LB author, poet Paul G. Maziar tells me his secrets!

Barbara is on Pacific Time: 8 p.m., San Pedro. Feeling spy-like, password: Mommy.

That's almost a line from Paul G. Maziar's book "What It Is: What It Is." I found it at {Open} Bookstore in Long Beach in late March, right after visiting Matt Maust's teeny art show going on inside. Maust, being 1/4 of the Cold War Kids, as well as an extraordinary graphic artist, collaborated with the prose writer that is Maziar and voila: "What It Is: What It Is."

In preparing a book review of Maziar's latest, I got in touch with the author where he revealed more on his book's title, his friendship with Maust and his relationship with Long Beach (and what it means to come back). You'll be able to find my review of "What It Is: What It Is" in Monday's paper. For now, here are a few excerpts taken from our correspondence:

On his relationship with Long Beach...
My relationship with Long Beach has been on an elevator. The place stirs my mind and all my senses, (and) so far has been the place where I’ve been the most productive as a writer.

Where he hangs out in Long Beach...
My favorite place to get a burrito is La Taqueria, I think it’s the best.

On the title of the book, "What It Is: What It Is"...
The title of the book is partly nonsense jive, which we wanted to be something fun that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Plus Maust and I have long been saying “What it is?” as a greeting to each other and friends.

On meeting Matt Maust...
The first time Maust and I met, we hit it off— talking about music and art and books. When he began showing me some things he has been inspired by as an artist— I realized it would make perfect sense to collaborate on our own project. Two years, and a few versions of WHAT IT IS later, here we are.

On Matt Maust...
Maust is an immense talent, someone who’s so true to what he does he is at all times a creative soul— in various ways, whether it is in speech, comradery, travel, or interpreting music/art/literature.

Mingle with Paul G. Maziar and his special musical guests, along with Matt Maust, at the {Open} Bookstore tonight in Long Beach.

Visit Maziar's MySpace page for the complete 411 and flyer. The event is free and truly one of a kind. (http://www.myspace.com/whatitisbook)

Book cover by Matt Maust, courtesy of Paul G. Maziar. Other photos by Barbara Navarro.

Get some Satisfaction!

Self-proclaimed “deep-digging music nerds,” Satisfaction, also an OC-based music act, opened for Matt Costa Thursday night at OCPAC’s Samueli Theater. However, their sound is anything but nerdy, just flat out cool.

With their second EP “Cougars, Sharks & Flying Sparks,” these boys show off their smoky arrangements, exploring a soundscape of wrangly guitars, smooth vocals and a sweet, lingering piano. Satisfaction is Michael Rosas on vocals and guitar; Matthew Fletcher on keyboards; James Fletcher on drums; and Aaron Wahlman on bass.

They’ll be bringing their cool indie alternative rock to Long Beach tonight.

Satisfaction: The Prospector, 2400 East Seventh Street, Long Beach; $5; 9pm

Photo above: Taken with Satisfaction singer, guitarist Rosas outside the OCPAC Samueli Theater after Matt Costa's show on April 24. The photoshoot was random, but very fun!

A crazy night at the cool Matt Costa show

I'm usually not into Matt Costa's type of music, that folk-tinged, raspy kind of stuff. But when you're a reporter in my position, open-mindedness comes very handy when you have a prominent OC performing arts center inviting you to his sold out show. So, there I was, Thursday night at the Orange County Performing Artscenter for the Matt Costa show.

I had been to this Costa Mesa venue about a month ago for the Cold War Kids concert, but the vibe in the air was different this time. The lobby surely wasn't buzzing and the lines at the bars weren't snaky either. The demographics, to put it simply, were different. Conversations I overheard in the bathroom consisted of cramming for lab hours in a high school AP class, to older women chit chatting about working with the lead singer from the opening band, Satisfaction, at a nearby skin care corporation in the finance department. Oh, the interesting landscape of random-land.

The vibe, anyway, was enhanced by juicy remix hits from some of my favorite bands—like the Cold War Kids, the Klaxons, Interpol and Peter, Bjorn & John—that played at the break time between the Satisfaction and Matt Costa sets. (I arrived after Satisfaction ended their set, about 20 minutes before Costa took the stage at around 10:05 p.m.) I found my way to the front row, finding a spot to the side of the stage, uncomfortably in front of the loud speakers. I could feel wind coming from those speakers—that’s how close I was.



But the crowds were thick with teens dressed to the nines in their best knee-high gladiator sandals and Newport Beach jewelry. Yes, the front row was lined up with precious young girls hoping to lock deep stares with the singer.

