West Indian Girl

we have a great show planned for this friday at the troubadour. check it out if you can make it. and once again – our guest list is already past capacity. i can’t get anyone else in….full, finished, no can do, out of my control, sorry, try next time. we’re even buying a few tickets for some of the people that need to get in, that’s how full it is. bottom line…support your local artist – spend the 10 bucks and just pretend you bought a drink with it…rationalize…or you can look at it this way, you paid 2 bucks per band to see an amazing night of music. that’s the real steal. see you at the show and say hi. we go on at 11 but vela starts the show and i love them

is this flyer great or what? jonathan from vela made it. — F. TEN 7:09pm

Mariqueen signing Leo’s ass

we played at the casbah in san diego this past sunday night. overall, I thought the show was great. the only drag was that we started at 9pm. sometimes, when you’re opening for an americana act like jolie holland you get the shitty spot on the bill. it would have been nice to have played a bit later. we ended up playing before her opening act so in a sense we were an opening opening band and that’s never good if your goal is to actually play in front of people.

so check this out. we ran a contest and only 2 of our 4 contest winners showed up!!!??? Leo and Christina showed up and got all the love but what the fuck happened to the other 2? dana and krystal, where’s the love girls? we had a blast though – mariqueen signed leo’s ass and christina rocked our t-shirt and got free drinks with us. Hey Leo and Christina , thanx for winning and then…thanx for actually going.

kevin reid was in charge of our visual presentation. it was his first night on the job and he did pretty well…i think he had the crowd stunned. i had the flu and felt shitty all day but oddly enough after a few tecates i felt great on stage. the stage was too dark but the sound on stage was pretty good…it was easy to get into the set. we ended the show with an extended version of “what are you afraid of” where we break the middle instrumental break down into a whole new jam. i had no idea what to expect while we were playing it because we have only jammed on it a few times. this was the first time we played that version live – i think it went over really well. it was definitely the most fun that i had on stage all night….probably because it was uncharted musical territory and none of us had a real definite idea of where the song was going or how we would end up getting back. it was a cool adventure i cant wait to take at our next show. sort of like a mars volta meets the doors adventure.

other little notes: maggie chang and yen ma graced us with their presence, bernie was working sound and troy was holding it all together. i also got to set up our new merch case which is so dope it’s sick. thanx for everyone who came out to see us and signed our email list! on to mariqueen

Mariqueen’s Mind:
The Club: I was stoked on playing The Casbah because it’s legendary, if The Clash put you in the chorus of a song then I think you’re a pretty big deal. To my surprise I found out that we were going to play at the new location. Bah. So much for that whole playing at legendary gigs dream. Cest La Vie… I was on the Fillmore stage so I guess not doing the original Casbah isn’t so bad. I thought the layout of the new Casbah was great and there was a mirror right next to Fran on stage so that everyone could check themselves out in between or even during our set. Hot.

The City:I used to live in San Diego so it holds a special place in my heart… aaand cue the violins…

Your Performance: I was disappointed with my performance, and by disappointed I mean mortified. I felt like I gave a 6 out of a possible 10 which is a D- on the verge of an F. I am used to getting A’s with my pipes. I spent most of the show facing the back because I was entranced by Kevin Reid’s visuals. When I wasn’t facing the back of the audience I was checking out if my lipstick was all over my face. I’m never wearing red lipstick on stage ever again. I bet the audience thought I was either, way into Mark… or way into Fran. WRONG. The only person I’m way into in this band is myself. I keed, I keed… I like you all… you’re very nice boys and I’d love to take you all home… to meet my mom.

Thoughts While You Were Playing: Here are some random thoughts that went on in my head… “Oh my god I sounded like shit.” “Whoa, I look kinda fat in this mirror”… “Wait, what? Is that Fran in Kreider’s visuals? I want to be in the visuals… no fair.” “Oh man why did I wear this jacket on stage, I feel like I’m going to faint.” I’d share more but I’m not going to. Bye bye.

