Men Talking About Fatherhood

Everyone knows that advertising is a heavily-male dominated industry. It's not as bad as it was in the Mad Men days (how I loath to have to reference that show every time I talk about advertising), and we certainly have our share of powerful ECDs (Executive Creative Director) who are women and I've had my share of experiences witnessing some of these top figureheads dominate the room and run the show with two pairs of balls (one pair hers, the other pair someone else's that she now owns. ha!). I have been sitting in the "creative pit" at (unnamed) agency where all the freelance ADs (Art Director) and CWs (Copywriter) sit. I am the ONLY girl in a roomful of 10, and I have been so surprised all week to hear these guys' conversations throughout the day.

Contrary to what I thought I would hear, these guys (well at least about 3-4 of them) have all been recently minted to fatherhood. They've been sharing stories about what their kids (mostly all under 2 years old) want to dress up as for Halloween (one guy's family are all dressing up as characters from Toy Story), whether they've flown with the babies, how they can't wait til they are old enough to take to Europe, how much they LOVE spending time with their kids and LOVE family vacations, and I think from what leaked into my headphones, is that they all have boys and they are SOOO easy compared to girls who are all full of drama!

Have to admit I am pleasantly surprised by what I hear these guys say amongst each other, away from their significant others. I would have thought they would bitch and complain and bemoan the loss of their single, bachelor lives, talk about who they want to "bang" (hot chicks), or stupid sex stories or their balls. Whatever is base. Then I started wondering where I got these pre-conceived notions of what I expect of men (nothing, hahah jk!). This is obviously the beginning of a long deep gender-soul-searching journey, but I immediately thought of TV sitcoms. Specifically I thought of "Two & a Half Men" and "King of Queens" - probably the two most misogynistic and stereotyped shows on television. Doug from King of Queens is an overweight and selfish loaf, someone who longs to be better but is too lazy and cowardly to be someone else than the environment he was born into. Even though Two & a Half Men's characters are full-on parodies, these shows still perpetuate the idea that long term love and commitment are something that becomes a drag in the long run. All the characters hate their lives from the womanizing Charlie to idiotic Carrie and at any given moment they complain about the compromises they've had to made to make a life together or the sacrifices they've made to be with the person they supposedly love. The premise of the "joke" is that you are naive and an idiot if you believe in true love that is nurturing, supportive, passionate and soulful - that if you really believe love can be sustained through the monotony of daily existence and living, then hello, the JOKE IS ON YOU. What a stupid setup! There is a lesson I'm supposed to learn about this... somewhere.

Okay I'm done ranting and getting out of work to start my long crazy Halloween weekend! Last year my friends and I went to eat Momofuku's special fried chicken dinner at midnight, then they all went out late but I went home cause I was so nervous about the opening night of Dim Sum Burlesque at Chow Bar the next day on Sunday, November 1. Wow. So much has happened since a year ago!

Shane on the right, I love Shane! And his backup dancers.

Thats me doing a fan dance to Kei$ha's "Take It Off"

Saturday night, I'm at FBOMB first at The Delancey. I go on at midnight. Then I will jet over to Webster Hall Circus for Shane.

Then Sunday is "Not Your Standard Bingo" at The Standard Hotel starting at 10pm! They are having burlesque for the first time there and I am STOKED!!!!

Some photos of RZipper w/Diamondsnake

Here are some photos of Rhinestone Zipper with Phil and Moby at Diamondsnake's "secret" CMJ show. There are more pictures here but be warned the Village Scum takes some totally NSFW photos of ladies!

With Phil

With Moby

We are dancing with them again on November 4 at The Lebowski Festival at Brooklyn Bowl and again on December 4 location TBA.

Weekend Recap & Chow Bar - What? It's Closed!?!

Ugh who wants to go to work on Mondays? NOBODY! I'm going back on site for the week in the area I call the taint of Manhattan (midtown) where all the big ad agencies are. No, it's not like Mad Men. Thank god cause I think Don Draper is a lame cliché construction of male fantasies like the Marlboro Men mythology placed in an urban contemporary context. Yeah so I'm annoyed that I have to go back to work but I have to cause burlesque does not my lifestyle make.