Finally, with my paper Moleskine notebook and pen in hand 10 minutes into Costa’s set, I attracted a few fans of my own. One man brushed his way to my right for a while, and then to my left, at last asking, “What are you writing?” I’m usually quite secretive about my note-taking, and so this kind of question made me so much more self-conscious than ever before. It made me realize something: Matt Costa, or even his band musicians, could possibly see me from the stage and identify me as “the critic.”

This inquisitive stranger didn’t quit, either. He repeated stared at my notebook every time I opened it for more notes and asked me the usual questions—like, Who do you write for? “Cal State Long Beach. Daily student paper,” I said loud enough over a stompy Costa ditty. “Do you know a writer named Sean—?” “Sean Boulger?” “Yeah, I just got through interviewing with him.” “Oh, the Union Weekly.”

Then I started thinking of all that rivalry talk I hear around campus—how the Union has something better. May be. But they weren’t around scooping up all the Behind the Scenes treatment I was just digging into.




For about the next two hours, the lead singer of Satisfaction (yeah, that's who that was), Michael Rosas, and I pretty much stayed on consistent wavelengths. He tamed some wild fan girls, for example, who jumped their way onto the stage, while I shot footage and snapped their glittery wickedness on our side of the stage where we all collected in front of those woofing speakers. Rosas made new friends, while I greeted some old ones (yep, Cassie, the girl from the Cold War Kids show was there this time, too). By now, people knew Michael was someone exclusive, either recognizing him from the previous set, or recognizing his authentic rock star behavior. As for me, I was handling myself with more mystery, but still looking quite “in” with my nice notepad and careful reporter eye.

It turned out that Rosas liked me more than I thought, being completely uninhibited as I snapped candid shots of him having flirty moments with his new admirers. After the show, we even got into the “free fun” photo booth outside where we took some pictures of us two together. There, surprisingly, I also ran into Jonny Bell from the Crystal Antlers and then we took photos in the booth, too.




I’ve got to admit, the music wasn’t the center of attention at this show. (OK, OK... It was actually pretty good and fun and different.) But on top of it all, I felt like I slipped into a new dimension I hadn’t experienced before, concluding that rock shows, or any show/concert/event, is not always about why you ever went, but about who’s there (yourself included) and how they’re going to make things happen.

Photos by Barbara Navarro.

One night, tangled deep with We Barbarians

Contrary to the sick image I developed of We Barbarians after first hearing their music, this tight-knit indie rock band—simply identified as "Quon, Van Heule and Warkentin" on their MySpace page—came out for a benefit show at Costa Mesa's Detroit Bar last night. That totally softened my views. What this Long Beach, grunge-sounding band was really like: The lead singer is a sliver of a man who belts out huge, fevered screams that ask for gentle attention; the bass player, partial to the right side of the stage, maintained a heavier demeanor, slipping deep into smouldering grooves most of the time; and the drummer, who sported some sexy scruffy facial hair last night, you'll find most likely camouflage behind a cluster of a silvery drum set, banging away like a secret agent. No, these weren't black-stained pouty hipsters from the LBC, even if their songs all seem to be cut from the same bruised fabric. Instead, their following surely seem like the in-the-scene kind, and definitely not moody. Did I mention that We Barbarians' fans also include Long Beach poet Derrick Brown and the Cold War Kids? They were also in the audience (or on stage!).


Photos by Barbara Navarro.

We Barbarians will next play at Spaceland
on Monday, May 12.

A psychedelic night: Crystal Antlers, Thursday

LOVE
WHO: CRYSTAL ANTLERS
WHAT: KBeach Concert Series (second in three-band line-up)
WHEN: Thursday night, on stage from about 8p.m. to 9p.m.

WHERE: Nugget Pub & Grill, somewhere on CSULB

WHY: Oh, they're one of a handful of Long Beach bands next in line to be huge

Here's a snapshot of my notes...