Interesting Stuff After The Show: I signed someone’s butt, it was kind of intense…

Kreider and Bernie

before the show

after the show

contest winner christina – she was rad

size “super titty” west indian girl shirt

lucky leo

mariqueen and the other opening act

slut..only kidding

finally…lewscious god damnit

this couple was seriously sweet – thanx for buying our cd!

vocal moment…the end

—F.TEN

god damn! thanx for all emails san diego! we couldnt decide on just 2 winners so we picked 4, count ’em, FOUR lucky winners. Leo Stezano, Krystal Kumpula, Christina McDermott and Dana Ralston come on down to the casbah and say “yeah, i’m on the list bitch”.

all the emails we received were awesome. leo got lucky after we read this:I have no pants!!! That’s my entry. I was playing in this soccer game last night, the game ended, I went to my bag to get dressed and go for after-game drinks with the team, and everything is there but my pants. Wallet, keys, cell phone, other clothes, no pants. I swear they were in the bag when I got to the field. I have no idea what happened, but I know that I lost my pants BEFORE the drinking began, and that’s just embarrassing. And that’s been my whole week in a nutshell, so I think I should get two of the tix, so that forever and ever, when I tell the story about how I lost my pants at the soccer game, it can end with “and then I randomly told my story to one of the guys in West Indian Girl and got free tickets to the show.” See, if I win, you’re not just appreciating a good story, you’re helping to create one.

and krystal scored with this one: What’s up guys! I totally deserve the free tickets… my roommate spoiled me last month and bought me tickets to see you and gomez and now I would like to treat her… she’s a music buff… we deserve them cause we have been pumping you guys up to everyone we know! Let alone the fact that Fran is HOT!(flattery will get you everywhere)

anyway, i’ve been really sick the last few days with the flu that everyone seems to have. even though rehearsals have been a bitch we have been up to some interesting stuff. for example, we’re extending what are you afraid of in a doors/mars volta kind of way – i think the song is clocking in around 15 minutes now. the middle break is now a song within a song – it’s a different jam every time we play it which is cool. still lost also has a face lift – it got way more sexier as we changed the bass and drums a bit – we basically stripped it down and gave it a more laid back feel (i’m playing behind the beat a bit) rather than a rock feel. it totally works and i’m glad we re-approached that tune. for tomorrow’s show we are planning on playing 7 songs so for all u bootleggers out there the set is going to be:

trip
monterey
hollywood
still lost
green
northern sky
what r u afraid

anyway, i would like to thank my boy tana for helping me advance this tour. he did great work. this tour is going to be a blast. we have a sick crew going out with us. troy is back as the lead tech/tour manager along with carlos who will be doing sound and kevin reid who will be doing all the visuals as well as documenting the tour.

ever google “high five”? well i just did…funny stuff

—F.TEN 2:25am

we’re giving away 2 pairs of tickets to our show at The Casbah

Here’s the deal – just tell us why YOU deserve to be on OUR guest list in san diego. simple…best answer wins. “best” could mean a lot of things by the way…maybe funny, maybe creative, who knows how we are going to judge this. 2 lucky winners will each be taking a guest to see a great show this sunday so act fast cos this contest ends on friday night. send answers to info@westindiangirl.com and you might be walking down the red carpet too. (i think the club is 21 and over so if you aren’t old enough you can’t get in and therefore you can’t win…sorry)

good luck! winners will be notified on saturday and their responses will be posted…of course —F.TEN 1:31AM

pretty psyched about some of the new merch we are gonna have going for this spring. we will be getting in our second shipment of caribbean astral strength candles – these babies are tough to come by especially when you’re importing them. pretty wicked though, all glass screen printed with secret french caribbean spell on the back. we’re also getting some more shirts made – we will have 3 designs available for both men and women. i can’t wait to get these.

video director update – well, all the treatments are in and now comes the waiting game for the big decision. i think we will know later this week who is going to be directing “what are you afraid of”

photo shoot is also this wed and friday – looks like we will be at 3 different locations…the beach, at a bar in hollywood and our studio/loft/roof.

tonight we’re going to the emi grammy party. this should be pretty funny – i will bring the camera to document

Valentine’s Day – i don’t have a valentine’s day date…kind of a drag, oh well…please send in resume with photo attached. —F.TEN 3:46pm

check it out. our tour is going to start out in southern california and then head up the coast to seattle. from seattle we will be heading east and then south until we make it to austin and SXSW on the 19th of march. as of now i only have a few of the dates confirmed but more will be coming in over the next few days.

