West Indian Girl

i cancelled my cable tv subscription today

i got a haircut

i found someone’s pager on the side walk

i had a cappuccino

i bought and ingested a form of liquid collagen

i found the picture i just posted when i was cleaning out my email – kevin reid took it one night he stopped by practice

i watched videos of that tsunami on the web

i had an egg salad sandwich (it sucked) i had sweet and sour chicken (it sucked too)

i quit smoking (again)

i talked to chris carter about the pro and cons of waxing or shaving your balls

i took tony for a walk at 3AM and saw this creepy guy just sitting alone in his car on my block

i realized i have to do laundry tomorrow

i just popped open a miller high life and i’m waiting to get sleepy — F.TEN 3:37AM

I spent xmas in bed sleeping almost the whole day away. i woke up and went to china chef (in a strip mall) and had xmas dinner with my friend minah. my best friend sascha met us there and then we went and drank champagne at minah’s house. heidi showed up there too

i just got back from a little trip i took out east. i went to see my sister and her family along with the rest of my family (mom, dad, and twin brother). it was a good time cos it’s been like 5 years since i have seen them. i even saw some relatives that i hadn’t seen for like 15 years…how weird is that. fun stuff. that’s a pic of me and my dad. even though he didn’t want to see any of my tattoos he still rocks. check out the similar blackness we had goin on — F.TEN 5:35AM

my dog tony is farting so bad right now it’s killin me! this afternoon i left half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on the table next to my bed and the little bastard ate it. right now we are both paying the price for his gluttony. this sux. he doesnt look too happy right now either.

oh yeah, i would like to thank the nice people at my publishing company, cherry lane for sending me a bottle of cristal. i will definitely be thinking of you when i down that later this week. champagne champagne…how i love drinking champagne. [note to any fans in the giving mood – please send fran from west indian girl a bottle of champagne] you know what was really weird about getting that bottle in the mail from the UPS guy today? well, 4 days ago i drank a bottle of cristal that had been sitting in my fridge for over a year… isnt that weird…it was like the UPS gods knew it needed to be replaced. well, i think it’s weird.

i also want to say hi to sam and thank her for the great interview she did with me the other night. she has a cool radio show called “strung out with sam” on C101.5FM in Toronto. thanx sam. let’s do it again and again and again.

i’m jumping on a plane in a few hours and none of my friends are driving me to the airport because they all have real jobs — F.TEN 2:34 AM

YOU ARE BUMMED IF YOU MISSED THIS SHOW. This was by far the best show west indian girl has put on to date. without a doubt it kicked serious fucking ass on multiple levels. it all just came together and the evening was extremely magical. there are a few “thank yous” that need to go out. the first one goes out to stefan viterstedt for enhancing and heightening our show with your visual wizardry. the second goes out to bernie for really dialing in our sound that night. the third goes out to KCRW for presenting the show—hopefully there will be many more memorable nights like this. the fourth goes out to marc goldstein who once again was there documenting it all. below is a taste of what he captured and what you missed. oh yeah i would like to say hi to a bunch of old friends that came out to the show and showed their support. thanx to brad barrish, peg rettino, jen hung, john the kid srebalus, angela lang, minah oh, and sascha linn for making me smile just by seeing you there. i appreciate the fact you guys went – it meant a lot to me.

my friend joe puleio called me the other day and said the funniest thing when i asked him how he liked out new singer “she was blowin on that harmonica with all that lipstick on and shit…i was like damn!” hahaha i thought that was a classic—F. Ten 5:53PM

wow! i have no pics at all from this show. how weird is that? we played at chain reaction in anaheim and ya know what? – i like this place. we did it for the kids man….all ages. i need pics from this night cos the place was packed – i can’t wait to go back there and play. when u finish playing a show at 9:30 at night you know you’re at an all ages club. immediately after the show i remember thinking that i need to have at least one drink (no matter what) before i play a show. i just can’t play a show like a straight edge little punk…there is something too mentally constricting about it. One great thing that happened was having my old friend Bernie Larsen do our sound. He did an excellent job – bernie has an innate feel for what we are doing. Thanx bernie! after the show i went to pick up more road cases from ED at his shop “Get Off My Case” Ed makes the best road cases. i will show you pics of them when i write my expose on my bass set up. (that’s coming up soon and i’m sure everyone is dying to read it)— F. TEN 1:13PM

