West Indian Girl

so it was my b-day today (yesterday) and this is how i spent my day. went to bed at 8am the morning. woke up at 2pm. walked tony. ate food. went to pick up marc goldstein for a shoot he was doing for the book la with lisa gerrard. even though i expressly told goldstein not to advertise that it was my b-day the first thing the bastard says to everyone we come across is, yup you guessed it, “hey it’s fran’s b-day!”. great, that said, his big mouth led to lisa gerrard singing me happy b-day which is a pretty cool thing in and of itself. dont know who lisa gerrard is.?…click here to educate. after the shoot we went to real food daily and i had a veggy burrito (with not too many black beans). dropped off marc and then went home. jumped on an hour long conference call with ian and josh. during that call goldstein called to inform me that jason bentley from kcrw wished me a happy b-day on the air and then played “what are you afraid of”. how did he know….yup, goldstein. drats….damn you goldstein thanx for not keeping your mouth shout cos if made my day all the more interesting. after that i went for a great night run with q and tony. i chatted online with my buddy sascha and then q and i went to eat late night sushi at a place downtown. now here we sit in the studio listening to rob mix one of our new songs called “sofia”. – ps thanx to all my other good friends that called me to wish me a happy b-day – like joe and marcos especially. you know who’s got your back.

an old friend of mine, Ted Lott, from grand rapids michigan sent me an email today…it read “Heard West Indian Girl used on a music transition for Morning Edition on NPR yesterday. You guys are everywhere! I hope LA’s warm. It’s really fucking cold here. When do I get to hear the new stuff?” after a bit of research (emailing ian and asking him about it) i was sent this “Yup, I heard this as well…it was the intro from Trip”. then i got an email from a friend i went to college with (rob bass) that just had this link in it. good stuff. it’s the gift that keeps on giving. and to answer your question ted – you get to hear the new stuff this summer when our record comes out. F10

our time at sundance has been pretty incredible. we have a great condo in the canyons which has served well as a home base. the shows and publicity surrounding this trip has far exceeded my expectations…3 gigs with a tv and radio appearance. when you’re a band at a film festival you tend to stick out in a different way more so than when you’re at a music festival. as far as the band goes – amy was sick for a day, i thought i was gonna get sick but didnt, and rob is puking his guts out. im proud of everyone hanging in there. its tough sharing a living space for a week with a bunch of other people but everyone has been mellow about it. ian and josh (while he was here) have been kicking ass. great to have them here as well. ya know, its too bad im not a skier cos nows the time to go, the slopes are empty. if i lived here im sure i would become a cross country skier. it kind of reminds me of jogging.

at night everyone has been going out to parties. sometimes the big parties remind me too much of all the lame stuff that i try to get away from in hollywood but thats when you find other cool stuff to do…like going to house parties. our friends from kc (roman numerals) shawn and bob threw one the other night. it was great…bbq at 2am cant be beat. seems like everywhere i go, the minute im about to drink my first beer, bob and shawn magically appear. we’ve had a few random house guests at the condo – k-rud from sd also joined us the other day, its been good to see him. he cooked a great salmon dinner the other night. andy also stayed a few nights, even a cab driver named ryan that we met one night stayed over.

how’s tony you ask, the kid’s been doing well, he likes the cold and snow much more than i expected. i brought along a coat for him but he hates it. aside from his couple walks a day in the cold tony has been chillin on everyone’s bed continuing his reign as coolest tour dog on the planet. F.10

j rock at the stella tent
with shawn from roman numerals
ooon the bus…thats’ where we ride

the only bad thing about our april tour was that it started in boston and we live in los angeles. that being said, mariqueen and i were the ones who drove the van and uhaul all the way across the country to meet the rest of that band (that flew to boston in the comfort of jetblue leather seats). our plan was to make a pit stop in grand rapids mi to see my folks and drop my dog off before we hit boston. we left last sat at 9pm and arrived in michigan on tuesday at 9pm. let me tell you one thing about mariqueen. if you think this girl is all dainty and fragile you’ve got her all wrong. she was a warrior driving across the country with me. we only stayed in one hotel room on our way and that was in amarillo, texas. (a travelodge with wireless internet!). instead of always getting a room, when ever we got tired of driving we just slept in the van at the nearest rest stops. i dont know how many of you have slept like this but it is pretty weird. we would pull into a parking spot in between two big rigs and just sleep until we woke up. usually we woke up because the van started heating up in the morning sun. the experience was pretty cool in a strange way because we got our road legs on pretty quick.