Feb 20 Sunday – San Diego at The Casbah also on the bill will be Jolie Holland and Sean Hayes. Actually, i think we are the middle slot on this bill. it should be an interesting singer songwriter sandwich.

Feb 25 Saturday – Los Angeles at The Troubadour This show is going to sell out so get your tickets now. More visuals and more cool bands. Opening the show will be our friends Vela. These guys are fucking cool and i’m so happy they are on the bill with us. The middle band is Simon Dawes. I don’t know anything about these guys and cant find anything on the web about them but i think they are signed to a label and are from LA. who knows. Oh yeah, i will have 3 new t-shirt designs and brand new caribean vodoo votive candles for sale – they are pretty dope. update 2/4 well, it seems like this show just got one band bigger – a band called Every Move A Picture just got added to the bill effectively bumping my friends Vela to the 1st slot of the night. this was out of my control and kinda bums me out cos i have been in vela’s shoes before and it sucks. so let me at least say i’m sorry you got bumped to the first slot.

Feb 27 Sunday – San Francisco at Cafe Du Nord. Looking forward to playing here cos i heard cafe du nord is pretty cool. not sure who else is on this bill yet.

Feb 28 Monday – Eugene at John Henry’s. This show should be cool cos we are playing with Gram Rabbit, they’re another band that our managers manage that i have never seen so it will be cool to hang with them. our friends Mercir, from seattle, will be opening the show.

March 1 Tuesday – Portland at Doug Fir Lounge This show is is going to be FREE! our friends Mercir are going to be opening this show along with a Nordic from portland.

March 2 Wednesday – Seattle at Chop Suey. We love this place. KEXP is presenting this show which should be off the hook cos we are playing with Brazilian Girls and Mercir. hmmm west indian girl and brazilian girls….expect lots of carmel skin and thongs.

as soon as more dates get confirmed i will add them to this post so check back often. bring your minidiscs so you can bootleg the show and remember, don’t be shy, come up and say hi to us – we will be hanging out at the merch booth so come talk to us! —F.Ten 6:07PM

right now my bass set-up/rig is almost perfect. i mean, it’s not ideal cos if it was i would be playing a vintage tube ampeg with fender basses from the late 60’s, but let’s just say the gear i’m touring and recording with is fucking hot. as far as getting a boner over electronic stuff this gear is pretty tits.

BASS #1: my baby is an early 70’s precision bass that i bought in a guitar shop in chicago for $550 bucks. it’s truly amazing and i will never replace it. the tone is unique and better than the tone of any other p bass i have ever played – maybe because it was butchered by the previous owner/(owners?). who ever put the emg pickups in the body carved out part of the front near the bridge for the battery and covered it with a black plate. this bass is really really heavy and plays like it’s dipped in olive oil (it literally plays itself). the tone is thick and warm. i would be lost without this bass. end of story.

BASS #2: my second bass is a black 60’s reissue jazz bass. hey, its not an original but it felt good when i put it on. i bought it at black market music in los angeles for $900 – ironically the most money i paid for a bass and the one i like the least. both my basses are repaired by john wescott who does awesome work on guitars. i had him try to match the tone of my p bass by putting in the same type of emg pickups in this one. he also sanded down the neck so i could get my action as low as possible and got rid of the stacked knobs which, although look cool, are kind of a pain. if this bass got stolen i really wouldnt be too bummed out cos its a second class citizen in my bass country. by the way, i dont have original knobs on any of my basses….i think one is still on the p bass but thats it. i dont get all bent out of shape about that stuff. i like basses dirty and used and scratched —sort of like jeans. i rarely, if ever, have cleaned or polished my guitars. remember Francis Ten’s rule of thumb #1: guitars are like cars – buy them old and buy them american – they are quality and they will appreciate in value. solid.

BASS #3: with that said, i would like to introduce you to an italian made bass that i use for our acoustic shows even though it isn’t acoustic. it’s a short scale electric vox. this thing is just so fucking cool and unique – it’s got built in distortion (what i used at the very end of the song “dream”) and a g-tuner. the output isnt really great but for low volume gigs/practicing at home it’s perfect. it almost sounds like an acoustic with a real smooth hollow bounce to it. i have never seen this in a store or know any one who owns one. i got it in tucson, az at a used music shop called the chicago store also known as chicago joe’s. probably one of the coolest places to shop for music in the states. when i was upstairs in their attic looking through piles of old guitars i found a few of these brand new —it’s from 1967!. i was digging for stuff. i remember i had just stepped on and broke a long fluorescent light bulb when i was up there and i thought someone was gonna yell at me but no one heard it. then i found this bass and i was like “damn..time to go”. totally worth the $500 bucks i spent on it.

