August 16th @ The Delancey

I'm way too tired to be doing this right now... but if I don't write it now, I might forget something...

Picture this- me driving the Land Shark backwards down Clinton street trying to avoid oncoming Williamsburg Bridge traffic, then backing over and subsequently smashing a bottle of some sort, just to pull up on the sidewalk so the honking cars could make it past and stop being so angry with me. Sick.

First of all- congratulations again to Ms. Stephanie Hooker for getting married! She is an amazing woman and we wish her all the happiness in the world. :) And thank you to her for inviting us to be part of such an amazing event. This woman throws a mean fucking party! Tonight we were on with Cori Yarckin, Stephanie and the Ghost Town, and The 80's Ladies. I love Stephanie and the Ghost Town, and anyone who hasn't checked them out, totally should. Word. The 80's Ladies- DUDE! Sick 80's cover band! I was so tired and feeling so crappy, and I just couldn't help dancing. I couldn't help it! I went downstairs to get my water and spent the next 25 minutes in ecstasy. Saysha and I scared everyone off the dance floor, her with her leg kicks, and me with my head thrashing, and Frankie wouldn't stop yelling, "Free Bird!" :) He's so cute.

Sean of Nefarious Bovine Radio stopped by to say hi. Dude, this guy is awesome. If you haven't heard his radio show yet, you totally should. It's sick! In a good way. :) In a perfect "sit at home and listen to music because that's what we like to do" kind-of way. Awesome. Not only was he was nice enough to let me talk him into lugging half our gear 4 blocks from our rehearsal space to the club, (Ha ha! Sucker. :) Nah- I'm just kidding, thank you again, that was really sweet of you to offer,) but he also single handedly built a guitar stand with no instructions or coaching. This man is a genius!

But yes, the show. I got really sick this weekend (and am still pretty under the weather), and my voice sounds pretty shitty, so that was fun. In fact, we didn't even rehearse before this show because I just couldn't, so we just sort-of wung it. (Wung? Who the fuck uses the past tense of the word "wing"? That's just wrong...) I think I started having to blow my nose after the third song, so anyone who noticed the profuse sniffling throughout the entire last half of the show, sorry about that. :)

I think it went really well though, right? No tuner mishaps, no amps breaking, no guitars catching on fire (although that would have been pretty cool.) I thought it was fun anyway. Even though I felt like I was going to pass out and die when we were done. :) Did it show? Could you tell?

Ok, now I'm going to bed because I can't keep my make-up stained eyes open anymore. I love you all and thank you for coming and starting this journey with us. We don't know where we're going or how we're getting there, but we're certainly having a good time doing it and hope you are too. :)

Set List:
-Without You
-This Happens
-Don't Look Back
-Stuck in My Head (oops.)
-Six Degrees
-Guiltless
-Longest Time
-Try So Hard

August 5th @ The Continental

Thank you to everyone for coming out to the Continental on Saturday! It was a great crowd and it always means so much to us to see you all there dancing and smiling and being so wonderful in general. Yay! You guys rock. :)

Was my skirt short enough? I was chastized before because my skirt wasn't short enough, so was it? I hope so. Saysha and I went shopping specifically for those tiny little pieces of cloth we called skirts. I hope you liked them.

Yes, there was celebrating to be done. The world is different now. We rocked our hearts out, we rocked the shit out of our instruments (and it showed) and then we were tired. Such is rock and roll.

This was so far the longest Stewart set in history. Not only did we play 13 songs (instead of the 12 we planned on) 3 were new and 2 were songs we haven't played since January. I hope you liked them. I even got to play an impromptu version of "Princess," the only love song I've ever written. And "Try So Hard"- I've never sang that song so kick ass in my entire life. RAH! *grin*

For all those who didn't make it- don't worry, we're back again at The Delancey next Wednesday and the Pussycat Lounge in September. Should be fun. Should be more than fun, should be a life changing experience. :)

Until next time, as my beloved Frankie would say, keep on rockin' in the free world.

Set List:
-Without You
-This Happens
-Don't Look Back
-Real Dreams
-Never Again
-No More Jealous Girlfriends
-Not That Bad
-Six Degrees
-Princess (solo performance)
-Stuck In My Head
-Guiltless
-Longest Time
-Try So Hard

Tragedy and Triumph Indeed

When I first moved to New York I got the same fortune in three separate fortune cookies from three separate restaurants over 6 months time. They all said, "Follow your heart."

Since moving here three years ago I've become an entirely different person. I've been forced through discomfort and stress to discover the most disturbing aspects of myself and my personality, as well as learning how to accept them, and on the flip side my greatest strengths and the extent of my potential and capabilities. It has been the most challenging and difficult time, but also the most rewarding and the most profound.

I used to feel so lost all the time. But now- everything is different now.

Part of living is growing and trying your hardest to become the best person you can possibly be. Part of that is accepting who you are, being honest about your wants and your needs, and challenging yourself to do all the things you never thought you could. Another part is accepting when it's time to change and time to say goodbye. Change is inevitable. It's how we choose to handle it that defines who we are and how far we've come.

