West Indian Girl

college show + dry erase board = professor ten

Fran’s Flashback we played first on a 2 band bill at san diego state university as direct support for hello goodbye. hello goodbye can best be described as oc pop. i didnt really get to talk to them because i think they think they are really famous. its difficult being famous – i have to remind myself of that all the time. “fran, talk to the lowly peons that serve as your opening bands”. speaking of peons…we had an awesome show – played the hits and kept it simple. thanx to a slew of sd friends that showed up – leo, andrew and halloran from 94.9, walt and doug etc etc etc.

dressing room and rider wrap up: college shows are like shows played in a bubble. there was a movie about a boy in a bubble wasnt there? well that’s what a college show is like. netflix that bitch.

the facilities 17 points. sdsu has very little to worry about as far as their facilities go. this school is dialed in and the campus looks great. i sort of wish i went to school there. obviously there was no bar but as far as the basics went it was great. there were clean bathrooms, security guards, safe parking etc etc.

rider/amenities 17 points. not only did we have our own private room (pic) but it was stocked and stacked with tons of food and drink. obviously it was a dry rider but even so, it was all there except the booze. great job.

stage, sound, lights 15 points. jesus, this was a college that totally had its act together. (look at the pic above….looks more like a club!) the stage and system they had was big and pro and pro and big. not what i was expecting. it was actually way better than most of the smaller venues around the country. they hired a good sound team for this event.

promoter 20 points. sold out – job well done. laura robertson we salute you.

staff 20 points. the event staff at the school was cool. no hassles and very helpful especially during load in. college kids are always helpful. its probably because they havent become jaded by the real world. – genuinely nice people to play in front of because they havent been tainted by the cruelties that is life outside of the collegiate bubble. i miss school – but then again the michigan student body wasnt 70% female like this school is. if only i had known.

intangibles 3 points. im playing the religion card here. its not often that im surrounded by a bunch of catholics or at least in a catholic institution so im throwing in some extra points just cos im part of this often maligned club. so here’s three pts for the father son and the holy g. plus look at mary praying we sell merch.

TOTAL OVERALL SCORE = 92. setting the mark high for all college shows to follow sdsu grades out with an A. (click here for a detailed explanation of my scoring system’s categories).

Nathan’s Nonsense
here is my show report in haiku format.

we done brought the boom
to the multi-purpose room.
did we bring too much?

college shows, no booze.
we made up for it later
down at the dive bar.

shared stories and drinks
with laura and her sister,
jacqueline. très hott.

Tony’s Take
I was absolutely glowing to be down in southern so cal again. love the air down there. i feel free when i get close to mexican border. nature everywhere. i went on a nice walk before the show and got to run around after. it was business as usual. speaking of business, i was able to conduct a lot of that while i was down there. plenty of office space.

taking care of business

taking care of more important business

lewscious

not bad for a campus view

thanx for the poster mark

FRIDAY DECEMBER 15th at the TROUBADOUR! Opening the show will be the war tapes (formerly the pop kids) and test your reflex. during our set visual artist stefan viterstedt will be performing – his mix of images and visuals is insane and not to be missed. Expect 13 songs including a very rare version of “Dream” as well as extended versions of “monterey, still lost, solar eyes, trip, and what are you afraid of” as well as some guest musicians. Tickets are only $10 in advance….GET THEM NOW!!!!! This will be our last show before the new record comes out!

this was the spread i rocked for thanxgiving

since my birthday show at spaceland in may i started a numeric rating system (1-10) under the category “dressing room and rider wrap up” in our show report blogs to sum up my overall experience with the clubs we play. going forward, in order to be less arbitrary and more objective/credible im changing this rating system to the classic school grading system:

A = Excellent or Superior; (90 to 100)
B = Above Average or Above Average Expectation; (80-89)
C = Average or Average Expectation; (70-79)
D = Below average but passing; (60-69)
F (or E): Failure or Exceptionally Poor; (0-59)

the 100 pt scoring system consists of 5 categories (20 points each) clearly defined below. a letter grade will be assigned based on the club’s grand total:

1. the facilities – is there a dressing room, is there a shower, is there laundry, is there wifi, is there a backstage area, does it smell of vomit, is there a separate bathroom for us to take a dump in, how is the parking, is load-in brutal–all of these things matter. bigger clubs like the house of blues usually coast through this area – smaller clubs sometimes have problems but a place like dantes in portland or hotel congress in tucson make up for this in their layout and ambiance.