Phoenix played 2 shows in town over the weekend and we all went to the show on sunday (except for rob who went to the first show). in some weird twist of fate marc goldstein was also there shooting the event. he ended up documenting our destruction and took all of the pics shown except for the very first one above and the last one of branco and i.

mark “lewscious” lewis everyone


tender carter moments before the storm

what is going on in carter’s head…”should i drink more?”

answer…”yes”


where’s your hand mariqueen?



umm, i really can’t comment too much on these pics because i honestly don’t remember what was going on. i wish rob had been there though cos it was a fun fun fun time — it was nice to let off some steam (collectively) because most of the time when we all get together it’s to work on our show. and hey, why NOT live it up, right?…it was a sunday evening after all—F.Ten 12:12PM

Getting to san fran was a complete bitch. after the show in portland we jumped in the van and drove all night long (i think 12 hours) to san fran. an ambien would have been the perfect remedy for a drive like that. unfortunately i left my ambien at home. san fran turned out to be an amazing show. we opened for phoenix at a wicked club called popscene. that’s chris, mariqueen, chocolate, robert, marc and chassol (from phoenix) on their tour bus in the picture above.i really dont have many pics from that night. i will try to get some from mariqueen. hmmmm the show was awesome though. it was the best show on that tour. the san fran crowds have been surprisingly warm. i never really liked sf much but now i’m starting to change my tune. a couple of our old friends made it out to the show as well, andrew was there and so was KT. thanx for coming. oh yeah, errol and dayna from astralwerks were also there. always great seeing errol out.

i think i’m gonna start asking the other guys in the band if they wouldnt mind writing down some of their thoughts on some of these shows so you guys could get a different view once in a while. hmmm those guys are kinda lazy though. ummm if anyone in the band reads this that’s a big hint to send me some of your thoughts on anything (especially the shows) so i can post them. thanx — F. TEN 3:24AM

The night after seattle we played in portland at the doug fir lounge. this place is one of the cooler bars to play in on the west coast. It’s a bar/restaurant/hotel all in one. the decor and architecture is dialed in with a sort of upscale swanky lodge vibe. the food kicks ass and the stage set up is great. the promoter – i think his name was brent was really great – he was more than accommodating and brought us a deli tray from heaven . oh the people in the pic above are (from l-r) mariqueen, brent, randy, ryanne, robert, and s-man. our special guests backstage were randy and ryanne. it was really great that they came down to see us. randy works at Dakine and he brought us some more cool shit – check out their site Dakine.com they have a cool music section that i just checked out. nice review randy – how much do i owe ya…hahaha. randy, you now have guaranteed yourself back stage passes forever. that dude is dope. speaking of dope, note to self – don’t get high with the rest of the band – just stick to drinking miller “high” life (brent had 16oz cans in the dressing room believe it or not). as far as the show went i honestly don’t remember much. portland was the one show where i was a little too out of it. when we were playing i remember looking at mark lewis and laughing uncontrollably at how badly i was playing and then wondering why rob had stopped playing his guitar in northern sky. it was surreal. the portland crowd was tough too. so tough chris contemplated suicide. —F.TEN 2:27PM