STRINGS: rotosound are you listening? i want an endorsement from your company because your flatwound strings are the best. rs77 jazz bass strings baby! i only play flatwounds cos they have a smoother tone than round wounds and west indian girl isnt really a rock band so no roundwounds. Francis Ten’s rule of thumb #2: never ever change your strings unless they break. the older the strings the better they are as far as i’m concerned. remember – it’s all about the richness you get out of your bass sound. update – i now have an endorsement from rotosound. chalk one up for management.

STRAPS: my straps are permanently screwed into the bodies and slung as low as they can go. i modeled my playing style after paul simonon from the clash. he was one of the coolest bass players ever…simple, strong, meaningful, and distinctive and he wore his bass really really gorilla-like low. the strap on my jazz bass is actually made of parts from 2 straps so i could get it to hang as low as it could possible go. Francis Ten’s rule of thumb #3: you gotta play your bass low if you’re gonna play it all. playing a bass that hangs above your nipples isnt really that cool.

AMPS: Up until this past year my only amp was an Ampeg SVTIIIPro. it wasn’t tube but it was unbelievably road worthy – a total work horse. it served me well until a couple months ago when i bought an Ashdown ABM 500 RC EVO II Head. This amp is really cool. It’s got great sub harmonic foot switch on it and doesnt have 8 billion knobs. they keep it basic with 3 main knobs a few eq sliders. I keep both of these amps in my rack along with an Avalon U5 DI Preamp. this is just plain beautiful – what a way to dial in your tone. Francis Ten’s rule of thumb #4: using an avalon DI will make any sound man cream his pants. To protect all this stuff i have a GOMC 14 space rack case. this case rocks so much. i have 2 draws in the bottom and a furman power conditioner on top. the furman is great cos it has lights in the front and back. now all it takes is one plug and one switch and i am powered up. you might want to refer to my journal entry called “GOMC” for more case info. the picture of the guy on my amp is one of my best friends chris donnelly – that guy makes me laugh so much i put his face on my amp almost 9 years ago and it is still there. check out chris’ sculptures…cool huh?

SPEAKER: well you might want to refer to an early journal entry called “evolution of a bass cabinet” for this one. my cab, well, there can be only one – am ampeg 8×10 from the 70’s. i bought it for 300 bucks ten years ago. this baby is in my hall of fame. what a trooper she’s been. tough as hell, she takes a beating but still sings like a sweet dove. amazing is all i can say. she deserved the extreme makeover i gave her this past year – the oak wood stain and varnish finish is now nicely protected by a killer GOMC road case. power on wheels. Francis Ten’s rule of thumb #5: using any other cabinet besides an ampeg is a mistake.

PEDALS: pretty basic when it comes to effects because i’m really all about the tone. my main 3 are a volume pedal, a boss chromatic tuner – (what a great pedal) and a sovtek big muff. the drag about the sovtek is that those idiots never made a power adapter for it so you always have to have a fresh battery on hand. russians…how did they miss that? the white pedal on the left is a foot switch for the sub harmonics on the ashdown. Francis Ten’s rule of thumb #6: dial in your tone first, dont depend on pedals for it.

PICKS: how could i forget the little purple guy in my life. that sounds so wrong doesnt it. anyway, i only use one kind of pick and that is that. Purple 1.14 gauge Dunlop Tortex standard picks. These picks are great and they’re chunky and come to think of it i’m gonna see if i can get an endorsement because i love them so much. robert james even uses them. same gauge. Francis Ten’s rule of thumb #7: always keep an extra pick in your back pocket when u play…because you never know.

