March 25, 2005 B.A. Stomp in Buenos Aries Alexis from Los Kahunas and Claudia from Coronados in front of the Fin del Mundo bar in Buenos Aries. Melody and Killer Ky from Robin Black taken at the Phog Lounge in Windsor. Hard Lessons Let me start by wrapping up 2004, and saying what an amazing year it was! In November, one of my bands, Coronados, went on a South American tour, hitting Argentina and Uruguay. The main attraction was the annual B.A. Stomp! This garage and rock and roll festival was headlined by the amazing Defectors from Denmark! What a bunch of cool guys! We partied with them a lot, and Coronados got to perform with them twice. In addition, we played with Argentinean surf combo Los Kahunas, Historia del Crimen, and two bands featuring Buenos Aries' grrrl extordinare Patricia (Las Bambolinas and She-Devils)!! I can't tell you what an amazing two weeks I had meeting bands from our label, No Fun Records, drinking tons of vino rojo and shopping, shopping, shopping! Our home base for the tour was Buenos Aries, which is truly one of the most amazing cities I've ever visited. Coronados plan to return to South America this fall, hopefully to Brazil, with our new label mates, Detroit's Hard Lessons! The Sirens wrapped up '04 with a big New Year's Eve Craptacular at the Lager House. Special guests included metal band Wolfbait and rock and roll gods the Skeemin' No Goods. We were joined by a special guest, our friend Jackson Smith, who lent his guitar talents to a few songs. Next up for The Sirens is our first European tour! Next month (April 9-24) we'll be touring France and Switzerland. The first week of the tour we're on our own, and the second half we will support Nashville Pussy and The Bellrays! Now on to 2005! My greatest musical discovery this year has to be the glam rock outfit Robin Black. Our Canadian and U.K. rock fans surely know about Robin and his band of Intergalactic Rock Stars, but the kids in the states have yet to be so lucky. I stumbled upon the band by chance when my friends in Detroit band, the Capitol Cities were asked to open for Robin Black at Call the Office in London, ON. I tagged along for fun, and was totally surprised and floored when I saw Robin Black live. I heard great things, but I had no idea it was going to be so amazing. Even with a stripped down stage set up, the band was on fire. Robin is ever the showman, and is a rock star in every sense of the word. His band is dynamite. Lead guitarist Killer Ky Anto totally stopped me in my tracks with his staggering stage presence and awesome chops. The whole band kills, and they are all super sweet guys. After that first show, I was totally hooked. A few weeks later on a snowy-as-hell Tuesday night, The Sirens were set to open for Japanese pop stars Shonen Knife at the Magic Stick in Detroit. We had new songs, new outfits, a new drummer and we were totally ready to kick ass. We did our thing (after a whirlwind set by Seattle's Visqueen), and afterwards I hightailed it over the Canadian border (5 minutes down the road) to Windsor to catch the Capitol Cities and Robin Black once again. The show was held at the small but super cool Phog Lounge. I arrived (still in my Sirens getup) just in time to catch the last half of the Capitol Cities set. Robin Black was up next, and they put on a bad ass performance, with plenty of songs from their newest CD "Instant Classic." For the second time, I was dragged on stage by Robin to sing backups for their cover of The Sweet's "Hellraiser," which was funny because less than 2 hours earlier I was on stage in a different country playing the same song with The Sirens. Robin Black and the band are currently on tour in Canada in support of "Instant Classic," so go see 'em! Tour dates can be found at www.robinblackrocks.com. Back in Detroit, that weekend was the sixth annual Hamtramck Blowout. This year I debuted my newest band, The Vamps! This five-girl blues rock outfit played our first show in January, and by Blowout time we had a pretty good buzz about us. We played the New Dodge Lounge around 9 p.m. on Saturday night, and then we all busted over to the K of C Hall to catch the show of the weekend -- the Hard Lessons! Words cannot describe how much I love this band. They have youth, energy, talent and amazing songs. The trio consists of Gin on guitar and vocals, Ko Ko Louise on keys and vocals and the Anvil on drums. No other woman in rock and roll right now has a voice like Ko Ko. She literally stops the show every time with her spine-chilling pipes. The rest of the time, the crowd sings along enthusiastically to every damn song these kids have. Watch out for their new record "Gasoline" this spring on Ann Arbor's No Fun Records. My other favorite Blowout performances throughout the weekend were given by rockabilly trio the Koffin Kats, the Avatars, the Muggs and the Sights. Up next in Detroit, the very first Motor City Music Conference! Over 400 national and local bands and artists will perform throughout the city April 20-24. Check out all the details at www.motorcitymusic.com. Other big shows this spring include Queens of the Stone Age at St. Andrew's Hall on April 3, Devil Doll and burlesque star Kitten Deville at the Belmont on April 28, and electronic duo Adult at the Magic Stick on May. On May 28, the Vamps will be lucky enough to open for the Hard Lessons' big CD release party for "Gasoline" at the Magic Bag in Ferndale with the Nice Device and the Dead Bodies. October 1, 2004 Wow, what a summer! Since May, I’ve been on a whirlwind rock and roll escapade. Here’s a (very) brief overview of all the great bands I saw, shows I played, and fun people I partied with! Let’s start with the immensely successful Under My Heels festival which took place May 8 at the Magic Bag in Ferndale. The brainchild of Nice Device front woman Alicia Gbur, the show was pulled of by her, Claudia Leo of No Fun Records (also of the Avatars, and my new band Coronados), and myself. We had a blast organizing the event and promoting it, and all our hard work paid off. The nearly sold-out crowd (although some accounts say it was fully sold out) got the pleasure of witnessing a handful of Detroit’s best female-lead acts. The Hard Lessons kicked off the night with soul-shaking rock and roll. One of the hottest trios in the mid-west by far, the Hard Lessons may come off as just three young kids from Lansing, but once they start rocking, people are usually blown right out of their seats. Guitarist/vocalist Gin puts the energy and spontaneity of legendary drummer Keith Moon into his guitar playing. The Anvil, the Hard Lessons’ drummer, is one of the steadiest in town, and organ player/vocalist Ko Ko Louise’s vocals are SO FINE, you’d swear she was a young black girl from Detroit City, circa 1962. Up next was my new band, Coronados. This rock and roll band was formed in Argentina in 2001, by No Fun Records head Charlie Lorenzi. He moved to Detroit suburb of Ann Arbor in 2003, and reformed the group with me on bass, and Claudia Leo of the Avatars (also an Argentinean native) on drums. The Under My Heels fest was our second show, and the Hard Lessons are an extremely hard act to follow, but we knocked ‘em dead. The Avatars and the Nice Device followed, and my other