Tag Archives: Star Fucking Hipsters

November 22, 2010

What I Heard: Nov. 6th-Nov. 15th, 2010

By Green Day Mind

It’s another week of  life and I was lucky to see a couple of shows of the music variety from November 6th-15th, 2010. Earlier last week, I watched a lot of teevee. I was recovering from the Halloween weekend of Japanther and World/Inferno Friendship Society and the harder I dance, the longer the recovery. I wish I could tell you about some great teevee show that I watched, but, I can’t remember what I watched. I know I watched the Amazing Race, since I’m a stalwart fan of that show, one of the few reality shows that I watch. For three weeks running I missed the Zombie-laden American Movie Channel adaptation of the Walking Dead and I probably won’t bother to catch up with it now.

The boring but restful week of unmemorable teevee gave way to a nice weekend of visiting local Lower East Side music venues around the corner from each other, Arlene’s Grocery on Rivington and Rockwood Music Hall on Allen near Houston. The surrounding area tends to be a bit trendy these days since the Hotel on Rivington opened up a few years ago on Rivington near Delancey, as well as the fancy Schiller’s, on Rivington a block east of Delancey, and the Essex Street Market reinvented itself from a chaotic neighborhood market selling live chickens to an upscale market selling organic rabe and pricey restaurants.

I don’t venture much into the general area since the tiny Todo Con Nada (or just Nada) Theater on Ludlow Street closed eons ago. I practically lived in theaters within this three-block area back in the late 80s and 90s, when storefronts were cheap and production values for Off-Off-Broadway theater were none to minimal. Need a barn for a play? This area had it for you: Surf Reality, the Present Company, House of Candles, and the late-comer, the Piano Room, were venues that fueled my need for the craziest theater possible. The Neo-Futurist’s long-running and successful improv show, “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind (30 plays in 60 minutes), made their New York expansion from Chicago to NADA when they arrived in NYC in 1995. The little theaters are gone now. I actually saw a Ferrari parked on Allen Street a few weeks ago, and while waiting for Honah Lee to go on at Arlene’s Grocery, there must have been at least 60 mini-skirts walking on 120 6-inch heels, and even a fine looking dude in a silken bikini bottom and leather jacket. It took us a little bit of time to realize the lady was a guy, but she was hot nonetheless.

This is New York’s famed Lower East Side. It’s come a long way from the days of McGurk’s Suicide Bar from the 19th-century to today’s trendy, night-cluby, scene.

Honah Lee, Beardo the Man and The Ladrenos – Arlene’s Grocery, NYC

I hadn’t seen the tweeps from Honah Lee (Tim, Jim, Dim, and Tony) play since last April, when they were on the Party! Party! Party! Tour with the Mystic Knights of the Cobra, and both somehow ended up opening for the Foxboro Hot Tubs. They don’t live that far from me, in Trenton, NJ, about 90 minutes away by train. I don’t have a car and the train fare went up to $30 R/T from New York’s Penn Station. No matter what the fun on the other end of the train line, $30 to Jersey, Trenton, New Jersey, no less, is steep. The last time that Honah Lee played at Arlene’s in Manhattan back in the summer, Green Day played the same night at Holmdel in New Jersey, so I missed the fellows back in August. There was no way I was going to miss them again.

Honah Lee at Arlene's Grocery

Honah Lee may not be the most musically-accomplished band, but who needs a band like that anyway? They are completely earnest, raw, loud and unpolished with catchy, screamable lyrics, a steady beat and crazy stupid-fun. When I see Honah Lee, I can’t sit still and I just want to dance. They love to play music, get people drunk, and have a good time, too. Really, what more do you need? Something strange and unexpected always seems to happen when I see these guys play.

