Follow me on Instagram to see how naked things go at Hotel Holiday.
Hope you enjoy this year's tease. This is Day 01.
Showing posts with label grace gotham. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grace gotham. Show all posts
Dec 2, 2015
Day 01: Advent Striptease Calendar 2015 at Hotel Holiday!
It's that time of the year again when I release one of my favorite social media projects - the striptease advent calendar! This year I was able to secure a very cool and modern hotel in NYC to feature all 25 days of tease. If you are a hotel-aficionado like me, you might recognize the location. ;-) I enlisted Mike Webb Photography to do all the filming and some creative lighting as we were working with a very lean system (ie: scarcely anything); and he managed to even add to my ongoing photography project "Hotel Series" while on location! Grace Gotham also helped me to come up with some of the copy for each day.
Follow me on Instagram to see how naked things go at Hotel Holiday.
Hope you enjoy this year's tease. This is Day 01.
Follow me on Instagram to see how naked things go at Hotel Holiday.
Hope you enjoy this year's tease. This is Day 01.
Aug 13, 2015
Adding More to My Hotel Series Photos, This Set By Bettina May!
Only a Texan would plan a trip to Texas in July, and only a burlesque performer would plan a TOUR in Texas in July! And that is exactly what I did last month. I organized a nice little tour in my home state and managed to get in a week's worth of time with my family as well. The trip coincided with two other NYC performer's traveling schedules (Grace Gotham and Bettina May) so we all decided to try to organize as many shows together as possible while we were all in Texas. Since I lost my drivers license years ago (not due to anything as salacious as DWI but mere expired for too long...) I told my parents I was going to "borrow" my older brother and make him chauffeur us around the 100+ Texas heat. And chauffeuring he did! He drove us to Houston, Austin, Corpus Christi, and all my local gigs in Dallas/Fort Worth. I've never gone on a road trip with my brother so it was actually kinda sibling bonding time and for us, it was bonding over many episodes of the classic Twilight Zone series.
While we were in Houston, Bettina (ever creative and industrious) pulled out her camera in our hotel room and we shot a few photos for my Hotel Series. I love adding to this growing series on my web site especially photos from different photographers.
There is a funny story about this photo. I tend to not like photos of myself laughing or smiling. I find that I have to have a real laugh for the photo to appear genuine. In all the fake smile/laugh photos, I look like a demonic clown so I tend to prefer photos of myself like this:
Or this.
But Bettina managed to capture me in a moment of genuine joy and laughter mainly because of what Grace Gotham was doing in the background which a lady can not divulge! Let's just say that I will forever think of this photo as the wonderful moment where Grace Gotham elicited an authentic laugh from me during a photo shoot.
Bettina is also for hire if you would like to have her style you for pin-up photos >
Check out Bettina's Pin Up Class >
While we were in Houston, Bettina (ever creative and industrious) pulled out her camera in our hotel room and we shot a few photos for my Hotel Series. I love adding to this growing series on my web site especially photos from different photographers.
There is a funny story about this photo. I tend to not like photos of myself laughing or smiling. I find that I have to have a real laugh for the photo to appear genuine. In all the fake smile/laugh photos, I look like a demonic clown so I tend to prefer photos of myself like this:
 |
| "Hotel Series #5", Photo by Michael Webb. See All in "Hotel Series" > |
 |
| "Hotel Series #3", Photo by Michael Webb. See All in "Hotel Series" > |
But Bettina managed to capture me in a moment of genuine joy and laughter mainly because of what Grace Gotham was doing in the background which a lady can not divulge! Let's just say that I will forever think of this photo as the wonderful moment where Grace Gotham elicited an authentic laugh from me during a photo shoot.