band The Sirens closed the night with an Evel Kneivel-inspired performance. The biggest party of the summer was definitely my 25th birthday, but not because it was my birthday, because it was also the weekend of the Rock City Festival. The two-day, free outdoor festival was incredible. Many of Detroit’s very best rock bands performed. The Sirens played on Saturday afternoon, just after the Go. It was nerve wracking as hell to play outside and in the light of day, but we did nicely. Amazing performances were given by the Detroit Cobras, esQuire, the Hentchmen, the Paybacks, the Go, Blanche, Brendan Benson, Back in Spades, Grande Nationals, the Avatars and more. On the first night, Saturday, I was celebrating my birthday. After the festival, my friends and I headed over to the Lager House for the after-party where the Hard Lessons sang happy birthday to me, and there was tequila for everyone! It was a very memorable weekend altogether. July is a bit fuzzier. Over 4th of July weekend, The Sirens performed at the 2004 Comerica Tastefest, which is an annual food tasting festival in Grand Circus Park (downtown Detroit). On Saturday, my friend Jackie O and I met up with Baby Ruth and Jacquie of MotorCityRocks.com and headed out to the Tastefest for VIP tent action with Jet. The hot Aussies put on a great show. After their set Jackie O and I waltzed past security to the back stage area where we hung out with the band, and helped liberate the guitar player who had accidentally locked himself in his trailer. The band was super nice, and let us hang out until they had to go. The Sirens performed on the last day of Tastefest, over on the Pure Detroit stage. We had a very respectable turnout, considering it was 2 in the afternoon. And we played exceptionally well, probably because we hadn’t had much to drink yet. All that changed after hanging out in the bar in the basement of the Fisher building for a few hours. In the afternoon the Sirens (with Jacquie in tow) sauntered over to the main stage to catch the Romantics. Before we could bat an eyelash, we were invited on stage to sing along with the Romantics during their hit "What I Like About You" in front of thousands of people! It was without a doubt the highlight of the weekend. The rest of July and August were filled with much fun. I saw a lot of bands including Haf/Life, Hey Sailor, Nice Device, Devil Doll, Kings of Nuthin, Dixie Hustler, Back in Spades, Aquarius Void, Brant Bjork, Cyril Lords, Muggs, Hentchmen, Dollfaces, Detroit City Council, the Woggles!, Tough and Lovely, and Capitol Cities. Coronados played with the Foxx from Albuquerque (wow, was that fun!), Demolition Dollrods, Texas Terri (we finally meet!), and the Midnight Creeps. The Sirens played with the Grande Nationals and the Paybacks at a nearly sold-out Magic Bag show in mid-August, which resulted in one of the longest nights of my life (in a good way of course!). The highlight was me and Baby Ruth walking through the streets of Ferndale with Scotty and Tony from the Grande Nationals trying to (one) find our car and (two) not find the police, while singing the theme from Three’s Company. The Sirens also headed out of town for a night in Columbus for the Tough and Lovely CD release party, which was a blazing success! In late July Detroit said goodbye to another of it’s shining stars, Miss Jackie O (nee Scarlette O’Harlette). This musician and burlesque diva packed up her shit (again) and moved to jolly old England, London to be more specific. Show her some love on her new website at www.scarletteoharlette.com! Labor Day weekend was a rock and roll frenzy. Between the Hamtramck Labor Day Festival, the Mussel Beach Fest, Arts, Beats, & Eats, and the Ford International Detroit Jazz Fest, there was no way you could leave the house and not find some awesome (and free!) music somewhere. Friday night we saw the Tough and Lovely for their Detroit CD release party at the Lager House. The show was packed to the gills, it was super fun. Saturday Jacquie and I walked from my apartment down to the Hamtramck Fest to see Back in Spades play. After maneuvering through the drunks, kids, and perogi stands, we finally made it to the stage. I really like Back in Spades. It’s easy to say "they rock," but they really do! If you are going to CMJ in October, check them out. The rest of Labor Day weekend was a blur of eastside partying, pool time, playing with my new kitten, and hanging out with my friends. And with that, the summer ended. Of course, the rock and roll debauchery did not end. More on that next time (including details of the Sirens show at the Hard Rock Café with the Detroit Cobras and Nathaniel Mayor). For now, here are some tidbits on what’s new in Detroit. Label signings! The Fags recently stuck a deal with Sire Records; Brendan Benson and Blanche ink with V2; and the Muggs (oh, how I love the Muggs) signed with Detroit-based label Times Beach. Speaking of Times Beach, their songstress Audra Kubat will be leaving the D for the bright lights of New York City. Good luck Audra! The Paybacks’ new album "Harder and Harder" received great reviews in both Spin and Rolling Stone this month. In bar news, Hamtramck staple Lili’s has reopened its doors under new management, and is now known as The Painted Lady. I was there for the big grand opening with the Go, a show that will be considered legendary years from now, I’m sure. They played but only three songs before the cops told the Go to stop. The Painted Lady is located in a residential area (as are most bars in Hamtramck), and I guess the neighbors didn’t take too kindly to the Go’s massive wall of sound. Too bad. Up next: The No Fun Records Sounds from the Underground Festival takes place at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor on Oct 16th. The Sirens, Avatars, Coronados, Hard Lessons and Sissy are on the bill, with Queen Bee hosting the event. What a night that will be. In November, Coronados head off for our first South American tour (well, my first South American tour, the band originated there!). We’ll be performing at the Buenos Aries Stomp, as well as other surrounding cities, including Montevideo. That’s it for now kids. I’m off to the big Hentchmen, 5678s, Dirtbombs show at the Magic Stick now. Later! www.TheSirensDetroit.com www.NoFunRecords.com All photos by Christopher Chouinard www.fotogink.com May 19, 2004 I had planned to go to the March for Women's Lives since the very first day I heard about it, several months ago. The March, originally called March for Choice, was in protest to the Bush Administration's attack on women's rights. We weren’t just there to fight for our right to have an abortion. We were also there to let the government know that we want accessible birth control, over-the-counter morning after pills, and proper sex education in our schools. Most women in this country don't even realize that the government is trying to take those things away from us! The government takes money away from schools that don't play by their rules. Most of the schools in America teach abstinence-only "sex education." That means all they teach them is not to have sex. They don't teach how to use birth control, condoms, or how what to do if you think you are pregnant or have an