West Indian Girl

thanx to our recent partnership with inticketing we are now offering special ticket deals to members of our fan club. here is how it works: for every headlining show we play we will have a limited number of tickets set aside to sell just for them. you can only buy these tickets thru us…right here on our website. after these tickets are gone you will then have to buy them through the promoter or club’s site. it’s simple and it’s great. best of all these tickets will almost always be priced lower than any other tickets u can find online because we’re allowed to charge a lower service fee. how’s that for fucking awesome?

the first show we have available thru inticketing is our valentine’s day show with pollyn presented by kcrw. it’s at the bootleg theatre and josh/nynex will dj the after party presented by filter. hope you can make it and thanx for being part of our family.

yo. new vlog is done. check it out. they’re a work in progress

like is said before – there’s a new sheriff in town and that sheriff happens to be named vlog. after a year of half assed show reports im going all out for 09 shows with video blogs about each one. so here it is, the roxy theatre show report.

thanx to kcrw, filter mag, our openers, and the roxy for having us. it was our best la show ever! seriously.

yes, it’s inevitable, our band is very much like a family in every emotional, needy, beautiful, happy, sad, angry, inspirational, challenging and loving way…take a peak into a day in the life with west indian girl:

pc: ted mills

So playing at the precious little Mercury Lounge (best kept secret of SB/ Goleta) turned out to be a surprisingly fantastic night full of crazy emotions, debauchery, and the usual suspects that partake in the makings of a successful NYE (we’ll leave out the gory details of what ensued in the early morning of 2009).  It took some time to figure out our stage plot given the itsy-bitsy stage, but with Fran finding his primo spot afoot my moog case blocking the fire exit, the makings for a HOT evening were set.  Love was felt on stage and throughout that intimately packed room.  A bed of musical energy and love encapsulated the little lounge as 2009 rolled in with flowing champagne and all sorts of goodies .  Pics will be up soon as evidence of that wild night (including a hot kiss  on Q’s lips by an avid fan).  My highlight, however, was listening to Nelly in Rob’s veggie-converted Mercedes while eating blackberries minutes before the show.  How random was that?  Yet quite enjoyable I have to say….

The beauty of the sextet is the 6 different beautiful personalities of which the outfit is comprised.

Happy 2009!!!  I know this little sextet is excited for the year!

amy

Random Quotes:
Fantastic night! Thanks to all the beautiful people who made our New Year’s show at the Mercury Lounge. Dawn, you have a wonderful place up there in Goleta. Let’s do it again! – robert james

. . . it was a great way to begin the new year. . .- mark lewis

Man, am I glad I didn’t have to drive that night!  Zoiks! –nathan

Thanks for leaving the tamales in the van for me eat and then get sick on – tony

how we draw em up in the locker room

oh what a sad farewell it is. our third and final night of the residency went down last thursday. this night was probably the most fun of them all…but only by inches though. i was really impressed with tremblexy and loved the polyamorous affair. that’s them in the pic (below) with me after the show. nynex who remixed the first track on our vol. 2 remix record was spinning throughout the night. it was a great time, probably because we got to play our  newest, coolest and freshest material. these new songs are more of a singular collective mind space and feel great when we play them. the next cd is gonna be hot, dark and dirty. once again, i want to thank all of the bands that played with us during our residency  as well as all the fans that came out. it was a very special set of shows that probably won’t ever happen again. im very glad we did this because it made us a better band and actually brought us all closer together. holy shit im gonna cry 😉

eddie and sissy of the polyamorous affair

The show last night was good, strange, sad and ugly at times. Good because there was once again a room filled beyond capacity to see the bands. Strange because we have never played that selection of songs all together without ever incorporating our signature material. Sad because we dedicated a song to my friend Brett – i guess emotional would be more apt than sad….but it was almost overwhelming. Ugly because we weren’t exactly as transitionally smooth as we would have liked..ie starting to play song 5 instead of song 4. No matter how you look at it though, in retrospect it was a success. The songs came across and the exit polls supported that this show did in fact kick ass. check out the photo gallery for pics from the show.

I would like to thank Mere Mortals, Mondo Domingo, Klum and DJ Pants Off for bringin’ it. They were a big part of why the evening was so successful. Looking back on it, the one thing that bothered me about the set was the lighting. I hate playing in red light. Not sure if it’s a vision problem I have but when I’m in red light I can’t see the fretboard on my guitars and it really fucks with the ease and naturalness of my playing. My eyes have always been like that. It’s almost like playing blind, and unfortunately I’m no Stevie Wonder.

set list for show 2

As u can see from the list we did play 2 new songs, honey money and shangri la, from the next cd. I think this next show will consist of the first 5 songs as brand new ones and the next 4 as “hits”. The evening should be intense. We’re playing a song called dirge which happens to be one of my favorites.

