best week ever

Another crazy weekend has come and gone, chock full of good and great and wonderful things and people. And once again, I am going to do the cop-out and post a weekend recap.

Friday

Ryan's band, The Taint, played at the Unknown Theater with special guest Kevin Stewart which was really fun. The Unknown Theater is a black box theater in LA that runs shows until about 10pm and then hosts bands. The show that was playing ran a bit late, which worked out and allowed all of the party peoples to catch up before we all went inside. Inside, it was a working theater with the stage still set up for the show -- so everyone performed inside a bedroom set, complete with bed and tables. It was pretty funny.

I took pictures with my new camera to test it out a bit more, which all turned out pretty great. It was also a first time using it for video, which turned out better than I'd hoped. If you want to catch up on the latest videos, check out my YouTube channel.







After the show, we went over to the French Quarter for middle of the night breakfast and waited (and waited and waited) for Adam. We gorged on pancakes and French onion soup and salads and grilled cheese sandwiches and fries and everything in between. GOOD TIMES! We finally headed home when the restaurant closed around us at 4am. I was super tired and swore that I was going immediately to sleep... only I ended up reading for a while and getting sucked into my book. Darn you Vicki Pettersson!! When the sun came up, I turned out the light and went to sleep.

Saturday

Slept 'til noon which isn't as impressive as it sounds. Ryan and I got up to meet Miss Bliss in Pasadena at Zephyr Café to work on our Top Secret Writing Project. The place is full of cool vibes, it's a 1908 Craftsman style house that has been converted into a relaxed hang-out space and we took up residence on the patio for a few hours and got some serious work done. It was awesome. Our project is going to melt your face off. For reals.

After that, Ryan and I headed home, swearing that we were going directly to bed (at 8:30pm) because we were both so exhausted. Of course, as soon as you say it, you jinx yourself. I ended up half-asleep on the couch, but unwilling to budge watching FOUR HOURS of a Heavy Metal documentary on MTV2. I now know more about heavy metal music than I ever wanted to and have a big ol' crush on Judas Priest. Did you know that Judas Priest invented the "heavy metal look"? It was kind of by accident… the singer needed a new look and took cues from his fetish for leather, which has now become the standard for all "tough" and metal guys. HILARIOUS. So note to all you bikers in your leather and chains: Gay bondage. HA HA HA HA

So at 1am, the series ended and I scooted off to bed… to read more (Vickkkkkki!!!) before I was too tired to do anything else and I fell asleep.

Sunday

Kevin was filling in with a band called Exotiki at the Redwood Bar in LA, for a "Sunday Brunch" and so we drove back up to LA for the show. If you're ever in the LA area, I highly recommend checking out the Redwood. It's close to the MOCA and all the cool sights in Downtown and well worth popping your head in. The entire bar is long and narrow and decorated like a pirate ship. The details are phenomenal. Everything from the doors to the galley to the cannon, it was all super awesome. Again, testing the video in super low light and really close to the speakers, it all came out pretty decent!



Toward the end of the set, Ryan and I had to jet because I promised my sister that I'd come to her pumpkin carving party. I made it there just in time and we had fun carving and scraping and scraping and scraping (jack-o-lanterns are a lot of work!). I started carving before I had a true idea of what I was going to do (typical) so I rushed and it didn't turn out quite right. Oh well, it was still a lot of fun. I need to post those pictures still.

After we were done, I had to drag my tired corpse home and got in bed early. With another Vicki Pettersson book, of course. It's like crack, people.

Halloween show tonight - The Taint @ Unknown Theater

I'm usually pretty blase about The Taint playing, because - if I'm being honest - I've seen them play 85 bajillion times. So, yes, it's fun and exciting to see my husband up on stage and rocking out, but also? It's kind of boring, sitting in a noisy bar with just Mimi to keep me company and it being too loud to actually chat. But tonight is different!! The Taint is playing in Los Angeles, where we happen to know a few people who are also willing to come to the show. Which means that I will have friends! Huzzah!!

Also, Kevin is playing with them since Jake (the bass player) is off on his honeymoon which means that I get to hang out with Danielle - awesome - and also that we get to see some super awesome upright bass playing action!! Kevin played with them a couple of months ago (video below, the audio isn't fantastic though) and it was so much fun. Because he's awesome.

But one of the most exciting parts (for me) is to see Ryan sing after his vocal practice with a certain Broadway Baby who taught him a thing or two... I can't wait to see it in practice!

So if you're in LA tonight, looking for a free show that apparently is serving free beer, then boy have I got a show for you!

