As Fast As You Can.

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 11:35:00 +0000

I'm currently reading The Great Gatsby.

Technically, I've been reading it for six years now. I'd start it, read a few chapters, put it down for a couple months or a year then pick it up again and start from the beginning. I'm scared to finish it because It's so good.

I've done this with a couple Dave Eggers books also but I've finished them within a couple months.

This is a habit I acquired around 8th grade because of my english teacher who would say "Don't write any papers until you've read the book twice. Each time you read, more information & key elements will catch you".

A wonderful habit though that has followed me out of school and into life and can be utilized in several different ways.

I'd keep doing this but I decided it's time I finish it. I wish I could find more books like that, that I just want to read forever. "This Side Of Paradise" is one of my favorites also by Fitzgerald. I read that in a weekend though when I was 12.

Last week I read Ecstacy by Irvine Welsh.. Umm, not good.

I really want to get my hands on "The Starseed Transmissions" by Ken Carey.

I read a lot.

4 or 5 books a month.

You should too.

I thought this was funny:

Me (12:55:58 AM): does the ----- club have a built in pull?

tine (12:56:15 AM): ahh idk

tine (12:56:33 AM): i wouldnt think so

tine (12:56:46 AM): mmm why

tine (12:56:54 AM): theres a door

tine (12:56:57 AM): near the stage

tine (12:57:01 AM): that should make it easy

Me (12:57:30 AM): nno no

Me (12:57:35 AM): like do people just walk in there to drink and hang out

tine (12:57:40 AM): ooo

Me (12:57:43 AM): lmao

tine (12:57:48 AM): hahaah

Me (12:57:50 AM): hahahaha

Me (12:57:59 AM): dude that was so funny

Anyways, Things are really really good.

Here are some pictures:

Sirene Sono Reali

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:35:00 +0000

One of my favorite videos..

It's almost the new year and I've completed all my resolutions except meet a porn star. I've lost my patience somewhere along the way, probably in Jackpot, NV. If you find it, please return it.

I'd greatly appreciate that.

I was going to write one of those deep reflective posts but when it comes down to it.. I just don't know how to convey my feelings and thoughts into words and what I've been doing lately is writing a lot of new music.. Well that's all I've been doing. I'm still overwhelmed but I can sum it up in one minor long sentence-- This year I've got to travel, see things, play venues, play with bands & musicians, meet people and do things most only dream of.

I am truely humbled and greatful but so far it's looking like 2012 will surpass 2011.

The process of things Lena Lou is in is crazy.

Here are my resolutions, I guess you can call them that?

1. Be on the road a lot more & play more cities

2. Keep better, mentally healthy, people around me because god knows some real authentic nuts have come into my life in the past year

3. Get Carvel Ice cream & Paul Sorvino tomato sauce

4. For all the health and wellness to go to the good people I love and care about.

5. For people to accept the truth easier and know that it's okay to tell the truth to others faces.

^^^^^( This one will only get worse but it's worth a spot on the list)

6. Buy more pedals

7. Become a volunteer for the Salvation Army

8. For you to watch this:

9 & 10 are becoming true as I type this.

Back in November we played this super hip 80's style arcade in Tacoma called "Dorkys" to pretty much a packed house. It was great and goes down in my memory book. They half priced alcohol while we played cause they loved us so much which made the crowd love us more. I never realized what a great scene Tacoma has; All I've ever heard about it was that it was smelly with smelly people.. I should probably stop listening to people when it comes to travelling, huh? but people were definetely out and about partying. I am going to make it a point to go down there and play more often.

Earlier this month we played our first Seattle show in 6 months and so far this one tops them all. I got to play for 2 extremely iconic individuals in the musical industry that took the time out of their insanely busy schedules to see me play. Like I said before, I am still completely in shock and honored. The place was hopping all night and I recieved texts from people all the way on the other side of town that said they had heard about it and/ or were invited down.. We shared the bill with http://www.facebook.com/SheduBand and http://www.reverbnation.com/thedinohaakcollective check bot Check them out.. They are my favorites and what I consider the prime of Seattle.. They are also some of the nicest guys around.

