Travelling Light
OK. I'm in Portland now. So many miles from home. Erik and I had such a long day yesterday. Plus we're both sick, so the traveling was exhaustive.
I'm typing this from a cafe called Floyd's...Magnetic Fields is playing in the background. My tummy is wicked unsettled. I've been taking Goldenseal and I just had a small mocha!!! This cafe has a drive-through window. They're very serious about coffee out this way.
So I opened up the Portland Mercury (a cool weekly up here) to see the ad for my gig on Sunday. My name in print in big-ish letters. The Suicide Girls are on after me or something...there's a picture of an ass with garters in the ad...it says Sex Industry Night...half off the $6 cover for sex industry workers. This is fitting since several of my songs/pieces are about love, sex and/or bondage of some sort - figurative or literal.
Got some more good news regarding (full) band stuff. Turkish Queen was offered the opening slot with His Name is Alive at TT's on May 15th. We're accepting the offer:)
Listened to New Order this morning while readying myself for the day. Erik's got over 2000 CDs and plenty more records. I watched most of Coffee and Cigarettes after he left for work.
My friend JJ (in LA) was teasing me calling me "Typhoid Mary" and Conor was referring to my musical forays out west as the "Spread the Infection" Tour. Conor came up from Oakland to play in Glenn Branca's 100 guitarists piece in LA...He took pix of us in front of Cantor's before we left for LAX:)
Poor Erik. Now he's sick and he has to work and his birthday is tomorrow. A fellow Aries. He even canceled his birthday party 'cause his friend (Ben, of the band Kind of Like Spitting) who was gonna host is about to leave for tour. And he didn't want him to catch the plague I brought from the East...
LA was fun, although all my observations come filtered through sickness. Miserable cloying cough and congestion.
But I wil beat this and be well and celebrate life and spring. As my father helpfully reminds me from time to time, this too shall pass.
::::::::LA:::::
The Hollywood Standard is a joke. A party crashpad and nothing more. Very overpriced and all hype. We changed hotels mid-stay. We moved to the tweaked but cozy Farmer's Daughter Hotel, which I would highly recommend to any soul looking for lodging. It's right across the street from CBS studios and the Farmer's Market. Oh, there were the dreamiest Prevosts parked outside CBS...one day...fruit baskets...white pianos...limos...Snoop Dogg-style cameos...
Anyway, I met all social obligations. First, I hung with JJ & Marisol who are always terrific guides to the town. And Conor was there, as I mentioned. He of the old KTRU krewe.
But I especially wanted to meet up Boston folks who had transplanted themselves into LA soil.
First was Peter Choyce. We hung out with him briefly while he showed us clips of his extra roles. It was great to see him and meet his new cute B & W kitty. This cat also has a Russian name, like Mynshkinosh. RIP. Peter looks good and seems pretty content out here. He says he'll never go back to Boston.
Next was Melissa K, formerly of Splashdown, currently of Universal Hall Pass. She is so sweet and has big beautiful eyes which she accentuates with kohl. She spoke very openly and honestly about LA v. Boston from the perspective of an artist. She likes Boston but states there's nothing for her there musically. We hung out at a diner over hot chocolate, apple pie, and fries. She is a tender soul and I wish we could have hung out longer. Naturally, we also discussed Castle von Buhler, etc.
Melissa asked me point blank if I was moving out to LA. She said I was moving out here and that she could tell by the distant look in my eye when I said "I like it out here". But I must admit I was less enchanted this time than last. Could just be that I'm sick...? I don't have a serious impetus to move and completely disrupt my life at this point in time.
Last but not least was business. I met up with Paula Kelley and her hubby Aaron Tap at their swank pad in Los Feliz. I drove there by myself in a HEAVY rainstorm. At times, I could barely see the lanes. Anyway, about a month ago I commissioned Paula to do a string quartet arrangement of Chestbox and we agreed to meet up while I was in town to see how it was coming along. She and Aaron were formidable hosts/hostesses. They made me a cocktail with strawberry vodka and we chatted. We know so many of the same people. It's no surprise really...So Paula handed me the score and played me the MIDI version of her arrangement. I was astounded. It is so right on. Keep in mind Paula had probably never heard any Turkish Queen or my music before the 4 versions of this song I gave her. So for her to get it so right - the style, the feeling, the sensibility - was pleasing to say the least. And that was the MIDI version. They are going to collect the string players and make a recording and I'll add the vox/possibly flute later. I can't wait to hear the wood of the viola!
Troy always called Chestbox "Fleshbox". Hee hee. That Kidwell!
