They Got the Beat, The Gay Gays

No band is more fun than the Go-Go's except possibly the Gay-Gay's. Yes, they are an all gay male Go-Go's tribute band and a hell of a lot of fun. Almost as old, fat and campy as the Go-Go's themselves the Gay-Gay's put on quite a show! Coming out on stage in terry cloth robes and towels wrapped turban style on their heads the band picked up their instruments and proceed to rock! It took mere seconds for the robes and turbans to go so the band can let loose with their covers of all the songs in album order from "Beauty and the Beat's" a-side. With a little hilarious chat they "flip the record" and off they go onto the b-side. Not only are they loads of fun the Gay Gay's are great musicians.
The show I saw was at the Los Angeles Eagle and Tramp for the Lord was the opening act. The Eagle's stage is sort of smooshed in by the bar and has a two foot "pit" in front but the Gay Gay's made the whole place fabulous. The band covered all of the Go-Go's hits ending the show with "Vacation". By the time their set was finished the band and audience was covered in sweat but it was a good sweat, the sweat that meant fun!

Polite Police Pursuit

A man in a tow truck had an unpleasant confrontation with a member of the LAPD around 4:45pm on April 24th. The confrontation started in the Studio City neighborhood. The tow truck took off from the scene and proceeded to drive through Studio City, Los Feliz and Hollywood eventually ending in Glendale. The tow truck was pursued by the LAPD at a low speed. The driver evaded the police and their tactics to end the pursuit in many ways. This "chase" happened to take place during rush hour while all of the local news stations were broadcasting. Police and news helicopters were also in pursuit. The driver proceeded to drive from neighborhood to neighborhood following all traffic rules even using directional signals. He drove through the center of downtown Hollywood passing the tourists and pedestrians on Hollywood Blvd. He headed out toward the valley but saw that there were spike strips place in the road so he made a legal turn and headed back into Hollywood. He then headed east on Sunset Blvd returning to Los Feliz. He was still being followed. He drove politely and safely along Los Feliz Blvd. into Atwater Village and finally into Glendale. When in Glendale the driver eventually surrendered to the Glendale Police. He pulled over, got out of the tow truck and laid down on a sidewalk.
The driver got more than his 15 minutes of fame. His adventure was broadcast live for an hour and a half. He in that time developed a fan base. People on sidewalks waved as he passed and watched from balconies. He may well have committed a crime but behaved as a gentleman the whole time. He waited in traffic always stopping the correct distance from the vehicle ahead of him. He was the model criminal. The driver has been identified as Ambartsum Sarkisyan, 31.

Lindsay as Liz

Hollywood entertainment sites are abuzz. Lindsay Lohan has been signed to play Elizabeth Taylor. It seems this upsets people. Come on the movie Liz and Dick is for Lifetime! This isn't a-list television never mind cinema. It can't be take too seriously. I am more interested in who they are going to cast as Dick. Maybe it should be that guy from Harry Potter who keeps getting arrested! The thing that kills me is all the comments about miscasting. Who cares; don't watch it! Lindsay and Liz do have a few things in common. They were both child stars, loved drinking, pills and partying and outrageous outfits. If you doubt Liz's taste in clothing Google her in the late 60's. She was as inappropriately dressed for a woman her age as Lindsay was for a court appearence. (see above).  I sincerely doubt this will be the last biopic of Elizabeth Taylor. She was too big a star and lead to big a life for it not to be made into a larger than Lifetime story. One day a really good actress and a really good studio will make her story into a legend. The Lindsay Lohan version will be soon forgotten and rerunning on Saturday afternoons.

Hey Want to buy Lizzie Borden's House?

Lizzie Borden took an axe... Everyone knows Lizzie Borden's story she was the OJ of 1892. When Lizzie Borden's tight fisted miser father and stepmother were killed in Fall River Lizzie and her sister Emma became wealthy heiresses. The sisters moved from the home where the murders took place. They built a 14 room mansion in a fashionable neighborhood in the hills of Fall River, Massachusetts. Lizzie named the house Maplecroft. The new home had all the modern conviences the sisters had lived without such as central heating, running water and bathrooms. Lizzie then started going by the name Lizbeth. The local society of Fall River snubbed her so she shopped in Providence and Boston. Emma and Lizbeth had a falling out after several years. Emma moved out to live with a friend after an arguement about Lizzie's "friend" Nance O'Neill an actress. Lizzie spent the rest of her life living in Maplecroft alone with exception of her servants.

