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The Swizzle Stick *Archive

WHAT'S NEW 8/20/2006

I'm finally getting around to updating this page!  No, we haven't vanished from the face of the Earth, we're still alive and well.  The first half of 2006 was spent by me going to school on an INSANE schedule.  For some reason I thought it was a good idea to take a class at 8:00 am on Mondays and Wednesdays knowing full well that I would have to work until midnight at Zia's on those days.  But I made my bed so I had to lie in it and to complicate matters I scheduled another class on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the afternoon.  My body was like "wtf" and I was an exhausted, stressed-out mess from January until May.  And to top things off, my best friends were getting married right when my final projects were due.  I had to push myself to get those projects done early so I could enjoy myself at the pirate-themed wedding.  And what a freaking wedding!  It was thee best wedding I've ever been to (except my own).  My last day of school was the Monday after the wedding and that night it was time to pack my bags and my Art Car to drive half way across the country to The Houston Art Car Parade. Click here to see photos from it, Don and I are in some of them!  As luck would have it, my digital camera broke right before the wedding so I had to shoot film in Houston.  Since I'm too lazy to scan the photos, other people's photos will have to do.


Houston was a whirlwind of extreme excitement and fun.  It was non-stop activity from the moment we got there until the moment we left.  We were up at about 7 am every morning and didn't stop until about 1 am.  We took our Art Cars to schools with a police escort and it was so amazing to see the children's reactions to our cars.  I was even interviewed and videoed by a 5th grader at one of the schools.  When we weren't doing Art Car activities, we were swimming at Rebecca's pool or going to a party, or playing Scrabble.  We strung lights all around my car to participate in the Illuminated Cruise and drank many mimosas at the Sunday Awards Brunch in sticky Houston heat.  A huge thunder storm rolled in and cancelled our plans to swim one last time at the pool, but it cooled things off imensely and we hung out with Mr. Doctor Professor as we waited for the rain to stop.  He is such an interesting man, and won an award for his car.  I bought a ring made out of a silver spoon from him.  Shelley and Kirk were our wonderful hosts for the weekend and their Art Cars were inspiring.  Kirk has a Jesus Christ Monkey Car and Shelley has an M Peach Bush Car.  I got to help Kirk paint one of his Jesus statues the first day there and everything was groovy.  I can't go into every detail of the weekend, but  the parade was amazing with over 200,000 spectators and H.A.C.K. and The Orange Show Museum treated us artists royally.  I felt like a star as I was being photographed numerous times throughout the weekend by many strangers and my pink hair seemed to be more of hit than my car sometimes!  One more significant detail from that trip was that I got hired at a new job and quit Zia's in the middle of all the activities which made things a bit surreal.


Once back in Tucson, via Bisbee as our friend Kate had come along for the ride, I was finally free to do whatever I wanted.  It took a few days to get over the post-parade depression that inevitably sets in, but then I was good to go and ready to let my creativity take me in any direction.  But not before having my best friend visit me from Philly for a week for my birthday.  Now, I had a new job that I can walk to, that's Monday through Friday, no weekends, more money than Zia's and I didn't have to deal with the stupid public anymore.  I'm a secretary for a stock broker and he treats me civilly unlike the manager at Zia's.  The stress of the beginning of the year was coming off of me like a dying star ejecting it's gaseous shell.  I joined The Black Cherry Burlesque Troupe here in Tucson and started on creating my routine and costume.  I came up with a "Hana Lulu" act where I stripped out of a vintage Hawaiian dress down to coconuts and a grass skirt.  Eventually, those come off too and I'm in a bikini and palm tree pasties that I made myself out of rhinestones.  My debut was August 1st at The Surly Wench Pub and my finale was to be August 5th.  The show went so well that I exclaimed after my first peformance that it was like jumping out of an airplane for the first time!  I had a lot of fun, but was glad it was over as I discovered that I'd rather spend my free time drawing than making pasties and choreographing.  However, I was asked to perform with Scandalesque in Phoenix and so now Hana Lulu will make another appearance at The Paper Heart Gallery in Phoenix, Friday, September 8th.  I also found out that Madame Inga Kaboom, the founder of Black Cherry, wants an encore peformance of our August shows the end of September, so you will have one more chance to see Hana Lulu in Tucson at The Surly Wench.  I do have a myspace page at www.myspace.com/leiyou.  Check it out and be my friend!       