It was a super magical night, the stars were so aligned.. It seems like I say that with every show, but this one was really special.

When you forget ear plugs you must work with what you can find...

The Dino Haak Collective-- Singing, Playing the keyboards with his feet and rocking out on his chapman stick all at the same time.. CRAZY..

Shedu killing it!!!

Too much fun.

I should probably go to sleep now, but.. I heard this about 11 years ago and since then it's been my favorite. It still stands true and may be one of the most beneficial honest pieces of work in the world.

READ IT....

Happy New Year.

---

Wear Sunscreen

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experienceI will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years youll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you cant grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.Youre not as fat as you imagine.

Dont worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you

Sing

Dont be reckless with other peoples hearts, dont put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss

Dont waste your time on jealousy; sometimes youre ahead, sometimes youre behindthe race is long, and in the end, its only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch

Dont feel guilty if you dont know what you want to do with your lifethe most interesting people I know didnt know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds know still dont.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, youll miss them when theyre gone.

Maybe youll marry, maybe you wont, maybe youll have children, maybe you wont, maybe youll divorce at 40, maybe youll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversarywhat ever you do, dont congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either your choices are half chance, so are everybody elses. Enjoy your body, use it every way you candont be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, its the greatest instrument youll ever own..

Danceeven if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you dont follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when theyll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do youll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Dont expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

Dont mess too much with your hair, or by the time its 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than its worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen...

Thermal Tide

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 09:40:00 +0000

I haven't been able to pull myself away from my bed or Sim City 4 for about 3 weeks now since I've gotten back from California. So tired from the lack of sleep, no motivation to do anything. I also had to stop at the emergency room a few days ago due to what we thought at the time to be a appendicitus but luckily, not the case.

Everyone went their own ways down to California in the band so I went with manager Mary in her road certified spaceship. Around 4:30? PM we left Seattle. 15 minutes into being on the road I got severely nauseous and had to lay in one place until a little bit out of Portland where there was the Travel America of all Travel America's. A chapel, 3 resturaunts, Fitness & Business center, Game Room, TV room, Immaculate bathrooms completed with showers, massage chairs and a main TA store that carries the same inventory as Wal-Mart. I bought a bag of cheetos and drank some sprite and we countined on our way through Oregon listening to "Snake Charmer" by Blink-182 the whole time with no more "Im gonna puke all over's" inducing the car into a freak out.

I'm not sure people live in Oregon after you pass Eugene. It's all pitch black until California, although there is a huge Casino just hanging out there. Around 4am We were somewhere inbetween Yreka and Redding, CA sitting at a Chevron when a black van with tinted windows abruptly pulls up at the speed of light. The side doors slide open and a spanish "family" of 10 get out each wearing spanish blankets and each holding one suitcase. While the last individual was half out, the black van started to drive off and made it's way back onto I-5 at top speed with no regard for anyone else. The family sat on their luggages in the Chevron parking lot trying to figure out where they were "Where?? No englas". We got out of there and went to the nearest Pilot, slept for an hour or so and then I am really not sure. I lost all track of time here and was slipping in and out of sleeping, maybe even conciousness, while catching glimpses of burnt scenery then woke up in the backseat of the spaceship in Seaside around 1 but..

There was no more time to sleep. I had to get ready, get food, and be in San Francisco in a couple hours which was 2 hours and some minutes away. At this point I was trying to figure out how I was going to survive without dropping, live through the migraine and not let my stomach escape through my mouth like it so much wanted to do. All these factors stayed with me through the set & until I finally made it to bed. The Monterey area was really nice as were the people, saw a lot of smiles and hippies. I grabbed Carl's Jr and sat in the beach parking lot eating before heading to SF. Lucky me, the guy we were parked next to swung his door open and barfed all over the sidewalk then falls dead asleep in his car ensuing a lovely view of the ocean and puke.

