OMGSXSW Part I

SXSW 2008 carried special meaning because in past years I've attended the event while living in NYC or in the middle of a tour.  In other words, it was no big deal.  I saw most of the bands out promoting whatever they were promoting all over the world and could meet up with any additional friends attending back home in nyc.  Not this year!  I was PUMPED to see all of my NYC peeps and a ton of music in Austin.  The night before I left, Tuesday, I received a text message from Jenny Applebaum that simply read "OMGSXSW!"  Kinda sums it up right?  I decided to save and document every text message I would send and receive throughout the weekend.  I wondered if I could document the weekend for myself in this form and it was my own little social experiment.  Obviously it makes way more sense to text (over email for sure) than call at any sort of loud music festival/event.  However, there are obviously privacy issues involved for a lot of parties, so this has been edited down as it's all in good fun, ya know?  It's a long weekend, so I've decided to do 2 parts: Here are days 1 & 2 + pictures, though I may not get through all of the color coding and pictures today...... 

OMG SXSW

TUESDAY MARCH 11TH, 2008

(below: Win, Sabrina, Josh aka first person to tell me about The Dolls, and meeee @ The Black Angels who were AWESOME)

22:37 Jenny Applebaum: Hah! Packing? Im failing miserably at it right now. Gotta be up in 5 hrs too!

22:49 Winifred Chane Whoah...havin issues locatin my sleeping bag....I'm so confused....don't remember loanin to anyone but I must have. Anyhow, do you have one? I WANT the floor but could use the bag. if not ill ask pete n rox. Rlt me know....

22:51 Em Wizzle I will sort it out, don't stress it.
22:54 Winifred Chane I want u to stay in the room! I seriously don't mind floor... nice on my back....

22:55 Em Wizzle I mean ill sort the room and acoomodations. TM! :). It always works out.
22:56 Winifred Chane ;) luv it! Ur the best!
22:58 Sydney Wayser My set at Stubb's was really good!! I had a lot of fun! It was upbeat and people were listening and really involved! See you tomorrow!!! What time do you get in?

22:59 Em Wizzle Of course they were into yo

u. I get in obscenely early to be on a touring panel and will prob need to nap in the early afternoon. But will be ready to rage by evening!
23:00 Sydney Wayser Haha, nice! Well give me a call when you are charged up!
23:05 Josh Frankfort Driving to SXSW. Will I see you?
23:06 Em Wizzle omg, YES! And come to Zac Brown on thurs. Can't wait to see you! Who are you riding with?

WEDNESDAY MARCH 12TH, 2008

(Jenny (!) and yours truly below)

03:57 Em Wizzle Have an early flight. Call me when you're there.

03:59 Josh Frankfort Cool. About 100 miles west of phoenix. See you in 15 hours...zzzzzzzzzzzz
04:00 Em Wizzle Who are you driving with?
04:01 Josh Frankfort My friend Dustin from ifilm, his friend davin and my friend Mandy.
09:31 Sabrina Grtizmacher Yay! Just got to Austin!
09:32 Em Wizzle Me too! Wanna split a cab?
09:41 Em Wizzle My flight was on time, hooray! Just landed, I will call when I get to the convention center. Looking forward to meeting you!
09:55 Em Wizzle What time is Lou Reed?
10:03 Em Wizzle Hey girl, it's emily white. Assuming you still live in austin? Let me know if you hit any gigs this week (or want to) as I'm obv in town. Hope you are well!
10:04 Sabrina Griztmacher 4 to 7 PM
10:05 Sabrina Gritzmacher Are you at the Hilton?
10:05 Em Wizzle There are two downtown. I'm at hilton garden.
10:08 Sabrina Gritzmacher I'm at the one next to the convention center, is this the same one?
10:15 Em Wizzle No I'm a few blocks away.
10:28 Em Wizzle What do you think about having me guest post on your blog that documents my entire SX weekend via every text message I send and receive? Miss you!
10:29 Laura Keating Yes Yes Yes! i love the idea. do you have a blogger account? i can create one for you and post your texts. so exciting.
10:34 Laura Keating I think if you have a blogger account you can text directly to the blog. Katie Kay does that.
10:44 Em Wizzle I get to skip the (super long) credential pick-up line because I'm a panelist. Score! Remember when we randomly ran into Grayson + band here last year? So wish you were here.
10:45 Laura Keating Worst line to wait in ever.
10:50 Ryan Armes You having so much fun yet?
11:09 Sabrina Grizmacher Shit! Can't buy one :(
11:13 Em Wizzle Buy what? I'm downstairs at the coffee shop but have to head to rm 18abc in a few at convention center
14:50 Em Wizzle Where you at?
14:51 Jenny Applebaum Just landed!
14:51 Sydney Wayser Okay, ill call you when we leave here
14:59 Jenny Applebaum Where you at? Im on my way to hotel now. Any interest in dinner at Povos? Best Mexican ever.
15:03 Sabrina Gritzmacher What are you up to?
15:04 Em Wizzle Sounds great, what time?
15:07 Jenny Applebaum Probably like 7? I'll keep you in the loop. Yay!
15:07 Sydney Wayser Oh cool!!!
15:08 Em Wizzle I think Lou Reed is playing tonight!
15:18 Daddy White Saw moms message but her reply does not work. Very exciting.
15:29 Em Wizzle I'm going to powernap for a bit as I got up mad early
15:29 Sydney Wayser Okay well give me a call when you're up
15:32 Christen Greene When will i see you? Kaki King tonight 9 devilles.
17:30 Sabrina Gritzmacher Are you dead?
17:32 Em Wizzle Nope, just woke up from a nap.
17:32 Jenny Applebaum Meet us at Mohawk in an hr?
17:35 Sabrina Gritzmacher Good! Can I drop of our shit at your hotel?
17:37 Em Wizzle Why? Your hotel is two blocks from mine. I mean you're welcome to if need be.
17:40 Sabrina Gritzmacher Oh! Nevermind! Let me know when you get back!
17:47 Bart Dahl Yo what up?
17:52 Heather Gredanius Should i come sunday? R u off monday?
18:23 Justin Krol You in Austin yet? Remember our show tomorrow!
19:17 Christen Greene Holla
20:04 Bart Dahl Let me know when you get back from dinner
20:07 Heather Greidanus Monday dins sounds good! Happy hunting in Austin.
20:12 Bart Dahl @ Deville
20:31 Em Wizzle I will be there in 10 min.
20:39 Sabrina Gritzmacher At the Hilton bar. Come by
20:40 Sabrina Gritzmacher Getting some dinner near the hotel. What about you?
20:42 Bart Dahl Wanna go see a band at Esylum with me? 7th and red riv
21:52 Jenny Applebaum Come to Emos!
22:05 Em Wizzle This is lame, they're not letting anyone into the Fenway showcase. Want to go to REM with us?
22:11 Winifred Chane The eagle has landed! All washed up n leavin the hotel to get my badge (damn we really did luck out on hotel location, eh?!). What's your plan for the eve?
22:13 Em Wizzle Dude, the locale is sick! I'm at bourbon rocks. See you soon!
22:16 Nick Stern Open bar!
22:26 Josh Frankfort Call me!
22:27 Mark Kates Walking to Stubbs
22:36 Em Wizzle I'm out back at Bourbon Rocks. Open bar!
22:41 Sydney Wayser Nice! I think the guest lists don't matter anymore...Not sure what we can get into.... We're at Fenway's showcase
23:42 Josh Frankfort Address? Or cross streets?
23:47 Em Wizzle 6th and Trin
23:54 Em Wizzle I'm so bummed you aren't here. We are a total team and I keep yapping about you.
23:58 John Raso Thanks - you're helping to finally create an industry rep for me. 
23:58 Em Wizzle Ill give you a slutty rep.
23:59 John Raso Oh and give me a drug habit and volatile mood swings.

