Book Him, Danno!

Well, gentle readers, I have been back from Hawaii for about a day and a half, and already I'm looking forward to my next visit. I took bunches of pictures to share with you (mostly of sunsets over the ocean, which make for the most beautiful photographs), but I thought I'd begin with shots taken on one specific evening.

The Hawaii Five-0 season two premiere party and screening took place in Waikiki on September 10th, and I swung by with hundreds of other fans to check it out. I happened to have been in Waikiki last year for the series premiere party for the new Hawaii Five-0, but this soiree was way more intense. Now that the show is a genuine hit, the fans have become significantly more rabid. Nonetheless, it was pretty fun to join the crowd and crane my neck to see a little bit of Hollywood hit Honolulu.

Oh, and for the record, I watched a couple of syndicated episodes of the original Hawaii Five-0 on television while I was in Honolulu. My goodness, what deliciously bad 1970's television. That show was complete genius. In the ironic way.

I'll post more photos from my trip soon, but for now, enjoy these images from the premiere party!

Glamour lights in the Waikiki palms.

Actor Scott Caan, who plays Danny, signing autographs. At first I cursed my amateur photography skills for the blurriness of this shot, but I actually think the blur creates a nice artsy effect, and it certainly captures the manic energy of the event. So let's pretend I meant to do it this way, shall we?

Just a small portion of the crowd assembled to watch the season two premiere ten days before it airs on television.

Hawaii Five-0 fans as far as the eye can see.

Another Day In Paradise

Greetings from the Hawaiian Islands, gentle readers. I am taking yet another holiday in Honolulu, as I tend to do.

I just arrived this morning, and I must say my mood improved exponentially the moment I stepped off the plane. I managed to bring a minor case of bronchitis with me this time (chronic health conditions are such a bore, believe me), but I'm confident that the warm tropical air will clear it up quite nicely.

I intend to spend the next eight days soaking up sun, reading novels, splashing around the Pacific Ocean (well, Waikiki Bay), visiting with Diva Mommy, sipping Mai Tai's and other tropical cocktails, and doing as much karaoke as possible, even with compromised lung capacity. I have every confidence that it will be a lovely time, as always.

Ooh, and my sister Fabulous Patti and I plan to attend the free Hawaii Five-0 season two premiere party on Saturday. We wandered by the series premiere party while we were visiting last September, and it was kind of fun. Now that I actually watch the show (oh, that's right), we may make an effort to get a seat where we actually can see the premiere. Or we'll just wander by again. Either way, it will be a little bit of Hollywood in Waikiki, and that's a winning combination, in my opinion.

I really want to know why life can't just be one constant vacation...

*photo courtesy of aloha.com

Recording "Artist"

Well, haven't I just been woefully neglectful when it comes to updating this chronicle lately? My apologies, gentle readers, but the truth is, life just went back to normal after my trip to L.A. Personally, I find my life to be fascinating, but I am starting to wonder how many posts about karaoke you possibly can read.

That said, this quick post is going to be about music. I've been working on a couple of recording projects lately and have decided that recording music might be one of my favorite things to do ever. My band Sober Nixon recorded our version of Matthew Sweet's "I've Been Waiting" for use as a demo. It's not quite done yet because a few more guitar tracks need to be laid down, but it's coming along. Frustratingly, I had some pitch problems during that recording session, but they were nothing that multiple vocal takes, editing and just a tiny bit of auto-tuning (don't judge) couldn't fix. I was stressed out about my pitch issues at first, but about 100 people have assured me since that every singer has pitch issues sometimes. So I've decided not to worry about it (much) and move on.

Unfortunately, our guitarist Kenn has decided that Sober Nixon isn't the right band for him. Frankly, it probably isn't, given that he's more of a heavy metal/hard rock guy and we cover pop music. He's going to finish up his part on the "I've Been Waiting" recording, but that's it. So for the second time in a year, we're on the hunt for a new guitarist. I've already got some leads on potential players; let's hope we find the right one soon and the line-up can stay consistent for a while.

This afternoon my voice teacher and I made a recording of me singing "Save the Best For Last," a positively beautiful song that became, in my opinion, a little schmaltzy as produced for the Vanessa Williams hit version back in 1992. It's a lovely ditty, though, and I love singing it. Which is a good thing because it's taken me long enough to learn to sing it properly. My voice teacher and I have worked on that song off and on for more than a year, but I think I've got it now. Or at least it's pretty good now. We did a "live" recording, meaning we recorded the piano and my singing simultaneously. That might make it a little challenging to edit together the very best takes of each portion of the song, but regardless, I think it will turn out pretty good. And the live recording means auto-tune isn't possible on this one, so the final product will be me au naturale.

Recording is a lengthy process, but it is so much fun that I can see why professional singers so love what they do. And if/when the final product turns out okay, all the better!

