Get Off The Bus

look back, go forward

back in the 80's, when i was about to start the 3rd grade at a new school, i decided i needed a haircut. i had long straight hair, a lot like my hair now in fact. my sister chopped it all off into what was to become my default haircut over the years, a louise brooks bob, but this very first try had a twist. let me just reiterate that IT WAS THE 80's. 

she cut everything off except one long strand which fell at the very front of the left side of my face. we braided it. i was teased mercilessly at said new school. the braid was chopped after a few days of just being a little too different. it was, in hindsight, unbelievably cool and cutting edge. i was 9. 

this was also the year i sported leggings everyday, ballet flats (real ballet shoes mind you), grecian sandals, knee high mocassins, my mother's beatle boots from the 1960's and a leather motorcycle jacket my sister brought back from london. i had tea and toast every morning, listened to adam and the ants and read The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole over and over again. i wonder (now that i know teachers are real people) what they must have thought of me.

this was (not surprising) my fave video and it explains everything:

Art of Noise - Close (To The Edit) Version 1 (ZTPS 01)

as i got older, the hair got weirder. for years my family never once saw my natural color. purple, blue, "flamingo pink" and "pillarbox red" were the norm. somewhere in my mid-twenties, i gave up. every disgruntled kid from the suburbs within driving distance of a "hot topic" had rainbow hair, tattoos, piercings and a nouveau lunchbox-type purse. i jumped ship, grew my hair out, listened to psych rock, ate mushrooms and read I'M WITH THE BAND over and over and over again. 

but something is happening this summer, after driving across the country and being able to spot every retro groupie in their GTO's finest i feel the same impulse, to jump ship, to flee from a "tribe" that no longer bears meaning, only fashion sense. 

so, hello tom tom club, hello bow wow wow, hello bananarama, hello fuzzbox. hello baggy ripped jeans. hello desperately seeking susan. hello giant men's button down shirts. 

after wearing my summer hat to cover up my hippy hair EVERY DAY for two weeks it was time for a haircut. i couldn't stop thinking how before we graduated to full on crayola colored hair, we used to shave the under sides of our heads, bleach what was left and dye it crazy colors. you could only see it if you pulled the rest up into a ponytail, it was all business when your hair was down. we used this tactic to trick our parents and gently ease them into the "punk years". it was that memory that inspired my search for the perfect summer do. after much trepidation, i allowed franny to slice away miles of my long, long hair and take off almost everything underneath. we cut the sides a little short so you won't see me flipping it to one side and spiking out the rest for a couple of weeks. that'll give me time to find the perfect color manic panic...

i thought the perfect way to end the day would be to go dancing with a couple of my fave ladies from way back when.

when i finally get another job, i want to be martha stewart

i decided when i got home from tour i would just try to relax a little. if you know me, you may think this is a good thing because usually i'm working 3 jobs, running around like a maniac and missing out on everything fun. it feels like my first summer vacation ever and i love it.

last saturday started with a cemetery screening of 16 Candles. i was sort of devastated that kime missed it (she was in chicago having an art opening) because she is the only other person i know who freaks out as much as i do about the soundtrack. the REAL soundtrack. the one when you rent it is a gyp. the only way to hear the real deal in all it's glory is to borrow it directly from universal pictures (or so i've heard) and it was totally worth it. all those times i've watched the film (post seeing it in the theatre as a kid) i have these moments where i think, "that's the wrong music, wait...am i making that up?" but i wasn't, and it is AWESOME and i wish everyone i know could have been there...

fran was there

and we know how to throw a picnic...

after-wards we headed to chinatown to see friends bands WE ARE THE WORLD and ARP. the directions were like a treasure map, all secret passageways, walk 10 paces, turn left at the dumpster, watch out for wobbly cobblestones, look for the red door, go down the black staircase...we found ourselves in a dark, steamy basement surrounded by crazy dancers in wild costumes. and then there were the performers...