The house where Andrew and Abby Borden is now a bed and breakfast. It is supposed to haunted. Maplecroft is still on French St in the hills of Fall River and it is now for sale. It is on the market for $650,000. For a little of half million dollars you could live in the home Lizzie lived in until 1927 when she died.

IV:XX

I just realized that today is 4/20 and one is supposed to smoke pot! I love a holiday so off I go to score (how old school a term is that). These days "scoring" has lost a lot of its illicit appeal as all one needs to do is pay a fee to a "doctor" who will certify one for any number of trumped up ills. So off I go card in hand to the nearest dispensary of medical marijuana. The emporium I select for both chicness and proximity was very festive. It is a real holiday, Hallmark will soon be releasing their card no doubt. Have a Happy 4/20! Laissez les bons temps rouler n'est pas?

The Real Barnabas Collins is Dead

Jonathan Frid has died. He will best be remembered as the vampire Barnabas Collins the undead member of the Collins family form the 60's and 70's ABC soap opera "Dark Shadows". Mr Frid was a classically trained actor from Ontario, Canada who spent the majority of his career in New York as a stage actor. Jonathan Frid will always be linked to his icon performance as Barnabas and will appear in a cameo role in the up coming Tim Burton version of "Dark Shadows".
Barnabas was the star and savior of "Dark Shadows" the television show. Ratings had been lagging but after the first appearance of Barnabas shot up saving the show. Barnabas was the terror of Collinsport, Maine. The character changed the way vampires are portrayed. The Bela Lugosi inspired vampires were now passe, now it was sexy to be undead. Jonathan Frid made the undead hot. If there had been no Barnabas there would be no Edward, no Buffy. Thank you Jonathan Frid.

Bling Ring

Sofia Coppola is hard at work on a new film. Her new story is based on the Bling Ring who robbed from the rich and hip in LA. They robbed stars and starlets of their jewelry and clothes while said starlets were out on the town starletting. This is a world Sofia knows. She is not a starlet per say but grew up in the industry. The Bling Ring became famous for their thefts and their greed. They also became famous for their stupidity. Their story is perfect for the screen. Young good looking dishonset people stealing from young good looking people. Who will play Lindsey Lohan? Could she play herself?

Dick Clark Dead?

I am shocked just shocked that Dick Clark is dead. He seemed to be some one who would live forever. He would always be young and hip. When I saw that he died I had to put down what I was doing. He was a true American music icon. American Bandstand was the MTV of it's time and Dick Clark the ultimate hipster. He was the real life Corny Collins bring cool new music and dance steps into America's homes for decades. He invented New Year's Eve didn't he? It just seemed that he would never age or die or go off the air. He did all those things and now there is a huge void. No one can replace him. Do you hear me Ryan Seacrest try as you may you will never be Dick Clark.

Tom Petty's Heartbreak is Over

Tom Petty was rehearsing in the Culver Studios for an upcoming tour when his guitars were stolen. A reward of $7500 no questions asked was offered for the return of his guitars. The guitars were valued at $100,000. His heatbreak is now over! A guard at the Culver Studios has been arrested after trying to pawn one of the guitars at a Hollywood pawn shop for $250. He has now in jail and the guitars are being returned to Tom Petty. All's well that ends well except for the thief.

Dark Shadows Returns

When I was a kid I desperately wanted to watch Dark Shadows. I was never allowed! It was a soap opera and my mother did not approve of soap operas and specifically didn't approve of children watching soap operas. I begged and I pleaded to no avail. I had all kinds of reasons why I should be able to watch. All of which fell of deaf ears. A girl in my class in school named Ellen Farrell would tell me all about it. I was so jealous. The exterior of Collinwood the creepy mansion that the show took place in was not far from where we lived. Collinwood is actually The Cary Mansion, originally named Seaview Terrace, is a creepy gothic mansion in Newport, Rhode Island.

Not being allowed to watch the show made it even more desirable to my little kid mind. I was able to snatch glimpses to the horror I was denied when my mother was not around and I was able to flip the dial quickly to ABC. Some how she always knew and I would get caught. I needed to see the vampires, ghosts and witches of Collinwood but she just didn't understand. I was deprived the thrill and chill of Barnabas Collins!

