|
Installment #14: Tuesday, July 15 was open mic friend Miriam Speyer's birthday party. The plan was to party at her flat then the entire crew to head across the street in Berekely to the Starry Plough's open mic hosted by Girl George. We did so. Girl George and her counter part began exclaiming that there were too many people signing up and not everyone was going to have time to play 2 songs each. I suggested making it one song each. "OK everyone, its a one song night tonight" said Girl George. So there you go. So we did our one tune, but the hosts asked for another. So we did another. Then we got offered to feature. And so did Versakyle of Kyle Records. Wow, the SF invasion into Berekely and everyone walks out a winner. Hey, this is why I moved here. Installment #13: On Friday, May 16 we headed out of town for a long weekend tour to Los Angeles and Long Beach. But first a gig stop in Soquel, CA. The Ugly Mug coffee house was a daylight hours and alcohal free gig...in other words, a true challenge. Lisa Miller opened with a set cut short by her voice strained from touring. We played for an hour to an intimate crowd with intense sunlight at our backs and sweating glasses of iced coffee at our fronts. We gladly ended the night with a 4-song encore so Victor Film Dude could capture us on video. Thanks to Victor for that and to Jordan for booking and doing sound. Saturday the 17 found us atwe Long Beach GLBT Pride festival. Another 100 degree day filled with margaritas and rum drinks in the sun at the largest Pride in the US. Somewhat tamer than the oversexed Minneapolis pride crows we were used to. Thanks to old college friend Amy Zimiti for coming all the way down to see us and bringing her man Miko to photo. Sandra B followed us on the stage. Thanks Sandra for getting us on the bill. Sunday the 18 were planned on signing up at the famous Canter's Kibitz Room open mic, but first we had some time to kill. So we walked down Hollywood Blvd in the wrong directions for hours in extreme heat. What's that old Missing Persons song, "Walking in LA. Nobody walks in LA"? I now know what they mean. Cousin Sarah bought us amazing corned beef and knishes at Canters then we headed to the bar to sign up. We got on the list among the bizarre Lost Angeles talent and make enough impression on the Saturday night booking guy to be offered a real gig. Will we make that trek soon again? Only the GLBT gods and heavy metal hairdo ghosts can know for sure. On Monday, May 19 we planned on signing up to play Kulack's Woodshed Open Mic in Los Angeles. But first we headed to the beach to battle waves in Santa Monica. The drive back from the beach gave a muni rider free peep show at a stop light as Amy de-sanded her swim bottoms. I looked up at the smiling bus face mouthing the words, "That's hot" as he waved his hand as to fan himself. Next to Kulack's Woodshed: a well attended open mic with a professional film crew live streaming on the web and will burn you a DVD for a fee. A tiny storefront filled with 60's originals, LA regulars, small yippy dogs, caged birds and assorted reptiles. Again, it was hot, we played a tune and got great feedback and crowd response. Tuesday was the drive back home to SF. I really learned to appreciate the SF youth culture and talent. Oh, and did I mention the weather? On Wednesday, May 21 we were back in San Francisco playing our favorite venue, the Hotel Utah. The main booking folk at Hotel Utah approached JJ Schultz to put one gig each month together for the open mic-ers. And we were chosen to be on the first bill, along with Nutarah, Not An Airplane and Kelly McFarling. It turned out to be a great show, and although we had way too many drinks to hit every note correctly, our fans said it was our best performance ever. Amy bit my shoulder and dropped to her knees onstage. I remained fairly stoic, focussing on my legendary finger work. Our old friend from Minneapolis Eugene Kim showed up to pick our brains. Thanks to JJ Schultz for asking us to play. Installment #12: After paying our dues in the SF scene, we were finally asked to be the featured artists at The Hotel Utah Open Mic, which is truly an honor. Thanks to JJ Shultz for recognizing our proper place amongst the Utah regulars. It was Monday, April 7 and another record turnout. We didn’t have to put our name in the hat and wait for our number. Watching the hope and fear in my SF contemporaries’ faces as they watched JJ draw straws gave me new perspective: do I look these folks waiting for my number to come up, like a beef cow being led to the slaughter, not knowing if a better life or utter doom awaited at the other side, like an old man dying in a hospital bed, with peace on his face and fear in his heart, will he will reach the promised land or suffer in the lake of fire for all eternity? Well, for one night only, I got to be above the fray. But the real reward was yet to come. I have to admit as feature time came up I got more and more nervous. I was dead sober, not a usual state of mind for your hero before stage time. I had worked out with Jacopo to purchase and delivery to me 3 Pabst