I <3 Kevin Stewart

It's been a while since I bragged on my buddy Kevin, so here we go:

Kevin is an amazing bass player. Don't believe me? See for yourself! I am not a musician or skilled in any sort of musical way BUT I knows what I likes and I likes what I see… er, hear. ANYHOOGLE, Kevin is so damn talented that he gets requests from all kinds of places for him to come and play. He's traveled the world over, slapping the upright bass to entertain and delight. His latest stop has a special place in my heart: the Golden Horseshoe at Disneyland. He was begged to do a guest spot a few months ago and they loved him so much that they're clamoring for more more more!! This past weekend, he played a gig with Billy Hill and the Hillbillies at the Golden Horseshoe, and although I wasn't able to be there, our dearly beloved Danielle captured it all on video.

This is my new, official anthem:



ALSO: if you want to see him getting slap happy live and in person, he's playing with The Taint on Friday, October 24 at the Unknown Theater (LA).

get well or walk the plank

Everyone clap your hands three times and say a wish for my mom who is having a bout of kidney stones today - yowch! Poor doll had to go to the hospital, where (luckily) they've pumped her full of morphine and scanned her Cat, so she's gonna be okay... but kidney stones are no fun! (Ryan is a kidney stone sufferer, so I am a stone sufferer by proxy and can attest to "more morphine, please!")

Every time I say "get well" I think of the scene from Seinfeld when Elaine's co-workers bring her a get well cake (carrot cake - it's healthy!) and sing to her. Get well, get well soon - we want you to get welllllll!! So mom - feel better. And don't surf the web while under the influence of strong drugs. You'll end up trying to sync Pink Floyd with the Wizard of Oz. (In case you're interested, it starts at the 4 minute mark)

[insert witty segue here]

Today is Talk Like a Pirate Day! Which means... um... I dunno what.



Surf the web using Google's pirate dashboard!
Listen to some pirate music (courtesy of The Taint!)

where'd you go?

After successfully breaking my website, I headed out to have more adventures. Now that the days have passed and my brain is too tired from Weekend Fun plus Mexican food overload, I have to cop out and just recap.

Thursday - Ryan's band, The Taint, played at The Blue in HB. It was a last-minute show (they didn't even get posted on the website) and although there were something like 6 bands that were scheduled, there was no crowd. The good bits were that the opening band stayed to watch, the bar staff loved them (sound guy wants to record them, the rockabilly version of Astrozombies was voted "best cover song I have ever heard in my life" by the bartender, etc.) and they actually sounded good. Plus, The Blue has a full-size stage so the guys were able to spread out a bit and Jack (drummer) had space to travel*. I also got video of Dead Man's Cove which turned out pretty ok.



After the show, we had to hurry home to move the new futon into the office and clean up the backyard in preparation for the painters (scheduled to start on Friday morning), so by the time we were done it was 2am and I dropped like a sack of rocks into bed.

Friday - The Taint played again, but this time at Alex's Bar in Long Beach. Jake, the bass player, was graduating from college (again!) so our buddy Kevin filled in on stand-up bass. If you ever have the chance to see Kevin play TAKE IT. He travels around the world playing stand-up bass so there is a good chance that he'll be in your town soon**. He is so amazing at bass... no words can describe. And he is a showman through and through. Ever seen someone play the stand-up like a guitar? NO! That's because they don't have arms that are 8 feet long like Kevin. Seriously, I love this guy.



Anyway the show got started late and then the Taint got bumped to a later slot, which turned out to be perfect. Alex's Bar has a pretty big crowd of regulars so there were quite a few people who were there and appropriately receptive (drunk) by the time the guys took the stage. It was a punk night and all the other bands were vaguely Dead Kennedys with a bit of Bad Religion thrown in, so The Taint stood out (being a subtle blend of punk, rockabilly, bozzanova, and pirate jazz) and the crowd really seemed to dig it. They also did a GG Allin cover (I Want To Fuck Myself) that was very well received. Astrozombies killed again and more than one person was Yar-Har'ing to Dead Man's Cove (the pirate song). They sold a lot of CDs (thank god! I think I personally have 200 of them sitting in the office) and signed some autographs (!!!) and had lots of people come and chat them up after the show. Oh, and they got PAID which is rare and sincerely appreciated. THANKS ALEX!

Kate came to the show (thank you!) which says something for how awesome she is. Seriously, would I do that for your husband's crazy little garage band? Um. Probably not. Even worse: she got to hear all the ridiculous stories of the dumb shit that my stupid friends did in their early 20's which I was not a part of, for the record. It's funny but kind of gross and I'm sorry that a nice lady like Kate had to hear about it (think poop jokes in the extreme). But she was gracious as always and even kind enough to laugh along with me about my former high school friends stalking me on MySpace. GOOD TIMES!

I also got to hang out with M, who I haven't seen in too long. M and I are cut from the same cloth. We're both so awesome, um, I mean sarcastic and blase and so laid back that everyone thinks you're a jerk. We haven't seen each other in person in like 2 years and we're like "it's been so long! Anyway, blah blah blah" and just picked up exactly where we left off. She's awesome. And after the show, she invited us back to her adorable little house to play with her adorable little dogs. Both dogs are the size of peanuts but twice as bouncy and so so so so sweet. I almost pocketed one on the way out, but she caught me. NEXT TIME!

