Selene Luna's Dog and Pony Show

She may be small but she puts on a big ass show. Selene Luna's Dog and Pony Show plays at Akbar on Sunset Blvd in Los Angeles' Silverlake neighborhood every other Sunday night at 8pm. Selene is the host and star and puts the show on with Jackie Beat and Mario Diaz. A dog and pony show is an old vaudeville term. It is slightly derogatory but has a certain panache. A proper dog and pony show is a mish mash of acts hauled out to entertain. Selene's show follows form. Some of the acts are fantastic and some are less than memorable its Selene who is the star! Every show is different in a true dog and pony style. You might not see the same performer twice. Some well know performers have trod Selene's boards. Her first show had Prince Poppycock of America's Got Talent fame. Sharon Osborne liked him so he must be good right? Who'll be at the next show? Only Selene knows for sure!!!
If you haven't seen Selene perform live you really should stop in and check her out. She's a riot. 3 feet 10 inches of hilarity and a sassy kick ass attitude. Selene grew up here in LA and this is her town.
The other reason you should stop in and check out the show it's $5! The next performance is April 15th Check it out!

Leslie a Dog without Borders

My partner and I finally moved into a house. Things in our lives were settling and it was time for us to get a dog. We had been talking about adopting a dog for a long time. Now the time had come for us to find our dog. Pet shops were out due to the fear of puppy millsand breeders didn't seem the right fit either. We needed to find a dog that needed us. We knew we wanted a smaller dog as we live in a house not an estate. A dachshund was decided upon. Small and scrappy dachshunds are a lot of fun.
The internet had lots of sites with dachshunds but most were breeders. We did find a dachshund rescue group and thought "ah here we go!" They had a form to fill out so we down loaded it. The form it turned out was no mere form but more of a dossier. The kind J. Edgar Hoover would have admired.
Back to the internet. There we discovered another site. It was for "Dogs without Borders". Their website has photos and and bios of dogs that have been saved from a myriad of municipal shelters. We scoured their website looking at their heart warming and breaking pictures of dogs in need of a permanent home. Dog without Borders take the dogs from the shelters and bring them to foster homes.
We came across a photo of a small black female dachshund mix temporarily named "Lady". She had been found on a street in South LA with a litter of new born puppies. "Lady and her puppies were being fostered by a girl named Meaghan. We contacted Dogs without Borders, filled out their easy form and met with them. A representative came by to check us and our home out. We passed muster. We were then invited by Meaghan to her home to meet her and "Lady". Skinny and scared surrounded by her nursing puppies "Lady" cowered in a dog bed in the corner. A vet had determined she was just under a year old and had become pregant during her first heat. "Lady was an unwed teen mother. We decide then and there that as soon as her puppies were weaned she would come and live with us.
Sadly none of the puppies survived despite all the care that they'd been given. "Lady was re-named Leslie, a name she took to right away. Leslie's sad story does have a happy ending. She is now plump and playfull. He life is now the cliche live of luxury. She has her own bed a cat to battle with and a yard to protect. Leslie has become one of Dogs without Borders' success stories!

Lottery Mania!

Lottery mania is in full swing. Lines are forming outside of liquor stores around the country in these lines are lottery hopefuls. They are all hoping that their dollar will bring them the dream of wealth. Money for nothing! What would you do with the money? I'll tell you what I would do. Nothing. I would just stick it in the bank and think. Suddenly having that much money is a huge responsibility. Everyone says "I'd quit my job!" Great sure quit your job and what do you do? Go on a crazy spending spree? The minute you win that huge sum of money you are fodder for beggars, scammers and family you didn't know you even had. You are the ultimate prize, well not you but your money. Humans are greedy by nature. Not all of course but how many Mother Teresas and Ghandis are there in this world. They are few and far between.
Many people say I would give to charity. Great this is an honorable thing to do. Charities will be at your door in no time. They will come looking for you. Charities are as greedy as your average Joe. They want your money too. They may have good works and fine intentions but they still want your money!
If you aren't a member of the idle rich before hand there are a lot of things to learn. The idle rich are actually not idle, they are rich but very busy. They have patronages. The neo-rich are the truly idle. Do you want to be crass? Do you want to live like the Clampetts? You won't be going to the Vanderbilt's for cocktails and polo. They aren't going to invite you and they won't come to your soiree either. Your old friends may come by but even they will have their hands in your purse. You will be isolated and alone trapped in your mansion.