Years later when I was in college the show was back on television in re-runs. I was ecstatic! The acting and scripts were rather sappy and production values weren't anywhere near as cool as I remembered them. Sure it was trash and yes my mother may well have been right but I was hooked! What went on in Collinwood was just good bad TV. I always thought it would make an amazing movie.

Tim Burton and Johnny Depp have made my dream come true and in May of 2012 their version of "Dark Shadows" hits the big screen. The previews available on line at first disappointed me until I watched them a couple of times. This is not my mother's forbidden Dark Shadows. It is a comedy set in the 70's and looks hysterically funny. Johnny Depp is a great Barnabas in the clips. Between his acting and Tim Burton's direction it can't go wrong right?????

I think I'm Afraid of Mel Gibson

I don't think I like Mel Gibson. I have never cared for his movies and the more I hear about him the creepier he sounds. I have tried to watch several of his movies and never made it all the way through them. I feel like I should at least like Mad Max but I just don't. I can't really put my finger on why I don't care for his movies but I sure as hell can tell you why I don't like him.
He's creepy. He seems filled with anger and hate and is ready to erupt like a teenager's zit. Bile would pour out. Bile he is holding inside and needs to purge, bad. Its a bile that churns inside him churning up his insides and occasionally has to ejaculate. Usually in completely inappropriate places. Places like taped cell phone conversations with his frightened victims or police transcripts. Jodie Foster may have his back but then again she sort of scares me too.
I hope I never meet him or even run into him in a supermarket or a gun shop. If I did I would hightail it right out of there. I don't need an autograph unless he insists. Then I would comply and run like hell. I'm sure Mel Gibson has a good side. He has not to my knowledge ever kill anyone in real life. I think he gets all that out on the big screen for his cult to see. Racist and anti-Semitic rants do not a psycho make but they do set off some red flags in my book. If you for some unknown reason are reading this Mel Gibson please don't come after me. I don't need either the terror or the publicity. I just want to cower happily at my keyboard whilst you storm up and down the Pacific Coast Highway.

"Ave 43" What is Happening?

What is going on in Highland Park? Everything if you watch the web series “Ave. 43”. Highland Park is a quiet neighborhood between downtown Los Angeles and Pasadena known more for craftsman style houses ripe for real estate flippers and as the home of Forever 21 stores.  Playwright Justin Tanner has created a fast almost dizzyingly paced web series set in the quiet neighborhood that leaves the viewer both stunned and laughing. Murder, drug addiction, time portals, witchcraft and pederasty are just a few of the subjects that fly at the viewer. When Tanner’s characters aren’t sleeping with one another they seem to be murdering and blackmailing each other. If a character dies he or she may just come back to life or appear again as a ghost. Family secrets aren’t secret and families may not even be families but lies.

The series shot almost entirely in Tanner’s home revolves around characters played by local Los Angeles actors who bring the stories to life at a break neck speed. The episodes of “Ave. 43” are short, most under seven minutes long, packed with deadpan acting and twisted story lines. Is it a soap opera? Is it a comedy? Is it an accurate slice of life in Highland Park? Men hop from bed to bed usually with an ulterior motive that eventually is revealed. Engagements and divorces are the causes of murder plots that always seem to go unsolved and awry.  The shooting style evokes voyeurism with its tight shots and funky angles making the most of the home that Tanner shares with his husband and musician Kristian Hoffman.  The viewer gets so sucked into the story that the fact everyone’s bathroom and front door looks exactly alike doesn’t register.

“Ave 43” can be viewed on you tube and needs to be watched from the beginning. It won’t explain anything but it doesn’t hurt. Characters appear and disappear sometimes coming back as ghosts or in disguises.  Making sense of the plot is at times useless but always a lot of nasty fun. All sins are committed, nothing gets left out. Pornography and Satanism along with greed, lust and incest are plot points that whizz by in this twisted funny web series skewing reality TV and night time soap operas. Just when the viewer has seen it all something new and more shocking comes along.  What will happen next? Only Justin Tanner knows.

Alex Prager Show

Eyes! Look into my eyes. Yes, eyes; now look through Alex Prager's eyes and see what she sees. "Compulsion" is Alex Prager's latest show at West Hollywood's M & B Gallery  and the eyes have it. Between her portraits of eyes and only eyes are large format photo prints of things you wouldn't actually want to see.

