John here,
We just put up a whole bunch of new videos on Youtube and our website. They're (mostly) from our performance at the Sydney Opera House in February of this year. There are songs, awkward personal anecdotes and even some spanking footage from Seattle. It was quite an adventure getting our hands on the footage, but thanks to the audio magic of Adrian Buckley and the video discipline of Marcus Rogers (of Cinestir Productions) it cleaned up real good. If you click on the player below, it will present a pop up menu of several short videos to choose from. If you click on the arrow to the right of this pop up menu, it will take you to two more videos. Or you can just click here to go to a separate play list page.
On another note, Cass and I will soon be hanging out at the log cabin my grandfather built about 75 years ago. (How very Canadian.) There we plan to relax, write some more extensive blogs and hopefully even a new song or two. Any suggestions for subjects? What aspect of sexuality should we satirize next? We try to veer away from the gratuitously gross (ie. no felching fox trots) in favour of more universal experiences (sexual frustration, curiosity, obsessive crushes etc.) We'd love to hear from you.
Also - keep your eyes peeled at the Village Voice's online sex column for an upcoming Wet Spots song writing contest . Prizes will likely include sex toys, videos and a ticket to our New York City show at The Zipper Factory on Sunday July 27th. Details & ticket links for that show are available here
Okay. That's it for now. Kisses all 'round you lovelies. See you soon!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Nerds, you say?
Cass here:
John was asking if we're nerds, and whether our fans are nerds. I'm wondering, what exactly defines a nerd? Wikipedia weighs in:
Nerd is a term often bearing a derogatory connotation or stereotype, that refers to a person who passionately pursues intellectual activities, esoteric knowledge, or other obscure interests that are age inappropriate rather than engaging in more social or popular activities. Therefore, a nerd is often excluded from physical activity and considered a loner by peers.
This rings true, in a real way, about my childhood, and i guess in some ways about my present. I mean, I am obsessed with sex, but not sex in that booby-bouncing porno-chic addleheaded kind of way. I'm nerdy about sex. I want to know what people do and feel and think about sex in theory as well as in practice. I study the ways we relate to each other sexually and the ways we as individuals relate to sex. For the record, I am also geeky for systems and organization (love you, David Allen!), Sudoku, Language and etymology, old Jazz, Sideshow and Carnival history, costuming and design. Lately I'm on a roll reading Steven King. That's right, Steven King.
But there's a flipside to all of this - the world has moved on since there was one definition of 'cool'. It's kind of hip to be a nerd. Or a geek. But not a drip. Or a twat. Or a douche.
Just warnin' ya.
My favourite kinds of nerds are those that overlap with the art and alternative culture - the Burner Nerds, the Sex Nerds, the Hip-Hop Nerds, the BDSM Nerds (Lord Seth from Accounting, we salute you!), the Choir-Leading Monkey Cult Nerds, the Noise-band-electronica nerds, the Skater nerds, The Broadway nerds (OMG! The Broadway Nerds), the Polyamorous Nerds, and the freaks.
I like the freaks. A freak is like a nerd with that extra splash of extroversion, and a healthy dose of crazy. I love the people who don't give a rats ass about doing what's popular and who follow their crazy dream. Gabba Gabba we accept you, we accept you, one of us!
Was that nerdy? That was nerdy. I'm a nerd.
John was asking if we're nerds, and whether our fans are nerds. I'm wondering, what exactly defines a nerd? Wikipedia weighs in:
Nerd is a term often bearing a derogatory connotation or stereotype, that refers to a person who passionately pursues intellectual activities, esoteric knowledge, or other obscure interests that are age inappropriate rather than engaging in more social or popular activities. Therefore, a nerd is often excluded from physical activity and considered a loner by peers.
This rings true, in a real way, about my childhood, and i guess in some ways about my present. I mean, I am obsessed with sex, but not sex in that booby-bouncing porno-chic addleheaded kind of way. I'm nerdy about sex. I want to know what people do and feel and think about sex in theory as well as in practice. I study the ways we relate to each other sexually and the ways we as individuals relate to sex. For the record, I am also geeky for systems and organization (love you, David Allen!), Sudoku, Language and etymology, old Jazz, Sideshow and Carnival history, costuming and design. Lately I'm on a roll reading Steven King. That's right, Steven King.
