Dance kid dance

09.29.05

My neighbors are animals! How's a girl to get anything done with all the high-pitched moaning and groaning coming through the walls? In my experience, the loudest screams are followed by peace and quiet, but not for this couple. 20 minutes later they're at it again. And no, I'm not jealous. I'm severely sleep deprived after finding myself on the couch at 7 am, still in last night's attire. I NEVER pass out cold, but I guess it can happen after champagne + vodka + beer + wine + Jello shots with whipped cream. Yikes. I can already see where this diary entry is headed......

First a launch party for Warner Books new "smart chick lit" imprint 5 Spot with free champagne and titles like "How To Sleep With A Movie Star" (I think I'll break my non-fiction-only rule to find out how). And then Vickie + I head downtown to meet Elisa + Rob in from Manchester for a Hurricane Katrina benefit that BUST sponsored with Girlie Action, the loveliest music PR gang. Ana Matronic + Del Marquis of the Scissor Sisters and Lady Miss Kier deejayed and raffled off a pair of Nancy Sinatra's go-go boots! Lots of hot + heavy dancing with gay boys, which I highly recommend for girls who wanna "get down" without attracting stalkers.

So the plan is to get these charming articles up in the next couple weeks and then retire to the countryside, alcohol and party-free, and begin an enormous project that'll keep me busy for the next two years.

Oh, and my fave Norwegian band Surferosa just released their sophomore record, and what I've heard so far sounds AMAZING. Listen here: http://www.myspace.com/surferosa.

Sheila

Posted by Sheila at 11:34 AM

Vinyl, USA

09.19.05

Once a year an unusually large amount of bespectacled age 50+ male eccentrics converge upon Allentown, Pennsylvania to wheel and deal in the glamorous trade of the 45 rpm record. Women tend to steer clear of these vinyl-centric events, unless of course your record-obsessed husband has dragged you along for the ride, or if your name happens to be Layla, Jaime, Cassandra, or Sheila. In which case you wake up at a ridiculous hour of the morning (after a night of wine + tequila shots at the Debutantes Ball in Brooklyn), withdraw ridiculous amounts of cash from the ATM, and drive two hours into Pennsylvania to join the strange and unusual breed of humankind. All for the love of the 45, man. In my ten years of collecting records, I have never met one female record collector, and all of a sudden I encounter Layla, Jamie, and Cassandra- soul and freakbeat fiends, DJs, and all-round fabulous girls. And all under 40. Amazing! A car full of female record collectors sounds something like this- "Oh my god, you have the PIC SLEEVE?" "That record has been on my want list for over eight years!" "Yeah, the British version from '68 is so much better than the American original." I was smiling from departure to arrival, feeling so f**king happy that I FINALLY get to talk records with my own kind. I mean, the only time I get to gush about records is during my annual trips to London, so I really have to raise a glass to the person above for putting me in touch with these local ladies.

Luck was on my side on Saturday, when after hitting up a not-so-great dealer, I meet Dennis West, who has just about every record on my want list- April Young "To Be Loved By You," Andrea Carroll "Miss Happiness," The Honeys' "The One You Can't Have" (this is where most of my cash went), The Cannon Sisters "Second Best," Dee Dee Warwick on Tiger, and a KILLER Renee St. Clair record called "Look What I Got" on Jubilee. He hands me his card (name, address, e-mail, and a photo of glass jars with the heading "Wanted Old Canning Jars") and promises to hook me up with more goodies via e-mail. SCORE! We could've stayed until closing, but by 3 pm I had made three trips to the ATM, and the other gals were broke and ready to go as well.

Strangely enough, as I was returning the car to the rental place, this young couple walk in with old 45 boxes, a portable Vestex, and stacks of 45s. When I ask if they had just returned from the record fair, they said yes and that they had seen me there. And then they proceed to tell me that they throw DJ nights two blocks from my apartment. Firstly, what an odd coincidence! And second, how jealous am I that these lovebirds are going to a record fair together- the girl looking for funk, the boy searching for soul- sharing the thrill of finding a rare 45. Ahhh..... how perfectly romantic.

Sheila

photo (left to right): Sheila, Layla, Cassandra, Jaime

Posted by Sheila at 05:47 PM

Dizzy

09.10.05

Lived it up all Labor Day weekend with two back-to-back DJ gigs and a day trip to the Hamptons with my friend Bob Stanley from London. All my gushing about Lez Zeppelin- the most mind-blowing all-female Led Zep tribute band- eventually took its toll on Bob who promptly booked a flight to NY to witness the sexy spectacle for himself. At a dive bar oddly placed in the chichi Hampton town of Amagansett, we experienced the Zep girls in all their HOT glory. I could barely contain myself watching lead lady Brooke Gengras. With every hip swivel and high-pitched howl, I moved closer and closer to swearing off men for good. What a fox!

Things got even wilder at Smashed Blocked on Friday night, when party host Josh Styles submitted to the 4 am crowd's demand for the Sunrays' "I Live For The Sun." Who ever would have guessed that this pussycat of a California pop record would prompt the kind of violence seen at a Judas Priest concert, but when after three spins of the Sunrays the Beauty Bar manager yelled at Josh to stop the music, the crowd lost it completely. "Play it again!" they screamed, while smashing beer bottles, falling onto broken glass, spilling blood. A few seconds later, the Beauty Bar doorman gets punched in the face, and the club's main window is smashed in. The manager screams at everyone to get the f**k out of the bar, and just as we head down the road, we see cop cars pull in from all directions. I'd say that's just about the greatest rock n'roll ending ever. I will never miss a night of Smashed Blocked again.

24 hours later we're at Misshapes, indulging in synthetic '80s fantasies culled from the likes of Stevie Nicks, Neneh Cherry, Cyndi Lauper, Kim Wilde, and Janet Jackson. I almost got crushed to death trying to dance to "What Have You Done For Me Lately." Is pop music the new metal? Cos the Misshapes dance floor was a borderline mosh pit.

I was hoping things would calm down somewhat following Bob's return to England, my return to work, but Wednesday I joined Melody Nelson @ her weekly club night Atomique where I played more '80s and John Travolta + Olivia Newton John's "You're The One That I Want."

And tonight it's Le One Night Stand V! Relaxing can hold off until next week.

Sheila

p.s. Incase you were wondering about the fine-looking chap in the photo above, he's Andy- the Sunrays' biggest fan.

Posted by Sheila at 06:50 PM