 Archives
Recent Entries
|
« February 2005 |
Main
| April 2005 »
France Part I 03.31.05
Hey! Just got in from Paris- dead tired but I have only two days to prepare for Tokyo. I wasn't able to update my diary from out there, but I wrote the following this past Sunday--- I was nearly over my jetlag, but last night's party put me straight back on NY time- it's 6 pm and I just woke up. Last night the Euro-visions label hosted a 10th Anniversary party, first at a club called Shari Vari followed by an after-party at some guy's gigantic, very downtown NY-looking loft. The party began at 7 pm and ended at 8 am this morning, only because the cops arrived and said enough is enough. I haven't been at a party busted by cops since junior high school (when liquor + teenagers always guaranteed a bust-up). Naturally, the French cops were much more polite than their American counterparts. Euro-visions is a French record label run by Xavier Alves, Cédric Morel, and Jean-Emmanuel Deluxe. Lotsa jazzy-cool electronica from artists like April March, the Witch Hazel Sound, Pete Aves. I met Xavier for the first time in February, when he was in NY to paint a room at the Carlton Arms hotel. We totally hit it off, and now here I am at his place in Rouen- with his cat Minux glaring at me with very hungry eyes. Maison Tellier (soft acoustic threesome) and Bertrand Burgalat (French crooner with the world's largest glasses) opened the party with short live sets. I DJ'd afterwards- '60s girls like Martha & the Vandellas and Dana Gillespie, and plenty of Annie and Capsule- while the sweetest bartender kept me in full supply of beer (I don't think I had an empty glass the entire night). I am in love with the French- seriously everyone has been so incredibly kind and generous to me. I am totally overwhelmed. No only have Xavier and his Rouen posse taken care of me from the moment I arrived, but on the plane over I met an art director who took me in a cab from Charles De Gaulle airport to Paris St. Lazare, and then put me on a train to Rouen, and paid for everything! Ahh.... the kindness of strangers. Pascal, if you're reading this, our future night out in New York (or Tokyo!) is on me. Sheila Photos (clockwise from top left- Jean-Emmanuel Deluxe behind the decks, Xavier and Samuel taking iPod requests, the party gang, Antonin Gaultier and Toma Club. Posted by Sheila at 03:55 PM SXSW Part II 03.24.05
I leave for Paris in a few hours, but before I get all my junk together I wanted to share the last of my SXSW story. Friday night Surferosa played at the Drink on Sixth Street for Nordic Night- The Crash (Jackson 5-inspired power pop), The Ark (annoyingly camp), and some other crappy folk band were also on the bill. If you read my diary, you know that I have high hopes for Surferosa, and anyone who has seen them live should know why. I was thrilled to see the Drink packed by the time Surferosa hit the stage, and everyone in the audience was totally in awe of Mariann. With the stage located right in front of the entrance, you could see crowds of passers-by and photographers lining up at the windows to get their shots. After the gig Alyssa and I loaded up on Red Bull and Vodka (so good the night-of, so bad the day-after) and hung out with the 'Rosa crew. Included in that crew was Mark, his wife Laura, and their daughter Darcy- a Texan family who were hosting Surferosa at their home 30 minutes outside of downtown Austin. I can't remember exactly how they hooked up this deal, but somehow during SXSW Austin folks can host international bands at their home in exchange for free badges (meaning you can get into all the expos, events for free). Mark said that he was throwing a big barbecue at his place on Saturday evening, and invited us along. We had plans to see Kings Of Convenience and Phoenix at Antone's that night, but it soon became clear that we could see those bands anytime. But when would we ever get to experience a real Texan barbecue?! When we arrived at Mark and Laura's, we knew we had made the right decision. A local cover band was rocking out to Alice In Chains on a stage set up on the tennis court, brisket and chicken and pork and ribs were cooking on the barbecue, coolers were loaded with beer, and everyone was heading towards total intoxication. Surferosa were well drunk by the time they played their set (and what a show it was!) and next thing I know Alyssa and I are up in Mariann's room changing into bikinis to join a huge crowd hanging out in the hot tub. I think there were about 15 people packed in the tub- some Danish and Norwegian sound engineers, Texan teenagers, Surferosa, and some friends of Mark and Laura's. These two young girls started getting very flirty with everyone, and they were more than happy to give us all a little peep show. Very Girls Gone Wild. I remember thinking- this is the greatest night ever. I was in Texas- in a hot tub with a beer, between a couple that was totally going at it and this nice guy from Oslo, the Killers blasting on the stereo. What an adventure. Time for more! Sheila Photos: clockwise from left- the nice guy from Oslo, Mariann, and Ziggy @ the barbecue, Marian onstage @ the Drink, Alyssa @ the Nylon party after getting her free makeup done by MAC. Posted by Sheila at 10:48 AM SXSW Part I 03.22.05