The night started out well enough. The band room venue for Arlene’s Grocery is a large, black box space, and when you walk in, you can immediately feel the circulating air conditioning system, which is fabulous. In an odd way, though, the mixing of air conditioning with beer and bodies can leave a strange smell in the air. Add to that equation a human super-vomiter, and you have yourself an air problem. Two songs into Honah Lee’s set, some dude near the bar let out a Monty Python-“It’s waffer-thin” stream of voluminous vomit that filled the room not only with the smell of air conditioning, beer and bodies, but also with the overwhelming smell of vomit. The stream cleared the right side of the room, and the smell cleared the dance floor. It’s not unusual for beer-induced vomiting to take place at a Honah Lee show, but it’s usually the band doing the vomiting, or at least something super crazy. Honah Lee is a bit unpredictable with a sense that the unexpected can happen, and it usually does. Unfortunately for me, I couldn’t overcome my gag reflex to the unexpected river of vomit no matter how much I tried, and I had to go outside for a bit to catch my breath.

Nonetheless, the show was fun and once I came back inside and the air conditioning broke through the smell and a mop and bucket appeared, all was well again. Honah Lee didn’t even notice the vomit, and played a good 45-minute set including “Loss for Words,” “Bobby’s Dead,” “Happy Birthday Dad I’m in Jail,” “53rd and 3rd,” “Life Won’t Let Me,” “You’re Too Much,” “I Hate My Job,” “Leave Them Girls Alone,” “Californibation,” “Gun,” “I was Wonderin'” and “Sex and Cigarettes.” Most of the songs they played are new, but three songs are included in their eight-song CD, I Want It All, “Loss for Words,” “Gun,” and my favorite Honah Lee song, “I Was Wondering.”  The video to their single, “I Hate My Job,” can be seen on YouTube.

Honah Lee – “Gun” from I Want It All – Arlene’s Grocery, NYC 11/13/10

Beardo the Man

Beardo the Man went on before Honah Lee, and I have to say, I found them funny for a little bit. Their schtick is 90s Long Island/Jersey mega-group complete with Korg synthesizer and ironic terry-stretch head- and wrist bands. They were musically pretty good. Of the three bands, they had the more polished sound, and certainly projected a definite bravado, and they drew a crowd. I listened to four or five songs, the first of which was a new one called “Desperate Bitches.” I can’t quite remember the words, but the chorus pretty much had the words “desperate bitches want to go out with me.”

Beardo the Man CD Liner - At least I got a free CD! - Click for song titles

I caught a few more of their songs before the ironic misogyny got a bit too… ironic, though they did do a fabulous cover of Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up,” and I enjoyed their song, “Everybody’s Jealous of My Bike!” and “I’m a Dancer.” But after “Don’t Touch That Girl” and “I Love Kids! (in da butt),” I left and went outside to hang with Honah Lee.

The Ladrenos at Arlene's Grocery

The Ladrenos (their Myspace is new and without songs) came on after Honah Lee. I wasn’t going to stay until I saw them break out a trumpet and a trombone. I’ve mentioned before how much I love brass in punk and ska, and the Ladrenos are Latino-laced pop-ska. Since seeing La Plebe at Hoodstock in Oakland back in September and making an effort to listen to Latino punk bands during Green Day’s tour through South and Central America, I decided to stay, even if they were having technical difficulties with their guitar setup, which took overly long. They finally got it together, and impressed me enough that I stayed for a few songs. While promising, the songs, as my friend that I was with noted, “all started to sound the same.” The lyrics were in Spanish, and I only know bits and pieces of the language. I believe that they may be newly-formed and working out their set, and I’d like to see them again one of these days, particularly on a bill with other Latino-pop-punk-ska bands, though I have no idea where to find this kind of music in New York City. The band is from Queens, New York.

All-in-all, it was a good night of music and crazy adventures on the Lower East Side, and it’s always fabulous to see some of my favorite people on the planet, Honah Lee.

John Gallagher, Jr. – Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 2 – 11/14/10

The next night, Sunday, I ventured back onto the Lower East Side to see John Gallagher, Jr., who plays the lead role of Johnny in American Idiot. Gallagher is one of the nicest, most humble people and it’s obvious that he loves to sing and play music. Every time I’ve seen him perform at Rockwood, (the first time this past January before American Idiot opened and three times this summer), I’ve been struck by his relationship with his guitar, his music, and with the audience. It could all be a facade, but I really don’t think so. He’s a nice dude who has a song in his heart and plays a mean acoustic guitar.