With my awesome new schedule, Don and I are able to actually do things together and we've been going to the new Fox Theater downtown to see old movies on the big screen.  It has been a lot of fun so far.  They serve beer and wine and the movies we've chose to see have been excellent.  My favorites have been "Planet of The Apes" (the original), "Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid" and "The Maltese Falcon".  Live music has been scarce especially with The Riverboat Gamblers cancelling their Tucson show due to their van breaking down.   But we've still been keeping busy with Roller Derby and I was a model in my friend's fashion show, which happened to be the Saturday before I was to make my debut as a burlesque peformer!  We did get to see Band of Horses at Club Congress and they were all right. 


What does the future hold for The Bombshelters?  Wiggin' Out is going back on the air after taking a hiatus from last season and our first show is Wednesday, September 13th at 7 pm on Cox Channel 98/Comcast 73.  Will be on every other Wednesday until March.  Whiskey Bitch is having a reunion show September 2nd at The Surly Wench and we are going to be DJ'ing between bands.  Hotel Congress is celebrating it's 21st Birthday that weekend too with 3 days of live music.  Then it's The Tucson Roller Derby Championship Game on September 16th and The Bombshelters will be DJ'ing that as well.  October 3rd I'm off to Phoenix to see Roger Waters and Don will be staying in Tucson to see check out The Horror Pops with Charley Horse opening at Club Congress, that's going to be a good show.  November we're off to London for our 5th Wedding Anniversary (we were too busy in May to go) for 2 whole weeks and then whadda ya know, it's the holidays! 


I'm only taking one non-credit class this fall, so school will be no where near as stressful as the beginning of the year.  I hope to return to a full-credit class in Spring '07.  I'm studying painting and hopefully by this time next year, I will have several paintings to show.  As always, there is more info on our MySpace page www.myspace.com/wigginout. 


Aloha! The Bombshelters


P.S.  I totally forgot that we flew to Aspen in March to honor one of my heroes, Hunter S. Thompson.  We had a blast visiting Woody Creek where he used to live and made many friends there.  The Woody Creek Tavern is one of the best I've ever been in and there's even a Wiggin' Out with The Bombshelters sticker behind the bar now.  Aspen was very hoighty toighty, but Woody Creek stole my heart and I soaked up all the Hunter vibe I could.  We will definitely go back again.

What's New 11/29/05

Well I was trying to update the website with Go Live but I haven't quite smoothed out the bumps, so if this page is blinking, I apologize because Contribute won't let me edit HTML.  Anyhoo, we've been living our usual go-go Bombshelter lifestlye.  I got the final clear coat on my art car on August 6th and was in my first art car parade in Bisbee in September with Kathleen Pearson and Gretchen.  So here it is, Bottle of Doom, the Collagemobile:


With that major project virtually behind me, we also had new floors and carpet installed right before running off to Maui for 11 days in October.  But...there were also some rock 'n roll moments in between all of it.  Jeff Dahl's 50th birthday party at Hollywood Alley in Phoenix was one of them.  What a night, good thing someone was filming that!  I got to dance on stage with Deni while Whiskey Bitch performed their last show.  Les Hell on Heels did an amazing set that included Texas Terri doing a Dead Boys cover.  Jeff Dahl joined in on the fun himself and even did a few Angry Samoans' numbers one of which is a favorite of mine, "You Stupid Asshole".  That was definitely a highlight in my life.  The Daggers kept it going and Texas Terri finished us off.  Quite a night.  Happy freakin' birthday, Jeff!

We did a double shot one weekend by going to see Louis XIV at Club Congress on a Thursday and then The Von Bondies the next night at the same place.  Tucson's Sweat Band opened the show and they made a huge first impression on me, they were hypnotizing.  The Von Bodies stole the weekend though and we danced all night while Marcie from the Bondies DJ'd excellent tunes after their set. 


We have also attended almost every Tucson Roller Derby match and our girls are better than ever.  Watch out for The Vice Squad folks.  We even got to DJ the championship match and we'll be DJ'ing the upcoming Wheelie Awards Ceremony in a few weeks.  Check out www.tucsonrollerderby.com for more info.


Let's not forget Hotel Congress' 20th Anniversary Party, September 2nd through the 4th, that we were only able to do 2 out of the 3 nights.  We went to the premier of "High and Dry", a documentary on the Tucson music scene since the 80's, at The Loft.  Then we went to see bands Friday and Saturday night.  It was an amazing reunion and I saw some great bands that were around before I moved here. 