 |
| "Hotel Series #7", Photo by Bettina May See All in "Hotel Series" > |
 |
| "Hotel Series #7", Photo by Bettina May See All in "Hotel Series" > |
 |
| "Hotel Series #7", Photo by Bettina May See All in "Hotel Series" >   See All in My "Hotel Series" |
Bettina is also for hire if you would like to have her style you for pin-up photos >
Check out Bettina's Pin Up Class >
Jul 1, 2010
Eager to Lose @ The Tank, Nurse Bettie, Suicide Girl
Wednesday night I performed at Tansy's show "Eager to Lose: A Panto Burlesque" at The Tank. The show was basically a burlesque show but with an element of theater to it with back stories of the dancers and the skivvy cabaret owner. It was quasi-Christopher Isherwood short story, like burlesque meets Amistad Maupin. It has a lot of room to grown into something really other worldly especially if you are stepping off from tourists central on 45th street and 8th avenue. Tansy picked a group of really great people for her inaugural show. Gemini Rising, Albert Cadabra, Grace Gotham, two new hot gogo dancers (Lambchop and Tipsy Rose Lee) who I have already recruited to gogo at the next Beatles Burlesque show on Monday, July 12. They both have such cute names! Lambchop! Just makes you want to say it over and over again. Mint and lambchop. Chutney and lambchop. Sauteed lambchop. Lambchop on the parilla. YUMMM!!!!!!
The Tank did have a really nice black box stage and I was smitten with the floor! It was cushier than the usual shit so dancing on 5inch heels did not hurt my knees. There was a proper dressing room two flights up but the stairs are a fucking nightmare!!! Five minutes before show, Tansy almost slipped but caught herself and ended up ripping her shoulder. She did 4 acts and could barely lift her arm but she toughed it out even though she was clearly in a lot of pain. Last I heard, she's in a sling and is okay. But what a bummer, cause she was supposed to be in my Thursday night Nurse Bettie show but I had to find someone else to step in, and fortunately Scooter Pie was available.
I like this picture in particular because of how creepy Albert looks by the door. He's like, "...I'm gonna CUT CHOO fool!" Then he's like:
"WHAT! Whatchoo lookin, at fool!?"
I did my black fan number and the nun. The black fan is what I'll be doing at the Colorado Burlesque Festival NEXT weekend!! I am so excited! One of my best gf lives in Boulder and she just bought a new swanky house so I'm also excited to see her new pad, and pig out on some seitan and vegetarian food that's plenty easy to find in Boulder. I know...I really should just abandon this meat thing but I love chicken and fish too much! Altho... I do love faux-chicken too so much. Agh!! It's an existential food crisis!
I renewed my contract at the day job for another two weeks cause they really are massaging my brain in a major way that's really stimulating. But I negotiated a new term where I will not be working more than 10 hours a day, and if I go over, I can leave early the next day. This is much better. And will allow me to do my shows and see my non-burlesque friends which is becoming rarer and rarer - my guy friends don't seem to mind as much as the girl friends. I just don't have time to sit at a bar drinking for hours and I can't really eat out at restaurants 3x a week because A) it's expensive and B) restaurant food makes me gain weight in the blink of an eye. Oh well. All in all though, I am happy pursuing this path wherever it'll lead me. I'm definitely having more fun, excitement, glamour, and crazy shit than ever in my life!
Last night was the Nurse Bettie show with ALL girls, so fun! I intro-ed Weirdee Girl as "The Martha Stewart of Burlesque" because I keep seeing her do acts where she uses food on her body. One time it was cheese, last night it was cranberry sauce. Rosebud did a new act that is a fetish that really turns her on, mummifying and restriction. She used saran wrap and rolled herself into it to Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" - it was pretty awe-inspiring. I did an easy act last night, the red tequila priestess act. Craig took some photos with his phone.
Those of you who have been around the scene long enough may notice that this costume and music (Tito & Tarantula's After Dark) is exactly the same as Jo Boob's Aztec act. I did not know this when I came up with the act, which really isn't original like my equestrian act since I basically ripped off of "From Dusk til Dawn" and copied Selma Hayek's headpiece. But just for the record, I did tell Jo that I accidentally did the same act. In hers as she described in her new burlesque handbook, she wears red flame contacts. I've never seen her do this act myself, but she being the diplomatic educator, said I can go for it because she doesn't do this act very much anymore.
After the show, I met Sauci Calla Horra from Toronto! She's the one who produces the Toronto Burlesque Festival happening in a week! We talked for a long time about the different scenes, and other shows and people we knew in common. As you may or may not know, I did not get in the Toronto festival as much as I wanted to, and she and I talked about my application. She was so nice about it, even almost apologizing to me about how close I was in the process. I in turned felt bad about making her feel bad about not accepting my number. I should have submitted my nun act or hello kitty or even the equestrian bondage act, but at the time of application, I didn't have any of those acts ready. Rosewood did say to me to submit and act that is beaten up, tried and true, and not submit a new act. I should have listened to her! Anyway, I told Sauci I will definitely apply again next year and if I go to Toronto, I would love to perform anytime she wants me to. She and her partner went to see Rosewood at The Box after wards, and I texted Rose and she said she is doing a "blackface" act!! I've been dying for someone to do blackface. It's kind of an obsession of mine. Bella Balls and I joke about her doing it. So I may stop by Saturday night to see Rose do blackface - its the last frontier!