The first night of our residency at Spaceland was a complete success! I would like to thank all the bands that played with us…Roll The Tanks, Casxio and Hearts of Palm (UK) – they were all great.  In case you missed this show our set consisted solely of songs off our first record: 1. Visions 2. Miles From Monterey 3. Trip 4. Dream 5. Hollywood 6. Still Lost 7. Northern Sky 8. What Are You Afraid Of? 9. Encore: Honey Money (new song). Thanx again to all of our friends that showed up, it was great sharing this special evening with you. Be sure to check out the pictures up now in the photo gallery.  I would also like to remind everyone that next Thurs the 13th we will be playing songs just off of our second record “4th & Wall.”  Again, if you along with any of your friends would like to go, just email info@westindiangirl.com to get on our guest list. These shows are a way of giving back to our fans in Los Angeles who have supported the band for the past couple years. Please spread the word and join our party…it’s on us.

lewscious outside spaceland 3.24

Fran’s Flashback
almost a year later and we’re back at spaceland playing to a sell out crowd. on the bill – roman numerals and slow signal fade. this show and bill was a strong one. hands down probably our best and most inspired performance in los angeles to date! lots of love in the air for this show. we played a bunch of new songs like “rise from the dead”, “running back” and “blue wave”. we even got the crowd to sing along on blue wave. yes you read that right…a crowd at spaceland was actually singing along. after the show i also saw the image of jesus appear in the dew covering my car’s windshield. it truly was a miraculous night in so many ways. the pic below of is of scott sterling and joe puleio – 2 of my very good friends. after the show i ended up hanging out at joes house until 5 in the morning. want another person’s thoughts on the show – click here for a csun review.

dressing room and rider wrap up: there is only one spaceland. it’s in our backyard and it’s considered a mini indie mecca by musicians far and wide.

the facilities 17 points. at least there is a little backstage area at spaceland that is, literally, back stage. it’s cool because you can enter the stage from a door right next to the drum kit. that room serves as each band’s dressing room but usually by the time you play the other bands are out of there cos it’s so small. i like that little area cos it’s a good place to have the obligatory pre show band huddle/mini pep rally/pow wow. no private bathroom, not sure about wi-fi, parking was right out front and load in was an easy roll. their merch set up is decent and there’s a big room for all the smokers.

rider/amenities 10 points. beer, water and towels. the rock n roll basics. for that the basics gets you 10 points. good restaurants right around the corner though.

stage, sound, lights 15 points. for a small club the stage is great. it can fit all of us so that’s a plus right there. the sound is also fine. carlos was mixing the show and he always gets the most out of that place. more basszzzzzzzz carlos. lights…i dont remember but i think they were ok.

promoter 20 points. jennifer teft – my michigan sweetheart. she’s become a great supporter of the band. who do i call when i want to bitch about my booking agent?…jennifer is always there for me. she must have done a great job because the place was sold out. they had us listed online and seemed to be on top of their game with the promotion. posters were prominantly on display in the club. good to see.

staff 20 points. the phrase out of sight out of mind seems apropos here. didnt have any problems with them so that’s always good. if staff become a non issue and let you do what you want it usually insures a high score from me.

intangibles 10 points. the fact that jennifer said it was one of the most fun times she’s had at a show means a lot. plus she loved my boys from kc and partied with them all night. that’s hospitality.

TOTAL OVERALL SCORE = 92. spaceland you get the most improved award as you totally buried your old score from last year. (click here for a detailed explanation of my scoring system’s categories). there’s something really special about playing spaceland. it’s intimate, its indie, its indiemate. something tells me a residency is right around the corner.

Tony’s Take
you see that elizabethan collar around my neck. you think i like this shit? it’s bullshit that’s what it is. im not sure if this was fran’s sick idea of a joke but he kept this thing on me while i was in his fucking truck. unbelievable. i’ve been licking my paws raw but that’s only because he hasnt been taking me running lately. doesnt he get it? he’s too self absorbed sometimes to notice who his real friends are. im that asswipes best friend. at least he checked on me a dozen times during the evening. it’s all good. i will be his monkey for a while just to lull him into a false sense of security. the show….who cares, get this fucking thing off me.

billy from roman numerals doing the load out dance

lewscious during sound check

lillian and ian talking about how much they miss josh

kampy’s everywhere – the new waldo of my blog

  “heathers” v.2.0 – the mariqueens and jess is christian slater

Fran’s Flashback
we played at winston’s in ocean beach with roman numerals last night. i thought our set was pretty good. i’m glad devan thought it was awesome. it was exhilarating to play a few new songs (that we have been working on in the studio) for the first time. we also extended a couple songs into some pretty long jams. im glad san diego let’s us experiment like this. it’s nice to feel like someone’s got your back when you walk out on a musical precipice. before the show we dined and partied at sean simpson’s (pic) house. i posted it before and it wasnt a lie, this guy cooks like a master chef. dinner was thai inspired and it was the perfect pick me up before the show. thanx for all the hospitality sean. i was able to watch all of roman numeral’s set from the merch booth and thought they were great. q even jumped on stage with them (below).

dressing room and rider wrap up:

the facilities 15 points. there isnt a backstage area at winston’s and that’s too bad cos it’s the one main thing that this club lacks. parking was close by and load in was an easy roll to the stage. the merch set up is a refreshing change from most clubs as of late – nice area to sell your wares. there was also wi-fi.

