West Indian Girl

if you’ve ever gotten stuck in an elevator you can relate to this post. so last night let me tell you what happened. i went for a walk with tony and when i got back to the studio i couldnt find my phone. i thought i left it outside on a crate where i had stopped to play some cards with one of the street people named “short dog” (he’s a pretty cool guy – like more than a few of those homeless people outside are). so anyway, on my way back outside to look for my phone i asked rob if i could borrow his so i could call mine and hopefully hear it ring. so i get in the elevator and on my way down it stops…like just stops. hmmm, this isnt good. i press the alarm button and start yelling but there is no way rob is going to hear me cos im almost 5 floors down. i kept pressing the alarm but nothing. hmm i thought, what irony is this. on any normal occasion i would just call rob and have him help me find a way out but i look down only to see HIS fucking cell phone in my hand. i also saw 3 cigarettes in my other hand but no matches. fuck….i even left tony up in the studio so i had no company.

i then decide to use the emergency call box in the elevator and see if anyone would really answer it. to my surprise eventually someone picks up and says that they will page the guy who would i guess come save me. ok sure, is this really gonna happen. ok im still bumming out that i dont have my cell with the 500+ numbers it so i decided to look through rob’s phone to see who i knew that he knew that i thought would be up at this hour and would be willing to drive to downtown. of course the only one i could call would be carter who had just gotten home from the studio. i called him and told him the situation and he was a great sport in that he immediately got in his car to help. so ten minutes later i call the emergency call box guy back and i say “so what’s the deal” he tells me that it’s 3 in the morning and that the guy isnt answering his page. at this point i was just mad and lonely so i figured i might as well try get out myself. somehow i pried open the door only to find myself between the 1st and 2nd floor. i jumped up and crawled out to the second floor and that was that ( it was actually not that far off the second floor so it was no big deal).

i rejoiced upon my new found freedom and called carter to laugh about it and then went outside to smoke and ask short dog if he saw my phone and he said no…agian. i told him i was just stuck in the elevator and he was like “was that why the alarm kept going off?” after that i went back up stairs and rob was just about to leave cos he thought i had gotten in some sort of fight outside cos i was gone for so long. i told him the whole story and we were both laughing about it. so then right before we leave i stick my hand in the same couch i had looked in twice early and instantly pull out my cell phone. how fucking weird is that!!!??? we were actually sitting on that couch calling my phone but couldnt hear it for some reason cos the couch is so fluffy it totally muted my ringer. moral of the story…dont ride elevators by yourself, don’t lose your cell phone, always have good guys like carter in your band, and always carry matches with you.

the door to our space – there’s a man sleeping in that box

F10

check out this cool interview we did for the book la – a great honor to be a part of the book la.

so – we have new shirts and stuff up in our store. they rock – take a look. if you’ve ever ordered from our store you can appreciate how we ship out our merch. wrapped in packages that look like they’re up to no good and should be searched. gangster.

Personality cocktail
From Go-Quiz.com

ok so I finally added some more show reports. scroll down or check out the show report column on the right to read about the m theory in-store, the last show with turin brakes in s.d. and the solana beach show with sound tribe sector 9. I’m finally kicking it back into high blogging gear folks so watch out. oh yeah i also added a links section to the blog below the show reports.

If you’re curious as to what we are doing now we are banging out songs for our next record in our studio downtown. the shit is sounding awesome. downtown L.A. sure is depressing though. it’s like crack central a few blocks away. our block seems to be getting a bit more sketchy these days cos some real crazy street people have started crashing there. when i say crazy i mean crazy…like talking to themselves as well as talking shit to my dog crazy. if had a ton of money i would get them all hotel rooms but i don’t.

oh yeah, if you ever happen to be watching the AMC channel on tv listen for us cos they will be using “what are you afraid of” in their month long promos. “Miles From Monterey” was also used in the new Fox show called Bones. i didnt hear it but i’m sure it sounded cool.
F.TEN

NPR INTERVIEW – CLICK HERE

hey guys- so remember my blog about playing live on WXPN in philly before our show that night with turin brakes. (if you don’t check it out here – click this link and scroll down till you find it cos this will be good background for what was going on.) so anyway, this was our FIRST ever live performance as a band on the radio and it was early and it was fun but it was pretty sloppy. wrong notes abound (gotta love me hitting the wrong note in monterey) but that’s the magic of being live. i still can’t thank the station and david enough for giving us the opportunity to play – they are a HUGE HUGE reason we have such a great fan base in the philly area. thanx again and i hope you enjoy this rare stream.
F.TEN

ps – i would also like to thanx our fans from philly for making me aware of this – (ie bill walsh who sent me the link) and for all the positive feedback

we have a myspace account. i know i know, what is the world coming to, right? listen, i know you all have one, i had one. if you don’t already have our band as your friend, chop chop and get adding.

you know you’re going to click this…

bigkiss.

mariqueen

ps – hey this is Fran, fyi i rarely answer mail on our myspace account so if you need to get in touch with me just do it via this blog ok. otherwise mariqueen will be writing you back (which i’m sure every guy is really going to bummed out about. yeah, right)…