I also applied to be a Suicide Girl and was accepted. I know they are soooo late 90's but they've grown into a huge corporate money-making business selling "alternative erotica". It'll increase my visibility and get some extra money and gigs. I will be working on my set (70-100 photos) with Michael as soon as he comes back from Toronto. They have a VERY strict set of rules when it comes to the kind of photos they want. Like NO dudes. Even if they are blurry in the background. Or touching, spreading. I'm excited by this new SG venture!
The Tank did have a really nice black box stage and I was smitten with the floor! It was cushier than the usual shit so dancing on 5inch heels did not hurt my knees. There was a proper dressing room two flights up but the stairs are a fucking nightmare!!! Five minutes before show, Tansy almost slipped but caught herself and ended up ripping her shoulder. She did 4 acts and could barely lift her arm but she toughed it out even though she was clearly in a lot of pain. Last I heard, she's in a sling and is okay. But what a bummer, cause she was supposed to be in my Thursday night Nurse Bettie show but I had to find someone else to step in, and fortunately Scooter Pie was available.
I like this picture in particular because of how creepy Albert looks by the door. He's like, "...I'm gonna CUT CHOO fool!" Then he's like:
"WHAT! Whatchoo lookin, at fool!?"
I did my black fan number and the nun. The black fan is what I'll be doing at the Colorado Burlesque Festival NEXT weekend!! I am so excited! One of my best gf lives in Boulder and she just bought a new swanky house so I'm also excited to see her new pad, and pig out on some seitan and vegetarian food that's plenty easy to find in Boulder. I know...I really should just abandon this meat thing but I love chicken and fish too much! Altho... I do love faux-chicken too so much. Agh!! It's an existential food crisis!
I renewed my contract at the day job for another two weeks cause they really are massaging my brain in a major way that's really stimulating. But I negotiated a new term where I will not be working more than 10 hours a day, and if I go over, I can leave early the next day. This is much better. And will allow me to do my shows and see my non-burlesque friends which is becoming rarer and rarer - my guy friends don't seem to mind as much as the girl friends. I just don't have time to sit at a bar drinking for hours and I can't really eat out at restaurants 3x a week because A) it's expensive and B) restaurant food makes me gain weight in the blink of an eye. Oh well. All in all though, I am happy pursuing this path wherever it'll lead me. I'm definitely having more fun, excitement, glamour, and crazy shit than ever in my life!
Last night was the Nurse Bettie show with ALL girls, so fun! I intro-ed Weirdee Girl as "The Martha Stewart of Burlesque" because I keep seeing her do acts where she uses food on her body. One time it was cheese, last night it was cranberry sauce. Rosebud did a new act that is a fetish that really turns her on, mummifying and restriction. She used saran wrap and rolled herself into it to Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" - it was pretty awe-inspiring. I did an easy act last night, the red tequila priestess act. Craig took some photos with his phone.
Those of you who have been around the scene long enough may notice that this costume and music (Tito & Tarantula's After Dark) is exactly the same as Jo Boob's Aztec act. I did not know this when I came up with the act, which really isn't original like my equestrian act since I basically ripped off of "From Dusk til Dawn" and copied Selma Hayek's headpiece. But just for the record, I did tell Jo that I accidentally did the same act. In hers as she described in her new burlesque handbook, she wears red flame contacts. I've never seen her do this act myself, but she being the diplomatic educator, said I can go for it because she doesn't do this act very much anymore.