rider/amenities 8 points. winston’s isnt really the kind of bar that has a a nice spread waiting for you. it’s just one of those things. yeah, it would be nice to have something in the way of food but i guess that’s why sean’s house is just around the corner. alcohol is never a problem at winston’s. neither are the party favor passin fans that seem to show up at our shows down there.

stage, sound, lights 17 points. the stage and sound is great there. the stage is one of the main reasons we like winston’s because it can easily fit the six of us on it. k-rud, who is one of our road soundmen does front of house there. he knows both us and the room very well so it sounded great. we always get a great sound check there too. the lights are so so – minimal – at least they have some.

promoter 20 points. tough not to give ted wigler 30 pooints for this. ted is a great guy to deal with. he helps us load in and load out. that’s a rarity people. show me a club promoter that does that and i’ll show you a dog with 3 testicles … it’s rare. there were posters inside the club and on the street – as far as i could tell promotion was great cos the place was packed.

staff 20 points. the entire staff at winston’s treat us well. no probs here. .

intangibles 10 points. here is where i can give ted the 30 points he deserves. did i mention he pays well?

TOTAL OVERALL SCORE = 90. high fives winston’s, you grade out with an A and made our visit a blast. (click here for a detailed explanation of my scoring system’s categories). it was good to be back in ocean beach. tonight was just as, if not better than the last time. ob has quickly become one of our favorite cities. the crowds there are arguably some of the best.

Tony’s Take

one would think i would enjoy ocean beach as much as the next dawg but that’s really not the case. remember, im a dog and i when fran drags me along for these one off shows i end up spending more time in the van than usual. my only real respite from the van seat was after load in when q and fran took me down to the beach. it’s only a couple block’s away. as far as everything else goes you should probably ask nathan or q to write something. i can tell you everything you ever needed to know about the van and that’s getting old. thanx for the prison time you a-hole fran.

bob doing what any good manager should be doing

post show bliss with roman numerals

the axis of mccevily now includes milan records

happy fan…wonder why

Fran’s Flashback we played the jambase showcase at opal divine’s for our one and only show at sxsw this year. we opened the show at 8pm and played right before les claypool’s band. did i mention it was st patrick’s day AND it was amy’s 26th birthday. Oddly enough i have no pictures from the show. all i have is some video footage below (from an interview) that shows a bit of our performance.

dressing room and rider wrap up: i think festivals are tough to grade out but music conferences are even tougher because their very nature is more of the plug and play variety.

the facilities 10 points. problem here was that opal divine’s isnt really a music venue and at sxsw they tent off their parking lot and set up shop there. so, as far as the typical facilities we are used to its kinda difficult to compare because its not a place meant for bands. load in and load out was easy. there was a back stage area behind the tent for all the bands. the bar wouldnt let artists use the bathrooms in the club so we were relegated to port o potties. there was a merch area though.

rider/amenities 0 points. maybe i missed this but there was nothing as far as i know. i think the beer tickets arrived after we were done playing and i dont think there was even water back stage. i was expecting at least a little bit of the green brew but got none. im not sure who to blame on this one. maybe if ian was there this travesty wouldnt have occurred. he should have been there….ian mcevily…c’mon, how could a guy with a name like that miss our st patrick’s day show? stage, sound, lights 10 points. sound men at sxsw seem like they’re riding on their very last nerve…and then they have to deal with a band like ours. stage sound was pretty bad but i dont think it mattered too much. we back-lined a bunch of gear so that probably added to the weirdness. the lights were decent. hey it was a tent show in a parking lot, what can you expect? promoter 20 points. jambase is awesome. their promotion for the party was excellent as the place was jammed for our set. jambase is a great site and one that i actually use. im really happy to have been able to play their party cos they’re gonna blow up soon. staff 10 points. to be honest with you i didnt really deal with anyone that worked there except some sxsw loaders.intangibles 20 points. andrew warren from jambase has become part of our family. he saw our third ever show if you can believe that and we have been friends ever since. this guy is excellent and deserves more points but i only give 20 max.

TOTAL OVERALL SCORE = 70. a C is not an A but it’s not an F for that matter …. c is for satisfactory. (click here for a detailed explanation of my scoring system’s categories). hopefully the next jambase party at sxsw will be at a proper rock venue. im sure it will cos jambase keeps getting bigger and bigger.