So there you are all alone surrounded by sycophants and booty afraid to go out, terrifed of your emails from the needy. What did that dollar buy you? Misery! Think about that while you are standing in line at Happy-time Liqours with your dollar in your hand.

Ugh Vegans

Vegans are upset with Starbucks for using an extract of a beetle to color strawberry drinks. Vegans upset, what a shock! Aren't vegans always upset about something? They seem to spend much more time grousing than your average person. I personally think they are so cranky because they are just plain old hungry! They'd be so much more pleasant if they just ate a slice of cheese. All those nuts are making them nuts. It's complaint, complaint, complaint from vegans. They make PETA look fun loving and contented. If you are so concerned about beetles in your in your beverage don't go to Starbucks. No they have to make a big stink. What a sanctimonious lot they are. They just never seem to be jolly or even happy and I think it is the lack of dairy in their diets! What they need to do is have an ice cream or a creme brulle and bam they'd singing a happier tune. If it isn't dairy they need maybe it's meat. Could a burger hurt? I don't think so. Have you ever eaten tofurky? You'd be crabby too if that was your dinner with a side of beans. These poor bastards are just hungry that is why they are always up in arms. If you really want to cheer a vegan up slip a strip of bacon into their hummus. Sure they will throw a fit at first but the minute that bacon hit their blood stream they'll clam down and perhaps maybe even smile!

Violent Femmes in Providence (a couple of years back)

Back daddy back, the Violent Femmes came back and played their busker punk. Still sparse and nasal the Violent Femmes pulled out their hits and played flawlessly and fast. They’re much older now but time has been good to these boys. 23 years ago, the Violent Femmes were an unknown Milwaukee band with one album out on Slash records. In support of the record, they toured. Rhode Island School of Design’s refectory was one of the stops on that tour. The crowd wore massively oversized white dress shirts, black skintight trousers and Beatle boots. The Femmes walked onto the raised platform aka the stage wearing bathrobes and sarongs. A three-piece drum kit, bass and guitar were what they played. They banged and whined out songs that art students loved. Filled with desire, anger and middle class their music was fast and simple. Their second album had a dark moody country religious sound. The third record was much more pop and followed by several completely forgettable releases.

I recently attended my second Violent Femmes show in 23 years. Back in Providence they were the headliners at an outdoor event produced by a chain Irish Frat boy bar. Two local bands opened up for them. The first band was Fungus Amongus. They were fun but played way too long. The second band was called Lingo. I heard that they are breaking up and honestly, I no longer cared about them half way through their second song.

No more than ten minutes later the stage lighting changed. Three guys and a roadie sauntered onto stage. Gordon Gano, Vincent De Lorenzo and Brian Ritchie, the Violent Femmes, started suddenly and with a bang. They pounded out hit after hit. They only played one song I didn’t recognize and one I hated. The song I hate is the patriotically pop “American Music”. The frat boys all seemed to love it though.

“Prove My Love”, “Country Death Song” and “Blister in the Sun” started the show and proved be as dynamic as they had been when they were first released. Sadly, “ Gimme the Car” sounds ridiculous coming out of the mouth of a 45-year-old man. Violent Femmes songs lend themselves to sing a longs. The audience I was a member of was an eclectic mixture of old punks, neo-punks, frat boys, ex-frat boys and their lovely wives. Everyone at one point during the show sang along to something. No one seemed to have as a good a time as the Violent Femmes themselves. For three old guys who don’t practice and never make a set list, the Violent Femmes put on a fantastic show.