Blue Ribbons right at feature time. We got on stage and I began shaking, the cool SF air blowing on my naked elbows from side stage where resident photographer, 200 Pockets’, camps out her gear. I pounded as much PBR as I could between songs and eventually warmed up. Dead Kennedy’s bassist, and Pocket’s partner, Klaus Flouride, had worked it out with JJ to do sound for us (pictured below). He has taken an interest in my bass playing and wanted to ensure I could be heard in the mix. Klaus sweated over that sound board that night, not just working my bass, but also micromanaging the volume and reverb on Amy’s vocals. And when we got off stage I was not only peppered with compliments on our music, but also the sound: the sound was larger than life, more like a concert stadium than an open mic. Yes, it turned out to the greatest gig of our entire lives. And for me at this date, that’s 18 years of playing in bars and clubs. A very special thanks to JJ Shultz, Klaus Flouride, 200 Pockets and all our friends at the Hotel Utah scene. Installment #11: OK, since the last installment, we've become friends with Keiko (Amy) the MTV girl. We have also been offered another gig at The Brainwash. Jacopo from Italy asked us to open for him at Bazaar Cafe. And JJ asked us to feature at the Hotel Utah open mic. And Tyler asked us to guest host the open mic at Cafe International in May. Wow, thats a whole lot of Blouse in San Francisco. Oh yeah, and I've been hitting the gym pretty hard. Last Monday at the Utah I won an arm wrestling match with the bouncer at Hotel Utah. Who's the beafcake now bi-atch?! Installment #10: There were some interesting events that transpired during our featured performance at the Cafe International open mic on Friday, February 8th. On the way there we got stuck in traffic because a real full scale film crew was filming a movie about some Haight-Ashbury type right there, on Haight-Ashbury. And when got to the cafe (this is totally unrelated mind you) MTV was there filming a reality show. Also, our friend from the Utah, Slim, was there to film us hopefully for his PBS documentary on Bay Area open mics. The MTV reality show was True Life. The crew consisted of one very young and inexperienced musician and one camera person. We signed the proper forms and got plenty of face time on camera as the basically consisted of the star sitting alone at a table looking board and when ever someone sat down to speak to her, the camera went on. As usual, I had a lot to say. But hey, I'm in the entertainment industry, right? Installment #9: I must apologize because its been so very long since my last blog entry. Yes, we are still in SF, both now employed full time and almost squeaking by. And the Blouse continues to flourish. We have become regulars at the Hotel Utah and Cafe International open mics. We have played real honest to goodness gigs at Brainwash Cafe on Jan 19 (they pay you in laundry credits), The Stork Club in Oakland on Feb 13, The Retox Lounge on Jan 5. We have a gig coming up at The Red Victorian Hotel and Peace Cafe on Feb 23 and on Feb 8 will be the "featured" performer at the Cafe Intl open mic. Again, lots of doing my own sound but the gigs have been great, the open mics continue to reward, and the smoke smells sweet. On a bitter note, our good friend Jeremy Hill committed suicide. They held a Remembrance Night at the Hotel Utah where everyone was invited to play one of his tunes and they videotaped the evening for his parents. Since we already knew "Just 14" from doing it on Play Your Friends Song Night at the Utah, we decided to do it again. But this time Amy played it solo, since Jeremy didn't much like my bassline anyway. It was very sad for us but going to the remembrance night and hearing the speech by 200 Pockets helped me deal with my emotions. Please visit our own page for Jeremy on this site where you can see a few photos of him, here Amy's new song about him called, "Jeremy" and here Mr. Hill do "Just 14" himself. Installment #8: Even the survivors get complacent. So it was about time we checked out a few Different open mics. On Sunday, Nov 11 we played the Black Magic Voodoo Lounge on Lombard. That famous Lombard St. that took us 45 minutes of transmission destroying uphill stop and go traffic, only to do the same downhill for sightseeing reasons. But only because we were lost. We found the club on the corner, did a fat 5-song session, and even got asked to feature later that month. Then on Tuesday, November 13 we played another new one, Coffee to the People, right on Haight/Ashbury...summer of love...you know the drill....Anyway we got parking, and played on a true revolutionary cafe teaming with Charles Manson look-a-likes, homeless drug dealers, and well quaffed attack dogs. And we saw so many of the Cafe Intl. and Utah regulars: Honey B., with her new song, Jeremy Hill, with his subversive style, Matt, Gary, Goodfeather...Oh, I'm so SF right now...signing off. Installment #7: Date of installment is November 10 and yes I realize its been some time since the last installment, which I imagine has been a crushing disappointment