All for now. Gotta go practice.
I'm typing this from a cafe called Floyd's...Magnetic Fields is playing in the background. My tummy is wicked unsettled. I've been taking Goldenseal and I just had a small mocha!!! This cafe has a drive-through window. They're very serious about coffee out this way.
So I opened up the Portland Mercury (a cool weekly up here) to see the ad for my gig on Sunday. My name in print in big-ish letters. The Suicide Girls are on after me or something...there's a picture of an ass with garters in the ad...it says Sex Industry Night...half off the $6 cover for sex industry workers. This is fitting since several of my songs/pieces are about love, sex and/or bondage of some sort - figurative or literal.
Got some more good news regarding (full) band stuff. Turkish Queen was offered the opening slot with His Name is Alive at TT's on May 15th. We're accepting the offer:)
Listened to New Order this morning while readying myself for the day. Erik's got over 2000 CDs and plenty more records. I watched most of Coffee and Cigarettes after he left for work.
My friend JJ (in LA) was teasing me calling me "Typhoid Mary" and Conor was referring to my musical forays out west as the "Spread the Infection" Tour. Conor came up from Oakland to play in Glenn Branca's 100 guitarists piece in LA...He took pix of us in front of Cantor's before we left for LAX:)
Poor Erik. Now he's sick and he has to work and his birthday is tomorrow. A fellow Aries. He even canceled his birthday party 'cause his friend (Ben, of the band Kind of Like Spitting) who was gonna host is about to leave for tour. And he didn't want him to catch the plague I brought from the East...
LA was fun, although all my observations come filtered through sickness. Miserable cloying cough and congestion.
But I wil beat this and be well and celebrate life and spring. As my father helpfully reminds me from time to time, this too shall pass.
::::::::LA:::::
The Hollywood Standard is a joke. A party crashpad and nothing more. Very overpriced and all hype. We changed hotels mid-stay. We moved to the tweaked but cozy Farmer's Daughter Hotel, which I would highly recommend to any soul looking for lodging. It's right across the street from CBS studios and the Farmer's Market. Oh, there were the dreamiest Prevosts parked outside CBS...one day...fruit baskets...white pianos...limos...Snoop Dogg-style cameos...
Anyway, I met all social obligations. First, I hung with JJ & Marisol who are always terrific guides to the town. And Conor was there, as I mentioned. He of the old KTRU krewe.
But I especially wanted to meet up Boston folks who had transplanted themselves into LA soil.
First was Peter Choyce. We hung out with him briefly while he showed us clips of his extra roles. It was great to see him and meet his new cute B & W kitty. This cat also has a Russian name, like Mynshkinosh. RIP. Peter looks good and seems pretty content out here. He says he'll never go back to Boston.
Next was Melissa K, formerly of Splashdown, currently of Universal Hall Pass. She is so sweet and has big beautiful eyes which she accentuates with kohl. She spoke very openly and honestly about LA v. Boston from the perspective of an artist. She likes Boston but states there's nothing for her there musically. We hung out at a diner over hot chocolate, apple pie, and fries. She is a tender soul and I wish we could have hung out longer. Naturally, we also discussed Castle von Buhler, etc.
Melissa asked me point blank if I was moving out to LA. She said I was moving out here and that she could tell by the distant look in my eye when I said "I like it out here". But I must admit I was less enchanted this time than last. Could just be that I'm sick...? I don't have a serious impetus to move and completely disrupt my life at this point in time.
Last but not least was business. I met up with Paula Kelley and her hubby Aaron Tap at their swank pad in Los Feliz. I drove there by myself in a HEAVY rainstorm. At times, I could barely see the lanes. Anyway, about a month ago I commissioned Paula to do a string quartet arrangement of Chestbox and we agreed to meet up while I was in town to see how it was coming along. She and Aaron were formidable hosts/hostesses. They made me a cocktail with strawberry vodka and we chatted. We know so many of the same people. It's no surprise really...So Paula handed me the score and played me the MIDI version of her arrangement. I was astounded. It is so right on. Keep in mind Paula had probably never heard any Turkish Queen or my music before the 4 versions of this song I gave her. So for her to get it so right - the style, the feeling, the sensibility - was pleasing to say the least. And that was the MIDI version. They are going to collect the string players and make a recording and I'll add the vox/possibly flute later. I can't wait to hear the wood of the viola!
Troy always called Chestbox "Fleshbox". Hee hee. That Kidwell!
All for now. Gotta go practice.
posted by Ajda the Turkish Queen at 2:10 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home