Ninja. Rock.

Perhaps not since "Rock Lobster" has the word "rock" been part of such a curious and intriguing pair.

Last week, some LRC alumni and I saw Fist of Dishonor, Portland's only (I'm guessing here) ninja rock band, which is led by one of our vocal instructors (and all-around ass-kicker), Tera.

First off, it was great seeing my fellow lady rockers again and sharing some overpriced drinks at the very cool Clyde Common. Over at the Fez, the opening band was Drop Dead Legs, a "tribute to early Van Halen" fronted by a female singer. They were good! I guess it helps that I like Van Halen (David Lee era only), and their costumes were just awesome. Tera got us dancing like fools.



Finally (it was late for a school night), Fist of Dishonor took the stage. Their show was a bizarre but fun combination of music, acrobatic fighting and drama. Each band member plays a character; enemies burst onstage to challenge the band (the bassist was killed and replaced by an enemy early in the set, only to be semi-revived to lend vocals to a later song); and mid-set, a woman came on stage and did some impressive stunts, including shooting a bow and arrow with her feet while balancing on her hands.



Tera's a great singer, and this band ... well, they have a vision. And some devoted fans. Definitely worth seeing!

Sink your teeth in

Yup, it's video of my band's performance at the Ladies Rock Showcase at Satyricon, courtesy of Record Store Geek (thanks!). Before you hit "play," please remember — we met Friday afternoon, had our first-ever instrument lessons, wrote the song on Saturday, and performed it on Sunday. The finished product is definitely not perfect, but man, what a blast!

More LRC video:

• Carbon Arc (featuring my pal Megan on drums)


• Brutal Poodle (with Jean on vocals)


• More Sensitive Teeth (same song, different angle)

The Greatest Love of All*

I'm reluctantly settling back into my workday routine, and realizing more and more amazing things about LRC.

I never heard even a breath of negativity all weekend. Anything was possible. You want to have a band with two bassists, keyboards and a vocalist? You can do that! You want to stop singing and just talk for part of your song? You can do that! The only uncertain or criticizing comments I heard were women voicing doubts about their own abilities — but even these were shaken off quickly and easily. Examples: "I don't know that chord ... yet ..." and "I love this song we wrote, but I'm not sure I can sing it." (That was me ... and it turned out, yes, I could sing it!)

I just can't get over how transformative it was to write a song — especially over the course of a few hours, with people who'd never done that before. It was so amazing to watch/experience as it went from two chords, to three parts (a verse, a chorus, another sort of chorus thing), into something that's actually a song. One that can get stuck in your head! Holy crap.

I'm still absorbing these facts, but ... I have rhythm. I can carry a tune. I can write lyrics. (I have written the word parts of songs before, but never gave myself credit or thought they were "real" songs.) I'm a fucking songwriter!

When we got to Satyricon for the showcase, they were playing Guided by Voices. That (and perhaps the rum) — and definitely my friends being there — made me feel calm and like I belonged.

I was not nervous performing at the showcase. I think I could have moved more, sung better, smiled more, etc., but I did my part fine, had fun, and wasn't freaked out. I was way more nervous when I sang "Glad Girls" acapella in vocals class, and when we did our run-through on Saturday night — I forgot to sing a part of the song, and Morgan (drums) couldn't hear anything in the monitor ... but Beth Ditto still told me she liked our song. Be still my heart!

Speaking of Beth, she's just one of about 30 new heroes of mine after this weekend. Teri, Tara, sts, *winner*, Marisa, Claudia ... and pretty much everyone else there was amazing at what they do and incredibly generous. Thank you!!!

* A bunch of camp staff and volunteers sang this song at the kickin' karaoke party on Saturday night. It's cheesy, but the lyrics really do sum up what Rock Camp is all about. Too bad Whitney forgot these principles when she hooked up with Bobby.

I am lady, hear me ROCK!

I don't have my photos up yet, and I'm still reeling from the awesome insanity that was Ladies Rock Camp, but I have to shout out to my friends and family who came out and supported me at the showcase yesterday -- and to my super cool band mates, and to the amazing women who founded the camp. Also, Megan kicked out the jams on drums, and she's ahead of me with her blog. You go, "Pants"!(?)!

More soon. I can't wait to go again next year!

