Get Outta My Way

Oh, the start of the holiday season... how joyous. I mean who can resist Christmas music 24/7, the jolly push of people trying to get ahead of you even if you aren't heading for the last of whatever it is they think you are heading for the last of, the traffic, the frigid cold weath... - wait a sec it's been in the high 70's - anyway, who can resist all this fun? Not me, no way. But doesn't the holiday season speed up after Halloween - I mean it was just yesterday that I was in San Francisco and stumbled on this awesome sight....



Funny.


So, between San Francisco, Halloween and Thanksgiving, I went to Maui. We missed the terrible storms they had just had and it was warm and sunny our whole trip. I must confess I wasn't sitting around the pool making Christmas lists or planning the Thanksgiving tofurkey, instead I was reading trashy magazines, watching the myriad of people in the latest bathing suit fashions, and napping. I did manage to peel myself off the chaise lounge every so often and make the 20 or so step walk to the ocean, but when that got too much, we just rented a cabana on the sand - complete with a cabana boy who would bring us ice water and fresh pineapple.
Nice.

But then the trip was over and I landed back at LAX where our plane - though technically an early arrival - waited on the tarmac for over an hour before it could pull up to the terminal - due to traffic. Ah, it was good to be home....

Now I have to start thinking about holiday gifts, good wishes and all those ho ho shenanigans that come up this time of year. One good thing though is that Guitar Center had a decent sale and I got a new amp. It has way too many buttons, switches and gizmos on it, but hey it was a good deal and if the box is accurate I will be making some "Insane Rock Star" noises soon.

Speaking of rock stars, and no there is no Joan Jett in this post.... I am still enjoying Girl in a Coma - they are playing the Roxy December 1st. Yay. Take a peek at them if you haven't heard them yet.



Ok then, till next time....

-peace

Jett and the Slots

So, I know I have been remiss in keeping this blog up to date, but you can't imagine how much time it takes to decide what you want to be when you grow up. Wait! don't start lighting the fireworks and getting the party decorations out - I'm still as much in the dark as I was two months ago, I just want to alleviate the guilt I was starting to feel by shirking this little piece of my life.

Oops, I did it again. I went to see Joan Jett. I know, I know - I was doing so well in my recovery - I even missed the Paso Robles show though it was on my birthday, but I'm human, I slipped up. I started to get the cold shakes when I saw her last US show of the year was only a couple hours away from me. I admit it, I caved. There is no other excuse to be made for driving from Hollywood to San Jacinto (where? - exactly) on a Wednesday night. As we pulled into the casino (yes, you read correctly - Joan Jett was playing a casino in San Jacinto) parking lot - my first thought was - "Man, I bet they aren't going to have anything vegetarian to eat here." Well, ok - that was my second thought, my first thought was "Uh." Yup, just "Uh." That thought stayed with me all evening - though at times it was more like a"co(uh)gh" because, apparently no one who visits casinos has seen a "The Truth" campaign commercial.... You know, those smoking kills spots. (You'll have to cut and paste the address as I can't get the hyperlink to work on a mac.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRHvZazd4IM

But really, what else are you supposed to do with that extra hand that's just hanging around while the other one inserts bill after bill into the slot machine?
Thankfully though there was a non-smoking section - all the way at the other end of the casino. But presumably, non-smokers have better lung capacity than smokers and should be able to hold their breath as they run through the smokey haze. Smokers, on the other hand might just fall down and die if their systems are deprived of any of the 4000 chemicals that occur in cigrette smoke long enough to stumble past all those blinking, flashy, pretty lights on their way across the room.


