Cute.

CBGB's on Christmas day,1982 yessssssssss

Even before I started working there. Happy Holidays!

Just because I could listen to the guitars on this all day...

Kids Shows

And check out these two 9 year old cousins Audrey and Elijah rocking "Eye of the Tiger" above! They'll be playing with 11 other kid bands tomorrow at Littlefield in Brooklyn, part of GOWANUS MUSIC CLUB .Good stuff!!!

Flavorwire 25 Favorite Albums of 2013

Some creative bands on this list. Proud to be a part of it (we're #15). Check out all of them. Do it, those so many good ones. FLAVORWIRE's 25 FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2013

"Bitchfork" reviews our album

Yeah, you'd look at this and immediately assume its annoying but its NOT, these kids are hysterical. I would watch their show if it were mainstream. And glad to see they reviewed our album "Run Fast." They're also the first people to discuss the sewn scrappy/cute animal on an animal on the cover and compare it to the music. They nailed it! And they caught our influences. Good job...

Holidays

Rough time of year, yet there's all that pretty snow outside right now. Holding in one hand the dvd "Hangover 3" and in the other hand I'm looking at a self-help book about time management and confidence building. Should I go for mindless escapism or a fruitful 2 hours of reading that will make my week better?

My truck is by far the worst one parked on this block, tucked between a new BMW and another car the boyfriend said is worth 100k. Can cars really be worth that?  I don't have heat, the power steering fluid leaks out every time I turn the steering wheel too hard to the right, which is everyday I parallel park, which in turn makes me fill it 5 times a week. The back is smashed in, the red tail light cover is missing to leave a bleak white light on the left rear. The defogger on the windshield doesn't work, and the radio station, set at WNYC, can't be turned or it'll never go back. And the volume will either go deafening loud, or whisper quiet with no in between.

The self help book says to take that one negative thought and list 5 positive things to cancel it out. (No, I ended up watching "Hangover 3"). Then use a creative visualization technique - form a vivid mental blueprint in which you are finishing, solving, creating, or doing that thing with ease and success.

Okay, so I can't turn off WNYC and thats not a horrible thing. I listen wearing a warm coat with a hood over my head and 99 cent black gloves that look okay, kind of like skeleton hands. The truck moves at least and gets me to Gowanus where I was teaching a music class back to Williamsburg where I live in a near-micro apartment that has the shower next to the sink in the kitchen. I can back into a pole, then continue to shift into drive without breaking conversation. Is this 5 positive things yet? This might be happily rewarding if I were still in my 20's but I've been living this way for well...a while.

My creative blueprint visualization is working finally as I'm remembering the good things of this year. The successes with my music project especially. In fact we were ON the radio, on that very one station that comes in through those tiny stupid speakers in my truck, and I was able to listen to that prerecorded show one evening while driving. Thats a dream come true.

The problem is not that I work doubles and 7 days a week, its comparing yourself to New Yorkers who have nice new tiles on their kitchen floors. Its all the "stuff" people have thats way better than mine. Deciding to be in the music business through all its different variations is a labor of love, one that will just make ends meet if you work hard enough.  But I visualize myself NOT being priced out of NY daily and you know, sometimes that can drive a person to feel a little crazy. Success is not having to look at every single sale item at CTown, or never even considering the entrees at the restaurants we go to ("tacos are just fine..."). But some of this is just perceived poorness. Or is it?

Bottom line is to watch a bad flick and read the book. Try the 5 positive things and the creative visualization when that movie is over. Putting it into whats relative to your life is the hard part.

My band is #24 in Rolling Stones List of 100 Best Songs of 2013!!

ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE: see full list and to hear our song: The Julie Ruin, "Oh Come On"

The Punk Singer film

For more showtimes and locations, see THE PUNK SINGER site here!

November Shows

My cat Bones helping me go over bass clef for three dates with Bridget Everett's show "Rock Bottom" at Joes Pub in NYC. Honored to have played in this show written by Bridget, as well as Marc Shaiman, Tony, Grammy, and Emmy winning composer and writer (best known for Hairspray the Musical).