Tony’s Take

personally i would have rather had a tour set up than just a one off show in texas. hopefully this gig landed them a better agent because im not down for these killer van rides. those crazy fuckers drove straight from la to austin. they slept at truck stops once on the way there and once on the way back. q slept on the bench and fran spooned me on the floor behind the front seats. it was tighter than penquin’s poononnie. in the daytime it was hot as hell and at night cold as shit. look at my tongue…can you tell how hot i was?
im flyin next time – fuck this ride. the hotel i got to stay in was a level above motel 6. the austin inn and suites i think it was called. not too suite if ya know what i mean. it was chill though so i cant bitch that much. fran left the tv on for me when he wasnt there. it was a decent place and had plenty of grass areas for me to take care of business.

waddayaknow..a giant teepee in the middle of nowhere

Fran’s Flashback q and i drove out all the gear to austin for our sxsw show. even though q’s a girl she can be one tough ass bitch when she puts her mind to it. that said, we didnt stop driving except to eat and sleep – no hotels – we slept at truck stops and powered it out in 2 days. there’s really not much else to say about this drive except that it sucks balls. it’s it’s an easy drive but that gets old after the first 50 miles. texas is, in my humble opinion, one of thee most boring places to drive. el paso made me think of driving by a giant toilet bowl. below is my pictoral homage to the drive. as usual tony dominates my photographic landscape…at one point during the trip he actually starting talking to me. i wasnt delerious, it was just one white line after another after another after another…(c’mon, that’s a highway reference people!)

q started the trip by doing the la to tucson leg

it’s true

he spoke to me just outside of el paso

feeding the shaman

waking up at truckstop in texas

scouting in the arizona hills

doin’ what he does best at the rest stop

“ian, i wish you were here…miss you, xoxo josh”

the first thing we did when we got to austin was head straight for the hell that is 6th st. while there we ate some sushi (yup sushi in texas – it sounds so wrong). josh was there for dinner, unfortunately for ian he got snowed in while trying to leave nyc. in one of the craziest twists of the past year i saw my cousin dean’s band, foreign islands (from brooklyn) play a show. that’s him in the pic with me. i havent seen dean in years so it was great to reconnect – he’s an awesome guitar player. while there we hooked up with mark from flycell. we rounded out the night by catching our friends bump play. those bump guys jammed, i swear they have gotten so much better since the last time i saw them. after that i went to bed while everyone else went out to party with a bunch of la people.

interview #1

click here for the interview with pics.

nathan, mariqueen and i started off the next day with 2 interviews. the first for a great radio station in austin called 101X. ray’s chillville show has been huge for us. thank you ray (in pic next to me) and thank you monty (in longhorns shirt) for taking the time to interview us, rather than some flavor of the month from the uk that was in the lobby…. appreciate that one. keep in mind we were all starving while we did this interview because we hadnt had anything to eat yet. we could have mailed this one in but, like true pros, we handled our business.

interview #2

click here for intervew with video!

the second interview was with zach and brendan (pictured above) from george washington university. we first met these 2 a year ago when we played at gw. it was good to see they’re still doing what they do (interviewing music celebrities). they’re good guys and it’s always fun seeing them.

q with bump’s joey choma

q with flycell’s mark reynolds

q with that 70’s show danny masterson

q with clint (bump’s wicked drummer)

backstage with kirk cameron and teen wolf

Fran’s Flashback we played the middle slot as direct support for the long winters. this gig came out of nowhere but im extremely glad it did cos we kicked fucking ass. [the nice photos are courtesy of misha – thanx man].

dressing room and rider wrap up: the independent doesnt mess around. just walking into the place calls to mind a mini fillmore….a room dominated by a beautifully massive stage.

the facilities 15 points. the backstage area was pretty cool. each band had its own dressing room. there was one nice big clean bathroom for all the bands. the bands also had access to an outside grassy area behind the club as well as the back kitchen. security was posted at the backstage entrance so not just anyone could get back there. this was a pretty solid set up. parking was right out front and load in was an easy roll. the only neg i can think of is where they have their merch set up – on the same wall as the stage? huh…i dont understand that one ) i always like it near the exit away from the stage).

rider/amenities 11 points. beer, fruit, chips, hot water, ginger, tea. yeah it wasnt a full on spread but considering this wasnt our show it was fresh. for dinner there was a great restaurant right across the street.

stage,sound,lights 20 points. by far the independent’s strong suit. the stage was the perfect size for the room not to mention one of the better ones we have played on. john their front of house man was one of the best, if not the best, that i have come across. considering we arrived late he could have copped a real attitude but not only did he hook us up with a great sound check he rocked it live. he inherently understood what we were doing and was right there with us – totally engaged and jamming. this guy rules and i cant wait to play there again just so he can mix us. props to the monitor man too as the stage sound was also awesome and thus helped us all perform better. who ever ran lights also deserves a high five.

promoter 15 points. tough one to grade out on because it wasnt our show but they must have done a great job because the place was filled to just under capacity. they had us listed online and seemed to be on top of their game with the promotion.

staff 20 points. the entire staff was awesome. starting off with tony the production manager all the way down to the crew and security. everyone was easy to work with. i cant tell you how nice it is when you get to work with a cool in house crew. its just one more reason you want to come back to the club. great people.

intangibles 10 points. the fact they suggested i bring tony inside to run around in the backyard was all i needed. dog friendly and mellow.

TOTAL OVERALL SCORE = 91. congrats independent you grade out with an A as you excelled in truly the most important areas. (click here for a detailed explanation of my scoring system’s categories). i feel like we have finally found our “room” in san fran. i’m already looking forward to headlining there when the record comes out. it seems like ever since i started letter grading out clubs we have played great ones…coincidence…i think not. regardless, i hope this trend continues.