while we were in michigan we stayed with my parents who, out of the kindness of their hearts, agreed to watch tony for me. i had to bring tony along on this tour because it was too expensive to have him boarded in los angeles. it’s too bad we arent filthy rich yet because he would have had a great time with cesar milan’s pack. my parents seemed to instantly succumb to tony’s charms. i think they really liked having the company. their place is pretty cush and he’s got plenty of room to hang out and take nice walks with his grandpa.

one of the few nice things about the state of michigan is abundance of meijers super stores there. if you’ve never been to a meijers you’re missing out. its a one stop for everything…i mean everything…you name it and its there. i had the pleasure of taking mariqueen there for her first time. too bad they dont have these in l.a…just goes to show you that the west coast isnt as cool as it thinks.

so, as far as the road trip went we saw snow in arizona of all places. to top that off the worst weather we encountered was actually in california when we were driving out on the 15. strange huh. the last night of the drive we made it to springfield mass and stayed in a econo lodge. this hotel sucked ass as because there was no wi fi and the sink in the bathroom was leaking all over the place. it wasnt too cool for 65 bucks.

MARIQUEEN’S MIND

oh my… grand rapids, michigan. boy was i glad to see you. fran and i drove from downtown l.a. to michigan in three days. for. real. we had the pleasure of sleeping at rest stops in california (some sketchy city called needles), arizona, missouri and illinois. glamorous, isn’t it? well, someone had to be a soldier… so fran and i took on the mission. it was actually really stressful. i remember driving for six hours straight and had to endure fran being a backseat driver stress mess while he was sitting shotgun. there were at least two occasions when i yelled back at him and hated him for an hour straight. the chaos was all worth it. we made it to our destination in record time and were lucky enough to stay with the very lovely and hospitable mama and papa ten (fran’s parents). they have a beautiful home with a library collection that makes me dizzy with delight. i was greeted by warm hugs and tons of food (i probably gained five pounds from my two day stay). fran and i spent our first day in town trying to find places with wifi connection. fran was having a conniption fit over the fact that he couldn’t connect to the internet on his laptop. it was like he lost his penis or something… it was crazy. we went to a barnes & noble and worked for two hours straight. we treated ourselves to an evening at meijers right after. meijers is what happens when target and vons have a love affair. im actually surprised that meijers isn’t it’s own city yet. it’s huge and functional. i bought a dress and necessary toiletries, looked at pets, got confused as we were walking down the grocery aisles and finally got stressed out at the self check out line. as we were walking to our car i noticed that meijers even had a gas station across the street. hi mr. meijer, my name is mariqueen and i think we should talk about sponsoring this lovely band i sing in… i can see it now… meijer tour bus with all the food and toiletries and gas we need. sometimes i am so brilliant i can’t even stand it. anyway, that night we hung out with fran’s brother chris and listened to old records and played pool and at some point in the evening i pretended i was xena, princess warrior and fran played paparazzi. back at mom & dad’s house i read a book on aphrodite until i got cross eyed then went to bed. our last day in town was spent packing, getting mentally prepared for the drive ahead and some last minute stops. i was anxious to check out the salvation army and hooters. first stop – salvation army. end results – nothing. next up – hooters. end results – fran and i left hooters empty handed and disturbed.