We played at La Barca, an upscale bar/resturaunt in Fishermans Wharf with 2 San Francisco bands that I don't even know the names of who failed to introduce us and make or put up posters. Magoozler, transplants from Rochesta NY, who live in Seattle played also whose drummer is filling in for Lena for a hot minute. I had no idea regarding anything about this show as the bass player's friend put it together and information was not passed down. For a Thursday night there was a really kickass crowd in there and it was a really really nice place. Can't say much for the hospitality towards a touring band from the other bands, obviously. I had a lot of fun though, appreciated the show, met a lot of great people and got to hang out with my friend Cole who I've known since Childhood.

There was an agreement before the band left California that since the bass player was flying, Mary, would transport his equipment to and from the state, which Magoozler ended up doing. There was NEVER an agreement that any of us would carry it around California from show to show. He had a place to stay and we later found out he had transportation & a car to drive. Highly intoxicated BP comes out of the bar onto the SF street while I am loading the spaceship threatening about how if none of us carry his equipment there will be no shows. I say not happening and he starts yelling in the middle of the San Francisco street at us about it like he's fucking John Paul Jones or something. What a joke, I was thinking to myself "Is this really happening?". Thankfully he brought the fit back in the bar with him for another drink. If we were in Seattle or didn't have two other shows that a lot of effort was put into booking I would have fired him right there, left his equipment on the corner and drove off. I had no energy to waste my time fighting or unleash the crazy in me OR to be unprofessional in front of people, you just don't do that. I agreed to take the equipment for my selfish reasons only, decided the next two shows were his last, and said a prayer that hopefully one day he will fix his drinking problem.

Friday was spent sleeping all day until 4 hours before the show and fatigue was still killing me. I was so tired the night before that I had passed out with all my make up on and clothes. Woke up and looked in the mirror, changed my clothes, deemed the make-up was still sufficent, ran my straightener through my hair once and left for a Carl's Catch at Carl's Jr & Johnny V's in San Jose. For some reason I had this idea about San Jose from people that live there and had been there that there were stray bullets everywhere, trash rolling all over the place, and that it was just a huge ghetto. I built myself up to be on guard and expect the worst. Whenever I see and talk to those people again I am going to ask if they've ever even really been to San Jose or if they are on crack. It wasn't anything bad like that and filled with good people from the street people I encountered, like Matthew Westphal says " Even the douchebags were hella cool". When I saw homeless people they were shopping and only tried to bum cigarettes. Did I just see the nice parts? It was the first night of "Back 2 Back Rock Stax" with Granted Earth ( Male drummer, Girl bassist and guitar player who TEAR it up) and Strawberry Girls (Some of the nicest boys around with sick beats and melodies). Both bands absolutely killed it and were astonishing with some of the best stage presence I've ever seen . I felt so honored to be on a bill with them both and genuinely excited after hanging with them and seeing them. They were so nice. Johnny V's was very cool & quaint with a make your own nachos station. Our manager Mary was outside encouraging people to come in and they did. We had a nice party going. The crowd was so receptive, vocal, dancing and taking in the prettiness when they were supposed too.. and just happy. One of the best shows I've ever played and I'm sure of this because when you impress the staff and they go out of their way to tell you.. means a lot.

But of course the night can not end without a drunken spectacle in the club from the bass players best friend who setup the La Barca show acting like my personal advisor, making rude comments about how the band is ran, commenting on shit he has no idea about, verbally attacking & throwing up his middle fingers like a child. Nobody had to say anything because I'm pretty sure he looked around and realized he looked like a fool.