we are the world

ARP

after we danced ourselves soaked with sweat, we hightailed it over to LITTLE RADIO for the HIT + RUN party. it was, as the kids would say, "off the hook". free drinks, free custom silk-screened t's, free photo booth...PLUS i got to witness the emergence of FRAN THE SERIAL PHOTO CUDDLER.

what "off the hook" looks like

free drinks

free shirts

fran cuddling her pal henrick

fran cuddling up on miss britt

fran cuddling up on some random dude

fran on moi

invisible cuddle? no is fran

fran's face has "i love you, i hate you" written all over it. those last drinks were a BAD idea.

i look mighty confused. i was even more confused when i woke up in my car the next day (never drive drunk!)

despite an epic sunday hangover (day of rest!), fran and i managed to turn out quite a bbq. she made a bunch of yummy salads, bought salmon and steaks for the grill and told me to get my ass over there to make some sauces and sober up with a few more cocktails. well, ok.

i wish i had pictures but we'll do it again soon and my brain will probably be working by then.

summery salmon sauce:

1 avocado (firm) diced

1 mango diced

1/2 red onion diced

1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 handful cilantro, chopped

3 limes or lemons, halved

salt & pepper to taste

throw everything in a bowl, squeeze enough lemon or lime juice over the mixture to cover, stir everything up, salt and pepper and throw in fridge so the flavors can mingle a bit while you grill the fish. spoon over fish. eat. 

bourbon-ed cherry bbq sauce for steak:

ok, this one was definitely an experiment. i had a bunch of cherries in my fridge i was dying to use for SOMETHING...not sure if you could really taste the bourbon in the final product but it was pretty yummy regardless. i would maybe soak the cherries in the bourbon overnight if i had more time...

big handful of cherries, halved and pitted

red onion, very thinly sliced (not too much onion, i did prolly 1/4 of an onion)

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

drizzle balsamic vinegar

bottle store-bought bbq sauce

bourbon

salt & pepper

throw the pitted cherries in a bowl and cover with bourbon (using something with a bit of bite, knob creek say, might work better than the too-mellow jim beam that i used)

drizzle a little olive oil in a pan and add the onions and garlic, cook until soft. drizzle a little balsamic in there and cook a bit more. dump the cherries and bourbon in the pan and cook until liquid is evaporated and cherries swell. stir in bbq sauce (maybe half the bottle) and heat through. salt and pepper to taste, and add a little more bourbon if you like or if the sauce seems too thick. spoon over sliced steak (i like it med-rare).

make yourself one of these before you sit down to eat:

prosecco blackberry muddle

fill glass with ice

fill 3/4 full with prosecco

throw 2 big ripe blackberries in the glass

crush a sprig of mint and throw in the glass

muddle the blackberry & mint a little

top with ruby red grapefruit vodka

squeeze of lemon

drink

die happy

home is where the hustle is

it is tough for me to accept that over a month of my life has slipped by since i last sat down to write. between the long drives everyday, the 24 hour "babysitting" (as my friend calls it), the finding of the hotels and subsequent finding of the black angel's (party) room at said hotels - i was exhausted. and i never had a minute. i barely took pictures. hopefully when the time is right the tales will all come flooding back and i can reminisce a little.

no looking back for the moment for i found that after paying a few bills, i am BROKE. work your ass off for two months and return home with empty pockets. i don't know how bands do it.

so after exactly one day of relaxing naked by the pool in silverlake, i was back doing the doorgal shuffle. putting the word out that i am home and i will do almost anything for money. you may have seen my craigslist posting for "art model available". that's right, i am yours, naked for $15 an hour.

things i have done this week for money:

$40 - Music Video Extra. little australian gal called LENKA. never heard of her, my friend's production company was handling the shoot, 3 days later i heard the song during a commercial on ABC. so maybe she'll be hugely famous and i will add it to my roster of music video appearances including: HOLE - MISS WORLD (i'm the one stage diving)

$50 - Rock & Roll Nanny. the japanese band BORIS needed a sitter while they played at the echoplex. i've decided i'm now only having kids if they are cute, tiny, mute, hello kitty obsessed (japanese ones). she fell asleep in my arms while her mom played some of the noisiest music i've ever heard.

this is her sleeping in the green room right before she woke up from some crazy nightmare all panicked and muttering a bunch of gibberish (japanese). i want one just like her.