grand rapids parting thoughts: i think the city should look into lighting the roadways properly and keeping the speed limit at 40 and not at 55. i think fran’s parents are two of the most fantastic people i’ve ever met with superb taste and an enviable collection of EVERYTHING. thank you so much for all your hospitality… i can see why fran turned out to be such a loving person, he came from a great upbringing. momma ten, i still daydream about your congo bars and non fat milk. 🙂

tony with his grandparentshis first time in the snowmariqueena princess warrior

F10

i’m not lying folks. here’s my first blog from the heart of darkness….that being the studio in the dark dank corners of beautiful skid row in crappy downtown los angeles. at least our studio looks like a little island oasis thanks to the fake palm tree in the corner and funky ocean sunset wallpaper. this picture was taken at 3:38 this morning. it’s of rob eningeering mariqueen while she sings one of her parts in our next epic song “indian ocean”. it’s a dreamer man. check out the first line – I’ve been up all night wishing I was somewhere else haha it actually has nothing to do with being down here in the studio but in a way it’s a perfect description about being down here sometimes.
F10

I hope everybody had a great new year’s eve. I had an amazing time – i even have pictures and video to back it up but unfortunately for you there is no way i’m gonna post that shit. I think i could get arrested…maybe…well not really – but it was crazy. Ok, enough chit chat, here is the deal for 2006: WE ARE GOING TO KICK SERIOUS FUCKING ASS. just like the seasons of the year all things change and there are going to be a few interesting changes in the west indian girl world. i cant wait to share them with you but alas now is not the time. I will give you a hint at what is coming down the pipes though. Fist off the video for hollywood should be officially released within the month. Secondly there are a bunch of remix tracks from the likes of Richard Fearless, Gabin, Deepsky King Britt, and Bernie Larson among others that should see the light of day. Thirdly you can catch us on TV again as “what are you afraid of” makes it appearance on ABC’s Fallen and NBC’s Surface. Dont ask me what either of those shows are about because i dont have TV….kinda weird huh but i dont. TV is another drug and there are already too many other temptations in my life. The other great news i must share with you is the DSL connection i finally got for our studio. what does this mean you ask, well i was thinking about installing a studio cam that is on all the time but the rest of the band didnt really see the humor in it like i did. so that means dsl will just equate into way more blogging while we record our next record. By the end of jan we will have 5 songs finished. Some of these songs are titled: Indian Ocean, Up the Coast, All My Friends… and Hopi. The stuff is a bit different but it’s still West Indian Girl. Ok, talk to you soon F10

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

Personality cocktail
From Go-Quiz.com

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

my powerbook g4 broke 2 days ago and i had to send it in for repairs. completed show reports for portland and san fran were on that computer so that means those cities will have to wait. i will be posting the la reoprts this weekend and san diego early next week. i thought apple was a good company but this is the second g4 that has busted on me since march. sorry for the delay — F.TEN

inside my eyes

so let’s talk about the ride from minnesota to vancouver. this ride is a bitch and takes 2 days. at least it’s not through a bunch of mountains like the ride from portland to san fran is. that in my opinion is the toughest drive just because of all the mountains. it’s actually scary at times if there’s bad weather. but anyway, this ride is just long, that’s it…easy though. so far it’s been great because only tommy, mariqueen and myself are driving. the rest of the guys took the tour bus. then main thing i like about not being on the tour bus is that we get to decide our own schedule – that’s always good because we need to be flex and just wing it. i’ve been able to get a bunch of work done answering emails and writing blog stuff. mariqueen has become quite the photojournalist on this little trip. she took like over 100 nature pics (all the ones posted) while hanging out of the widow. north dakota was pretty cool to drive – lots of beautiful land. last night at a rest stop i stepped in what i thought was water but it turned out to be some combination of baby shit and vomit. it was gross – especially when i got in the van and was like “ewww who the fuck stepped in dog shit!” hahah low and behold it was little ol’ me. needless to say we tossed out the rug in the truck and i spent the next 5 minutes rubbing my foot in dirt and grass and pouring water bottle after water bottle on it. mariqueen was nice enough to take pictures of this tender moment.

at the best western this morning in butte i was able to do laundry and check my email at the same time. there are a few things that will make my day. one is being able to get online and the other is clean underwear. that’s a beautiful thing. when you’re on the road your chances to get online are few and far between so you have to take advantage of them immediately. i love my lap top and credit miss click clack mariqueen for convincing me to get the powerbookg4. it is the most user friendly thing in the world. thanx mm. missoula was the best place in montana for sure. we drove into town in the early afternoon and it was perfect. there was a drug store, a best buy, a staples, a post office and a borders all in basically the same block. it was so great – we got food, bought envelopes to mail out some merch, went to the post office and then updated the blog and checked email while we drank some coffee and read about brad and angelina in some rag. it was great.