Thanks to Jolie for the blog love and for this photo.

Life list

I've been inspired (by this guy) to compile a list of all the bands I've seen. I'm kind of surprised at the total (124 so far), but I chalk it up to the fact that I did a lot of time at festivals, especially Bumbershoot, back when I was a whippersnapper. I tried to just list "national" acts...

P.S. I've now spent way too much time on this. I'm beyond inspired and smack-dab in the middle of obsession. I added as many venues and dates as I could remember, and bolded the folks I've seen more than five times. Must ... stop ...

Tori Amos - Civic Audtorium, 1994
Anthrax - Henry J. Kaiser Auditorium, Oct. 21, 1991 (with Public Enemy, on the night of the Oakland Hills firestorm)
The Beach Boys - Candlestick Park, San Francisco, 1980s (after a Giants game)
Beck - Champoeg Park, 1997; Bumbershoot, 1997
Ben Folds Five - Satyricon, 1995
The Beta Band - Gorge, 2001
Bettie Serveert - Bumbershoot, La Luna?
Andrew Bird - Aladdin (opened for Kristin Hersh)
BR549 - Bumbershoot
Bright Eyes - Roseland, 2004 (with Cat Power, M. Ward, et al.)
Richard Buckner - St. John's Theater, Dante's
Built to Spill - Bumbershoot, Crystal Ballroom
Camper van Beethoven - Bumbershoot (?)
Neko Case - Oregon Zoo
Cat Power - Berbati's Pan; Roseland, 2004 (with Bright Eyes, M. Ward, et al.)
Vic Chesnutt - Aladdin Theater
Concrete Blonde - Roseland
The Cramps - Gathering of the Tribes, 1990, La Luna,
Robert Cray - Bumbershoot
Sheryl Crow - Bumbershoot
Crowded House - WOMAD, San Francisco, 1993
Dandy Warhols - La Luna
Death Cab for Cutie - Bumbershoot
Ani DiFranco - Melody Ballroom, Roseland
The Donnas - Crystal Ballroom, Roseland
Dr. Octagon - Crystal Ballroom
Echo & the Bunnymen - Wonder Ballroom, 2006
Elastica - Satyricon (?)
Everclear - La Luna
Fifty Foot Wave - Berbati's Pan, Doug Fir, Lola's Room, Crocodile Cafe (Seattle), Offramp? (Seattle)
Peter Gabriel - WOMAD, San Francisco, 1993
Lisa Germano - Berbati's Pan
Granddaddy - Berbati's Pan (opened for Elliott Smith)
Grant Lee Buffalo - Berbati's Pan (opened for Robyn Hitchcock)
Guided by Voices - Berbati's Pan (3 times), La Luna, Crystal Ballroom (2 times)
Happy Mondays - (opened for INXS - or was that the Stone Roses?)
John Wesley Harding - Bumbershoot
Heatmiser - La Luna
Helio Sequence - Crystal Ballroom (?)
Helium - Meow Meow (?)
Kristin Hersh - La Luna, Berbati's Pan, Aladdin Theater (4 times), WOW Hall (Eugene), Music Millenium, Mississippi Studios, Bumbershoot, 1997, 2000
John Hiatt - Bumbershoot
Robyn Hitchcock - Warfield, San Francisco, 1993; La Luna, 1994; Berbati's, 1995; Aladdin, 1997; Aladdin, 1998; Aladdin, 1999; Music Millenium, 2003; Crystal Ballroom, 2005; Doug Fir, 2006
The Hives - Crystal Ballroom
Ice T - Gathering of the Tribes, Shoreline, 1990
Indigo Girls - Gathering of the Tribes, Shoreline, 1990
Interpol - Crystal Ballroom
INXS - Cow Palace, 1988 (?)
Jim James - Roseland, 2004 (with Cat Power, Bright Eyes, et al.)
Joan Jett - Bumbershoot
Daniel Johnston - Satyricon
Kaiser Chiefs - Berbati's Pan
Kraftwerk - Coachella, 2004
Lenny Kravitz - WOMAD, San Francisco, 1993
L7 - Bumbershoot
Lambchop - Aladdin (with Vic Chesnutt)
Mark Lanegan - Lola's Room
Ben Lee - Bumbershoot