THURSDAY MARCH 13th, 2008
00:25 Sabrina Gritzmacher Going to Zona Rosa
00:25 Em Wizzle Come to Bourbon Rocks, I'll sneak you in
00:26 Sabrina Gritzmacher love you! What's the address?
00:30 Winifred Chane Bumped into folks n got side tracked but on m way now!!!!
00:39 Sabrina Gritzmacher I'm right outside. Need a badge
00:40 Em Wizzle I'll come get you
00:45 Winifred Chane Ewwww maaad line n not really movin? Might hit Stubbs and see work folks unless you can help skip line?
01:37 Mark Kates What are you guys up to?
01:39 Joshua Knight Its Joshua...Where you?
01:39 Em Wizzle The Black Angels. Come!
01:41 Joshua Knight Out front of there now
01:41 Em Wizzle How long is the line? Fake that you're crew or something
01:43 Joshua Knight No real line. Just not sure about coming in. Who plays next?
01:44 Em Wizzle Not sure?
01:48 Joshua Knight Ok then... Going to Maggie Mays rooftop
10:51 Sabrina Gritzmacher How was your night?
11:46 Em Wizzle I'm at a breakfast meeting with my new boss
12:03 Em Wizzle I brought your Dino Jr hoodie from Langerado btw
12:25 Sydney Wayser Just wanted to send a reminder about my show today from 1-2 at the Saxon Pub
12:26 Em Wizzle Wouldn't miss it for the world.
12:28 Sydney Wayser Thanks! See you soon!
12:29 Em Wizzle Watching Lou Reed speak!
12:40 Daddy Cool. Cannot wait to hear about it.
12:41 Em Wizzle Just ran into Sxip!
12:42 Amanda Palmer Yay
13:39 Justin Krol I am at our show with Jasmine!
13:45 Em Wizzle I'm in a cab headed to see our girl Sydney play
13:48 Mark Kates Me too, with Matt Hickey!
14:21 Jasmine Hagans: Emily where are you?!
14:22 Em Wizzle Sydney's set w/ Kates and Hickey; will be there soon
14:24 Ryan Armes Getting closer! In atl waiting for flight. Where do I get the badge when i arrive? Thanks
14:25 Christen Greene Did you get what you wanted?
14:26 Em Wizzle Action or greens?
14:43 Em Wizzle Awesome! If I were you, I'd drop your stuff at your hotel and head right to the convention center to pick up your badge
14:46 Ryan Armes Just ran into mr luba... Grabing a fast beer, call you when i get in
15:01 Mike Greenhaus What are you checking out?
15:09 Em Wizzle Freshwater Collins @ Red 7
15:20 Joshua Knight Plan today?
15:25 Em Wizzle Headed to The Whiskey
15:40 Ryan Armes Flight is delayed again, brutal. You going to Zac at 9? What time is Playboy party?
15:45 Em Wizzle See if Lube Job can get you on the listy for Playboy
16:01 Em Wizzle When else does Born In The Flood play besides tonight? They're on the exact same time as Zac....
16:02 Em Wizzle It's kinda not the same walking aroud sxsw and not seeing random Porsches on The Autobahn members
16:55 Winifred Chane Where you at?
16:56 Em Wizzle Planetary BBQ, Maggie Mays but am going to head to the hotel to chill a bit. Just ran into Kevin Hoskins!
17:15 Em Wizzle You just walked by me, I'm in line to buy a burrito but it was so 5 minutes ago
17:18 Mike Greenhaus Come to Fader
17:18 Baron Opium huh HUH! did you hang with Jeff Goodman last night?
17:19 Em Wizzle Briefly
17:20 Baron Opium He is a clown
17:20 Em Wizzle Everyone here is a clown
18:11 Kevin Hoskins Beers on the roofdeck of Iron Cactus at 6?
18:13 Em Wizzle Fuck napping, I'm going to shower and change. Wanna meet me and Kevin Hoskins on roof deck at Iron Cactus @ 6?
18:17 Winifred Chane Sure!
18:22 Nick Stern I'm going to Zac at Midnight?
18:24 Sabrina Gritzmacher Going to the Boiling Point for dinner if you want to come, am in for Stubb's later for sure.
18:42 Bart Dahl Come to Club 115 @ 9 PM. Don't suck.
18:54 Em Wizzle I'll def try to catch the end of their set. I'll bring your Dino Jr hoodie.
19:05 Kevin Hoskins On the roof
19:50 Maris Holmes Hey! At ke bar. Sup with you?
19:57 Jenny Applebaum Hey what time are you going to mad house showcase?
19:59 Maris Holmes Get boyfriend and i in with you so we can hang!
20:00 Sydney Wayser So adam, pat, and i will all be able to get into Madison house tonight right? Also... I'm going to meet up with you at that other party you were talking about while adam and pat do something else.
20:08 Em Wizzle K. Bart will be able to help get you guys in.
20:35 Em Wizzle Come to Zac Brown @ Stubb's @ 9!
20:40 Jenny Applebaum I have to see born in the floor or Bart will kill be so i'll def be there at 9. Where you at?
20:41 Em Wizzle Stubbs
20:42 Jenny Applebaum Who's Playing?
20:45 Em Wizzle Kimaya dawson, tom morello, etc. Anti war thingy
21:04 Sabrina Gritzmacher When are you going to Stubbs?
21:04 Em Wizzle I'm here but prob can't sneak you in for another half hour or so
21:05 Mike Greenhaus Stop by the Relix showcase at somepoint
21:06 Em Wizzle Um hello! You mean the mad house Showcase! ill swing by for sure.
21:28 Jasmine Hagans What are you up to? Anything i'll be able to get into?
21:29 Em Wizzle Stubbs! 
21:43 Jasmine Hagans Do you need badges?
21:44 Em Wizzle I can get you in
21:44 Jasmine Hagans Ok. Kristina is with me.
21:45 Em Wizzle No prob
22:00 Em Wizzle Do you have an extra c3 hook up? Can you get in Peter Fairman from our office?
22:02 Jasmine Hagans We can't get in
22:03 Em Wizzle I'll come get you
22:19 Winifred Chane Am I too late? Just leaving hotel?
22:20 Em Wizzle He hasn't hit yet, come!
22:23 Winifred Chane K!!!
22:36 Jenny Applebaum Are you coming to 115??
22:42 Justin Krohl Going to Vice for most of the night. You?
22:43 Em Wizzle Stubb's
22:44 Justin Krohl Who's playing?
22:45 Em Wizzle Zac Brown
22:49 Rachel Seidan Where you at?
22:49 Em Wizzle By bar!
22:50 Rachel Seidan Here at Relix?
22:53 Em Wizzle At Zac Brown but will get there soon.
23:02 Sydney Wayser Headed to MGMT
23:10 Em Wizzle MGMT on time?
23:11 Mark Kates Yes
23:44 Winifred Chane When you going to mad house?
23:45 Em Wizzle Was there, now headed to rio for MGMT. Come!
23:55 Mark Kates With Maris at bar. Dope.