After that my friend Vincent, whose more like family, took off with Mary and I to find a Denny's. There was no GPS in the spaceship and Vincenzo was too loaded to remember how to use his IPhone and talking about how we really need to see each other more. We drifted onto several different highways located in San Jose and finally picked a random exit to get off of, like gambling, and agreed that if there wasn't a Dennys we were just going to settle for what was open. 3 miles down we stumbled upon one-- It was meant to be. From the outside it looked like a Denny's but on the inside it was nothing short of a nightclub. Every single patron in there was drunk, ready to party and loud. This lady who had to be about 70 ,every fiber of her being was sillicone, botox, and just pure plastic, sat in front of us with her 30 year old fabio pony-tailed boyfriend. The whole time they were eating he kept telling her how stupid she was while she smiled (maybe that was just her face?). We thought he could have been hired by her for a litty play time or she was desperado, why cant you come to your senses? I wanted to say something to him, like how big of a loser he was, but then I almost fell asleep in my food. On our way out we walked by this young extremely well dressed handsome Italian guy who was yelling " WHY DON'T YOU TRUST ME??" at a girl who was wearing only high heels, a pink corset and a cigarette yelling "I'M NOT INTO GUYS!!!!!". Somehow before we could walk off he pulled us into their conversation explaining it was his birthday, his friends dragged him to Denny's, the worlds most beautiful girl doesn't trust him, his real name is Pasquale but people call him Jason and he hates that. He then walked off and laid in the middle of the street hysterically laughing while we stood on the sidewalk yelling and screaming in horror. We actually ended up having a pretty pleasant conversation for a long while with him when he came out of the street about imported wine and random stuff. Pasquale started begging us to drive him to his "mansion that's little" and hang out with him there while he was adjusting my ruffled clothes for me. "WHO THE FUCK WANTS TO BE AT DENNY'S FOR THEIR BIRTHDAY????" he yelled in our faces. To be honest I'm pretty sure we pondered it then remembered who Ted Bundy was. He got caught up in asking some other people that were leaving in taking him home and we bolted to the car and sped off to take Vincent home.

Even though I slept all day, again, I found the last day incredibly sad because it was all more than I could have asked for; seeing old friends, meeting so many new people and laughing so hard, all the other fun experiences I failed to write about, and last but not least- Carl's Jr. I have a great home life but "friends" are toxic, I don't want to do the same shit day every day, I don't want the same stresses, I'm tired of cold rain. When I am away playing shows I forget all about everything and could continue on down the interstate without a care..

Too bad that isn't possible.

(yes, I am aware I need to move)

The last show was in Monterey at the Blue Fin Billiards. big stage, huge room, huge sound with a balcony people can chill on and watch. The music room was seperate from the pool tables & bar where it was packed. So, this is when a loud italian manager really comes in handy. People think she is to straight forward sometimes but that means they need to go on vacation more and experience the real world. Mary walked around the Billiards and encouraged everyone to come in, most did and/or walked in then back to the bar then back to us. We played to a really great and nice sized crowd. In the process I think she was more popular than us. After signing autographs or walking through the billiards to the bathroom patrons would approach me and ask where Mary was if they didn't meet her because she was " the talk of the blue fin" or they forgot to give her a hug. We have the best manager in the world. After Lena's set I took off to head home and in the process got lost in San Francisco's " The Presidio" up some heavily wooded area for 2 hours in the middle of the night. It was super creepy and the golden gate bridge was shrouded in fog. I couldn't stop thinking about the documentry "The Bridge" because there was just one car sitting there in the parking lot and that could mean someone jumped that day... Bad vibes... I did get to see more of San Francisco when we got unlost on our way to I-80. I really really wish I could have seen more, the whole ordeal made me think about investing in a GPS.

Once I press "Post" it means I am officially ready to get back into the groove. New bass player, well not new, you'll see. Show on December 3rd. New Lena Lou songs being written, maybe played, some you haven't heard in awhile will be though. Please check the links below. I miss the road, I'll see all of you who are far soon.

-The Wonderful Future

Lets take the boat out on the bay, forget your job for just one day.

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 06:00:00 +0000

All Seattle Public Library's re-opened this week after being closed for a week due to budget & salary cuts. 15 of those 26 branches are only open for 35 hours a week. Another burn to education in our city on top of a raffle deciding which kids get to go to school. I feel for the unfortunate individual all across our country (I am more than aware we aren't the only city in this country that it's happening too) who has no access to a computer at home and the library is their only means of learning; the KEY to our future which affects ALL of us. I remember being young and always motivated & eager to go to the library because it was a world of wonder that contained everything on anything for you. As technology progresses, in many ways, we regress. What the fuck, a Nook? a Kindle? Youtube? and as much as I love it, Google? As convenient as it all is, it is NOT okay for many reasons. In a couple years the library as you know it now will not exist and something like it will be a website you download from, run by a corporation, which is already happening.