Welcome to Reality

What is real? Not reality TV, no sir it is not. You'd be be shocked ho many people believe it is. How do I know this you may ask, well I'll tell you. I have done nearly a dozen "reality shows" int the past year and each time I have been paid as an actor. Each time I tell someone I have done these shows I get asked "you mean it isn't real?". No it is acting. Is it real acting? No, not in the conventional definition of acting but it is a form of acting none the less. This is not really me and this didn't actually happen. These are scenarios concocted by a producer and rather than hire a writer to write a script they pay actors a pittance to improvise a scene. I am not a Mormon, my daughter has not been kidnapped, I'm not a germaphobe and I'm not a Brooklyn homeowner but I've played them on TV. The scenarios are presented as true with the smallest of disclaimers zipping past in the end credits. I was so surprised to find out how many people watch these shows and just how many people believe them to be real. "No ma'am my daughter is not still missing."
These shows are popular with producers because the are cheap to make. Locations are rented for the day and actors create the "script" on site. The productions staff is minimal and working cheap at jobs they are often learning on the spot. This type of programming is a cash cow for a network. They cost next to nothing and reap a lot of revenue. Producers can't be blamed, lets face who doesn't like easy money?
Scripts don't exist. Each half hour episode is about a page in length. The actors are given a beginning sometimes a middle and then an end. Just get there and make it big any mistakes can be fixed in editing. It is easy to do and fast. Camera operators and sound guys have the toughest time. They have to think on their feet and keep up with the actors. No one really knows what will happen and if it doesn't work right do it again. If that doesn't work right do it one more time. Hit a mark? That would be great but don't let that bog you down. It can be fixed.
One of the hardest shows I have done was one where I played an amazed audience member at a magic show. Why is this hard you may well ask? Because the tricks weren't real! The show was shot in a green screen studio and there were people dressed in green form fitting suits making things appear out of nowhere and levitate. The magic was "Hollywood magic" of chroma key technology. The actors were paid to enjoy the show with amazement. I was amazed that I was actually doing this.
Welcome to reality!!

Flour Bomb

A Kardashian was flour bombed! Good! I wish I had thought of it myself. These broads have zero talent other than being in the public eye. They actually make Paris Hilton look qualitative! Paris at least has a six degree of seperation from Zsa Zsa. The Kardashians are connected to OJ.

PETA hates them but then again who doesn't PETA hate? Kim got hit with a flour bomb; why? Who cares. The worst thing is it was a waste of perfectly good flour that could have been used in making a lovely cake or thicking a sauce. Why waste good processed wheat on these people? Why waste time and energy on this family? Television is paying them so they can support their freaky mother and Bruce Jenner's plastic surgery addiction. Everyone claims not to watch them yet there they are on television and walking red carpets to chat with Mario Lopez. Selling sleazy looks at Sears does not a star make. Come on they are selling stuff at Sears, its a place you buy a dishwasher not a trousseau!
Instead of flour bombing them and wasting flour perhaps they should be pelted with empty lipsticks or waterr bottles or better yet the ultimate torture ignored!

Meet me at the Wah Wah Hut

There was a time long in the past when I was young and ever so punk rock. To be young and punk rock meant to live in New York and in the East Village. I lived on a shady block on even shadier street 'round the corner from Tompkins Square Park. It was E. 7th St between Avenue B and Avenue C. Older New Yorker's called it Alphabet City. It was down and it was out was but if you were 23 and ready to go it was nirvana. Everything one needed was between Avenue C and the subway at Astor Place. Going uptown meant crossing 10th St and anything south of Canal St was an adventure. The neighborhood was so alive, filled with excitement and energy. Bars and shops were opening and closing everyday. There was always someplace new. A must do thing was always happening. I lived in an old brownstone that's facade had long since been removed. It was then painted a sort of matte black. The windows on the street level were hidden behind layers of security mesh covered in coats of gloppy black paint. The most distinguishing feature of my building was the word "fuck" in sliver spray paint on the door. The landlords try as they may could never completely remove the graffito. They would paint over the offensive welcome and within a day or two it would reappear freshly painted. These were the good old East Village days when junkies and winos still frolicked together in Tompkins Square Park. Ukrainian diners and dark bars lined the streets around the park. On the prime corner of 7th and Ave. A was King Tut's Wah Wah Hut. It sat proudly on it's corner welcoming the kooksters, riff raff and occasional uptown thrill seeker.

A fast jaywalk across the street was the Pyramid. Always loud and crowded the Pyramid rocked every night with bands and performances that defy description. The crowd was beyond eclectic. My personal favorite regular was a 4 foot tall drag queen who would dance with a parasol. Around the corner on St. Mark's place was the Holiday Cocktail Lounge. The Holiday opened around 9 in the morning and closed at 9 at night. The gruff old bartenders put up with the Mohawks and Goths their money was as good as the popeyed drunks that spent their mornings there for years. Last call was 8:45 and doors closed at 9 sharp so drink up and get out.