I hope the editor of bass guitar mag enjoyed reading this because i enjoy reading your mag when i’m at Sav-on and can’t wait to do an interview with you some day. if you have any questions drop me a line — F. TEN 2:54AM

robert james working on an edit for “what are you afraid of”

check it out, in the very near future we are gonna be filming a video for the song “what are you afraid of”. i’m not sure who is directing it yet but i do know that we have some amazing directors writing treatments for it. i can’t wait to see what happens with this. we are also doing a new publicity shoot next week with marc goldstein. this should be epic because goldstein always has something creative up his sleeve. i think there will be a few locations so its gonna kick ass. it’s nice working with people that you know wont fuck things up. case in point – bernie our local cali soundman – when he is mixing our shows we dont worry about how we’re gonna sound out front cos we know he is on top of his game. as a musician, removing that one level of second guessing/questioning of your sound is priceless cos it allows u to relax when you’re on stage.

guest list notes – i’m implementing a new first come first serve only if i really really really like you policy regarding the “list”. if you want to be on the guest list for some of our upcoming shows just ask and i will see what i can do. considering we have 5 people in the band our list is always close to capacity. if i can put you on i will – if i cant put you on dont get mad. if i never ever talk to you and u just call me up out of the blue like one “friend” i know did (3 hours before i was going to play at the house of blues) asking if he could get in i’m gonna tell you to lick my balls. this guy hasnt called me in a year and then it’s only to get a free pass into the show…lame. my other friend, jen hung, did however call me 2 hours before we played in sf and asked me to get 4 of her friends in. i absolutely love jen – she sang “miles from monterey” so of course i made it happen. moral of the story – don’t just love me for the guest list – love me all year round

parking troubles downtown – well it seems that carter is the second person to get his car busted into while parking downtown in front of our loft. lewscious was the first. both had their windows smashed in. this makes me worried so i stepped up my protection money with the street people outside. my boy ronnie still says he’s got my back but when he is snoozin’ wasted off his ass i have a tough time believing he is going to be deterring the assholes that are looking for car stereos. but hey, at the end of the day i will take the false sense of security over nothing. before rehearsal i go buy all the guys i park in front of a couple of 40’s and they seem to have stepped up the security over my precious 89 landcruiser. since i had my car stereo jacked twice a few years ago i decided to put the cd player under my seat and intall the cheapest piece of shit receiver (with tape dack!) in the dash so that would be car thieves would bum out when they took a look at my sound system. hahah, i even ripped the knobs off it to make it look even more undesirable. so far so good.

what else? hmmm…well, i posted a show report from sf! – check the postings list on right side column to check it out.

i also took a few pictures from the last 2 practices we had this week. that couch rocks – got it for 60 bucks from some lady in santa monica.

carter and mariqueen sleeping

lewscious and tony taking a nap

zzz…zzz…zzz…

—F.TEN 1:45AM

before and after pictures of tsunami – click here

best web site blog i found with videos of the tsunami – click here

bbc uk news in depth coverage and where to donate – click here

—F.TEN 4:24AM

ya know what, it’s about time i gave some props to our managers — chris jones and rich holtzman from method entertainment. all the bullshit that these guys have to take care of for us must drive them up a fucking wall. not only do these guys have to deal with the business of west indian girl, they have to deal with me calling them every day…i mean, every day…multiple times. anyway, i just wanted to say thanks for all of your hard work and patience and belief in what we are doing and what we are going to accomplish. i appreciate you guys making our lives a lot easier. this picture was taken in malibu this past summer during our first publicity shoot. i wonder if they read this blog….leave me a comment if you do—F.Ten 3:15

hi everyone! sorry for slacking. i just want to let you all know that i havent forgotten you. i was just really busy this past week and didnt get a chance to update the blog at all…my apologies. right now i am working on a show report from the san fran show along with a new 10 with Ten (with mariqueen!) as well as info on our next shows/tour. stay tuned ok. and once again, thanx for taking the time to check in with us and especially for the emails you send. very cool to get them. by the way – our main website will be getting a tiny facelift in the next week or so – just a few tweaks – hopefully i can get the message boards going and the store up because we have some really cool shirts available now. oh yeah, i will also be adding another sub-heading on the right side of the blog page that will list all of the “show reports”. it will be just like the “10 with Ten” sub-heading that was added tonight. anyway, take care and talk to you soon! — F. Ten 2:13am

remember – you can reach us by either posting a comment here or by sending us an email at – info@westindiangirl.com

oh yeah – i almost forgot – happy birthday dad!