Now for the show. "Uh." Well, it was different than the other shows I've seen. There was an "Uh," over zealous fan or maybe just prolific lyricist who felt compelled to call out Joan's name at every opportunity and leave pretty colored notes (or their prolific lyrics) at her feet. There were sound problems, an over active air conditoner, and a bevy of drunks who insisted on sloshing their way to the front of the stage - where I, sober save for the gasses rumbling inside my intestines from a probably not-so-vegetarian refried bean and cheese burrito - was standing. But the show went on. Well, in all honesty it did stop a couple times mid song because of previously mentioned sound and air conditioning problems. And, fearless though she seems in the face of adversity, Ms. Jett did have a hard time singing through the continued gesticulations and vocal adorations of the note droppper. She persevered however and managed to once again put on a good show. She played the old and the new, including the tracks Love is Pain, Roadrunner and Light of Day along with her "hits" and a nice selection off of Sinner. Oh and I failed to mention that a lot of the audience sat through the show - perhaps because something in casino
protocol dictated that there be wedding banquet like tables set up - all way to the stage. "Uh."

Then, just as I was losing the "uh" and starting to bob my head to the beat, the show was over and I was home snug in my bed by midnight. By morning there was nothing left of my Joan Jett Casino excursion except a pile of clothes on the floor that smelled like a trip through the early 80's.

And now friends, I'll leave you with a few of my favorite things... and remember... you don't always die from tobacco.




-PEACE

Sunshine and Sass

So.... I didn't go see Joan Jett in San Mateo (I know, I know you are all shocked) but I guess a little "away" time from her will do me good. Right? Absence makes the heart grow fonder, or so they say. "They" also say don't swim for 30 minutes after eating, but I don't believe "them" and will swim right after a meal. Hell, I might even be snacking AND swimming at the same time. And does that go for chewing gum too? Sometimes I wish I had "their" number so I could call and check these things out. Anyway, I'll always have my Del Mar, Alhambra and LA Pride Joan Jett memories. Hopefully, she didn't miss ME too much in San Mateo and was able to push through and rock on without me. Don't worry Joan, I'm going to see you in October at the Soboba Casino in San Jacinto - I'm not sure where San Jacinto is, I don't gamble and I'm unclear on what to make of a concert at a casino, but DAMMIT, just like swimming after eating, I am going to throw caution to the wind and jump in.

While detoxing from my Joan Jett inebriation I did manage to get my dogs a little swimming pool so they could hang out and swim with their friends. That's my boy Oliver with his first real girlfriend, Miga. My other dogs wouldn't sign the photo release without a myriad of stipulations, and though I think Miga's release might have been forged by her parents, I'm not going to check it out. Just look at those two - consumed in pure unbridled fun. That's the way to live, who needs Joan Jett? (ok - I admit - I do)
This is a shot from the Alhambra show where we were standing about two folks behind the front and were leaning against the center railing. Let's just say it was within sweat flicking distance. I enjoyed the show - though I think the security and the police were a little overbearing - I'm not sure what was happening so maybe they were completely justified, but it seemed like a lot of people were getting pulled out of the crowd by the police. Maybe since it was a fair and a family event they didn't want people dancing too rough or getting too rowdy? Ah, well, that's the price you pay for rock and roll. I do hope that at the casino show I can hear the non G rated versions of Joan's tunes. I always feel a little infantilized when she sings the "fair versions". I understand it, but still feel like I'm missing some of the stuff I love her for. Rock and punk are meant to be dirty, gritty and make some folks uncomfortable. If we always stay in our comfort zone, nothing will ever change. We sit and stew in our safe little shells and then when we are faced with something that takes us out of that safety zone, we push against it, criticize it, demean it. We fear what we don't know, we hate what we fear, then our hate blinds and consumes us. So do me a favor, step outside your comfort zone today, just once and see what happens.

-peace -

one more thing - if you like the Donnas and the Dollyrots - they are playing at the Punk Rock Social in Long Beach, CA on Sept. 15th at Alex's Bar. http://www.punkrocksocial.com/schedule.html