His music resides on the folk-rock side, and at one of his shows, he stressed how much the musician John Prine means to him. Two times I’ve seen him as a solo performer, and twice with his friend on hollow body-guitar, Thad DeBrock, a guitarist from Spring Awakening. Gallagher formerly was in the band, Old Springs Pike, but starring roles in Spring Awakening and other television, film, and theater productions prompted him to leave the band. The band itself continues without Gallagher as Spring Standards.

Though I like my music mostly on the wild side, I do appreciate the quieter musical life. Gallagher’s shows are relaxing and his easy banter with the audience provides a good and easy laugh. His lyrics can be a little starry-eyed and grave, (“We’re all gonna die, so we better start to live; Just remember, no one’s gonna love you for being selfish” from the song, “Start to Live“), but he sings them with an intensity and sincerity that is contagious and from the heart. And did I mention how well he plays an acoustic guitar? Gallagher, Jr. is at Rockwood about once a month, you should go and see him if you can. The shows are free with a one drink minimum.

John Gallagher, Jr. – “Constance” – Rockwood Music Hall, 11/14/10 – (via @johngallagherjr and @onbonosback on Twitter)

John Gallagher, Jr. Setlist

Still Sixteen
No Scorn
Beautiful Inside
Two Fists Full
So Many Things
Close to the Cusp
Waiting at the Bus Stop
Start to Live
Three Out of Five Ain’t Good
Dead for a Year
Wurlitzer in Space
Mayday on Commerce Street
Constance

Thanks to Jaime, Vi, Michelle and John I. for help with filling in mental blanks, setlists and lyrics.

What I Wish I Could Have Heard

The Lawrence Arms: Knitting Factory, Brooklyn

My friend Jaime went to see the Lawrence Arms at the Knitting Factory, and when she tweeted about the show, I decided to check out the band. Since I’m a Johnny-come-lately, I had never heard of this Chicago-based band who has been around since 1999, but I do know that what I heard from their Myspace impressed me. I’ll have to check them out next time they come to town. Here is their official page, LawrenceArms.org and this is their MySpace page.

Pee-Wee Herman’s Big Adventure

I was going to briefly note that Pee-Wee Herman is on Broadway in a limited-run show until January 2nd, and I wanted to see it before it closes just after New Years. However, the little issue of tickets for the show stood in the way as I didn’t have money for them. Ask for what you want and ye shall receive! I rarely win anything, so I was surprised when I scored two tickets to see Pee-Wee Herman Broadway! I entered a Twitter contest for the theater blog, Steve On Broadway and I won tickets to the show. I’ll be seeing it the night before Thanksgiving, which should brightened an otherwise blah weekend. Though, I have to tell ya, that blah weekend will end with me seeing Star Fucking Hipsters at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn on Sunday, Nov. 28. Now that’s a way to end the blah holiday blues.

If you are into theater and are on Twitter, you should follow @SteveOnBroadway. His Twitter feed is very good (besides the fact that I won tickets to the show) and he was recently included in a list of the “Top 100 Theater Tweeters” on BroadwayWorld.com.

That’s it for what I wish I had heard for the week of November 6th-15th. Check back next week when I report on Harry Potter and the Deathly Gallows (yea, ok, I’m a nerd, guilty as charged!), a strange night at the Museum of Modern Art with a female punk-new wave group from the 1970s, The Raincoats, and the crazy stupidity of not hearing a song from Jesse Malin featuring Green Day that was supposed to be heard three weeks ago. This coming week, I’m seeing Pee Wee on Broadway, and Star Fucking Hipsters, and if I can throw in some other music over the Thanksgiving Day week, I’ll try.