Langerado + Listen to Jaymay

This weekend I was dogsitting for a friend which allowed access to his car for fun errands like Whole Foods shopping. I had the pleasure of enjoying Left of Center on Sirius and hearing Jaymay sing "Grey or Blue." Amazing. Though Jaymay is clearly writing from the perspective of my demo of being a mid-twenties female and living in NYC, I think everyone should take a Listen.

This year was my maiden trip to Langerado as it was practically in my backyard: only 45 min or so from my apartment out in the Everglades. I did a really crappy job sorting plans for the fest, in the sense that I didn't make any except advancing a pass for myself as I told Jonah Smith I'd TM him for the weekend. Really, it was no sweat and my pleasure to help out Team Jonah. JS didn't play until Sunday but I drove up on Friday after work with Bart Dahl (!) who was in town from Mad House. Bart manages the best band in Denver (besides DeVotchKa): Born In The Flood.

We arrived at the fest to Rule Number One of way not to greet (hippie-leaning) fans - Florida State Troopers. I was legitimately tour managing an artist at the fest, Bart was a guest of the Beastie Boys + had a boatload of Mad House artists playing and neither cop believed us! They asked if we were really with bands, why we didn't have instruments with us. What does that even mean? Anyway, eventually we flagged down some helpful Langerado employees who got us back on the production road and inside in time to watch the Beastie Boys from sidestage! That was all Bart via his friend Cey. Thanks again guys!! I was standing next to a really sweet girl named Izzy who has an Oasis-esque obsession with The Beasties. I LOVE watching shows with super fans of any artist so it as great knowing every detail as to what was going on. Like, I have all of the Beastie Boy albums (I think?) but don't know them song by song + b-sides, imports, covers, new stuff, whatevs. Anyway, Izzy's camera died! That's a disaster for a superfan watching sidestage especially when forum posting is involved. Luckily I had a fully charged camera and told her to snap away + took down the set list on my bberry and emailed it to her so she could post it to the forum. The best part about knowing superfans is that they send you the photos they took posted HERE + find the Audio Online. And she gets credit for this photo of myself and Bart after the set.

After the Beasties, Bart and I set out on a trek to find other Mad House peeps. Bassnecter seemed to be an obvious choice since Jake Schneider is his agent and that's where the Relix kids were headed as well. Sidenote as I was stoked (though not surprised) to run into non other than Eleanor Cole Boyle, Queen of the Jammyland Scene. Thus Bart, Cole and I trekked over to the stage greeted by Jake with his handheld. You can spot us in this video with Cole kicking it off at 1:20 followed by a way-too-sober to dance Em and Bart. Thanks again Jake! Very impressed with the subtitles and cutting the footage, etc. How fun. I don't know who Don The Bully is, but that cracks me up.

Initially Bart and I were going to drive back to Miami but clearly that plan was not going to work. Luckily I was given shelter by my friends at Relix and I introduced myself to Josh Baron for the fith time and met the jam-to-my-indie Mike Greenhaus. The next night was REM! Oh and Ben Folds + his badass band played that afternoon. That means I was able to hang out with Emily Deaderick from Ben's management!! We are kind of the same person. Seriously. It's erie. I watched the first half of REM with Team Ben before their bus call and ended by jumping around with Josh, Greenhaus, and Cole. Post-set I was starving and poking around the artist dressing rooms to see if i could score some free pita and hummus. Laura, I found the holy grail of Free Food: REM's catering tent!! REM was long gone and the catering guys were happy to make me a veggie burger + a huge s

pread of general yummy feast. Hooray!

Sunday Jonah killed it per usual and Keller Williams sat in as well. Watching the above croc tamers was also kinda cool and Sunday I said bye to everyone to head back to my apartment. All and all a solid start to the festival season. And now I know to plan for next year as Team Relix better spend at least once night in Miami land. :)

Is it 2008 Yet?

I want to get there just as bad as the few who read this do.

Yes, so 2007 was managing (and booking) bands at Madison House!  Really, I loved it. I always felt so lucky to have such great and hardworking bosses, fantastic bands, fun people and lotsa live music. Show highlights included 2 Arcade Fire shows @ The Church, one with Laura Lolly, one with Jenny Applebaum.  Thanks again Jessica Zambri!  In addition to Bright Eyes @ Bowery, The Good The Bad And The Queen @ SX (Damon!), Grayson Gilmour's first US shows, roadtrip to Boston for HUMANWINE @ The Paradise with Lolly, and many more.  One of the majorly awesome underlying themes is that my Besty Laura Keating had recently moved to Brooklyn!!!!!  (As opposed to upstate NY).  Top that off with the fact that she started working at Madison House and that equates to a super fun year.  I worked at a kickass management company, had the oppurtunity to work with fantastic artists, run around to shows what seemed like every night, working all day with my BFF and running around at night with my friends.  Said BFF:

An additional unworkrelated fun trip was to Glastonbury which I had to return to as my debut Glasto proved to be one of the best weekends of my life.

But what really made 2007 special was all of the amazing artists I had the honor of working with. I absolutely and truly love the music of Amanda Palmer, The Dresden Dolls, any and every time Brian Viglione plays the drums with anyone, Jonah Smith and his amazing band, The Fiery Furnaces, Die Mannequin (WATCH THIS NOW), Grayson Gilmour, HUMANWINE, and although I didn't really work with them I was thrilled that The Secret Machines and Paolo Nutini's band and crew were in my life.  The "Shores of California" video shoot in LA with Katie Kay running the show was a highlight. Laura and I also traveled to Vegas to kick off the True Colors tour where The Dolls were playing with (some of their heros) Cyndi Lauper, Debbie Harry, Margaret Cho, Rosie O'Donnell (who goes straight for Brian Vig), The Gossip and more. I think I cried when I saw The Dolls play Red Rocks.  The making of Who Killed Amanda Palmer was a massive part of my life and I'm so proud of Amanda and how her record turned out. I love love love our memories of recording in Nashville @ Ben's studio in addition her Birthday show and Party to follow.  Wow, while youtubing that clip, I found this one from the year prior when I arranged for Peaches to sing Happy Birthday to Amanda in Vienna.  Love it!  Wowie.  Sean Francis is IMing me while I write this making fun of all of the youtube clips I'm finding of this stuff as he sees it every day.  But it's like watching my 2007!  So fun!  I was next going to mention the wonderful shows Amanda performed with Aberdeen City.  Katie Kay, Laura, and everyone, watch Amanda and Bradly cover "Creep" NOW.

