Duran Duran stole my heart

This was one of the best (and shortest) tours ever---
We flew into Vancouver, BC and even the airport was gorgeous, what a beautiful city--
got to the hotel and immediately it began to pour.
My niece lives there, she is attending college but she was home and missed my visit...booo!



the first show went without a hitch, we got to see Darcy, our Canadian co-worker.
After the border crossing, which also went pretty smoothly as we lost no soldiers--we headed to Seattle.
Cyn came out to meet me and also Joe Paul and Gael visited. Cyn and I had a little adventure, trying to get out of the WaMu theatre, but all was sorted in the end. I love Seattle so much. Cyn, I want to buy your "poor climber" painting. I can't get it out of my mind.



my favorite thing was getting back on the tour bus, and this was my first pop-out bus...see how the side pops open. At night, our driver, Smitty would give us a mini-ride, pulling the bus back into driveable shape...



my bunk is the bottom driver's side, i am superstitious now about getting that bunk! Don't know if you can make it out in the photo, but it is in the very bottom of the right edge of photo---



here is the view from my hotel in Concord, see our big brown bus in the top right hand side?



the show was great fun, i have toured with several of this crew before on different tours--my stage manager in front of the big cityscape backdrop:





the lighting crew was a bunch of old friends from various tours, they had a beautiful set-up, this is putting up the rig, with Jerry riding the lights like an electric cowboy:



here it is a little bit higher in the air:



here you can see where it eventually ends up:



these are from the Santa Barbara Bowl, i walked up into the crowd to try to get a photo looking down, but my camera was overcompensating for the massive lighting, so i didnt get what i was looking for....



yes, I was always a Simon girl:




this was from the casino show in San Diego:



the casino chefs made us a chocolate sculpture that was entirely edible, including the sugar pane photo, but i didn't try any of it...






here's Ali, the little sprite, my ssssssusssterton sister, partner in FoH crime...she is sitting at the pink sparkle drum kit of the sweet Roger Taylor.



and i want to send a shout out to our opening act: Your Vegas, these super-cute guys put on an amazing show.
you can hear their music on myspace--
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=20644391

Mal the drummer doing load out:




and Mark and Coyle waiting for sound check:



the production manager, Wob, quickly became a favorite, he is the brother of my production manager on Tool,
and that is one dynamite family.



when i drove away from the last date, i left a trail of broken heart pieces behind me on that desert mountain, i miss the tour bus, but things are getting busy at home....i am heading to Balticon over memorial day weekend (hello BALTIMORE!!)
and then back home to meet up with Mr. Gaiman at Book Expo.

final note: Neil's got a history with these guys, his first book was a biography of Duran Duran, which now sells for upwards of a hundred dollars on Amazon, if you can find it....small world, indeed.

hungry like the wolf....

i fly tomorrow to meet up with the Duran Duran tour,
have fond memories of them and expect this will be a whirlwind of fun tour.

meanwhile, Jozie is here in the treehouse, visiting and we have been working on her book.
am i ready to go? YES~ish.
now back to packing....xox Kitty
ps what's YOUR favorite DD song? mine is a tie between wolf and the reflex...









April 29, 2008: GENERAL MOTORS PLACE, VANCOUVER, CANADA
April 30, 2008: WAMU THEATRE, SEATTLE, WA
May 2, 2008: SLEEP TRAIN PAVILION, CONCORD, CA
May 3, 2008: SANTA BARBARA BOWL, SANTA BARBARA, CA
May 4, 2008: NOKIA THEATRE, LOS ANGELES, CA
May 6, 2008: DODGE THEATRE, PHOENIX, AZ
May 8, 2008: VALLEY VIEW CASINO, SAN DIEGO, CA
May 9, 2008: THE JOINT, LAS VEGAS, NV
May 10, 2008: THE JOINT, LAS VEGAS, NV
May 12, 2008: WELLS FARGO THEATRE, DENVER, CO
May 14, 2008: ROSEMONT THEATRE, CHICAGO, IL
May 15, 2008: MASONIC TEMPLE THEATRE, DETROIT, MI
May 17, 2008: CHASTAIN PARK, ATLANTA, GA
May 18, 2008: UCF ARENA, ORLANDO, FL
May 19, 2008: MIZNER PARK AMPHITHEATRE, BOCA RATON, FL
May 21, 2008: KOKA BOOTH AMPHITHEATRE, RALEIGH, NC
May 22, 2008: MANN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, PHILADELPHIA, PA
May 24, 2008: ATLANTIS, PARADISE ISLAND, BAHAMAS
May 27, 2008: MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILION, COLUMBIA, MD
May 28, 2008: AGGANIS ARENA, BOSTON, MA
May 30, 2008: CENTRAL PARK SUMMERSTAGE, NEW YORK, NY
May 31, 2008: CENTRAL PARK SUMMERSTAGE, NEW YORK, NY