At the end of September we drove to L.A. for The Streetwalkin' Cheetahs reunion show at The Knitting Factory with Ladykillers and Electric Frankenstein.  I got to sight-see on Hollywood Blvd., which I've never done out of the many times I've been to L.A.  Then we hung out with The Cheetahs at Hooters before getting into my wedding dress to rock out at the show.  It was another highlight in my life and The Cheetahs were so amazing.  They even gave us a shout out.  The next morning we drove to Magic Mountain and found out that riding 16 roller coasters does, in fact, cure a hang over.  After riding coasters all day, we worked up an appetite and went back to Hollywood to have dinner at a very fancy bowling alley on Highland Ave.  We were drinking beer waiting for our dinners when Don pointed out that James Woods was sitting next to me.  He was with some very young woman.  We ate our dinner and I discovered there was karaoke in the next room, so of course I had to go.  There wasn't a lot of people there so I got to sing 2 songs, "Special" by Garbage and "Take It Off" by The Donnas, which Don said that James Woods and his date watched me sing before leaving.


And yet another highlight in my great rock 'n roll memories was The Black Halos in Phoenix at The Mardi Gras Club.  I had to sit through some bands that were kind of crappy, but when The Halos showed up, I started to have my fun.  I talked to Adam a bit then said hi to Billy, who gave me a big hug.  When they finally went on stage, I was so worked up I just went crazy and danced my ass off.  I guess Billy appreciated this because he jumped off the stage and got down on his knees in front of me and started singing into my crotch.  That doesn't happen every day.


So with that, we packed our bags the following week and flew off to Maui for 11 days where we explored Moloka'i, hiked to a waterfall, drove on tiny highways with breathtaking views and learned how to surf.  I even got to karaoke in Kihei!  The Friday after we got home, we were back to our rock ways and went to see The Voodoo Organist at Plush.  He was great as usual and next time he promised to come back with a full band; can't wait.




Oh and let's not forget Halloween night at Plush with The Sweat Band, The Reigning Sound and The Detroit Cobras.  I think I'll just leave it at that, you can imagine what that line up sounded like, fucking awesome.


I went to see Wayne Newton with Jenna, Carl, Debbie and Laura at The AVA Amphitheater and all I can say is it was awesome, cheesey and weird all at the same time.  I even bought a souvenir collector's spoon with his picture on it!


Phew, that was a lot.  It seems pretty quiet as we head into the Christmas season.  Don't forget WIGGIN' OUT WITH THE BOMBSHELTERS every other Thursday on Cox Cable Channel 98/Comcast 73 at 9:00 pm (next show December 1st).  We are on My Space, which I update more regularly:  http://www.myspace.com/wigginout.   An upcoming can't-miss show on my list is The Sex Slaves at The Surly Wench Pub on Friday, December 9th.  Hope to see you there and have a ROCKIN' AND ROLLIN' Holiday!

-The Bombshelters

What's New July 21, 2005

The excellent stuff we did in the last 3 months:

The excellent stuff that is coming up:


The Streetwalking Cheetah's are having a reunion show in September and if you remember, they helped Mr. Bombshelter propose to me so we will be running off to L.A. for that of course.  Hopefully we'll have bamboo floors in by then because we will be going to Maui in October and the next thing you know it's holiday time! 


My art car is almost finished and there will be an unveiling party sometime in August.  Check back for the photos!  Hope you're having a swanky summer and keeping cool.  It's sweltering here in the desert and the monsoons have been few and far between but at least we both work in air-conditioned environments and don't have to deal with it too much.  Ok for now, don't forget on August 20th Hunter's ashes will be shot out of a gonzo cannon, by Johnny Depp himself, onto his property in Woody Creek, Colorado!  We will be memorializing in our own way.  Cheers!