I know these show reports are a bit late but hey, better late than never right? ok, a couple weeks ago in seattle we played a place called chop suey we opened for our label mates phoenix (in the pic above Branco is next to Chris and Deck is on the right) The show was unforgettable. one of the main reasons why it was so unforgettable was because it was one of the rare times we had the luxury of flying up to a show instead of driving. i understand from the s-man and chocolate (who drove our gear up 2 days earlier in the van) that driving a van pulling a uhaul trailer through a 2 day snow storm on I-5 wasn’t really relaxing or enjoyable. (by the way, that’s us in the airport on the left relaxing and having a great stress free time) anyway, not only was it our first show out of state it was our first show with mariqueen and our first show playing in front of a packed house. overall it went great. since the stage at chop suey was so tiny our actual stage set up ended up being pretty bizarre because we had to cram all of our shit in front of phoenix’s gear. it was tight and very awkward. even though we had no sound check i guess we sounded pretty good because the fans really got into it. we even did our first encore which was kind of unexpected…thank you seattle! as far as mariqueen’s performance went, well, talk about baptism by fire. given the fact that we had no sound check, it was her first show, and it was a packed house…she kicked ass. i think after the show when she was signing autographs it finally dawned on her how crazy this whole thing is going to be. in some sort of strange karmic twist however, she did end up breaking her purse, chipping her tooth outside on the side walk, and ripping the zipper off her jacket. hahahah the whole night was classic. we even sold our first men’s t shirt to Trent and the first female t to Misti (see below). it’s remarkable how happy they both look isn’t it? buy some west indian girl merch and it will make ya smile from ear to ear.

As far as phoenix goes, those guys were cool and yeah their show was basically awesome. That’s Deck, Thomas and Chassol with Mariqueen in the pic above. Seattle was seriously a ton of fun and i cant wait to go back. i also want to send a big thanx out to the opening band Mercir (above right). I had a chance to talk to them while we were selling merch. Those guys were nice and their cd is really good too…thanx Colin. Let’s do that show we were talking about!!!

We also got a chance to see dayna from astralwerks. now that was a surpirse cos i usually only see dayna at our shows in la. its’ always great to see dayna. dayna, we love you! the last 4 photos are (clockwise) dayna with mariqueen, rob with a fan (forgot his name, i’m sorry) mark-chocolate-rob- mariqueen, and chris with a fan, i mean groupie, i mean fan, i mean girl he just picked up, i mean nice girl he was just having a drink with.

—F. TEN 6:33PM

HA! I bet you almost forget..it’s been too long hasn’t it? Welcome back to the fourth installment of 10 with Ten with the one and only Mark Lewis of West Indian Girl. This interview (in classic Lewscious style) took way too long to finish – we started it back in October and finally finished last week. Conducted primarily at 2 locations – the texaco station on alameda in LA and back stage at our show in Portland, the “lewscious” 10 with Ten has been aged, pickled and served up to perfection so suck it up people.

1. Describe your role in the band? I play drums.

2. What special qualities do you bring to the band? I’ve played the drums a lot.

3. Have you ever been contacted by aliens? You mean besides the times when you call me up? And why did you want to meet me at this cafe in Roswell? All I can say without turning this answer into a novel is that I’ve seen things that I cannot explain any other way. Luckily, I was never alone. My friends and I share some crazy experiences.

4. You and your brothers own an ice cream shop in Cape Cod – tell me about it? Any chilling stories? It’s true, Lewis Brothers Homemade Ice Cream in Provincetown at the very end of Cape Cod. We make our ice cream right in the store, so it’s fresh. Most people probably haven’t tasted fresh homemade ice cream because they basically freak out when they taste ours. Most of the chilling happens before and after work. Well, that’s not totally true, I mean, we listen to reggae music all day long and make up flavors on a whim. We also work with local restaurants to create one of-a-kind flavors that can only be tasted at the particular restaurant. Rare flavor.

5. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate AND vanilla and many other flavors as well…a flavor for every mood, but you can’t go on the road without chocolate.

6. Are you looking forward to all of the groupies that are gonna be jocking you on tour? Yes, but don’t tell them that I’m a jockey.

7. Where did you have your first beer? The first time that having a beer was a memorable experience was when I was 11 or 12 and my friends and I would hike up the wash that leads into Sierra Madre Canyon. We use to get a six-pack of Miller High Life and hike up through the dam to a water hole that was usually without water. Back then a six-pack could get four of us pretty drunk. I don’t even know how we got the beer, but I think we got help from our older brothers. I had my first “legal” beer at the T-Bowl in Highland Park.

8. Since your job depends on you keeping a beat do you practice the rhythm method with your girlfriend? Practice makes perfect, right? I think perfection is a humorous goal at best. Fortunately, we have a good sense of humor.