$50 - Photo Assistant? Poor Jeaneen essentially paid me to keep her company on a shoot for this band called MORNINGWOOD. she also had a real assistant and an intern. then she took me to dinner. i feel terrible. jeaneen = my sugardaddy. i swept up the star glitter so i could feel like i did SOMETHING.

$50 - Shop Girl. i am sitting in the SHOW PONY writing this. kime is in chicago having another fabulous art show. pretty sure she'll blog it HERE when she gets home again.

$40 - Door Gal. echoplex. tonight.

as stressful as it can be to not have a more predictable cash flow situation, i never want to have to get a "day job" ever again. hello life, i love you! i love waking up at 3 in the afternoon one day and 6am the next just because. i love deciding to go grocery shopping at 4am. i love knowing i could just drive to the beach right now if i feel like it. i love going out dancing every chance i get. i love being able to just "hang out" with friends and not be rushing off somewhere. i love sitting in my mom's backyard and reading newspaper clippings with her. i love FREE YOGA in runyon canyon. i'd heard of it's existence but since i always had to work when it happened (everyday 10:30 - 11:30 am and weekdays at 6pm) is may as well have been a unicorn. fuck the man! quit your job and yoga for free!

i also love having time to play with food, plan picnics and deviled egg parties. tour blog on hiatus. this food blog now! sort of ludicrous since i am broke...check this real e-mail i sent fran re: spread for 16 CANDLES at the cemetary. maybe my next gig will be catering.

i am bringing a big quilt to wrap up in + 2 big pillows. dont think i
have anything to throw down on ground but guessing i can find
something...if i remember correctly, the ground gets really wet, maybe
i should grab a shower curtain at 99cent store to put under blanket?

i of course compiled a massive list of things i want to nibble,
roughly grouped into two platters (this is pathalogical because i have
$20 in my bank account)

savory:
baguette or other yummy bread
feta
fresh mint
sliced cucumbers or tzatziki
tiny tomatoes
assorted olives and cornichons
rosemary marcona almonds

sweet:
brie
carr's whole wheat crackers
red grapes
cherries
dried apricots
goat cheese
fresh figs
honey
cashews
dark chocolate

and of course wine, wine, wine. red i guess since white would have to
be chilled (although nothing would make me happier than a nice glass
of 2007 kim crawford marlborough sauvignon blanc) maybe we bring bag
ice + bucket?

and maybe lemonade for simon who doesn't really drink

i am insane, no?

we'll have to see how that goes tomorrow...in the meantime, i was missing miss kim who is in chicago and who LOVES deviled eggs. kime, come home! i made something for you!

curried deviled eggs

this is what i did. sorry no measurements, i just throw things in a bowl and hope for the best. i think some of the best cooking is intuitive so just go for it.

boil eggs, cut in half, remove yolks
mash yolks with a few spoonfuls of greek yogurt (consistency will be creamy/fluffy)
add a heaped spoon of curry powder, stir and add if you think it needs more
squeeze half a lemon into yolk mixture
sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
spoon mixture into halved eggs
sprinkle with chopped cilantro and that lime-chile-salt stuff they sell at the mexican store to put on fruit.
chill.
yum.

p.s that is a ROSE SODA that i got at the armenian market down the street. i freaked because i love just about anything that tastes like flowers. it was delicious. but maybe not the best with curried eggs.

no sleep til ?

june 22, 2008
chicago

i think i said this before but i'm really busy. too busy to do much with this blog. but today is a day of rest in chicago at my dear friend mike bulington's gorgeous pad in wicker park. he plays in this really great band called grimble grumble who opened up for the warlocks the last time they were in this neck of the woods. we were supposed to have a studio session today but had to cancel because bobby is on the verge of losing his voice and with 9 shows and no day off on the horizon, it was the necessary thing to do. anyway, mike is an amazing host, letting us have the run of the place and i'm finally relaxing with 2 bottles of wine, some brie and a whole lot of photos to upload...