cool live shots taken by nik atkins – thanx man

we played at the roxy last night which officially ended our 4 show mini tour with sound tribe sector 9. the sound tribe shows were great in that we got to play in front of a different crowd. the sts9 guys were all really awesome and i want to thank them all for being so cool to us. i hope we can play some more shows with them down the road.once again we tried out a different set list and in retrospect it might not have flowed as well as anaheim did but at the end of the day you live and learn. the roxy has never been on my list of favorite clubs to play at as an opener and it still continues to be so. as we were playing i saw the moniter guy leave the booth as well as the house sound guy. that kind of sucks, plus we didnt get any sort of our rider fulfilled and their merch booth is possibly the worst one (followed by portland’s doug fir) i’ve ever had the displeasure to work. i was kicked out of the bar on top of the roxy 2 years ago and vowed never to return there because the guy working the door that night told me my band would never play there. ahhh, hidnsight is 20/20, if only i had listened to him. oh yeah, the best thing about this show was derek (on right) who came up from sd to help us out. not only did he help me take care of a ton of shit ranging from settling the show, loading, unloading, writing set lists, helping out with merch, making sure our van didnt get a ticket etc etc etc he did it all extremely well and professionally. i was so impressed with how he busted his ass and took charge of things on his own that i asked him to be our tour manager from now. you will be seeing more of him i promise. on a random note a photographer from rolling stone was there to take pics of us for their “random notes” section. and on another really random and strange note there was a guy there filming me for an upcoming documentary film on minnesota viking fans. my reality tv 15 seconds of fame are finally upon me but in the weirdest of reality worlds…i get filmed while drinking beer and swearing while watching the vikings on about 3 hours of sleep the night before. good stuff.

Mariqueen’s Mind

The City: oh la… that is all.

The Venue: i have no comment.

The Show: again, no comment.

What Were You Thinking While Playing: “why can’t i fucking hear myself?” and a whole bunch of other things you really don’t want to know.

Interesting Things After The Show: i met a wonderful man named david bendett. Carter’s Conscience

The Roxy, LA– This whole tour was a good experience, we got to meet a lot of great people, and I think we gained some perspective on our future by observing the community of people that STS9 brings together at every show. As the West Indian Girl community grows, we hope to include/invite different types of artists to perform with us, as well create an environment to promote awareness for social and environmental causes. Sound tribe does a great job combining all that into their show, and they had a genuine and respectful crew working for them, which says a lot. The show itself was fun, although the sound onstage wasn’t the best. But I was thrilled just to be standing on the same stage that Bob and the Wailers played on in 77′!
We’ve started to work diligently on tracks for our new album, and in a way that show marked both the end of an era for West Indian Girl and the birth of something beautiful. Take it easy
Carter

lewscious in a tribal zone

i have no memory of this event

loadin’ up suck serious ass

F.TEN

house of blues…our little vegas

i really like playing at the house of blues in anaheim. it was sort of like the belly up in that they take care of the band with meals and have a great staff there. anaheim has probably one of my favorite merch booth set ups. it’s on the second floor outside of the club. it’s rather nice to be outside selling stuff with plenty of room to spread out. we also had the sd crew – walt, doug, tim, nick and derek come up there. good times all around. mariqueen’s mom and dad also showed up and were very happy they could hear their daughter this time. zontobi was also in the house. oh shit i almost forgot the newbold’s, drew, erin and taylor showed up. they came down from sacramento. now that is fucking awesome. we love those guys so much and i cant really thank them enough for helping to spread the west indian girl word. i’m glad we played some new material for them as well because they have been through a lot with us and could really appreciate the new takes on some of the old songs. hopefully one day soon we will get to play in sacto proper so that they wont have to drive so far to see us.

Mariqueen’s Mind

The City: oh anaheim… that is all.

The Venue: i’m not really into the house of blues security guards. they rub me the wrong way and are power trippers and rude. the house of blues staff, however, all rule your face.

The Show: this was by far, our best yet. we were yet once again, tight like sardines but for some reason it worked. i of course hit carter’s equipment again and i think fran even hit rob’s guitar head with his bass. i got into our new songs and had a lot of fun turning my mind off and just cruising at auto pilot.

What Were You Thinking While Playing: “mmm…” no really, that’s all… “mmm…”

Interesting Things After The Show: well, while we were partying with the other band, i had to use the bathroom. pretty bad. they directed me to sound tribe’s to use and i walked in and discovered their drummer taking a shower. he purposely flashed me his butt. it happens.

Carter’s Conscience

The House of Blues, OC– funny night overall. We’ve played the House of Blues a lot, and overall its been great there. They really take a lot of precautions with security, I guess Disney must be a potential target for terrorists or something. You have to go through various ID checks, everyones has to get out of the van, were mickey mouse badges, special wristbands, etc. Its pretty much a nightmare, but when your inside the HOB you pretty much forget that outside, Downtown disney is indoctrinating children to a life of loyal consumerism. Whoops, did I say that out loud? I don’t want to be on the terrorist list the next time we play there. Seriously, my biggest complaint about Downtown Disney (where the HOB is situated) is that you are constantly bombarded with crappy elevator music, or even worse showtunes! Its not safe for people like us there, trust me. .. Before you know it you’ll be listening to Kenny G and arguing that perhaps evolution is just a theory. . .

these guys are everywhere
packin’ up the merch booth – a thankless job
erin…what more can i say? you rock
walt and tim making it count
doug, mariqueen and tim…a few drinks later

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live shots sent in by mike sherry – thanx mike!

i love solana beach and the belly up – it’s one of the better sounding stages that we’ve played at. the sound crew there is totally pro and what a difference that makes when you’re playing. in many ways it’s like the troubadour in that they are all right there with you when you are playing helping to make a better show. i know this must be getting old saying this but the crowd was typical for s.d in that they totally rocked and gave us that unconditional love you crave for when you’re up onstage giving it your all. the new songs – indian ocean and hopi sounded pretty good. both of those new tunes are pretty long but they went over well. we also experimented with a long version of monterey which i was totally feeling. i’m not sure what else to say except s.d is the best. it was great to see russ, leo and derek there. thanx for the support guys. oh yeah, thanx to jim brown for driving us down there in his cool van (seen in the pics) – it has a loft in it so you can sleep in style. we loved it.

Mariqueen’s Mind

The City: i have nothing but love for solana beach. outstanding.