Scary, nerve wracking images of falling, burning and near if not actual death experiences. This is Hollywood after all and nothing is really real right. Alex Prager's images have a surealality making the images not only compelling but comfortably cinematic. These are the images Hitchcock meant to create. Dark and scary situations surrounded by close ups of eyes. Just the eye nothing else fill the frame. Look deep into them. Eyes are the gateway to the soul n'est pas?
Alex Prager's show runs through May 12th and it is a must see if you like eyes or seeing.

Sharon Needles

She isn't the guitarist from Betty Blowtorch. She isn't in fact a real she. Sharon Needles is a drag performer. You can't say Drag Queen because there is an image to what a drag queen is and that image isn't Sharon Needles. Old school drag be damned she is a queen of the damned. When one thinks drag queen one thinks feathers, sequins and lots of foundation make up. When you say Sharon Needles you have to think white face paint, black vinyl and hypodermics. Not your grandfather's drag!
Sharon Needles made her national debut on LOGO's 4th season of RuPaul's Drag Race a reality show about non-reality. The minute she walked onto the workroom set she set herself apart from the rest of the pack. Sharon Needles is punk rock not disco. She is Courtney Love on a binge not Liza on a good day.

The television loving little boy from Iowa grew up and hit the clubs in Pittsburgh of all places before appearing on network TV. Sharon Needles' look is hard to really pin down. Goth is the closest adjective but even that falls flat. Her look has an edge and a dark humor punctuated by a snarling cackle. Think Cruella de Vil meets Elvira with a little Wendy O'Williams thrown in for bad measure. This is a drag performer to keep on eye out for.

Mirlande Wilson a Liar?

My newest obsession is Mirlande Wilson. She is the woman from Maryland who says she has a winning lottery ticket but she has "misplaced" it. Mirlande Wilson is either the best bad liar or the least lucky woman in the world. Her co-workers at McDonald's hate her. If she has the winning ticket she claims it to be one she bought on her own; not with them. She has a lawyer and has gotten her 15 minutes of fame so what's next? Where's the ticket? She didn't lose the ticket she has "misplaced" it. If this is true, she is maybe the stupidest woman in all of Maryland. How do you "misplace" the winning ticket? "I put in somewhere on this room. I just can't remember where."

I like to think she is the best bad liar to come down the pike in a while. She may have told the most ill thought out lie of the year. That makes her a super star. She'll get more mileage and press coverage out of this than if she actually did win. Mirlande Wilson could be the America's best bad liar. That makes her story even more salacious. She isn't a clever liar; she may be a true American idiot. That makes Mirlande Wilson even more audacious  Isn't that what America is all about? She is us.

This is why I am obsessed with Mirlande Wilson.

I want to watch cartoons

Saturday morning was once the most important time of the week for a kid. Even though you didn’t have to get up to go to school you still got up early; cartoons were on! They ran all morning from sunrise until something boring like bowling came on around noon. This was kid prime time. Every kid had the line up memorized; they knew when the Jetsons and Scooby-doo or Road Runner was on. If you were lucky and had a TV in your room you didn’t have to leave all morning except for cereal. Even the cereal you were leaving for was on TV. Boobeery; do I need to say more? Saturday was a kid’s world, entertainment, marketing and maybe some educational stuff too. The only educational program kids ever really cared about on Saturday morning was School House Rock. They all knew the function of conjunction junction and could sing along. Singing and songs were an all important element of any, if not every Saturday morning cartoon binge. If a show didn’t have a cool opening song it really didn’t have much of a chance of making it. Songs could make or break a show. A really good cartoon sometimes had a band. Josie and the Pussycats, The Archies, even the Partridges; bands ruled, Judy Jetson had a band and so did Pebbles and Bam Bam.  If the show did have a band one would visit. Sonny and Cher met both the Addams Family and Scooby-doo.

Then there were the villains and their henchmen!  Every good show had a villain and a henchman battling the good guys or super hero. Characters were colorful but distinctly black and white. Good was good and evil was wrong and always failed in the end. The villain never won, even when they thought they did. They would always got their comeuppance but would be back next week with another dastardly and hair brained plan. Those dratted kids would always be there to foil them!

