December, Debbie, and the Power of Five!
Just a warning: this blog may ramble and contain many asides! My brother has begged the rest of his blogging family members to get on the horse as far as our blogs are concerned and get something written before the holidays! Since this month has already been completely jam-packed and fun filled, it's going to be difficult to sum it all up in an orderly fashion.
First, as you all know, I went home for Thanksgiving last month. I got to spend the holiday with most of my family (mom, dad, and Adrienne) as well as my cousin Amy, my aunt Sharon and uncle Tim, my cousin Andrea, her husband Dallas, and their three kids; and my uncle Ronnie and Aunt Lisa, their daughter Caitlyn and her boyfriend Colin. Hopefully I didn't miss anyone there! It was a fantastic day.
We drove back to Kansas City that night because my plane was leaving the next day. On the way to the airport, we stopped at a casino called Argosy, where we indulged in an all-you-can-eat brunch buffet - as if we needed more food!
My flight from KC to Denver was simple, but then going from Denver to Albuquerque, where I was to meet Brandon and Amy, was delayed by almost an hour. When I finally got to ABQ, they told me we were going to Amy's mom's house for a huge mexican food feast! Would the eating never end?!?!
We had a lot of fun there, playing the Dictionary game after dinner. That's where you pass a dictionary around, one person pics a word that no one knows, and then everyone writes down a fake definition for it. The person who chose the word reads all the fake definitions, adding the actual definition somewhere in the list. You score by either guessing the right word, having people guess your own phony definition, or by stumping everyone into not guessing the correct answer (if you're the person choosing the word that round).
The next day, we had another large meal, this time breakfast, before heading out for Flagstaff. We played a show there, which I've already blogged about over at the SG Myspace page, so I won't reiterate here.
So, that was November, or anyway the end of it.
December started with several bangs, in fact, three big bangs in the first week. That's what I'm mainly here to talk about!
Saturday was Here TV's Ribbon of Hope Ceremony which our band was invited to. It feels nice to be invited to such events and be a part of the Here family, although several days later I saw in In Magazine that actually anyone could attend the event if they RSVP'd. However, having gotten a personal invite still felt nice. The event was fun, especially because it was held at my boyfriend's company, The Television Academy. I always joke with Dylan that one day he will be the President of the Academy, although I'm not really joking as much as I'm hoping! I know he works very hard and he has already worked his way up a lot there, so I don't think it's out o
f the realm of possibility.
On Tuesday, I drove my friends Marc and Luther down to Anaheim where Deborah Harry performed at Downtown Disney's House of Blues (photo at right). Blondie was one of the first bands I remember being aware of. My parents listened to Blondie on 8-tracks when I was a kid and I got the greatest hits cassette when I was very young. I've been a casual fan of Deborah's solo work, but her newest album "Necessary Evil" which was just released in October blew me away! It's amazing to hear her sounding so vibrant and modern, having fun with current musical trends yet sounding timeless. I was one of the select few in the crowd that was more interested in hearing the new material than Blondie's catalog. She only did two Blondie songs, and she did them acoustically. I admire Deborah for doing what she wants to do and living in the here and now, rather than falling back on past glories. She is a dynamic singer and performer and she has earned the right to do whatever the hell she wants when she's onstage!
Back to my own life, I had been stressing out about my company's annual meeting (which is really more of a party) that I plan each year. Usually, the party has been held in September, at the same place each year, with the same caterer and the same people doing the same things each year. This year, everything was different; a new location, new date, so there were plenty of things for me to worry about. In the end, although not well attended most likely due to the time of year, it was a great party and those who showed up had a great time it seemed. I had put together a slideshow which was projected onto the wall, and we had Angstrom Lighting come and do a really cool LED light set-up. I got table decorations and the caterers did an amazing spread! Once the party was going I finally could relax and enjoy it. After the party, a friend of mine who had come to the party discovered he had locked his keys in his car. Dylan drove him home, but since I wasn't ready to end the night once I got everything cleaned up, I decided to call him and see if he needed a ride back to his car. He said yes, so I went to pick him up at our neighborhood bar, The Palms. Walking back to the car, we saw a party going on at LASC, a clothing store, and they had a DJ and open bar so of course we decided to join the party! I ended up having two drinks. One of the bartenders was gorgeous, I even told him how cute his hair was. He was completely dreamy! Anyway after that, we went back to the car but still couldn't get it open with a wire hanger, so we went to meet his roommate who is also my good friend, Marc! Marc was at his company's Christmas party so we joined him there, at Nova Pizza on Fairfax, where we had another drink! Finally, we went back to their place, got the car keys, went back one more time and got the car unlocked! What a night!