But there's a flipside to all of this - the world has moved on since there was one definition of 'cool'. It's kind of hip to be a nerd. Or a geek. But not a drip. Or a twat. Or a douche.
Just warnin' ya.
My favourite kinds of nerds are those that overlap with the art and alternative culture - the Burner Nerds, the Sex Nerds, the Hip-Hop Nerds, the BDSM Nerds (Lord Seth from Accounting, we salute you!), the Choir-Leading Monkey Cult Nerds, the Noise-band-electronica nerds, the Skater nerds, The Broadway nerds (OMG! The Broadway Nerds), the Polyamorous Nerds, and the freaks.
I like the freaks. A freak is like a nerd with that extra splash of extroversion, and a healthy dose of crazy. I love the people who don't give a rats ass about doing what's popular and who follow their crazy dream. Gabba Gabba we accept you, we accept you, one of us!
Was that nerdy? That was nerdy. I'm a nerd.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Nerds
John here:
Hey folks - just a short blog today because we're spending quality time with our folks up in the Rocky Mountains in Canmore. We got sent this link from some fans a few weeks ago. It makes me very happy.
http://www.ukulelecabaret.com/takeit
It also makes me wonder - are our fans mostly nerds? And are we nerds? And will the nerds inherit the earth? And how has the concept of nerd-dom changed over the past 20 years? Has it lost its old sense of the four-eyed guy who's making a broadsword in shops class and come to mean some sort of semi-cool aficionado of the truly esoteric? Is nerd now a new subset of hipster? Someone who's into stuff so obscure that he becomes a 'scene' of one? And if so, what do we now call the truly socially awkward?
Feel free to weigh in on this most important of world issues. Do you identify as a nerd?
Hey folks - just a short blog today because we're spending quality time with our folks up in the Rocky Mountains in Canmore. We got sent this link from some fans a few weeks ago. It makes me very happy.
http://www.ukulelecabaret.com/takeit
It also makes me wonder - are our fans mostly nerds? And are we nerds? And will the nerds inherit the earth? And how has the concept of nerd-dom changed over the past 20 years? Has it lost its old sense of the four-eyed guy who's making a broadsword in shops class and come to mean some sort of semi-cool aficionado of the truly esoteric? Is nerd now a new subset of hipster? Someone who's into stuff so obscure that he becomes a 'scene' of one? And if so, what do we now call the truly socially awkward?
Feel free to weigh in on this most important of world issues. Do you identify as a nerd?
Friday, June 13, 2008
Kirby Ferguson Rules
John Here
Our friend Kirby Ferguson has been kicking ass. This is the guy who directed the videos for "Do You Take It...?" and "Fist Me This Christmas" and really helped to launch the Wet Spots onto the international stage. Or at least into the homes of a few million nerdy / kinky Youtube addicts.
Lately he has been turning the camera onto himself , delivering perfectly pitched one-minute monologues on everything from butt-cracks to "punch line piracy" to our obsession with lists. A few months ago Kirby landed the front page of Youtube with his observations on Trajan - the lettering used in just about every movie poster. Even more incredibly, he made this nerdy font rant into an extremely amusing and informative sixty seconds.
Kirby is now an official New York City hipster (no mean feat for a Canadian without an MBA and / or a defense contract) and a content provider for CBC. In this video, he talks about the 'nuclear option' of the IM, email, & comment section worlds
Our friend Kirby Ferguson has been kicking ass. This is the guy who directed the videos for "Do You Take It...?" and "Fist Me This Christmas" and really helped to launch the Wet Spots onto the international stage. Or at least into the homes of a few million nerdy / kinky Youtube addicts.
Lately he has been turning the camera onto himself , delivering perfectly pitched one-minute monologues on everything from butt-cracks to "punch line piracy" to our obsession with lists. A few months ago Kirby landed the front page of Youtube with his observations on Trajan - the lettering used in just about every movie poster. Even more incredibly, he made this nerdy font rant into an extremely amusing and informative sixty seconds.
Kirby is now an official New York City hipster (no mean feat for a Canadian without an MBA and / or a defense contract) and a content provider for CBC. In this video, he talks about the 'nuclear option' of the IM, email, & comment section worlds
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Wet Spots play Zipper Factory July 27 08
Start Spreadin' the News... ok, ok that's pure cheese.
