night. Sold out. :-( They grow up so fast... But I think we're going to get to see them in LA tomorrow. :-)
Bootie on Saturday night was off ... the ... HOOK! Last month we were competing with so many other parties. But this month was GREAT! And DAMN, they even got there early!
We had a "2 for 1 before 11 PM" promo for peeps on our e-mail list, and fuck, people really DO print out that email just to get in for half-price! So the place was comfortably full by the time I did my early 10 PM DJ set, where I spun a ton of new boots that got the floor moving (how much do I love packs of drunk straight girls? A LOT. )
By the time Matt Hite went on at 11 PM, the floor was full, and he spun one of the best Bootie guest DJ sets, well ... ever! (I guess coming to Bootie every month gives you an idea of what the crowd really likes!) His new "Lick It Wild" mash-up was a BIG hit of the night.
Another hit was the back room, which we turned into a screening room, showing the Eclectic Method mash-up video DVD, "We're Not VJs" on a continuous loop. Fucking brilliant! We finally found a use for that back room! Thanks to Matt Hite for hooking us up with the DVD and the projector. I want to do visuals like that back there every month now!
It was a Noah's Ark of Nightlife last night, with a great mix of people and really good energy. Everyone seems super pumped up for the big 2-Year Anniversary Party next month, which we're very excited about!
Of course, Ben turned into "Afterparty Ben" at 2 AM, and christened his new bachelor pad by hosting yet another fabled Bootie after-party, which lasted until the sky was turning light. Just a kick-ass, wonderful night! Woo-hoo!
Off to LA tomorrow!
21:00 Posted in Blog | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this