Then you would meander up the street shopping for shoes on the sidewalk and records at St Mark's records on your way to The Aztec Lounge or maybe CBGB's. Shops were open until 10 and if you knew someone who worked there you could have a beer or a glass of crap wine while you were shopping. If you were hungry there was 7A cross from the Wah Wah where speed freaks ordered and played with salads or maybe the Olympic Diner for a greasy order of eggs and golabki.
These were the salad days of the East Village. What was once a squat is now a luxury loft above a purse boutique. CB's is a John Varvatos store and the Wah Wah just a memory.

My East Village is no more. Bits and pieces still exist extant but those too could go at any moment. They are endangered species. So much and so many things and people are now extinct; there is no 8BC, no Ethyl Eichenberger. They are long gone. The Bowery is chic and Klaus Nomi is dead. On the top floor of a walk-up on 5th St my friend Jaqui lives rent controlled. She has thought about moving, "but where would I go?" Thirty two years and 100 bucks later she is still there. Sometimes it depresses her but she has seen it all. The changes have come and eventually overwhelmed the neighborhood. The cube is still turning at Astor Place, bars still come and shops they go but it isn't the same. The black building is now sand blasted clean and chic. I'd love to go to Wigstock again and then have a beer at the Wah Wah Hut. It's not going to happen. Lady Bunny is on TV now and the squats no more. My East Village is gone.

Breakfast takes a hit!

This was a bad day for breakfast! Two men died today that changed American breakfasting. Sam Glazer and Murray Lender have died. Sam Glazer is better known by his products name "Mr. Coffee" and Murray Lender was the leader of Lender's Bagels. These two men changed they way we ate breakfast. Sam Glazer made making a cup of coffee a breeze. No more percolaters just a coffee maker was needed to make a damned good cup of joe in the morning. Murray Lender brought bagels to the gentile masses. His frozen bagles made having a bagel easy for nearly everyone. It didn't matter if you had even met a Jew you could now have a morning nosh. They made breakfast easy. Sam Glazer hired Joltin' Joe Dimaggio to flog his product and it became a household name. Murray did a lot of his own advertising. I don't know if these two matin titans knew each other but together the made breakfast easy. Thanks guys!

This is Jeopardy

On the lot where The Wizard of OZ and all the other great MGM movies were shot is a large building where two television game shows are shot. Not just any games shows but two of the best known game shows Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. Both show were created by Merv Griffen making him more money than you or I can imagine. I recently went to shooting of Jeopardy. An old friend of mine was a contestant and she was able to bring a few guests along to see her perform on the show.

We arrive early at the Sony Pictures lot which is what the old MGM lot is now called. There is a gate where you have to check in and they give you a sticker to wear on a spot on your body that can't be seen if for some reason you are on camera. Then you are escorted along a street within the wall of the lot to a large plain looking building and told to wait in line. There are two lines. One is for guests of contestant and the other is for mere pedestrian audience members. I was in the good line so we were escorted in first and put in our own section in the audience area of the studio. Then the waiting began. The seats were luckily comfortable as we were to be there for a long time. Jeopardy shoots a weeks worth of shows in one day. Three in the morning and two in the afternoon. We settled ourselves into our seats and waited. The we waited some more. A man came out onto the set and chatted with the audience. He was the announcer of the show. He gave some rules and told some jokes and then he introduced Alex Trebek.

Alex came out onto the set to a round of applause. He was charming and witty chatting with the audience and answering questions. The Jeopardy set is in reality rather large. It is attractive in a Jetson's way of modern colors and lines and swirls. The contestants are corralled in a seating area where they can watch the other contestants perform. This must be a nerve wracking experience. The contestants are picked in a random order and don't know when they will be on. My friend had the bad luck of being on the Friday show. She had to watch all the other contestants either win or lose while she waited. The first three show shot and then there was a break for lunch. The crew and contestants are sent of to a commisary on the studio lot. The audience is not allowed to enter and eat there they must leave the lot to get a bite to eat. Here's the real rub: there is about an half an hour's break. Surrounding the studio there are more studios and some gas stations and a Subway restaurant and not much else. We were there to see someone who wasn't on yet so we had to return so it was Subway or nothing. Delish!
After our "lunch" we hustled back into the studio and watched the final two shows. My friend was on and that was fun but otherwise the experience was way too long and the excitment had long worn off before she was on. I was very happy when the show was shot and done. Glad I did it but would never do it again. I hope I never have another friend on a game show.