Not to be outdone was Mr. Jonah Smith and his hilarious band including Andy Stack. Bonnaroo and Sundance were truly a freaking blast.

An additional musical highlight is the fact that Brian flew out to LaLa Land to record with Trent Reznor for what would be tracks appearing on Ghosts I-IV.  Amazing!  I'm so proud of you!!

But soon I would be putting my sweaters into storage and moving to Miami of all places.  Laura had left Mad House awhile earlier because she had the tour itch and things just evolved as they naturally do in life.  I could NOT have survived Laura's departure from the insane-amount-of-shit-to-do @ work that was going on without the gorgeous and talented Sydney Wayser. Sydney has since retired from the music Business to focus on what she does best: Her Own Music.  She will be huge in two years.  You heard it hear first.

I threw a 25th bday party at my amazing apartment in Williamsburg.  I miss living with William Smolen so much.  Actually I love living alone, ha.  But I miss having Bill in my life for sure.  Bill will be a blog entry in itself someday but in the meantime, if anyone needs and/or can afford a Lifestyle Consultant, he's your man.  I went to grade school, middle school, HS, and college with Bill and none of it was planned.  Amazing.  Anyway, the party was really a going away party for those who knew and I wish I could throw another as I miss you all so much!

I really love my little life in Miami land.  But it was of course hard to leave NYC!  I will never again take for granted all of the incredible friends and communities I was a part of.  In particular, I'm so proud to be associated with a number of fantastic young women doing groundbreaking work.  You all know who you are.

And that brings us to 2008!  Hooray!  It's time for bed but next up is (still backdated) coverage of Langerado and SXSW.  Next up in real time: COACHELLA WITH MIKE GREENHAUS!!  Prince was just announced.  Stoked!

xo

The Final Installment. I Promise. Maybe

There is no way in hell I would ever remember all of these who played with what when where details without the primer Sean Francis @ BRAT put together here: http://www.dresdendolls.com/shows/index.htm. You Rule.  I wish I could be as on it as Mike Greenhaus but c'est la vie.

Yeah there was an insane amount of touring in 2006 but that's because The Dollz released Yes, Virginia in April.  Btw, Album, Book, and Film titles all should be italicized or underlined.  Not that I have perfect grammar on here by any means, but I'm willing to guess most people in the music industry do not know that as they often confuse that in emails with the fact that song titles should be in "quotes."  Not that hard to remember. After a quickie US tour to promote the release date we headed to Europe with what I'd have to say is the classic DD crew: Psycho, Dave Mac, Laura Lolly, JeffMaker.Com and hit 15 countries or so. Those 4 + the band are some of my best friends and there is no better way to see the (part of the) world (who can afford to purchase music and see it live).  Choukri, Ireland, The Best Songwriter in Edinburgh, Fruit, Immature pictures of people sleeping with dildos, Thomas Truax, The Cribs, Cheese Plates, Wine, Jaeger, Red Light DistrictS, breaking into national monuments, skinny dipping at festivals, Pete Doherty, "Nasty" the bus driver, Astoria, Abart, and BILLY OCEAN sums it up nicely. Oh and that off day I planned in San Sebastian was pretty sick as well (photo above). Below is me and Bri clowning around The Mediterranean.

Wrapping up with a string of festivals (Rock am Ring, Rock Im Park, Pinkpop and a one off @ Bonnaroo) was a great way to kick off the summer.

But the summer was back to reality a bit as we did a not-so-exciting US tour with Panic!  At The Disco. Although they have now removed the ! from their name, I'll keep it in for historical purposes. Panic of 2008 has now discovered Sgt. Pepper. Nice one boys! "Satan is Real" was the theme song of that run.  Again, gotta love the instant gratification of YouTube as here are The Dolls covering The Louvin Brothers' classic at Lollapalooza.  The sound is pretty crystal clear. Nice work Dave + Lolla/C3 production staff. Lolla actually wrapped up the Panic! run which was a really nice way to end it as The Dolls' have a loyal fan base in Chi-town. And my mom and cousins were there!! Fun Fun. The band did play Summerfest that year though and Amanda covered "White Rabbit" for my dad while he watched from the side of the stage which made him a happy hippie.  30 Seconds to Mars were on the bill that day as well and Katie Kay, Laura, and I couldn't believe JORDAN CATELANO was just wandering amongst the Angela Chase in all of us.  Oh there's another fun thing about that tour, that's where we really met, got to know, and adopted Katie Kay and Erin aka the two hottest dancers ever.

Up next?  A 4 continent world tour with a crew consisting of yours truly + Psycho Dave. Dave really is one of the best, most reliable, and fun sound guys in the world.  And I've met a lot of sound guys.  Below is a happy day in New Zealand.

In 2008 he is properly known as Professional Dave.  But sorry Psycha, I'm blogging about 2006 and it was the year of PD and PEmily!  Well maybe just PE in Tokyo. Pukkelpop, Highfield, Reading/Leeds, The Red Paintings, Grayson Gilmour!  New Zealand, and PORSCHES ON THE AUTOBAHN SUPPORTING IN GERMANY were all highlights.  God, what would I do to see a Porsches reunion. Where's the Behind The Music on Otto??  Please watch their Demonstration video HERE  to see some classic trick moves and a hot Brian Vig cameo on "Hey Brian" at The Dolls' CD release @ The Orpheum.

Wow, I can't believe we did this schedule.  I mean I can, the band had a record out, but we took less than two weeks off and jumped into a full crew headlining Dolls' US tour.  Everyone was excited to be reunited though David had officially turned into the older brother I'd never had at that point (note typical view from my vantage point in following photo).  Love ya Dave :)  

Nothing notable about this run except I knew that it was probably my last proper tour.  I wasn't challenged by tour managing anymore and we hit venues like SOMA, 930 Club, and Webster Hall where the staff knew us all by name we'd done so many shows.  It was time to get to know my awesome neighborhood in Brookyn better than the surrounding areas of various hotels and venues.

But one has to go out with a bang, right?  So why not choose a two-night 15 act DVD shoot at London's Roundhouse a week after it had opened with my production assistant unavailable and Luba at a wedding.  With a little help from EVERYONE from the performers to zen zen zo to my saviour Katie Kay, to the musicians to Margaret Cho and Keri Smith to Phil the runner and to our crew we somehow pulled it off!  Yay us.  I also got to see NOEL GALLAGHER solo acoustic the night before and it was my 24th bday week.  FUN!  