STD. This is a surefire way to increase the number of teenage pregnancies, hence lowering the rate of young girls who will go to college. This is just one of the many, many reasons why we marched. I had organized a group of people from Detroit to come to the March with me, and we drove in two big passenger fans from Detroit to D.C. starting Saturday night and returning at 2:30 a.m. Monday morning. It was completely worth it. When we arrived at the Mall at 10 a.m. Sunday I was overwhelmed at how many people were there. Literally, a million people. To be in such a diverse and huge sea of people who all believe in the same things that I believe in felt amazing. We stood on the mall for a while listening to the speakers and cheering. I didn't realize Hillary Clinton was going to be there but she was and she gave a brief speech before flying back to Detroit for her speech at Cobo Hall for the NAACP. Lots of people spoke, including a black, male reverend from a church organization that was pro-choice. Then, a little after noon the march started, with Whoopie Goldberg, Ashley Judd and Cybil Shepherd leading the way. Other celebrities in attendance included Ted Turner, Candance Bergen, Ani DiFranco, Moby, Christine Lathi, Ali G., and Kathleen Turner...not to mention all the "feminist rock stars" such as Gloria Steinem. There was also a very strong John Kerry presence. He had spoke the day before, I think. Planned Parenthood and Naral have endorsed his candidacy, and I plan on voting for him as well. Our group got split in half pretty early on, but our half stuck together through the whole march. I marched with Ann Arbor girls Theresa (from the Avatars) Aziza (from Sissy) and painter Miranda. Also from Detroit, Rachel and her 16-year-old sister were with us, as well as George, and his ex-girlfriend who lives near DC and met us at the March. (The other portion of our group included a lot of people who write for the Detroit paper the Furnace. There were 18 of us all together, although 26 had originally signed up.) It was amazing how diverse the crowd was. I saw lots of signs in Spanish, lots of grandmothers, and I even saw some sorority girls. Planned Parenthood's website says that 1/3 of the marchers were under 35. They estimate that over a million people marched, but the news reports state that it was 800,000 at most. Still, it's the largest march in women's history, and one of the largest marches of all time. Marching itself was the best part. People were chanting, singing and cheering the whole time. Theresa's sign was one of the biggest, it said: "Barbara Bush is pro-Choice! Hey Junior, Listen to your Mother!" Mine said "Keep Your Rosaries out of My Ovaries." We both got a great response for our signs and other marchers took our photos and we took their photos. Some of the other great signs I saw said "Hey Bush -- we've got a plan for parenthood, do you have a plan for Iraq?" And many signs that said "Another ______ for Choice," filled in with "teacher" "hermana" "student" "man" "catholic" and "redneck" just to name a few. I also loved the signs from Medical Students for Choice that said "We are America's future Abortion Providers." About half way through the march there was a section of pro-lifers standing alone side the march with their signs. They had every right to be there, but I was shocked at how few of them there were. They were scattered alongside the march, but even so, among them were pro-choice marchers who weren't marching, just cheering us on. Not only were the anti-choice protesters vastly out numbered, but they were the only people who were arrested, 18 in all. Sixteen of those were from an anti-choice Christian group. Another anti-choice person was arrested for throwing ink-filled eggs at marchers. And Jeff White of Lake Arrowhead, California was arrested in front of the D.C. Planned Parenthood clinic for displaying a dead fetus in a jar. He was arrested on the charge of keeping or exhibiting a dead body or body parts. Some of the stupidest anti-choice signs said "God Hates You" and another one said something about calling us all "Jezebels", which caused uproarious laughter from marchers. I also counted about a dozen priests from the anti-choice camp, one of them was actually praying at us. And I don't mean praying for us, I mean at us. I yelled at him. Having been raised Catholic, to be in a circumstance where I could scream at a priest to "leave my rights alone!" was extremely satisfying. A man who was marching in front of us kept yelling to them "save the alter boys!" My arms still hurt from this stretch of the march because I held up my "rosary" sign as high as I could the whole time. After we were done marching we went back to the Mall where Whoopie Goldberg was speaking and we took a break. We saw that the end of the march hadn't even stepped off yet. It was that long. As we walked back to the Metro station we stood among some anti-choicers, cheering on our fellow marchers. I could've done the whole march over again, twice, but after only a few hours of sleep and another 8 hour drive home, I was beat, and everyone was ready to go home. All in all it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Not just to be apart of a history-making event but to see first hand to see that we really are the majority in this country. It was amazing to see that there are so many other people like me who refuse to let the "right" take our rights away. Special thanks to those who couldn't go to the March, but who donated to our trip. Most photos courtesy of MarchForWomen.org. For more information on how you can help, visit www.PlannedParenthood.org. January 1, 2004 Finally! After writing for coolgrrrls for over half a decade, last month I got to meet the one and only Frank! I got to spend the weekend with him when the Gore Gore Girls headed out to California for a Halloween weekend supporting the Cramps in sunny Southern California. We played a pre-show Devil’s Night at a smaller club in North Hollywood opening up for the legendary band Frankenstein. Unfortunately, our plane was late and we ended up having to play after him, just before the club closed. It was a rushed, but intense experience. I spent most of the time trying to figure out how to work the borrowed equipment. I did make note though that almost half the audience was taping this mess of a show, for what reason I don’t know. One of the cameramen was the one and only Falling James, who introduced himself to me after the show. It was nice to meet someone cool just a few hours into my introduction to southern California. Check out James’ band at www.theleavingtrains.com. After the show we met up with Frank who was our gracious host for the rest of the weekend. What a sweetheart! The next day he took us shopping around town and down to the Huntington Beach pier. We had a blast! Southern California is so bright and sunny. Everyone is healthy and thin and tan – it’s bizarre! It must be the Jamba Juice. We spent Halloween night watching The Cramps at the Greek Theatre in the pouring rain. It was still raining by the time headliners Queens of the Stone Age came on, but I didn’t notice. This band has been one of my favorites since the release of "Rated R." As a bass player and a guitar