I am bemoaning my sad having to work tomorrow-ness by reliving my weekend now. Saturday night I saw Maddy Mann's Bible StorieZ at Ars Nova and it was just IMPRESSIVE. I'ts unbelievable the amount of talent and innovation Maddy exhibited at the show along with Lexi and Noah. Ars Nova, first off, has an amazing performance space with high-tech lighting and the show was a REAL professional show with a real sound tech, lighting technician, and a director who worked with them on all aspect of the show. It was only one-night so I'm really sorry if you missed it because I've never seen anything like what they do. Sure, many people who've been in NYC for ten years will say, "Hey I saw this underground theater troupe do Bible stories retold" blah blah but this is not your typical underground, self-indulgent artist diatribe about Christianity refashioned as parody/farce. Maddy Mann's retellings of Bible stories are accessible (not obtuse and filled with reference that's not accessible to the general audience), entertaining (pop songs, broadway songs), and more than anything else that impressed me, clever and brilliant at times. There were times when their translation of lyrics through choreography and dialogue made me catch myself clapping so enthusiastically and fervently that I felt like a total idiot. Thankfully the people next to me were laughing and clapping with equal (and more) ardor so I didn't felt like "clapper in the dark". (how's that for a sneak attack Bjork reference!)

I was SO SO happy to see Maddy and gang do their thing on a proper big stage with all the right setup. The first time I saw them was when they did "Lot's Wife" at Harlow's Hideaway and that was the night that I realized their ingenuity and that anyone who books them knows their shit and I wanted to be in Honi Harlow's show!! I've seen Maddy and Lexi work it out even at the tiny stage at Nurse Bettie when I've booked them there a few times and they were great. But to see them on the real stage was simply amazing. I was smitten with glee to see new Bible stories that I haven't seen them do before last night. Among some of the new ones were Samson & Delilah, Eve & the Serpent, Cain & Abel, and a viral music video to "Jonah and the Whale".  People were going nuts at the end of the show when Maddy did his sign language interpretation of Avril Lavigne's "I Wanna Be Your  Girlfriend" - Brilliant! It's a travesty that it's only one-night!

I couldn't stay til the very end and congratulate the boys (I knew they would be swamped anyway) and also cause Michael's friend was shooting My Morning Jacket just a block away at Terminal 5 and got us backstage passes to go and see the concert. We hightailed it over right after Maddy's show and went in through the loading dock. It was packed inside but the VIP area was not so bad except everyone was standing on the chair and sitting on the ledge and I could not see anything. I have heard of My Morning Jacket but know nothing of their music. I thought they were alt rock or something but noooooo - they were like stoner, psychedelia with country influence. There seemed to be a lot of "fratty" type of guys with ill-fitting white tshirts and flannel shirts tied around the waist and of course the baseball cap. Except these guys were WAY TOO OLD to be in college!! I'm also claustrophobic and I really hate being shoulder-to-shoulder with a lot of people. I don't like being squished and I don't like being near a lot of strangers. This is why I will never go to big concerts like Lollapolooza or whatever it is that people do now. At best, I get stressed and scared in big crowded venues (unless I'm on stage and far, far away from the rest of the people then I'm happy as a kite). At worst, I get really antagonistic and just start pushing people. There was a guy who was obliviously taking photos in the dark with his camera held up to his face. He didn't see Michael coming up the stairs and totally bumped him into the mirror on the wall. I was pretty irritated already by the crowd and stupid frat people, this was just the opportunity I wanted to vent my UGH-ness. So I shoved him and said what's your fucking problem when I walked by him. Alas, the music was so loud I don't think he heard me. And I have a really painful hangnail on my right index finger so the shove wasn't that forceful. He probably thought I was hitting on him. So much for being Ms. Tough Girl.

So we hightailed it after about 40 minutes and a beer. Then we went back down to our hood to InBorn NYC's 3rd year anniversary party. Rey Jerez is our tattoo artist. Yes, Michael and I BY COINCIDENCE have the same artist. When we first met, it was pretty cool to find that out like OMG we are meant to be together! Rey did the feathers on my forearms and the big plume feather on my back.  I am getting more as soon as I figure out what I want. It was all rock metal bands and we actually didn't see any bands play, because something with the drum kit being moved. There was a low level irritation/depression going on all day with me and some things that I saw there really set me off on a crazy spin. Thankfully my friend Rebecca and her friends came to meet us and then we decided to just go next door to Chloe. The music was fun downstairs but definitely more geared towards girls cause all the girls were dancing and none of the dudes were. The place is small and reminded me of the old Double Happiness on Mott Street but better lit. Anyway it was like 3 to 1 girls to guys. One of our friends met us there and the door guy kinda gave him some attitude cause he wasn't dressed right and he said there were too many guys. If I was single, this would be SOCIAL SUICIDE going there to a taco festival. Then there was some other drama involving one of the owners and my friend which I am not allowed to discuss openly. So on principle I said, I'm outta here. But I made everyone leave with me. HA! That is the power of the Changstang when she is on her path of self righteousness and conviction.