That was it though and I returned to NYC to work at Mad House full time (as opposed to only when we weren't on tour).  Oh sweet, I'm on my oldest Mac so my iCal from that era is still in tact.  Hmm, it only goes through Jan 2007 though.  Looks like the usual in NYC: lotsa shows and in Dec lotsa industry parties (right kev mo?).  

I guess the Final Installment Part Two will have to come later because I am fried.

xo

The Never Ending Story Continued....

Ahem.  I feel the need to get all this background shiznit out for a few reasons.  First, to explainas to why I get to clown around at various music events.  And second, people ask 

me about it frequently enough (which is no prob!), but I figured it might be handy to have all of this in one place. You never know, I might forget it all at some point too.

Anyway, I REALLY wanted to do my third year (of 5, most of NU's programs are legitimately 5 years) co-op in NYC.  I still had no clue what I wanted to do and scored an internship at MTV, specifically at VH1 Classic because it was fully music oriented and obviously my background was in music, not TV production.  Anyway, I don't think anyone can complain about living in New York City at age 20.  I lived in some summer dorms in Midtown that a women's college rented out to interns every summer.  To me interning equaled fun and interesting people, so I was excited for a building of people like me!  Unfortunately, my roommate was a business intern really trying to get ahead in the modern world and all that.  Beer, boys, rock n roll, and other things I considered normal and fun were like another planet from this girl.  She was nice at all and I tried to connect with her but I think she was pretty repulsed by my lifestyle which wasn't THAT crazy.  I just went to see a lot of live music.  I do remember looking at a book on her desk in disbelief that someone would purchase and read something called "How to Network" or something like that.

Anyway, I walked to my internship in Times Square every day which was a trip in itself.  I think I'd only been to NYC once, when I was 17, to look at NYU.  VH1C was cool and I got to help and run around on shoots with Roger Daltry and Ringo Starr (!).  My awesome boss, Eric Sherman, even got me into a meet n greet with Ringo.  A Beatle!  He was my height and I was freaking out in general. That was also the first time I saw and met the gorgeous Elizabeth Fruend. Elizabeth is Ringo's everything woman with regard to his career and a total hero of mine in many ways.

Earlier in the summer, I was briefly dating my now good friend Josh Frankfort.  Being the sweetheart that Josh is, he would take the Chinatown bus down to NYC to visit me and show me what he knew about NYC.  Josh is one of my friends (along with Jenny Applebaum, Chris Vinyard, Ryan Armes, I know there are others I'm missing) that just knows so much more about cutting edge music than myself.  Not that I'm saying I'm the be-all-end all of knowing cool bands.  Far from it.  I spend way too much of my time listening to music I already know in love; I guess that's the pop music fan in me.  So anyway, Josh would come to NYC and I remember around that time he wouldn't shut up to me about a band called The Dresden Dolls. I'd always respond "the makeup band?"  How judgemental of me!  I'd never even heard the music. But I distinctly remember Josh looking me in the eye and saying "Emily White, you will love this band."  We also had a grand old time at the short lived Field Day festival that year running around catching Radiohead and Blur.  Although Blur is my number two fave Britpop band ever, it was obviously a mistake to choose Damon's set over my darling Elliot Smith who I never saw live.  I also skipped Elliot's show at Avalon during my freshman year of college because we were swimming BU (aka huge rival) the next day.  Don't take for granted seeing young musicians live who you think will always be around to tour constantly!  So anyway, Josh came down one weekend as it was also an excuse for him to see said Dresden Dolls I believe at The Knitting Factory.  Josh and I are WAY better off as friends which occurred to me halfway through that visit.  I'm sure part of it was my fault but he was driving me crazy on the way to the show, we were separated on the subway (like out of a movie, him getting onto a subway car right as the doors closed in front of me).  I didn't know how to get to the venue and didn't even really h

ave the $12 for the cover.  So I want home.

I wrapped up the summer living in Greenwich Village at my Uncle's apartment, had a weird moment of being along in the VH1C studios nearby doing work on the set during the NYC blackout, but was soon ready to wrap things up in NYC for now.  I'd had enough of Styx, Journey, and REO and it was time to get back to Boston.

Almost immediately upon returning to Boston I immersed myself in the scene again.  The Boston Music Awards were at The Wang that September and it was probably the best setting I've ever seen that event take place at.  I scored a press pass/ticket through Skope as I was to write an article about the show.  They sent me with a girl who was new to town named Jennifer Wilson.  Jen and I hit it off from the start sharing an instant love for music and she was a total hip babe in general. Jen was super tight with Brian Viglione which I thought was SO COOL at the time, ha.  The Dolls' played the awards.  Definitely "Coin Op" and I think something else, but regardless I was blown away and instantly a fan.  After the show we ran into Tom Kielty, a staple of Boston rock who writes for The Boston Globe and Phoenix.  He invited us to the Middle East as Ed Valaskus was playing with some band.  Sure, why not.  Of course we were pulled over and to this day it blows my mind that Jen and I were able to talk the cop out of giving Kielty a ticket.  Kinda sad on the cop's part that he caved so easily, don't you think?  

Jen and I became fast friends running around to shows around town.  It was so fun to have a concert buddy!  Especially since I was in the midst of training for swimming which was like another world all on its own.  Not that I give a shit, but I'd like to clarify that Jen and I were just friends!  The swim team peeps thought we were dating or hooking up or whatever.  Not to get all Gayle King on everyone, but girls can be tight friends without hooking up!  Maybe this was spurred by the fact that Jen is bi, but she always said I wasn't her type; ha!  We had a great time living on Gainsborough Street and I have fond memories of the Boston scene during that time.  I think I saw The Dolls' at The Paradise Lounge right after that and was obsessed from there on out.  I was so inspired by Amanda Palmer, her lyrics, and her vision.  

Jen and I of course had to get decked out and attend The Dresden Dolls' debut CD release party at The Paradise.  To this day, I don't know if I've ever seen such an amazing, beautiful, inspiring, and varied event.  Unknown to me in my little athlete world, Amanda Palmer had been throwing similar multi-media parties around Boston for years, many just down the street from my NU world at the Cloud Club.  Regardless, Amanda had DECKED The Paradise like I'd never seen it before: living statues, Michael Pope video installations, and a varied vaudevillian lineup. I should just look up the lineup but I believe Eugene Mirman was on the bill and I thought it was so cool to have a comedian support instead of some shitty local rock band.  I mean there was way more than one opening act, but you get the idea.  Oh, yeah YouTube.  Here is some Pre-Show Footage. 

A few months later, The Dolls were playing good ole' After Hours, the free, sans alcohol little "nightclub" at NU.  They served food late though, can't complain about that.  I begged the girls on my swim team to attend saying they would regret it when The Dolls were massive, but no one showed.  I believe homecoming king Jeff Riley came with me though!  You're the best Jeff. Mali and Jaggery were on the bill too.  Amazing!