Los Angeles a Go Go, part two

As promised, gentle readers, here is part two of my photographic chronicle of my recent trip to the City of Angels. I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed my visit.

Party in a mansion

On Friday night I met my friends Emily and Randy at a mansion in Los Feliz for a birthday party. The birthday boy was an old acquaintance of Emily's from her days as a Hermosa Beach denizen, and he opened his home to us and... well, many others. The house was positively amazing, with both Emily and Randy commenting that it looked like something out of Sunset Boulevard.

The view from one of the host mansion's several balconies.

Me and Emily ready for our close up.

The front doors. They aren't green; that's just the way my camera picked up the party light.

That lamp light wasn't green, either. It's a cool effect, though.

Dusty's in Silver Lake

Dusty's Bistro currently is my favorite place to have brunch in L.A. They have several different varieties of mimosas (the strawberry-orange being the most popular), and they are not at all stingy with their portions. Plus, I think it might be owned or managed by someone my age because there always is great 80's new wave/alternative pouring out of the sound system. On this visit I had the pleasure of dining to the sounds of Roxy Music, OMD, Echo and the Bunnymen and Simple Minds. On a previous visit I heard Flesh For Lulu. Seriously.

Dave Wakeling and the English Beat at Pershing Square

An English Beat show always is a good time, even if the band is just original singer/guitarist Dave Wakeling with some musicians he's hired. They played a free show in downtown L.A.'s Pershing Square on Saturday night, and it was a delight to see them and enjoy free music on a Los Angeles summer night. It also was a treat to do something like that downtown, which was regarded as more or less a wasteland after dark when I was growing up in Pasadena.

Whatever song they're playing here, you can rest assured it was awesome.

Just a portion of the crowd.

The architecture downtown is gorgeous.

Los Angeles a Go Go, part one

I returned for my little jaunt to L.A. this afternoon, and I already miss the Southland. As much as love San Francisco (and as much as what I'm about to say probably disturbs many of my Bay Area friends), my heart remains in Los Angeles. I grew up in Pasadena, and the area always will be home to me. I took a lot of pictures during this mini-vacation. Some are better than others, but I've decided to post the ones deemed blog-worthy in two parts. Otherwise, this would be one massively long post. So here is part one. Enjoy!

The Go-Go's

As I mentioned in my last post, I went down to L.A. to see the Go-Go's perform at the Greek Theatre. In addition to the show, I also took a trip to Hollywood Boulevard to visit their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame because...well, why wouldn't I?

The band is in this shot somewhere. What an excellent show.

Hollywood Boulevard at Cherokee Avenue: the intersection where the Go-Go's star is located. I have a love affair with Hollywood Boulevard. Its seedy tourist trap existence positively delights me.

South Pasadena Farmers Market

If I'm in Southern California on a Thursday afternoon/evening, I make a point to visit the South Pasadena farmers market. I'm not really a farmers market person, per se, but the South Pasadena farmers market is a true community event. It is everything that is good about suburbia, and I love it. It doesn't hurt that it happens mere blocks from my brother Michael's house. So on Thursday my sister Patti and I took my nephew Mikey Jet and his friend Soon Mi to the farmers market before hitting a nearby park. Thankfully, my sister-in-law Maki joined us before too long. Mikey is a doll, but I always prefer it when the parents of small children are nearby.

The famed Mikey Jet and Soon Mi donning elaborate balloon creations I purchased for them. About five minutes before we saw the balloon man, they had been talking about cotton candy. So frankly, I think I got off easy just buying balloons.

Some of the farmers market entertainment. The kids were able to join this guy on percussion.

Tiki Ti

The best bar in L.A., hands down. I try to go there every time I visit, and this time around, I stopped in for a couple of cocktails after enjoying ground beef and pickle tacos at Malo Cantina and Taqueria down the street. Much yumminess all the way around.

More photos are coming, including several taken inside the Los Feliz mansion where I attended a party Friday night and a few from the free Dave Wakeling and English Beat show in Pershing Square downtown on Saturday night. Stay tuned...

What A Way To Go-Go

Remember when the Grateful Dead was still together (when, say, Jerry Garcia was alive), and fans would follow them from city to city to see them perform. Their fans had the time, energy and dedication to follow their favorite band. And perhaps they were a bit nuts.

Well, I officially have become one of those fans.

No, I'm not talking the Grateful Dead here, obviously. On Tuesday, the Go-Go's played at the Fillmore in San Francisco. Then last night they played at the Greek Theatre in L.A. And I attended both shows.