Welcome to The Age of Spiritual Machines (http://www.amazon.com/Age-Spiritual-Machines-Computers-Intelligence/dp/0140282025)

RIP

There is this great place in Vancouver, WA (RIGHT on the border of Portland) that Lena Lou played a little bit over a month ago called "Shanahans". We've played A LOT of great places & shows that keep getting better and better but this place is one of my personal favorites so far. The staff welcomed us with such open arms and were so excited to see us play to a packed house. I had my own personal security guard, Ted, who made sure no one messed with me and that I recieved all my soda in a timely manner. I ate a rueben there that had perfectly sliced pastrami with homemade potato chips(supposedly most of everything there is handmade). The food made the night even better, but the crowd was amazing in so many ways and having so much fun. I love playing to people who just want to party naturally instead of me having to pull out my bag of party tricks from my back pocket. We'll be back there in almost a week, I'm real excited.

We're also gearing up for our little tour of Northern California in 3 weeks.. I've got so many people to see; Long lost friends, Internet friends, and a ton of fans. I can only imagine how much fun it's going to all be.

These past 2/3 weeks were the only time I really had to chill, relax and attempt to catch up on sleep (never happens, for whatever reason even if i'm tired).

So I went to a habeshian wedding:

went to the Honda Civic tour last week, which had Rancid, My Chemical Romance & Blink-182. http://www.facebook.com/KeepABreast was all over the ampitheatre grounds which I highly support, the whole thing was pretty cool. Travis Barker had his kids on stage with him the whole time and was raised high up above the audience on a riser and slowly swayed from side to side soloing during encore #1. I was upset they did not play "Wendy Clear" though;

Got home a couple of hours ago from hanging with my friend Aaron and we determined it's super hard to find anything to do in Seattle on a thursday night or most nights. We ate the Kushi Bar which is always good, walked around the empty deserted Pike Place Market, bought rock candy from the over priced candy store in Westlake Mall and reminisced about this photo I took several years ago in the heart of downtown Seattle:

(Yes, it's a real naked girl)

Then we walked over to Gelatiamo and got some gelatio which was pretty kickass and sat outside eating it while laughing about how everyone who walked by looked super depressed and how it's always like that in Seattle.

I want to try the Gelato cake next time.

It's a little bit after 12 am now which means it's Friday and tomorrow we are playing a festival in Cle Elum, WA. " The Autumn Moon Gathering", A ton of bands, food, camping (if you want), and hippies I imagine?

I'm stoked

and before I forget..

Please never forget..

Goodbye summer.

Summerish

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 09:34:00 +0000

Loud live music in small rooms gives me super severe ear infections.. Will I ever learn to use ear plugs? probably when I am deaf.

My new favorite word is "WHAT?".

A lot has happened this summer that was way cooler then it's about to seem or way lamer like, playing new cities and places, finding a new sound- literally, infected insect bites, antibiotic induced sicknesses, inability to sleep, working on playing guitar faster & better, meeting inspiring people, keeping my life wacko free, owing the library $14.75 for some books I didn't find the time to read ( on the road and alive: a story of the andes survivors), enjoying this wonderful summer full of overcast, and a bunch of other crap i'm forgetting to mention. Still one more month left of it.

Just in case you're wondering,

I'll be buying books from now on.

Please be nice to others.

Viva Las Vegas

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 04:35:00 +0000

( I would like to apologize for the bad grammar in advance, typing fast, I hardly even have time to type an entry out this long)

I had been slowly courting new Lena Lou boy's for awhile.They are finally here now & completely delicious at what they do. I am very happy and couldn't imagine sharing this experience below with anyone else besides Brian & Daniel, but..