9. What are you listening to lately- who are you favorite bands right now? Well, My friend Jerry DiRienzo and I have spent the better part of the last two years at Hot Pie music recording bands like Mere Mortals, They Walk In Line, Monster, Duchess, Languis, Whysall Lane, Ken Layne & The Corvids, etc. so usually I’m most familiar with the music I’m working on, but I ran into a friend recently and he gave me a c.d. of his band The Shakes. The record is called Gigantes Del Pop. The music reminds me of the garage pop/punk bands of the sixties, raw, energetic, and catchy. I get happy and sing along whenever I hear it, so that’s what I would play if I was half asleep and driving to work and had to wake up fast but didn’t want to feel bad doing it. Also, I got an advance copy of a new record from a band called Fairechild. This record is made of the stuff that puts the “classic” in classic rock; great songs, great musicians, unforgettable voices singing beautiful melodies and harmonies, and a sound so craftily produced that when I listen to it, I forget that this record wasn’t made 28 years ago. I listen to this one rolling on the open highway, unfortunately, open highways are hard to find in Los Angeles, this record can also take the edge off of being stuck in a traffic jam. I’m sure I’ll be hearing this on the radio in the near future.

10. Describe the last show you went to – did it suck? The last show I went to was the Air/Stereolab show at the Hollywood bowl and it did not suck at all. In fact, it was a great time. Before that, Coachella was a lot of fun. The Pixies ruled. Le Tigre was really fun to see live. I was pretty much right in front of the speakers for the Kraftwerk set and although they aren’t a very physical act, the music was great. I recommend seeing Space Pussy in Provincetown. They ARE rock and roll. If you want to touch the essence of rock and roll, you have to touch Space Pussy. And if you are lucky enough to see them play, make sure to stop by and say hello to my brothers and taste the best ice cream you will ever have.

Bonus Question. Who is your favorite bass player? Well, I was going to say Mike Watt or Robbie Shakespeare or Noel Redding or Paul McCartney or John Paul Jones or Bootsy Collins or Dave Allen or Colin Moulding or Tina Weymouth or Bruce Thomas or Charles Mingus or Carol Kay or Paul Simonon or Gene Simmons or Jean Jacques Burnell, or this guy with a bass in a gig bag that I met outside a studio in Atwater who asserted that he was a Motown studio musician/arranger and that he had arranged “Tears Of A Clown” By Smokey and The Miracles. He put the calliope in that song and it sucks that I can’t remember his name, but I would definitely say him or Gail Greenwood or Kim Deal or gosh, so many… but since you have a gun to my head, I think I’d have to say Geddy Lee.

um, not really the answer i was looking for ….anyway, Mark, this has been a surreal experience i’m relieved we finally finished this up. i’m glad we’re both gemini too.

photo credit for the live shots, the one and only marc goldstein—F.Ten 2:54am

how weird, my bad, but i just noticed our site doesn’t have an easy way (or any way for that matter) to get in touch with us. that has now changed…just email robert, chris, mark, mariqueen or myself at info@westindiangirl.com and i will make sure your letter gets to the right person. we love getting mail and we answer it all so come on… i know you want to…just do it! thanx, we look forward to getting close and nurturing potential stalkers. by the way – the comments that people have been leaving on the journal have been great – keep it up, i appreciate the fact that you read this stuff.

fyi – my tour updates and show reports are on the way. talk to you soon — F. Ten 5:17pm

mariqueen and i went to the employee party for the EMI people at the sunset room on thurs night. I gotta say, in comparison to the artists only party this was way better. A long time ago i vowed never again to go to the Sunset Room again but i’m glad i broke down and got over myself. They did it right — open bar from 7 til 11 and great great food! i was starving when i got there and had 5 glasses of champagne along with roast beef, sauteed spinach and some caprese salad. mariqueen, my official west indian girl rep/dbd(date-by-default)is always good to go. big thanx to brien terranova who helped get us in along with ray gmeiner for the inside scoop. it was a real chill time – i would also like to tell phil q, rebecca barkin, casey portland (i dont know your real last name) and kevin flaherty that we love them. seriosly, these people are genuinely great. so far everyone at the EMI/Virgin family that i have met have been really fucking cool – i expect to see all of you guys backstage at our next show….no excuses—F.Ten 12:15pm

