kimmy (and joey)...

i couldn't go to the secret green day shows in the bay area last week...but that's ok--i got something special anyway--                    

kimmy and her husband joey and i spent a very, very excruciatingly hot day in oakland last year waiting to see the foxboro hot tubs--      

she went to two shows last week!                            

                                                                                                            

and, in the midst of all the chaos, she still found time to get and mail me one of the cool 'playbill' like programs from the fox theater show: it has the lyrics to all the songs on the band's new cd, 21st century breakdown--                                                                                         

i read them all...they make me happy                                      

(i really like kimmy)                                                                            

thank you kimmy (and joey)~                                                                   

                                              

                                                                                  

kat

kat deserved to sing onstage with green day last week at one of their secret shows in the bay area. why? because she is a front-row specialist, a superfan and a wild free spirit. i should know: cat and her friends have grabbed me into one or more mosh pits at one or more of the band's shows in the past year...

last year at a foxboro hot tubs' show in rodeo, california, i was almost bumped out of my ring-side stance by an obnoxious girl who tried moving in front of me by flirting with the guy to my left--      

however, who was i behind? kat. so i whispered in her ear, 'pull me in front of this girl.' 

she did...
*******

i once heeard tell that the band let a fan sing on stage with them during a show; all he had to do was jump from his balcony seat and surf his way up--that's what kat has done-- 

hi kat!

(the above is kat in her usual spot, dead-center...she's the one with the red-streaked hair...and i was buried somewhere beneath her left side~)

before the lobotomy...

lucky for us, billie joe armstrong isn't afraid to use the sweetness in his voice~                                                                                     

troubled times...

holy shit...i never thought that being poor, unemployed and desperate would ever be in vogue --                                                        

i feel like such a trend setter~                                                                  

enlightenment...

you can survive on anger, you can survive on love,

however a combo is preferable...                                                                     

i got the combo pack, so quit honking, i'm just waitin' on my fries~              

dr. michael zola is a good man...

if you need a dentist in los angeles, he's the one--                                                            

i have no money and have to file for bankruptcy; (whatever, i'm dealing with it). because of this, he saw me for free today...saw me for free and took an x-ray for free just to make sure everything was going to hold up for a while--

(plus, he's got these really cool machines like the one where you can see your x-ray right after they take it...and he's very supportive if you have crappy teeth...the first time he looked in my mouth he said, "huh, maybe you could teach me a thing or two!")                          

thanks dr. zola~niki                                                                                        

the green day authority

see this guy next to me...it's andres martinez.                                                                         

andres runs the best green day site on the web, and that includes the warner bros.' (sorry, but it's true)...                                                                                             

we met for the first time this past week at the opening of john roeker's brilliant film, heart like a hand grenade. i have a soft-spot in my heart for andres because he helped me with something big time--                 

gda, as it is affectionately known, gets info about the band way before it hits the public; so much so that i asked andres once if they had a pipeline up green day's ass...                                                                                                          

thanks to the green day authority for doing whatever the hell it is you do...love~niki                                                                               

'shhhhhh...' (heart like a hand grenade)

the secrecy surrounding the premier of the new green day documentary, heart like a hand grenade, was brilliant; i'm telling you, you couldn't find anything about it anywhere, anywhere! (and i hate using exclamation points!!)                                                                     

well, that's not exactly true. but with these guys, miss one webcast and you're out on your ass!                                                                  

heart like a hand grenade is astounding in its ability to show the creative process from the raw twinkling of an idea to a polished gem. in other words, if you want to see what was going on in billie, mike and tre's minds when they were coming up with the licks you hear on the album, it's all there...you see every song on american idiot and the concept of the entire album constructed right before your eyes!!!                                                                                          

filmmaker john roecker followed the band around while they were in the process of recording american idiot and his film is funny, unassuming and visually, weird; weird good, not weird bad. for instance, the mod dance sequence to holiday (i think it was holiday, i didn't write it down, shit!)...it's a hard day's night hallucination. and that's not the only beatles' reference, which always makes me happy...                

the secrecy of the venue worked. the egyptian theater, an old hollywood movie palace, wasn't overcrowded or loud; it was beautiful and comfortable. 

and how about this, the whole show was free! free!! with t-shirts and posters, also free!!                                    

roecker shot hundreds of hours of film then, collaborating with a genius editor, dean gonzalez, morphed the images into a time-lapse symphony of the best, strangest and possibly smelliest moments of billie joe armstrong, mike dirnt and tre cool in and out of the studio as they hatched american idiot.  (also included is footage of the debut performance of the album at the henry fonda theater in 2004)              

plus, there's nudity! (!!)                                    

with the help of some green day travelin' fans, beth, diane, j'net, cheryl, andres and mark, i got into the theater--(i didn't know you had to be on a list!). my grammar is all fucked up!!!!

thank the flowers and the trees that john roecker and green day had the foreskin to know that the making of american idiot needed to be captured for the silver screen~(just wanted to see if you were paying attention!!!)              

*****************************************

                                                   +

                
                                                                                                              

the ol' three stooges bait and switch...

i know...every three stooges fan has the same complaint--so what? i can still say, I'M SICK OF STOOGES COMPILATIONS THAT PROMISE CURLY AND DELIVER SHEMP!! (ah~)                                

"Dalai Lama Harshly Condemns China Over Tibet"

FREE TIBET

i'm out there and loving every minute of it...

i think i shall hit some open mics in los angeles now that i can walk and play and sing, again...                                                    

at least no one can tell me to keep my day job cause i don't have one~

peter tork

i heard peter tork has a rare form of cancer...he was my favorite--(get well soon~)                                                                                               

mistakes...

are the hardest things to admit, to learn from and to forget while waiting for the wisdom that comes~                                     

"the air is humming cause something great is coming..."*

march 25th l.a. 

*stephen sondheim                                                                                         

kindness...

it was pouring down rain in los angeles today and i was caught without an umbrella -- walking along santa monica boulevard, l.a. weekly newspaper over my head, some man stopped his car, leaned over the passenger seat and handed me an umbrella~

(thank you...)                                                                                                                               

quote...

                                                                                                                                       lenin -- mickey -- jesus                                                

"there's nothing more spiritual than rock 'n' roll..." 

                                                                                             

luck

i found this laminated four-leaf-clover when i was about 10...

walking through the grass at valley mill day-camp, i decided to see if i could find one...i did~                                                                                

the underground railroad to candyland

i love these guys because they can be silly and still rock their asses off  --                                                                                     

and what do i mean by silly? i mean, a bass player/drummer in a duck mask, a guitar player in a bright red raggedy andy wig wrapped in a blue headband and a lead singer who loves his sunglasses and the floor!                                                                                                            

since i smashed my back, it's not good for me to move too strenously...but it's impossible not to when they start playing because they just fucking rock...                                                                             

i went to see them last night at the troubador in los angeles: to make it through i held onto the wall and then did whatever spastic movement i could manage...                                                              

can't wait til the next show and thank you thank you for the free pass~