So we're playing in NYC next month. We're playing at the Zipper Factory . It's our first full-length public show in a theater in NY and we're really excited about it.
We have this goal to make the transition into only playing cabarets and soft-seater theaters and so far the universe seems to be supporting our efforts. The Wet Spots are an act that you really need to hear to appreciate - as in you need to hear the lyrics and sit your ass down, ideally.
We're working hard to get bums on seats and we'd love it if you and a dozen of your closest friends showed up! Ha, I almost wrote closet friends.
Here are the details:
Amorously,
Cass
So we're playing in NYC next month. We're playing at the Zipper Factory . It's our first full-length public show in a theater in NY and we're really excited about it.
We have this goal to make the transition into only playing cabarets and soft-seater theaters and so far the universe seems to be supporting our efforts. The Wet Spots are an act that you really need to hear to appreciate - as in you need to hear the lyrics and sit your ass down, ideally.
We're working hard to get bums on seats and we'd love it if you and a dozen of your closest friends showed up! Ha, I almost wrote closet friends.
Here are the details:
| Sunday July 27, 2008 | New York, NY | 7pm | The Zipper Factory 336 W. 37th St.btw. 8th & 9th 212.563.0480 |
Cass
Monday, June 09, 2008
YouTube - womb13's Channel
John Here:
'80s Canadian Punk Rock Documentary
This documentary was originally broadcast on Much Music around 1990. (If you click on the text link it will take you to a page with all the chapters of the episode.) It features a lot of Canadian Punk bands like the Diodes, I Braineater, DOA, Viletones etc. and focuses on the years 1976 through the mid 1980s. I remember seeing it back when I was in my first year of university and putting some of my first bands together. I wasn't even in kindergarten yet in 1976, so these pioneers had a real mystique about them, and it was good to see the music finally getting the retrospective it deserved.
But I was already pretty damn disillusioned about punk rock at that point. I had watched one of my smartest friends turn into a bum on the street from doing too much glue and acid. The more politically minded punk rockers I knew were busy spray painting "Tories are Pig-Fuckers" on the walls of local community centers or pulling ill-fated bank heists for which they did hard time. The more aesthetically minded punks I knew had morphed into these miserable proto-hipsters, clutching their obscure '78s tightly to their chests and talking (only half-jokingly) about who had more 'punk points' for having gone to the right gig or hosted the right band when they came through on tour.
But it's just as easy for me to remember why I loved the scene. Like many kids, I had grown up finding my pop idols on television and on mainstream radio. And like many kids, I wanted to be up there on stage one day doing it myself. I bought an electric guitar, but the gulf still seemed unbridgeable. I'd go to see Tears for Fears or Platinum Blond or (later when I was angrier) Motley Crue or Iron Maiden at the Winnipeg Arena. They had multimillion dollar setups and were playing songs that were well beyond my level of technical skill. My guitar teacher told me that if I practiced my scales every day for many years I might be able to do the solo from Stairway to Heaven. It just seemed like more school.
Then I heard The Ramones and everything changed. Their albums were full of these great songs, and I could play along to them all. RIGHT NOW! If these guys had records out, then maybe it was possible for me too. Then I went to my first underground local show. The stage was only two feet high! The guitarist from the band walked RIGHT PAST ME when he was done his set. And he was selling his album at the back of the hall. Suddenly all of the carefully-cultivated untouchability that surrounded those airbrushed pop stars on TV seemed lame instead of cool. These guys down at the local club were the real deal. Within three months I had joined a band. Within a year I had formed my own band. And I was having all those teenage adventures that I wanted so badly - playing in bars under age, smoking dope, having sex.
But my affair with the punk rock scene was short-lived. One of the things that you hear several times from Henry Rollins, Jell-o Biafra & others in this doc is that while a lot of punk rock musicians were real innovators, a lot of the punk rock fans were conservative sheep who demanded rigid conformity to certain tempos, clothing styles and attitudes. I remember back in the day punk rock was sort of like Christianity in that it demanded you renounce all other forms of music as "sold out" or "commercial". You weren't supposed to like Death Sentence AND Prince. Thing is, Jell-o was listening to surf rock, Stompin' Tom Conners, Heino, trucker country, lounge music, bossa nova, and novelty comedy albums while he was writing punk rock. But a lot of his fans only wanted to listen to punk rock.