player, Nick Oliveri and Josh Homme are my idols. My favorite QOTSA show is still the Detroit date of their small club tour a few years ago with Dave Grohl on drums. In fact, it was one of my favorite shows of all time, by any band. But on this rainy night in Los Angeles, dressed as priests in the sprit of Halloween, they put on a killer show. The next two nights the Gore Gore Girls opened for the Cramps at their shows in Ventura and San Diego. The show in San Diego at the 4th & B Theatre was my last show opening for the Cramps, and my last show as a member of the Gore Gore Girls. After three years with the band and performing in over a dozen countries, I couldn’t have asked for a better run, or a better last performance. As each band I’ve been in just gets more and more exciting, I can’t imagine what I’m in for next! Next year will definitely be the year of the Sirens. Our first full-length album will be out in early 2004. Our 7" single "Chez Maximes," which was put out by France’s Wiped Out Records has already sold out, and we plan on releasing another single with them this year. We’ll be performing January 24th at Tina’s Annual Birthday Swarm at the Magic Stick with many other local favs. I discovered a new great band last weekend, Grande Nationals. They played Plane Nine’s poster art show at Small’s Bar in Hamtramck, along with another favorite of mine, the Demolition Dollrods, and the Amino Acids. The Grande Nationals have this sing-songy heavy rock thing going on. Catchy, but hard. It’s three dudes up front, and one mutha of a drummer, Sarah, on the skins. Damn, can this girl hit ‘em! I swear, Detroit produces the best female drummers ever. And we’ve got another one on the way! Miss Becki, formerly of Team Clermont in Athens, GA, is heading for the snowy white north of Detroit to be publicist for up-and-coming label Times Beach Records. A publicist as well as a drummer, Becki is sure to add some mischief and mayhem to the Detroit scene, whoo-hoo! Hamtramck, the city with more bars per capita than any other city in America (besides San Francisco), has gained another live music venue! The Belmont bar had it’s grand opening on Halloween with the Detroit Cobras wsg Bisou Bisou. The bar continued to have stellar acts throughout the fall such as Outrageous Cherry, the Singles, Bomb Pops, Hard Lessons and DangerVille. Although there is still a bigger and better stage to be built, the Belmont offers cheap drinks ($1 Pabst, a Detroit favorite!), a hip atmosphere and clean bathrooms! Check out the Trembling, Violet Skin and the Icicles at the Belmont on Jan 16th. The Hard Lessons will return on Jan 23rd, opening up for the Grande Nationals. Sounds like a good way to start off the new year! Happy New Year everyone! October 10, 2003 I would say that my first Las Vegas experience was memorable, but everything is a little hazy. Not because I was drunk the whole time, but because the 48 hours whizzed by like a weird Jack (Black) Daniels-flavored Rockabilly dream. The Gore Gore Girls were scheduled to play the Las Vegas Rockaround on Saturday night, but we were fortunate enough to arrive the night before. We had originally planned on just going to sleep and starting fresh the next day, but once we saw the bright lights and heard the cha-ching of the slot machines, we knew we were in for the long haul. Amy and I put on our best vintage (or vintage-looking) threads and headed out to the lobby where all the casino action was taking place (our drummer, Nicky Styxx was smart and opted to sleep since she had driven all the night before from Cincinnati where she played with her other band). The first of many gorgeous painted ladies we saw was the one and only Sparkly Devil (a.k.a. Sarah Klein)! This budding burlesque diva from Detroit had already performed her main act and was teetering around the casino with her teddy bear of a boyfriend, Jamie from Detroit’s Haf/Life. After, Amy and I grabbed our wristbands we headed up stairs to the golden gates of Rockabilly heaven. Now, I’ve never been a huge fan of Rockabilly music. Like all genres, some of it is better than others, but I find a lot of it to be predicable (I’ll never forget the day one Detroit music journalist dubbed it "predicabilly"). But the whole culture surrounding the music is what I find interesting. I love the punk-rock spin on the pompadour, and the lovely ladies all dressed to the nines. We looked around a bit at the people and caught some of the Polecats’ set. We waited around before we saw what we had stayed up late for: the Cynics. This band has been around since I was in diapers, but I’ve only just recently discovered them in the past few years. The Cynics’ guitar player is Gretch-lover Greg Kostelich, who also heads Get Hip Records (our label) along with his lovely goddess of a wife, Barbara. The whole band rules, and why wouldn’t they? The Cynics have been adored for years all over the world. Check out their latest "Living is the Best Revenge" on Get Hip Records, naturally. As we were walking around the fest we ran into two Coolgrrrls! Kitty Kowalski and Alisha Amnesia! We had partied many times before with Ms. Kowalski, but this was the first time I had ever met Alisha…what a babe! The rest of the night was a blur of black jack, roulette, cheap slots and drinking liquor out of a boot. Saturday morning (okay, late afternoon) we awoke fresh and ready for fun. At sound check we crossed paths with The Dragons from San Diego. They sounded good, but we had no idea they were fucking awesome until we saw them later on that night. During the day Saturday we mostly just hung around the games and relaxed. I got to do something that I almost never get to do, ever…play Bingo! Wheeee! No, I didn’t win. The evening rolled around and we got in our brand spankin’ new Gore Gore outfits and we ready to rock the Rockaround. We had a great introduction by the one and only DJ Del Villarreal. Despite the obligatory technical difficulties, I think our Vegas performance was one of our best in months. The crowd was much like the Cramps’ crowds were – energetic, adoring and rockabilly. We just gave it all we had and walked off stage a sweaty mess. We spent a good hour after our set signing autographs, taking photos and hanging out with people. We hung out at watch headliner Andre Williams’ set. I’ve never heard anyone use the word "pussy" so many times inside of 30 minutes. His back up band was great. I think they were called Blue Flame. The Oil Pan Sluts on back up vocals were divine: two bleach-blonde voluptuous beauties in short shiny red dresses! (The next morning it was found out that Mr. Williams expressed an interest in having a certain all girl band from Detroit back up for his big New Year’s Eve show in Chicago, but it’s all gossip as of now…nothing has been confirmed!) After Andre Williams we caught the Dragons. These guys tore the place apart! They put on a great show and their lead guitar player is killer! The rest of the night we partied with our Get Hip family, Kitty, and all our new friends. It was a great weekend, we hope we get invited back next year! Our next mission is short but incredibly sweet. We’ll be opening up for the Cramps again, this time in Ventura, CA and San Diego, CA (on Nov. 1 and 