Don’t forget that the cast of American Idiot will be performing during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (yes, I know, ironic since Green Day has a depressing song called “Macy Day’s Parade”), which will be broadcast live on NBC starting at the crack of morning. More info on the parade can be found here. I won’t be going, but have fun to those who do!

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November 6, 2010

What I Heard: Oct. 29-Nov. 5, 2010

By Green Day Mind

Since Green Day’s tour ended, there is really nothing much to talk about when it comes to the band. The Twitter feed has gone silent as Billie Joe had a technology rant at the concert in Peru and I have a feeling we won’t be hearing from him for a long while as Green Day headed back to the Oakland area to work on whatever they are currently working on. I had thought I would stop blogging at this site, but I decided at the last minute to keep it up and talk about not only Green Day, but other music, theater, social and political musings as well. I’ve been a bit busy with a maniacal project at work, and haven’t blogged much over the last week. I hope this column will be a weekly roundup of events I’ve gone to and hopefully will be able to bring you new music and acts to check out for yourself. Just a note: you won’t like what I like and vice-versa. This is just a place to share what I heard. Here goes the first one, What I Heard over the week of Friday, Oct. 29 to Friday, Nov. 5.

Japanther, Dog That Bites Everyone and Team Spider – C-Squat, NYC – Oct. 29, 2010

A few months ago, I traveled to California to see Green Day’s last American shows of their tour. The tour ended in Mountain View, just outside of San Francisco. At the same time, a small music festival called “Hoodstock” was going on in Oakland and the first night of Hoodstock occurred the same night as Green Day and featured the Brooklyn-based, two-piece band known as Japanther. I was a bit bummed that I couldn’t see them at Hoodstock. I swore when they came back home to the Brooklyn area that I would indulge in a little Brooklyn art-school noise, and luckily, a small show for Time’s Up, a “New York City-based not-for-profit direct-action environmental group that uses events and educational programs to promote a more sustainable, less toxic city” benefit happened at C-Squat in Manhattan’s East Village just before Halloween.

Cometbus Words at C-Squat. Photo by GDM

C-Squat is the heart of Manhattan’s anarcho-crusty-punk, whatever-it’s-called, music and political scene. Since I’m not what I would call a punk and am too old to really fit in, I was a bit worried about feeling out of place. I go to a lot of events by myself and feel out of place everywhere, so it’s not necessarily just at punk shows do I feel like a strange misfit. Luckily my friend Mike Chickenman introduced me to a few people at C-Squat, and I also saw a girl there that Mike had introduced me to when we saw Bad Religion at Irving Place on Wednesday of that week. I also met a kid named Grim at the venue, and he was kind enough to talk with me for a little bit. I ran into some politically-minded people that I have met over the last years at the Time’s Up benefit also, so I began to feel a little less out of place than I usually do. I don’t consider myself a punk (as no one else would either), and I don’t fit easily into any “scene.” Luckily, by the time that Japanther hit the stage, my inhibitions about my own sense of identity faded away, and I almost hurt myself dancing when I joined in with the younguns on the tiny dance floor. I’m always amazed at shows that have a crazy dance floor. On the whole, people take care of each other as they are slamming into one another, unlike the pit at Green Day’s Montreal show that I went to back in August, where people were just assholes.

C-Squat is also where on-the-road ‘zine legend Aaron Cometbus recently wheatpasted some of his original Cometbus writings on one wall and floor, and I took a few pictures of his work for a friend who is a huge Cometbus fan. I only had my iPhone on me, and the few crappy pictures of the night that that I took can be viewed here.

Team Spider at C-Squat. Photo by GDM

I started the night watching the bands from the balcony, as Mike had left by this time to head to work and I still didn’t yet feel comfortable enough to hang out on the floor. I also kinda love to watch a dance floor from above, too. The night began with the band Team Spider, a mix of ska and punk, and they got the small crowd going as bodies slammed into other as they will do to music with idiosyncratic beats. When dancers fell, others were there to pick them up, even as masked Halloween dancers violently pushed each other and a dog ran through the crowd chasing a ball. The band itself was fun, and I liked their song “Fuck Brakes,” which basically is about, well, the freedom to chose brakes or not, or Live Free or Fucking Die. The lead singer wore a bike helmet with a NYS license plate stuck through it, and I have the feeling that he’s had more than one encounter between bike and car in his life. You can listen to some of their songs at their Myspace page, including “Fuck Brakes,” located here.

