new vintage for you and another horriblefest for the books

i spent the past weekend at horriblefest here in cleveland. i can't believe this fest has lasted 7 long, painful years. ha. and i am proud to report that we made it out with only minimal damage (read: some bruises and a sore foot). cleveland has a reputation (at least within this scene) of being rather rough -- something that horriblefest's attendees enjoy playing up with a sort of "anything goes" atmosphere. the fest itself is all about answering the question "what is the most ridiculous thing that can top THAT?" and everyone feeds off that. for example: what would be a ridiculous addition to the fest? a hot tub in the back parking lot. what would be more ridiculous? someone dumping dishsoap in the water. even MORE ridiculous? a bunch of tattooed dudes getting naked in said hot tub. i mean, its just nonstop like this. ALL. WEEKEND. LONG.

part of me loves it and part of me thinks, "i am either getting too old for this, or i've just been too smart for it all along." not to diss something i had a hand in (helping to organize the fest since year one, NOT lending a hand in stupid naked drunk stunts). but this year's ridiculousness included the return of the hot tub and a "drum circle" where brainwashed youth played a set with three drummers and three complete drum sets. totally unnecessary. totally horriblefest.

in the past, ridiculousness has included admission to smash a (donated) car in the back parking lot, putting one of the wildest bands of the lineup in a tiny apartment above the bar to perform their set (where i watched a kid get his front tooth knocked out), and mr. california performing his entire set while standing inside a dumpster. this is only the tip of the iceberg, believe you me. i should write a book.

here is some pictorial evidence, in the few calm moments when i could risk busting out the camera without it getting pulverized:


gary wrong group featuring mr. quintron on second drums


gary wrong


quintron's setup


miss pussycat puppet show


miss pussycat puppet show

in other news, i added some new vintage goodies to the shop today. if you haven't been to the store in a while, now's the time to check it out...i'm running a store-wide sale to try to make some money for the wedding next month, so if you enter the coupon code "WEDDINGBELLS" at checkout you will get 15% off your order! there's lots of vintage burlesque photos, records, pretty dresses and more just wasting away in my closet that needs a good home.


vintage mushroom coasters


nautical vintage nightgown


superstars of the 70s book