The show was of course, fantastic.  I'd thought about approaching the band about helping out before but figured they were "too big" and didn't need it.  HA!  An unsigned band with no management or agent blowing up and pretty quickly sold through the 10,000 CDs they had printed up themselves? Come on.  I decided I'd buy a few CDs and have the band sign them for my 3 BFF's in Wisconsin who probably had never heard of The Dresden Dolls.  I was SO NERVOUS to meet Amanda, mostly because I was just a fan and really admired her.  Of course, we got to talking, she asked my background, I told her if she ever needed help, to give me a ring and I gave her a card. Haha, I totally had my own cards in college.  She instantly and intensely said "What are you doing tomorrow, can you come over?"  So off I went to Amanda's house the next morning having no clue what to expect.  Since The Dolls' had won the BCN rumble a few months prior, rumors went around the scene about crazy orgies and all of the drugs the band does.  I love it.  In reality, like 3 people made out at a post-rumble party once and Amanda and Brian are probably the healthiest musicians I know. But back then I had no clue.  

I knocked on the Cloud Club door and Amanda invited me in for tea.  We seemed to hit it off from the start despite the fact that I felt like a preppy athlete which goes to show you how relative life is as some of the swimming girls thought I was an all out freak.  Amanda had been running her own business and literally banging away on the keyboard in an unhealthy manner and was on the way to some serious tendentious.  So I would come over a few times a week and start writing her business emails for her.  In hindsight, what a great way to immediately delve into a band's world.  I was seeing everything that was going on from gigs, to fanmail to album sale stuff, etc.  I helped Amanda with whatever the band needed which was A LOT and brought in some additional ideas and projects that I had in mind for the band as well.  A few months later the band had plotted their first "national tour" hitting "venues" such as Geno's Sports Bar in Boone, NC and Big Bill's BBQ in Carbondale, IL.  But the tour was really booked and routed around The Dresden Dolls' debut at SXSW.  I asked Amanda one day who was tour managing.  She said she was just going to do it.  I offered, letting her know I was on co-op that semester, and although I didn't know what I was doing, I could at least sell their merch, right?  Amanda said it was a band decision and that she had to go over the decision with Brian (who I didn't know at all at the time).  A week went by and I finally asked her again.  Upon being reminded, she classically said "Oh right, totally forgot about that.  (yells across her apartment) Brian, can Emily be our tour manager?"  "SURE!"  And there you have it.

I got to work right away, making a tour book that is an embarrassment next to tour books that I would take too much pride in creating years later, but is a cute little relic.  I advanced shows, ordered mech, mapped everything out and we were ready to rock.  The Dresden Dolls were opening for Faun Fables and Sleepytime Gorilla Museum.  If you don't know either artist, go check them out NOW.  They are all from the Bay Area, and again I looked like a preppy jock next to them but were total sweethearts and we had a blast.  Dawn The Faun would tour with us years later and I've always been in awe of her vocal skills.  This is probably one of my favorite tours ever because it was just so special overall.  Me, Amanda, Brian and Joel (soundguy) in a van, traveling around making $100 a night.  What could be more fun?  The band did get to play the legendary Pabst Theatre in Milwaukee which my parents and grandparents were super impressed with.  We stayed at my parents house in Hartland, they made us awesome food, and I gave my mom a tour of the Sleepytime homemade tour bus.  SXSW is where we really bonded for various reasons and that first SX is where I was properly introduced to the first time to Mark Kates (the real first time was outside of TT's as he now knows), Scotty Waldman, and Anthony Rossomando.  Though at the time, Ant was playing with the super awesome Damn Personals before running around the globe with The Libertines and Dirty Pretty Things.  Such a fun weekend!  And definitely a huge part of Dresden Dolls' lore.  All in all, I have such great memories of this tour as who can complain about just turning 21 and running around the country with one of their fave bands?

I just took a break to eat an awesome sandwich from The Daily. But in true Amanda Palmer blog style I'm going try and knock all of this out so Wizzle World can be active in 2008.

Apparently the band approved of my TM skills as I continued to basically TM/Merch every show that I could from there on out.  A few months prior, the band had actually signed to Roadrunner Records (YAY DAVID BASON!) and subsequently performed a showcase at Joe's Pub  that was essentially a manager feeding frenzy.  I THINK I briefly remember meeting Luba but there were a lot of peeps to meet (I actually way more remember meeting Martin Bisi who produced The Dolls' debut album) and tons to do.  The band of course, killed it, and eventually decided on Mike Luba and Madison House for management!  Things started to happen quickly including a show with MSI (Bill? Sean?  Were you at the Tribeca Rock Club that night?), The Mint Chicks from New Zealand, and Mission of Burma (thanks again Kates!), a Beachcomber play, and our first trip to LA (Viper Room).

That summer Luba scored us a slot on the revitalized Lollapalooza tour alongside The Flaming Lips, Morrissey, SCI, and a ton of others.  Maybe trying to merge hipsters and hippies ala Bonnaroo just a few years before the concept's time was unfortunately the downfall.  Or the relatively high ticket prices.  But unfortunately the tour was cancelled.  Instead, Hickey booked us a real deal up-and-coming club run and our first proper trip up the west coast.  I remember thinking "god who's going to show up in places like San Diego, we've never been there before?" Gotta love the internet.  The band sold out The Casbah in San Diego, The Troubadour, in LA, and Cafe du Nord in San Fran.  I remember thinking "wow, they're becoming like a legitimately known band."  Well deserved!  Those shows back in the day were truly epic and amazing.  I'd run around singing all the words, merching, and yapping about the band.  Oh!  the band also made it's network TV debut by playing on the Jimmy Kimmel show on that run.  I think that's part of the reason we routed west anyway.  What a classic night of sharing a hotel room with the random but not-so-random posse of Joel, Michael Pope, and Bart "Take My Debit Card" Dahl.  Amanda also met Avril in the bathroom that night!!!!  

Following that amazing run, I had previously set up an internship at MTV UK with the help of my old boss, Eric Sherman (who is now the president of Fuse).  It was SUCH a hard decision to temporarily leave the band.  I had been planning on working in London my entire life.  In fact, I didn't even care what in music I did in magic UK land, my goal was to walk into Ignition (aka Oasis') Management, hand over my resume until Marcus Russell was convinced he needed me in his company.  But because I'd met Amanda and Luba and loved everything we were doing, I moved to the UK with the intention of coming right back after my internship to resume right where I left off in Dolls' world.  It was the right decision.  I dove right in helping my boss on shoots with The Cure (I GAVE ROBERT SMITH THE DOLLS' CD!!), REM, Bob Geldof, Super Furry Animals (!), David O Russell, and even met Price Charles (NOT KIDDING, it was at a concert we were shooting).  I had some wild nights with my besties Briana Dougherty, Elif Mills, and Emma Willis.  Everything from Shane McGowan to just hanging at The Barfly and Lock Tavern (HOTTEST BARTENDERS EVER).  Luckily, those three babes are all rocking in their own worlds and I run into them at random festivals or SXSW.  Below is a funny shot of BriAna and myself at the I Heart Huckabees premeire in London alongside a shot of Emma and myself in the middle of the night in Lost Vagueness @ Glastonbury.  For a 10 quid deposit you can change into costumes.  Fun fun!