this is the gorgeous facade of the theater in denver. i finally had a sit down dinner with ryan at a nice thai place. you have no idea how amazing thai food is until you've gone 4 straight days on a diet of taco bell, mcdonalds and hardees.

blue

red

the artist and her work in rapid city, sd. she also stayed over at our fire-pit equipped tree house in the woods. before bed she changed into a bright red union suit. i think she should move to new york or maybe berlin. i have a feeling she would blossom into something quite special.

jc found my fave pinball game, the playboy calendar girls. you'll find me in ny at max fish playing this in a couple of days.

bob and his new job doing projections for the black angels

this is really blurry but if you know jana, know can tell that this is a picture of her balancing a cup on her head.

dancing girls miss merch and jana cup-on-head

stephanie from the black angels either right before or after the insane jam session that ensued (i have been trying to upload to youtube for days to no avail)

more foot photos. someone is drunk....(p.s. how cool is that carpet?)

jana stole alex's (black angels) hat and she has his moves down cold.

the promoters invited us to their place in the woods. it seemed like the kind of place that inspires horror movies but i took one look at their giant dreamcatcher and slept like a baby.

we awoke to the sound of thunder and rain and wild peacocks screeching like pterodactyls.

we tried to get one of the happy grey cats to come with us, they reminded me of my esmeralda back home...

after some necessary errands (oil change already?) we stopped in town for some exploring and shopping before heading to fargo. the historic hotel had a fabulous ceiling (looking like my next tattoo).

bob bought some fancy collars for the kids back home.

then we stopped at wall drug so i could buy assorted dreamcatchers and some hootch.

i left my heart in salt lake city

portland is sort of a blur because i was so wiped out from the long drive from the bay area. yes, i drove the whole way by myself. yes, i am bad ass.

our big outing the next day was a walk across the bridge to whole foods. funny, i feel like i was just here.

heed the sign and remember to LOVE, people...

what is the deal with people and their wacky cars in seattle? this is like, the third one i saw.

it is a well known fact that touring bands are in general, poor and desperate for a decent place to sleep. what is lesser known (or applauded) is that it is usually the kindness of strangers that gets you around. the kindness of girls mostly. it's unfortunate that the term "groupie" is so associated with slutty girls waiting backstage and offering up sexual favors because i'm not sure what to call these kind souls who open their doors, feed, drink and sleep us. saints? welcome wagoneers? i wish i had some photos of the lovely ladies who put us up in seattle. big love and big thanks!

the battery in our van keeps dying and everyday i get up an hour early in case we need (another) jump. this is all our fault most likely. our van is so tricked out with gadgets we can't even figure out what's draining the battery. here's jc at the mechanic's who told us everything would be a-ok if we could remember to not leave all our shit (ipod, cell phone, gps) plugged in overnight.

pretty much everyday, bob and i try to find a cute dog. we found this one in a parking lot outside starbucks in twin falls, id.

p.s. bob takes pictures of dogs incessantly and you can see them on itookthisonmyphone.com , this genius site where you can send all yr pics from your blackberry. which is so smart, i mean, it's in your hand ALL THE TIME right? here are a few of bob's pics, he's already doing a much better job of documenting this trip than i am but i'll be all set up with my own itookthisonmyphone.com pretty soon.

another day, another dog. i think this one is from SLC.

me & JC in seattle

for the record, salt lake city is really far from seattle. we were relieved to just BE somewhere. we weren't prepared for the bonus: everyone in SLC is gorgeous. i'm not exaggerating. again, i should have taken photos to prove i met 4 out of my next 5 husbands that night.

these liquour laws look mormon to me

there's that poster again

black angels rock. look at the photo close and you will see that christian is totally see-thru he is moving so fast.