hey, i’ve been getting a ton of phone calls and emails asking to get put on the guest list for the troubadour show in LA. just so you know, our list was filled up a while ago. i’m sorry if i can’t get all of my “friends” in – i hope u understand. if you really really want to be on the list and cant afford to pay then drive down to san diego and i will get u in to that show cos i have no friends there. in summation, i can’t get any more peple in to the la show so just pony up and pay the 10 bucks to see west indian girl…we’re worth it. and if u really really really want to go and have no cash then just find me and i will give u 10 bucks to get in.

this leads me to the topic of blocked numbers. who ever the fuck keeps calling my cell with a blocked number please stop. seriously, stop stalking me. please listen to me — i’m not going to answer the call – just unblock your number and i will answer. it’s really simple- don’t be afraid of unblocking your number…what are you afraid of?

i would also like to say hi to adam yoser who just cracked my back and adjusted my spine. thanx adam i put u plus one on the list for the la show;) …F TEN 1:50pm

For all of u fans out there getting ready to bootleg the shows up north grab your pens cos i’m gonna give you our set list. The core set revolves around 6 songs (if we are opening) and 9 (if we are headlining). The main set is still lost, trip, miles from monterey, hollywood, northern sky and what are you afraid of. the other 3 songs that we will work in if we have time are green and 2 new ones called indian ocean and i hope. we’re all really psyched about how the band has been sounding. our new singer mariqueen maandig is really a perfect fit for the band – as far as vocal style and personality goes she’s working out like a dream. we’re flying to seattle on the 7th and playing that night. what a riot this is going to be. chocolate and s-man are driving our gear up in the van on sun and monday. oh yeah, we finally have t-shirts for sale at the shows. i have to go pick them up today. thanx hadi and thanx marcee too!

so what else? well, we have been rehearsing every night from 9pm until 4am. i have been running around in the day time trying to sort out my rig – which is almost complete. all you bass heads look forward to a journal entry on that topic soon. i’ve been getting amps fixed, basses tweaked and trying to find some cases for all the shit. it’s finally coming together. perfection is within reach. tone tone tone.

oh yeah, shit – gotta give a shout out to chris carter’s bro mike. Mike Carter hooked us all up with sunglasses the other night. his company is called Electric and i’m pretty fired up about the pair i got… tight. everyone got something different. check it out….hmm i actually just went to the web page and it’s still under construction. i guess you will have to take my word for it. i will post some pics of us in them when we get back from tour—F.TEN 11:20am

the one night we had off from rehearsal this week was yesterday. it also happened to be the night that vigrin throws its los angeles xmas party. this year it was at a place called “guys” in west hollywood. (go figure, a bar named guys in west hollywood…gee, that’s a creative stretch) anyway, compared to last years grip and grin fest this one fell short. i think the food was better but last year’s vibe was better, maybe cos it was at the chateau marmont which is always a cool place to throw a party. no one in the band showed up except for mariqueen who served as my DBD (date-by-default). you couldn’t ask for better company. if i had a dime for all the times i caught some guy checking out her ass…

i think the best part about the party was rebecca from virgin catalog who greeted us at the door and told us she loved the record. she was so nice and made our night that much more enjoyable. overall the party was was ok for what it was … mostly a sausage fest but free food and drinks. i think liz phair’s boobs walked by me, i saw bonnie raitt and met melissa auf der maur. we were out of there by 11:30. after the party we went to see sondre lerche and the golden republic at the troubadour. these guys are also label mates. i missed the golden republic but did see the end of sondre’s set. very very good – is it me or is 90% of sondre’s fan base comprised of sweet little innocent indie girls. thanx for putting me on the list dayna!

for all of you wondering what mariqueen looks like, well that’s her on the right with her best friend vivi.

i ate a western bacon double cheese burger from carls jr at 4:30 in the morning – oh man – i couldnt resist but was payin for it in the morning…F.TEN 5:46am