overheard at horriblefest 6

jophetamine to mr. california, during cauliflower ass and bob's set: good thing we went first...there's no way we woulda been able to follow this!

*****

me to the singer of cola freaks: hey, good show!
mads: hey thanks..haven't we met before?
me: yeah...the last time you were here and you pinned me against the wall, wanting to take my life.
mads: oh yeah, that did happen! isn't your name erin? and you have a radio show?

*****

_____'s bass player: they have free bowling and shoes.
_____'s singer: fuck yeah! that's fucking awesome!
_____'s bass player: really? i didn't know you were so excited about bowling.
_____'s singer: oh. i thought you said free BLOW and shoes.

*****

timmy vulgar, holding up a smashed beer can after flyin' trichecos set: slamdance beer! hey paul, look! this beer can got SLAMDANCED! it's SLAMDANCE BEER!!!!!

*****
mc tony: why are you huffing my shirt? silly girls! no, you can't huff it, it's deodorant!
julia: if we can't huff it, FUCK IT!!!

*****

oh, life

life has been really overwhelming and stressful lately. so much so that i'd rather just put a pillow over my head and forget its even happening. to keep lookin on the bright side, i thought i would highlight a bunch of awesome things that are coming up in the next month or so. as long as i stay busy hopefully i won't think about how dumb things are sometimes.

horriblefest makes its 6th return to cleveland next week and i'm soo not ready for it -- honestly, i haven't been ready for it all year long, which is why i had next to nothing to do with the planning of it this year. partially because of that i'm not as excited as i have been in the past, but i am looking forward to seeing some friends coming in from out of town and i'm sure it will end up being a hilarious disaster like it always is.


artwork by friend and fellow blogger ben of hoarder of awesome!

the following week josh and i are skipping town to celebrate our 3-year anniversary a bit early. we'll catch a rock'n'roll show, hit up some record stores, and most importantly, finally meet one of my nearest and dearest internet/blogger friends diane of wouldn't you like to see something strange? SO EXCITING! oh yeah, i guess it's kinda cool that we'll be going to see cheap time/guitar wolf as well ; )





then as soon as we get back from our rock'n'roll getaway we'll be kickin it up on our own turf with installment #2 of SHAKE IT UP AND MOVE! we'll have live bands, djs (including yours truly!) and the usual mayhem. and the best part is that its all FREEEEEE.



the night after shake it up and move, the spits are playing in town. good god, i hope i survive that week.



next month the new bomb turks are doing a few reunion shows, including one here in cleveland. haven't seen them since the free show they did at the rock hall a few years back where eric davidson tried to pop my collar while he was on stage and he succeeded in popping a few buttons off the front of my shirt. oops. he's such a grabby guy. i know lacey will back me up on this one.



then, while eric is still in town, he's gonna run on over to now that's class to read some excerpts from his new book entitled, "we never learn: the gunk punk undergut, 1988-2001." he's also got a dvd to show featuring some of the 90s garage punk bands he talks about in his book. then the two of us are gonna play records like there's no tomorrow and just when you thought it couldn't get any better the struttin cocks are gonna play a live set and send you home to your mama.




***you're wondering when this is ever gonna end, aren't you??? sorry, bub, a rock'n'roller's work is never really done***

i just got the WONDERFULLY EXCITING news that i'll be dj'ing with r&b legend ANDRE "MR. RHYTHM" WILLIAMS at the end of june. you may know him from such hits as "jailbait" and "bacon fat." or maybe you know him for writing the song "shake a tail feather" done by such class acts as james and bobby purify and the five du-tones. or maybe you know him for giving the comedic legend red foxx his nickname. regardless, this man is a living legend and if you can't make it out to see one of his live shows you might as well just jump off a pier. i can't believe i get to dj a show with him -- this is definitely the highlight of my 7-year hot trash dj'ing career!!!













and to wrap up june, i'll be heading to columbus with my dearest girls to see our favorite band in the whole world...THE MONKEES! its their 45th anniversary tour and there's still no mike in the mix, but i'll settle for seeing micky, peter and davy one more time. we've seen the three of them at least 3 other times, plus seeing peter solo three times, micky solo once and davy and micky together once.  i love those boys TO DEATH!





i might cry when i see the monkees this time. probably will.