Monday Morning Musings

It's Monday, I live in LA so it's hot, and I am currently "between jobs" so I'm home again. I get bored easily. I feel the need to do six things at once, all of which should probably get my full attention either for quality assurance or for safety reasons, but they never do. I'd like to be at the beach surfing, but it's a trek from my "eastside" hood and while I'm sure once I got a taste of that fine Southern California salt water I'd be good and happy (or sick, or glowing, or on antibiotics for a month) I just can't bring myself to venture out. So here I am - musing about my Monday and my lack of attention span. Lest you think that makes me fickle though - it does not. I am still in love with my dog Oliver, and still (quite to the dismay of those around me) obsessed with Joan Jett. It's hard to let go of her, a piece of my past that has washed up on the sandy shores of my adulthood (too Hallmarky?) Someone called me a fan. A fan? Wait a minute, could I really be a (cough cough) fan? I've seen three shows in 3 months, does that make me a fan? But they were all free - don't fans pay to see shows? I have her newest release, Sinner, does that make me a fan? But I downloaded it from itunes - I didn't rush out to Ameoba Records to get it. I have taken pictures of her at the the shows I have been to, does that make me a fan? But I just wanted to show my friends who couldn't make it what they missed - I didn't print them out and tape them to my bathroom mirror. I don't have a single autograph or photo taken with her. In fact I have never met her (i don't think - but there are some fuzzy memories of The Runaways playing Chuck Landis' Country Club back in the day that I'm flashing back to) I haven't caught a pick, or talked my way into a getting a setlist or waited around after a show for goodies. So, could I really be a fan? Nah, not really.... But then, just today a friend called me on their way to work to tell me they heard some Joan Jett gossip on the radio - called ME - sigh....Dammit, I guess that makes me a fan.So, I guess I'll come to terms with my foray into fandom, maybe I'll even start to like it. I've never really explored the world of the fan before, perhaps my horizons will open, my mind will expand, I'll have new respect for fans around the world, I'll, I'll, I'll --- embrace my inner fan.
So, let's put that behind us now shall we? I mean once it's admitted it need not rear its head again,right? Right. Let's move on. I tried in vain yesterday to find something to watch on TV - It was a toss up between a show where they take a hairdresser from one city and make them change places with another hairdresser from a different city and Design on a Dime. Since I didn't want to be reminded that I am unemployed and need to "design on a dime" these days, I chose the hairdresser show. Yikes. I can't even remember the name of the show but it was bad - a tatted, pierced "hip" boy hairdresser from one of the beach communities out here had to trade places with a woman who cuts hair in a retirement viliage in the midwest somewhere I think. I'm not sure who I felt more sorry for, probably the woman that had to come out here and deal with all the crap we californians think of ourselves. They made her do foils - she had never done foils - most of her clients do a standard shade of blue - all over. She messed up a few people's hair (I hope they were really extras and not real clients) and got reprimanded a lot. I felt for her. She was used to rolling old ladies hair and taking them grocery shopping after. The guy didn't fare much better - but I felt less sorry for him just cuz he was so full of himself to begin with. Needless to say I didn't opt to Tivo the next episiodes.

Here's some LA happenings to check out:

The Fuck Yeah Fest -- Some good bands playing http://www.fuckyeahfest.com/
Sunset Junction -- http://www.sunsetjunction.org/



-peace

Fe Fi Fo Friday

Ok, so there's no Jack and I am certainly no giant, but I just like the alliteration (it's the English teacher in me I guess) of all those F's together. Yeah... it's Friday today and I have no real plans for the weekend except dinner with friends Sat. night and helping out at dog adoptions Sat. morning. Speaking of friends, I had dinner with friends last night - Oliver's girlfriend's parents (see below posts if you don't know who Oliver is) at this great Mexican restaurant with killer margaritas and a tendancy to play some kick ass music (Cherry Bomb by The Runaways was among the tunes played last time I was there). I won't go into our dinner conversation cuz, well, that's verging on privacy issues. I can tell you though that I laughed, a lot, and ate way, way too many freshly made chips and habanero salsa. Friends are good.
I must admit I DID try to convince my friends last night that driving up to San Mateo to see Joan Jett would be a good idea. I even tried selling her as a sex object and said I would send them pictures of Joan Jett in a see through black tank top that showed her pierced nipples. I'm not sure it worked. It's gonna be a long lonely drive...