Dog That Bites Everyone EP Cover. Photo by GDM

The next band up was Dog That Bites Everyone. I had seen them open for Star Fucking Hipsters in Tompkins Square Park over the summer, and I enjoyed their mix of garage rock and r&b. They are a difficult band to categorize, and I enjoy that, too. The crowd had gotten a bit denser by this time, filling up with people there for the Time’s Up benefit that weren’t really into dancing, so the crowd didn’t move as much as they did for the first band. I thought to myself that when Japanther went on, those folks were really going to have to get out of the way or be crushed, and I ended up being right about that. I was still up in the balcony for the band’s set, but I knew that my time was limited there as the person next to me, who was really drunk, threw up over the balcony and really needed to go home. Here are a few pictures of their show at C-Squat from their Myspace page.

After Dog That Bites Everyone, I was going to head outside for a smoke, but they weren’t letting people outside as capacity had been reached, so I ended up talking at the door with a doorman and some crazy funny kid who was trying to decipher a strange text message and picture that he had received from a friend. The kid couldn’t figure out if the picture and accompanying text meant a booty call or not, but I was a little scared for him as the text message mentioned blow torches and pliers, and I told him that he had two choices: call the guy and figure what the heck he meant or stay and see Japanther and not run the risk of third-degree burns. I have no idea what he decided, as I headed back in after the smoke and Japanther were ready to go on anyway. I headed to the floor and was determined to dance as much as this old body could.

Japanther is a two-piece band made up of drums, bass, and a cassette sound machine. The two members of the band, Ian Vanek and Matt Reilly, met at the Pratt Institute art school in Brooklyn, and have an art school sensibility mixed with punk and a techno beat, I suppose. They’ve been around since 2001. While the sound might not be for everyone, I guarantee you that if you see them, you will be compelled to throw yourself into a few sweaty bodies and loose all sense of physical inhibition. Oh wait, that just could be what I did for their show. Your experience, of course, may be different.

Japanther – “River Phoenix”

World/Inferno Friendship Society and In Cadeo – Brooklyn Bowl, Halloween, Oct. 31, 2010

I was looking forward to this show so much, and I think my expectations of meeting new people and enjoying a fun Halloween were blown out of proportion in my head. It’s not that I didn’t have a good experience hearing and seeing World/Inferno Friendship Society, I did, but as someone who goes to a lot of events by themselves, I felt incredibly lonely at this show where everyone seemed to know each other and were in on the Great Pumpkin Experience.

Mike was there again, and a few people that I’ve met, but Mike was working and others knew scores of people there, and due to my mood, I didn’t have that Friendship experience. I was feeling a bit sorry for myself, another loser night by myself, and got way too overwhelmed and left early. Plus, I was still incredibly tired and in pain from Friday’s Japanther show at C-Squat.

In Cadeo - Brooklyn Bowl. Photo by GDM

The first band, In Cadeo, was not my cup of tea. They fashion themselves after the band, The National, and while they are incredibly accomplished musicians with a big sound that included cello, I was bored stiff watching them. Reading their press, they are placed in a grunge/punk category, but I think they are more hipster-sounding grunge, if there is such a thing. (Ugh, categories!) I am very good at moving to any band that I see onstage if their music moves me, and I have no qualms about bopping my head if the beat is right. Unfortunately for me, In Cadeo bored me to tears, but that also might be due to the incredibly crappy mood that I was in. You can hear some of their songs at their Myspace page, and they have incredibly positive press, so don’t let my bad mood affect your listening pleasure. I enjoyed their lyrics and the song, “The Archer,” so make sure you check that one out.