We piled down further south into real Chinatown on Canal and Ludlow where my friend Adam (who is also the photographer who took this awesome portrait of Chewie and I years ago) said we should go to

Photo by Adam Cantor

this off-the-beaten-path real Chinatown karaoke bar. He's been talking about this place and calling it the "crazy place" cause it's all Chinese and no gringos. So we go there and I realize its the same karaoke bar that has been there for years and used to be owned by the owners of Good World. Obviously Good World is gone, they sold it to another person. True enough, the place is bare-bones and there were no gringos other than the ones I was rolling with last night, and another table of quiet gringos who kept to themselves and generally acted like they were very happy to be in a secret karaoke spot in Chinatown that's not Winnie's (Winnie's is not "secret" or "soooo Chinatown"). We ordered 2 plates of sausages which were the only things they had to offer and popcorn and we sang some songs. I should say everyone else sang and I was backup danced. I don't remember going home but I got home somehow. The next morning my bra was in the kitchen. No idea what might have transpired there...

I had a proper dinner at Macao Trading Company tonight with my old, dear friend Manny. I have only had the late night bar menu after Drunken Dragon Night, but tonight I ordered from the full menu and it was DELICIOUS! I love "Ants Climbing on Trees" that was my favorite dish and the swiss chard was so good too. Tomorrow night is another Drunken Dragon Night this time with Crystal Skull Vodka. Can I just say that even though I am doing a show for their open bar, it is incredibly difficult to get one of those coveted empty bottles even to use as a prop! They are getting me one, the small one to use for my act tomorrow night, but I believe I have to return it! The open bar is from 9-11pm and the show is at 11pm. There is no more intermission so come early or else you will miss the show or not be able to get in. It has been sauna-room-packed every single month.

I also found out tonight that Chow Bar has closed. Chow Bar was where it really started for me. I used to produce the "Dim Sum Burlesque" show there every Sunday. I started the show November 2009 and pulled the plug mid-May 2010 due to financial reasons. And I have always felt a little guilty ending the show because they had invested the money and time in building a stage for me, that expensive flocked vintage wallpaper, the spotlight, the giant poster of me, the postcards, and numerous other things. I just couldn't afford dishing out a couple hundred every Sunday. I was only getting cover, not the bar or food, and there were quiet nights when I had to pay everyone out of my own pocket. I started to feel like an island where I was not getting the support I needed from the venue and performers alik. There were a few who were kind and gracious enough to work for a tip split instead of the guaranteed pay during slow months like January and February, but there were also performers who snubbed the show when I was having the hardest and brokest time there. You can suss out pretty quickly those who want to stick with you through packed and thin nights and those who don't. I ain't judging. Just making an observation.

So anyway yes, Chow Bar has closed. Apparently they sold the business because of - financial reasons. Which explained a lot to me during the last months of unhappy negotiation with them. I feel a strange sense of relief hearing about this tonight because now I realize they had a lot more financial pressure on them than I probably realized, and it sounded like it was a financial black hole for them to keep the business. I doubt having "Dim Sum Burlesque" there on Sunday nights would have made a big difference in the long run so in a way I feel like my gut instincts were right, to make an exit when people still love you and not overstay one's welcome.