The Venue: it was nice to be back at the belly up tavern. i had fond memories of opening up for gomez there and was jazzed to be back because i think the venue has a really great sound system and they have the best lighting. plussssss, they serve amazing food. can it get any better? well, this particular night it could’ve. you see, i don’t know how or why, but the pathway to our dressing room smelled like dried up puke. was i ecstatic about it? hmmm… not so much.

The Show: the show was cool. i still think we played hellaciously early but it was better than the day before. one huge problem was the stage set up. sts9 has like, a bazillion equipment and it’s not like west indian girl is a small band. we have our own trailer filled to the brim with gear. through out the set i think i hit carter’s rhodes and boom stand a total of ten times.

What Were You Thinking While Playing: um, all i really thought about was not hitting anyone else.

Interesting Things After The Show: i got to hang out with my fabulous photographer of a friend, troy, who had actually brought some of his friends with him. they were our paparazzi. it was great. the most interesting thing by far was the smell of the venue. hmmm…

Carter’s Conscience

San Diego/ Solana Beach– The Belly Up is an awesome venue. The stage is great, the sound on stage is fantastic, and the crew that works there are all-stars. STS9 has a pretty massive stage setup, and my keyboard rig is somewhat massive on its own, so it was a real juggling act to get us set up after their sound-check. It could’ve gotten ugly if the guys that worked
there hadn’t been so cool. We finnally decided to balance our monitors on road cases in front of the stage to give us more room, which worked okay. As far as the show went, I think we played a few new songs, Indian Ocean and hopi. Those are both working titles, so don’t expect to see those track names on the next record. In fact, by the time we record them they probably won’t sound remotely the same anyway! I remember we did an extended version of Monterrey, which I thought was really cool. Hung out with all the guys from sound tribe as well. They have a great scene that they’ve built, a great mix of people in the audience. Everyone from LRG wearing hip-hop types to the semi-hippy crowd. I had as much fun hanging/watching the crowd as I did the show. thanx again to the belly up.

tight stage – tighter show
leo and ash
these two are simply the best people ever

making the set list in the van

F.TEN

our gorgeous hollywood couple

last night we played at the majestic theatre with sound tribe sector 9. i was really looking forward to these 4 sts9 shows just because we were playing some new songs in hopes of working out some arrangements for them. we ended up playing at 7:30 and thus played to about 20 people max which is the least amount of people we have ever played for. it was kinda funny but i thought we played the new songs pretty well. kampy made my night by showing up even though he missed “northern sky” which we played especially for him. at the merch booth after the show i drank too much on an empty stomach (because we had no food in our dressing room) and ended up puking. i actually made myself puke cos i cant stand being drunk. after that i crashed in the van til i felt better. it was nice of everyone else to pick up the slack at the merch booth for me. thanx guys i really enjoyed the nap.

Mariqueen’s Mind

The City: ventura sounds a lot like it belongs in the inland empire. to my pleasant surprise it was breezy and beachy. it’s a cute little town and reminds me a lot of huntington beach.

The Venue: the theatre was majestic and grand. what wasn’t was the plastic patio chairs they used for the audience to sit on. what is that all about? i was particularly excited about the picture booth. so far this is the only venue besides the double door in chicago, that i’ve seen, to have, what i feel, is a necessity at every bar, club and home. way to go ventura theatre. too bad you didn’t supply me with fruit and water in my dressing room. sadfacesadfacesadface.

The Show: um, we played at seven thirty. that’s all i’m going to say about that, ok?

What Were You Thinking While Playing: seriously, you don’t want to know…

Interesting Things After The Show: kampy came up and introduced himself bearing gifts! he was sweet enough to give me a jäger shirt and i think he even gave fran and lewis something. i don’t think they were quite as cute as my tank top. then… all of a sudden… i was drunk. i blame the following: kampy for the two jäger shots, carter for the one jäger shot and some really nice sts9 fan who for some reason was more than happy to buy me a shot and a drink. fran got sick and was banished to the van for a little while. mark, carter and i all made attempts at hoola hooping. no dice. since fran was out of commission we all took turns holding down the merch fort. at one point i saw rob walking around with the email list clipboard and a bag of buttons. that’s pretty sexy. then fran, mark and i ended the evening buy taking pictures in the photo booth. yes, all three of us… and no you can’t and won’t ever see them. do you know how long it took for me to find the code to spell jäger properly? the things i do for our readers. ♥

Carter’s Conscience
Ventura– this was our first show of a four day stint with Sound Tribe Sector 9. I’ve seen a lot of great concerts at the Ventura theatre, I think the last one was Burning Spear. The show itself was really weird. We were scheduled to go on at 7:30 I believe. I don’t even eat breakfast until 7:30 some days! The sun is still shining! I don’t even think they had opened the doors when we started, because for the first half of our set there wasn’t a single person in attendance. What can you do in a situation like that? We just laughed and played all of our new songs, and by the end a little crowd of people had showed and were appreciative. So i hope we rocked the shit out you, if you were one of the lucky few to be at our first Ventura gig! This was such a surreal experience, especially considering that our previous show in San Diego was absolutely amazing! The San Diego was sold out for weeks, all over the radio, newspaper articles, kissing babies etc. etc. But anyway, the crowd showed up a few hours later for Sound Tribes set, and they put on a really cool show. We partied a bit, as you do when you haven’t played a gig for a while, and I think at one point I actually tried to hula hoop! I’m man enough to admit that. . . . Fran and Q were not capable of operating heavy machinery either. I think Fran actually got sickat one point and had to leave the merch booth, which is a first in the history of the band as far as i know!