World/Inferno Friendship Society - Brooklyn Bowl. Photo by GDM

Feeling like Lucy with her head stuck in water. Photo by GDM

As the time neared for W/IFS’s performance, the crowd packed into the space around the stage tighter. If you’ve never been to the Brooklyn Bowl, it’s part bowling alley, part bar, part stage area, and it’s huge. The intimacy of C-Squat wasn’t there, and again, my mood and body wasn’t the best. I huddled into a corner with my back to a wall but close to the stage. I was hoping that I would be compelled to fling myself into the pit at some point, but it just wasn’t happening, but it was fun to see the crowd go wild and it was evident that this musical collective, with a rotating cast of musicians (and an aerial performance, too!) and the audience have a great chemistry together that has been cultivated over a long period of time. [Read the Wiki page for more info.] I hope that if I see them again, I’m in a better spirit because I love their sound: part-punk and gypsy-rock with a touch of Weimer-era Germany thrown in, too, and I heart tremendously any band that combines an excellent front showman with brass. I hope to see them again when I’m not in such a holiday funk.

Showgasm at Ars Nova with Visiting House Band Declan Bennett

Last night’s show was a cabaret showcase called Showgasm, which takes place at the Manhattan space, Ars Nova, on W. 54th Street. I went to see Declan Bennett play with members of the American Idiot cast, including ensemble member, drummer Gerard Canonico, bassist Chase Peacock, and Jared Stein, assistant musical director of the show, on piano. Chase Peacock and Brian Charles Johnson of American Idiot also performed as their two-piece rap band, Fran Sancisco, doing two songs, including “Roofie Girl,” which is basically a rap about getting girls high on roofies cause they can’t get them any other way.

I was quite impressed with Bennett’s sound and style, and as usual, impressed with the drumming of Gerard Canonico and Jared Stein on piano. I had never heard Chase Peacock play the bass, except for a few months ago at a Green Day Rock Band event, and I give him a thumbs-up as well. There was a cello player also, but unfortunately, I did not catch his name. Bennett’s style is soulful and his lyrics are touching. He’s quite earnest in his performance and music. It was the first time I had heard him play and I couldn’t really hear him speak from where I was sitting when he said the titles of songs, but his MySpace page contains at least one that he performed called “Blu Tack” that I really enjoyed. I look forward to hearing him perform again.

The night itself showcased several comedy acts and there were some laugh-out-loud performances, including one of the funniest performers I’ve seen in a while, Amy Albert. Her Delilah Dix character is a washed-up cabaret/movie star who likes to tell her tales of hanging out with the likes of David Hasselhoff and Paula Abdul, and she has a great cabaret voice and musical style. Check out her website for a clip of her act. I also enjoyed the host comedian, Billy Eichner, who tried to show his video, “Forest Hills State of Mind” based on Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind,” but the video just wasn’t cooperating. The full lineup of acts who performed can be found on the Ars Nova Showgasm site, located here.

Forest Hills State of Mind – Billy Eichner with Rachel Dratch and vocals by Amy Albert

Things I Wish I Could Have Heard

Lastly, there were three performances this week that I wish I could have gone too, but hell, you can’t do everything. Roger Waters performed “The Wall” this week in New York City and Social Distortion played with Lucero and Frank Turner at Roseland. On a smaller scale, an acquaintance of mine, Christian Gibbs (who played in the house band for Lizzie Borden: The Show) had a cd release party last night at the 92StY’s Tribeca space. His band is called Lucinda Black Bear and the album is called Knives, which is a follow-up to their first album, capo my heart. I love them. Check out the band at their site, located here.

That’s it for this week. I hope that I get to hear/see/do some stuff this week to report back to you!

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July 22, 2010

Prima Donna Will Rock New York, Hoboken and Philly, July 25th, 26th and 28th, 2010

By Green Day Mind

Prima Donna at the Bowery Electric with Dirty Shames and The Threads, 7/25/2010

Prima Donna and Star Fucking Hipsters at Maxwell's, 07/26/2010

Howdy, folks!