Mary Lou Lord - Bumbershoot
Magnetic Fields - Bumbershoot
Johnny Marr - Berbati's Pan
Mecca Normal - Bumbershoot
Colin Meloy - Crystal Ballroom, 2005 (opened for Robyn Hitchcock)
Minus 5 - Doug Fir, 2006 (with Robyn Hitchcock)
Modest Mouse - Bumbershoot
The Mooney Suzuki - Crystal Ballroom (opened for The Hives), Berbati's Pan
Morphine - Bumbershoot
Morrissey - Shoreline Amphitheatre; Greek Theatre, Berkeley, 1991
Bob Mould - Warfield, San Francisco, 1993 (opened for Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians)
Mr. Bungle - somewhere in CA in the early 90s
Peter Murphy - Roseland
My Morning Jacket - Crystal Ballroom (opened for GBV)
The Neville Brothers - Bumbershoot
Heather Nova - Satyricon, 1995
Oasis - Satyricon, 1994
Sinead O'Connor - WOMAD, San Francisco, 1993
OK Go - Roseland (opened for The Donnas)
Olivia Tremor Control - La Luna; EJs
Beth Orton - Bumbershoot; La Luna
Joan Osborne - Bumbershoot
Pavement - Bumbershoot
Pedro the Lion - Bumbershoot; Cobalt Lounge
Grant Lee Phillips - Aladdin (with Robyn Hitchcock), 2000; Aladdin (opened for Kristin Hersh); Berbati's Pan (opened for Kristin Hersh)
Pink Martini - Berbati's Pan
The Pixies - Coachella, 2004
Pizzicato Five - Roseland (?)
PJ Harvey - La Luna
Iggy Pop - Gathering of the Tribes, Shoreline, 1990
The Posies - Bumbershoot
The Pretenders - Gorge in George, (opened for Neil Young)
Primus - Henry J. Kaiser Auditorium, 1991 (opened for Anthrax and Public Enemy)
Public Enemy - Henry J. Kaiser Auditorium, 1991 (with Anthrax)
Quasi - La Luna; Berbati's Pan; EJ's; Crocodile Cafe (opened for Elliott Smith), 1997; Bumbershoot
Radiohead - Gorge in George, 2001; Coachella, 2004
Bonnie Raitt - Bumbershoot
Red House Painters - ?
Lou Reed - Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 2000
Jonathan Richman - Berbati's
The Roots - Bumbershoot
Sahara Hotnights - Berbati's
Screaming Trees - Bumbershoot
The Shins - Crystal Ballroom, (opened for ...)
Jane Siberry - Bumbershoot
Sleater-Kinney - Bumbershoot
Elliott Smith - Egyptian Room, La Luna, Berbati's Pan, Crystal Ballroom, Crocodile Cafe (Seattle), 1997; Roseland
Smog - Berbati's (with Cat Power?)
The Soft Boys - La Luna, 2001
Son Volt - Bumbershoot
Sonic Youth - Champoeg Park, 1997, Bumbershoot
Soul Coughing - Bumbershoot
Soundgarden - Gathering of the Tribes, Shoreline, 1990
Squirrel Nut Zippers - Bumbershoot
The Stills - Crystal Ballroom (opened for BTS)
Sting - Oakland Coliseum, 1988
They Might Be Giants - Great American Music Hall, San Francisco
Throwing Muses - La Luna, Berbati's, somewhere in Seattle (?)
Tiny Tim - Bumbershoot
M. Ward - Crystal Ballroom; Roseland, 2004 (with Cat Power, Bright Eyes, et al.)
Whiskeytown - Bumbershoot
Wilco - Bumbershoot, 1997
Yo La Tengo - La Luna, Crystal Ballroom
Neil Young - Gorge in George
Young Fresh Fellows - La Luna, 2001 (opened for the Soft Boys)
Zap Mama - Bumbershoot

Hometown girl

I saw Kristin Hersh with Grant-Lee Phillips at Berbati's last night with That Jolie Girl and Record Store Geek, and it was awesome! I thought she was a little technically off (or maybe it was me?) a couple of times, but she played great songs, her voice was awesome, and she was obviously having fun up on stage with her pal Grant.