kampy and lewscious at the merch booth

F.TEN

for those of you who don’t know, aaron chang is a surf photography icon. he is also the newest member of our extended family. aaron’s beautiful work lends itself wonderfully to our musical vibe. please do yourself a favor and check out his site where he has just posted a slideshow on New Zealand using the song “northern sky”. thanx aaron we fucking love you man. Aaron Chang Gallery – Surf Photography

F.TEN

i know you’ve all been clicking on our blog link and thinking to yourselves, “what’s become of fran?”…

here’s the skinny—he’s been busy. it’s hard being francis ten. seriously. if you knew all the stress he endures regarding the band on a daily basis, you would be surprised and probably love him for taking the time to be so dedicated to the blog.

he’ll be back… promise.

as far as the blog goes we’re working on uploading pictures from our second troubadour show and then uploading the pictures from our casbah show. as far as the band goes, we are in the midst of working on our next record and we just finished four days of opening up for sound tribe sector nine and i don’t know if i can speak for the rest of the band, but i am mentally and physically drained. why? you’ll find out when those show reports come.

so hey, we’re doing the joshua tree festival on saturday, october fifteenth. [look how pretty it is out there] we’re headlining the second stage and slated to play at eleven thirty. come out and dance and in the desert and scream out how much you love us… don’t forget to bring me presents.

♥ mariqueen

last show with the turin brakes guys

san diego is now our “second” official home away from home. first it was seattle but “daygo” is really making a case for so cal being the best spot in the world for west indian girl. i always knew our show at the casbah was going to sell out because there was just to much shit happening for us in sd for it not to happen – with all the love from midori on 94.9 and the press we were getting it was a sure thing. and what a way to end the tour…on a high. this show was important for us because it was one of the first times we really started to “jam” and stray away from some of our normal song structures and thus the first step in our evolving into a better bunch of musicians. the crowd was also one of the best we have ever played in front of. hey san diego this dago loves you. if any other italians are reading this do you know why are we called that? well, Oddly enough, the word “Dago”, which is used slangily (and often in a derogatory sense) to mean someone of Italian heritage, comes from the Spanish name Diego. Spanish and Portugese sailors serving aboard English and American ships were called Dagos. Over the years, the term came to mean any southern European sailor, and since the late 1800s, it no longer refers to sailors or other Europeans, but simply means Italian. Who knows how these things evolve…(ask walt over on the right – he seems to think he knows everything)

Mariqueen’s Mind

The City: seriously, i LOVE san diego. i could go on and on about how and why but i won’t. let’s just say when someone says the word san diego, big whale vagina is the last thing on my mind. ok maybe not, but i usually let out a big sigh at first and gush about how great the city is.

The Venue: i was nervous about playing the casbah again because the last time we had performed there i thought i gave one of the worst performances of my life. the staff there was very kind and even made me tea. that was the minute i officially fell in love. oh casbah, how i love you so…

The Show: my god, what a way to end the tour. best show on the tour. best show to date. best show ever! it was magical. we were packed in tight, but in a very comfortable way. i did, however, almost hit rob with my tambourine. the audience was just outstanding. we had the venue filled. the vibes that were coming from our fans just radiated through us and i think, made us play and sing better. at the end of what are you afraid of i was so out of control with my tambourine that i almost fell into mark’s drum set and rob had to grab my arm to keep me from falling. hot. what a great show.

What Were You Thinking While Playing: i am so sweaty, i am taking this sweater off and i’m going to look like a slob in this wife beater but i don’t care because nothing can stop me from having this much fun on stage. i think i eeeeped a lot in my head as well.

Interesting Things After The Show: an amazing couple told me that they had seen portishead live in london and that we were better than them. this beautiful opera singer, maile, told me a bunch of things that made my life. el, my house of blues homegirl showed up and got to hang out. a lot of drunken bantering and pictures flashing and arm grabbing from randoms and i even had my own personal cigarette caddy. it was amazing. the minute i was done with a cigarette, it didn’t matter where i was or who i was talking to, he’d show up by my side cigarette ready to put in my mouth. is that some gangster shit or what? sometimes my life is ridiculously awesome.

Carter’s Conscience

San Diego– last stop on the tour! What a way to end the tour. I really didn’t expect such a great welcome, but last night’s show was absolutely amazing, probably my favorite of the whole tour! Something happenned in San Diego since we’ve been there last. I guess we’ve been getting a bit of press and some radio play, and the crowd last night was absolutely amazing! I felt kind of bad that so many people showed up and couldn’t get in! (I guess it had been sold out for weeks)Fran and myself went outside before the show just to say whats up to some of the people that didn’t have tickets. We figured that we’d take pictures and post em on the blog, kind of a consolation prize, considering some people had driven a long way only to be turned away. Only problem was, most people didn’t believe we we’re actually in the band! It was pretty funny, actually, we’d say who we we’re and try to take a photo with them, and they were like “Yeah right, bullshit you’re in the band” So we gave up, but we’re coming back to play the Belly Up in a month, so bring the cameras!

The show itself was great! The crowd just lifted us up, it was a blast. So I know we have to play an all ages show soon in San Diego and I promise we will! I saw a lot of people outside that couldn’t get in because of age discrimination, and I remember how much that sucks! So if you’re not yet old enough to get into the bars, give us an email and tell us where we should play down there. The funniest incident was the girl outside who had me sign her skirt. She was underage so she and her friends couldn’t get in to the show. About ten minutes later I was at the merch booth and this guy is waving her skirt in the air. I guess she took it off so the rest of the band could sign it, and was standing outside in her undies! Thats pretty awsome, bring that skirt to the next show and I promise we’ll give you a free T or poster or something for you’re efforts. In fact, maybe we should just have an underwear party for our next show in Diego. Rent out a big wherehouse, everyone in their underwear gets in free? I’m into, I know Q is game!