I officially fucking hate long car rides and will never road trip again for more than 4 hours even though I basically travelled in a boat size van but... the total of 36 hours in the car back and forth to Nevada was worth every minute.

On the way to Reno we drove through Washington, part of Oregon cutting through mountains into California. I can't remember what mountains they were or the state road we were driving on but we ran into sleet & snow at 6,000 ft with freezing cold temp on a narrow two lane highway. Every time you curved you could look down and see a terrifying death staring at you which was so great, let me tell you. After an hour of that you come out into sunny "Welcome to California" with 70 degree weather and fruit vendors-- twilight zone. After that it's all desert with little sprouts of towns with a population of 100 every 70 or more miles.

After 12 hours we finally hit Reno ( I was driving w/ manager, the boys were together) and checked into the Sands Regency which is a crazy hotel for 2 reasons.. 22 dollars a night for a super decent hotel room with 6 resturaunts, a pool, spa, huge gambling options that takes up the whole bottom floor, etc.. Crazy because there are crack feign shady characters every where you turn in the lobby gambling which I didn't have a problem with because they minded their own buisness. Once we got settled into the hotel the whole crew went for pho and probably ate tripe. Daniel, Brian & I walked down the whole 6 blocks which they call Reno, went into the deserted Circus Circus, saw some interesting characters, a bird that couldn't fly yet, and checked out the venue we'd be playing the next night. I went back to the room and passed out until 2 hours before the show.

We played an awesome venue called " The Treehouse Lounge" that was built like a treehouse sporting upstairs crawl spaces to chill in. We met some awesome people and had a great crowd. Merkin & When Echo's Fail rocked the house and taught me a lesson in band hospitality-- always give shout out's to the band before & after you, and always stand up in front and make the party you are with too. I didn't utlize this new lesson the rest of the trip but I will from here on out. Lena's set was executed goldenly, beautifully, unsloppy & awesomely; we also had a sound man who hated sound men so he was really good at what he did. When the show was over I kept wishing I could do it all over again or at least have turned my recorder on.

ahhh.

After 7 hours of sleep we took off for the 8 hour drive through nowhere and nothing to Las Vegas. There is only 3 towns in that period (one has a really random humongous lake). The rest of the time it's army bases and giant gas stations every 200 miles with a Subway and very clean bathrooms. If you ever drive the route keep in mind, I used every one of them.

I woke up in time to see Las Vegas appearing closer and closer. I haven't felt that much joy in such a long time because I felt like my ass was broken and my legs were non-existant. During the day the stratosphere is the only thing you can see and the occasional strung out lady or fellow walking up to your car asking for money then leaning on the one next to you doing something that similiar to having a seziure.

It was a half an hour wait to check-in at the Hilton as the whole place was only a few rooms away from being completely booked out. I spent 20 minutes trying to find parking and 20 more walking from the parking garage, through the hotel, waiting for an elevator while my hair and clothes were blowing everywhere because they felt it was necessary to blast the a/c at raging speed; someone could have blown away at how vicious it was. By the time I got up to the room I was ready to drop and fall back asleep. I ended up on the 26th floor which is the highest anyone who isn't VIP can go with a view, an incredibly gnarly gorgeous view.

Lena Lou had 2 shows in Vegas, the first @ Yayo Taco with Midnight Drop & Naked Guardian who you really need to check out. We played off the floor in there in front of sliding doors with the sun setting, desert wind blowing hard inside and our hair blowing everywhere like a scene from a movie. Yes, hair blowing in the wind was very common this trip. I got us a really good verby sound in there with precise amp and drum placement. We played a solid set that I didn't record and forgot to make someone take pictures... umm... completely not with it. The workers were really cool in there though and fed us. I can't remember what I got, a pork pineapple or mango taco?? I don't know but I've been craving one ever since. We had to take off after we played to get to the next show in time and I felt extremely bad because Midnight Drop and Naked Guardian were some of the nicest guys I've met and I really wanted to see them.

I still feel bad about it.

