LA Stories - All That Driving!

I went to LA to see the sights and the sun, to do some shows and hang out for some schmoozey music bizz stuff.  

And it was great!  

(This is a slanket!)

I'm never one to bang on about the weather, usually reserving that chit chat for the guy in my local shop/post office/bakery/etc… but the UK's been sort of trapped under this grey, wet blanket.  Or maybe it's more like a slanket; harnessing the arms and legs as it weighs you down.

Anyway, LA was liberating, despite the famous 'June Gloom' that everyone spoke of, it just didn't touch the sides with us!  In fact Mitchy got so sunburned that his shoulders blistered, and my skin has gone a nice Native American brown.

One thing that struck me funny, was just how much driving we had to do.  Apparently this is a popular topic of conversation in LA (much like the British talk about weather).  And so here's a little set of photos from the car.  http://flic.kr/s/aHsjAG4wdA

The boys and I crammed in, while young Heather negotiated traffic with help from our (German-speaking) sat nav.

We were 2 hours late for our NBC/Universal showcase!  2 HOURS LATE!  For one of the most important showcases we've ever done!  Luckily they were super cool about it, because it truly was insane traffic that made a 30 min journey take 3 hours.  I think we spent about a third of our 2 week stint in LA in the car.

...And so it seems apt to report back about it; it instilled a sense of culture shock in all of us.  

It's nice to be back in Blighty where one can just walk to the local shop, or get the tube across town in 20 mins.

Would I trade that in for the sun, sea and palm trees?  Well probably = yes!

xx

P

P.S.  Stay tuned for more LA stories
in the coming weeks.

God Save the Dream

Hello London, 

How was your Jubilee?

Rest-of-world do you give a flying fig?

I like The Queen, I don't really *get* the need for a queen in these modern times, but as an American in London I am enjoying all this English-style pomp and circumstance!  Here's my top ten reasons why:

1.   I like The Queen's perfectly matching outfits

2.   I like her funny little wave

3.   The Queen has nice sparkly jewels

4.   I am a fan of The Queen's cute matching dogs

5.   I like Britain's toy-like soldiers

6.   I'm loving the brass fanfares

7.   Who doesn't enjoy days off work?

8.   I love street parties and bunting and cakes because it makes me feel like I live on Sesame Street.  

9.   I like fireworks and tofu BBQ because it reminds me of the 4th of July.  

10. I like marmite and cucumber sandwiches (unlike most Americans)

Love

xx

Piney

p.s. the USA version of God Save The Queen has totally different lyrics see?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Country,_'Tis_of_Thee

Stay Sweet - High School Yearbook Spread

Today Stay Sweet is out on general release, exciting ay?  

I think this means you can buy it from Itunes and other digital retailers; it comes with b-sides and all sorts!


If you haven't yet seen the vid please check it out 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_wI-ycCgnU


Anyhoo... I was asked to do this high-school year book feature thing for an American webzine.  It's not been posted yet, but I thought given the subject matter of Stay Sweet, it was a suitable thing to blog about on this fine day of release.


Here's a little snapshot from my high school year book and a blurb about what it was like to be in high school.

Hello readers, 


I'm Piney Gir and high school was funny for me because I didn't really fit in to any clique as such... I wasn't shunned or anything too bad - I certainly witnessed football players bullying drama students and stuff like that, but I was kind of a loaner, a drifter.  


I'd flit from debate team table to band geek table in the lunch room.  I joined student council but was the low-profile treasurer, not president or anything in the lime-light.  I was in all the school musicals usually cast as a cute kid or a crazy old lady; I wasn't the romantic lead or glorified heroine.  I was never nominated for homecoming queen or any of that nonsense, I think I was too weird to be truly 'popular'... in the Breakfast Club I would have been Ally Sheedy not Molly Ringwald.  


I was the girl that would date the tuba player in the marching band, not because he was hot but because he was nice to me.  I was the girl in the back of the class that would do a drawing depicting a scene from Wuthering Heights and turn it in for extra credit in my English Lit class.  I was the girl that excelled at creative writing, got bad grades in math, skipped out of gym class and chose tennis over cheerleading.  


I lost my class ring, I think it's around here somewhere...


xx
P

The Land of Chocolate

I went to the Land of Chocolate and it was fascinating!

I expected some scary Oompa Loompas and a chocolate waterfall, but what I got was much more clinical yet still enjoyable.