Going back to my post from a couple of days ago - I have yet to really start work on any of those "projects". I guess I figure they will wait for me. I did, however, start looking into a new project. Printing and selling t shirts - good t shirts, soft t shirts, the kind of t shirts you wore as a kid when cotton was king and mom did the laundry and it smelled like you wanted to curl up and snuggle with it. Those kind of t shirts. Once I get my plan going, I'll post my shirts and my progress. You just hold tight.

I want to eat my dog Oliver - that's how much I love him. Sometimes when I look at him I want to pop him in my mouth like a Dreyer's Dibs. Is that weird?


ok then, peace... and remember,

girls kick ass
don't litter, spay and neuter

one more thing.... As an animal lover and Pit Bull advocate I have been tormented by the media reports of pit bull fighting lately.

Pit Bull or dog fighting isn't new - it certainly didn't start with Vick - but maybe, just maybe his case will bring some attention to this horrible "sport"

Please try to watch the video on the right - I say try because it is completely disturbing, but if you can get through it - you will never forget it.

Idle Hands Are the Devil's Workshop

So, I have a lot of time on my hands right now - a lot. Which leads me to do things like start projects that I know I will never finish or spend hours on You Tube looking up Joan Jett videos (did you know there is a video of her taking skydiving lessons and jumping out of a plane? seriously - go check it out) Anyway, I am trying to restore an old Schwinn Fair Lady - it's the girlie version of the old Stingray. I love old those old bikes, there is something almost sexy about the shape of a Schwinn Stingray - they are just cool. Guitars are sexy as hell too. They don't even have to be strapped on to anyone, they are just inherently sexy. Which brings me to another project - restoring an old fake Les Paul guitar - I don't need to restore it, I have three perfectly good guitars, one of which in fact is brand new, and not a fake, so why AM I embarking on this project? I guess I just need something constructive to do with my hands - other than search for Joan Jett videos I mean.



I have also been trying to find some good new music - I can't stand the stuff on the radio - I mean I will sing along to a Justin Timberlake tune in the car just like everyone else, but come on - where is the substance? I want the three chord progression and the growling vibrations of a good punk or rock song. I need it. It's sexy - it doesn't need to bring sexy back cuz it never left - get it? I've been perusing the internet for good bands (and trying to convince myself that I am NOT obsessed with Joan Jett if I can look up other bands too!) and here's what I've come up with - I need to get out more. I think there are a lot of good local bands out there - but they need to be seen and heard in person - not on a myspace page. So far, I like The Pipettes htt://www.thepipettes.co.uk/ from the UK and a local LA band called The Randies http://myspace.com/therandies I also like The Vacancies, they don't have a girl in the band but there is a guitar - so I guess I can still post about them on my blog, http://thevacanciesmusic.com/

Alright, enough for now...



peace.

A little Jett fuel to start the day

Ok - so I have to admit something right off the bat here. I am a tad bit obsessed with Joan Jett right now. Maybe it's because I am unemployed and looking for comfort and I am trying to relive my youth. Maybe it's because I happened to catch her show at LA Pride this year and got caught up in the whole cool chick in black leather (or vinyl) thing. Or maybe, just maybe, it's because of that nagging feeling that had I not been so shy or had I kept up playing that damn 30 pound Kramer Focus 3000 my parents finally bought me, I could have become the rock star I was meant to be. Hmmm... Anyway, I am also obsessed with my dog Oliver right now too, so I guess I am just an obsessive person. But, to my credit, if you knew Oliver, you'd be obsessed with him too, and as for Joan Jett, you can make your own decision about that - but how can you not love a vegan rocker that sings about sex and leather (or vinyl)?

And as long as I am acknowledging my Jett obsession, I guess I should come clean and admit I have seen her twice since LA Pride - both at fairs (one in Del Mar and the other in Alhambra). Now, is it just me or is Joan Jett the kind of act that would be much better suited to a small, dark and sweaty dive club? Yeah, I thought so.

Unfortunately, the next oportunity to see Ms. Jett is at another goddamned fair in San Mateo - I'm not going, I'm not going, I'm not going.....

Well, I guess I've covered girls, growls and guitars for the day.

Peace.


My handsome boy Oliver