"four star daydream"

just finished working a week of Roger Waters rehearsals in LA. They are preparing for the big finale headliner of Coachella, the festival in Indio, CA, a night in the desert with thousands of other people, they will perfom the entire run through of Dark Side of the Moon---
i was to be there, but Duran Duran distracted me from the path (sorry MG!)

this crew was one of the friendliest and truly happy. this indicates that their leader is a kind and benevolent one.
it was like high school reunion, with everyone trading road stories.
the stage manager and production manager, personal favorites, i toured with on motley crue & on perfect circle. Renee was on motley and tool with me. she was visiting here with her Kiss tour. A few people were coming to see the dress rehearsal as they ran through with pyro and full video cues. Mr Durett & Jr also came to watch.



this prism pyramid will be lit up in the sky of over the crowds.



this pig has gorgeously glowing red light eyes, he floats during Sheep...



Roger wrote a song about his travels in the Middle East as a young man, and it is a deeply touching story of him being helped by some very poor kind souls, the video on the giant rear screen is a comic book version of the story/song. When i saw him at Hollywood Bowl last summer with Red, it was theater in force. these photos doesn't do it justice. The second one shows the violinist who also plays on "comfortably numb", Lorraine, you would have loved her. The three back-up singers were so beautiful and so full of voice, it brought tears to my eyes. They also do "set the controls from the heart of the sun", the best song in the old PF catalog, so say i.






you can see how few people were in the arena, how intimate the show was. At one point Roger walked out to the crowd to inspect the video screens and how it presented on "time", which is one of my favorite songs off Dark Side. He was a true gentleman, dining with his crew and just being one of the boys, which was a pure and lovely thing to see. Best of all, his politics are dead left, he dares to speak his mind in a post-dixie chicks environment of fear. yes, gentleman, as i stated, but also a fearless talent that can communicate in multiple mediums of art. I was renewed like a battery being charged. Let me say, one of the best weeks of my working life. Thank you from my heart. leaving on Duran Duran on monday, will check in soon.

beyond the yellow brick road...

We are all so lucky in our lives.
Night before last, my Drew was home for a night off from the Mary J tour and we were driving back from the Ego Likeness show at Knitting Factory (photos to follow)
We parked at the treehouse to go up and get his suitcase, as we were going back to his hotel in Irvine. After maybe five minutes, i heard a huge crash, like someone had dropped a car out of the sky. The car, a black prius, looked like it had been spit out of a high-speed blender.
the driver, by the time we ran up, had been pulled from the car & was being covered up, he was in severe shock. Ambulances and firetrucks were starting to arrive. Still not sure exactly what happened but this black car hit several cars on the street. I didn’t take any photos at night, but i did go back and photograph the van that wasn’t towed, the damage to this van was nothing compared to the prius...hope the guy is ok. We do have a lot of street racing in our neighborhood.



anyway, it is truly amazing how something can happen so quickly ---we could have been at the wrong place at the wrong time, only minutes before we were right exactly in that spot.
Lucky, lucky stars watch over us.

Elton John show, i was standing side stage for “candle in the wind” yes, i got a little tear in my glass eye. What a haunting and powerful voice. He snuck off the stage to leave before the sea of celebrity well-wishers advanced and gave me a big smile as he was leaving. a true classic. and in a nice change of pace, the boys of Culinary Underground had to serve the drinks to the legendary star and his entourage etc, us girls got excused. my boss was going to outfit them all in silver hotpants, but instead settled for black v-necks, look at these serving studs:



jeremy & wes (in the middle) are staying at the treehouse with me until we all go out on Duran Duran (which we are renaming Durett Durett, in honor of our stage manager)

tomorrow starts the rehearsals of the Roger Waters tour, another dreamy job for me.

before i sleep, i wanted to post these photos from the other night, Malena and David posed in their Neverwear shirts...(sorry Malena, but it is easy to tell who is the photography king---lalala! ) Miss Malena cut hers up to make some va-voom haute couture...







and here are the Salmon girls in their Lil’ Neil tees...talk about your Charlie’s Angels...

in which Ghosty escapes...

I wanted to post part 2 of the BonJovi/Bruce shows--- I had never seen Springsteen live, now, i am a fan for life. My brother Bill, he was always right...anyway, I have been slowly downloading his library.
“screen door slams...” his words sound like movie directions...