15% off sale at FRENZY!

as a thank you for making 100 sales, FRENZY! is having its first sale! simply enter the coupon code "FRENZYFIRST" at checkout and you will receive 15% off your entire purchase!

i could really use some extra dollars these days, so go crazy :)

thanks for all your support since opening the shop!!

old-timey burlesque love (warning: partial yet tasteful nudity!)

knowing my love for all things old-timey, risque and on the fringe of society, it should come as no surprise that i have a sincere appreciation for vintage pinup and burlesque. i love the fact that they were doing such a controversial thing at a time when mainstream culture was ambivalent to such casual attitudes about sexuality. to me, that's what made it so exciting then and not so much now. i will never claim to be an expert on the subject, OR even very knowledgeable, but i do love to learn about it and enjoy it a great deal. just like discovering great old music i never knew existed, i feel like the history of burlesque is an untapped resource that i have yet to fully explore.

this isn't a subject i broach very often, lest i be lumped in with the "burlesque revival" crowd that often seems silly to me. i'm sure i'm going to catch some flak for this, but i would like to warn anyone who might be offended right now that there is no need for that because i am not pointing fingers at anyone in particular. no offense if this is your thing, because it certainly isn't everyone i'm referring to, but a majority of what is now being presented in the name of "burlesque" seems trite and trashy to me -- which is a shame, because it could be so well done when done right. i hate that it has now become an avenue for insecure girls to say, "i have so much more confidence now thanks to burlesque!" when really they are mixing up "self-esteem" with "attention from sleazy guys because you took your clothes off." but i digress.

perhaps you remember a blog entry i did a few years ago about the older woman i worked with who had a secret past as a burlesque star. i haven't talked to her much since leaving that job, but i still think about her often and am dying to see the scrapbooks she kept from her days in the circuit.

the reason i brought up this subject was because i got something cool in the mail today. it's an original vintage photo of burlesque star/model/performer lynne o'neill. she was known as "the original garter girl" because of the way she incorporated throwing her garters out to the audience during her stage shows. the photo is censored because i may be in mixed company here on blogland, but the real deal is the real deal!



i found it to be a pretty neat piece of history (plus i'm obsessed with old photographs) and it was even better because it was very fairly priced for an item that isn't all that common in the marketplace (that being authentic artifacts from big names in burlesque's heyday). i can't wait to frame it and hang it up.

wanting to know just how i came across such a good deal, i began searching around to find out what i could about the sale where this particular photo came from and i learned that lynne o'neill died in 2010 and there was a huge estate sale to liquidate all her possessions. what a dream to have been able to attend that estate sale! here is one of the articles i found online talking about the estate sale and some of the items that were for sale.

i recently had a conversation about burlesque with my friend bryan where he shared one of his favorites, an often overlooked performer from right here in youngstown, ohio that went by the name zorita. her signature act was a snake dance she did with her two boas, "oscar" and "elmer." personally i think the best part about her was the hot lily munster 'do she had going on (waaay before it was cool!)



as for pinup art, my favorite artist has always been gil elvgren. here are a few of my ultimate faves.







feel free to share your opinions on the subjects discussed here, because it seems everyone has one!

buggin out

josh and i have been talking lately and came to the conclusion that we really need to cut back on our spending habits and start saving a bit better. this is especially hard for me, because if i go too long without a junkin fix i start to get the jitters like i drank sixty pots of coffee. i gots it baaad, and its a hard habit to break. i'm sure some of you junk hoarders out there can relate.

but before we started curbing our junk trips i managed to score these sweet record compilations all in one place. sure i paid more than i wanted to on a junking adventure, but do i regret it in retrospect? NOT ONE BIT!















so what does all this mumbo jumbo mean? well, chances are you can expect less cool stuff being posted and more of us acting like mature adults. YUCKY!!!!! i'm blowing raspberries as i type.

busy miss lizzie

PHEW! things have been crazy 'round hotel hot trash lately. today we'll welcome house guests #7, 8 and 9 all within the past week! they don't call this hotel hot trash for nuthin. maybe, baby from washington, d.c. was here last week to play on hot trash and we hung out and ate pizza til thursday. this weekend the memphis morticians pajama partied it up (for real, von erickson had the best orange halloween pajama pants you've ever seen!) and we took them to our favorite diner in the morning before they left to head back to new york. tonite the overnight lows from jackson, mississippi will be playing live on hot trash (tune in if you are around tonite from 11pm-1am est! at www.wcsb.org)







last week i also got my first tattoo in years. welcome to my life, #17! its been a long time coming and it turned out pretty sweet.








 

obsessed? who, me? naaaaaaaah.

if you like silly stories, i have good news for you:

time for a new blog!

THE LIST BY BETH AND ERIN!

started a new blog with my cousin beth. ever since 1994 (when we were 12) we've been keeping a list of everything we thought was funny: quotes, people, stories, etc.

it was always a huge secret and no one was allowed to see it, but those close to us knew it existed and it was some sort of status symbol to be added to "the list" by something you did or said.

we decided the time has finally come to share the funny with the rest of the world. please feel free to check out the blog and become a follower. we will be posting new stories, quotes, photos and goodness knows what else ALL THE TIME!

boy do i love a good sidesplitter!



beth and i, making a music video to "slam" by onyx

inside hotel hot trash: extra extra extra cheese

yesterday, josh made me the happiest girl in the whole wide world. the reason, you ask? A GIANT F'IN CHEESEBURGER.