The land I speak of is the Lindt Chocolate Factory and Museum in Cologne, Germany.  I have to say the Germans do chocolate very well indeed and so it was with schoolgirlish delight that I approached the riverside building unaware of what awaited inside for me.  

Firstly, it is so educational… it shows you how a chocolate plant grows flowers then beans and what the beans have to go through to become the chocolate that we eat.  

There was a heated conservatory full of cocoa plants and butterflies, there was a series of machinery that ground, pulped, sieved, etc… and out the other side was  a golden, free-flowing, chocolate fountain in a glass room.  A woman in white from head to toe dipped cookies in the fountain and handed these out to guests.  

Next there was a machine worthy of a Raymond Scott soundtrack that churned out perfectly formed little chocolate pieces.  A lady sat at the end of the assembly line harvesting the gold-foiled little nuggets and placing them in a box.  It reminded me of this famous I Love Lucy sketch… 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnbNcQlzV-4

Upstairs was a room with mechanical arms throwing chocolate moulds around, creating chocolate footballs, hearts, bunnies and race cars.  More women in white were making hand spun truffles and specialty chocolate bars with different nuts, sprinkles and edible gold.  

This led on to the vintage packaging displays.  I love kitschy things and so for me this was inspiring.  Old chocolate boxes from the 20's featured kittens with large eyes and Kinder egg toys from yesteryear had a lot more pizzaz than Kinder eggs of today.

All in all, this was such a thrill, I might have to go for a hot chocolate right now with double marshmallow; close my eyes and think of Cologne.

xx

P

What a grand day out!

So for those of you who have not ever attended a Daylight Session you totally should! They are free gigs on most Saturday afternoons at the Union Chapel and feature a lovely array of gentle music to wash over you like a melodic blanket of feel-good fun. It was such an honour to get play one of these events and as you can see from the snaps I wore my Virgin Mary dress to celebrate the churchly setting.

I had the pleasure of singing with Anna who I met when touring with Erasure, as well as Sarah who I met when touring with The Research. Both of them have amazing solo projects in their own rite so I was really pleased they were free to sing with me.

Ditto John Greswell on viola and mandolin, some of you may know him from his past incarnation in Menlo Park, but now he writes super cool soundtracks with people like Oly Ralfe on Bunny and the Bull or the forthcoming animated Monty Python movie (yes you heard it here first folks!)... it was a bit of a star studded event, by accident even... I'm such a lucky duck, I know I am.

But the most exciting person there was in fact Josie. I met her mom at this cool event I participated in called True Stories Told Live. Her mom told the most heartfelt and beautiful story about Josie at True Stories; I actually shed a subtle tear by the end of it. When I heard she was going to bring Josie to the Union Chapel to see my show I was over the moon and couldn't wait to meet them both.

Now I'm aware that there was some stiff competition for Josie's attention, you see, she is a very big Bieber fan (like most girls her age I guess). How does little ol' me compete with a teen star like Justin Bieber? I tried an extreme and forward-combed side-parting but it just didn't work. I'd just have to rely on my Kansas charms and hope for the best.

It seemed to have done the trick because when I got to meet Josie after the show, she was suitably impressed. Job well done! Phew.

You can read Josie's mom's post about it here

http://adrakesprogress.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/geronimo.html

And if you want to see more photos of the Union Chapel gig, check it out here, it's a gorgeous setting for a gig
http://www.pineygir.com/gallery

That's all for now
xx
Piney

piney and josie

Gardening Leave

So have y'all ever heard of 'Gardening Leave'?

I hadn't until I was sent on it.

It's sort of the best thing since sliced bread…

You see an indie chick like me doesn't quite make enough indie bucks to pay the bills and so I've always had this day job persona. You know, putting on a modest grey wool frock with white peter pan collar and trudging on the morning commute with travelling cappuccino in hand to make ends meet and bring home the facon, etc… There's pride in that, it facilitates good work ethic; there's no problem with it, but for reasons I won't go into on this blog I was desperado to get out of my most recent job. It's a tough ol' time out there job-hunting isn't it? Especially in so-called creative industries.

Highline Records saved me! I am going to be working there and I'm sooooooooo excited about it. What a nice little indie label, and I do think it will be fun to work there, they've signed great bands to nurture and as day jobs go I shouldn't have to don such an 'office persona' as I've needed to in the past. I look forward to it! It's hands-on without the corporate red-tape nonsense.

