West Indian Girl

Don’t haight us cos we’re from LA

we played at cafe du nord on sunday and to be honest with you, i wasnt really expecting too much given that it was a sunday night, the oscars were on, and it was pouring rain outside. loading all of our gear down the stairs at nord also sucked major ass by the way. to my surprise, the evening turned out to be real fun – i really had a blast. the crowd was very very warm and easy to draw inspiration from. for some reason it was one of our more looser times on stage. i was sick all day but playing the show knocked out whatever i had left of a cold. the most memorable part of the evening was meeting drew and erin who drove down from sacramento. we met drew and erin at the fillmore when we opened for gomez. they are starting a real cool website called 420synema.com that synchs up movies to cds… it is difficult to explain but if you ever read about the wizard of oz synching up perfectly with pink floyd’s “dark side of the moon” then you will understand what they are doing. according to them our cd eerily synchs up to the move “the cell”. i cant wait to try this and i cant wait for drew to finish the site. i hope the show was worth the drive you guys. ialso want to thank max and her sister for helping me with merch, birdmonster for helping to make the bill a much better one, and mike and john from the band mansville for showing up and getting wasted. oh yeah, also rick audet who sent me the live shots i posted in this blog. thanx guys!!!

Carter’s Conscience
Saturday– Boring drive at night to San Fran. Learned a valuable lesson. try to avoid any kind of conflict with your girl before leaving to tour. Your mind can beat you up when your the only one wide awake on a six hour car ride in the middle of the night.

Sunday– San Fran! Troy, our tech, is a pretty funny dude. He does most of the driving, and he brought a total of four CD’s on tour. Of those four, he only played one for almost the entire trip. It is this funk CD by the Eisley brothers. Troy gets himself enough red bull to kill a raver, plugs in the Eisley brothers, starts rocking out, and I swear to god that guy could drive to New york without stopping. If there was a soundtrack to Troy’s life it would be “Girl I want to be with you” by the Eisley brothers. Anyway, the show was cool being that it was Oscar night and it was raining. Fran stopped the show and presented me with an Oscar award, and I gave a nice little acceptance speech during the middle of our set.

Mariqueen’s Mind
The Venue: I thought Café Du Nord’s atmosphere was really groovy and intimate. Thank god I have boobs, if I had had to load the equipment up and down those killer steps with you guys I might’ve collapsed from a heart attack.
The City: I love San Fran but I was bummed about not being able to really enjoy the sights and shops of the city because of the rain. Shopping makes me happy and rain makes me want to cuddle… I had no one to spoon… insert sad face here.
The Show: This was our first show with our new sound man on the road, Carlos. I thought it was great even though only ninety people showed up… I suppose that’s a decent crowd for a rainy, Sunday, Oscar night and yet once again, I couldn’t hear myself through the monitors… but seriously, I can NEVER hear myself… I think the band should invest in some ear pieces… ahem.
What Were You Thinking While Playing: I was thinking about how cold I was and how great Rob’s guitar sounded but I was also thinking about how stressed out he might’ve been because I knew he couldn’t hear himself… I know I couldn’t.
Interesting Things After The Show: I met a really dope couple from New York who insisted that we come there and play because they believed that we would have a cult following… how awesome. Around this time Troy started to freak out because he lost his wallet and Kevin Reid sat on an equipment case, smoking, with one pant leg rolled up and a big bag of ice on his exposed knee. Poor Kreider, those killer steps I had mentioned aggravated an old knee problem or something… I capitalized on the moment to get some amazing shots of our amazing on hand photographer. The pictures are great if I do say so myself. If a photographer likes a picture you took of him then you know you did good.(picture to be included)…

mansville and mariqueen

kreider after he busted up his knee

downtown before the show at a cool cafe



more down time…lewscious

good times in the van playing scrabble…stoned

note the use of the words “whaler” and “bandy”

and “anus”

kevin reid took the following shots: red wall band, carter’s head, mansville, the 3 cafe shots, lewscious skate boarding, 2 van shots