Mariqueen’s Mind

hello lovelies… i guess it’s time for me to write. again. seriously, i haven’t typed out so many “reports” since college. who knew being in west indian girl was like going back to school? it’s been the coolest tutorial on living. west indian girl university has given me many lessons in understanding, love, music, communication and the advantages of peeing standing up. just don’t ask me to write a report on everything i’ve learned. i’ll be writing for the rest of my life… so ok, i’m supposed to talk about our little road trip, right? here we go…

i guess you can just look back on my minnesota show report under “interesting things after the show” and basically, that’s when and where this whole road trip started. after fergus falls the three musketeers hit the road and we made our way through north dakota. we decided that since we are so awesome we might as well be superheroes. like the fantastic four minus one… the minus one being lewscious who, because of his state of abandonment to the superawesomeherojaegercrew cause, i now dubbed, douche-shus. phonetically spelling, it’s so hot right now… phonetically spelling. tommy’s super human power is that he can drive for long stretches, is able to sleep like a baby in the suburban, and has supreme taste in music… he is the ultimate road dog and traveling companion. fran’s super human power is that he can also drive for long stretches, he can multi-task, he can eat anything he wants and can shit it out that same night and he never runs out of things to talk about. my super human powers are my abilities to stick my head out the window and capturing photographs of the environment with a digital camera while traveling at speeds of up to eighty miles an hour and still having the best and most low maintenance, most effortless hair out of everyone. my other super human powers include being able to keep my composure stuck on the road traveling through redneck nation with two boys and having super human lungs because i smoke too much and still sing well. some memorable moments worth mentioning were car dancing with tommy to sleater-kinney and the whole fran stepping in puke and baby doo doo at a rest stop episode. as resident super hero photographer i took some priceless shots of the cleansing of the converse. when we got to our hotel rooms in butte, montana i crashed. hard. i didn’t even wash my face, brush my teeth or take my contacts off. i don’t even know why… i think it was the change in weather… all of a sudden it became a lot colder and i think my body was just reacting to it. i’m pretty sure all the shitty ass food i had to eat had a huge part in my fatigue. god, how do people live off of grease and junk food? it’s tragic.

so today, our second day, which isn’t over yet, (i’m typing this and sitting shotgun while fran is driving and tommy has just woken up from a three hour nap) has been productive. the boys did their laundry… and mine. i must come off like such a diva that can’t do anything for herself, right? i mean seriously, i have people drive me around, carry my bags, pay for my food and do my laundry. i am so rad. come on people, i’m the only female on this crew… i take advantage of my situations. always remember that, kids… make the most of what life offers you. i’d like to state for the record that i don’t force anyone to do anything for me. they just seem to want to, or, my theory is, that they feel obligated to because i don’t have a penis. or… i am so rad. i love my colleagues with all my heart. though they come off like they are my minions at times, they really are my family and my best friends. some of them act like my mother, others like my father, most like the brothers i never had and never wanted… on those rare occasion they are the sisters one could only dream about having… they are the best and i’ll bet you wish you had them in your life. i would if i were you. neener neener neener.