Red came out to one of the Bruce shows, she knew many of the crew as she used to tour- manage Clarence Clemons on his solo project. Before the show, she dragged me into his dressing room, introducing me as her “west coast wife”—well, that cracked everyone up. What a charmer CC was...and when Little Steven came through the door, it was amazing to see how much he was not Silvio in real life...he really brought that character alive for me in Sopranos.
I saw Steve Bing backstage and congratulated him on Beowulf; he just crackles with energy, possibly the most alive man on the planet,

We did the last Bonjovi show at the Staples Center. Sarah and I took the FOH cooler out and then went to find Jack Nicholson’s Lakers seats. We thought we were in the right spot until a building guy came over to us and said, “Nope, ladies, Jack only sits on the floor”...we ran off laughing.

When Jon B arrived, the Lakers girls were there waiting as his car dropped him off, and they did an elaborate routine to one of the B-jovi classics. Trust me when I say, every male in a five-mile radius had heard this was happening and gathered to watch. Those ladies are like walking magazine pages, ads for glowing health.

I was very inspired on those BonJovi dates by the wardrobe and design work of Miss Abby. She came with her very own treasure chest of glittery sparklers, and this is what she was working on. go Abby, go!


She also gave me a bead source here in LA that i plan on infiltrating with Malena, the other gem goddess. stay tuned...


this photo isn’t good of this drum kit, but this is the one i want—silver sparkles...





The night at Staples ended on a high note. I was parked in a different lot than the other crew, and when I went out at 2 am, my little Ghosty was trapped in behind a chained gate. I flagged down a tow truck and they blocked me while I drove down the city street sidewalk and exited off the wheelchair ramp. Ghosty escaped, thank my lucky stars...
i drove away with grateful love in my heart---after an 18 hour day...

So next adventure, after Elton John and Roger Waters, is Duran Duran...i am so ready for the tour bus and the best bonus? My co-editor Eric is also going to be stage manager on the tour. The Oilspot will have a second edition...

Packing for a tour is now so easy and second-nature, i almost don’t have to think about it.
the best thing? i am now sure, and i mean, convinced, that whatever I forget, i didn’t need anyway, or can find out there in the world...

more people in their Neverwear!

You know, I just don't get tired of seeing that cute little sleepy-eyed Neil on different people...
these just came in from the wonderful duo from Baltimore: Ego Likeness, Steven Archer and Donna Lynch:
(who i am going to see at the Knitting Factory in LA tomorrow night 4/17, appearing with Voltaire!)






go check out their website: http://www.egolikeness.com/
there you can also find:
Where's Neil When You Need Him? Released July, 2006 on Dancing Ferret Discs. This tribute CD to author Neil Gaiman and his creations features previously unreleased tracks by Ego Likeness, Voltaire, The Cruxshadows, Thou Shalt Not, Razed in Black, Rasputina, Tori Amos, and many more. Featuring artwork by Dave McKean and liner notes by Neil Gaiman.

BonJovi & Bruce, Jersey comes to LA....

Have been working non-stop the west coast shows of these two east coast mainstays...
Will have time to post photos when I come back up for air...or hope so...

the difference between the two crews is so real as to be tangible. My poor miss Abby was such a valiant princess, sick as she was, the show must go on, her throat was so swollen, it almost looked like a cartoon lump made by a cartoon hammer...I got to see her in action in her quickchange...she is a superhero. Thanks for everything, baby!

it is great to see so many old friends, and the shows are not to be believed.
Yesterday, Tom Morello of Rage against the Machine was noodling around with his guitar in catering for a bit and then he popped on stage with Bruce to guest on "Ghost of Tom Joad"---the crowd was stunned. A true moment.

In the BonJovi set the other night, they launched into "Hallelujah", an exquisite Leonard Cohen song, that Jeff Buckley covered to great success. However, while JBJ did a beautiful job with it, I watched as the crowd wilted in their seats, waiting for "Wanted" --which did end up being the encore. The audience, it seemed, was just not quite ready for a song like that. I was, though. I got chills... In the aftershow crowd, Dolly Parton parted the seas, what a legend she is. I wonder if she got on stage with him, i missed it if she did...