• High energy
• Their sound: can be mellow, droopy, intensely psychedelic, even, and then utterly sparkly at the same glittery moment, especially with the boys' charming on-stage chemistry
• Saw some crazy instruments handled by Sexual Chocolate, the band's percussion man, including a minature baby blue piano he held in his hands and blew into like a whistle
• The keyboards were beautiful, fusing and bridging each song with the next
• "A Thousand Eyes" is a hit; it's so popular, everyone went ooh and ahh over it
• The crowd was at a colorful, voluminous capicity (obviously, they were there for Crystal Antlers... 95% of the crowd left right after the last song)
• For the last two songs, two worshipping audience members stood up to sing along literally face-to-face with the band's singer/bass player Jonny Bell
• The boys ended their set, and everyone was happy
• Crystal Antlers hung out to sell their cool six-track, self-titled EP "Crystal Antlers;" some fans asked for their autographs, others for their pictures
• I spoke to Jonny Bell afterwards, too. I was amazed at how sincere and collected he was after all that sweaty, high-energy rocking

Cyrstal Antlers will next play at the Prospector in Long Beach for the Fidotrust Fest on Saturday night.

Photo by Barbara Navarro.

Other music events going on around town tonight...
{open} bookstore, with bands of the experimental genre for Third Saturday on Retro Row
Fingerprint Records, with Silversun Pickups
Grand Prix, with Pennywise
Detroit Bar, with We Barbarians

Long Beach Antlers: it's like bringing Christmas early for Cal State Long Beach indie rock fans!

I'm fixated on their name. Even more fixated on their sound—psychedelic and smooth.

And it's only been about a week since I found out about them.

Who are they? None other than Crystal Antlers—a Long Beach band you SHOULD know about.

The band is rather underground still, but, as DJ Oldboy put it, "They are probably our biggest band to come out this whole year."

Why did DJ Oldboy (or Chris Lynch) fall in love with Crystal Antlers? Apparently, Oldboy went on to the band's MySpace music page, heard their cover of Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" which had that Chocolate Watchband sound, he recalls, and then: Love.

It's all over now for me, too. I want Crystal Antlers. Rapido!



Here is an exciting Q&A with Crystal Antler's singer/bass player Jonny Bell, where I got to delve into the dynamics of this Long Beach band, their sly playnames, and what "grawge" means.

What's going on at the Nugget? Why is it THE place (of all Long Beach venues) for your show Thursday night?
Well, we've never actually been to the Nugget before, so we don't really know what to expect. It is THE place we were asked to play on Thursday and we're pretty excited about it.

Do any of you go to school? Or, maybe you already graduated from college?
Damian (a.k.a Sexual Chocolate; percussions) and I graduated from UCLA; Victor (organs) went to Otis; and Andrew and Kevin (guitar and drums, respectively) work blue colar jobs.

I hear your music. I like it. Though, I've read such descriptive words like "grawge" used to label your music, and I'm not sure how to make the connection. Can you explain what "gwarge" means?
Thanks for the kind words... When I think of "garage" I think of the Sonics or Love, that kind of stuff. We're not really trying to be 60's revivalists. We just like the old gear.

Where did you get started?
I think our official start was when we recorded our first single which was in San Francisco.

Where do you usually play (shows, parties, etc.)?
Nowadays we play anywhere that seems like a good time where we can reach a log of people and get drunk for free. I guess it's a good thing we finally get to reach the CSULB crowd. We'll have to get LA Record some distro out there. (Barbara's note: You can find LA Record at {open} bookstore on Fourth Street.)

Do all of you live in Long Beach?
Most of us live in Long Beach...

Where do you hang out?
We hang out at the local gay bars sometimes. Everyone seems to have more fun than at the other dives in town and there's not much pretention. Also, lately we've been having BBQ's in Bixby Park and playing kickball.

Do you have playnames? Like, "Sexual Chocolate"?
Haha... Damian Edwards a.k.a. "Sexual Chocolate." Damian doesn't identify himself—he just IS.

How do you feel about the Long Beach music scene? Where do you fit in with it all?
I like the LB music scene. There's all sorts of interesting stuff going on in different styles and none of the bands sound like each other. I think we fit right in there.

Are you friends with famous LB musicians, like the Cold War Kids (or anybody else who isn't as "mainstream")?
Haha... We don't know the Cold War Kids. Are they from Long Beach? We're friends with Free Moral Agents and Magic Lantern as well as many others.

Watch out for the boys performing tonight at the Nugget Pub & Grill at 7 p.m. The show's free and features two other bands. But, um, Crystal Antlers, just as Oldboy said, will "make eyes and ears bleed." I'm intrigued. See you there!

To hear Crystal Antlers' music (and to view their videos, tour dates and catch a glimpse of Mr. Sexual Chocolate himself), please visit their MySpace page by clicking here.

Photo by Grant Peterson. Artwork by Crystal Antlers.

Out with the old, in with the new?

