End o' week musings

It's been a long and confusing week, mostly because I had a migraine headache Monday through Wednesday and it took until today to start feeling normal again. My weekend, on the other hand, was quite interesting.

Friday night I headed out to City Lights in Hacienda Heights to see the Skallywagz. They always have a great show, with original and covers that run the genre gamut - rock, country, disco, pop. The group is led by the beautiful and sweet Lisa Haze, who has an amazing voice. The rest of the players are tight and all take turns at vocals and do quite well. They also have a lot of surprise guests. For example, Andrew of Andrew's Bad Stuff got some stage time with them and received a nice applause for his vocals (and wild personality).

This time around though, even I got my opportunity to perform. I played the left hand (note part) of the bass, while Tommy Dean strummed with his right and leaned backwards across the bar so the bartender could pour a shot of liquor into his mouth. When he finished, I showed him some hip moves and we danced and played the bass in tandem until he was ready to take his entire job back. It was fun! The Skallywagz play all over, check them out at http://www.skallywagz.com/

My weird day was Saturday. My brother and I had bought tickets to the Heaven and Hell concert at Irvine, which included Alice Cooper and Queensryche. Jason wasn't feeling well, so he asked me to drive and by the time I arrived to pick him up, he was being ill. With less that two hours to make it from Fontana to Irvine, we were trying to figure out who might be able to use the ticket when our mother piped up and asked if she could go. What the heck, we thought. I gave her my Heaven and Hell t-shirt to wear and Jason gave her some earplugs.

I'm not a huge Queensryche fan, but I do like them live... and so did my mom. She said that the drummer worked hard and the vocalist (Geoff Tate) sang clearly and had a nice range. They were good, I agree, and so did many of their fans.

Alice Cooper was next with his stage show filled with blood and gore. He did lots of favorite tunes from all over his many years of repertoire. Cooper ended with a plea for us to elect him president, with plenty of flag waving and a moving finale. My mother said she really enjoyed his stage show, but didn't understand why he was "doing Halloween and then doing patriotic things." I was at somewhat of a loss to try to explain this, although I did try, but I finally just asked if she would see him again and she said yes. 'Nuff said.

My favorite singer has long been Ronnie James Dio and what better combination than back with his Black Sabbath pals in Heaven and Hell? They did old songs and new and the audience ate it up. Dio was great, talking to the crowd as he always does, making them feel a part of the show. I liked this performance even more than the previous show at the Forum because the members took longer solos and really had opportunities to show why they have been such an inspiration to others through today. Before their encore, Heaven and Hell was presented with Gold Record plaques for their DVD, which has only been out a few weeks. After another song the night was done, the audience didn't want to go home, but alas the lights came on and out we went. My mother said she liked Heaven and Hell best, adding that they're almost her age!

At the show, my mother and I ran into some of my friends- Junkman from Knac.com, local rocker Fifi Larue (watch for him on "The Next Great American Band") and Rocky aka Mountain Man, who I worked with when I used to co-host "G-Man's Freak Show" on cable access. They all asked my mom how she was enjoying the show and she replied with a big smile. On Monday, I caught up with my brother to see how he was doing. He said he was feeling better, he liked the concert t-shirt we bought him and that mom said she wants to go with us to the next metal concert we attend!

Sunday was quieter. I went to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County to hear a lecture by Jean-Michel Cousteau (son of Jacques Cousteau). He discussed global warming, the importance of our oceans and his latest film on the Amazon, which should be on PBS early next year. After his talk, I wandered through the museum and then enjoyed the last of the afternoon sun in the rose garden.

This week I interviewed Pepe Martinez of Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan, the author Ray Bradbury and Shannon of Monster in the Machine. I also visited Fearplex, a haunted asylum at Fairplex, Pomona. You can view video and photos of my adventure there at http://www.sgvn.com/ and, for more information or a haunted venue near you, visit http://www.fearplex.com/

Tonight I'm off to Cradle of Filth http://www.cradleoffilth.com/ , Gwar, CKY and Vains of Jenna at the Wiltern in Los Angeles. I'm dancing on Saturday and then going to see the magician, John Gabriel http://www.johngabrielmagic.com/ , on Sunday. You can read my stories at http://www.sgvn.com/ - use the search function to find them.

And photos! I've got photos! Aside from my cool comic strip by Byron Spearman, you can see me with Lisa Haze of Skallywagz, Andrew on stage with Skallywagz, a cool still shot from Joe Walla's next music video, and a pup and kitty that made me smile. There's also an awesome photo of me that photographer/videographer Ron Fu took when we were on assignment last night at the Fearplex. I didn't know he was taking it, so maybe that's why it's so good (lol!), but the mirror makes it kinda creepy too. Enjoy!

In rotation this week: Jeff Oster, "Marley Days," Jesca Hoop, Chris Botti, As Cities Burn, Halford, Dio, Cradle of Filth, Through You, Gwar and 69 Eyes.

This week I have been a little down, as my life isn't changing to what I want it to be fast enough... or so I thought. I asked some of my friends for advice and they told me not to push things and to realize that I am strong, independent and successful in my own ways and I should be happy with that, as the other things I want will come in time. One also said that maybe that I'm really not ready for that type of change yet, so it's just not to be at this time. Perhaps we can all learn from this- patience is so often part of the keys to true happiness.

Keep on rockin'

Mickie