2. rider/amenities – this is a real tough category to excel in for the smaller venues. it really depends on the effort….did the promoter read the rider (it’s ok if they read it and laugh at it because i get a kick out of telling them why socks are on it) . as of now the holy grail on our rider is the bottle of heidsieck and co monopole rose champagne although the socks arent too far behind. if they read it and make some sort of effort to accommodate points are rewarded. a pack of gum or a fluffy towel dont go unappreciated. sometimes clubs will just give us cash for dinner…hey that’s cool cos we are always starving when we get to a club. it’s the thought that counts. having to pay for our drinks is never a good sign. a note on the champagne…heidsieck is roughly the same price as veuve clicquot but its way better. if you are gonna get champagne…make it french, make it rose and make it over 30 dollars and you’ll do just fine.

3. stage, sound, lights – these are the nuts and bolts of a show. is the stage big, do they have lights that work and change, is the sound decent, do they have monitors, do they have enough gear.

4. promoter – basically describes what the promoter did to promote the show. were there posters in the clubs, was it advertised at all, did they provide loaders, did the promoter show up? did they read this blog? sometimes promoters are right there for ya like ted wigler in ocean beach making sure everything runs smoothly.

5. staff – this includes bartenders, door man, sound guy, door people, loaders etc etc. sometimes its as simple as these people just being nice and not treating you like you are the inconvenience. its amazing how one dickhead can sour things. michael and the staff at the troub in la always score high for having their staff treat you with respect – they are very helpful.

intangibles – does the club let me bring tony in during sound check and load out at the end of the night? after the club closes do they let you hang for a bit or try to immediately kick you out? usually if the club/owner are cool everything goes smoothly and we love ya. scott from the saint in asbury park let our crew chill out and drink after hours. stuff like this never gets forgetton – it was the perfect way to wrap up a long day and have us leave with smiles on our faces.

i feel that writing a blog is about being honest. with that simple fact stated, i dont believe in always having to, or trying to put a positive spin on what happens with the band. in the past some band members have frowned upon me voicing this honest opinion in fear that it would hurt us because the club wouldnt want us back. my response…fuck that….if the club sucked that much in the first place then why would we want to go back and play there right? hopefully other bands will find this part of the blog interesting because its a side of the business that i never see discussed in other journals/blogs.i hope club owners and promoters will take note because often times you have bands by the balls never really expecting them to call you out if you do a shitty job. this isnt just about calling you out though because if you do a good job you get praised. this is actually a big deal to a band that spends most of its time working their ass off for little or no money when it’s all said and done so these details can help make or break an evening for the band. this should be fun, read it and weep. F10

our official rider: (motto – it never hurts to ask aka ask and ye shall receive)
Dinner – 7 hot dinners to be available 30 minutes after sound check, or $100 cash buyout, payable at the beginning of sound check. NO FAST FOOD PLEASE!!

Dressing Room setup (must be available immediately before sound check)

1- Case of bottled water (Fiji is preferred, not chilled)
Assortment of bottles of juice (preferably Cranberry & Pineapple)
1- case of Heineken
1- Six pack of Miller High Life
1- Six pack of local Micro Brew
1- Bottle of reasonable quality red wine
1- Box of Throat Coat Tea with honey and lemon
2- Bottles Kombucha Tea (found at Whole Foods)
1- Deli tray consisting of Turkey, Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato and Vegetables with condiments (mayo and must)
1- Loaf of wheat bread
1- Bowl of Fresh (organic) Fruit consisting of mainly apples (at least 4 green), bananas, grapes, oranges
2- packs of sugarless gum
5- Bath size fluffy towels
Ample and continuous supply ice, cups and napkins

Sunday/Tuesday/Thursday
1- Bag of Tortilla Chips
1- Jar of Salsa (medium)
Assortment of sugarless gum (various flavors)
1- Pack of White tube socks (men’s sizes 9-11)
1- Bottle of Champagne (Heidsieck and Co rose)
1- pack AA Batteries
1- pack white tube socks (men size 9-11)

Monday/Wednesday/Friday/Saturday
1- package of Pita Bread
1- tub of hummus
Assorted Clif bars
1- Bottle of Ketel One Vodka
1- Bottle of Tonic Water
1- Bottle of Soda water.
1- travel size toothpaste

i know you’re asking “what’s with all the alcohol?” but theres at least 8 of us and we like to entertain and have guests after the show.

washed ashore on ocean beach 11.3

Fran’s Flashback
well, it seems q and nathan have finally decided to contribute to a show report again (its about time). that’s music to my ears because it gets old only having my perspective on things doesnt it? because of this im giving tony this show report off. so…after the 94.9 interview we went back to the bar for sound check. after sound check we went to sean simpson’s house for a 6 course home cooked meal. it was tight to say the least. oddly enough we had never met sean before but everything seemed to work out well. he is now a permanent part of west indian girl lore. after hanging at sean’s house q, tony and i walked over to doug’s place where we regrouped with some tea, beer and whisky. the crowd and show at winston’s was awesome and the evening so much fun to be a part of. the set list changed a little from the night before and i felt like the changes we made really kept the energy up. it was an exciting show that we needed.