Here's a must-see 5-minute interview with Kristin Hersh in her NW Portland house - where she practices with 50 Foot Wave. Desperate fan girl that I am, I'm tempted to start walking around NW with my ears open!

Here's KH's set as best I can remember - not in order, though:
Sundrops
White Bikini Sand
Hook in Her Head
Tar Kissers
Pearl
37 Hours
Your Dirty Answer
Listerine (awesome!)
Uncle June and Aunt Kiyoti
Gazebo Tree
Under the Gun
Your Ghost (w/Grant-Lee)

When the Levee Breaks (w/Grant-Lee)
Adult Books (X cover w/Grant-Lee)

"Listerine" was my favorite song of the night - for some reason, it hit me in a different way than it ever had before that it's about losing her son, cheating, and the Muses breakup (and maybe some other stuff) all at once. She has an uncanny way of capturing a lot of messy life in one "little" song. And her vocals at the end - amazing.

Grant-Lee was good, too. I've seen him perform with Robyn Hitchcock, and I think I saw him open for Kristin once, too. His new album is called "nineteeneighties" and, appropriately enough, is all covers of 80s tunes. As someone on Amazon said, "Grant-Lee stole my record collection!" He definitely grew up on the same college rock (remember when that's what it was called?) as I did - REM, The Cure, The Smiths ... I think "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" was my favorite cover of the night. I was disappointed by "Killing Moon" because, a) The only more obvious Echo and the Bunnymen cover would be "Lips Like Sugar" and b) There's already a completely kick-ass cover of "Killing Moon" done by Pavement. Also, the only Psychedelic Furs cover I ever need to hear is Robyn Hitchcock's "Ghost in You." I did love the New Order/Roy Orbison combination, and the X cover, too. On the Throwing Music message board, Billy O'Connell (KH's husband/manager) said that at the Seattle show,

Kristin and Grant [had] to phone John Doe from backstage for lyrics assistance. They left him a voicemail, so Grant kept his phone in his pocket so he could answer it onstage if John called back with who "shackles Jane". Grant decided to go with "Rico" just because he felt like it and it worked fine.

Grant-Lee must have gotten a call back from John because last night he clarified that it is, in fact, Clifford who shackles Jane. Then he mentioned that Kristin, John Doe and him were "almost in a band together." How the hell did I miss that?! Update: They actually did a "songwriters tour" together, which never made it to Portland. Here's a good review of a 2002 gig in Pittsburgh.

Speaking of shows, Jolie asked me last night how many times I've seen Kristin, and I honestly don't know. I started a list, and so far I've come up with 17 shows, including solo, Muses and Wave gigs. Does anyone know if there's a good Muses/KH gigography out there?

La La love you

I can't thank Jolie enough for hooking me up on la la. Since I signed up about a month ago, I've traded 7 CDs that I never listen to anymore for 8 new CDs -- mostly oldies that I missed, like the Sundays, Tori Amos, Simon & Garfunkel, Jane's Addiction. Wow, most of those I had on tape or vinyl, back in the day.

Anyway, the magic of la la is that you list all your CDs (including ones you don't want to trade, to improve your recommendations), then you list CDs that you want, and the system looks for matches. The more of your CDs you ship, the more you receive. La la charges you $1.75 per CD you receive. Pretty good deal, especially for people like me who are too lazy to lug their old discs down to Everyday Music.

So, sign up and help me get the 66 albums on my want list! Yeah, I'm needy.

Happy-sad

If you know me, you know that I love Kristin Hersh. Since I started this half-assed blog, I've thought a lot about how to write about her, but I haven't taken the plunge. I don't want to sound like a pathetic, obsessed fan ... the best way I can say it is that she's like a very cool friend who inspires me to be a better person; a strong, crazy, talented woman who puts love first and makes the world a better place—in short, the kind of person I hope I get to be before I die.

So, today, I went to her blog for the first time in a couple of weeks, and was instantly elated to read this line: "We moved to Portland, Oregon a couple days ago." I might see Kristin at a show, or in line at a coffee shop? Holy shit! I knew this was a good day.

Then I went on to read the whole post, and, like so much of what she writes, it took me from elation to sadness in about a minute. Please read it, and keep your eye out for a brilliant little pixie-looking lady with a mouth like a sailor ... now living right here in Stumptown!