3 blurry warlocks on a couch, salt lake city.

jana

the lovelies that put a roof over our heads

bobby & bob. best friends and finally a photo to prove it.

get in the van

last dinner before the warlocks tour with the ladies meant pie and fries at the fab "pie & burger" in pasadena followed up with the "sex & the city" movie. we looked around and were by far not the only foursome of ladies taking in the flick. which embarrassed us quite a bit. at least we weren't all dolled up carrie, samantha, miranda and charlotte style. everyone else was.

last warlocks show before leaving for good (ok, 2 months)...the ink & iron fest at the queen mary in long beach. hard to believe i've never once set foot on the luxurious ship, even though i grew up in los angeles. bobby and i wandered the creepy corridors (imagine "the shining") and wondered how people don't lose their minds when they set to sea. it's actually a hotel now and apparently haunted. don't think i would ever stay here but i heard they have a fantastic brunch.

our sweet ride, nelly (courtesy BANDAGO) she's got two screens, dvd player & playstation. in other words, more amenities than my apartment.

she works hard for the money. actually, i was napping when the promoter came and dumped our settlement all over my bod. possibly he was flirting.

we (i) drove through the night, arriving at sausalito in the wee misty hours of the morning. when miss merch (molly) led us to our quarters i thought i was dreaming but maybe i was just hallucinating from the long, long drive.

like something out of charlie & the chocolate factory in reverse, we took this lift to our digs:

the ride didn't faze bobby, jana or cindy

but bob didn't fare so well

i don't blame him, look at this thing!

whatever, it was totally worth it. check out the view from sea-level:

yeah, i could live here.

the show in san francisco was epic. off to a great start! suffer through my blurry photos, i've never been much of a photog (my sister got that gene) and i refuse to use a flash.

tonight i am in sioux falls, sd. been totally hectic ever since i left home but will try to catch up on all the cities in between over the next few days. don't have much to tell, haven't had much time to write and my camera is never around when i really need it. i just hope the best stories don't disappear into thin air before i can get them down. my life, this tour, everything moves so fast. i am a blur.

better late than never

wow. it's really easy to let a whole week get away from you sometimes. i wrapped up the kills tour in atlanta on may 28 and am finally posting the pics from the last day of tour.
i think i may have mentioned this before but sometimes tour is all about passing out and then waking up in a parking lot in another state.

here is the parking lot du jour:

we've got the spooky piece of hair

the vacant lot, trash heap next door

and the load-in entrance to the club

who says rock & roll isn't glamorous?

i think my friend plucky would enjoy the mural in the parking lot because i'm not sure if he loves anything more than PBR, except boobies and it's got both.

i got to spend some more quality time with dexy.

she gave me a little glittery unicorn so i could take some magic home with me.

dexy & chris valentine. making LOVE cool again.

look at this fucking magic sequin love jacket...i contemplated a mugging.

this is my merch buddy john. he played drums with the opening act dax riggs. john also plays his own brand of amazing as a solo artist:
john barrett's bass drum of death

he has a show coming up in LA soon...go!

oh look, i'll be back very soon:

a bartender gave me a giant jar of sweet tea to take home. i gave it to russ, our amazing driver for his long drive home to dallas.

5AM final goodbye with russ after moving out of the bus. we had REALLY moved in so it took HOURS.

i flew home just a few hours later. zombie-cindy bought these amazing/hideous boots by accident (sort-of):

and then a few hours after that i trotted them out to the SPINDRIFT record release party and 3D extravaganza

road-weary c with the lovely miss jeaneen (who i missed so much while i was gone!)

this is what it looks like when the (3D) party's over:

magic happens

NASHVILLE
5/26/08

so, a year ago my friend dexy decided to move to nashville because she was crushed out on some boy who she had been carrying out a long courtship of myspace messages and flirty photos via text. i rolled my eyes and told her she'd be back in three weeks.

needless to say, she never made it home. instead she fell in love, started a band with her boyfriend and sings songs about their true love bliss that are so catchy and so sincere she challenges all my jaded presumptions and forces me to want to become a believer.