In every life, a little rain must fall, so in exchange for all the awesome fun times and great crowd, we sacrificed two cars to the tow yard. God damn tow truck peoples! And let me tell you, Long Beach impound is NOT cheap. The cars were there for about an hour (not days) and it cost over $250 each to get them out of hock. WTF?!

OF COURSE there are more pictures on Flickr (newer images are at the bottom of the screen) and I also have posted several videos on YouTube (we recorded the whole show, I got the first half and Danielle filmed the second half, so hers are coming soon). 'Til then, enjoy Ryan being a total dork (singing) and some awesome bass-spinning action.





*he bangs those drums so dog-danged hard that he moves across stage, even with the cinder block in front of the kick drum
**Kevin plays a LOT of shows with Brian Jay & the Last Call Boys and can also be found stepping in for a lot of other bands, PLUS he sometimes plays at Disneyland.

Tiki Thursday

Yesterday started off pretty blah. Woke up, went to work, got a phone call from the Improv to say that Mitch Fatel's June show was cancelled. Even worse, he was bumped for Jimmy Fallon who is stretching his legs before going onto take Conan O'Brien's spot. DAMN YOU JIMMY FALLON! And this isn't just the bitters talking. Have you seen Fallon's stand-up? It's pretty blah.

After work, I took my blah self over to the chiropractor's office for some massaging and crack (of the back). My doctor is also my friend, Jen (formerly Cool Neighbor Jen), but I don't always see her there because I usually take late appointments and often my schedule doesn't sync up with hers. So we're chatting and oh by the way she's 6 months pregnant. WHAT? "I thought you knew already" um, no. I am a terrible friend and horrible client.

After THAT I saddled up the horses, grabbed the Dude and headed up to the Puka Bar to see The Taint. Ryan used to play for the Taint - still does, but he used to too [Mitch Hedberg joke]. He took a break for a while when work was just too hectic and Scott took over. But then Scott's own work was hectic and so now Ryan is back. Last night was his first show "back" with the band in... however long it's been (he says 2 years, I debate that estimate, I think it's less than that). Our friend Gus is in the band Los Mysteriosos and he invited The Taint to play with them at Puka Bar (Critiki rating of 9 out of 10!).




Ryan was so excited to be playing again that he basically cheese-grater'd the end of his finger off during the show. He rocks so hard when he's on stage that he forgets that "Hey! This is painful!" The guys really put out a lot of energy, which was roundly hilarious to us all. Especially Kate and Adam who graciously came all the way out for the show. Both had a hearty giggle at the boys on stage. Not only because they are completely ridiculous (yes) but also because they know Zach and Ryan offstage who are totally different people. Both are calm and quiet and Zach is incredibly reserved and shy. So to see them flailing and kicking and rocking and shocking was funny. Really funny. Plus, who doesn't love the theramin?




It was good to get to see other people too (although Kate and Adam are always the highlight of my day). I kind of forgot how many "band friends" I/we have. People that you just don't see that often outside of shows. Even people that I am "real life" friends with I don't see very often. Kevin - we're totally coming to your next gig, for reals (that kid slaps a bass so good it'll make you sass your mama). And Scott, please note that I am not blogging about your Top Secret highly classified job.



Plus, Ryan had three beers - scandal! - and was soused. Poor Ryan has no alcohol tolerance so after 2 beers he was dancing with a lampshade on his head, giggling too loud. At 3 he was slurring and heartily in love with everyone. I'm sorry if he slobbered on you. It was out of my control.

what did YOU do tonight?

I was at home making tiki bobble heads. What's so weird about that?

big pimping

After taking a break from the band for... um... I dunno? A year? Ryan is returning to play for The Taint. Which is fun and good and also absolutely insane. The reason that he took a break in the first place was because he couldn't keep up. His work schedule is pretty intense* and he gets caught up on a lot of last-minute details that he can't abandon for band practice. He can't just slide down the dinosaur's neck when the whistle blows. BUT ANYWAY, he is crazy excited about playing with them again and so he called up a friend to see if their bands can play together sometime. Sure, how about Thursday? Um, ok! So.

The Taint will be playing at the Puka Bar in Long Beach, CA next Thursday night (May 22nd) at 9:30pm. The rest of the details are still coming in, but you can get 'em hot off the press at The Taint's myspace page. Show will also feature Los Mysteriosos and I don't know who else!

I am also crazy excited about seeing the Puka Bar. Check out the Puka Bar on Critiki! It's an ACTUAL tiki bar! With flaming drinks and bamboo walls and tiki mugs and...and...and...


*as a general rule, he works from 10-12 hours a day, 7 days a week. On the days that we do something, say go to LA, he will cut back and only work for maybe 7 or 8 hours.