—F.TEN

Peace and Love ALWAYS at a sold out troubadour! thanx to all our friends that came out to support. the evening was a complete success and there was a ton of good music to be had. ironically, our set was hilighted (in my mind) by a technical glitch in the first song. not a good way to get started but i dont think too many people noticed. a sample was triggered incorrectly. far from it being an ashlee simpson moment, it was only one keyboard sample track from the song hollywood that was somehow playing during still lost. it was bizarre. in retrospect it was pretty funny cos i kept listening and thinking “holy fucking shit, is that the sample for hollywood? why is this happening? who is going to stop this? is everyone else freaking out?” anyway, we got through it and went on to play a hot show. we even pulled out an acoustic version of dream to end the evening. now that’s a tender way to send’em home.

Carter’s Conscience
Friday at the Troubadour– I love LA. There, I came right out and said it. Everyone knows theres a lot of glitz and bullshit, but there’s also a lot of cool, creative people and energy in this town. We got a great crew of friends, and everyone showed on Friday. The highlight of the night? Mark Lewis coming out from behind the drums to play the shaker on Dream, our encore song. Genius. [photo credit jessica daschner]

Once again…Chris Carter…a man of few words

Mariqueen’s Mind
The Venue: I LOVE playing here. Great backstage lounge area always stocked with the essentials – fruit, tons of water and champagne. PERFECT.
The Show: That show was great. The vibe of the audience was outstanding and I felt that, at the time, this was one of the best shows IՉ۪d done thus far. I love playing the Troub, nothing beats home.
What Were You Thinking While Playing: I was thinking about how many of my friends were in the audience and how many people might be able to see up my skirt. I think about really bizarre things. Most of the time, my mind is preparing me for the next note to hit.
Interesting Things After The Show: I don’t know about interesting, but, I missed soundcheck due to heinous Friday gridlock to the Troub from Orange County. Then, I was so sketched out about not being able to soundcheck that my stomach was acting up and I dropped a deuce in the bathroom and almost burned Fran’’s nostril hairs off. Sexy, right? During the show my friend told me that I was inaudible… perhaps it was because of the bass cabinet right in her face, I dunno. After the show, nothing too interesting happened except… um, hmm… well… nothing. it was just good times with great people. I don’t find that interesting at all, it’s the norm and I love it. [photo credit jessica daschner]

all of the pictures in this entry were taken by marc goldstein except where noted

lewscious


the many sides of chris carter


jones and holtzman asking rob to not take 15 minute solos

rob not listening

thanx tommy t for helping me unload the truck (photo credit – me)

thanx bernie and carlos for doing sound (photo credit – me)

thanx marcos and brooke for selling merch!

dressing room – pre show bathroom moments

total 70’s soft focus playboy centerfold shot…love it

did anyone say

fleetwood mac

mai, marcos and tatiana

chocolate…back from the betty ford clinic

my asian twin louie

q’s crue = debbie, jenn and malytziah

vela and vivi backstage

there’s sammy

—F.TEN

surprise surprise…hello laguna!

we played an announced show in laguna at the ocean st brewery as a warm up to our west coast tour on thursday night. it was laid back and fun…just like you would expect something in laguna to be. we would definitely like to thank thiery who was the man with all the hook ups at the brewery…thanx bro. the whole show was a good dress rehearsal for the band, kevin (who was doing visuals) and troy who was guitar tech’ing. at the end of the night and a bunch of wheat beer…mission accomplished – the people at the brewery were stoked, bought a bunch of cds and got us wasted. what more could you ask for? i’m sure somebody got lewscious stoned too. dj jon thayer closed the show for us – it was good seeing jon (even though he lives right across the hall from me in my apt building i never really get to hang out with him). his parents even made the show. gotta like that kind of support…touching. as far as the pics posted below i didnt take most of them…i handed my camera to mariqueen’s cousin/body double debbie right before we played and these pics are what she gave back to me.