to the literal thousands who are waiting with bated breath to read this thing. But alas, things have been busy in the Blouse house. We have been hitting the open mic scene pretty hard and I don't really feel the need to go through every night's story. But we have become regulars at Hotel Utah on Mondays and Cafe International on Fridays. We also did Bazaar Cafe again. The last open mic at Hotel Utah was "play your friend's song night." We learned "Just 14" by Jeremy Hill, one of our open mic friends. Another friend, photographer 200pockets, took some great photos of us at Cafe International, those are hers on the home page. Also, we have a new mp3 up, "Disaster" which you can access by clicking on the first pic of Amy on the homepage. A good list of our open mic friends is the top friends on our myspace page. 200pockets, Jeremy Hill, Courtney, Honey B. and of course, Leslie, are all up there, so check em out. Installment #6: On Monday, October 22 we went to the open mic everyone keeps telling us to play, in fact, I was instructed specifically to show up by Emily, a delicate warbler organist I met at Cafe International. It was HOTEL UTAH. Ooooh. Yes, that place. We put our name in the hat and drew straws to determine the order of the acts. We came up at number 10. We were on double deck, then deck, then our number came up for real. And after a little sound tweaking, we gave it to em hard, playing a brand new song for the first time live (Another Shot) and we nailed it. We must have nailed it, because the soundman told us to play, get ready for this: a second song. This is unheard of at The Utah. Nobody's Fish even asked to play a second and he was turned away, given the hook. But we, in all our glory, were given a second song. That was easily the greatest moment of my life. And the stage lights gave it that glamorous feel I long for, not unlike the Mpls 7th St. Entry, L.A.'s Viper Room, or Club Baby Head in Providence. Installment #5: Blouse lives to see another day. On Friday, October 19 we played Open Mic at Cafe International in SF. Yes, this is why we moved here: the parade of freaks, bizarre talent, fearless substance smokers. Blouse clawed its way toward the open mic sign-in-sheet like ants crawling on a suffering caterpillar. And we waited to play. Waited through the Russian mime circus act, the countless "I've got the blues" renditions, the effected violin loops. But it was worth it. A diverse talent pool, friendly people, cheap beer and a real sense of the strange SF culture I was hoping for made it all worth it. Installment #4: Today (Wed, Oct 17) we finished smog testing our vehicles for the CA DMV. So our giant Ram Van with 178,000 miles passed with no issue, but some guys brand new SAAAAB up on the lift has to be tinkered with before it can pass. Guess it takes 8 man-eating all American cylinders to grind the smog out of the California air. Also, today we played another open mic. But it was more like an endless jam, not for us, but for the sound man and his friends. 60th anthem morphing into 60th anthem until the cold sweat from the last hour's gin and the pain from wait drills all the gusto from a too short set of GGB. Or perhaps it was more like a Minnesota hunt, where careless riflemen shoot an unsuspecting deer in the arse and he runs bleeding through the forest. The hunter must inevitably call in more hasty gunners to pepper the beast with more and more non-lethal lead, only leading to its suffering, but never ending it. The hunters in this analogy are the jam band musicians and the deer is the song. The best part of the night was when Amy knocked the music stand into the sound man's face. Who needs a music stand at an open mic? Things did not end well for our drunken heroes this night. Does that spell the end for the Blouse. Tune in soon for more depressing blogging and find out. Installment #3: Today (Sat, Oct 5) we just signed a lease in San Francisco for our new apartment, so now we are San Fran residents, how about that? And on Thursday night we played on open mic in SF at The Bazaar Cafe. So take that. Uh! Installment #2: Today (Sunday, September 30) we just drove into California, our new home state. We took our time driving through: Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada. We saw hours and hours of corn fields, deserts made completely out of salt and sublime mountains. We slept in the van with the 3 cats the first 2 nights at truck stops, but the final 3 nights we broke down and stayed in motels. Saturday night was our 10 year wedding anniversary and we ate Basque Spanish food and drank way too much, keeping us from hitting the road the next morning not until noon. We passed through 2 new time zones and white knuckled through mountains in Utah in a rain and fog storm. More news coming soon. Installment #1: OK, here is the blog and other scribblings from unauthorized members of said Blouse. Yes, the rumors are true, we are moving out of Minneapolis and heading West to Northern California. We are currently working on digital home recordings. The first of which is the 7 Year Itch mp3 available on our home page. |