By the way, has everyone seen Anchorman? I had the phrase “A Whales Vagina” stuck in my head all night! If you saw it you know what I mean. . . Last show of the tour, we tossed back a few with the Turin Brakes posse! A bit sad really. We had a great time with them and their crew, really cool musicians and people. Who knows, maybe we’ll get over to England and do it again. Cheers mates, now for a few weeks of rest and relaxation in LA. Yeah right. . .Almost forgot a pretty classic incident! After the show at the Casbah, we all drove back to LA to unload our gear at the rehearsal space. Afterwards Tommy and I took the Suburban with the Uhual trailer to my house to crash out. I think it was Tommy who suggested we hit the Taco Bell drive through on La Brea and Venice. Mind you it was about 4:30 in the morning at this point, and we weren’t exactly thinking straight. To make a long story short, there was a sharp turn in the middle of the drive through and we got hopelessly stuck. The more we tried to back up, the worse it got! There was a line of cars forming behind us, and as a last resort we had to unhook the trailer and physically drag it out of the drive-through. It was pretty out of control, the Taco Bell guys were just staring in disbelief. So we hooked the trailer back on, (or so I thought) and started back to my house. Right outside of the Taco Bell I made a U-turn on Venice, and I felt the trailer drop halfway-through. I watched in horror through the rear view as the trailer flew through three lanes and slammed into a curb! You’d think the friction would force the trailer to stop, but that thing kept a lot of momentum. Obviously we we’re really lucky that there wasn’t a parked car in its path. . . Anyway, the sun was coming up by the time we got the trailer and got back home. And to add insult to injury, they forgot to give us hot sauce at Taco Bell! We had a good laugh about driving back through again and asking for hot sauce. . Anyway, great end to the tour. You’re a legend Tommy, good traveling with you bud! Keep an eye out for Tommy’s band The Binges, can’t wait to see their next show! Singing off,
carter

ollie and tommy — twins…crazy huh?
drove past a nuclear power plant that day (titties anyone?)
lewscious and troy having a moment
emma’s parents are the best?
band shot sent in by flavio and renata – thanx!
bass moment with eddie from turin brakes

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chill vibes at m theory

our acoustic show at m theory was pretty classic. totally chill vibe – i was totally into it. walt and doug met us there and provided some great support. as usual it was just mariqueen and r james playing 3 songs while i hosted the event. the record store itself is pretty dope. good vibes. after the show walt and doug showed me the san diego newspaper that had a big article and picture about us in it. then they cruised me back (in the yellow jeep) to the club for sound check. these guys are good to know.

Mariqueen’s Mind
our instore at m theory was stressful for me. you see, i chose to drive to san diego by myself. little did i know that i would be stuck in serious gridlock for three and a half hours. i got to the casbah earlier than the rest of the guys and was pleasantly greeted by lewscious. we waited and waited and got the word from our sound man, ward, that we would miss our in store because we were already expected to be there to set up. i then got a call from the rest of the band saying to meet at m theory. great. guess who didn’t have directions to the store? thank god the duchess [my beloved car] has a navigation system. i made mark come with me and we arrived at m theory to find fran and rob already set up, sitting in front of the crowd, with sunglasses on, ready to go. guess who didn’t warm up, or drink tea and had a hangover? ugh. fran emceed the whole fiasco and i did my best to not embarass myself or the band. the store was really cute. i loved the whole layout and over all design. the audience was positive and i hope to god i didn’t fail them. i hope we can come back and do another one for this next record and i can show them what i’m really made of. if any town deserves my one hundred and ten million percent, it’s san diego.

during the deedthat’s the back of doug’s head

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more visuals and lights are in our future

what a difference a day makes. after what i thought was a luke warm show the first night we rebounded with a much better show the second night. one reason i think the show was better was because the majority of our fans showed up exuding a ton of positive energy which made it’s way to up us on stage and thus fueled us even more. our crew from san diego drove up for the show – walt, doug and nick are great guys and i wish these guys could make every show cos they’re hilarious to hang out with. the troubadour is one of my favorite clubs to play at in la just because they treat their bands with a degree of respect that is often times not seen at venues. the stage managers and sound crew are all great – plus it’s an easy place to load in and out of. this is actually a big deal because when u have as much gear as we do it makes for a much better time when you want to get the hell out of there. so the tour is coming to a close and i’m really kinda bummed out about. that’s ollie from turin brakes in the picture with me on the left. san diego is our last show and i’m expecting big things.

Mariqueen’s Mind

The City: tonight, i had faith that la would be a success. i woke up and got the most uplifting voicemail from carter that assured me we would redeem ourselves. sometimes, you really can’t help but love that man.

The Venue: since no one touched last night’s bottle of korbel, tonight we were greeted with two bottles. even though i hate korbel, i still love the troubadour for being super swell and being able to accommodate us as best as they possibly can. oh troubadour… how do i love thee… perhaps in a future blog i may count the ways. we’ll see.

The Show: what a sweet ass turn around. kevin reid’s visuals were awesome tonight. the crowd was ridiculously energetic. yeah, can you believe it? i saw genevieve again which pretty much reassured me if had died that night i would’ve gone out like a happy girl. i saw my pumpkin patch of love, vivi and her cutie petutie date, jeff [he saw our verrry first show and i’m glad he saw the evolution of west indian girl. hot.]… i saw marc goldstein in the crowd… that always makes me happy… Je vous aime, marc. despite the potential of wardrobe malfunctions i think tonight’s show was a good solid eight out of ten. we were into it.

What Were You Thinking While Playing: i, literally, kept praying that my boob wouldn’t fall out of my shirt.