2, respectively). We’ll also be in attendance at the big Queens of the Stone Age and Cramps show at the Greek Theatre in L.A. on Halloween night. So it looks like after six years of writing for Coolgrrrls I finally get to meet the one and only FRANK! Yay! Also coming up…a week in Spain, a weekend in Mexico City and a big hometown holiday bash. September 23, 2003 I wrapped up summer ’03 by seeing the quintessential DETROIT ROCK concert: Iggy & the Stooges, Sonic Youth, and the Von Bondies. Of course, this all happened several miles outside of Detroit city limits, in Auburn Hills, MI, at a large venue with a corporate moniker which I do not feel necessary to mention. Regardless of all that, the show was great. The entire weekend before the concert I agonized over whether to see Iggy, or to head downtown and see one of my favorite artists of all-time, Liz Phair. I decided that it was more likely that Liz Phair would come back to town before Iggy Pop, Sonic Youth and the Von Bondies shared a stage again. It was one of those shows where you seem to know every single person in the crowd. It was strange seeing all your bar friends in broad daylight at a semi-outdoor concert venue. The only downfall of the evening was not getting to the stage area in time to catch the Von Bondies! For those of you who don’t know, the Von Bondies are one of Detroit’s most successful rock groups on the indie level right now. The past few years they have seen success after success. They’ve been to Europe and back a handful of times (both with and without the aid of the White Stripes). They picked up where the Gore Gore Girls left off on the Cramps tour this summer, and this October the Von Bondies can be seen on the West Coast in support of Guided By Voices. Needless to say, I’ve seen the band in Detroit countless times, but I thought it would be really fun to see them on a big stage. As soon as I got up to the stage my fellow Gore Gore Girl Amy appeared with two backstage passes for me. We got to watch Sonic Youth from the side of the stage, but we were quickly ushered away once it was time for Iggy & the Stooges. The Stooges set was intense. Iggy was as thin and wiry as ever, jumping around the stage just as he must’ve 20 years ago. Without a doubt, it was his night. They played all the crowd-pleasers, including "I Wanna Be Your Dog" twice. The highlight of the performance, for me, was when everyone Detroit rocker in the first few rows climbed up on the stage and starting partying. Iggy seemed to welcome it, and the mob was allowed to stay on stage for a few songs. Another must-see rock concert was the Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band this past Sunday at yet another corporately named venue. The Gore Gore Girls attended together, per the request of E-Street guitarist Steven Van Zant. For those not in the know, Van Zant has a nationally syndicated radio show called Little Steven’s Underground Garage – and he loves Detroit bands!! He was nice enough to invite a handful of his favorites (GGG, Freddy Fortune, the Paybacks, the Romantics, the Singles and Outrageous Cherry, to name a few) to a meet and greet before the show and also to an exclusive after party. What a nice guy! On top of all that we got great seats to the show. It was great to see Bruce Springsteen, an American music icon, live and in concert. I don’t know if I’d like to see another concert at Comerica Park, however. I think it’s best for baseball games. The sound was incredible though! Much like at the Stooges show, it was amusing seeing the cream of the crop of Detroit’s garage rock mingle amongst hardcore Bruce fanatics. A million thanks to Little Steven for supporting all of us and for showing us a good time in Detroit!! www.littlestevensundergroundgarage.com. Upcoming in Detroit… The debut of Bisou Bisou, Detroit’s only French pop outfit! George (my man), Jackie (my girl) and Chris (their drummer) will be performing with the Gore Gore Girls in Ypsilanti at the Elbow Room on Oct 4th, and also at Small’s in Hamtramck on Oct. 17th with the Muggs and Outrageous Cherry. Check out www.bisoubisou.net, and be sure to give a listen to the two MP3s they have posted. A frequently mentioned band in this column, the Go will celebrate a new release on Oct 18 at the Magic Bag. The Go is also in the studio recording some new tracks with Freddy Fortune, a Detroit musician who has recently taken up a seat behind the mixing board. And finally, Patty Duke fanzine #5 will be released soon on Top Quality Rock & Roll Records. This time it comes with a double vinyl 7 inch featuring the Come Ons, Saturday Looks Good to Me, Mummy the Peepshow, and a pathetic solo effort by yours truly. Expect to find it in independent record stores soon! Photo Credits: Don Blum from the Von Bondies courtesy of Popfolio.com, Gore Gore Girls with Steven Van Zant taken by George Papanikos & photo of Bisou Bisou taken by Christopher Chouinard August 20, 2003 Well, it’s been a while, but I have much to tell. I have literally been around the world in back in just a few short months. Playing bass in the Gore Gore Girls has brought me to five countries in 2003 alone! Our first international adventure of the year happened the first weekend in April when we had a two-night engagement at the Dark Zone club in Mexico City. What a party! (Tequila!!!) The first night went well, with plenty of fans showing up to sing along and dance the night away. The word must’ve spread, because the next night even more people showed up to see what us white girls in white boots were up to. Overall it was a fantastic trip and we hope to return this winter! Fast forward to the middle of April and you’ll find us driving from Detroit to Phoenix to meet up with legendary psycho-billy punks THE CRAMPS!!! A few months earlier we got a call from their booking agent saying that they asked if we could join them for their U.S. spring tour. We already had three weeks of shows booked in Scandinavia for May, but they said it would be fine if we joined them up until that point. So, in mid-April, Amy, our tour manager George (of Edward the Bear fame) and me hopped in our rock and roll Ford Windstar. We drove straight through until we got to the Wig Wam motel in Holbrook, AZ the following night. Yes, real hotel rooms shaped like wig wams, and each one has a cool classic car parked in front of it! When we arrived in Tempe, AZ we were greeted by rock and roll guy and sex-shop worker extrodinare Gregg Gibbs, who was gracious enough to put us up for a few nights. On April 17th we picked up our drummer Nicky Stixx at the airport and got ready to play our first show opening for The Cramps!! We pulled into the parking lot of Nita’s Hideway and saw the Cramps huge tour bus. We were practically impaired due to our extreme excitement. Lux and Ivy introduced themselves at sound check. They were so nice and quite! It was quite a change from the ass-kicking hell raisers they were later on stage that night!! The next three weeks were a blast. We followed the Cramps from Tempe through New Mexico, Texas (fortunately there were enough people who weren’t bible-thumping republicans in this state to completely pack three shows!), Oklahoma, and on to New Orleans, where we stayed in the hotel that