She Rocks and Rules

I was merrily strolling along Hollywood Blvd. this afternoon enjoying the sunny day and checking out the tourists. Tra la la. When from out of nowhere jumps a man in a grey fright wig. He screamed into my face "I'm Don King! I'm Don King!" He did sort of look like Don King but it may have just been the wig. Needless to say I was alarmed but amused at the same time. He shouted it at a couple of times more until 2 German women came along. One German woman said "Who is that?" and that was Don Kings' cue. He was done with me and on to Frau Deutshland and her friend. I was off the hook and free to pick up my walk where I'd left off. Hello Sponge Bob Square Pants, Hi Snow White, Yo Spiderman it was a full contigent of celebs today! I strolled a little further down the street and was out of the Grauman's Chinese Theater's hub bub. I was free to enjoy looking at the stars. Don Knotts! All three Bridges Lloyd, Beau and Jeff all in a row (isn't that nice), Then I came upon a real star, she rocks she rules Judge Judy! It made me so happy to see Judge Judy had a star but then it sort of made me sad. Is this what a star is now? A judge? Granted she's a riot but come on she's a retired Judge ruling on pathetic cases. But then again it is entertainment... So maybe she does indeed deserve a star. She is much more entertaining than lots of other people who have stars. Perhaps she is as deserved a star as say Lee Majors or The Village People. So Judge Judy is a star! She deserves her place on the walk of fame. It's not the walk of gifted actors. Its fame! Rock on Judge Judy you do rule.

Well its Spring

Well here we are the first day of Spring! Seeing as I live in Los Angeles the first day of Spring is hard to notice. It is sort of like the first day of winter only the sun stays up longer. It is actually rather cold here today for LA so it sort of feels like a lovely east coast spring day but then again so did New Year's day. I sometimes miss the change of seasons. Note I said sometimes. I do not miss winter nights so cold and bitter that leaving the house is a major decision. I do miss looking out the window and seeing a fresh snow falling covering everything in white. I do not miss the sound of snow plows and the lovely crisp white snow turning into grey gushy slush. I do miss seeing flowers start to poke out of the ground after the dead time of winter. I don't miss insects swarming coming alive and on the hunt for blood.
Los Angeles has seasonal changes they are just more subtle. Certain trees bloom and the hills are green these changes are there you just have to look. I do like that there are flowers blooming all year round and it is green in the winter. I like a heavy winter rain storm, rain so heavy at times it is scary! I do miss thunder and lightening, it rarely thunders and almost never is there lightening.
So its spring, and I am feeling happy about it.

Three Way Bulbs Annoy Me

This may sound petty but three way light bulbs piss me off. Petty yes, but it's the truth. They are just one of those little things in life that one takes for granted until they don't work properly. Here's the history of my gripe.

I was in a Target store one day and by happenstance passed a light bulb display and the vague memory hit me that I was out of light bulbs and should pick some up while I was here. There is nothing more annoying than needing a light bulb and not having one right? So there I am and I decide to grab a four pack. I got home and realized I had purchased a four pack of 3 way bulbs. Annoying but not un-useful. So I stuck the pack into a cupboard and hoped to remember I had them. Long and tedious story short, one day I had a burn out. It was one of a pair of bedside lamps. Said lamps just happened to have three way capasity. I naturally had single bulbs in the damned lamps so they already were a pain so I changed both bulbs and replaced them with the proper 3 way version. Here is when it starts to get really irksome. I went into the bedroom one evening and went to turn on the two bedside lamps as I do every night and lo and behold the light bulb in one of the lamps only had two settings, nothing mid light and bright! The other lamp changed on the same time and used the same every day as often was fine. They are plugged into the same outlet. One of them is just a bum bulb! Now when I turned the damned light on it is a chore and grates my nervse every day. I told you this is petty but it is a just another thorn in my side, another annoyance in my already petty annoyance filled life. I try to let it go but every night when I enter my bedroom near sunset it is there to poke and taunt me. Those damned bulbs spend their time reminding me how petty I really am!
Damn you GE! Damn you!

Movie Ranch in Agua Dulce California

Up in the high desert of southern California is a small town called Agua Dulce; Sweetwater. There’s not much to Agua Dulce at first glance. The main street is a quiet little country road grandly named Agua Dulce Canyon Blvd. The word boulevard is truly a misnomer and a bit of hyperbole. It is truly more of a country road that winds through a narrow canyon. There are side streets that lead off the main road. The word streets is also a bit misleading, most are no more than lanes really. There are also many smaller “private roads”.  Private road is a catch phrase that really means dirt road.