By the time we got over to the bikini bar Fractured Vision was already over who I heard rocked. Janet's Red also rocked and packed the house for the whole night. Jupiter Crash is always great as you normally hear or heard no matter what, and Redeemer.. These dudes looked like the biggest rock stars I've ever seen who tore it up and had the look. It was great.. We had an awesome loud crowd and tore it up for them. You can watch here: www.lenalourock.com but the bass is lost in the mix and the sound is meh.. Still way cool though and again, I forgot to have someone take pictures... It was a lot of fun hanging out with everybody in the bikini bar and everyone was having more than a fabulous time. Great fucking people and I keep saying that this whole entry cause it's true. Nevada has great fucking people.

The Reno, Yayo, and Bikini Bar shows will always be my favorites and in my favorite memories.

After the show we drove the strip and you really don't know what it's like until you're in the middle of it. The flows of people having fun, nothing ever closing, and all the lights engulfing you. It's something really special and makes you ask- "am I dead? Is this real?"

It's sunday now, just so you know, and sunday was spent walking the Vegas strip and going to-- The Venetian, Fountains of Bellagio, Volcano @ The Mirage, Sirens Of Ti @ Treasure Island, etc, etc. The night ended at Fremont Street which was a real party, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

I got back to my hotel room around 1 am and decided to explore the Hilton since I had to go to the lobby to sign up for my Hilton preferred card. The whole reason why I stayed there was because it was orginally The International then became the Hilton and Elvis performed some 800+ shows in the Elvis showroom. I walked up to two really nice security guards and asked where the showroom was and they looked at me like I was crazy and said nobody was allowed in there. I must've looked like I was going to break down because one looks at the other and says "just take her in". The doors were bolted locked and all that and the moment they open you can feel the nostalgia and special prescence. The security guard took me on a grand tour of the room showing me backstage, elvis's secret passage ways up to his room, and took me on the stage (it was concreted over twice) to an orginal piece of the stage that is left. He covered everything from the history of the seats to the ceiling and more. It was a huge honor to get a tour like that, I'm still freaking out about it.

I woke up semi early to begin the 18 hour trip home and stalled at everywhere I could because I wasn't ready to leave. I'm going to miss seeing slot machines in grocery stores, free porn and laughing, no trees and the lack of rules Nevada possesses. The drive home was really sad (although Idaho is pretty beautiful) especially when we ran into rain and freezing cold, back to the same old same old. It's time for a change, It's time to move.

The wonderful future.

TO: John Harris

Tue, 10 May 2011 07:37:00 +0000

Stand Up For Kids-- A non-profit organization who helps out homeless youth invited Lena Lou to play Westlake Park to wrap up their 48 hours on the street for awareness. So many people were there, flowing & standing and we had the privlege of performing for them and I had the privelege of meeting some of the most wonderful people I have ever met.

There is a kind man out there named John Harris who took beautiful photos of Lena Lou, 1st and 2nd set. He then ran to Bartell's for one hour printing, waited, and ran back to Westlake Park with a package of photos in his hand and to give to me.

John Harris told me does not live anywhere in cyber space, but he loves walking around taking photo's with his camera. If you know John Harris, by any chance, please tell him I said "Thank you" as I don't feel mine were sufficent enough and tell him to attend a show.

There are so many more stories I want to share from that day but like; how I recieved a makeshift rose (I have recieved roses after a show but never a makeshift one) I will be keeping it forever..but I am to tired to go on.

(There are not John Harris photo's below, I still have to scan them, but these are an assortment of one's I have recieved from various people)

Slow Divers

Sat, 26 Feb 2011 04:16:00 +0000

This is my last entry for awhile because I am getting my surgery in a couple of days. I have nothing to talk about anyways, that's super cool at least.

I'm pretty excited about it (surgery) and I'm excited for the fact that I found a working torrent for " The Gift". A Jane's Addiction movie that came out in 94? that you can only buy on ebay on VHS for 104$. I'll be watching that my whole recovery along with their " Three Days" DVD.

I really like presents in food form or gift certificate form that's for a resturaunt <-- it's the italian in me.

No flowers or E-flowers, please.

;)

Can summer come any faster?