all rainbows, unicorns, prism stickers and lyrics about meeting by the soda machine make me want to fall in love for the first time all over again. the first love. the only love in the world kind of love. magic love.
so i was thrilled when i found out her band would be opening up the shows in nashville and atlanta. when we arrived in nashville it was rainy and memorial day, everything was closed and dexy and chris and sylvester the lion had all just got back from the uk and were jet-lagged major. we decided just to meet up the next day.

left to my own devices for the rest of our precious “day off” i did what i do best...scout vintage stores and eat lots of yummy food.

nashville has all these great little restaurants in converted houses. i wanted to go to my fave steakhouse, jimmy kelly's to have some of the delicious corncakes they serve. they are like little cornmeal pancake things they serve instead of bread. alas, they were closed for a private party and i found myself with nowhere to go. the drizzle outside was daunting and i waited almost too long to finally take a stroll around an unfamiliar town. after walking in a big circle past lots of places i would love to check out but were closed, i found an awesome indian place right next door to the hotel. i ate too much of everything plus some of that amazing rice pudding they make with the cardamom pods in it and passed out early. funny thing about tour, you just sleep and sleep in those bunks and then you pass out early in hotels. too much sleep is never enough. it's ludicrous.

just around the corner from the hotel, i missed my friends ted and aaron (seawolf) by 2 days:

the next day i ventured out early and walked over to centennial park to visit the parthenon. i had first seen the parthenon on a trip to tennessee in 2006, after a jimmy kelly's dinner and several of tennessee's finest whiskies. my friend and i spotted it through the trees and i was screeching, “take me to greece!” over and over until our very patient cab driver obliged. unfortunately, alcohol a.d.d. had set in by the time we pulled up and we were like, “cool. can you take us to a bar now?” i'll never forget how bummed we were at 3am when we realized we had given away an entire box of leftover corncakes to that cab driver. i've wanted to go back ever since.

"The Parthenon stands proudly as the centerpiece of Centennial Park, Nashville's premier urban park. The re-creation of the 42-foot statue Athena is the focus of the Parthenon just as it was in ancient Greece. The building and the Athena statue are both full-scale replicas of the Athenian originals.

Originally built for Tennessee's 1897 Centennial Exposition, this replica of the original Parthenon in Athens serves as a monument to what is considered the pinnacle of classical architecture. The plaster replicas of the Parthenon Marbles found in the Naos are direct casts of the original sculptures which adorned the pediments of the Athenian Parthenon, dating back to 438 B.C. The originals of these powerful fragments are housed in the British Museum in London.

The Parthenon also serves as the city of Nashville's art museum. The focus of the Parthenon's permanent collection is a group of 63 paintings by 19th and 20th century American artists donated by James M. Cowan. Additional gallery spaces provide a venue for a variety of temporary shows and exhibits."

i walked back through the park and said hi to the ducks on my way to lunch.

our driver, russ made me promise to eat at this place. he was so sad they had ran out of banana pudding before he got there. i had my first of many "sweet teas".

ran into the rest of the kids next door in the used bookshop and picked up a few old art mags for miss buzzelli to make pretty pictures from. then off to the venue to meet up with THE MAGIC WANDS!

dexy & chris valentine and me in a magic dress

the third magic member of the band, sylvester

even their merch is magical

texas is the reason

DALLAS
5/25/08

when i woke up on the bus, under a freeway overpass, in front of the house of blues today i didn't realize where i was. i knew i was in dallas, but i forgot what that meant. i went on my daily wander around and very accidentally stumbled upon a little bit of history.

this old courthouse now houses the old red museum of dallas county history & culture. i was drawn to the fountains out front. they looked like some wet, cool fun in the sticky heat.

i still hadn't caught on to where i was, even though big signs with arrows point to local points of interest such as the "kennedy memorial" and "6th floor museum".

i eventually figured it out...

John F. Kennedy Memorial
Market Street/Commerce Street
Dallas, Texas
USA

Philip Johnson 1970

This simple, concrete memorial to President Kennedy dominates a square in downtown Dallas 200 yards from where the President was assassinated. It is a space for contemplation, neither open nor closed. the 50 foot square enclosure with 30 foot high concrete walls would be oppressive, if not open in the center of two opposite walls, and along almost all of the base.