Just out of the center of town is a surprise. Town of course encompassed an excellent Mexican restaurant, a plant store a small shopping plaza with market and a gift shop. Then there was the surprise! Around a bend in the boulevard one encountered a vineyard. Right there smack in the middle of the high desert was a good sized vineyard. Rolling hills are covered with vines warm in the winter sun slowly grow grapes soon to be made in to wine. Will the wonders of irrigation never cease? Cabernet, Chardonnay, Merlot they had them all. Life is good in the high desert.

There are also movie ranches out there, faux western towns. Blazing Saddles was filmed on one of these ranches. Imagine Madeline Kahn dressed as Lily Von Schtupp wandering about town. Running off of several of the side streets are dirt roads. Rutted and ribbed like the cliché washboards these roads wind into the hills. Driveways even more if possible more rutted and ribbed lead off of these dirt roads bending around hills to where movie ranches are hidden recreating the wild west.

The movie ranch I was just on was owned by a cigar chomping “cowboy” named Pete. Pete’s cowboy movie ranch encompassed a couple of dozen acres of land. On Pete’s ranch are an array of buildings and western implements lying around on the dusty high desert. At first glance it really does look like a western town. The buildings it turns out are actually pre-fab structures decorated to look old and western-y. Pete’s masterpiece though is the interiors. Most movie ranches have empty buildings or false fronts. Not Pete’s his are decorated. It appears that Pete has never left a flea market empty handed. Every inch of every building has something. The walls, ceilings and floors are all covered with stuff. One of the buildings is a saloon and it is decorated saloon-y. Poker tables with old cards are laid out under kerosene lamps next to walls covered in bottles and glassware. There is a bar covered in old bottles at one end of the room ready to sidle up to for a snort. The saloon also boasted a large collection of taxidermy animals. Buffalo, deer, elk, bobcats you name it Pete’s got one in his saloon. Not far from the saloon is a livery. No horses actually live in the livery. It is filled with buckboards, buggies and basic western gear like saddles and horse shoes. The livery does have one more very authentic attribute, the aroma of manure.

The views from Pete’s ranch are truly spectacular. They are occasionally marred by an electric line or satellite dish but over all they are just what one wants from the wild west.  Pete and Agua Dulce are an hour and a half’s drive from Los Angeles but it is a world away.

Pauley Perrette entertains!

Ramona Lisa

This was sent to me by a friend, too funny!!!!!

Limp Wrist in Providence RI

QUEERCORE IN PROVIDENCE by Timm Carney It was a million degrees and super humid inside Redrum. The quintessential underground club was packed. Redrum is located on the top floor of a long defunct and decaying factory building on a forgotten dead end street in Providences Olneyville section. There is no sign or bar just bands. The bill for the night was Queercore. Six bands were slated and five played. Almost all of them rocked. Punk fags thrashed and sweat enjoying the energy and noise. There is no stage so the bands set up in front of a skateboard ramp in the middle of the room. It was punk rock in the round. No long sets just short fast songs screamed at you. That’s what I went in wanting and that’s what I got. Only one band sucked and that’s because they seem to think they’re much more famous than they really are. Bag the attitude was all I could think. Limp Wrist was the headliner of the show and it clearly showed. They took charge the second they came on. Like Gary Floyd and Ginger Coyote lead singer Martin Sorrondeguy demanded to see dick. Chiding tonights audience, he claimed to have been surrounded by cock in Chicago. My only complaint about Limp Wrist was they were too brief. I wanted more so I bought the CD. Their energy infected the place a sort of pagan mosh circle developed. The crowd was theirs and controlled by them. Fast, really fast and really faster were their speeds. Songs flew out of Limp Wrist’s amps pummeling you and who doesn’t love to be pummled. “Who here is Queer?”, The place goes wild. These guys know how to work a room. The show was put on by Armageddon Shop, Providence’s version of Rough Trade Records. Armageddon Shop has it’s own lable and a killer magazine rack. They also stock vinyl. I totally recommend going there. I must also commend them for putting on a Queercore sho. Not all homos like disco and Barbara Streisand. They rock. In clubs and shows one usually has one of two choices. You are either the fag that rocks or the rocker fag. Subtly, they are different. Places like Redrum and Armageddon Shop exsist and that makes me very happy. They are the venues for the “Limp Wrists” of the world. American underground culture is still alive. It is happening. So log off and go out and see a band in a place you’ve never been before. Maybe they’ll suck, maybe not, it doesn’t matter. Doing it is what matters!