As I started to become able to play more diverse styles of music, I wanted to add them to the stuff I was writing. And I did. But then it wasn't punk rock any more, and my bands couldn't play the punk rock shows any more. And it was OK. But the truth of the matter is I probably never would have wound up playing music AT ALL - let alone for a living - if it hadn't been for those early Ramones albums and those early shows at the Chameleon Club and my old bandmates like Shaun Roemich and Cal Hamilton and Jeff Burrows. Or my old friend Chris Olson who introduced me to the albums and the clubs and to my first band. None of us had a clue back then, but we were all clueless together and somehow we bullshitted our way into the music scene.
And I think my early love for punk rock affected me in other ways as well. That confrontational attitude, that delight in offending the puritans, that insistence on living your life on your own terms and not in some way that was prescribed for you by your school or your church or your family? That has never left me. Even though the Wet Spots are in many ways easy listening, the lyrics owe as much to Jell-o as they do to Cole Porter. And that DIY approach where you just make your own career happen and don't wait for some suit to decide if you're marketable? The Wet Spots would have folded years ago without that. And (most important) that sense that there's a place for all us freaks to go when the straight world gets us down? That is something that The Wet Spots try to put out there into the world at every single show we do. In many ways I think it's what our fans respond to the most. But the Ramones said it first and said it best:
Gabba gabba,
We accept you, we accept you,
One of us!
John Here:
'80s Canadian Punk Rock Documentary
This documentary was originally broadcast on Much Music around 1990. (If you click on the text link it will take you to a page with all the chapters of the episode.) It features a lot of Canadian Punk bands like the Diodes, I Braineater, DOA, Viletones etc. and focuses on the years 1976 through the mid 1980s. I remember seeing it back when I was in my first year of university and putting some of my first bands together. I wasn't even in kindergarten yet in 1976, so these pioneers had a real mystique about them, and it was good to see the music finally getting the retrospective it deserved.
But I was already pretty damn disillusioned about punk rock at that point. I had watched one of my smartest friends turn into a bum on the street from doing too much glue and acid. The more politically minded punk rockers I knew were busy spray painting "Tories are Pig-Fuckers" on the walls of local community centers or pulling ill-fated bank heists for which they did hard time. The more aesthetically minded punks I knew had morphed into these miserable proto-hipsters, clutching their obscure '78s tightly to their chests and talking (only half-jokingly) about who had more 'punk points' for having gone to the right gig or hosted the right band when they came through on tour.
But it's just as easy for me to remember why I loved the scene. Like many kids, I had grown up finding my pop idols on television and on mainstream radio. And like many kids, I wanted to be up there on stage one day doing it myself. I bought an electric guitar, but the gulf still seemed unbridgeable. I'd go to see Tears for Fears or Platinum Blond or (later when I was angrier) Motley Crue or Iron Maiden at the Winnipeg Arena. They had multimillion dollar setups and were playing songs that were well beyond my level of technical skill. My guitar teacher told me that if I practiced my scales every day for many years I might be able to do the solo from Stairway to Heaven. It just seemed like more school.
Then I heard The Ramones and everything changed. Their albums were full of these great songs, and I could play along to them all. RIGHT NOW! If these guys had records out, then maybe it was possible for me too. Then I went to my first underground local show. The stage was only two feet high! The guitarist from the band walked RIGHT PAST ME when he was done his set. And he was selling his album at the back of the hall. Suddenly all of the carefully-cultivated untouchability that surrounded those airbrushed pop stars on TV seemed lame instead of cool. These guys down at the local club were the real deal. Within three months I had joined a band. Within a year I had formed my own band. And I was having all those teenage adventures that I wanted so badly - playing in bars under age, smoking dope, having sex.
But my affair with the punk rock scene was short-lived. One of the things that you hear several times from Henry Rollins, Jell-o Biafra & others in this doc is that while a lot of punk rock musicians were real innovators, a lot of the punk rock fans were conservative sheep who demanded rigid conformity to certain tempos, clothing styles and attitudes. I remember back in the day punk rock was sort of like Christianity in that it demanded you renounce all other forms of music as "sold out" or "commercial". You weren't supposed to like Death Sentence AND Prince. Thing is, Jell-o was listening to surf rock, Stompin' Tom Conners, Heino, trucker country, lounge music, bossa nova, and novelty comedy albums while he was writing punk rock. But a lot of his fans only wanted to listen to punk rock.