Johnny Thunders died in! We played two shows at the Shim Sham Club. The first night Rock City Morgue opened the show. These guys were really cool, and perfect for the bill. What’s even cooler is their bass player is Sean Yseult (of White Zombie and Famous Monsters fame). This show marked the night our drummer Nicky Stixx autographed her first boob! After New Orleans we played a handful of shows in Florida, then moved up through the south to play Athens and Atlanta, GA and Asheville, NC. While in Atlanta we were hosted by Montague, guitarist of the famed Atlanta band the Woggles. Monty was a great host, showing us around town, taking us to the coolest hangouts and even taking us to the drive in his 1960 Thunderbird! The Atlanta show with The Cramps was one of the sweatiest shows I’ve ever played. The show took place at the Masquerade and it was absolutely packed with people. It was quite a party. We managed to tear through several cases of PBR and one bottle of Jose Quervo (which we were lucky enough to obtain at almost every show on this tour!). We hung with the Cramps afterwards (we had the next night off, so everyone was in the mood to party) with Monty and our Atlanta fans and it was good times all around. The tail end of the night is a bit foggy, but I know we hit a few other Atlanta bars. I remember climbing up on a big metal bicycle in my go-go boots and teetering on top of it thinking "hey, I don’t have health insurance…" All in all, Atlanta was a blast. Special thanks to the cute girl from the Star Bar with the yummy pineapple drink. Too bad I can’t remember her name or the name of the drink! Unfortunately, a week or so later we found out that our friend Montague had passed away in his sleep a few days after we left. We are honored that we got to spend his last weekend with him. We are also very glad that he got to meet The Cramps, for he was a big fan. Monty will truly be missed!! Forty-eight hours after we arrived home in Detroit from the Cramps tour, we were on a plane headed for Stockholm for our Scandinavian tour. It wasn’t as intense as the Cramps tour, but those Swedes are so much fun! I got to meet Coolgrrrl Lisa Darling in the flesh!! For more reports of debauchery check out the Gore Gore Girls’ tour diary. With all the touring, I haven’t caught as many shows as I would have liked to the past few months, but it hasn’t been completely uneventful. I was fortunate enough to witness the end of an era in Gainesville, FL: the last Edward the Bear show! For those who don’t know, EtB was driven rock group led by sexy crooner and guitarist George Papanikos. In it’s day the band put out several singles and one album on Sloth Bear Records, and toured from coast to coast. Many fans showed up at Shamrock’s bar to sing along to all their favorite Edward the Bear "hits." George also led his band in performing some incredible covers of rock standards such as "China Girl" by David Bowie, "Touch Me" by the Doors and the most memorable, Neil Diamond’s "Sweet Caroline." Not only did fans old and new show up to bid farewell, but all the members of Edward the Bear, past and present, were there to perform. George is now living in Detroit where he is fronting French pop group Bisou Bisou, along with my former Stroke Ace cohort, Jackie O. More on Bisou Bisou soon! What else is going on in Detroit you ask? Well if you live in the U.K., or if you’ve seen the new Charlie’s Angels movie, then you’ve heard Detroit group the Electric Six. The band had been running wild all over the U.S. and Europe touring in support of their hot chart-busing single "Danger High Voltage." But fans should know that the band that’s touring now is not the same Electric Six that gave the outfit its original spark. Founding members Surge Joebot and the Rock n’ Roll Indian, along with bass player Disco, have been fired or quit (depending on who you ask). The only original member, singer Dick Valentine, had forged on and replaced them with new members (who are affectionately called "scab workers" throughout the scene). It will be interesting to see how the band will fare in the face of fame without it’s founding crew. In any case, expect hot, new and exciting projects to come from the ousted members soon… New Detroit releases! My favorite right now is The Singles’ " Better Than Before" out on Rainbow Quartz International. An obvious Beatles fan, frontman Vince Frederick is a talented songwriter that pens tunes in the vein if hand clapping ‘60s pop. The album sounds great and it’s really easy to listen to. Also on Rainbow Quartz, Outrageous Cherry just released "Supernatural Equinox." OC will hit Spain next month! Coming up in October, the Dirtbombs will release "Dangerous Magical Noise" on In the Red records. My other band, the Sirens, will also release a CD in October – a debut full-length on Sympathy for the Record Industry. Both the Sirens and the Dirtbombs will hold a double CD release party at the Magic Stick in Detroit on October 17th. Who’s planning to attend the Las Vegas Rockaround? The Gore Gore Girls will be performing on the Saturday night just before headliner Andre Williams. One of Detroit’s most prominent burlesque showgirls, Sparkly Devil, will also perform. The hotels are filling up fast, so book your ticket at www.rockaround.net soon! January 17, 2003 Tidbits, tidbits, tidbits! Okay first of all I have to say that I am now entering my fifth (or is it sixth?) year at coolgrrrls.com! I honestly can’t remember if it was in 1997 or 1998, but I know it was a long time ago! Technically speaking, the site has come a long way since then, and we’ve had so many great girls from all over the world join us. I’m still happy to be a part of it. Now onto the dirt! Detroit’s own Electric Six (formerly known as the Wildbunch) currently have the number 2 single in the United Kingdom! They even beat out Detroit rapper Eminem who’s at number 3. The band recently signed to XL Records, the overseas home of the White Stripes, and the aforementioned single, "Danger! High Voltage" features a vocal cameo by, um, Jack White. The Electric Six have come a long way since their days playing the Gold Dollar, singing songs about going to a gay bar. Or something. Yeah! If you are reading this from the U.K., you should now that the Electric Six are on tour there now and will be for the next few weeks, so go see ‘em! Visit www.electricsix.com for the itinerary. Punk rock! The best thing to come across my desk so far this year is hands down Fabulous Disaster’s new CD "Panty Raid." It’s 14 tracks of brutal punk rock lovin’ with killer guitar riffs delivered by the one and only Lynda Mandolyn. The ladies of Fab D really kick it out for this one and bring on the fierce, west cost punk sound that I know you’re gonna love. Produced by Alex Newport and Fat Mike, the "Panty Raid" will be out Feb. 11 on Pink & Black Records. Get it! In other news: Beatlesque pop-rockers the Singles just recently signed with the Rainbow Quartz label. If we’re lucky we’ll be getting a full length CD from the boys soon. The newest local hot spot that everybody is just about sick of, the Lager House, has introduced two new regular events involving chicks and records. The first is "That Time of the Month" with DJs Mercy and Tina