It was a dream of mine to work with Marc and these guys and would do it in a hot second anytime again.

Bridget Everett posters all over town!

The band (Matt Ray, Mike Jackson, Dave Berger, and me) decided to each go as one color. I am purple and kind of looking like a futuristic stewardess. Drinking from my "Pound It" Bridget Everett cup.

 Backstage at Joe's Pub.

My band The Julie Ruin then flew to Olympia Washington to play at the Capitol Theater for the Olympia Film Festival. Hometown of Kathleen and Kathi, my bandmates. Everyone said hi to us on the street. A guy on a bike would yell "loved the show" while speeding by. Small enigmatic town.

Here's Kenny and Carmine having a cigarette with Eli Cruz, our sound engineer and mixer of our album. "Jaws 3D" will be aired there in a couple of days according to the poster in the window. 

Old stickers in the backstage at the Capitol Theater. 

Here we are backstage talking to our soundperson at Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin Texas. 

This was the lineup: 

2:20 PM THE POLYPHONIC SPREE

3:30 PM THE JULIE RUIN
4:10 PM TACO CANNON
4:30 PM WASHED OUT
5:40 PM THE DISMEMBERMENT PLAN
6:50 PM MGMT
8:30 PM SLAYER

Prep in a tent backstage.

Kenny's glockenspeil.

Yep, that's a taco cannon next to Kenny's gear. They shot burritos, tacos, and Twinkies out to the crowd after our set. 

Onstage stretches before we start.

Tonight 9pm on WNYC's Soundcheck!

My band The Julie Ruin will be on Soundcheck tonight so tune in to your radio or listen HERE! Yay!

Apologies for the song mixes early on. It definitely feels live and fuzzy and crazy compared to our album.  We play these 3 songs:

Goodnight Goodbye
Southcoast Plaza
Kids of New York

photo by Sarah Avrin

Hear the remix in Rolling Stone

YACHT remixes "Right Home" from our album Run Fast! Check it out... HERE!

Pandoras

Here's a little hint about tonight's show at Music Hall of Williamsburg. See you later! The Julie Ruin.

Donuts.

Josh helped me build a pedal board yesterday. Then we stopped at Peter Pan Bakery in Greenpoint. Support this Polish bakery if you are in the area. Its the best donuts, hands down.

More of Josh's pictures HERE.

By artist Emma Maatman for LA Record

The Julie Ruin. I'm the one in the lower left corner. Here's more on illustrator Emma Maatman!

Our Next Show: Music Hall of Williamsburg on OCT 25th!

My band The Julie Ruin will be playing this Friday at Music Hall of Williamsburg, in yep, Brooklyn, where I once slung drinks and watched bands during lulls tipsy topsy. And that was only two years ago. Thrilled to be playing in that beautiful dome-like futuristic ballroom-ish stage area again and hanging with my sound-people friends, especially Josh W. My worlds are combining and its kind of weird.

In August I wrote on this blog about the DC band Priests and woo-hoo, we've asked them to open...and they said "yeah."

Check them out again HERE AT PRIESTS.BANDCAMP and scroll down my blog thingy here to see a video of them playing live.

We're playing the Olympia Film Festival Friday Nov 8th!

Olympia Film Festival! Opening night Swim Little Fish DETAILS HERE 

Its us, The Julie Ruin, plus very special guests Survival Knife and Hot Fruit.

Check out Hot Fruit here. I was glued the whole nine and thirty four.

Pedal Porn of the Week: UMO

Thanks JW!!

Kristeen Young tee

Proudly displaying my Kristeen Young shirt. Go see her, listen to her music, buy an album, buy the tee. She is THE REAL DEAL. She really is.

La Luz

Since my blog's theme is on music and girl empowerment, here's La Luz in Spin Magazine. Listen to the surfy warmth HERE