someting happened in the bathroom last night

The CMJ showcase at Backstage Bar last night was crazy and was 1.5 hr behind schedule. Diamondsnake didn't even go on til 1:30am and I rushed over there right after Nurse Bettie at 11:30pm. There was NO place to change, the green room is behind the stage, the long outside was like a snake weaving down the block of music hipsters. We rolled up and got in the "backstage" with Tomato and Dave and just waited there standing around for an hour and a half. Then Phil and Moby showed up. They were all standing around saying how they are not used to being up this late. Many dudes approached Moby and said stuff to him like, "Man, you are a true legend." A lot of you have asked me what Moby is like. He is nice. His energy is really chill and relaxed. Mild mannered socially and very witty. I am not into "celebrities" and I think he's a great musician, obviously influential for many of us growing up and kids growing up now, but to me, he's just a regular creative person who has refined and honed his craft to the utmost. So now you can stop asking me what he is like. During that long hour and a half wait, Rhinestone Zipper posed for press pictures etc and one of them (Groupie #1 as seen above) put her makeup bag on the sink in the bathroom and look what happened! The bloody thing completely fell off the wall! Imagine the lawsuit if a handicapped person (it was the handicap bathroom) had indeed used it and it fell on his/her lap! NOT cool. Rhinestone Zipper prevented a lawsuit! ROCK!

Beatles Burlesque Continues Next Month w/a New Surprise

The chips have fallen where they have always been. Beatles Burlesque is happily staying at Public Assembly thanks very much to the cooperation of the management and team there. We are stoked to keep their Monday Night Burlesque brand alive and well. When everyone's happy, Yoko Chang is happy. Which means a better show.

Next month on Monday, November 8, Beatles Burlesque will feature The Maine Attraction, Gal Friday, Honi Harlow, and sacrificial lamb Madame Deelux! The band will be back together after a month of being separated. And guess what else, my parents will be in attendance for the first time ever! My mom, as most of you already know, knows about my burlesque career and have seen my fan dance (and that's ALL she's ever going to see!) but my dad has not seen ANY burlesque at all. I invited them to come to the show rather than stay in, and they asked, "Will you be performing?" Ha ha! They ARE fans of Vegas topless shows and have been to a few in the past so that's how I sold it to them. As long as they don't see me topless, its all kosher.

Btw - I heard that after the last Beatles Burlesque show, someone was caught masturbating in the men's bathroom!!!!

What I Do on a Day/Night Off

I had a day off today, and by a day off, I mean a day when I didn't have to work on-site at an agency designing someone else's web site and online campaign OR rehearse for hours, spend hours sewing and embellishing a costume, or walk around the garment district looking for all the pieces I need to make a costume. What I did today, happily and wilingly without the clean police forcing me to do it, is swiffer the bedroom, bathroom, hallways, and kitchen. I also mopped the bathroom AND I am doing laundry right now at 11 pm. I also had time to go out to dinner with one of my closest girl friends at a nearby restaurant that just opened two nights ago called The Fat Radish. We sat at the bar and she knew almost everyone there fro the co-owners, the chef, to random people who came by tonight. She is in the hospitality business as are most of my non-burlesque friends. The restaurant's decor is all about texture. Exposed brick walls painted with a haphazard wash of white paint, raw wood ceilings, and big long communal farm tables. The food is interesting. It seems very farm vegetable-based. As their name suggests, there were a few pickled radish dishes that were surprisingly delicious! I totally poopoo-ed it but my friend ordered one and after I tried it, I was a radish convert. We ordered oysters, as we usually do, but the most amazing dish was the Beet Crumble!! You will not believe how delicious this dish was. It is a real crumble! A savory crumble, not like a salad crumble. The thing came out in a little baking dish with a napking wrapped around it. On the top was crumbled nuts and oats, baked in with cheddar cheese and all beet and spinach and some other root-y vegetable. It was warm, nutty, savory, and buttery. This dish further confirms my sneaking suspicion that I am INDEED a closeted vegetarian. The bartender was very attentive and kept refilling our wine glasses and bought us a round of something dark and foul looking which we turned away and asked for Campari with soda instead. Then one of her ex's came in and I really don't like this guy. He dated another friend of mine before my friend from tonight, and I've never heard anything nice about him. (Yes, women TALK to each other). Anyway - every time I see this guy at our mutual friends' parties, he acts like he doesn't know me. And likewise, I do the same. Two can play this game, and I am FAR more skilled at this ridiculous game than some guy from little town New Zealand in the big city. He's so annoying! And he's gotten way FAT with a big thick neck. I can't believe my friends slept with him. Oh, did I also mention that a while ago, he and his partner tried to hire me to design a web site for them for like 1/8 of what it would cost??? They wanted e-cards, music player, all in Flash and we had a few meetings together "shooting the shit" and now at social situations he acts like he does not know me. It's beyond stupid. You know what's stupider? His wet noodle hair.