Time passes and these things get easier and we learn so much, it's just a matter of opening our eyes and opening our hearts and knowing what may seem like the most painful experience is actually the greatest lesson in disguise.

So... you may be wondering why I haven't written. Actually, that's not true- if you're on our mailing list you'll know why- I just finished my first final and my project, had class, rehearsal and flyering to do yesterday, and spent about 10 hours in the car on Sunday not to rest my head till 5 AM or so Monday morning... but if you're not on our mailing list, that's why. :) (Speaking of which, anyone who wants to be on our mailing list, should let me know...)

Anyway. Saturday. Jammy Jam.

It all started way back when my friend Mav decided to be born, move to Pittsburgh, and throw parties every year for his birthday. I haven't seen Mav and the Pittsburgh crew in about 7 years. (I think.) And I also hadn't seen my big brother Tommy's new house, also in Pittsburgh. Or my Grandma (who doesn't have a myspace page) who lives in a tiny little village about an hour outside of Pittsburgh. So... lots of reasons for me to go to Pittsburgh.

Mav throws a yearly birthday party called "Jammy Jam" where he hosts a costume contest (for the best pj's and/or lingerie), with drinking, dancing and general debauchery included. This year Tommy and I had a couple of additions-

Tommy's idea: Live Music
Brilliant! How much fun is it to have live bands play at your party? So much fun.

My idea: Kissing Contest
Also brilliant, but I must admit Steph and Mav definitely improved on the original idea which was just that I would get to kiss everyone, and changed it so that everyone got to kiss everyone. Which, I admit, is a much better idea. But either way I got to kiss lots and lots of people, so I win. :)

I asked the band if they wanted to go- Frankie had another show and then we figured since I'd be driving and making all these familial pit stops it probably wouldn't be a good idea to bring John and Saysha. (Just because I was gone for about 5 days and they'd both have to miss work.) So I decided to fly solo. That's when Tommy came up with the idea of him playing bass for me and us finding a drummer.

That drummer was Shane- and the three of us rehearsed 3 times, including once about an hour before the party started. HA! Funny stuff. I've gotta hand it to these boys- they did a great job, especially considering the short notice. Although, if the truth be known (no offense guys) I missed my band. It's not the same without them. I've said this a million times before and I don't mind saying it again- it's the combination of all of us, I think, that makes what we do so much fun. :) Yay!



After us, Max impressed us with his project Naked Friday, a hip hop set with his Wartar. (War-tar? Max, what was it again?) Followed by a rockin' set by Gladstone Ruckus. I have to admit (and please don't take this personally) I was pretty wasted by the time they went on, so I know they were good (because I heard them before when I was sober), but I can't say for sure how much of their set I saw or how much of it I actually remember... sorry guys...

What I do remember is getting to see my friend George again for the first time in forever. George is a girl. She's actually one of the most amazing girls I've ever met. And that's not just my opinion, everyone loves George. How can you not love George?

We headed out to the porch, stole Mav's 40 and tried to see if we could finish it before he would notice, which we did. HA! And I think that was right after I had 2 other beers, so I think that's why I was drunk because I just drank really fast.

Anway- I came in 2nd to George on the girl's half of the kissing contest. (Yay me!) But 4th overall- bested by my brother. How did this happen? I was incensed. I insisted on comparisons afterwards to see who was better and the few girls we got to do it said it was me- I demand a rematch. :)

By 2 or so in the morning I wandered back downstairs because I decided it was a good idea to start playing drums. Pink PJ wearing Ben accompanied me on guitar, then Tommy from Gladstone Ruckus joined us on Bass, and Paul (also from G.R.) took over on Guitar. It felt REALLY good to play drums again, and I was better than I remembered. (Probably only because I was drunk and not nervous.) We had at least 8 people dancing around the pool table. That was probably the best part of the night. Well... second best.

I walked myself home at 4 something. How did it get to be 4 something? And Tommy came home shortly thereafter. I had the rest of the pancakes from our breakfast feast with our cousin Joey and his girlfriend Laura. (Joey is now an official chef and we made: pancakes, eggs, home fries, bacon, and strawberries. It was amazing.) And Tommy had a tuna fish sandwich. We didn't get to bed till 5 or so, but it was good.

Sunday I dragged my feet all day- I didn't want to leave. I love my big brother. He is amazing and I had so much fun just hanging out and spending time. Sunday afternoon it was POURING, like trees blowing sideways and water drenching the streets kind-of pouring, and we sat on the front porch and just watched the rain go by. It was really really really really nice.

But I had to leave. I eventually got on the road, got lost, got food, went to Mom and Dad's, got my laundry and more food, got stuck in traffic, took a nap, and eventually rolled into Brooklyn at about 2 AM. I didn't get to bed till 3, then I couldn't sleep till 5. Messed up. I forgot how angry I was, and the second my head hit the pillow it all came back.

Ah well. It was a nice weekend and I can't wait to do it again. Next time I'm bringing the band with me.

Set List:
-Without You
-This Happens
-Don't Look Back
-Stuck in My Head
-Real Dreams
-Six Degrees
-Try So Hard