Sunday, September 7, 2008

DIARIES FROM THE (wrong side of the) ROAD part II


Yesterday was another day that was so exciting, my feetsies were left aching and my forearms feel like Popeye's (the cartoon character, not the chicken place) from carrying my guitar case all over the place.

The morning started early with a car arriving to pick me up and carry me off to the BBC to be on a fun radio show called "Loose Ends" featuring some really interesting acts and performers, many of them comedic. The show facilitator, Clive Anderson is known for his work on "Who's Line Is It, Anyway?" as well as for being a comedy writer and clever bastard in general. Show highlights for me included chatting with Robin Ince, a show interviewer and famous, funny comedian, who I've known of for years and have seen perform several times but haven't gotten to meet yet.

He was very nice and made me feel a little star struck. I didn't even try to be funny around him because I knew I'd just end up sounding like a psychotic blabbering turd, so I just tried to let him do most of the talking.



But he was very sweet and unpretentious, as were all the people on the show.

I also really enjoyed a band from Brooklyn, NY who were also on the show, called Clare & The Reasons. They were dressed all in red and sang a song about Pluto's planetary title being revoked. It was the kind of music that might be the backdrop in a scene in a movie where someone is take a soothing bath.

Afterwards, we went to some pub where there was a bucket of nachos, a bunch of olives and some mini vegetable samosas, had a pint and all got to chit chat.

Later that evening, I played at an awesome joint called Duckie in Battersea to a sweaty, vast mass of gay gentlemen, possibly some straight men as well, perhaps a dozen lesbians as well as a handful of people who were probably lost. The show host, Amy Lame is something of a celebrity here in the UK for her work on radio and as a journalist and is performing on a reality show right now called "Celeb Air" where she is seeing what it's like to work as an airline hostess / celebrity. Also on the show were Bearlesque, a bunch of jolly, silly, rotund gentlemen who got semi-nude for the screaming gay crowd's viewing pleasure. Fred Bear led them in their escapades. Duckie was awesome and exhausting and I loved every second of it. The audience there made me remember why I ever got into this wacky business in the first place.

This is a beautiful park that is very near the place I'm staying in Hackney. It made me feel like a witch woman from the 1970s.



Tonight I'm playing at Cross King's Bar, David Goo's show. He has a silly name and he is an awesome musician, and not bad looking either, laaaa-diessss.

Tomorrow is opening night of my Soho Theatre show. I would be lying if I didn't say I was a little nervous.

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