In the center is a black granite slab, deliberately too square to be a tomb, inscribed simply with the President's name.

It is intended to be "not a memorial to the pain and sorrow of death," but "a permanent tribute to the joy and excitement of one man's life."

i don't usually go in for conspiracy theories but i also don't believe that the kennedy assassination doesn't bear further examination. hoards of people visit the Sixth Floor Museum, housed in the famous former "book depository", looking for answers. i was pressed for time and could only take in the scene outside, on the site where our nation's dream died, november 22, 1963.

then:

now:

someone has made sure "allegedly" is emphasized here:

purely by accident, my walk followed the path of the motorcade:

the grassy knoll. everyone out there is trying to figure out what really happened. they stand around pointing and discussing bullet trajectories and such.

i had to pay this guy a dollar so i could take a picture of this.

i'll let you know who i think did it when i'm done with all my research.

i'm still waiting to see what jackie o has to say, the woman who "... after his death refused to remove her blood-stained clothing, and regretted having washed the blood off of her face and hands. She continued to wear the famous stained pink suit as she stood next to Johnson on board the plane when he took the oath of office as President. She told Lady Bird Johnson, "I want them to see what they have done to Jack""

On May 19, 2044, the 50th anniversary of the death of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, if her last child has died, the Kennedy library will release to the public a 500-page transcript of an oral history about John F. Kennedy given by Mrs. Kennedy before her death in 1994.

south by southwest

PHOENIX
5/22/08

i woke in phoenix to gray and drizzle. i didn't even get off the bus until load-in. it's funny, the first week of tour i was so gung-ho on exploring each and every town and now i just cherish my sleep. after the show allison and i retired to our day room at the hotel san carlos. their website doesn't tell the whole story. this place is fucking HAUNTED. wikipedia doesn't lie:

Hotel San Carlos (Phoenix)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Hotel San Carlos branch in Phoenix, Arizona, is both an operating hotel and tourist site. It has been associated with ghost sightings.

Legend

Many employees have said that they have seen ghosts at the hotel, the most commonly mentioned being that of Leone Jensen. This caused the Travel Channel to dedicate part of their show World Travels to the hotel. This feature on the hotel was premiered on Monday, January 19, 2004. Whether the ghost sighting theory is a promotional stunt or not is debatable.

Historical facts

The site where the hotel sits was the location of the first school in Phoenix. The four room adobe school was inaugurated in 1874. It was replaced with a larger structure in 1879. The school was enlarged several times but was condemed in [[1916] ], with construction of a luxury hotel in mind. In addition, many area children died during the 1918 swine flu epidemic that attacked the United States.

In 1919, the land was bought by the Babbitt family (relatives of Bruce Babbitt, former Secretary of the Interior and Arizona Governor, who intended to build a hotel. The San Carlos Hotel project was finally begun by Charles Harris and Dwight D. Heard who purchased the property from the Babbitts. Construction began in 1927. The hotel was designed by Nationally known architects in the Italian Renaissance style. The hotel was state of the art with air conditioning (the first in Phoenix), elevators, circulating chilled water in the rooms and steam heat. The hotel grand opening was on March 19, 1928. The hotel was built at a cost of nearly $850,000.

The hotel competed with the posh, nearby Westward Ho hotel, completed the following year, which was located on what once was Phoenix's first radio transmitter and whose list of clientele include such celebrities as Jack Dempsey and John F. Kennedy. The San Carlos had its share of celebrities such as Mae West, Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, Marilyn Monroe and Gene Autry.

On May 7, 1928, the Arizona Republic reported the death of Leone Jensen. The article's headline read "Pretty blonde jumps from (the) San Carlos (hotel) early today". Based on what she wrote on her death note, it could be assumed that the 22 year old woman was physically abused by her boyfriend, a bellboy at the Westward Ho. Speculations have been made as to whether Jensen was pregnant and/or her boyfriend was having an affair with another hotel worker. Because of these theories, the way she died is also debated. While most evidence pointed to suicide, many have said that she could have been pushed off by her boyfriend or her boyfriend's other girlfriend.