Roxx. It’s hot. It’s sexy. It’s glam. It’s the best place to get drunk on a Thursday night. The other new night is "Bad Kitty" which is a monthly event featuring Virginia and Corey spinning records while patrons sip on 2 dollar Pink Pussycats and crunch kitty themed munchies. Go drink yourself silly while hot chicks play records! And now the obligatory self-promotion spot…the Gore Gore Girls (those nasty bitches) will hit Call the Office in London, Ontario on Feb. 8; Lady-Like Fest at the Elbow Room in Ypsilanti, MI with the Dishes and Dangerville on Feb. 15; the Budda Bar in Detroit on Feb. 17 with Lorelei; Beachland Tavern in Cleveland, OH on Feb. 27; Maxwell’s in Hoboken, NJ on Feb. 28; The Southpaw in NYC on March 1, and a bunch of other dates as well coming up. Scandinavian dates will be posted soon!! Had anybody heard our compilation CD yet? I think the music on it is great! Although, I think next time (if we do another one of these) the packaging should represent all the coolgrrrls, and sans firearms. But that’s just my opinion. Some of my favorite songs on it are The Waulkees "Coolest Girl in Town", "Lethal Lipgloss" by the Riff Randells and one of the best songs is definitely "Femmenstruation Liberation" by Dada Stunt Girl!!! I think that’s a great song! I’ve never heard of that band before either, and now I have, so that’s cool too. I thought it was highly ironic and a little sad, though, that song (with lyrics like "come on girls lets liberate, come on girls lets educate") had to be placed AFTER a song with lyrics that say "You’re a bitch, you’re a bitch, you are such a stupid bitch". Both are good songs though, and the whole album is fun to listen to. Thanks for putting this together Frank!!! Great idea. December 18, 2002 Wow. Since we returned from tour Detroit has just been a whirlwind of activity. Recently I attended a benefit extravaganza for the one and only Tony DeNardo. Held at the best beer-hole on the east side, the Cadieux Cafe, the benefit was to help Tony raise the funds he needs to head out to California to partake in some hyperbaric oxygen chamber treatment. (For you non-Detroiters, Tony is the bass player in one of the most promising heavy rock bands in town, the Muggs. Last year he suffered a stroke and although his recovery has been amazing, the oxygen treatment may help Tony regain full use of his body even quicker) There were so many people at this event you would’ve thought they were giving away hookers! And why not? The line up was incredible and the cause was extremely worthy. The night started off with a performance by Mod Orange, which is the solo project of Mark Dawson, who is known about town as a very capable drummer and all-around supporter of local bands. I’d been meaning to catch Mark in the act for a while, and I finally got the chance. Of course I was extremely impressed. As someone who has always performed with a group of people, I have a lot of admiration for someone who can get up on stage alone with only a guitar and still manager to belt out great songs and keep an audience’s attention. For more on Mark, check out a great piece my friend Eve Doster wrote for the Metro Times. Next up was Stunning Amazon, fronted by folk chanteuse Audra Kubat. This was my first time seeing this long-standing act as well, and I was amazed at what a clear and pleasant voice Ms. Kubat has. Great band too. Audra also fares well around town as a solo artist and her recent release is the very well-received "Elixir." After Stunning Amazon came Bluesong. This blues-rock trio was really impressive. Great instrumentalists too, especially the drummer, J. Blue Song even had Tony come up and play a song with them on bass, which was a really nice treat. The Climax Divine was up next, and although I have thoroughly enjoyed this band in the past, my mind really wasn’t on the band this night. I guess I was too busy talking with all the fun people who showed up at the benefit. At least one member of almost every notable rock act in town (that was in town) was at this event including members of the Sights, the Go, the Kingsnakes, W-Vibe, Jettison Red, Black Magic Crossing, Outrageous Cherry, the Filter Kings, Inside Five Minutes, the Witches, Blush, Sponge, the Nice Device and more. The night came to a close with an all-star band, Over Under Sideways Down, featuring Danny Methric from the Muggs and the Kingsnakes on guitar, Ross Westerbur from 500 ft of Pipe on keys, Brett Lucas of Lucas on guitar, Stunning Amazon’s bass player (I’m sorry I don’t know his name) at Matt of the Muggs on drums. I knew this was going to be good, but I didn’t think it would be as fucking cool as it was. Just seeing two of my favorite Detroit musicians, Danny and Ross, up on stage together and totally rocking out was the best. I guess when you put five extremely talented people up on stage you just can’t go wrong. The vibe was very "jammy," very ‘70s and very rock and roll! I don’t know if Over Under Sideways Down plans to continue playing together, or if it was for just one night, but I definitely think they gained a lot of fans that night and they should continue to play out, because we need more bands like this. Overall, the benefit was a smashing success and Tony raised a little over half of what he needs for the trip to California. There will be another benefit at Nancy Whiskey’s on Saturday, Dec. 28th. This will be more of a blues-based line up. Be sure to stop by if you can. Just this past weekend was extremely fun filled! On Friday I saw the "next big thing" Har Mar Superstar at the Magic Stick. I met him before the show and was surprised at how nice and polite he was. He certainly didn’t have the ego of a "superstar." The show was great though. It was all about ‘80s beats, all about sweaty sexy lovin, and all about Har Mar. One of my favorite parts of the show was when the lead singer from the Gossip (the two bands are touring together) came up on stage to sing "Power Lunch" with Har Mar. That woman has a great voice, and "Power Lunch" is one of my favorite Har Mar Superstar songs. And is that not the best name? Har Mar Superstar! I love it. After the show Har Mar (his real name is Shawn (or Sean), but I don’t know if I was supposed to tell you that) invited some friends and I to his hotel party, but I was lame and didn’t go. I know, I’ll regret it forever. I recommend that you visit his website, www.youcanfeelme.com and listen to the sound clips which pop right up when you enter the site. And buy his album! And finally, last Saturday I drove down to Bowling Green, OH to see my FAVORITE, Andrew W.K.! This was my fourth show (and my fourth time meeting him), and I’d have to say this was by far the most sweaty and most dangerous. I was up in the pit for the first five songs and (this shows now not hard-core I am) I was afraid of getting jacked or felt up, so I got out of there. By the end of the show I saw two girls leave because one got sexually assaulted, and another girl (a girl I knew) got punched in the face, and no, it wasn’t an accident. What a bunch of bullshit. Why does shit like this have to happen, especially at an Andrew W.K. show? He’s not about any of that, and it’s not his fault that some of his fans are meatheads who like to hit girls. I