Sorry I had to take a bit of a break, but work got in the way. I have my work done for the most part now and I’m happy to say that Green Day’s North American tour is just around the corner coming up in 12 days in Camden, NJ and I’ll be there! Woot!

In the meantime, to hold all of you New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania Lushies over until Camden, this weekend brings our favorite Glam band, Prima Donna, to the area! Double woot!

At the end of June, I headed off to the Bay Area in order to take care of some business which just happened to coincide with a four-night mini-tour of Prima Donna and the Mystic Knights of the Cobra. I caught two of the four gigs, in Santa Cruz at the Blue Lagoon and Oakland at the Uptown. I had a great time dancing with the bands and I also had a blast seeing for the first time a “Zombie Vomit” (uh… what?) band called Culo A Boca (you’ll have to Google that name to find out what it means). One of their songs is “2 Girls 1 Cup,” but you’ll have to Google that also to find out where that title comes from, if you dare). (Though I was told that “1 Guy, 1 Cup,” which I haven’t dared to Google, is grosser…)

I’m ready to rock with Prima Donna again (sadly, without the Cobras) for two of four local shows happening in the New York Area this coming weekend, the Brighton Bar in Long Branch, NJ (with superpunk band, Batusis, Sat., 7/24), the Bowery Electric in New York City (Sun., 7/25), Maxwell’s in Hoboken, NJ (Mon., 7/26) and the Khyber in Philadelphia (Wed., 7/28).

I’m very excited about the Maxwell’s show as “Star Fucking Hipsters” (who I’ve seen twice in NYC) will be performing before they head off to their European tour. The dichotomy between SFH and Prima Donna will be something to see! A big shoutout to Mike Chickenman for setting up the show.

I’ll be at the Bowery Electric and Maxwell’s with my dancing shoes on, so beware! See all of you Area Lushies there!

Prima Donna and Mystic Knights of the Cobra Merch

Here’s a couple of videos of the Cobras and Prima Donna at the Uptown and Prima Donna’s video, “I Don’t Want You To Love Me”:

Mystic Knights of the Cobra – “Mutafuko’s Revenge” – The Uptown in Oakland, CA

Prima Donna – “Feral Children in Love” – The Uptown in Oakland, CA

Prima Donna – “I Don’t Want You To Love Me” – Official Video

For more local dates in YOUR AREA for Prima Donna, check out their tour page here. The North American tour goes until August 21 and they are off to Europe in September.

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July 14, 2010

Vote for Me to Win A Trip to Lollapalooza! (And some other stuff, too)

By Green Day Mind

Lollapalooza Vote Now for Fan Photo! Help Us Go to Lollapalooza!

I have exactly three photographs of me with celebrities besides those few friends of mine that I know from undergraduate theater school who are still making great theater and a living from it. Those three are: Regis Philbin (I used to work as a researcher for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?), Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt. One day I hope to have a picture with Tre Cool, but we’ll see if that ever happens.

I don’t really like asking “celebrities” for their photos. I can’t really pinpoint why I don’t like it, but it might be because I do know people in the “business,” and know how sometimes it’s just creepy to want people to talk to and take pictures of you all the time. I always feel like pictures should be taken of friends, families and things, not people I don’t know. I’m just strange, what can I say? That doesn’t mean I don’t begrudge others who ask for pictures, I don’t, but I would really just want to hang out, so unless folks are around what I consider friends, I don’t really take a lot of pictures of people that I don’t know that’s not in a performance setting.

Anyway, with that long, tortured intro, one of the three people that I do have a picture with, superstar Mike Dirnt of Green Day (and superstar-in-training, Jim Graz of Honah Lee!), I entered into a contest to try and win tickets, roundtrip air fare and hotel to Lollapalooza, which is coming up in hotter-than-hell-in-the-summertime, Chicago, August 6-8 or something. I should probably go and look that up… hmmm.