I discovered Acres of Books for the first time in mid-January, and I truly fell into a narrative wonderland, an escape within a giant maze of towering reads. …Ooooh. But after a few weeks (er, days… I work for a daily, remember?) of research and hanging around the place, I learned of the store’s dimming truth: it could be knocked down. The stinky trend was finally catching up to Acres at their lot on Fourth Street and Long Beach Boulevard—a trend involving beautification of the immediate and surrounding blemished street blocks by Acres, which included a possible buyout from the city.

At Friday's weekly poetry night (or how the owner Jackie Smith calls it, “a psychobabble fest”) the store finally made the announcement: the city would be moving them out, that they had "negotiated the sale of our property... to the Redevelopment Agency," meaning Acres of Books would be knocked down.

Sad, stinky news. And, I don't get the city's fixation with demolishing history for lofts that nobody's buying. What will be left for Long Beach's future bibliophilic communities? This dusty downtown dinosaur is the place.

The truth is, there is another bookstore in town that I've also developed a crush on—{Open}, an independent store on Fourth Street (in the "Retro Row" neighborhood). It's a special little place that thoroughly stocks books by local literary stars, or simply draws large crowds when they invite them in for readings. Their art shows make a good draw, too. (Art di Matt Maust, anyone?)

So much to choose from... The wonderfully old, and charming new!



See these places for yourself...
Acres of Books, 240 Long Beach Boulevard, Long Beach. (562) 437-6980
{Open} Bookstore, 2226 East Fourth Street, Long Beach. (562) 499-OPEN

Pictured above: (Left) Acres of Books' towering shelves; (right) Echo Park photographer Marleah Tobin at the current art show happening at {open}, taken on opening night (3-29-08).

Pictured below: Snapshots of the shelves at {open}. Photos by Barbara Navarro.

Just Rad: CWK Fan, CSULB Student at OC Show Adding to Her Juicy Concert-Going Résumé

Cassie Ann Comley! This girl got way down at the recent Cold War Kids show at the Samueli Theater in Costa Mesa. She wasn't holding back any singing or stomping, and bassist Matt Maust was taking note from his place on stage! I approached Cassie inside the theater where we both were—in the front row!—and after the show, I snapped a few pictures of her. I was so impressed, and then even more excited, to learn that Cassie is a business student at Cal State Long Beach.

Here's something to wow you on Comley's concert-going past: She got eight stitches below her left eye after a Senses Fail concert at the Glasshouse four years ago. She says this was a time "when I went through a hardcore, vegan phase." Later on, in her days of crowd-surfing numerous Thursday shows, she once lost her shoe. Other things she likes to do: go to Coachella just to sweat her tush off by dancing to LCD Soundsystem and Hot Chip, for example. "I've seen Bright Eyes in San Diego, and I had pit seats to see The Shins at the Grove," she goes on to brag. "My cousin works for KROQ, so I get around." Oh, just flaunt it aloud some more, Comley. You know you rock!

This is what happens when you love good music, she says, and see the point in going to live shows: It's the perfect way to shake the stress.

But we both also knew another thing long before the show ended: Seeing the Cold War Kids was the perfect way to start our spring break recess!

You can find my review and see more pictures of the Cold War Kids in concert at Orange County's Performing Artscenter at the Daily Forty-Niner website.

Photos by Barbara Navarro

Cold War Kids: Distorted in Tinted Shades of Grays and Reds

It’s a group of men, living and working in and around Long Beach: the four-man band Cold War Kids and their photographer/poet/artists friends. They're producing a wealth of artistic goods while hitting bold, battered-out notes across international airwaves.

And it's way cool and raw in the end.

Looking at the Cold War Kids, many might just stop at “Hang Me Up to Dry,” the hit single from their 2006 debut record, “Robbers and Cowards” that sprinkled the airwaves all last year in irritatingly excess doses. (Yes, irritating—just listen to lead singer Nathan Willett’s feverish screams over a repetitive, wrinkly bass-guitar hook "way too many times.") But that’s not all the Cold War Kids should be known for. Even their band name comes from bassist Matt Maust’s graphic design Internet company from about a decade ago, which is just the start of the band's deep roots.

To be even more amazed at how vast and boundless Cold War Kids actually are, turn off your radio. With only “Robbers and Cowards” to their name (and rare, hard-to-find EPs from way back when), they’ve shot themselves farther and wider into the world by producing other musical compilations and putting out some avant-garde book and art projects. Some may not understand it or even get it or want to get it. But it’s exactly what so many fans around the world love about them.