The very next day I couldn't really concentrate on anything except for what I was about to behold that night: The Return of the Spice Girls!!! I have been obsessed with the Spice Girls since 1997. I remember when they first came out with "Wannabe" I wasn't that big of a fan. I thought the song was catchy but slightly annoying (as did most people, really). It wasn't until a few months later, after I had "come out," moved to a small town to live with my first boyfriend, and heard "Say You'll Be There" on the radio that I came to be a fan of the Spice Girls. I remember buying "Spice" at the same time as "Middle of Nowhere" by Hanson, allowing myself to enjoy the pure, sugary pop confections of the time. I immediately fell in love with the Spice Girls and felt grateful that I had "caught on" right in the heat of Spicemania! It was a fun ride to watch them in their global domination! I was at the movie Spiceworld on the opening weekend, my cousin Andrea graciously agreeing to go with me! And of course I bought "Spiceworld" the album the day it came out and subsequently played it into the ground. I bought the singles, the dolls, the posters, the videotapes (this was right before DVD's came out!) and eventually after Geri left and the band broke up, I went on to support each one of the girls' solo endeavors, constantly rotating their positions in my list of "my favorite Spice girls".
So, to say that I was excited for the reunion tour, being the first opportunity I had ever had to see all 5 girls live on stage together, was an understatement!
At left is a photo of Marc, Myself, and Dylan at the show, before it started. We actually had really good seats, which I was worried about because I didn't buy the tickets right when they went on pre-sale! I messed up, had the day wrong, but luckily Dylan called me and I was able to buy my tickets about 2 hours after the pre-sale began (you had to sign up on their website ahead of time). So, I was thrilled to see how good our seats actually were! I could have thrown something and hit Victoria (which probably would have knocked her over, not that I would ever!!!)
Anyway, it was a very exciting moment when the show began and the excitement sustained throughout the entire, nearly 2-hour long set, which included the big hits, some excellent solo work (Mel B's cover of "Are You Gonna Go My Way" was a standout!) and a lot of costume changes! It was an amazing show. But don't take it from me: the London Evening Standard said "this is ebullient pop music of a very high standard, presented with panache, and highly unlikely to provoke any attendance at the refund window" while The Mirror labelled the show an "unforgettable pop culture event" that was "camp, ridiculous, super-enthusiastic, beyond over the top - and absolutely amazing."
Rounding out the week was a fun Saturday where I saw the premiere of 'An Accidental Christmas' which starred David Millbern, a good acquaintance of Dylan and I's (he knows Dylan through the TV academy and I've met him at several Here TV events). After that, I got together with Brandon and Amy and ran through songs which we later played at Cafe Muse, as our side band, Believable TV. It was a good set and we got lots of encouraging support from those in attendance. We played a Dandy Warhols cover that Shitting Glitter has never played, and also did 'Black Magic Marker' which is technically an SG song but we've only really played it once, at the bottom of a swimming pool (it was empty).
Sunday I stayed in all day and made confections! It was a sweet end to a sweet week!
First, as you all know, I went home for Thanksgiving last month. I got to spend the holiday with most of my family (mom, dad, and Adrienne) as well as my cousin Amy, my aunt Sharon and uncle Tim, my cousin Andrea, her husband Dallas, and their three kids; and my uncle Ronnie and Aunt Lisa, their daughter Caitlyn and her boyfriend Colin. Hopefully I didn't miss anyone there! It was a fantastic day.
We drove back to Kansas City that night because my plane was leaving the next day. On the way to the airport, we stopped at a casino called Argosy, where we indulged in an all-you-can-eat brunch buffet - as if we needed more food!
My flight from KC to Denver was simple, but then going from Denver to Albuquerque, where I was to meet Brandon and Amy, was delayed by almost an hour. When I finally got to ABQ, they told me we were going to Amy's mom's house for a huge mexican food feast! Would the eating never end?!?!
We had a lot of fun there, playing the Dictionary game after dinner. That's where you pass a dictionary around, one person pics a word that no one knows, and then everyone writes down a fake definition for it. The person who chose the word reads all the fake definitions, adding the actual definition somewhere in the list. You score by either guessing the right word, having people guess your own phony definition, or by stumping everyone into not guessing the correct answer (if you're the person choosing the word that round).
The next day, we had another large meal, this time breakfast, before heading out for Flagstaff. We played a show there, which I've already blogged about over at the SG Myspace page, so I won't reiterate here.
So, that was November, or anyway the end of it.
December started with several bangs, in fact, three big bangs in the first week. That's what I'm mainly here to talk about!
Saturday was Here TV's Ribbon of Hope Ceremony which our band was invited to. It feels nice to be invited to such events and be a part of the Here family, although several days later I saw in In Magazine that actually anyone could attend the event if they RSVP'd. However, having gotten a personal invite still felt nice. The event was fun, especially because it was held at my boyfriend's company, The Television Academy. I always joke with Dylan that one day he will be the President of the Academy, although I'm not really joking as much as I'm hoping! I know he works very hard and he has already worked his way up a lot there, so I don't think it's out o
f the realm of possibility.On Tuesday, I drove my friends Marc and Luther down to Anaheim where Deborah Harry performed at Downtown Disney's House of Blues (photo at right). Blondie was one of the first bands I remember being aware of. My parents listened to Blondie on 8-tracks when I was a kid and I got the greatest hits cassette when I was very young. I've been a casual fan of Deborah's solo work, but her newest album "Necessary Evil" which was just released in October blew me away! It's amazing to hear her sounding so vibrant and modern, having fun with current musical trends yet sounding timeless. I was one of the select few in the crowd that was more interested in hearing the new material than Blondie's catalog. She only did two Blondie songs, and she did them acoustically. I admire Deborah for doing what she wants to do and living in the here and now, rather than falling back on past glories. She is a dynamic singer and performer and she has earned the right to do whatever the hell she wants when she's onstage!