Austin was crazy! I have so much to say, too many photos to show, so I'll divide up my diary into three days- beginning with Thursday March 18th- the day I arrived in Austin, TX, picked up my rental car and blasted Toto's "Africa" all the way to the hotel (I think I might've explained before that I'm on a non-new wave '80s kick- Toto, Boston, Kool & the Gang, Phil Collins, you get the picture). Met up with Alyssa- longtime girlfriend, Austin partner-in-crime and Kalle, my favorite Swede. Kalle was in town with his band, Soundtrack Of Our Lives, so we dropped him at the Austin Music Hall, and went to find parking. Sounds like a simple task, but with my night blindness and keen sense of direction, we ended up in the suburbs and missed most of Soundtrack's set. Robert Plant came on afterwards- playing Led Zeppelin songs to tribal beats. It would've been nice to hear "Stairway To Heaven" or "Rock N' Roll" (basically the only Led Zeppelin songs I'm familiar with), but we left mid-set and headed over to a party for Nylon magazine. I treated my car full of Swedes and Brits to Toto ("Africa" will be forever associated with Austin). Everyone broke down and confessed that they too love this song. At the Nylon party I fell in love. Not with the free and delicious Vodka blackberry mixtures, but with a girl group called The Like. Three model-skinny Los Angeles gals- all under 21, all gorgeous, all great musicians. In all honesty, their good looks made it difficult to be objective about the music, but listening back to their songs, I think it's pretty promising stuff. What do you think? Have a listen to "(So I'll Sit Here) Waiting." "(So I'll Sit Here) Waiting" (mp3) German duo Electrocute came on after with a ridiculously entertaining set (although the music was awful). And a bunch of indie-stars-James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem), Marcie Bolan (The Von Bondies), Erlend Oye (Kings Of Convenience)- deejayed in between sets. Here's a photo of the Like's singer/ guitar player and me. I'm totally star-struck. Sheila Posted by Sheila at 12:44 AM Japan Girls Nite! 03.19.05
Vodka and Red Bull is never a good idea. Hopefully today's Texan barbecue will bring me back to life. I have ton of stories to share from this SXSW weekend in Austin, but seeing as I can barely string a sentence together, I better hold off on the storytelling until I get back to NY. But I do wanna let y'all know about a big Japan Girls Nite that's touring the states. You can find all the info at the Sister Records site. Here's the scoop: Titan Go Kings March 20th Chicago @ Bottom Lounge That's Tsushimamire in the photo. Definitely looks like a fab nite! Sheila Posted by Sheila at 02:53 PM He's The Boy I Love 03.15.05
By now my infatuation with Lou Christie is no secret. During my breaks from Matthew Wilder's "Break My Stride," I listen to "Rhapsody In The Rain" and "Trapeze" and "If My Car Could Only Talk"- just a few of Lou Christie's myriad toxic pop concoctions. I wrote a review of two recent Lou Christie compilations for Spectropop, which I urge you to read if you're not yet hip to his melodic genius (don't feel bad- I only just discovered him a few months ago). Here's the link: Back to work! Sheila Posted by Sheila at 12:20 PM Break My Stride 03.12.05
I am in flu hell once again (twice in one month!) and to add to my pain, I have to drink two cups a day of brown sludge made up of ingredients like seaweed sargassum, prunella spike, and figwort. No words can do its disgusting taste justice, but I have full faith in Chinese medicine. My dad's Spanish teacher, who has hepatitis C went to see my doctor and after a few weeks of drinking "the tea" (as it's so gently called) she saw a 40% increase in white blood cells. I think her Western doctors were amazed. I gotta get better fast cos I'm leaving for SXSW this Thursday, and then three days after I get back I've got a DJ gig in France. The only thing facilitating my recovery (well, aside from the nasty teas) is my love for the man above- no, not God- the man in the photo above- Matthew Strider (oops, I mean Matthew Wilder). And it's not his shapely tash that caught my eye, but his Prozac-laced '80s hit "Don't Break My Stride," which I re-discovered last weekend at a bar on 105th street. The fabulous DJ also treated us to forgotten favorites like De Barge's "Rhythm Of The Night" and Nu Shooz' "I Can't Wait." For those who forgot the genius of "Break My Stride," here it is in full stereo (not that there was ever a mono version). Sheila Posted by Sheila at 06:42 PM Not For Kids 03.05.05
I know, this photo is totally obscene. Last night a bunch of us went to my favorite weekend hangout- Waikiki Wally's on East 2nd Street, which is so un-hip that you're always guaranteed a table on a Friday night. Two humungous parrots in the window and Mai Tai's that come in a punch bowl with six straws and fire spewing off the rum is enough to keep me entertained, BUT THEN, a guy comes over and offers to make us dirty balloon art. Yes please! So here is the result of his genius, which, as you can see, my friend Mike thoroughly enjoyed. Two more weeks until SXSW! For those heading down south, don't forget to check out Surferosa @ the Drink on Friday March 18th. I bullied ten friends into coming to see them at Don Hill's last year, and not one person was disappointed. One of my friends (who has extremely bad taste in music) couldn't stop gushing over Mariann's onstage antics. She's out of her mind. "I'll bleed if I have to," she once said when I interviewed her for BUST. Phil Milstein feeds my addiction for song titles and wacky LP cover art. I can't decide if my favorite is Airman! or Symphonic Fantastique ? ハイ！スケベな写真を許してね。昨晩友達と遊びにいった時、風船が作れる人が私のテーブルに来て、スケベな風船を作ってあげようかと言った。そんなにスケベになると思わなかった。すっごいね？！ Sheila Posted by Sheila at 01:12 PM |