dressing room and rider wrap up:the guy i dealt with at winston’s was ted wigler. (appropriate last name for dealing with us wouldnt you say) ted was a great guy and oddly enough due to my crazy schedule that day, really the only one at the club i dealt with. ted gave us an early load in and even helped move gear. the stage at winston’s was nice, it had a lefty slant for the drums but that was cool because it made us flip flop our normal stage positions. the sound and lights were also no problem. everything was easy – we had plenty of time for our sound check and the merch area was big and friendly. load in and load out was also simple. i have no idea if we had a rider or backstage area for the band, or even beer tickets…wow, this is the first time i can say that i dont have a clue about these details because i was so busy with all the other stuff going on. (where is my tour manager ian?). i was only at the bar once and that was after the bar closed. i guess sometimes you throw your ratings system out the window when you have so many friends in the area that serve as your dressing room and rider i guess. im giving winstons a solid 7 and that’s laregly because of a man named wigler.

stuffed zucchini flower thanx to:bill young for his behind the scenes work in getting us over to ocean beach and bringing sean into the fold. sean for the great food, wine and party favors. doug (above), kristi and walt for always being so clutch – it was great chilling even though it was only for a half hour. doug stayed and even helped us load out (kampyesque), call down fire for opening the show, thomas for taking pictures…please send when get them, and all of the great people of san diego’s ocean beach community.

Mariqueen’s Mind

The City: ocean beach reminds me of huntington beach minus all the plastic chicks. it’s what haight street would be if it was a beach community.

The Venue: winston’s was already a legend in my mind. an old sound guy, kevin, used to talk endlessly about winston’s. winston’s this and winston’s that. winston’s winston’s winston’s. i now see why he loves it so much. cool bartenders, fantastic owner and a great stage with quality sound and fun lights.

The Show: went by way too fast… waaaay too fast. to say that performing that night was fun would be an understatement.

What Were You Thinking While Playing: i kept wondering if the guy who had the camera under my nose got any decent shots of my heart shaped nostrils.

Interesting Things After The Show: i reunited with leo — he owns the first article of clothing i had ever signed that wasn’t west indian girl merch. if you look back on our first casbah san diego show report, you’ll see a picture of me signing leo’s backside. to make a long story short, he busted out those jeans that night. word up, leo! there’s nothing like seeing your autograph on a dude’s ass — it makes your evening juuuuust a little bit better. another highlight was catching up and dishing out with my friend, troy rassey, an outstanding photographer. we talked about future projects and he listened to me blabber about life. after loading up our equipment, we said bye to the staff at winston’s and headed back to our gracious host for the evening, sean’s house and pigged out on leftovers. earlier that evening sean was kind enough to cook a six course meal. he had a pre-party with all the fixins ones heart desired. i gravitated towards the cheese and the red wine while others were magnets for beer and greens. back in leftover land, nathan all hopped up from the various delicacies ingested that evening, started writhing on sean’s neighbor’s lawn. please refer to the picture i took below. at around 3am we decided that, despite all the fun we were having, it was time to lock it up and head home. mark and i spent about an hour, out of our minds and taking pictures of everyone, but mostly each other. m&m forever. look into that.

Nathan’s Nonsense

so the dog totally ate all my previous blogs. for reals. that’s ok though. i got no beef with the dog. so our show in san diego went surprisingly well. probably one of our finest moments as a band yet, though there was still room for improvement of course. ocean beach is a pretty laid back community comprised mostly of surfers and left-leaning eccentrics. i’ve always felt very much at home there when visiting, but this was my first time setting foot in winston’s bar. my friend jason hartley
(once the drummer of another inauspicious band of mine), who managed to come down with a group of friends in tow, had informed me that the place was rather small, and that it seemed a significant step down from our last performance at street scene. thankfully, this wasn’t really the case. the place turned out to be a perfectly laid out mid-sized club which we ended up packing to the hilt. before the show, we were all treated to one of the best home-cooked meals i’ve had in a very long time, courtesy of the local OB guru, sean simpson (below). i may as well note now that this was another one of those nights where i met a slew of people whose names i am unable to recall. my memory sucks these days. not just when i’m drinking, but all the damn time. very frustrating business. so sean hosted a lovely little pre (and post) party for the show, fed us like kings, and practically poured wine… and…. stuff… down our throats.
sean also opened up his house to us to use as our own personal dressing room, which was excellent considering the club had no such accommodations. i had fun hanging out with the opening band (can’t remember their name) and talking shop with their keyboardist, uh… paula? i think that’s it. have to say though that just before showtime i was starting to get really worried that some of us- myself especially- may have gone a bit overboard with the festivities. fortunately, this seemed not the case at all. somehow we pulled it together and locked in tightly with the groove. the sound was magical, thanks to our no-nonsense frenchy sound guy, christophe. the crowd was in to it every step of the way, egging us on with their fervent energy. stay classy, san diego. let’s be friends. friends with benefits, even. any city named after a whale’s vagina is alright in my book.