Tony’s Take
this was definitely not tons of fun. stuck in a van for over 6 hours sucks. fran and andrew (from jambase) took me for a long walk before the show but then it was back in the van again. after the show i got to hang out on the street and got tons of attention….what else is new. the club’s photographer misha took some pics of me….of course. then we drove back…to la…that same night. these guys are idiots. good job driving though rob. way to keep it smooth. — F10

q, amy and andrew

tone in the backyard

tone and the midnight rambler

robert james taken us home

our last show at sundance 1.26

Fran’s Flashback
we were back at the star bar for a quadruple header. this show was interesting an many levels, the biggest of which was playing through rob’s mystery illness which rendered him voiceless for a few songs. it was indeed a testament to the good team we have because we held it together and stepped up when the chips were down. quite the fitting end to a great week of shows. again, zrike was there – in the snow, camera in hand. click here to view his slide show. zrike took most of the pics you see here.

dressing room and rider wrap up:
the facilities 12 points. as mentioned a few show reports ago the star bar’s lay out is great. the bar never feels too big or too small as there were plenty of different places to go to within the venue. great vip areas, big green room, nice bar. the only negs are the parking, bitch of a load-in, lack of a private bathroom, and did i mention the bitch of a load in?

rider/amenities 18 points. excellent backstage area with a full spread. 4 bottles of champagne and plenty of booze for the 4 bands that were there. all the bands we shared the area with were real nice too. that’s always a huge plus. playing shows with bands that act like douche bags can easily sour a good time.

stage, sound, lights 14 points. again, as described earlier i thought the stage was great. it wasnt big but it worked. the system was adequate. the lighting was better this time around. i thought the stage sound was fantastic…my bass likes that room. rob and greg the soundmen were just as awesome as before. even though we didnt get a sound check they were still able to dial us in. they also worked well with k-rud who was there tweaking our knobs. these guys are all great to work with.

promoter 20 points. morrill media was on the prowl again. maxwell (pic) knows how to throw a party. the posters he made for the show were fucking awesome. he enlisted design aid from our man in san diego the one and only mark sgarbossa. flycell and mark reynolds also deserve big thanks for helping promote and sponsor the evening. it was indeed fly.

staff 20 points. i said it before and i will say it again, the star bar staff is top notch.

intangibles 6 points. the first bottle of heidsieck and co has to get points. plus its always nice to have a dude from getty images there taking pics.

TOTAL OVERALL SCORE = 90. yet another A…par for the course at sundance. i hope other promoters dont think im getting soft in my grading, maybe it’s a mormon thing, but utah knows how to treat their bands. (click here for a detailed explanation of my scoring system’s categories). the A was brought to you by bill keaggy at keaggy.com

Nathan’s Nonsense
dear band blog, i can’t believe winter vacation is almost over. woke up earlier than usual this morning after miraculously surviving the previous night and went for a little run. then i took in a ride on the gondolas and basked in the surrounding beauty of the landscape. then i came back to the condo and pooped again. metabolism has really been in overdrive the past week! still no sign of my beloved sustain pedal which went missing in action after vegas, but i’m sure it will turn up somehow. meanwhile, i can only cry about it for so long. time to move on. tonight was our last show back at the ol’ star bar. rob got sick and was reportedly puking on stage thereby providing that extra theatrical kick we so needed. calico, calhoun, and the good listeners shared the bill with us, none of which i had ever heard of before. amazingly, i loved all three of them. their mellow sounds were the perfect backdrop for our closing night after such a frantic, frenzied week. wrote a happy little diddy in my head while hanging out backstage. might try to unleash it on the band if i get the chance. good crowd tonight, but what was up with that entourage guy slagging our merch? and the drummer from the cult? was that really him or was i hallucinating? and did i really swap out the ipod at the after-party with my own, pissing off the host dude in the process? well slap my nuts and call me jimmy. what a fucking blast.

Tony’s Take
seriously, how fucking long does it take an normal band to drive home from park city….well, usually about 10 1/2 hours. 18 hours later when i was home safe n sound in my bed i could only look back at laugh at those schmucks. outside of provo utah those bitches got suckered into getting both front tires changed along with buying new shocks. yeah sure the belts were gone on one tire but they got hoodwinked into buying shocks with the pro mechanic upsell. for what it’s worth, nathan claimed it drove nicer after they had it done. the real kicker came about 130 miles outside vegas when a spark plug literally blew out of the engine. im not kidding – seriously the thing shot out of the engine. we ended up limping into to vegas one cylinder down. the van sounded like an old vw bus ready to die. in vegas we were able to find possibly the funniest mobile auto mechanic in the world. his name was raff (pic below) but fran called him aziz. this guy was the man. service with a smile. dont ask me how but he did it but he did fix the van. it was a bizarre ride home. salvation can in the form of finally sharing a bench (with fran of course) thus putting an end to my banishment on the floor.

footnote to story about raff the mobile mechanic. raff ended up double billing our amex card after he claimed it wouldnt go through and that we pay him cash as well. funny, how that works…in the end raff rafed us. hmmm, at least he didnt rafe us in the end.