Anyway, I jump back in to Ghosty, my trusty little car from Miles & Malena, to drive to Anaheim, yet again, for the last of the Bruce shows...tomorrow is the last of the BonJovi dates up here, and then next week, Kanye West, Elton John (OOO!) and a week of Roger Waters rehearsals...this i look forward to with all my heart.
oh! and Drew will be in town with Mary J. Blige...and JayZ (big pimpin’!)
more soon from the back lounge....i miss my tour bus!
ps Here is a wish for best travels to our miss Red, she embarks on her Megadeth tour today, take good care of Mr. Mustaine, Ace, he is a national treasure...***

snow, antiques & popcorn....

have been home about a week, from one weather extreme to another:

from:


to:


although there is no snow on the ground, Batman still insists on being under the covers here at home...it’s been a little chilly, which is the way i like it...



now Quiche’s little bengal kitty, miss MIM, she likes danger:



things are very different where Quiche lives, they give you free popcorn in the grocery store (is this heaven?):



she took me to the best antique store (yes, she scored this telephone, which must become a prop for our next movie, cause i can see the movie poster now, very Hitchcock...)



problem is, while it works, it doesn’t give a ring, which i am sure is fixable, any thoughts?

we found poison:



a parking meter:



and can you make out the round green & cream Viking ship tray in the middle distance? yes, i brought that home in my suitcase...don’t remind me that it got a wee bit dented, I must ask Odin for his forgiveness...



the ladies that work there have a Pavlovian response when miss Quiche FabLo walks in the door. they start planning to enjoy big expensive dinners & pay off credit card debt...
because she comes in swift & sure, “Why, that will be perfect in the romance room, how much, you say? hmmmm, i’ll take it!” and my head will pop up from the antique coin section or the silkscreen glass section and say “Quiche! what are you buying now!!!”
she’ll just giggle and everyone is happy.

and this? i found this beauty for Drew...
and for six bucks, a complete score.
not a dent to be had...



if things don’t work out here for me in LA, this could look like home to me:



thanks Quiche, again, for everything!

do puppets dream of plasticine sheep?

I am reporting today from the greater Portland area---from the film set of Coraline, Neil’s newest book come to life on film. This beautifully odd story about "other mothers" and secret doors is being made by Henry Selick @ Laika. Henry, who created the amazing Nightmare before Christmas, Tim Burton’s vision, had a cocktail party for Neil where we met his family and many of the Laikans who have been working so hard for so long on the film. To make about one minute of finished film, can take up a week of time, maybe more, all told. (this is approx, mind you)



Here is a photo of our resident DJ Harry, Henry’s son, who was responsible for the beautifully diverse & surprising music at the party. I met Heather, Henry’s wife, who was a fascinating woman, a gracious hostess and very devoted to her man. The house was studded with art and props from the films that Henry has created, i am so in awe of his vision and talents. The first thing I saw when i walked in was an original Mark Ryden painting, *sigh.




Yesterday we went on a studio tour of construction and sets (there are over forty active sets!)
We were on hot sets that I did not photograph, sensitive properties that are not yet to be released to the public. What I can say, this movie is going to be ageless, transcend the years, the set of the "other house" and the glittering sky there is one thing i will always remember....A dream sequence waiting to be dreamt.




This is where Maddy made quite a splash as the on-air correspondent at the behind-the-scenes DVD extras etc

Maddy interviewed Henry & her Dad and the wardrobe lady, Deb and the head of puppets, George---
she was a natural, had no hesitation in going after the question, making sure she was looking at the right camera, everything went so smoothly. Here she is having her hair & make up done...









This is Shelley, Henry’s amazing assistant, & girl Friday and superwoman, Look at her tights. Astounding. She & her man Kevin came out to see me on the Tool tour, so it was her turn to show me her town, her gig & her way around the magic. Ask Lorraine, she will testify. (And our FabLo’s standard bar is set so very high.)

Shelley fed us breakfast & she fed us well.

However, during the filming i heard a rumbling that i thought was an errant cell phone...it turned out to be head of marketing’s stomach growling. It was so cute, she and i shared a moment of levity on the completely quiet & serious set.

Right now i am sitting next to Boss while he does a signing for the crew of Coraline, an internationally mixed bunch. They have been working so hard on the film, and it gives them a chance to meet the mind from which such a story sprung. Neil, as always, was very generous with his time, for a sincere thank you to the crew.







We walked in the sprinkly rain from the hotel to a sushi bar, w/Merrilee, Neil’s literary super-agent who came in from NYC to see the progress. A nourishing meal of fresh fish & rice, and good conversation.



This is Maddy about to eat the chocolate pig that Laika left for her in the hotel room.




Speaking of hotel,----- yesterday I rode up in the elevator 9 floors chatting away with the ever-lovin’ SHaQ! SHaquille O’Neal...in town to play w/Phoenix against Portland...
He asked me if i was from Portland, i said, no i am from where you once where....hmmmph. man, he really is tall. More photos tomorrow, i can’t download the ones i just took of the signing line, until we return to hotel. Tonight we see lots of old friends, and i am looking forward to hanging out with Nancye & William on my last night in Portland...
then off to the frozen lands. I will get my winter fix & my Quiche & MiM & Princess & Misty fixes.
xo