Some have described the indie-artists as creating a “repertory of craggy guitars, verge-of-a-nervous-breakdown vocals and elliptical songwriting,” while the band describes itself as "[striving] to make honest songs about human experience in orchards and hotel rooms, Laundromats and churches, sea ports and school halls.”

Most recently, bass guitarist Matt Maust made an appearance in the Long Beach area (where he still lives today) with poetry readings and art shows. In February he accompanied his author friend and fellow East Coaster companion Derrick Brown with a show at the Found Theater for a reading. In early March, Maust debuted one of his solo gallery shows at {open} bookstore on Fourth Street, which closed on Sunday.

The show, “Five Easy Pigliano Pieces,” was an interesting fusion between photography, graphic design and Maust’s genuine celebration to traveling the world, touring as a Cold War Kid and then a poet.

It's nice to figure it all (or some of it) out. The Orange County Performing Arts Center has done it—and they’re quite a success for it. Wanting to reach out to the college-aged crowd, the usually posh-and-all-sophisticated center invited the Cold War Kids for a performance March 27 in a music series called Off Center. Peter Bjorn and John, The Walkmen and We Are Barbarians have also been part of the series since it began in late January.

Coming along with them to the OCPAC (or, more precisely, the Samueli Theatre at the OCPAC) is one of Cold War Kids’ friends: photographer Matt Wignall from Long Beach and the band's official photographer. Wignall’s art springs from his interest in Malawi’s environmental conditions, something he’s been apart of with an organization called Water Wells for Africa.

It’s a pretty hot ticket, especially when you consider the size (500-seat capacity) and location (a lush neighborhood in the bright Costa Mesa) and the other entirely fun stuff happening.

WEEKEND: COLD WAR KIDS

1. LIVE The Long Beach-based Cold War Kids make their return to the OC tomorrow night (Thursday, March 27); it's been way too long—the last performance was at the Detroit Bar in Dec. 2006. The Kids will be at the Samueli Theater at the Orange County Performing Artscenter in Costa Mesa. The show is sold out. *Look forward to my review after spring break.*

2. ART Bassist Matt Maust and the band photographer Matt Wignall show their artwork through Monday at Found Gallery in Echo Park. The show's name is "Matt Maust + Matt Wignall: Your Alimony Check Won’t Buy a Bigger Room." Hmmmm... Sounds like a must. Check Found Gallery's website for more details.

3. READ Maust also collaborated with friend Paul G. Maziar for a book called What It Is: What It Is. You can find the book for sale at {open} in Long Beach. Interviews with Maust and Maziar are sprinkled throughout various underground-esque publications around town, like LA Record and ISM. Look for those at {open}, too.

Photos by Barbara Navarro. Band photo via OCPAC.

{open} closes CWK's Matt Maust's show today

Photos and video below by Barbara Navarro.

Whether you've heard the name Cold War Kids or have all their records (and books), you MUST visit {open} bookstore in Long Beach today, Sunday, before bassist-guitarist Matt Maust's tiny but thorough collection of his recollective art from touring the world packs up and leaves the little space where it's been so nicely put together in the LBC. Where is it all headed next? Perhaps the OC Performing Arts Center. Perhaps Silverlake. Perhaps a new, foreign destination.

{open} has a few collectible items for sale that are a part of this exhibit, "Five Easy Pigliano Pieces." Fans must see this! But anyone can appreciate Maust's careful attention to typography and style.




{open}
2226 E. Fourth Street (near Cherry Ave.)
Long Beach, CA 90814
562-499-OPEN

Sunday's Hours: 11 am to 6 pm

'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' was just, well, horrible! (Part 2 of 2)

After waking up to my neighbor’s loud rock music, reminiscent of that tacky, big-hair rock band music from the “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” some kind of fear started bubbling somewhere inside me.

Fear for my neighbor. Fear for the youth. Fear for the community. Fear for my city.

Where were my next-door neighbors getting the idea to play these songs? Could it be that some new trend was rolling into town?

Oh, no… Could it be… Because of the “Rocky Horror Picture Show”????!?

San Pedro: Don't be fooled; this is not a party.

The “Rocky Horror Picture Show” is in its last run tonight at the Warner Grand Theatre, a movie palace imagined by the original Warner Brothers to bring great film into this great little town by the port, San Pedro. But, really, the theatre’s not for brining something as low-class, raunchy “Rocky Horror Picture Show” paired with live performances by the amateur Midnight Insanity.