star at star bar (besides us)= adriene grenier

star at star bar (besides us)= matt sorum

star at star bar (besides us) = bob, roman numeral’s manager

sundance – music on main st 1.25

Fran’s Flashback
this show was quite possibly my favorite show to date. i love playing outside festivals…nothing else like it. experiences like this make me feel very thankful that this band exists and that i get to live a dream with a bunch of great musicians and friends that i have in this band. once again, andrew (pictured lounging in our green room) was there documenting everything. the pics i post in my blog pale in comparison to those of mr zrikes’. click here to view his slide show….it’s awesome cos you can get a feel for the whole evening. thanx andy. our set was 45 minutes of power – vision, trip, hollywood, indian ocean, solar eyes, get up and what are you afraid of (long version).
dressing room and rider wrap up:
the facilities 15 points. for an outside show this was awesome. the stage was smack in the middle of main st with a view “to die for”. our green room was a block away but it was plush with white couches, there was also a little room behind the stage that we were able to hang out in before the show. it was warm and private. the load in was smooth – we got to drive our van right up to stage. overall the facilities were great – the only neg was the cold weather but that’s the nature of this beast.

rider/amenities 15 points. our green room was big, private and much better than expected. there was a nice spread with plenty of alcohol. it was a legit dinner…great food with a great staff. not everything was on the rider but it was still beyond respectable.

stage,sound,lights 20 points. stage, lighting and the system was fantastic. they even had heat blowing in from 3 different stage spots. the sound guys and stage managers were all pro. this was a real pleasure. they gave us a great sound check. top notch people. i love playing big stages with good crews.

promoter 20 points. maxwell morrill again was the man with the walki talki. all this dude does is get 20’s. he’s the reason why we’re here. the promotion for music on main was great….as far as shows at the festival go…it was the creme de la creme.

staff 20 points. all the people working the event were great. they ran a tight ship. everyone, i mean everyone working this show was cool…the catering staff, the loaders, the stage hands, and security were all great to work with. not a single problem or hassle.

intangibles 9 points. a big round table with 6 laptops and wifi in our green room deserves points.
TOTAL OVERALL SCORE = 99. this is my second A+ at sundance. shit, other festivals are gonna hate these guys now.(click here for a detailed explanation of my scoring system’s categories).

Mariqueen’s Mind
The City: despite reports that park city was going to be the warmest it has been all month, my brown behind was fuh ree zing. why? because im gullible and i had a big show and decided to wear a dress with no tights and no gloves with no real scarf. despite my discomfort, there was electricity and excitement in the air… it was a good day to be at sundance. oh yes.
The Venue: i suppose i’ll have to count in three different compartments that made up the venue. 1) our holding area – tea / two computers to pass the time / couches / stuffed bears = fantastic. 2) our green room – fettucine alfredo / vodka [which shiny toy guns totally ganked while we were on stage] / wine / fruit / five laptops / comfy couches / art = bellisima 3) stage – huge / heated / beautiful monitor system / stellar lights / great staff / maxwell running everything = perfection.

The Show: i thought the set was tight and perfect. not necessarily our playing, but the sequence of the songs and the energy of the crowd. playing for such a big, beautiful and excited crowd made me feel so warm and at home, i actually took my jacket off towards the end of the set. this show is up there as one of my most favorites.

What Were You Thinking While Playing: why cant we play shows like this all the time?

Interesting Things After The Show: after our set i hung out at our green room with various band mates and various band members from of montreal. then we watched their set and at one point, kevin and i decided to trade coats and he let me borrow his bracelet, which i forgot to give back to him. sorry! im not sure how, but a bunch of us ended up at of montreal’s apartment and ate their popcorn and then moved on to a bar where they were so mormon, they wouldnt let mark lewis back in. that’s how amazing he is. after the bar we went to a party, where i stuffed my face with crepes and had nathan call the cavalry to come pick me up because i was falling asleep standing up. too much food + too much wine + cold weather = zzzzzzzzzz… zzz… zzzz

Nathan’s Nonsense
playing keyboards in below-freezing temperatures is never fun, not to mention damn near impossible. unless, of course, you happen to be doing it at the sundance film festival on main stage in front of several hundred screaming fans. then it’s ok. any other time though, forget it. this show was fucking amazing. the band never before felt so locked in together, or sounded so perfectly balanced. if we keep this up, we’re a shoe-in for the playoffs. shiny toy guns were great, and they dusted off all our vodka. of montreal was brilliant. it was a real honor to be sharing a stage with them. sometime afterward in the wee hours of the night i decided to attempt walking home from whatever after-hours party i was at. turned out to be about a 4 mile jaunt. at the time, it just felt like something i had to do, but it damn near killed me. half-way home, an approaching SUV pulled over and some guy rolled down his window to ask if i could direct him to the canyons, which happened to be exactly where i was heading myself. i informed him that he was heading in the opposite direction, to which he replied by inviting me in for a ride the rest of the way there. i was instantly relieved at the invitation, but before i could utter my grateful acceptance, a girls voiced screamed from the back seat “are you fucking crazy? go!!” the dude in front balked, shrugged, saying “sorry dude” as the vehicle peeled out and sped off. so much for my good samaritans.