Gimme Something Better

First off I have to say I can not properly review this book as I am an old friend of Silke Tudor and I have always loved her and writing style. Silke and Jack Boulware did extensive interviews with members of "The Scene" that was San Francisco punk rock. "Gimme Something Better" is an oral history detailing the story of punk rock in the San Francisco Bay Area. They interviewed many, not all but many of the scene makers and musicians of the area. I totally enjoyed reading the memories and reminiscences of the Bay Area Punk Rock A-list. Sometimes very funny sometimes incredibly gossipy the interviews get inside the heads of members of Flipper, Dead Kennedys, The Dicks, and other legendary and not so legendary bands. This is a very enjoyable read and if you weren't there you may a little something about what it was really like at the Mab or other infamous clubs. "Gimme Something Better" is a fun read, something nice to have on the nightstand.

Florence + the Machine From last year

The 2011 Grammy Awards are on February 13th live on TV. I decided to look into who was nominated and for what awards. I went to their website ( www.grammys.com). I looked through the nominees and realized I really didn’t care about 99% of these musicians and their work. I did however notice the Florence + the Machine was nominated for best new artist. I was surprised and frankly pleased as I love Florence + the Machine and the debut album Lungs. This has been in my CD player since it first came out. To be honest the record came out in late 2009 but didn’t really get much American airplay until 2010 so technically it can be considered a 2010 release. The first song I heard from the record was “Dog Days Are Over”. I was totally into the song the first time I heard it. The song has a positive tone that I think is something that our society can use at this point in time. I decided to Google the song and found a you tube link to the video ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWOyfLBYtuU) . I was thrilled by the video she has a Boudicca meets Jackie Collins quality. The next song that really got me was the first single released in the UK “Kiss with a Fist”. This song is really more to my taste as it is faster and the a little edgier.

Florence of Florence + the Machine is Florence Welch. The Machine is whoever is backing her. I have been listening to the record on an almost daily basis for the last year. I don’t watch a lot of network TV but have read that cuts from the record have been on several TV show like Glee and Grey’s Anatomy. Florence Welch went to Art School in London and met Isabella Summers and the two of them performed as Florence Robot and Isabella Machine. Isabella Summers performs on “Lungs”.

I look forward to the next release from Florence + the Machine. She has a distinct sound and I think she is going to be a very big name in the coming decade. She is my vote for new best artist for 2010!

The Drawing Room

Are you looking for a dark loud bar? There is an el shaped strip mall on Hillhurst in Los Feliz you need to stop into. Tucked in next to a laundromat and easy to miss The Drawing Room is loud, dark and a lot of fun. Iggy Pop’s “Passenger” was playing and an informal sing-a-long was going on the first time I entered. I had two out of town guests with me. One was from San Francisco the other from New York and both were ready to turn up their noses at an “El Lay” rocker dive bar. Ha! They were enchanted. Who wouldn’t love an old Chinese restaurant that rocks?

We quickly discovered that The Drawing Room is an “and” bar; a vodka and tonic, a scotch and soda, a beer and a shot. Don’t sashay into The Drawing Room and try to order a Boodles dry martini or a pink squirrel unless you wanted to be glared at, rightfully. Have a beer, play some darts, put a buck in the juke box and laugh loud. You’ll fit right in. The regulars are a friendly mix of locals and rockers. The bartenders are sassy and a riot. Don’t walk in there and try to start trouble The Drawing Room does not play that way. This is a bar for good time socializing and nothing else. There aren’t any frills at The Drawing Room unless you consider napkins a frill. It’s got drinks, music, fun people and nothing else. This is a cash only bar but there is an ATM by the toilets. The Drawing Room is a dark loud good time.