When I picked up the Midnight Insanity’s news release a month ago about them being kicked out of the Long Beach Queen Mary, I could sense in their words how set they were with showing at the Warner Grand, where they were booked to continue for at least three weeks. They were calling it “opulent” and an “even more spectacular home” than the Royal Theatre abroad the Queen Mary. Clearly, the performance troupe was swept off its feet with the Warner Grand. And who wouldn’t be? The theatre’s like a sparkly refined turquoise stone found in the pale, run-down downtown area where it is its home.

I found clues behind the departure of Midnight Insanity from the Warner Grand in this week’s The District. They were announcing the Warner Grand show. But I liked the darker side better—the part about why the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" should not be showing at all in San Pedro. I’m happy to share the details here:

“Certain members of the San Pedro City Council are apparently concerned that the 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' crowd is too rowdy, and could cause rioting in the streets. ... So, as of now, the show's run is scheduled to end Saturday, and there's not much the fans can do about it but cross their fingers and hope Midnight Insanity troupe can find a new place to do the Time Warp again.”

I can give more insight. While I’m not convinced that the “Rocky” crowd would cause a riot anywhere, I do think that their wardrobes scream mistake, and that they collectively smell like a porn shop video room, and that they shout at the movie screen yelling “Slut!,” “Whore!,” “Jerk!” at the most inappropriate moments, which is so annoying when all you want to do is watch the movie. The troupe itself manages to stroll in with glittery props, like their costumes and other giant, gleaming objects they bring out on the stage (though, not that giant pillow penis). But I’m not sure they take their mimicking jobs so serious—if you had to watch their bellies flap all over the stage for two hours long, you’d think the same.

This is how things die.

I didn’t get it, Midnight Insanity. I didn’t get your dozen “rule number twos.” You adulterated my Saturday night when I first visited you back at the Royal Theater for your last show there. And I hope that your last show at the Warner Grand is tonight.

No more Time Warp!

Photos by Barbara Navarro.

***To read part 1, please click here.

'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' was just, well, horrible! (Part 1 of 2)

Attending the last performance of the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” at the Queen Mary two weeks ago was such a dreadful process! The initial appeal was irresistible as Kristen, the diversions editor, and I debated back and forth for days why this would be the show to attend out of the rest and whether it would be her or I to report on this last-show hurrah.

The reasons to attend suddenly became more obvious, and I (unfortunately) ended up going.

For one, I thought, this would be the last show put on at the Queen Mary, since, according to press releases, the Queen Mary’s management suddenly and “without cause” terminated all rights for the performance troupe, Midnight Insanity, to continue its residence at the Royal Theater. The logic there was simple.

And, secondly, my interest to seeing this show peeked when I read that the troupe would be heading next to the Warner Grand across the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro, my hometown.

But since attending the show, I can’t help but question Kristen’s, or anybody’s entertainment tastes when they tell me they’re into this “Rocky Horror” cult phenomenon. Kristen, I should point out, added extra sentiment to the bizarre performance by telling me a romantic story about her parents’ fantastical moments of dancing and singing with kooky cast members, all while her parents fell in love and eventually married. She, too, has a sweet spot for these shows.

The evening at the Queen Mary for this 1,127th performance show started off, well, rocky. As my friends noted, it all started going downhill the moment I asked for the coat-check closet.

Things like that just didn’t exist in places like this. And in fact, my friends and I were obviously overdressed for a night that had temperatures dipping into the 40s. We wore dark slacks and long-sleeved shirts while every other girl (the great majority the unattractive size of Beth Ditto) wore fishnet stockings and bustiers four sizes too small.

Story to be continued...

As bad as it looks! The video and photo above shows Riff Raff directing "Rocky" virgins in their inaugural dance.

Dr. Frank-N-Furter plays with his own special "boy toy" Rocky in these pictures. In the picture on the left, you can see Janet ("Slut!") stranded awkwardly to the side.


Only certain people were clued in as to what happened during the Time Warp.

All photos and video by Barbara Navarro.

My Songs for Valentine's

All photos taken from the Internet.

I rehearse in the shower and train in front of the mirror. But if I had a honey bunny for Valentine's I would keep those lyrics nearer.

Here are just a few of the songs that always inspire romance for me...

1 - Bjork, "Venus as a Boy"
2 - French Kicks, "Oh Fine" or "Close to Modern"
3 - Interpol, "The Specialist" or "Song Seven"
4 - Prince, "Pink Cashmere"
5 - Sigur Rós, "Glósóli"
6 - Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions, "On the Low"
7 - Bebel Gilberto, "Samba da Benção"

Valentine's is almost everyday for us romantic types. ;)