Mariqueen’s Mind

The Venue: I was extremely excited about playing this particular venue because this was where all the magic BEGAN. Memories from when I had first met Rob and told you that I was perfect for the band fondly filled my head and made me determined to prove that I don’t bs. Despite the small size of the bar I think Ocean St. Brewery is lovely. The outside area was right next to where we played so EVERYONE could hear how amazing we are. I just wish the sound system was more befitting for our band… but ya know… we played a great show so whatevs.The City: Hmm, what can I say about Laguna that hasn’t already been said? I love Laguna for one reason and four words… The Boom Boom Room. Viva la gay men. Ole. That is all.

The Show: Despite the fact that it was extremely hard to hear myself sing, I thought the show was a success. All of my friends that came were BLOWN AWAY by the band. They loved all of the songs especially “Out Of Pink” and “What Are You Afraid Of”. I received a lot of positive feedback from the audience as well. The male audience attendees were especially sweet. They always make me blush in the most flattering way possible. Aw… hugs. Anyway, the Laguna show was fun and stress free… exactly how every show should be.

What You Were Thinking While Playing: I was thinking about what I sounded like. We had absolutely no monitors and no sound check so I really had to find my voice in those speakers which was difficult. I then realized that the key to finding your voice isn’t really to look for it in the speakers but to really find it within yourself. Does that sound super cheesy? Well it’s true, so bite me, ok?

Interesting Things After The Show: Ha! Before the show I went to the bathroom, like, a million times. I also remember a moment where I saw our names as “West Indian Girls” and I thought to myself, “That would make a great picture to put up at the studio”. Nothing interesting in particular happened during the show, but after… oh myyy… some overly inebriated individual was staggering and spitting compliments all over me. He told me he was from Canada and started comparing my voice and sex appeal to Esthero and even threw in an, “eh” at the end of his drunken babble. he then proceeded to hit on someone else after I told him my boyfriend would be flattered to know he thought I was extremely sexy. Classic. There was also a really sweet sweet man who said he was going to be opening a new venue in the city and that he really really really wanted us to play there. He was absolutely blown away. It was sincere and sweet. I wish I could remember his name.

Carter’s Conscience
Laguna – The unofficial first day of our tour! I love playing a show in my home town, and everyone at the ocean ave. it’s like family. All the local Laguna jokesters came down, it was great. Worth mentioning that we played our very first show there only a few short months ago.

As you can see Chris Carter is a man of few words…
anyway check out these pics below

dj jon thayer


…lewscious

check out troy tuning in the back

—F.TEN

SXSW tour poster

SXSW is official and the Astralwerks showcase is going to rock. It’s gonna be great to hook up with Phoenix again as well as meet some of our other label mates that evening. The night before (on friday) we will be playing in Dallas at the Gypsy Tea Room. I will post more details about both theses shows soon. — F.TEN 5:38PM

i would like to take this opportunity clear the air about something. the views and comments expressed in this blog are 100% all mine unless otherwise noted. often times my opinions might not be shared with by the rest of west indian girl and it is important to note this. basically, i write everything in this blog and if i have said something that has offended you please take it up with me and not anyone else in the band. the buck stops here. so, for example, if i say the drummer of a band we had open for us was acting like a little bitch during our sound check…i’m the one saying that, not chris carter or mariqueen or lewscious or rob. if i say i hate another band or someone is a douche bag i’m the one saying it. i mean, this blog can’t always be a love fest with pc icing on it. ok enough said. let’s get on with happier thoughts — F.TEN 11:25pm

hey everybody, we’re back and the show reports are going up soon. i really need to get a lap top so i can update from the road. i think i’m going to order a g4 power book. mariqueen has one and i fell in love with it. anyway, once i get that baby the reports from the road will be fast and furious. as far as the next few show reports go im happy to announce that mariqueen will be contributing some of the text for them or at least some of her thoughts concerning each gig. hopefully i can get carter and robert to chime in down the road as well. i had 292 emails when i got back home. after deleting the pharmacy and mortgage spam i discovered a few emails from photographers that were at some of the shows we played. they were kind enough to send the pics they took so i will be posting these along with some of kevin reid’s too. i am still out of it, the drive back from seattle was silly —F.TEN 10:56pm