Interesting Things After The Show: this was the most fun i have ever had after a show and that, really, is all you need to know…

Carter’s Conscience

LA take two– I just woke up today with a clear head, and knew that tonight was going to be our night. We dialed in the sound perfectly during check, and had one of our best shows of the tour! Thanks to Bobby, the house sound guy, for hooking it up. It sounded great on stage, the crowd was rocking. Everything just seemed to flow last night, and thats what its all about. I wish I had some wild sordid stories to tell about the aftershow, but honestly I was beat. We just hung with all our friends at the Troub afterwards. Good to see the Malibu heads; Mcknasty, Rock Box, Sannie, Dean, and White Lightning! Also, finally got to meet DJ Dave from the Virgin megastore. You’re a legend buddy, we gotta stop by and say whats up some time. Our favorite rock photog Mark Goldstein was there as well, documenting the carnage. So hey its great to be home, and thanks to all our friends for coming down. Next LA show is at the Roxy with Soundtribe Sector 9 in early September, we’ll keep you posted.. Carter

shots at the merch booth with the sd crew – bad ideaq and rob with errol from astralwerksheidi, geoff, joe and t.j. – good timesmarc goldstein NOT behind the camera for onceour favorite french girl emilierobert james sans beard – you make the callmarcos and john beltranthis couple was great and i forgot their names like an idiotlewscious with joe who is the man behind our great merchsan diego in la – doug, walt, and nick

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there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home…

returning to los angeles was bittersweet for me. dont get me wrong i love los angeles but i would rather be away touring in another city. i know i will catch a ton of shit for saying this but i have said it many times before; given that la is unlike any other city in the country as far as music goes, it is very tough to feel like it’s your home even when it is your home. i know im not gettting my point across well but basically im saying la isnt going to throw you a ticker tape parade when you return home from a tour…especially when you’re an opening band on a bill. anaheim on the other hand will, and so will san diego but la is just not that kind of place. it’s a bit too cool for it’s own good. hey i’m part of the problem – i’m just as jaded of a music fan as the people i bitch about in la. anyway, it’s been a weird month for me.

so the first la show was fine. not great, but passable. was i dissappointed in my performance. yes. i still think we are a band that is growing up and learning something from each show it plays. i need to thank a bunch of our great fans that came out. these guys i cant thank enough for their true undying support like karen and allison (picutered). thanx again for coming out to the gig. seeing you guys reminds me why we are doing this. i dont even remember how i ended up getting home that night. i think i just walked because i live a block away. that’s the best thing about gigs at the troubadour. i can walk there and back.

Mariqueen’s Mind

The City: i clicked my heels three times and chanted, “there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home…” i opened my eyes and looked up at the troubadour. crayzeh.

The Venue: there’s no place like HOME… except when home gives you the crappier room that smells too musky and you get korbel champagne. that’s when you whimper in the bittersweetness of it all.

The Show: um, i’m sure i’ve been the most pessimistic person in the world when it’s come to our shows but honestly, there was something off about tonight’s performance. we are a band that feeds off the energy off each other and the crowd. the band’s energy was not in synch for some reason. i suspect this was due to technical problems with monitors on stage and the crowd was extra “l.a.” tonight. sometimes, people gotta know that when you’re standing there acting like you’re too cool you give off the vibe that you don’t appreciate or like the band that’s playing. why i say this is because after the show i got so much amazingly awesome feedback that it made me think i had stepped into some weird happy other troubadour realm. tonight we had the pleasure of getting the amazing kevin reid to do visuals for us. the funny part about that is that the visuals came out a little too small. all in all i gave this show a seven out of ten.

What Were You Thinking While Playing: i was thinking about how small the visuals were, how quiet the crowd was, how beautiful my two friends looked in the crowd [genevieve and brooke i love you]… i heard someone call out my name, my nickname, that only family knows… i suspected it was my doppelganger of a cousin… i was right. i also hoped that no one would notice i was wearing the same dress i wore in chicago and was hoping that no one could actually see through it.

Interesting Things After The Show: i hung out with gen, brooke, deb and my cousin kevin who i hadn’t seen in years. it was so amazing. we just had a huge gushfest. you see, all four of those people, i hold dear to my heart… they are all very beautiful and very talented and very accomplished. we all fawned over each other and drank. i hung out with errol for a little bit too… it’s always great seeing him. errol you are the best. other highlights included seeing marcos… marcosssss! he is the man i rely on for pretty much everything that surrounds my sanity regarding each show. he is my rock. i love you marcos. i love everyone… there’s no place like home.

Carter’s Conscience

Los Angeles– back to LA! Oh man, we’ve been gone for almost four weeks already. I can’t say I’m happy or sad to be home, but home I am nonetheless. We did back to back shows at the Troubadour, which is great because there is less loading/unloading of equipment. So honestly, the first show back was a little off for us. Coming back home from a trip inevitably means that reality gives you little smack in the face, in the form of unpaid bills, dirty houses, paying rent, etc. All the bullshit that you don’t think about when you’re on the road. So at least for me it took a few songs to wash off the dirty details of the day. Also, we didn’t dial in the stage sound as well as we could of during soundcheck. On my end it was really bassy and washed out. But whatever, we can’t make excuses, and it was still a really fun show to play. The crowd was really, really cool, and really carried us through it. Its funny because I say all this and yet I know that in the end I’m our worst critic! So we had a great time after the show, got to see a lot of faces I hadn’t seen in a long time as well. I was surprised to see the prez of the label, Errol, hanging out backstage! Errol a straight shooter, and its always good to get some no-bullshit feedback from the guy behind the guy.

walter and chuck keeping the irs away from us
tommy and marcos “working”
mariqueen.org = brooke, debbie and kevin
fran and clayton – this dude is rad
team lewscious
there’s no place like home mr robert smith/james