After the show, I met Sauci Calla Horra from Toronto! She's the one who produces the Toronto Burlesque Festival happening in a week! We talked for a long time about the different scenes, and other shows and people we knew in common. As you may or may not know, I did not get in the Toronto festival as much as I wanted to, and she and I talked about my application. She was so nice about it, even almost apologizing to me about how close I was in the process. I in turned felt bad about making her feel bad about not accepting my number. I should have submitted my nun act or hello kitty or even the equestrian bondage act, but at the time of application, I didn't have any of those acts ready. Rosewood did say to me to submit and act that is beaten up, tried and true, and not submit a new act. I should have listened to her! Anyway, I told Sauci I will definitely apply again next year and if I go to Toronto, I would love to perform anytime she wants me to. She and her partner went to see Rosewood at The Box after wards, and I texted Rose and she said she is doing a "blackface" act!! I've been dying for someone to do blackface. It's kind of an obsession of mine. Bella Balls and I joke about her doing it. So I may stop by Saturday night to see Rose do blackface - its the last frontier!
I also applied to be a Suicide Girl and was accepted. I know they are soooo late 90's but they've grown into a huge corporate money-making business selling "alternative erotica". It'll increase my visibility and get some extra money and gigs. I will be working on my set (70-100 photos) with Michael as soon as he comes back from Toronto. They have a VERY strict set of rules when it comes to the kind of photos they want. Like NO dudes. Even if they are blurry in the background. Or touching, spreading. I'm excited by this new SG venture!
Jun 29, 2010
Surgery
Don't worry it wasn't a big deal. It was an ugly cyst I have had on my back, on my left shoulder, for many years now. It kept getting bigger over the years and I didn't have health insurance to cover it. Finally, what drove me over the edge was constantly having to Photoshop it out of all my pictures!! That's really the only thing I have to retouch and it drove me nuts. And also having people ask me if I'm "ok" - it kind of ruins the whole glamorous night life mirage when this tumor-like thing is on your back and solicits concerned questions from strangers who are just out having a good time trying to forget reality for a night.
So it's gone! Dr. Harrison is top notch! He gave me anesthesia around the cyst then another shot that lasted longer. When he was cutting, I couldn't feel anything at all. I could feel my skin being tugged and some slight pressure, and at times, it felt like he was threading a fishing line through my skin, but there was absolutely no pain. So weird and a bit scary. It made me think of horror films (The Ruins, Tourista, two of my personal favs) where you have a few drinks somewhere and you wake up with one kidney missing! The whole thing was finished in two hours. Then when I looked on the tray, I saw my cyst!!!
It looked like a small bloody pearl onion with all this tissue wrapped around it, all gooey!! SO GROSS!!! Parts of it looked "cooked" because Dr. Harrison used a mini scorcher to stop the bleeding, and it looked, seriousy, like cooked pork chop. Same color. Same texture. SO GROSS. I had to take a picture of it! I got 4 stitches and a bandage which will come off on Thursday along with the stitches.
I'm still performing in Tansy's theater play, "Eager to Lose: a Panto Burlesque" tmrw night at 8PM, bandage and all! It sounds like a Fellini-esque production, a "behind the scenes", the makings of the makings of something, like Michael Winterbottom's Tristram Shandy - cause Tansy said it was okay for me to have the bandage and perform. I can't wait to see what this play is about! Gemini Rising, Grace Gotham, and Albert Cadabra are all in it - so I know this is gonna be fun!
So it's gone! Dr. Harrison is top notch! He gave me anesthesia around the cyst then another shot that lasted longer. When he was cutting, I couldn't feel anything at all. I could feel my skin being tugged and some slight pressure, and at times, it felt like he was threading a fishing line through my skin, but there was absolutely no pain. So weird and a bit scary. It made me think of horror films (The Ruins, Tourista, two of my personal favs) where you have a few drinks somewhere and you wake up with one kidney missing! The whole thing was finished in two hours. Then when I looked on the tray, I saw my cyst!!!
It looked like a small bloody pearl onion with all this tissue wrapped around it, all gooey!! SO GROSS!!! Parts of it looked "cooked" because Dr. Harrison used a mini scorcher to stop the bleeding, and it looked, seriousy, like cooked pork chop. Same color. Same texture. SO GROSS. I had to take a picture of it! I got 4 stitches and a bandage which will come off on Thursday along with the stitches.
I'm still performing in Tansy's theater play, "Eager to Lose: a Panto Burlesque" tmrw night at 8PM, bandage and all! It sounds like a Fellini-esque production, a "behind the scenes", the makings of the makings of something, like Michael Winterbottom's Tristram Shandy - cause Tansy said it was okay for me to have the bandage and perform. I can't wait to see what this play is about! Gemini Rising, Grace Gotham, and Albert Cadabra are all in it - so I know this is gonna be fun!
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