Anyway. Before this stupid-but-sadistically-enjoyable-encounter, I was inspired today to create a new act. I won't say what it is, but it's not classic and it's not fetish or dirty. It's more dance-pop inspired and I can tell you that it's either going to be Kylie Minoque's "Speakerphone" or Goldfrapp's "Strict Machine" - I really HEART both of these songs forever and that is KEY to doing a good act. LOVE YOUR SONG TO PIECES!! I also resurrected "Enter Sandman" after it got trashed by someone who I won't mention. I brought it back last night at Gloomy Goth Girl's Hard Candy Burlesque show at The Delancey. GGG sang "Enter Sandman" LIVE while I danced. I have minimized the act - my rule nowadays is, "When in doubt, don't rely on props." So I killed the goth locket, the shroud, the feather neck thing, and the chair. I was very happy with it now and it helped to cut the 5 minute long song down to 3.5 minutes. It was really fun hanging out with her crew at The Delancey. So close to my house so I could just roll home. GGG also did an impersonation of "Calamity Chang as a host" which was essentially me drunk and taunting the audience that I will take my clothes off with the help of tequila shots. In my defense that only happened ONCE at Beatles Burlesque. And further more, I never claimed or have ever billed myself as a host in the way say, Murray Hill, World Famous BoB, or Miss Astrid, are. I host to SAVE MONEY so we split the money one person less. I will claim to be a producer and a performer, two facets that I love more than hosting. So, although the impersonation was funny, I felt that I needed to explain myself so that no one has the wrong impression of what I want to accomplish. (Love you, JJ!) Here's a picture of me in my gothy-hair MU. You can't really tell from this picture cause of the lighting but my hair is teased out really big and I have sparkly blue eye make up all around and pale lips.

Backstage at The Delancey for Hard Candy Burlesque

Monday night's Beatles Burlesque was rained out! Or, I should say, hailed out. Everyone was telling me about tennis ball-sized hails coming down. Of course it was sunny all bloody day and right at 8pm, the rain started. This month's show was very tulmultuous from the beginning. First our guitarist Michael Webb is out of the country in Berlin working on a shoot for the new movie Three Musketeers with Milla Jovovich and Orlando Bloom. Then our drummer Matt Egan is working on a big deadline design project and his other band Made Out of Babies were in town to record. Honestly, I wanted to cancel the October show for financial reasons.

**** DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ ABOUT PRODUCER WOES OR IF YOU THINK IT'S UNKOSHER TO TALK ABOUT VENUES AND WHAT THEY CHARGE AND WHAT WE MAKE AT THE END OF THE SHOW. IF YOU READ ON, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK AND DON'T BITCH TO ME ABOUT REVEALING MY WOES AS A PRODUCER IN THIS BUSINESS ****