As I started to become able to play more diverse styles of music, I wanted to add them to the stuff I was writing. And I did. But then it wasn't punk rock any more, and my bands couldn't play the punk rock shows any more. And it was OK. But the truth of the matter is I probably never would have wound up playing music AT ALL - let alone for a living - if it hadn't been for those early Ramones albums and those early shows at the Chameleon Club and my old bandmates like Shaun Roemich and Cal Hamilton and Jeff Burrows. Or my old friend Chris Olson who introduced me to the albums and the clubs and to my first band. None of us had a clue back then, but we were all clueless together and somehow we bullshitted our way into the music scene.
And I think my early love for punk rock affected me in other ways as well. That confrontational attitude, that delight in offending the puritans, that insistence on living your life on your own terms and not in some way that was prescribed for you by your school or your church or your family? That has never left me. Even though the Wet Spots are in many ways easy listening, the lyrics owe as much to Jell-o as they do to Cole Porter. And that DIY approach where you just make your own career happen and don't wait for some suit to decide if you're marketable? The Wet Spots would have folded years ago without that. And (most important) that sense that there's a place for all us freaks to go when the straight world gets us down? That is something that The Wet Spots try to put out there into the world at every single show we do. In many ways I think it's what our fans respond to the most. But the Ramones said it first and said it best:
Gabba gabba,
We accept you, we accept you,
One of us!
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Big Broccoli Ocarina:Angels We Have Heard On High
Yeah, so this guy rocks my world.
I'm all about the freaky people who just follow the dream, you know?
- Cass
Cass here:
I'm thinking about sexy spaces, and play events and such. Fetish Nights. It seems to me that the norm for these nights is ... heavy. Like not "heavy" as in "overweight" (that's a whole nother subject) but heavy like - serious. If most play parties were human beings, I would not be going on a date with them. You know? It's nothing personal, and it's not a judgement against them, I'm just lusty for a different kind of party.
What do I like in a party? It's kind of like what I like in a person - Playful, fun, silly, charismatic, funky, bighearted, vivacious and colourful. I'm noticing that the majority of events that I've attended (and I have attended many) are gothic, moody, loud, and frankly, disconnected. Uncomfortable. Preoccupied with power games.
I have a feeling that many of us (especially those outside of San Francisco, NY, and London) will just put up with this because , hey, any port in a storm, right? A space that's loud and aggressive where you can explore your sexuality is better than none at all, right? It's kind of like staying with your cranky girlfriend because she's the kinkiest person you ever met. Wouldn't it be nice if you could have the kinky without the cranky?
I've been to two "public" parties that fit this description - Chemistry in NYC, and Kinky Salon in SF. Well, and the Rubber Ball in London, but that was a whole different spectacle.
Chemistry had a nice vibe, with dedicated spaces for play and some movies playing, a strictly invitation only guest list, and a funky DJ. People were fun, a nice mix of kinksters and burners and swingers.
Kinky Salon is a one-of-a-kind social experiment and surrealist sex fiasco. It's costumed, absurdist, participatory, sexy mayhem. There's so much energy flying around that it's almost hard to navigate. Great music, and a fully immersive environment, co-created by the amazing Professor Violet and Polly Superstar.
Both of these spaces challenged me to open up on a whole new level, something I've never felt at a Fetish or BDSM night. I'm showing my bias here, but it seems to me that fetish nights are like play-acting around old, established dynamics, and Kinky Salon is about challenging yourself to open up to a whole new emotional experience. People aren't just fucking, they are fucking *connecting*.
And they happen to be dressed as fluffy pink bunnies, and pizzas, and Jesus.
If that isn't radical self expression, I don't know what is. I'm just saying.. I like it. I like it a lot. I tip my tiny red hat to those who are actively creating and participating in these spaces. Thank you.
I'm thinking about sexy spaces, and play events and such. Fetish Nights. It seems to me that the norm for these nights is ... heavy. Like not "heavy" as in "overweight" (that's a whole nother subject) but heavy like - serious. If most play parties were human beings, I would not be going on a date with them. You know? It's nothing personal, and it's not a judgement against them, I'm just lusty for a different kind of party.