The Dolls were also embarking on their first European club tour during that time and it was a blast helping at their London debut (Madame Jo Jo's in Soho) and also traveling to Stockholm and Frankfurt to see the band.  Man did I miss them though!

I returned to Boston for my last semester of college better educated about various subjects, revitalized and antsy to pick up where I'd left off.  I dove right into the band's New Year's shows (including a San Diego play with lotsa funny stories with the Jon Spencer Blues Explsion/Dave Burton) and we also hit Sundance that month.  Nothing too crazy to report from that except that the band played with Saul Williams, Nellie McKay Ben Kweller!  I was stoked to merch for Ben and Lizzie and as previously mentioned, Saul approached us instantly as he is a huge Dolls' fan.  Future NIN support unite! We did a few radio shows on that run as well playing with bands only I'd be excited to party with like Razorlight, Ash, Ben Lee, The Black Keys, and The Bravery. A and B often usually didn't know who a lot of these peeps were but I was happy to inform them.  We also did a a New England run with an unknown named Regina Spektor as support in which the band sold out Lupo's in Providence (1500 cap or so)?  That's officially when I considered The Dolls' a big band.  What a fun one!  BriAanna, Wes, and I selling merch as quickly as possible while Luba distracted a cop who was trying to kick the fans out for violating the (10:15) curfew so they could turn it into a crappy dance club night that no one was even lined up for yet.  A lot of dance clubs have early curfews when bands play before turning over, but COME ON.

Next the band went to Europe for a few weeks and I couldn't go because I legitimately couldn't miss that much school and graduate.  I'd been living in Allston that semester (not a cliche or anything) but really had the best time ever living in the same house as Brian Viglione, his childhood BFF + our Monitor Tech Dave Mac, our Merch gal BriAnna Olson, and other random clowns like Greg, Pete, Andrew Dimola, and Jesse.  I threw my most epic party to date around that time in which swimming and rock worlds combined.  See, world peace is attainable.

Finally it was time to graduate!!!  Stoked.  A few months prior when we were in LA at KCRW the-recently-relocated-to-NYC Luba was telling me how awesome Mad House was and how after I graduated I was going to come and work there too.  Why not?  :)  I didn't have to worry about it quite yet as we had mad touring to accomplish that summer of 2005 aka my greatest summer to date (though 2008 is shaping up nicely).  Unfortunately I couldn't walk in my graduation ceremony as that day (April 30th) we were at Coachella kicking off the international NIN tour!!!!!!  I'd never been so excited about anything in my life.  I remember pouring over Rolling Stone when I was a kid staring at the amazing photos of Trent Reznor and listening to Downward Spiral over and over again.  I'd be touring with Trent?  Amazing!  Coachella itself RULED and we were well taken care of by Nat and The Goldenvoice Staff (who always really took care of us at shows, thanks again guys). The shot atop this post is a gorgeous shot by Pixie that kinda sums up the day.

The NIN tour was amazing, I learned a ton, and it definitely changed my life.  I toured on a bus for the first time, saw the entire country, admired their straight-outta-spinal-tap Production manager Chris, met my saviour Chewy, spent a lot of time with Trent's assistant Brett, and got to see a NIN show every night!  We went all of the US, did a few Canadian shows, Mexico City (10,000 cap arena! amazing!  The Dolls did great), and straight into Europe.  Below is a random tour shot of my two favorite rock stars in the Burbank airport

But this European run must be paused upon for a moment as the band was to play the Hurricane Festival in Germany with OASIS!  I did all of my work for the day in advance and The Dolls were done with their set super early, I think they were the first band of the day on the mainstage. Anyway, I hung out in the artist lounge land ALL DAY nursing waters and diet cokes.  I'd met a ton of rock stars at that point who I didn't give a shit about, but I'd never met Noel Gallagher who is probably the reason I work in music (with a little help from The Beatles). EVERYONE knew what a big deal this was for me.  Various NIN band members and friends from my crew would walk by and say "did you meet them yet?"  FINALLY, around 11 PM or so (Oasis' headline slot was at Midnight), they turned up!  I nearly choked on my drink when Liam and Noel walked by me.  I was with Jerome from NIN and Dave Mac who encouraged me to just go to their dressing room and say hi.  I honestly didn't want to bother them pre-show. But it just took Jerome saying "If not now, when, Emily?"  to push me over the edge.  Good job Jerome.  I introduced myself to their security guard explaining that I wanted to give Noel a Dolls' CD.  So he just brought Noel out.  It was that simple.  We chatted for awhile about music and he was really fascinated by me!  This young, crazy Oasis loving midwestern girl who was touring the world with rock bands.  Eventually he had to go to stage but he invited me to hang after the show (!!!!!!!).  I dragged Amanda to the side of the stage and in a surreal moment watched my heros with Amanda to my left and Trent Reznor to my right.  If only 8th grade MLE could picture that.  Blurry photo below, but you get the idea....

Anyway, after the set I dragged Amanda to Oasis' very small, festival style dressing room and Noel said "Come on in!"  I sat right next to Noel and he offered me a cigarette (I don't smoke) but of course happily accepted.  He asked me if I'd heard him dedicated "Don't Look Back in Anger" to me. (My head went off "what?????")  I totally missed it because of the muddy sidestage sound.  But I thanked him regardless.  It took me a good year to find a real bootleg of the show, and I have it linked up on my (never updated) Myspace Page:  www.myspace.com/swedishgoggles. (Thanks for turning MS into one big wasteland of obvious advertising Rupert Murdoch!  Oh well, it's Facebook's gain and a nice snapshot relic of my Brooklyn life). We talked forever about music, my background, his label, and he couldn't believe I even knew my fave song ever as it was such a rarity (really, wasn't just trying to be impressive, listen to "Flashbax" it's Noel at his best). Meanwhile amanda was sitting on the floor in deep (drunk) conversation with Liam that is hilarious in itself.  But being the shockingly responsible TM I am, I made us leave at the last minute possible as otherwise we'd miss our morning load at the Southside Festival....  Sigh.We said goodbye and Noel said I could have Oasis tix for life. They say don't met your heros.  But that one couldn't have gone better! I've run into Noel a few times since and he always remembers my name + gives me a hug/kiss hello.  What more could a girl want?

2005 was the summer of festivals: Wireless, Glastonbury, Donnington, Werchter, Roskilde, Fuji Rock, Edinburgh Fringe, etc.  GLASTO!  Life changing for sure.  Amanda streaking and snogging Bright Eyes during his infamous set only scratches the surface of what went on that weekend.  A US tour with DeVotchKa followed as did New Years dates with SCI and our new soundguy David Hughes who for better or worse, became a massive part of my life.  Just kidding Psycha, love ya! :)

In January of 2006 I did a quick run with Imogen Heap which was AMAZING.  To the left is a photo of me looking like I'm doing some fancy in-ear monitor trick but actually am just duct taping Immy's in-ears as every time her UK unit would run against the material in her dress, she would get fuzz in her ears as did the venue security guys. Imogen and her tourmate, ZOE KEATING were an absolute blast to hang with and obviously incredibly talented musicians as well.  It was just us 3 girls and the soundguy, James, who also works with Secret Machines.  Skiing at Sundance was so fun!  Below is a pic from Park City.  Zoe put me in touch with her lil sis Laura as she said we had a ton in common.  I invited Laura to do merch on the upcoming Dolls' European tour and she accepted.  Hooray future bestie!