-The Bombshelters

What's New 4/3/05

Yes, I know. it's been a while.  How the hell are you?  We've been going at our normal Bombshelter pace for the last 2 and a half months.  Let's see, where to begin.....um, The Voodoo Organist at Plush.  Of course he was excellent as usual and there was a nice crowd out to see him.  We had to cut our stay short as we were getting up early the next day to drive to Vegas to see The Backyard Babies open for Social Distortion at The Hard Rock Hotel.  I made a melmac plate especially for Nicke and I hoped to give it to him that night.  The security was ridiculous and they wouldn't let me in with the plate because they said I could throw it at them.  I was like, "I love them, I don't want to hurt them, I just want to give it to them", but they made me check it in at the coat check and I figured I could just go get it when I see Nicke.  The show was so good and even Social D sounded awesome.  The Babies never came out so I didn't get to give the plate away, but that was ok because they were coming to Tucson in a month anyway.  The Joint at The Hard Rock is a cool place, it only holds about 2000 people and the sound is very good in there.  The next day we geeked out at The Star Trek Experience at The Hilton. 


February 19th was the first Roller Derby match of the season and we were the DJ's.  The Furious Truck Stop Waitresses served up some justice to The Vice Squad and cashed in on a victory.  Check out www.tucsonrollerderby.com for more info about the rest of the season. 


February 21st, I went to The Riverboat Gamblers at Plush solo because Mr. B was deep into a major project at work.  They kicked some major rock 'n roll ass!  I will never get tired of seeing them.  They are really a nice bunch of guys and I wound up buying beers for all 5 of them.  Byran, their "manager", is my bud. 


The following Friday, me, Jenna & Juliet went to The Vagina Monologues at Club Congress.  I was pleasantly surprised at how entertaining it was and we laughed and cried at some of the performances. 


March 12th we headed down to Patagonia to see Al Perry at La Mision de San Miguel.  There were several mishaps, but we had fun dancing to Al during his short set, then we went to The Stage Stop Saloon and played the jukebox until we couldn't party no more. 


Then, the moment of all moments....The Backyard Babies played at Coconuts right here in fucking Tucson!  This time the security let me in with the plate.  The show was amazing and I was getting the crowd riled up around me by singing every word to every song and hootin' and hollerin'.  The Babies are just so tight, this was my 5th time seeing them and they are always right on.   We waited at the back bar after their set, until finally Johan appeared at the merch table.  I went over to him and showed him my tattoo which he took a picture of.  I also made a copy of the page of The Ziazine when I was the featured employee and put my favorite band as The Backyard Babies, and gave that to him.  He told me Nicke and Dregen were going to be doing a couple of songs with Social D, so we came out of the bar to watch that.  After waiting some more, Nicke showed up at the merch table and we went over there and waited for another fan talking to him to finish.  I was so excited I wanted to explode.  When it was my turn, I told him we met in L.A. before when I gave him the song I wrote.  He said he thought I looked familiar.  Then I gave him the plate and he was like, "you made this?  I'll eat my breakfast off of it tomorrow".  I said, "fine, just don't put it in the microwave".  I also made him a compilation CD and he recognized The Dictators' "Pussy and Money", which he said he liked.  With his accent, Dictators came out kind of funny.  I showed him my tattoo and he was like, "you should show Johan" and I told him I already did that.  I told him I memorized some Swedish for him and I tried it out.  Apparently, my pronunciation was a little off and he didn't understand all of what I said, so I said it in English.  I don't exactly remember what happened after this because I was overly ecstatic, but I thought he told me about his girlfriend and pointed her out, but Don says he doesn't remember that at all.  I think I might have dreamt that part, but whatever.  I do remember the big hug he gave me before we said goodbye and I was teary-eyed as we walked  to the car.  He was just so NICE. 


That weekend we were back in Bisbee to see the new incarnation of Buzz and The Soulsenders at St. Elmo's.  We were supposed to stay in a trailer at Shady Dell, but we got upgraded to the yacht at no extra cost, so we had a great weekend. 


On March 22nd, The Gore Gore Girls, The 45's and Shonen Knife played an amazing night at Plush.  All 3 bands were great, but The 45's stole the show for me.  They were just so damn good.  Shonen Knife had a new drummer who was the cutest little thing ever.  She looked about 18 years old and drumming like she'd been doing it since she was born.  A great night for everybody.


Last night George Huffman had his opening for his new series of paintings at 3 Falk Gallery on 4th Avenue.  Don & I DJ'd the afterparty at The Surly Wench and I'm feeling the pain this morning from the fun last night.  It was a good night for friends, art and music.


Upcoming fun:


Also, "Wiggin' Out with The Bombshelters" has switched channels, we are now on channel 98 every other Wednesday at 9:30pm, next show is May 25th.

Well, that's it for now, klippa och rolla!

-Bombshelter