big ups to rhett from slc for bringing the good vibes
q and i with the best fans in town

Fran’s Flashback
we had the privilege of doing a little acoustic set/interview on kpcw today. as far as radio shows go, it was smooth. rob and q kicked off the show with a nice version of monterey then followed it up with a new song that im not sure has a title yet. amy joined them on that song. then everyone sang along to our new song called get up. i think rob and q are getting more and more comfortable doing these acoustic gigs. from my perspective it seems like these little shows sometimes put you on the spot a bit more than oh, say, playing in front of a thousand people. weird how that is….i actually become more relaxed the larger the crowd is. on the other hand im also equally relaxed during any small interview. the only times i find myself not being as relaxed as i would like to be are the smaller packed intermediate size club gigs…mostly in la and ny though. maybe its cos there are too many people i know at these shows. or maybe its just me…its probably just me. i need to get over myself. anyway, the host at kpcw (randy) was very personable and had a friendly interviewing style. he did make me realize that we need a new bio or at least a new press blurb though. im not happy with the run-on thousand adjective one that we now have. i also realized that its becoming increasingly difficult to describe our music. nothing seems to fit and thats a good thing actually. one of ian’s friends, andrew zrike, was at this show documenting it in pictures. he did a great job. they are posted on his site here.

uhhh, can you repeat the question again?

Fran’s Flashback
our first of 3 shows at sundance was the private party for the launch of film.com. this site is really cool…and it’s not just because of the live video they have of us on their sundance page. the party took place at the star bar which is probably the best bar in town for live music. we played with apples in stereo and they were all great people to hang out with.

dressing room and rider wrap up:
the facilities 12 points. star bar’s lay out is great. the bar never felt like it was oppressively crowded as there were plenty of different places to go to within the venue. great vip areas, big green room, nice bar. the only negs are the parking, bitch of a load-in, lack of a private bathroom, and lack of extra space for our road cases.

rider/amenities 20 points. im talkin socks, towels, tons of food (great food – not just a deli tray but full on vip food), drinks, you name it…even the batteries. this spread was fantastic. top notch. i wish every promoter would take a lesson from geoff who was responsible for this. rarely will you ever see a score of 20 in this category

stage,sound,lights 14 points. i thought the stage was great considering there was other gear on it. it wasnt big but it worked. the system was adequate. the lighting was bright but that was due to filming. i thought the stage sound was fantastic…my bass worked well up there. rob and greg the soundmen were awesome and hooked us up with a check even though they were pressed for time. these guys were good.

promoter 20 points. geoff walker (pictured below with q) is no stranger to this game. the guy knows how to take care of his talent. he was fantastic. everyone at film.com rules. they all treated us incredibly well. special thanks to ted kartzman for making it happen. the promotion for this gig and all the press surrounding it was awesome. bookmark film.com now.

staff 20 points. maxwell morrill wasnt actually running the show tonight but he was somehow involved. maxwell is clutch and the staff at the star bar was right on. the catering staff that was working the event were amazing. everyone there, even security, was a pleasure to deal with.

intangibles 12 points. a free 3 camera video shoot with fully edited fotage available online the next day isnt something to scoff at.

TOTAL OVERALL SCORE = 98. this is my first A+ and has really set the bar high. i wish geoff was in charge of taking care of us from now on (click here for a detailed explanation of my scoring system’s categories).

Mariqueen’s Mind
The City: park city at night is a shock to my tropical blood stream. when we did park city tv it was around 2 in the afternoon and the sun was shining which made the cold weather bearable. tonight was a different story. i stepped out of the van and instantly felt like my nose was going to fall off my face. i should’ve bought that face mask at sport chalet.

The Venue: the star bar lives up to it’s name. the backstage dressing area was wonderul and fully catered with everything we wanted. the staff let me change in their office and their sound man was a total sweetheart. i even met a girl who i later dubbed, my favorite bartender in park city. anyway, out of a possible ten, the star bar gets a nine only because we didnt have our own bathrooms to use. big deal though — after the endless wine, shrimp cocktail and heavenly hors d’ouvres i was put in a magical place and couldnt complain about anything.

The Show: we played a tight and relaxed set. well, that’s what josh and ian said, anyway. i spent most of the show worrying over how i picked fashion over function. before i knew it, our set was over and i didnt have a single britney shot or a janet jackson superbowl mishap. good times.

What Were You Thinking While Playing: please stay inside this dress, please stay inside this dress. repeat in time with mark’s drum beat.

Interesting Things After The Show: well, before the show fran, rob and i got double interviewed by sasha and laremy from film.com. sasha and i seemed to be on the same wavelength when it came to the comfort levels we felt through out the whole process. laremy took over the second half and i basically kept my yapper shut except for when the microphone got put in front of my face and i mustered out, “ditto”. i wish i had gotten to talk to sasha after the interview to apologize about how bad i am at talking with the cameras on. i spoke with laremy about it and he reassured me it was cool, because interviews arent natural conversations. i guess that means im no good at bs’ing. unless i have a drink. or five. after the show i was hanging out at the merch booth and did a very impromptu interview but was actually more relaxed and eloquent. maybe the dewars, grand marnier and vodka tonic helped with the relaxation part, but the eloquence is all me baby.