In case you aren't aware, the Go-Go's have been my favorite band since I was twelve. I love them more than my second favorite band, the Beatles, or any of my other favorite bands... the English Beat, the Monkees, the Specials, X, etc. I even love them more than my rock and roll crushes, Buddy Holly and Nick Lowe (yes, I know Buddy Holly has been dead for more than 50 years). And the Go-Go's still tour with the lineup that made them famous (technically not the original lineup, as two of the original members were replaced before the band made it big).

So when I realized that I could take the time off from work and afford a little flight from San Francisco to L.A., it just made sense to buy tickets for both shows. At the Fillmore I got the intimate club experience, enjoying the show from... oh... I'm guessing 20 feet or so from the stage. The Greek Theatre was a slightly different story. My seats were decent, but a large amphitheatre is a large amphitheatre, and even decent seats can feel a bit far away. However, my seats this time were better than the ones I had when I saw the Go-Go's and the Red Rockers at the Greek on August 8, 1984 (my first concert, thank you very much). Plus, thanks to a tip from my friend Angela, I actually was able to attend their soundcheck yesterday afternoon. I only saw part of it because of my flight time, but even part of it was way cool.

Figuring that I may as well make a long weekend of my excursion, I'm still in the City of Angels and will be here until Sunday afternoon. I had a chance to visit with my nephew, Mikey Jet, today and intend to do some singing, socializing and lots of dining for the rest of the weekend. I even plan to enjoy a little more live music.

A trip to the Southland based on catching my favorite band play one night after I saw them in San Francisco...I can't help but think that somewhere Jerry Garcia is smiling.

Tea and Tiny Sandwiches

My co-worker Connie is pregnant, with twins, no less, and this weekend she had a tea party baby shower at Dartealing Lounge in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood. I must confess that I'm generally not a big fan of showers, either bridal or baby, but this was such a fun gathering. We sipped four varieties of tea and munched on yummy sandwiches, scones and miniature cupcakes. We also, of course, lovingly fawned over Connie as she carries two other little people on her 5'1" frame. These pictures only include about a third of the guests in attendance, but I'm sure a delightful time was had by all.

The rest of my weekend was pretty good. Gry, an old friend from my acting days, is in town, and she and I got together for dinner on Friday night. Plus, my friend Megan and her roommate hosted their annual summer barbecue. It was awfully foggy and chilly in their backyard in Noe Valley, but the grill was hot and the company lovely. Unfortunately, I also had to deal with some worrisome family developments, but it appears that they are going to work out just fine. At least I hope so.

I also hope to attend another tea party soon. It's delicate, girly, good fun, and those sandwiches are incredibly yummy.

What's On Your Mind

Good afternoon, gentle readers. It's been mellow couple of days in the land of All Things Sassy, so I'll just share a few things that have been on my mind lately. I know you've been wondering.

Hawaii.
My next trip to Hawaii is coming up in about a month, and I am so excited. We're getting our hotel accommodations taken care of right now, thanks to my friend Andrey (he's a travel agent). In the meantime, I'm counting the days until I find myself back on the lusciously warm beaches of Honolulu.

Songs to try in karaoke.
My band, Sober Nixon, is on a tiny summer hiatus due to vacations, so my singing energy has been focused on training and karaoke. It helps that I've made a lot of friends at my favorite karaoke den. These days I'm averaging two nights a week there singing songs, and I've been loving every minute of it. I just learned "Mercy" by Duffy, which sits perfectly in my range. I still have to practice it a bit more, but it's almost like I was destined to sing it and songs like it. I'm also going to learn Dusty Springfield's "Son of  A Preacher Man," "My Life Would Suck Without You" by Kelly Clarkson and "I'll Follow The Sun" for the monthly Beatles sing along event I attend. I already am familiar with all of these songs, especially the Beatles ditty, but I need to practice singing them. Yes, I practice the songs that I sing in karaoke before I try them in front of an audience. That's probably breaking some sort of unspoken karaoke rule, but since I'm also investing in voice lessons to learn to sing properly, I give myself a free pass.

Self esteem.
All those people who say that self esteem improves as we age are so right. In the year and a half since I turned 40, I have been riding a wave of sky high self confidence. I still get insecure here and there, but I feel so much better about myself than I ever have. I'd like to believe this means that I won't put up with any more crap from stinky boys, but let's not get crazy here. Regardless, I feel great, and those boys all still smell bad.

So these are the things I've been thinking about lately. Exciting, huh? I do have a rather full weekend ahead of me. I just found out that Gry, an old friend from my acting days, is in town, so we're going to get together on Friday evening to catch up. Then Saturday is Connie's baby shower, as well as Kevin's birthday and Sam's birthday (I may or may not be celebrating the birthdays that day). And finally on Sunday is Megan's barbecue. After all of that, I likely will need a weekend from my weekend.