Gotye, the New Saddest Man

Is there anyone recording now sadder than Goyte? His songs are sad. One expect him to cry in the middle of the song. Listening to his recordings nothing good ever happens to Goyte. He has a thin reedy voice that is reminiscent of Sting or Bono. He is less annoying than Sting and less angry than Bono. He is just sad. Loneliness and yearning are his themes. "Sombody I Used to Know" his biggest hit to date is a semi duet with Kimbra. Percussion and dissonant chords back his pleading lyric. If you like Sting you will love Goyte.
Gotye is a Belgian born muscian raised in Austrailia named Wouter De Backer. He has three records out and is currently touring the US. His records have proved popular in Europe and he is begining to develope a following in the US. His current record "Making Mirrors" was released in August of 2011.
There is something creepy and compelling about his work.

Patti Smith's Just Kids

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From the very moment I first heard Patti Smith I was enraptured. I was a suburban teenager and this chick from New York was saying just what I was thinking. The first song I ever heard was "Pissing in a River". "Should I pursue a path so twisted?" From that lyric on I was hooked. I found paperback copy of "Babel" in a leftist bookstore when I was in high school. I stole a copy of "Witt" when I was in art school. I had every record she put out and started collecting bootlegs. You see by the time I first heard her she had already disappeared into Michigan. She was an enigma to me, my own J.D. Salinger. Then one day "Dream of Life" came out. She and Fred put out a dream come true, a new Patti Smith album. I got phone calls from people I hadn't seen in years making sure I knew of its release. I of course did and had obtained an advanced copy. Still I hadn't seen her perform but this was the next best thing. I was a diehard fan. I was like a Dead Head without the live shows. I had discovered Robert Mapplethorpe around the same time. I didn't know they even knew each other when I first saw his work. It wasn't until I was looking through a book of his photos and saw the portraits of her I put two and two together in that slow witted teenage way. Suddenly both she and he were so much cooler.

"Just kids" is Patti Smith's newest book. This time it is prose, the story of Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe. It is also the story of New York in the seventies. It is their story and it couldn't have happened in any other place and in other era. They were both in the right place at the right time for them. It is a beautiful love story through one of the lover's eyes. This is more than an autobiography it is a painting. It is a story just waiting to be made into a film. Patti Smith being a poet can draw you into the story with her words crafting beautiful images like a photograph or sculpture. She honestly discusses their foibles and failures and celebrates their beauty and humanity. Their desires and belief in themselves can not be ignored. They both wanted to be famous and they succeeded. They wanted fame and she makes no bones about it. They don't come off as fame whores but as artists who need their art to be seen and appreciated. It is of course a sad story. It is a story where one of the lovers dies. That is where their story ends; Robert Mapplethorpe died and Patti Smith carried on. This is a little story for him about him.

Ginger Coyote a Real Hollywood Star

You may have seen her walking down Hollywood Blvd., you may have seen her on stage, you may have read her magazine. She is Ginger Coyote lead singer and driving force behind the seminal punk band White Trash Debutantes and publisher of Punk Globe Magazine. Ginger has lived in downtown Hollywood for 20 years and she knows everyone and everyone seems to know her. She started her career in San Francisco's punk clubs when it was just starting out. If there was a show at the Mabuhay Gardens or the On Broadway; Ginger was there. Originally a fan and scenester she started to chronicle the punk scene in her publication Punk Globe. The magazine in its earliest stages was made of photocopied sheets she stapled together after writing the copy and getting photos from local scenester photographers. She then moved on to a real magazine format with writer's from the scene and around the country contributing articles and art work. The only other magazine of its type at the time was Search and Destroy. Punk Globe was a much more DIY publication covering and living a DIY lifestyle. Over time the magazine grew and was printing 25,000 copies monthly. Ginger then started her own band the White Trash Debutantes. WTD has played around the world in places as diverse as dive bars, Pride festivals and Japanese TV. The line up has changed over the years but the vibe is still the same, in your face punk rock. When the band started to take up more of Ginger's time the Punk Globe took sort of a back seat for a while. The magazine still came out but on a more sporatic basis. In 2005 the print version ceased to exist and was replaced by the on-line zine it is now. Punk Globe's readership is now over a quarter of a million world wide. The WTD still alive and kicking appear around LA and the country. Ginger is still rocking out original songs about Susan Lucci, Miss Jane Hathaway and the Kennedys Wtd kicks it with covers of Jayne County and Ricky Martin. She is often joined on stage by the famous and the infamous to do the "Time Warp" again and again.
If you see her walking down the street don't walk on by. Stop and have a chat. You'll learn a little and have a great time!