so yeah, on to being productive… so we leave butte fucked, montana and stop at missoula, montana. finally, civilization. there was a walgreens, a best buy, a staples and the piece de resistance, a barnes and noble. i was ecstatic to say the very least. we ate at a wendy’s and then i ran over to walgreens while the boys went off to their respective destinations, i think tommy went to best buy and fran went to staples. i finally got some phone reception and i bought some cigarettes, nail polish remover and the latest issues of vogue and lucky. we all rendezvoused at the barnes and noble where i dropped bombs in the toilets that would make hiroshima shudder. so good. then mr. frantastic bought me a strawberries n creme non coffee frappuccino and internet connection and for about two hours i almost felt like i was home. then we kept on driving and i took more pictures whilst hanging my head out the window and tommy and i danced to bloc party and doves. i was about to introduce him to the gram rabbit album when my poor captain t-ommy got pulled over for doing eighty one in a sixty five zone. that’s bullshit. first of all, all the signs said seventy five and we were going down hill. at least we were now in idaho and the tickets only cost sixty two dollars. we made a bunch of dumb pit stops… you know how i feel about those… and now, here i am sitting here in the suburban, typing this. i’ve actually been banging out show reports for most of the day. i feel nauseous. i think it’s because i’ve been reading and typing too much and i keep eating shitty food. i swear, if i have to eat at another perkins i’m going to puke. ugh… i can’t wait to get to the rest of the band (my hotel room). our destination is set for a place called billingsby, billcosby, billythekidd, billygoatland, billsomething… i don’t know… all i know is, is that there is a queen size bed with my name on it and i get to spend some quality time with the love of my life. meow… oh, powerbook G4… you are so dreamy… i could stare at you for hours… me love you long time.

Tommy’s Two Cents

So it is day two in the suburban with my new road buddies, frantastic and miss mariqueen and we are closing in on seattle, on the way to their Vancouver show…..we are meeting up with the rest of the crew in Bellingham, Washington….at our home away from home, the best western…..the last two days being a blur of excessive driving, great tunes, and greater company……what can i say about this crew….I feel a special connection with each of them…….fran is my merch/music/business mentor, who i respect immensely for his ability to multi-task with an open heart-taking on a million things with poise and wits……….carter is my “scoping the chicks buddy” and another great road companion, always smiling and looking for a good time- i could go on wild excursions through middle america with him anytime……rob has a powerful presence, a zen master of great talent and ability- always calm and always looking to the future with his music……a great source of inspiration……..mark is my partying buddy, and has been my roommate for most of the trip….that guy no matter what is happening good or bad always keeps his cool and is a joy to hang out with…we have a pre-show ritual that i cannot mention- such a remarkable drummer- he makes me smile when i watch him play….and the amazing miss mariqueen- such a great sense of humor- not only can she sing with the best of them, and is probably the hottest female singer around- but so kind hearted and easy going- i could see how her spirit connects the rest of the band, and inspires them to be better……this lady of the road has no inhibitions,-she can hang with the boys and turn every head in the room all at the same time- all the while smiling and digging life …..i’ve never met a band who feeds of each other so well……i came on the road with few expectations- mainly just learning and seeing things i have never seen- little did i know i would meet new friends for life…….i feel blessed and honored to be a part of something so exciting as this- an up and coming band growing together in music and spirit……….

carter, james and lewis on the tour busanother beautiful moment in the van…are we there yet?

F.TEN

tour starts in new york this thursday

hey everybody i’m sorry i havent been updating the blog lately but that is because i’ve been so busy getting ready for our FIRST EVER US TOUR. thank God our tour is about to start. yeah, it’s gonna be great. we will play 16 shows in 23 days. i’m so excited to go on this tour just because we’re gonna get better as a band. to date we have played only 26 shows and after this tour our we will have played 42. that’s a big jump for us. i just hope another tour follows this one because west indian girl loves being on the road.

as i type this carter and tommy (newly hired helping hand) are driving all of our gear out to nyc. just getting our vehicle this weekend was a big mess or as we say in italian un casino de la madonna. i was at the uhaul place for 5 fucking hours yesterday only to accomplish nothing. the van that was rented to us had both it’s brake lights not functioning. as result of this the uhaul place wouldnt let us hook up the uhaul – plus it’s pretty dangerous driving across the country with no brake lights. we were supposed to get a new van this morning but that never arrived so this afternoon i was back at the uhaul place for 3 hours trying to figure out what to do. this time rob joined me for the festivities. right before the uhaul place closed we decided to rent a pickup truck and 6×12 trailer. we drove it off the lot and parked it right outside the uhaul place just so we had it ready for the van (whenever it arrived). meanwhile our idiot van rental company never got us a van and at the last minute (8:30 pm) told us a brand new suburban was on it’s way over. the suburban actually rocks…gps, bose speakers, leather seats…it’s dope. we finally got that bitch hooked up to a trailer and loaded with all our equipment around 11:30 pm. carter and tommy officially took off around midnight. they’re gonna have to drive their asses off to get to ny in 3 days. i kind of wish i was going with them. at least they have a nice ride. the suburban isnt going to be so nice when we have 6 people in it though…it’s gonna suck major ass.