What do I like in a party? It's kind of like what I like in a person - Playful, fun, silly, charismatic, funky, bighearted, vivacious and colourful. I'm noticing that the majority of events that I've attended (and I have attended many) are gothic, moody, loud, and frankly, disconnected. Uncomfortable. Preoccupied with power games.
I have a feeling that many of us (especially those outside of San Francisco, NY, and London) will just put up with this because , hey, any port in a storm, right? A space that's loud and aggressive where you can explore your sexuality is better than none at all, right? It's kind of like staying with your cranky girlfriend because she's the kinkiest person you ever met. Wouldn't it be nice if you could have the kinky without the cranky?
I've been to two "public" parties that fit this description - Chemistry in NYC, and Kinky Salon in SF. Well, and the Rubber Ball in London, but that was a whole different spectacle.
Chemistry had a nice vibe, with dedicated spaces for play and some movies playing, a strictly invitation only guest list, and a funky DJ. People were fun, a nice mix of kinksters and burners and swingers.
Kinky Salon is a one-of-a-kind social experiment and surrealist sex fiasco. It's costumed, absurdist, participatory, sexy mayhem. There's so much energy flying around that it's almost hard to navigate. Great music, and a fully immersive environment, co-created by the amazing Professor Violet and Polly Superstar.
Both of these spaces challenged me to open up on a whole new level, something I've never felt at a Fetish or BDSM night. I'm showing my bias here, but it seems to me that fetish nights are like play-acting around old, established dynamics, and Kinky Salon is about challenging yourself to open up to a whole new emotional experience. People aren't just fucking, they are fucking *connecting*.
And they happen to be dressed as fluffy pink bunnies, and pizzas, and Jesus.
If that isn't radical self expression, I don't know what is. I'm just saying.. I like it. I like it a lot. I tip my tiny red hat to those who are actively creating and participating in these spaces. Thank you.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
John Here,
I'm pretty unplugged from the world of TV, but a couple of years ago I was kicking back with the family watching the tryouts for American Idol. You know the drill - Simon, Paula and that other dude go from city to city, and a bunch of local hopefuls show up and give it their best shot. For someone who has endured WAY too many hours of open mike nights and poetry slams, this was pure, sweet catharsis. There was none of this polite, semi-interested applause, and no feelings were spared for the sake of protecting fragile artistic self-esteem. If an act was shit, they got told they were shit. If an act was half-way there they got told they needed a lot of work.
I remember there was this one guy who came in dressed as the Statue of Liberty, complete with torch held aloft. With no introduction and in a half-decent voice, he began to sing:
"Staaaaart spreadin' the news...."
Simon: "Thank you."
Statue Guy: "What?"
Simon: "Thank you. You're done."
Statue Guy: "But you haven't heard my..."
Simon (to the other judges) "Do you need to hear any more?"
Other Judges: "No."
Simon: "Goodbye."
Sometimes I think there's a bit of that nerdy statue guy in me. I get all gushy and tingly and crushy over New York. I can't be blase about that town. When I see the skyline in a movie or something I get chills. Real. Not metaphoric. There's an energy there that I feel from the moment I hit the streets. It just seems to be dripping with possibility from every stinky concrete pore.
The Wet Spots will be working in New York City for a month this summer. This was a dream we started cooking up in our heads last October, and events have been conspiring to allow it to happen. We have a steady gig at one night club already set up, and we'll be doing our first big theater show in town at a beautiful venue called The Zipper Factory on July 27th. I am so incredibly grateful for this opportunity to really throw down in the entertainment capital of the world. And I am even more grateful to have the time to spend with the exceptional people we've met in that city. You just have to bask in these moments, and give thanks whenever you remember.
Who knows, maybe this will lead to better things. Or maybe we'll get told "Thank you. You're done.". Either way, I want to be a part of it. It will be way more fun than auditioning for American Idol.
I'm pretty unplugged from the world of TV, but a couple of years ago I was kicking back with the family watching the tryouts for American Idol. You know the drill - Simon, Paula and that other dude go from city to city, and a bunch of local hopefuls show up and give it their best shot. For someone who has endured WAY too many hours of open mike nights and poetry slams, this was pure, sweet catharsis. There was none of this polite, semi-interested applause, and no feelings were spared for the sake of protecting fragile artistic self-esteem. If an act was shit, they got told they were shit. If an act was half-way there they got told they needed a lot of work.