Back to my own life, I had been stressing out about my company's annual meeting (which is really more of a party) that I plan each year. Usually, the party has been held in September, at the same place each year, with the same caterer and the same people doing the same things each year. This year, everything was different; a new location, new date, so there were plenty of things for me to worry about. In the end, although not well attended most likely due to the time of year, it was a great party and those who showed up had a great time it seemed. I had put together a slideshow which was projected onto the wall, and we had Angstrom Lighting come and do a really cool LED light set-up. I got table decorations and the caterers did an amazing spread! Once the party was going I finally could relax and enjoy it. After the party, a friend of mine who had come to the party discovered he had locked his keys in his car. Dylan drove him home, but since I wasn't ready to end the night once I got everything cleaned up, I decided to call him and see if he needed a ride back to his car. He said yes, so I went to pick him up at our neighborhood bar, The Palms. Walking back to the car, we saw a party going on at LASC, a clothing store, and they had a DJ and open bar so of course we decided to join the party! I ended up having two drinks. One of the bartenders was gorgeous, I even told him how cute his hair was. He was completely dreamy! Anyway after that, we went back to the car but still couldn't get it open with a wire hanger, so we went to meet his roommate who is also my good friend, Marc! Marc was at his company's Christmas party so we joined him there, at Nova Pizza on Fairfax, where we had another drink! Finally, we went back to their place, got the car keys, went back one more time and got the car unlocked! What a night!
The very next day I couldn't really concentrate on anything except for what I was about to behold that night: The Return of the Spice Girls!!! I have been obsessed with the Spice Girls since 1997. I remember when they first came out with "Wannabe" I wasn't that big of a fan. I thought the song was catchy but slightly annoying (as did most people, really). It wasn't until a few months later, after I had "come out," moved to a small town to live with my first boyfriend, and heard "Say You'll Be There" on the radio that I came to be a fan of the Spice Girls. I remember buying "Spice" at the same time as "Middle of Nowhere" by Hanson, allowing myself to enjoy the pure, sugary pop confections of the time. I immediately fell in love with the Spice Girls and felt grateful that I had "caught on" right in the heat of Spicemania! It was a fun ride to watch them in their global domination! I was at the movie Spiceworld on the opening weekend, my cousin Andrea graciously agreeing to go with me! And of course I bought "Spiceworld" the album the day it came out and subsequently played it into the ground. I bought the singles, the dolls, the posters, the videotapes (this was right before DVD's came out!) and eventually after Geri left and the band broke up, I went on to support each one of the girls' solo endeavors, constantly rotating their positions in my list of "my favorite Spice girls".
So, to say that I was excited for the reunion tour, being the first opportunity I had ever had to see all 5 girls live on stage together, was an understatement!
At left is a photo of Marc, Myself, and Dylan at the show, before it started. We actually had really good seats, which I was worried about because I didn't buy the tickets right when they went on pre-sale! I messed up, had the day wrong, but luckily Dylan called me and I was able to buy my tickets about 2 hours after the pre-sale began (you had to sign up on their website ahead of time). So, I was thrilled to see how good our seats actually were! I could have thrown something and hit Victoria (which probably would have knocked her over, not that I would ever!!!)Anyway, it was a very exciting moment when the show began and the excitement sustained throughout the entire, nearly 2-hour long set, which included the big hits, some excellent solo work (Mel B's cover of "Are You Gonna Go My Way" was a standout!) and a lot of costume changes! It was an amazing show. But don't take it from me: the London Evening Standard said "this is ebullient pop music of a very high standard, presented with panache, and highly unlikely to provoke any attendance at the refund window" while The Mirror labelled the show an "unforgettable pop culture event" that was "camp, ridiculous, super-enthusiastic, beyond over the top - and absolutely amazing."
Rounding out the week was a fun Saturday where I saw the premiere of 'An Accidental Christmas' which starred David Millbern, a good acquaintance of Dylan and I's (he knows Dylan through the TV academy and I've met him at several Here TV events). After that, I got together with Brandon and Amy and ran through songs which we later played at Cafe Muse, as our side band, Believable TV. It was a good set and we got lots of encouraging support from those in attendance. We played a Dandy Warhols cover that Shitting Glitter has never played, and also did 'Black Magic Marker' which is technically an SG song but we've only really played it once, at the bottom of a swimming pool (it was empty).
Sunday I stayed in all day and made confections! It was a sweet end to a sweet week!
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