So So Saturday

Last night was no freaky Friday it was just a so so Saturday when Lindsay Lohan hosted Saturday Night Live. To be 100% honest I didn't make the effort to stay awake to catch it on Saturday night. I live in LA so it isn't live anyway so why tax myself. I watched it Sunday morning over coffee and a yoplait. It hink if I had stayed up and was a little sleepy I may have enjoyed it a little more than I did wide eyed and busy tailed. She wasn't bad but she wasn't all that good either. I give her credit for pushing herself and getting herself back out on the stage but I think she maybe should have gotten herself a little more prepared in the psych department. She needs some more time to heal and get whole. She is a shadow of what she once was and that for a 25 year old is a sad statement. I also don't think Lorne Michaels did her a service by agreeing to have her on as host but let's face it he got some good ratings and free press out of having her. He isn't in the business of helping washed up actresses he is in the business of producing a hit show.
Lindsay has been surrounded by people who have not really had her best interests in the forefront of their minds and I tend to think she is still not surrounded by people who will say no. If she were someone would have said no its too soon for you. You aren't ready, wait a little more. But to give her credit she did it, not unfortunately it was a flat and mediocre performance. She may not be up to speed as of yet but the woman has got guts. Let's hope in the future she can really pull it together and prove all her nay sayers wrong. Don't give up girl just keep plugging and keep it together!

Punk Rock Goes to College

The Ramones are icons there is no way around it. They exemplify Punk Rock. Everyone knows the lyrics to at least one Ramones song. If you ask Barak Obama to sing a Ramones song he can. Perhaps some of the “Christian Right” would be a bit hard pressed by it, but really who cares about them anyway. The Ramones have entered our society and are here to stay. Perhaps one day they’ll be thought of the way we think of Mozart today. The Gershwins of a new generation; they are the classics. Brown University, an Ivy League school, is offering a course this semester called the Ramones. They are now the stuff of a University education. The course is a guided independent study about the Ramones. I wondered how much is there to study. The more I thought about it, the more it hit me. The kids studying the Ramones were born around 1988. They were ten and under when the band played their last show. The Ramones were formed 14 years before they were born. Suddenly I felt old. I remember the thrill of buying my first Ramones album, going to see “Rock and Roll High School” when it first came out, underage standing outside of a club watching them load their gear into a van after a show. These poor kids, I thought they’ll never know the thrill of seeing them live.Joey Ramone rocking forward and backward leaning on his micstand with the rest of the band bouncing behind him. I still find it hard to believe that Joey is actually dead. I met him a couple of times. He was a nice guy. Soft spoken and polite, anyone’s mother would have liked him. He called me once shocking my horrible roommate by actually being him on the phone. “Some guy’s on the phone claiming to be Joey Ramone.”

Somewhere in this country is a father paying top dollar for his kid to study The Ramones. Oh the irony! They don’t care about history but now they are history. The Ramones, masters of the 3 chord short fast song are now worth studying. They are venerable. How un-punk rock! I guess the next generation will have to look back and study. They have no choice, they missed it. Punk Rock isn’t dead but it isn’t what it once was. It’s not nearly as outside and controversial. It’s been done. The era is over only the genre remains. Musically punk rock is still as vibrant and energetic as ever but the edginess is gone. The shock of the new is past. Today one can look back reflect upon the shock and write college level papers and books about it. There is a punk rock section in bookstores now. Semiotexts on Siouxsie Sioux can’t be far from publishing. Critical analyses of the societal impact of Boy George and Jayne County are due out any day. What had started out as some kids playing guitars at CBGB’s is now an “A” on a college transcript. Somehow I am saddened and elated at the same time. What had once been my rebellion is now the fodder for someone’s class project.

I could sleep forever

I recently have developed a strong desire to sleep. I mean really sleep. I go to bed early and wake up late and then take a nap in the middle of the day. I think it could be some sort of backlash from my younger days when I hated to sleep. I do it well too. I am an excellent sleeper. I sometime wake refreshed and I sometimes wake wishing I could go back to sleep. Is this age catching up with me?
When I take my naps I fall into a very deep REM sleep and dream.

I almost always remember my dreams when I wake. I have very odd dreams too. Dreams of Denny's and placing Matchbox cars around my house as decorative accents. I just had a dream I was kidnapped and had to arrange ransom. I have to say I enjoy these dreams and all of my sleep. Sometimes I wake tired and wonder if there is something wrong. Usually I wake up and feel great but the times I wake up tired I get nervous. Am I just bored and sleep out of boredom? Am I just old, wearing down like an old clock. 

Link to a video

I was asked to be in a video by a friend of mine Michael Frost. He is a VERY interesting film maker I think the video came out nice and creepy!
http://vimeo.com/37579239

LAX