i’m really sad to announce that tony is not going to be making this trip with us. yeah this is really bumming me out but hey, look where tone is going to be staying. he’s going to stay with the dog whisperer from the national geographic channel. for real, cesar millan is going to be rehabilitating tony at his dog psychology center. tony is great with people but he is dog aggressive. so on one hand i’m totally stressing about this but on the other hand this will probably be the best thing in his life cos he gets a chance to socialize with a huge pack of dogs. who knows how much fun he could have if he just lightens up and decides to blend in with the other kids. he might meet a lady too. summer love. i hope things work out for the kid.

about to em”bark” on a tour of his own

F.TEN

a virgin at virgin

so it was my birthday on saturday and i spent one hour of it at the virgin megastore on sunset talking to dj dave on the air. i invited everyone in the band to join me but only mariqueen made it out. it was good fun. dave interviewed us for a bit and we talked about all the stuff going on like tours and the video and did station ids for his syndicated show. i think mariqueen was kinda nervous because she’s never been interviewed before….oh well, she’ll get over herself and start blabbing away soon i’m sure of it. while we were there dave played 5 songs from the cd and we also got to sign a couple cds that some people bought (ie natalie and patrick – pictured below). it was a nice surprise to see the cd on sale and on display at the store. good stuff. so anyway, i know you are all wondering what else i did for my birthday, well since i’m broke right now i couldn’t go away on vacation like i would have loved to do. instead i went up to el matador beach and then went to eat some food at a restaurant overlooking the ocean. it was pretty chill actually. i also decided to give myself my lungs back and quit smoking…again…haha yup. so far so good. i need nicorette though. maybe lewscious will get me some —F.TEN

On behalf of everyone in the west indian girl family we would like to wish mariqueen a happy birthday. she thinks she’s old but she’s freaking out – she’s under 25 and over 21, she’s a chick so i wont post her age but you can figure it out. if you are interested in sending mariqueen a gift our mailing address is west indian girl att mariqueen c/o west indian girl 538 1/2 n san vicente blvd west hollywood ca 90048 if you dont want to send her anything then just wish her happy birthday below. if you want to brush up on your happy birthdays? – check this out: another useless link to click on. Maligayang Bati Sa Iyong Kaarawan! is how you say happy birthday to mariqueen in Tagalog (Philippines).—F.TEN

another interesting day in los angeles. first though, can i tell you how much it sucks to NOT be on the road playing shows….”it sucks and i’m going crazy”. ok, so my day started by picking up marc goldstein for lunch (his lunch, my breakfast, his treat). we went to real food daily over on la cienega. as i was parking the car marc says “hey is that gina gershon?” i didnt know if it was cos the girl was wearing a hat and i was parallel parking with tony all up in my face. anyway, marc goes and talks to her and yes, it was indeed her. she was driving a cadillac….i never really pegged her as a cadillac girl and unfortunately she wasnt wearing that outfit in the picture on the left. you gotta love the random sightings in la… one day you’re eating sushi next to cameron diaz and the next minute your getting your toe nails painted next to the chick from that 70’s show…um…yeah, that’s another story. anyway, the lunch was great…maybe too much raw healthy food though cos i ended up sitting on the toilet one too many times yesterday.