I am NOT making money at this show. I have never made any or even broken even. This is a pure passion project because I love seeing how much people love it, seeing the band really take a claim to what they are doing, seeing how performers interpret the Beatles, and the enthusiasm the public has towards the show. It's gotten mentioned recently in Metromix - the grandmama of all night life activities - and in NYPost. However, just because your show gets press or thrown a dog bone does not mean you are gonna get bodies out to Williamsburg on a Monday "work night". And at 10pm. Plus the venue takes a cut AND house fees. It kills me. And it's a split of 9. Four members in the band which can't be minimized, 4 burlesque performers, and myself. The last couple of shows I have not paid myself or Michael or Honi - we've discussed this arrangement before and we got each other's backs as friends. But this isn't even counting all the promotional work I do like design and maintain the show web site, buy Facebook ads for the show every month, postcard/poster costs, and not to mention the band members putting money out of their pockets to rent rehearsal space. Some venues will let you use their space during the day to rehearse but not this one. Anyway so the rain really fucking bummed me out and not having Michael there to cheer me on, bummed me out more. Okay so back to the trials of doing this month's show. We ask Carl, the guitarist, who stood in for Michael before. He agrees to do it. Then we find another drummer. Then two hours later the drummer retracts his involvement claiming he fucked up his schedule (LAME and in my book NOT an excuse!!!). Again, I suggest we cancel the show this month. No one wants to. We find another drummer through Carl who is totally down for learning all the songs lickety split. They rehearse and rehearse and I'm feeling good. The night before Monday night, Brassy calls and tells me she's lost her voice due to inexplicable reasons. I'm beyond pissed at this point. I just want to get it over with. As a producer, you often feel like you have to be a mother. She has no replacement for me. I'm on videoChat with Michael in Berlin fucking stressed out of my mind, and then he suggested asking Bastard Keith to do all the vocals! Brilliant!!! Especially since BK and I have already been discussing which month he should come and sing/guest host the show. This was perfect and maybe it was meant to be for this month. The man pulled a miracle overnight and learned all 10-12 songs and showed up at 730 for sound check and fucking saved the night. I was very happy to hear the songs sang by a man - it was a really nice change. Anita Cookie also sang "Oh Darlin" and holy crap, that girl can sing! I knew she danced and sang with Kenball but this was such a delightful surprise. Maine Attraction also fuckin brought it. I've never seen her do acts like this, where it's more contemporary (well 60s-70s) and she looked fucking HOT with that long hippie wig. All in all the show was GREAT. BK was GREAT. Carl and Mike T were GREAT. Kenball was GREAT. Runaround Sue was GREAT and GoGo Harder my big "if I was a gay man I want to sleep with him" crush-du-jour was AMAZING. That body just won't quit!! Moneywise, it sucked dick balls. I woke up the next morning with a new plan in mind and it is now in action. I will know in a couple days where the chips will fall. The show has been there for 7 months now and I would like to keep it there if things go my way. But I am a pragmatist at heart and centuries of Chinese money-saving ancestors are not going to let me make a stupid financial decision. Here's a picture of me pre-show in a different outfit than what I usually wear at Beatles:

This Saturday night is "Spreading the Curtains" at Coco de Mer again! This month I will be working with Gigi Lafemme and Sapphire Jones. I've recently started working with Ms. Jones from performing at Doc Wasabassco's Revealed and City Winery shows. She and I share the love for feather tattoos. The three of us are working on a pretty cool group finale to a song that's been on my mind for a long time. It's a little conceptual and my critique of "fashion". You'll have to come to see it! As usual, 42Below will be on hand with the all night open bar along with The Naughty Housewife's delicious baked treats. The cost is only $25 when you think about it, that's two cocktails at any other place in SoHo. The show starts at 8pm pretty promptly and is over by 930pm at the latest. Still early enough for everyone to do whatever else they have planned. Who goes to a party before 930 anyway?

Ah, my laundry is done now! I've been letting Chewie sleep in bed with me since Michael is LOATH to have dog hair on the black comforter. But what I'm doing is I wash the sheets the day before he comes back so he'll never know! WA HA HA!

Before I sign off, one last imagery that inspires me. This is Bai Guang, one of the most famous sirens from 1930s Shanghai. I have an act to her song "Flame of Love."

Bai Guang 1920

John Lennon

I am out of dishwashing detergent. The living room looks like a giant Goth closet exploded all over it (been rehearsing for tmrw night's Spooky, Scary, Sexy show at The Delancey). The bedroom looks like Forever21 moved in (I went shopping and bought some stuff over the weekend like this Spangle Body Suit that I will wear when gogo-ing at Nurse Bettie this Thursday night). And right now I am going to Beatles Burlesque. A very auspicious night, I have a feeling. It's an all-boys band tonight! I'm very excited to hear a male voice sing these songs that have been sung by a female lead the last 6 months. Last weekend was John Lennon's 70th birthday so tonight's show is even more special. I hope I don't cry when I dedicate tonight's show to him. I will blog more later tonight.

Only 4 Days into October And...