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!

san fransico was a blur. we had to meet downtown at 10 am to load the van! unfortunately for us, the cargo elevator was broke so we had to move everything down via the small regular elevator which really sucked ass. i tell you what though, the guy we had working with us, troy (in the picture above) was the proverbial “gift from the rock gods”. this guy is the best tech/driver you can ask for. troy is a total pro and has been doing this kind of work for 15 years so this was no big deal for him. considering the fact that most of the friends we have had help us get way too fucked up to actually help at the end of the night, troy was a welcome addition to the crew. he even drove us all home from frisco at 2 am and unloaded the van back in la at around 8am. crazy trip. i expect we will be seeing troy on the next tour. thanx man.

anyway, on to the show, the fillmore was pretty cool. tons of history as well as tons of cool pictures on the walls of everyone that has played there. it’s just one of those “one of a kind” rock clubs that you have to see to believe. kinda surprising how bassy and boomy the stage sound was though. it was really tough to get into the sound on stage but maybe that’s because our monitors were all jacked up. it was weird – you would think at a place like that your stage sound would be great but it wasnt…maybe next time though. aside from that the crowd ate it up like a nice pot brownie and we were all cool. i never left the club the whole time we were there – we all just hung out in the dressing room and partied. our dressing room was freezing but they had a little heater (see below) going on which became a little campfire for us.

As far as who we saw down there – well, marty diamond our booking agent was there…that was an unexpected surprise. our 2 favorite fans from san francisco, amy and andrew were also there. that’s them in the first picture. those guys are awesome – expect to see a&a backstage at every sf show. my other friend andrew warren from jambase was there too. jambase is such a great site by the way – go check it out. oh yeah, chris’ friends melrose and janice were there as was ryanne and tom – part of the lewscious organization. overall this show was great but it was a blur and then we were home. good times. enjoy the pics

andrew and amy = best friends in sf

band photo time – i’m glad we take these

soundcheck – new stencil on the keyboard…fresh

i love seeing shit like this

happy st patrick’s day

bernie and q

lewscious.org

can i get a lewscious?

—F.TEN

Hey, our song What Are You Afraid Of will appear in tonight’s episode of Point Pleasant on Fox 9PM est. Check it out and tell me how it is cos i won’t be able to….we have rehearsal . —F. TEN 3:09 PM

days off in between shows suck. i woke up so late today – i was confused. i took my truck into the shop for a tune up cos it was confused too. at midnight carter picked me up and we went to see our friend chris cuseo’s band knife fight. cuseo is pretty sick on stage…pure rage…it’s intense. their drummer rocks too. shit, this guy’s massive and pounds his drums like he’s beating someone up. you should check out cuseo’s art too. after that we went to st nick’s in my hood and i had some tequila and corona and listened to ac/dc on the jukebox. some random guy named lauren kept talking to us about music….he was wasted and on the verge of annoying until he bought us a round. lauren you’re all good now. i love playing the “name that song the fastest” game. i always win. i’m sick of always winning. will someone please beat me….hmmm i think i used that same line with mistress evil the other night. chris dropped me off around 2 and i made him the best caprese salad. it rocked. we sort of had a bachelor/metro moment about cooking and stuff. it was kinda funny. anyway, check out tony…that’s the face he gives me all the time when im in here on my computer ignoring him. that’s chris and his new buddy below.

—F.TEN 4:08AM