after lunch we made a trip to the virgin megastore cos goldstein wanted to get a magazine that he shot the cover for. it wasnt there. while in line i asked marc what cd he was getting and he said “the courageously” (this band name is changed cos i dont want to start overtly ripping on other bands). i asked him why he was getting it because i thought they sounded like every other 80’s revival band with one good song that’s out right now. marc kindly agreed to disagree with me on this topic. just before he was going to pay he left the line and told me he wanted to introduce me to dj dave. i was down with that plan. dj dave is the dj at virgin. he’s been the dj at the store for over ten years i think. dj dave was really cool and after hanging out with him for a while he de-flowered my station id virginity. yup, i gave it up for the first time “hi, this is francis ten from west indian girl and you’re listening to dj dave…” awesome. so get this, while we were chatting with dave both he and another employee asked goldstein the same question i did “why are you getting that courageously cd?” hahah it was too funny…marc, trusting our musical opinions enough, ultimately put the cd down…it was magical. so that was my afternoon, i got a free lunch, a free coffee, met dj dave, did a station id while goldstein paid for my food, didnt get his magazine and got talked out of buying the cd he wanted…but at least he set up a secret rendezvous with gina gershon…or at least that’s how my version goes. —F.TEN

interesting site: when i google’d gina gershon’s name i found this random site that posts pictures of people smoking cigars. kinda funny. i have never smoked a cuban cigar but now i think i want to try one because i cant make fun of something i havent tried. i mean i can, but i wont…even though i want to.

rehearsal notes: been working on 2 new songs, one is an epic, appropriately called “indian ocean”. this song is one huge tremendous wave of cool.

today we’re in texas and today is st patrick’s day. i should know who st patrick is but i dont…i was raised catholic for christ’s sake. um, mom, i’m sorry i wasnt really paying attention at church. can you blame me though? i could never concentrate cos there was always an old man dressed in drag speaking in latin that kept distracting me…oh wait, that was the priest. well, speaking of church and state, let’s talk about the republic of texas. i really didnt see any hot chicks at any of the truck stops we ended up hanging out in…go figure. driving thru texas absolutely sucks. at one point i wanted to get out of the van and smash it with a sledge hammer. on friday morning we picked up the rest of the band at the airport and that is where i snapped the rare photo of tony actually smiling. troy told me he thought tony was the best road dog he has ever been around and that meant a lot. i’m pretty proud of tone –no barking or anything….just chill

dallas airport – tony smiling, troy driving

the beautiful texas landscape

i can’t wait to play these next 2 shows. we’re all ready to kick some texas ass —F.TEN

we drove 800 miles today (mostly on the 40) and im totally burnt out. as far as arizona goes…that was a fucking smooth ass drive. thank you arizona highway department – your roads are great. plus the view was pretty nice. this is also tony’s first road trip – i’m not sure how much he is diggin it but he hasnt barked once. so…im in a hotel in albuquerque right now. it’s called the motel 76, not the motel 6 but 76. this has got to be one of the more stranger rooms i’ve stayed in. it’s a triple with 2 bathrooms. me, rob, troy, and tony. sort like the 3 little bears in the ghetto.

momma bear, poppa bear, and baby bear

oh yeah, show reports show reports show reports… well, i still have 4 on the way, san fran, eugene, portland and seattle. i am still sorting through all the pics. i will crank those out soon….yeah yeah yeah i know i know. —F.TEN

Hey everybody, sorry i have been the biggest slacker with the show reports lately – i have 7 on the way! the first one from san diego is posted below. believe it or not, Mariqueen and Carter are now contributing their thoughts to the show reports. i think this is going to be really interesting as you will get more of an idea of what’s going on at each show.

that photo shoot with marc goldstein is fianlly happening on mon and tues – i believe we are going to death valley because with all the rain we have had it is suppossed to be in bloom there…cool. that means say good bye to pictures like the one on the right. although it was cool at the time(thanx lionel deluy), things change and so does west indian girl (ie mariqueen is now our girl and 5 is the magic number)

check out the lastest issue of FOAM mag cos we are in it. it’s really cool actually under “must haves gear for the new year” is our record…it’s the only cd they list. cool fucking shit man.

cold play played at the troubadour tonight (which is right around the block from my place)…i kind of wanted to go but instead ate korean food with carter —F.TEN 4:15am

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

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