Nathan’s Nonsense
later that night we were whisked away from our swanky little condo on over to the star bar on main street for the film.com/real networks party. i remember having no idea as to my whereabouts as i had yet to get my bearings. this was an exclusive, private party mostly for industry schmoozers and execs. not a bad show at all on our part, though one thing i didn’t care for was the way the sound was mixed to conversation level in the back of the venue so as to accommodate all the hobnobbers. nothing wrong with a little networking, mind you. we all do it, but when there are clusters of bodies with their backs to the performers, rubbing as many elbows as possible and chatting away, it does not bode very well in my book. apples in stereo suffered from the same pervasive indifference, but you wouldn’t have known it from their performance. they just barreled along with their lilting, sugary pop gems, keeping the portion of the audience that actually gave a damn in motion. it was a special treat to hang out with these guys, especially the venerable mr. snyder. never met such a lovable guy in my life. he’s like this big fluffy-wuffy chipmunk with glasses. and he probably doesn’t appreciate being likened to a skimpering woodland critter, so i’ll stop there. lastly, i was very happy my good friends jeremy and asia from LA could make it down. it just so happened they were both in park city doing hair and makeup, respectively, for the celebs and well-to-do. you’d probably pee yourself if i told you who they had their hands on during the festival. i know i sure did.

playing “get up” for the first time

Fran’s Flashback
well i guess letterman wont be our first live tv appearance. instead, mid-day with ori on pctv was the first to pop our tv cherry. i couldnt have asked for a kinder, gentler man. we played 3 songs (trip, indian ocean and get up) followed by a sit down interview that made me feel like i was on the bob newhart show. it was awesome.dressing room and rider wrap up: this is one of those tweeners cos its not really a proper club which makes it a bit difficult to rate.the facilities 16 points. the tv station was pretty dope. there was a nice lounge with a big screen in it. the place was clean and really comfy. the only neg i can think of is the load in which included a small elevator. elevators always hurt your score.

rider/amenities 10 points. decent spread of food – pizzas, drinks etc etc. no alcohol but we arent really mid day drinkers anyway. bottom line is that we were fed well and it was there waiting for us.

stage,sound,lights 17 points. the stage was great. it wasnt big but looked great. it was well lit and had everything we needed. good gear. it was a bit tiny but then again we are a big band.

promoter 20 points. ori was a pretty awesome dude. he was all over the place…he did our sound, interviewed us, and even worked a camera. the guy really was a one man show. plus he read the blog and knew i would be watching him like a hawk. ori did his homework.

staff 20 points. again, cant say a bad thing about anyone at the station. no one gave us a hard time. everyone was nice. a guy named tony was there taking pictures of us. even the parking lot guy was friendly.

intangibles 10 points. they turned on the playoff game for us to watch, let tony run around unchecked and even took group photos on the roof. these are all worth extra credit.

TOTAL OVERALL SCORE = 93. congrats you get a solid A. great score park city tv, you’re a class act. i hope you invite us back (click here for a detailed explanation of my scoring system’s categories).

Mariqueen’s Mind
The City: it’s beginning to look a lot like christmas, everywhere i go. that and i can see my breath. this is going to be difficult to get used to.

The Venue: the tv station was awesome. the stage was small, but im assuming that most tv stations have smaller stages — the three huge plasma tv’s with our picture on it more than made up for it. as we waited for everything to get set up they put the football game on so all the guys could get their neanderthal on. rad. the best part of the building was their rooftop patio — it overlooked the uh, parking lot, but a parking lot covered in snow with sundance tents and a mountainous back drop is a pretty epic sight to behold.

What Were You Thinking While Playing: oh god, i hope i dont look fat.

Interesting Things After The Show: after our three song set, rob, fran, tony and i got interviewed by ori, who is a fantastic host. it was kind of weird how at home i felt sitting on the couch knowing i was being taped to be on tv. ugh. that is such a lie. i was nervous and insecure about my pre-menstrual sized features and how they would show up ten lbs heavier on camera. freaking. cool. i love singing, not talking… but being around ori made me feel comfortable. ori and the couches. and of course, tony sitting next to me licking himself.

Nathan’s Nonsense
look mom, i’m on television! though our brief, three-song set was over before you could say “tele-mundo, odelay!” it was executed with precision and professionalism. now, if i can only land myself a spot on the celebrity hollywood squares panel, i will finally be able to die a happy man. one dream at a time, folks. ok, so a little about park city. this time of year, it’s pretty damn cold. and there’s snow everywhere. that’s it. there’s really nothing else about this place that i found to be unusual or of interest. oh, well, there was this little film festival going on, hoards of celebrity entourages everywhere, swag being peddled at every opportunity, and people taking pictures of anything and anyone. but besides that, it was just your average winter wonderland haven, like aspen. or saskatchewan.

group photo #1
group photo #2
group photo #3
yet another gratouitous live shot