If this weekend's is any indication of the rest of this month, I am bracing myself for some serious awesome shit! I kicked off the month performing as "Rhinestone Zipper" - a "faux" groupie band conceived and created by Kiki Valentine and myself - who follow the band Diamondsnake every where they rock. Since Diamondsnake's music is metal/rock and the lyrics really say everything about the parody aspect of their music, we rolled with it and came up with our characters, simply known as "Groupie #1" and "Groupie #2". We ransacked the stage and danced with the band throughout the evening and choreographed certain articles of our costume to be removed at certain times. Here's a raw clip of our characters in action - die-hard fanatic groupie sluts who heart Diamondsnake! The longer edited clip can be seen here. I have to say, I really enjoyed working with the band not only because I like their music (and the likes of such as Steel Panther in LA), but also cause everyone was professional and courteous and chill. There's nothing I despise more than drama backstage or attitude like as getting way trashed before the show starts, starting an argument/disagreement with another person, being a Debbie Downer and moping around bringing everyone's energy dooooooown. Jo Boobs said it best in one of her Dos & Don'ts for burlesque performers - your behavior backstage should never give a producer pause when thinking of booking you. So yeah, no drama or attitude. Just rock and roll and vegan double chocolate chip cookies made by Juliet. It was a little tricky dancing on stage though with all the wires and wearing 4 inch slut heels. But neither of us tripped. I went to Remedy Diner afterwards and had chicken noodle soup with Michael, Bryan, Dan, and another guy and Juliet and three of her friends. One of her friends saw my "impromptu" duet-debacle with Jo Boobs at that fateful Beatles Burlesque a couple months ago where everyone kept buying me tequila shots to get me to take my clothes off (which I did) and then the finale with Jo where I don't remember anything. Everyone I've talked to however said the duet was so hot and crazy and I finally saw some photos on Facebook that a friend of a friend took!

Jo dancing to Oh, Darlin and I'm supposed to be a fan who wont leave her alone.

Ha! I think I went down on her here! Love Kenball's expression in the back.

So I did remember to do curtain call...

I still haven't figured out how I personally think of that night. Whenever someone brings up the duet, I feel a mixture of embarrassment and pride. Embarrassed that I didn't remember the act, but kinda proud that it was so notorious that it has become a great story to tell about Beatles Burlesque. Like, "Do you remember that last act with Jo Boobs and Calamity?" It's showbiz after all, and you're not going to get people's interest by not being memorable.

Sunday night I FINALLY went to dinner at Employees Only, the speakeasy bar/restaurant in the West Village where I book their "Silky Sunday" burlesque number. I met a friend from Texas who I have not seen for a good twelve years there for dinner and we were treated like queens! Dushan made us a cocktail called Secret Crush which according to him is a drink he makes only for people he has a secret crush on. I was like, "Well it's not a secret if you tell us!" It was a champagne drink but then he took out this little box and tapped some sparkley powder into the drinks. In the candlelight you could see the drink "move" inside. It was beautiful. My friend that I met looked the same. She and I were like total BFF when we were 11 til 16. Her mom and my mom were BFF too. They moved around a lot but we managed to stay in touch with each other. Then for reasons too long ago to remember now or rather leave buried, we lost touch with each other. Then she and I graduated high school and I left Texas and went to Cornell. We were so close but by then I didn't even know which college she ended up going to. Funny how things happen like that. Now 12 years later, we're sitting at the bar of Employees Only speed catching up on boyfriends, dating, school, NY, kids, husband over copious amounts of cocktails and food (elk loin is amazing so are the mussels!). Then I discovered that not only is Dushan the mastsermind mixologist genius behind EO, he also co-wrote this book called, You Didn't Hear It from Us: Two Bartenders Serve Women the Truth About Men, Making an Impression, and Getting What You Want. If his wise advice about a situation with a man to one of my friends (no names mentioned) is any indication of the kind of advice and insight this book provides, it is worth a read, single ladies.

That's me, Gal Friday, my friend Rebecca, and Tina, my friend from Texas!

I also had the pleasure of meeting Jonathan, the publisher of the neo-feminist publication, Whore Magazine. The magazine is brand new and covers art, culture, music, design, fashion. I love the reaction people have when you tell them the title of the magazine. From the web site, "...reclaiming a derogatory word that has long been used to censure those who would desire, express, resist, or simply take a different path." The magazine is sold at McNally's Bookstore in Soho. I'm hoping to do a photo feature with them soon. They came to my first show at Coco de Mer.


Earlier this week, I also met the people behind the French Tuesdays parties that they throw for an older, elegant, well-heeled expat crowd in LA, Milan, Miami, Sao Paulo, and NYC. The party this Tuesday is "Vegas Glam" and I'll be doing two acts and a gogo set there. I'm super excited about this show because Veronica Varlow will be performing too! I've worked with her once before and really like her vibe so I'm happy to be working with a gorgeous dame such as herself.