Vote for the picture, if you’d like! I kinda love it, it’s crazy funny to me, and that’s the way I like my celebrity photographs. If I win, I’m taking Jim and his girlfriend… yawzah… HOT. Here’s the link to my photo and entry. You can click on the photo below, too!

Mike, Jim of Honah Lee and Me. Click to Vote to Help Us See Mike and Company at Lollapalooza!

The vivacious Toniann is also in the contest, so take a look at hers, too! She has a lot more PR personality than me, but you can vote for more than one person per 24-hour time period. The contest ends on July 25th. Please vote! I’d love to go to Lollapalooza, but, who wouldn’t want to go when Green Day is playing at the festival? I’ve never been to one of them, and Soundgarden (yea, I know, I know, I love them, get over it) is also headlining one of the nights. Here’s to me!

You do have to fill out a short registration form to enter, but I do hope you’ll vote!

I tried to find my photo of me and Regis, but it’s no where to be found. It was taken prior to the digital era and is actually just on paper. Actually, it’s only from 2001, but that seems like ages in Internet years. Anyway, here’s my only other pure celebrity photo, with Billie Joe. I could only submit one photo to the contest, so I had to make a choice. I love both of the photos, but the one with Mike and Jim just makes me laugh a good bellylaugh, so I had to go with it. It’s from the Foxboro Hot Tubs show at Don Hill’s, one of the best nights of my life. The photo below of Billie Joe Armstrong and me is from what I call, “Fake New Years,” back in November when Green Day taped their New Years Eve show for Carson Daly in Los Angeles.

Me and some dude

Green Day Show in Venice Canceled

I was going to write about the canceled Venice show with the wind and hail and evil Venice weather, but it kinda made me so sad to think that the European tour ended by storm, that I didn’t want to think too much about it, so I didn’t write it, but I do have an awesome title for it, “Green Day in Europe Goes Out With a Storm – Venice Canceled Due to Various Acts of God (y’know, Thunder, Lightning, Hail),” haha… I felt really bad for the fans in Venice who didn’t get to see the boys, and I’m sad that the boys didn’t get to go out of Europe with a bang that ended in fireworks instead of lightning. The GDA covered it here [LINK] and here [LINK]

American Idiot on Broadway Cast on Good Morning, America[n Idiot]

This coming Friday, the cast of American Idiot on Broadway will be headlining a Good Morning, America broadcast at Summerstage in Central Park. It’s hella early, but I’m going to go. Here’s info from greenday.com:

You are invited to join the Broadway cast of Green Day’s American Idiot for a free, live concert on Good Morning America in New York’s Central Park! The intimate performance will be at Central Park’s Summerstage this Friday, July 16th. Enter on 72nd and 5th Ave at 6:00AM. The show will take place from 7am-9am EST.

Billie Joe Armstrong and Michael Mayer Talk With Jordan Roth

Billie Joe Armstrong and Michael Mayer will be interviewed by Jordan Roth, head of the Jujamcyn Theaters, of which the St. James, where American Idiot is playing, is one. Roth hosts a series of theater talks at the 92 Street Y.

Here’s the info and a link where you can get tickets:
Date & Time: Sun, Sep 19, 2010, 7:30pm
Location: Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street
Venue: Kaufmann Concert Hall Seating Chart
Price: $29.00 All Sections

Prima Donna in New York and Hoboken, July 25-26!

Star Fucking Hipsters and Prima Donna at Maxwell's, July 26, 2010. CM Productions

I need to take a few more days off from the blog, I have some work that I have to get finished, but one last thing! Prima Donna will be coming to NYC later in the month to rock our socks off at the Bowery Electric in Manhattan and Maxwell’s in Hoboken on July 25th and July 26th. I’ll post more about the dates as they get nearer. Hope to see you there! The Maxwell’s show is with Star Fucking Hipsters, that’s gonna be a rocking crazy night!

I’ll be back in a couple of days! Please don’t forget to vote!

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