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great american music hall aug 1, 2005

i like san fran for a few reasons, one reason is simply because my name is in it. the other and main reason is that sf has some of the coolest venues in the country to play period. adding to list of cool clubs we have played in san fran comes the great american music hall. this place was awesome and once again i must applaud the sf crowd – music lovers til the end. sometimes i wish we could play there every month. this show was exciting just because i felt like the band was really in a zone now. the show started off a bit slow – maybe that had to do with the fact that we play so damn early on this tour (and usually right after we all eat dinner). im so not into starting shows at 8pm — i mean people are still walking in. anyway, no big deal. we ended up playing well and having a great time. after the show we sold a bunch of lithos. funny thing about that is that i also sold a bunch of lithos in philly too…hmmm, what does that mean? possibly the appreciation of cool rock art only thrives in sf and philly? hmmm, probably. i’m way into fans buying lithos cos i think those lithos are a killer piece of the west indian girl tour history.

as fate would have it all of us had lost our digital cameras by the time we hit sf. well, techincally mariqueen took a picture of the marquee and then lost hers. having no pix is a drag because this blog thrives on visuals. little did i know there was one guy with a camera there. this man…gregory crane. gregory was kind enough to send me all the other shots you see on this page. little did he know he would be the only one to visually chronicle our first show at the great american. to see more of his photography check out his website right here. thanks gregory – you’re a savior. since i sell merch after we play i usually get to hear all of turin brakes sets and i really think they’re a great live band. they end up sounding like pink floyd by the end of their set and that’s never a bad thing.

Mariqueen’s Mind

The City: i’ve been to san francisco eighty bajillion times and never get tired of my trips. this time around we were located in what seemed to be “little saigon”. excuse me great american music hall, why would you want to be located near a strip club and a bunch of fish joints? i don’t get it.

The Venue: it was beautiful. really regal. the dressing rooms were downstairs and they epitomize the word room. they were huge and we even had a seperate little room to obsess over our faces in. besides having great little snacks and drinks to provide, the best part of the whole downstairs was that it was like a seperate little hangout hall for the musicians. we had our own super big bathroom with a shower if needed, but seriously, who really takes showers at venues… not me… and they had tea for days not to mention we could smoke everywhere. as far as the stage was concerned, it felt great being up there. the great american music hall is a place you want to fill up to capacity and have one of the best musical performances of your life. i hope one day we can do it.

The Show: well, it was alright. i don’t know… we thought we were supposed to start at nine and instead we started at eight. pretty whack. this performance didn’t really stand out so much. i think it was because everyone was so spaced out… that used to be ideal for us, but the more we’ve played the closer we like to be to each other. it’s important for me to feel all four of the boys’ energy. i didn’t really get a good dose of any of them. i gave this show a seven out of ten.

What Were You Thinking While Playing: “why are we playing so early?” “i hope i don’t fall out of this dress”… “[siggggh] everyone is so far away”… “these monitors are awesome”… and then at some point in the set i just turn my mind off and coast. that’s how it is every single time we play. get into it.

Interesting Things After The Show: nothing really. honestly, i just hung out with the band and dayna and some randoms. highlights include running into andrew and him cooing at my dress. if only he wasn’t so sick… andrew, darling, i adore you… i hope the next time we come to san fran we can hang. after awhile i decided to peep into turin brakes’ dressing rooms and hung out with gale’s girlfriend and was even able to snag me some free records. after packing up i curled up like a little fetus in the back of the burban and passed out. go rock n roll go.

Carter’s Conscience

San Francisco– This time around we played at the Great American Music hall, which is a beautiful old ballroom. The decor dates back about a hundred years, and the people that work there informed us that it used to be a brothel. We didn’t get to chill out in San Fran this time around, but it was cool to see all our San Fran friends again! The Newbolds we’re front row and rocking, Andrew from jambase was there, and the Manville crew was out as well. . . thanks for saying whats up everyone, wish we could’ve stayed longer! The set for me got off to a weird start. The ghosts of the club were haunting me. I absolutely tanked the beggining of Northern Sky. I hit a wrong pedal and it took me a few clicks and wrong turns to get the train back on the tracks. But we pulled it together, and the room was absolutely a pleasure to play in. C ya San Fran, thanx again

gale and olly aka turin brakespaul siminon is one of my bass icons
SET LIST – per request of samantha street
still lost
northern sky
trip (xtended version)
miles from monterey
hollywood
out of pink (new song)
what are you afraid of (xtended version)

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portland – pretty much a blur

we played at the doug fir lounge again – that makes 3 times at the fir. we also stayed at the jupiter hotel which is connected to the club and restaurant. it’s a cool hotel – sort of like the standard in LA crossed with a super 8. we all love the jupiter – great idea merging the whole club and hotel thing. whenever we play there it sort of feels like you’re going down into your basement to play a show. speaking of the show, this show was good – we’re definitely on a roll now. i loved seeing xilia faye there. xilia took a bunch of cool pics (like the main one above). to see all the pics she took of us check out her blog right here.

it was also great to see randy from dakine. dakine has a great music page check it out – dakine. randy gave me the best back pack i have ever owned. it’s my official tour companion – i keep everything in it – clothes, G4, sunglasses, toothbrush, tony’s dog food, my chuck t’s – you name it it’s in there. plus i’m down with the camou look. so after the show the doug fir turned into a dance club and that meant i went across the st to the strip club where tommy, chris, and lewscious were. it was lame and i went back to my room. portland oregon is eerily similar to portland maine – or maybe that’s just because the crowds there were sort of the same. i wish portland oregon had lobsters everywhere…eating would have been a much better time. i tried buffalo meat at the restaurant upstairs and really wasnt into it. i still have yet to try the fir burger…there’s always next time.