Another ghost frequently mentioned by hotel employees is that of a little girl, possibly around six to nine years old, who is rumored to visit hotel rooms at night and sit crying. Ghost believers think she was probably one of the area children affected either by the school's closing or the flu epidemic.

On December 9, 2004, yet another tragic death happened at this hotel, when an unidentified man jumped to his death from the hotel's roof.

The Hotel San Carlos in Phoenix, a member of Historic Hotels of America, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, underwent a $1,000,000 remodel in 2003. Work continues on this historic boutique hotel. The hotel faces stiff competition from such five-star hotels as The Phoenician, Arizona Biltmore Hotel the Ritz Carlton, many Hilton Hotels and the Hyatt Regency Phoenix. However, as downtown Phoenix continues its dramatic growth the Hotel San Carlos continues to remain in the heart of downtown Phoenix, 6 blocks from Chase Field home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5 blocks from U.S. Airways Arena, home of the Phoenix Suns, and less than 3 blocks from the Dodge Theatre, Symphony Hall Phoenix, Orpheum Theatre, the Phoenix Convention Center and the Herberger Performing Arts Center.

i can only corroborate the story in that when i had my shower, the curtain billowed in on me in such a weird way. my brain said "ghost" and a batted the fabric back with my hand...it happened again, and both times, it wasn't like a draft or a breeze pushing the fabric around, it was like a slow steady mass pushing in on me. the water in the shower got really hot. i was really into having a shower so i refused to panic. when i got out of the bathroom (after examining for any obvious drafts, etc) i asked allison, "did you open the door or window out here while i was in the shower?". her eyes grew wide...i was pale. ghost? we'll never know...

i took this pic of her in the lobby just moments before i was chased down the street by a really cute french student guy. alas, texas awaits...

the next time i opened my eyes we were in mexico, i mean, el paso.
pawn shop + ammunition, what more could a traveler want? our fantastic hotel camino real is in the background.

check out their tiffany glass ceiling over the bar:

and super cool art:

i imagine this one as my next tattoo:

this one was just plain weird:

we had discussed having a day off excursion to juarez...which isn't ridiculous considering we haven't seen the news or a newspaper in a good long while. thank god nick is up on all current events billed as "bloodbaths" and kept our asses out of mexico. with border police standing on every corner, el paso was close enough.

we passed the hours in the only four-star restaurant in town, the dome.

taking pics of the bizarro bejeweled chicken foot jaime got for kate.

i woke up from a nap to see these two blokes standing in my room looking confused. our new lighting guy thought he could force us to be festive. he has no idea the work he has cut out for himself. we are all super content to be achingly dull. napping and tapping away on our laptops all the time.

i asked them to play "besame mucho", my fave mariachi great. that reporter lady on the tv was covering the scene in juarez. jaime and allison had gone to walgreens to develop photos and missed the whole thing.

i was relieved to get out of el paso, and not just because i'd had 4 margaritas by 3pm. it seemed like the kind of place my mother would have anxiety just thinking about me being there. i was relieved when she called the next day and i got to say, "i'm in austin".

there's nothing like waking up in a parking lot and walking to las manitas for tacos. i fucking love this place and come here every year for my first "sxsw" meal. last time i was here i saw the hanson bros, their wives and like, 80 kids.

i kept walking down congress and took a little detour by the river (or is it a lake?). there were lots of people out on the water trying to keep cool. the temp in austin was above 90 degrees.

saw this in the bridge underpass while the bats (yes, BATS) above my head twittered and squeaked.

i walked all the way down to my fave antique mall, uncommon objects in search of some little nifties to bring back to the girls but it was so hot and so full of people i gave up. my big purchase for the day ended up being a root beer float with "mexican vanilla" ice cream at amy's. look at that sign...who could resist?