the back story is best explained in an excerpt from a blog entry i did on april 3rd 2010, almost exactly one year ago: "i have a chip on my shoulder and i need to vent. this morning josh and i went to a garage sale where i saw a craigslist post saying they had a giant plastic mayor mccheese for sale. I KNEW THAT GIANT CHEESEBURGER NEEDED TO BE MINE! i figured the chances of making it mine would probably fairly good, seeing as how there aren't that many crazy people like me who would want a giant plastic cheeseburger in their house. i was even picking out where to put it in my mind. we got to the place and i spotted it on a table and i thought to myself, "damn! i knew it! it was meant to be! just sittin here, waiting for me..." then i walked up to it and noticed that dude had put a $650 price tag on it. he explained it was because it was "so rare." GEEZ! if only i had the foresight to steal a plastic cheeseburger out of a mcdonalds playground back in the eighties!"

cut to present day and THIS is what josh came home with yesterday!!!



it started when i brought up the $600 cheeseburger that was not to be. i said something about it to josh's friend travis, who had spent the nite. josh overheard our conversation and admitted, "oh yeah, i forgot to tell you! i saw one at an antique store a few weeks ago!" i about strangled him! when i asked why he didn't get it for me immediately knowing how bad i wanted one, his response was that it was too expensive at $180. GAH!

i said, "holy crap, i have that in my wallet RIGHT NOW! go get it!" and i sent him off with my fingers crossed while i had to leave for work. i didn't know how i would concentrate at work all day with the suspense, wondering if someone had gotten to it before he could return a few weeks later to claim it. luckily i didn't have to, because he texted me a photo of mayor mccheese before i even arrived at work. i called him and asked if he paid for it yet and he said, "no, its on the floor in front of me."

"hurry up and pay for it before anyone else gets it!"

"uhhh, i don't think anyone else wants it," he told me, and i could hear the ladies at the antique store laughing in the background at the thought of this panicked girl freaking out about her giant cheeseburger. so that's the story, THIS time with a happy ending. and a happy girl!

obviously, i demanded a photo shoot immediately.










(even the cats were excited! i love that as soon as it came in the door, pogo already had her paw on it like she laid her claim)

my fairy monster-mother

i have a fairy monster-mother.

last week, i came home from work and logged on to check my etsy. i had a message from a seller i didn't recognize. they didn't have a shop, had no profile information filled out, had a very plain avatar, and it said that they had become a member of etsy that day. strange indeed. inside the message from them was a simple link to a facebook site. no explanation, no signature, no nothing! i wouldn't have even clicked on it if it weren't for the title of the message.

imagine my surprise when i click on the link and the facebook page takes me to a shop with a photo of not one, but TWO monsters that i adore. i almost hyperventilated trying to figure out if they were for sale and if so how i could get them before anyone else could. long story short, i found out that my etsy shop came up in a google search when the owner of this shop was trying to research what she had on her hands. she was nice enough to create an account just to get a hold of me because she knew i was looking for them! out of thin air, i had acquired a fairy monster-mother! neat!

as if this story isn't already cool enough, it was more than just a pair of monsters -- they were twins!! TWINS!! matching colors but in the opposite patterns. have you ever SEEN such a thing???! two matching monster twins, in great shape, probably kept together since birth. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!






the happy family...


PLUS TWINS!!!


truly a happy day indeed

as it turns out, my fairy monster-mother is linda, one half of the pair who owns and runs this excellent vintage shop in the seattle, washington area called no parking on pike. just LOOK at this place! i'm dying to visit. if you're in the neighborhood, stop in and buy me something!

3-year anniversary plans

**this entry is lifted directly from my other blog, which you can find here! MORE TODAY THAN YESTERDAY**

the cat is out of the bag: josh and i will be spending our 3-year anniversary in sunny detroit, michigan on a one day, one nite trip to see GUITAR WOLF!!!




actually we're gonna be a little early (our anniversary is a month later), but who couldn't use an excuse to get outta town in the middle of the week every once in a while?!

you may know guitar wolf as rock'n'roll zombie slayers from the movie "wild zero":



or you probably just know them as one of the most badass rock'n'roll bands out of japan. either way, YAY!!! also opening are my pals cheap time, who don't have a cleveland date on this tour and i will happily travel a few hours out of my way to catch.



as if this trip couldn't get any more amazing, i will FINALLY get to meet my internet friend/kindred "sister" spirit, diane of good mourning, glory! and woudln't you like to see something strange? i'm ecstatic!

ironically, josh and i also spent our 2-year anniversary in detroit catching the oblivians and the gories.





while there for the show, we stayed in a cute little town outside of detroit called monroe. we were disappointed that we didn't have enough time to really explore, so maybe we'll end up there again! here are a few photos from last year's trip.




















next year we'll be breaking the tradition and there won't be any romantic detroit getaways for us. on our 4-year anniversary, we'll be GETTING HITCHED!!!