Mariqueen’s Mind

The City: dude, i love portland. i mean i really love portland. it’s like california without all the pretentiousness and smog. if i hadn’t been so hung over i so would’ve explored. everything happens for a reason and i believe that my time in portland’s boutiques will come and it’s gonna be crayzeh.

The Venue: i really enjoy the doug fir because it’s a classy joint. the fact that the jupiter hotel is right next door is even better. i’m glad we drove to portland that night. waking up in my fab hotel room was exactly what i needed.

The Show: personally, i thought this was the worst show of the whole tour… and when i mean worst, i mean my inability to really feel my bandmates or feel the music. i think i did a shitty job projecting my emotions because it took awhile for me to build up any. i think this was due to the fact that our set had been cut short to half an hour and thus, only allowing us to play five songs. also, i don’t understand what is going on with the doug fir sound. i mean, great venue for sure, but for some reason we never get the sound on stage right. ever. ever ever ever. i’m sure the sound is great out in the audience but on stage it seemed like the sound wasn’t full enough. this also messed up my chi a skoach. i’m sure and i PROMISE there will be more amazing sets coming from west indian girl when we come to portland. maybe i should go on a shopping spree before we play. shopping = love and happiness. alright, i’m doing it.

What Were You Thinking While Playing: i plead the fifth. ha, i do that a lot don’t i? get into it.

Interesting Things After The Show: i met shiho, my friend from mercir, colin’s, lovely wife. we all hung out and talked about how awesome they were. then i hung out with randy from dakine and his dope friend scott… they had been drinking since like 6pm or whatever and we kind of continued what they had started… everything got really blurry after that. thanks a lot, assholes ♥. apparently the guys went to some lame titty bar when we were supposed to go karaoke. i guess this is why i chose to be a huge bitch to all of them. sometimes i really hate being the only girl. mark promised… and then i ended up by myself with three dudes. hey… that’s just great, guys. thanks a lot. i woke up the next day with bits of fir burger in my teeth and a hellafied tattered to go box that once had greazy fries in it. i hate mornings like that. i hate evenings not spent with my jaeger crew. anyway, about the food… i think i might have brent to thank about that. hey brent, when i come back i’m seriously blue toothing your ringtone. you. are. a. gangster.

Carter’s Conscience
Portland– The Doug Fir is the name of the venue, and the Jupiter hotel is basically attached to it. The Jupiter hotel reminds me of the Standard in LA, its got a real rock n roll party vibe, the staff all look like rockstars, and everybody is just plain old cool and down to earth! Especially Brent, we love you buddy, thanks for taking care of us every time we come into town! So there was a nice little crowd in Portland, and I thought we had a pretty good show. Not earth-shattering, but a lot of fun! The Doug Fir is a really nice venue to play in, the sound is really separated on stage. I’m not particularly used to playing in places with top notch monitor systems yet. You really have to get your monitor mixes dialed in right, or else you can feel like your playing on an island, or in a glass case of emotion. . . Its tough to get the stage sound dialed in perfect when the front of house sound guy is also doing monitors. That’s because the front of house guy can’t hear whats happening on stage. but it was pretty good all in all, mostly because of our soundman Ward, who is really been doing a great job all tour! Good to see all our Portland friends again, especially Heather, Danger and Danielle, and Greg and his wife! Love you guys, wish I coulda come hit the scene with you, next time I promise!

So i learned something new about Portland this time around. Apparently it is per capita the strip club capitol of the United States! Who would’ve thought, you horny Portlanders! But seriously, its almost a family affair in the strip clubs, there are as many girls in there tipping the dancers as there are guys! Now I’m not a huge strip club connoisseur, but the whole crew was headed to Union Jacks, and I wasn’t about to be a party pooper. . . NOTICE: YOU MUST BE AT LEAST EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE TO CONTINUE READING THIS BLOG– Ok, I’ll sensor it. The girls were getting *****, dancing on poles, some of them had huge **** and tatoos on their ******! It was ******* crazy! Hey, its a job just like any other, and I got nothing but respect, seriously. But I don’t want to hear about your daddy, seriously. To wrap it up, I could live in Portland, can’t wait to come back.

tommy working the merch “closet”with celebs scott, randy (dakine), colin ( mercir). & shihomariqueen with shiho and colinkrista and stephanie you two are wonderfuli love these 2 girls- they drive down from seattle!!!

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rad stage…in a record store!

as far as record stores goes portland is home of one of the best. just like easy st in seattle this store kicks ass. it’s a shame stores like this arent everywhere. terry (the owner) has a great job – he owns two music millenniums in portland and has been doing this for years and years and years. gotta love old school independent record stores cos they haven’t been crushed by the major crappy chains. thanx again terry i hope we can stop over again next time we’re there. as far as the 3 song acoustic show went, well once again it was robert james and mariqueen doing the in-store jamming. i was in the crowd mystery shopping, taking pics and cheering loudly just so i could make them laugh. it was a good time even though it was way too early for west indian girl to be awake.

Mariqueen’s Mind
oh music millennium… apologies til the day i die for such an uncomfortable instore. you must understand that i woke up in my fabu hotel room with a big headache and news from the night prior[seattle]. with no time to eat or warm up i wobbled into music millennium, marveled at how beautiful the stage was and prayed that i wouldn’t faint. the workers at the store were angels. they got me hot tea and five bottles of water. rob kept his sunglasses on for the whole set… i should’ve done the same thing. i was literally holding on to my microphone just to keep steady. i gave this show a two out of ten. personally, i was just embarrassed. you win some, you lose some… unfortunately i had a huge L on my forehead that afternoon. thanks, terry for being so sweet. i hope you liked our doug fir show and again, i’m sorry i was so out of it at your store.

terry = legend this guy has seen it all – thanx bro

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