There are more tour dates located here: www.lenalourock.com

30 Seconds.. But Not To Mars.

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:30:00 +0000

What's up?

I've been suffering from a severe cause of "cannot sleep at all" lately, a cure has not and probably will not be found... ever.

I've also been trying to remove the word "like" from my vocabulary and text messages completely, this might just happen.

That's the only real new years resolution I have.

It's 2011 and Lena Lou brought it in by playing a show, then playing a show the next day, and a week later playing a show at Fuel where I dislocated my finger on stage in the middle of a set from being to beastly. I've done it before but this time I tore ligaments and according to my doctor my index finger is now hanging by a thread. I was in agonizing pain but the only reason why I felt really horrible was because we weren't able to play the rest of the set. The crowd was super into the whole dislocation & claiming we all just witnessed an epic rock moment though. I'd be stoked too if I saw someone crash out a body part on stage.

The footage and audio documentary is a bunch of greatness.

For recovery the case of "cannot sleep at all" went away and that's mostly what I did, listened to Fleetwood mac (or Lindsay Buckingham), ate, and watched The Sopranos.. So, nothing drastically different from what I normally do :) but now I'm "back" in life and ready to go to canada.. RIGHT NOW.

There is something else I want to say?

Can't remember.

Telling Stories

Sat, 11 Dec 2010 09:09:00 +0000

I recently finished the book " The Beach" by Alex Garland. When the movie came out almost 10 years ago I didn't see it because of all the shitty reviews it got but I'm glad I waited a decade and read the book first. Now if you've seen the movie and not read the book, you suck, and -- RIGHT NOW-- you need to go read the book THEN go watch the movie. It'll make a lot more sense, mean a lot more and be less suck-age. That's how it was for me. The book is definitely in my top 10 and the movie wasn't bad at all, even though now I feel the need to venture to Thailand because of it.

A few weeks ago, the week of Thanksgiving, Washington received a "huge" snow storm which was 1 inch of snow. People were abandoning their cars in the middle of roads and on the highways, I-5 was at a standstill for more than 5 hours, The airport closed, grocery stores started panicking, people were claiming their houses were buried under snow and they couldn't get out, just complete pandemonium for 1 inch. I learned the city of Seattle only owns 11 snow trucks now or something like that, silly government, so to say the least I mastered the art of shoe-skating and sliding along the road in your car since nobody sanded or plowed. 11 invisible trucks I say.

2 days after the storm we had a show (the night before thanksgiving) in Portland at the Hawthorne Theater. It was nice, clear and dry in Portland but 30 degrees. While we were loading in I saw a piece of crumbled up paper by the outlets, I usually wouldn't care but I picked it up and it turned out to be Trapt's set list from the night before. I've always liked them especially when I was younger so I thought it was crazy I got the set list by chance and not the garbage. After we loaded in our equipment we got to take awesome promo photo's with Amanda Schwinghammer which included me being wheeled down an aisle in a QFC cart: (Amandamarie-Photography.com)

There are more promo photos here as well as live shots she took--> www.facebook.com/lenalourock

After the photo session it was our turn to go on and the place was packed with-- as Doug likes to say-- " The whole 7th grade class of Portland". It was crazy for us and different since we only do 21+ but the show was pretty cool esp the stage, every venue needs to have an awesome sized stage. Guy Masson came and took live shots (www.Phoebus-Foto.com):

More live shots from Guy Masson can be found here: www.facebook.com/lenalourock

After the show the boys went drinking and I went to Del Taco because I've heard from numerous people in the past 2 years I had to try it if I was ever near one and... Del Taco IS better than Taco Bell, hands down, it doesn't taste like fast food at all but their portions are smaller.. I drove the 3 hours home almost crying because I wanted more.

I slept thanksgiving away and a few days later we played a show at Flights Pub. We love the sound man there named, Catpole. We also have a Christmas party coming up @ The Central on Dec. 23rd.

Will you be there or..

Are you coming to our amazingly awesome New Years Eve show @ The Shipwreck????

Decisions, Decisions.