You Say You Want A Revolution

A beer revolution, that is. This afternoon I took advantage of a little bit of sunshine and enjoyed some adult beverages on the patio of Beer Revolution in Oakland with Valerie, Kevin, Steve, Amanda, Tom, Joo Eun and Joo Eun's dog Bohdi. Several rather potent brews were consumed over excellent conversation, and once the afternoon turned to evening, Joe Eun, Tom and I took ourselves out for Vietnamese food nearby.

It was the perfect end to a lovely weekend that also included dinner Friday night with my college buddy Ted, who was in the Bay Area for a conference, and lunch with friends yesterday ahead of a delightfully relaxing Saturday night. Life is very good by the Bay these days.

On a completely unrelated note, today is my Father's birthday. Unfortunately, he's no longer here to celebrate, but I'd like to believe that he can feel the good energy from me (and lots of other people, I'm sure) thinking about him today. So happy birthday, Daddy. I hope they threw you a big party in the next world.

Summer Birthdays

It's summertime, gentle readers, which means sun-lit evenings, warm temperatures (well, not so much in San Francisco, but whatever, we also don't get truly cold in the winter) and the birthdays of a few of my very fine friends. Usually at around this time, you can find me in Las Vegas celebrating the anniversary of Andrey's birth, but he is travelling through Europe right now. So no Andrey Vegas bash this year.

However, this weekend I did celebrate a couple of other birthdays. On Friday evening, I got together with my friend Candace, who was in town from Southern California. Our dinner wasn't exactly a birthday party, but her birthday was this weekend, so I think that counts. Then yesterday was my friend Julia's birthday party in sunshine of Dolores Park. A bunch of us lounged on the grass sipping prosecco and nibbling chocolate cake to celebrate the fabulous Julia. It was a perfect afternoon which I followed up with a little karaoke, which in my book, is always perfect.

Foolishly, I didn't take any pictures during my dinner with Candace, even though I had my camera with me. I did, however snap a few shots at Julia's party, and they follow.

A few other people had the same idea as us and also descended upon Dolores Park on Saturday.

Birthday girl Julia and me.

Palm trees watching over us.

Other Julia celebrants.

Look closely and you can see the Bay Bridge in the background, as well as a distant fog bank (the Bay Area's air conditioner).

Public Service Announcement

I have a friend who has a very bad habit. He puts himself down. On a regular basis. For some reason he thinks he's not smart when, in fact, he clearly is quite bright. He also gets anxious about work, even though, by all appearances, he's rather successful and good at his job. Regardless of reality, however, a self-deprecation habit has taken residence in his psyche and seems quite comfortable there.

I might become impatient with how frequently this friend puts himself down were it not for one tiny detail: I do the same thing. Sometimes without even realizing I'm doing it. Overall, I have pretty high self-esteem and a good amount of confidence, but there are a few chinks in my armor. Often when I put myself down it's because I don't want brag or appear arrogant (I've heard talk that this is common behavior among women and girls). Other times, however, it's just a manifestation of good old fashioned insecurity and ruptures in that generally high self-esteem.

The last time I saw my friend a couple of weeks ago, I offered him a small challenge. I tasked him with taking a minute... the next time he was tempted to demean himself... to forget his own self image. Instead I suggested that he try to see himself as I see him. As his other friends see him. As his kids see him. I suggested he do this just for a minute or even twenty seconds. As an experiment.

I have no idea if my friend took my unsolicited advice, but our conversation got me thinking. What if I were to do the same thing? What if I untangled myself from my own insecurities for a just a few seconds a day or even a few seconds a week and saw myself as my friends see me? I bet if I did that I wouldn't feel any need to put myself down, not even as a way to dilute the appearance of arrogance. Hell, if I took twenty seconds to see myself through they eyes of the men who regularly hit on me on the street, I'd probably feel pretty darn good.

Imagine if we all did that. Imagine if we all got out of our heads and saw ourselves through the eyes of people who like, admire and love us. Maybe we should give it a collective try. For a few seconds. As an experiment.

Image courtesy of the blog Solution Focused Politics.

North Beach Saturday Night

Last night my friend Janelle and I got together for a couple of cocktails in San Francisco's very charming North Beach neighborhood. While I was just in North Beach last weekend with my friend Traci (see previous post), I don't tend to spend a ton of time there, especially on the weekends. That's quite a contrast to five or six years ago when I was a North Beach regular, in part because I lived in neighboring Nob Hill.

Things change, however. I moved to a different neighborhood three years ago and sort of outgrew the North Beach scene. However, it's nice to go back and hang out there every so often. And Janelle, a North Beach denizen, is one of the friends I made when I used to frequent that part of town more often. We didn't stay out particularly late or do anything scandalous; it was just a treat to see her and get caught up. A girl can't live on karaoke alone, so it's always nice to spend a little time with old friends.

A thoroughly enjoyed Tosca chocolate martini.

Tattinger at Tony Nik's to end the evening.