walt walt walt walt
teddy wigler front and center
kampy kampy kampy we love kampy
rob and chris b
cristophe asleep on the job
with call down fire post show
later ob – see ya in the spring

dont hurt us because we love 94.9

before the ocean beach show q and i got to go hang out with mike halloran at 94.9. we ended up staying there for about an hour and a half and got to play a bunch of songs off my laptop. it was great. maybe im just a geek but meeting mike halloran was a thrill for me. i was really looking forward to being on his show. why you ask? well, for those of you who dont know, halloran has a storied career in radio. he’s a legend as far as im concerned. when i was little kid i listened to his show in detroit and it seriously changed my life. he was playing the coolest shit and it made a serious impact on my musical tastes. we talked about all these great bands from the midwest like the laughing hyenas, the necros, and negative approach. maybe it was a detroit thing i guess but i dont know what else to say about halloran except san diego is really lucky to have a guy like this on radio. it’s a shame that fm radio across the US doesnt have a halloran on every station…oh how much more cooler mass america would be. alas, this isnt the case and 99% of fm radio across america sucks my balls.

ps – special thanx to doug and kristi for picking us up at the club and driving us over the station. you guys rule

we love this station

Fran’s Flashback
i kinda like costa mesa, call me crazy but i rarely get to venture into the OC so it always seems like a mini vacation when i do. life seems easier in the oc….maybe its because they have wider well lit roads, im not sure. the show itself was an adventure in looseness to say the least. the set was vision, monterey, northern sky, indian ocean, solar eyes, still lost, trip, hollywood, get up, up the coast, all my friends, and what are you afraid of. high points for me were vision and solar eyes. vision has a simple hypnotic bass line that i love playing and solar eyes is always changing so it keeps me on my toes every second. i didnt fully enjoy my time on the detroit bar stage simply because i hate the light set up there. they use red lights and red lights really do some weird things to my eyes. it’s a vision problem i have – when im in red light i become semi-blind when it comes to seeing my fretboard. its sort of like playing in the dark which ultimately limits my performance. as a band we were way too loose..i fucked up way too much and am somewhat disgusted with myself. if i was a football team i would feel like the minnesota vikings if that makes any sense. i also had to piss halfway through the set and because of that the show became painful. i should have taken a break during the set to go…would’ve, could’ve, should’ve right?

dressing room and rider wrap up: chris and ken treated us well and ken was very helpful working with cristophe. there wasnt really a dressing room or regular “rider” stuff but we got drink tickets and the bartenders were excellent. overall chris run’s a smooth operation and it was a no hassle deal all the way around. they did GREAT promotion (excellent posters) and have a solid merch set up – it’s band friendly. the staff in general was real accommodating. load in and load out was smooth. im giving costa mesa a 6 – but a strong six. ironically one good thing about not getting food at the club was that q took me to a cool sushi place near where she used to live. it was tasty and great way to get away before the show.

mosta mesa thanx to: the hard core west indian girl friends like chad, yvonne, kampy, frank and raquel. it warms my heart seeing these guys at the shows. kampy even stuck around and helped us load out. i also want to thank eric from orthodox clothing for coming out to the show. go check out his clothes now. thanx again to cristophe for doing sound again and also to Northern for playing the show with us.

Tony’s Take
yeahhhhhh! stuck in the van once again. the ride down was ok – i spooned fran for most of the trip. when we got to the club and i was only able to stretch my legs for a few minutes. then i stayed in the van prison until fran and q took me for a ride in q’s benz. i dont think she digs me getting hair all over her nice seats but she seemed to deal with that drawback well. after spending an hour in the benz prison it was back to my old cell in the van until after the show when kampy took me for a walk. fran let me off leash after that and i really got to run around that parking lot. that was the by far the best part of my night – running free and not answering to my name.

a kevin and fran momenta jess and nathan moment
a vivi and q moment
omar gets the 2 for 1 deal
lewscious in the lot
night vision on my digi camera – classic shot

F10