wish more artists would stand up and say something about this kind of thing though, because it happens at a lot of concerts. However, I think it takes more than just the artist to stop this kind of thing and they should never be to blame. It’s more the job of the bar and the security staff, but it’s a hard thing to watch for. All I know is that women should be able to enjoy the roughness and insanity of a heavy rock show without worrying about someone sticking his hands down her pants or up her shirt. Anyway, besides all of that, the whole experience was great, as always. I got to talk to Andrew before and after the show (I even got on the tour bus this time, whoo!) and he really is the nicest, sweetest guy. Whenever the Gore Gore Girls are asked what our influences or favorite bands are, I always list Andrew W.K., and when we were talking he told me that he saw something one of the Detroit magazines where I was quoted as saying something very nice about him, and he thanked me. That made me really happy. I got to meet and hang with two guys from Wolf Eyes too, who I had heard of, but never met. They’re from Ann Arbor (the area where Andrew grew up) and they’re really cool guys. They’re playing at the Detroit Institute of Arts this weekend on Saturday Dec. 21. I also spent some time talking to AWK’s guitar player Erik Payne, who is also a really, really nice guy. He said they’ll be going into the studio soon. I’m so excited to hear what the next album will be like. Upcoming in Detroit... Fri. Dec. 20th – Link: Motor City Breakdown @ the Magic Stick with Pas/Cal (oh, the buzz!), Jack Vulpine, the Fondas and more. Sat. Dec. 21st – Christian Marclay, Toshio Kajiwara, DJ Olive and Wolf Eyes @ the DIA. Thurs. Dec. 26th – Magic Stick holiday party with The Sights, Saturday Looks Good To Me and Asteroid. Fri. Dec. 27th – Real Detroit Weekly’s Live & Loud Bash featuring the Bloody Hollys, Gore Gore Girls and the Hentchmen @ the Magic Stick and Gold Cash Gold, Bridge and Paradime @ the Majestic Theatre. Sat. Dec. 28th – Tony’s California Dream benefit part II @ Nancy Whiskey’s. Sat. Dec. 28th – Gore Gore Girls, Esquire and Columbus Ohio’s Tough & Lovely (great band!) @ the Lager House. Tues. Dec. 31st – New Year’s Eve party with the Detroit Cobras, Electric Six and Peelander-Z @ the Magic Stick (where else?). November 13, 2002 As if this year could not get any better, last month my band the Gore Gore Girls went on a three-week tour of Europe. I’ve never had so much fun in my life!! It was like living a Saturday night for three weeks straight! We started off the tour with a bang, meeting movie siren Tura Satana, the star of Russ Meyer’s "Faster Pussycat, Kill Kill." Our tour promoter was just finishing up a Russ Meyer tour as our tour was starting, and our visits overlapped for one night as we shared a house together in Belgium. Tura was really nice and extremely cool. She allowed Amy to interview her, and we really got a peek into the amazing life of this incredible woman. Throughout the first four days of the tour we played seven shows. The first night we played a small club on the campus of a large university in Brussels. For the next three days we did two shows a night. It sounds exhausting, but we were always ready for more. One of the first shows we played was in Goes, Holland with Belgian surf band the Moe Greene Specials. I don’t know much about surf music, but these guys were really good. They had matching outfits, a small horn section, two great guitar players and a very charismatic rhythm section. My friend Kristof, the guitar player for the MGS accompanied us to a few other shows we played in the area. We played with the MGS again at the end of the tour at the 013 in Tilburg, Holland. I wish we could’ve done more shows with them, they were very fun guys! We played two shows with another surf band in Switzerland, Tiki Tiki Bamboo. This trio was made up of two Japanese musicians and one German kid who all met in Munich. They had a great stage act, complete with palm leaves, Hawaiian leis and silver-sparkle boots! We were lucky to be supported by such great bands while on the road, including the Electras, the Lullabells, Havana Ragdolls, Motorpussy, Morgana-X and the Skidmarks! After an extremely memorable show in Chur, Switzerland at the Safari Beat Club (any show where someone asks you to autograph their ass can be classified as extremely memorable), we headed on to Innsbruck to play our only show in Austria. The night was put together by Elmar of Choke Media and it went amazingly well. I hate to review my own show, but it was pretty intense. We were really tired that day and kind of crabby from driving several hours, but after the Electras took the stage and pounded a full set of punk rock gems were ready to tear the place apart. After that show the equipment really started to deteriorate. After Innsbruck we played another show in Swiss at the Remise Club, and then onto Italy. We only did two dates in Italy, but they were very fun shows, and the country itself was amazing. The first was at Jack the Ripper just outside of Verona. It was a very spacious bar and the staff and crowd were so nice. We had heard that Italian audiences go completely crazy, but the people at Jack the Ripper (some who drove over 100km to get to the show!) were very, very polite and nice. We weren’t sure if we went over well or not until the set was over and we nearly got mobbed at the merch booth. The other show we played in Italy was near Piacenza. The club was great, and they fed us some of the best food of the tour, including homemade wine! We played the Madly Pub, and it was one of the most exciting Monday nights’s I’ve ever had. Special thanks to everyone who showed up including Chris from the Stinky Polecats and thanks to the promoter Gianni, who also hooked us up with a place to stay—a reformed prison! Speaking of prisons, our last date of the tour was a co-ed prison in Antwerp, Belgium. We got to bring a few people in with us so we brought Kristof from the Moe Green Specials and another local musician and friend Farah, and also our driver Ruben. At first the prison looked more like a high-security elementary school. They set us up "backstage" in the chapel of the facility. We had no idea what to expect, but when we got on stage the room exploded with hoots, hollers and cat-calls. It was both hilarious and terrifying at the same time. There were about 80 male prisoners and 20 women, plus a few guards. We rocked them. It was a very strange way to end the tour. I really didn’t want the tour to end. I could’ve stayed for another month easily, but we go to Spain in December, and Scandinavia in May. However, I’m glad we got back when we did because two days after our return Andrew W.K. played in Detroit again! It was an amazing show, of course. I got to meet him again, for the third time. I couldn’t ask for a better homecoming! For more details of the fun we had, you can visit the tour diary. There is a link to it on our website, www.goregoregirls.com. Coming up in Detroit: The Nice Device and Outrageous Cherry at the Lager House on Nov. 16, Brendan Benson at the Magic Stick on Nov. 23, and The Paybacks and Easy Action the night before Thanksgiving at the Magic Stick.