2006 was just more tour tour tour: SXSW w/ The Fiery Furnaces (who'd I'd work closely with in the future), Random Radio shows with Nine Black Alps and OK GO! (thinking girl!), more Jimmy Kimmel, etc.  

TBC Tomorrow.  Tired!

Spring Cleaning With Jack White

NP The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely.

The Raconteurs + Jack White in general are amazing.  Just real rock n roll musicians, can't really go wrong with that.  I've had the lucky oppurtunity to see The White Stripes at The Paradise LOUNGE (aka like 100 cap) for a promo thingy a few years ago as well as at a headlining show in Tokyo.  Oh yeah there was an Orpheum play in there too at some point.  Anyway, I love Jack and Meg.  But I was particularly struck by Jack's other band, The Raconteurs after seeing them at 2007's Pukkelpop Festival in Belgium.  They were just a super tight band and every member was just so uniquely skilled in his own right.  Fun Fun.  Also saw a breathtaking Radiohead performace at that same fest alongside my trusty (and constant) travel companion, "Professional" David Hughes, one of the best sound guys in the biz.  I'm sure he'll be mentioned here from time to time.  There was also a wild ride back into Brussels after that fest including Seth Green, our band/crew packed like a clown car in a splitter van + a flat tire.  Never a dull moment.

Mars Volta, Motorcycles, and a little more Hova

Last night was The Mars Volta concert at The Fillmore Miami Beach! I've been looking forward to this one for awhile. Not that I'm the biggest MV fan in the world, but any I don't miss any opportunity to see a great live band now that I'm out of the concert-heaven that is NYC. The show ROCKED and I've always thought Cedric Bixler Zavala is a total babe and an incredible performer. I love my friends here, but unfortunately since I was with Raso and Cahill from my office + Richard and DJ Oreo, none of the men accompanying me shared my excitement. Luckily Miss Merch and Jenny Applebaum were both in text-happy modes from NYC to share in the Cedric gazing.

Midway through the epic Volta show, I received a New York Times Breaking News Alert on my Blackberry. Assuming it had something to do with the war or politics, I opened it. Much to my surprise, it was the announcement of LN Artists' $150 Million deal with Jay-Z! Check It.

I live on the Miami side of the city (as opposed to Miami beach) so I am in a comfortable biking distance to my office. However, since this city is lacking in progressive ideals in various ways, there is no public transportation to the beach. Technically there are busses which I will attempt to figure out again. But I had a disaster attempt plotting out my journey to Whole Foods one day in which the city's website told me to take the 101 or 103 but when I showed up the busses were defined by a letter system. Anyway, luckily, my friend Paddy manages a super cool band called The Jean Marie who also live on the Miami side in The Design District. Richard from the band offered a ride to the show on his vintage motorcycle!! I Just glanced on his Flickr page to see if there was a photo but he has an overwhelming amount to go through, so you'll have you use your imagination. Trust me, it was cool. And if you're looking for a better view when coming to/from Miami Beach, always opt for the Venetian Causeway even if there is a $1.50 toll. Thanks again Richard!

Much Love,
Em xo

Jay-Z, Beyonce, Oprah, and Martin Atkins

I don't always remember my dreams for a very obvious reason for peeps who know me.

But this morning I awoke realizing that I had just vividly been on The Oprah Show being co-interviewed by none other than Ms. Winfrey and Beyonce Knowles.  This is possibly because in real life I recently explained to my Mom who Jay-Z was and also mentioned that he dated Beyonce (since I had recently attended a SICK concert at The Fillmore Miami Beach, more on that later).  

Anyway, the interview was a disaster as Oprah and Beyonce's egos took over and I couldn't get a word in edge-wise.  This is probably because of an Austin Chronicle article I was mentioned in that was brought to my attention by Laura Keating.  Laura said "Gasp!  Emily White, queen of talk, couldn't get a word in?  This guy must have had a lot to say."  But I clarified to Laura that Martin Atkins is a legend, hilarious, and a total sweetheart too! His manager, Larry White has a great last name and was fantastic as well.  In reality it was Martin's panel as he is invited around the globe for speaking engagements and I was just a wee special guest.  Of course I had a blast, met a ton of great people and it was a great way to kick of SXSW.  More on SXSW later.

After the Oprah and Beyonce interview went sour (I think a chair was thrown around by an audience member) I suddenly found myself on Michael Eavis' Worthy Farm in Pilton at good ole Glastonbury. In real life, Jay-Z is headlining Sunday night this year.  AWESOME!  But in dream land, I was one of about 10 audience members in a massive field at a far away stage watching a Beyonce concert.  I felt SO BAD for her and was super confused as to why no one had showed up.  I mean I know it's a rock festival, but she's one of the biggest artists in the world!  Eventually Jay-Z came out and did a song with her and the 10 of us were psyched.

After the set, Jay-Z started holding my hand and it really freaked me out!  I love him and Beyonce as a couple.  I told him "Hey, you're hot and all (ha!) but I really need to respect Beyonce."  He was like "It's cool, she knows we're just friends."  Double Ha!

I think that bit was inspired by this section in Jay's Wikipedia article that I had recently read:

"Jay-Z, since mid 2005, has been accused of having a sexual relationship with his mentee Rihanna when he signed her to Def Jam Records. Jay-Z and Rihanna have been spotted at a Net's basketball game in early 2007 together as well as spotted having dinner at his 40/40 club sports bar; while his girlfriend was on the otherside of the coast receiving her star on the Hollywood walk of fame. Additionally, these rumors seem to surface again during the 2008 Grammy Awards ceremony, where Rihanna is seen holding Jay-Z's hand after taking him from his seat where he was seated beside his longtime girlfriend. Tapes of the ceremony reveal Rihanna and Jay-Z being very playful with each other during their acceptance speech and then walking off the stage with their arms around each other.[citation needed]"

Ok, back to work.

Em xo

PS - For any Martin or MLE (that's me) fans who would like further viewing check out Martin's SXSW mini-doc HERE and HERE. I turn up around the 2 minute mark in both. Props to the also featured Tift Merrit, (who is a Madison House friend), Saul Williams (who is seriously a major Dresden Dolls fan, the feeling is mutual dude!), and Andrew who is the Supersuckers TM and graduated from Northeastern's Music Industry program in 2006. Doesn't Eddie from the Supersuckers look just like Kier Byrnes from Three Day Threshold? Remember when we made out onstage at The Middle East years ago Kier? That was hot! Betcha didn't know that one Kevin Hoskins!