I remember there was this one guy who came in dressed as the Statue of Liberty, complete with torch held aloft. With no introduction and in a half-decent voice, he began to sing:
"Staaaaart spreadin' the news...."
Simon: "Thank you."
Statue Guy: "What?"
Simon: "Thank you. You're done."
Statue Guy: "But you haven't heard my..."
Simon (to the other judges) "Do you need to hear any more?"
Other Judges: "No."
Simon: "Goodbye."
Sometimes I think there's a bit of that nerdy statue guy in me. I get all gushy and tingly and crushy over New York. I can't be blase about that town. When I see the skyline in a movie or something I get chills. Real. Not metaphoric. There's an energy there that I feel from the moment I hit the streets. It just seems to be dripping with possibility from every stinky concrete pore.
The Wet Spots will be working in New York City for a month this summer. This was a dream we started cooking up in our heads last October, and events have been conspiring to allow it to happen. We have a steady gig at one night club already set up, and we'll be doing our first big theater show in town at a beautiful venue called The Zipper Factory on July 27th. I am so incredibly grateful for this opportunity to really throw down in the entertainment capital of the world. And I am even more grateful to have the time to spend with the exceptional people we've met in that city. You just have to bask in these moments, and give thanks whenever you remember.
Who knows, maybe this will lead to better things. Or maybe we'll get told "Thank you. You're done.". Either way, I want to be a part of it. It will be way more fun than auditioning for American Idol.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
John here:
Ahhh. Just got back from a weekend in Portland OR. That city is CIVILIZED! Free downtown transit, loads of affordable heritage buildings, very liveable rents, three hours from Seattle and a day's drive from San Francisco. Also lots of public art and a healthy sex-positive circus / burner freak culture which seems to convene every Sunday at Dante's Inferno to strip and breathe fire. We played two great shows, and even managed to wade through some IRS red tape unscathed. And met some VERY fun people who we hope to meet up with and possibly make out with when we return in a few weeks.
It gets me thinking, though. Neither Cass nor I have had much luck finding lovers in our home town - wherever it may be. This has occurred both in Toronto and now back here in Vancouver again.
When we're on tour, though, look out! We seem to have no difficulty meeting amazing poly people who are right on our wavelength. Which leads me to wonder why. Is it partly the starfucker thing? (We are after all minor celebrities in a very particular and slutty subculture.) In some ways, the fact that we've just been onstage provides an easy in to start a conversation - for us or for others. Or is it that we both feel more attractive when we have just pulled off a good show and gotten applause? (And if so, then what do we think we're lacking when we move through the world as civilians?) Or is it that these friends we only get to see occasionally seem like less of an emotional risk (to us as individuals &/or to us as a couple) than a lover who lives down the block?
Any other poly people care to weigh in with their experiences in this department?
Ahhh. Just got back from a weekend in Portland OR. That city is CIVILIZED! Free downtown transit, loads of affordable heritage buildings, very liveable rents, three hours from Seattle and a day's drive from San Francisco. Also lots of public art and a healthy sex-positive circus / burner freak culture which seems to convene every Sunday at Dante's Inferno to strip and breathe fire. We played two great shows, and even managed to wade through some IRS red tape unscathed. And met some VERY fun people who we hope to meet up with and possibly make out with when we return in a few weeks.
It gets me thinking, though. Neither Cass nor I have had much luck finding lovers in our home town - wherever it may be. This has occurred both in Toronto and now back here in Vancouver again.
When we're on tour, though, look out! We seem to have no difficulty meeting amazing poly people who are right on our wavelength. Which leads me to wonder why. Is it partly the starfucker thing? (We are after all minor celebrities in a very particular and slutty subculture.) In some ways, the fact that we've just been onstage provides an easy in to start a conversation - for us or for others. Or is it that we both feel more attractive when we have just pulled off a good show and gotten applause? (And if so, then what do we think we're lacking when we move through the world as civilians?) Or is it that these friends we only get to see occasionally seem like less of an emotional risk (to us as individuals &/or to us as a couple) than a lover who lives down the block?
Any other poly people care to weigh in with their experiences in this department?
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