When I handed in my notice (again a fairly splendid moment which I won't share with this blog - sorry but I don't want to name and shame, it's not ladylike) anyhoo… when I handed in my notice I was then sent on gardening leave. I am not sure why, to my knowledge I am not aware of any company secrets.

It's far too cold to garden, but it does give me time to work on my 500+ unanswered Piney e-mails (even my Guy Friday can't do all of them, bless him). I am also recording an album as a side project and might actually have time to finish it over the next couple of weeks. Watch this space for news about it; at the mo it's top secret!

My house is cleaner than it's been for a while now. I have posted shedloads of dresses to sell on e-bay. I'm starting my new job on Feb 14th and I just can't wait! Meanwhile I am getting myself sorted… time is such a luxury.

If you wonder why I never responded to your e-mail, you might hear from me now, yeah! Sorry it took me so long...

xxx
Piney

Hot Burrito number 11

For those of you who don't know Growler yet, you will... he's a regular growl about town and he was so awesome on our LA trip, he played bass and guitar till the cows came home and then he ate those cows wrapped in a flour tortilla and covered in guacamole, I've been saving his burrito diaries for you (11 burritos in all; he fizzled out writing the blog as we neared day 9). Enjoy! xx P

Hot Burrito no. 11
The single-minded culinary pursuits of a hungry English man in the City of Angels


Day 1 – Rambos Mexican Truck, Eagle Rock
Order: Pollo Burrito

Pro’s: This was the maiden voyage into the LA tortilla zone, and I am pleased to say it didn’t disappoint. Looks can be deceiving – to purchase food from a truck I think has different connotations in the UK, ie a hot dog outside the football ground. But this was in a different league altogether – quality chicken, good consistency - we’re off to a flying start!

Con’s: I got the fiery hot red salsa in my eye. However, I accept full responsibility for this and is not a reflection of the proprietors of Rambos


Day 2 – Armon’s Diner, Eagle Rock (morning)
Order: Mexican influenced brunch: Sausage and Hash Brown served with refried beans, flour tortilla’s and fresh salsa.

Pro’s: My first breakfast of the trip, and the sight of Tabasco and hot sauce waiting on the table as I sit down re-assures me. By no means an exclusively Mexican order, but my insistence on having tortillas and refried beans means it qualifies for the run down. Let me just say, the hash browns were out of this world – a singular mass of crunchy goodness, as opposed to the service station filth I have come to expect.

Con’s: A slight communication barrier between myself and the waitress. I tried ordering a diet coke several times, and she thought I was asking for eggs


El Arco Iris Restaurant, Highland Park (eve)
Order: Quesadilla verde and tamal

Pro’s: The Quesidilla was simply delightful, lovingly topped with stringy cheese and guacamole. As part of the ‘combo’ deal I went for I could also choose another item and so I went for a beef tamal which was juicy and tender, and a welcome departure to some of the more traditional staples. The restaurant was a charming family run place too - perfect way to unwind after day one in the studio with Team Piney.

Con’s: Margharita’s were a touch on the weak side in my opinion. And also the verde sauce on the Quesadilla could have been just a notch hotter.


Day 3 – Misc food truck opposite Brannigan’s Cantina, Echo Park
Order: Pollo Burrito

Pro’s: Um. That I’ll never eat here again?

Con’s: I don’t even know where to start, alright? It was just a COMPLETE CATASTROPHE! After the glory that was Rambo’s on the opening night, I was lulled into a false sense of security when dealing with mobile eateries. After ordering my burrito, the wait for it to be prepared dragged on, which led me to believe they were rustling up something truly special. Alas no, it was a gloopy mess. Tonnes of onion and rice, barely any chicken. To make matters worse, my other half in the rhythm section seemed keen to get going before I had had the chance to at least mask this atrocity with hot sauce.

Overall rating: 2/10

Ranking: 11


Day 4 – Good Neighbour Restaurant, Studio City
Order: Breakfast Burrito with Soy Chorizo

Pro’s: We wandered for what must have been a mile in the blazing heat down from the studio, looking for a suitable diner and our prayers were answered when the Good Neighbour slid into view. I went for a breakfast burrito with soy chorizo – not because I’m vegi, but because of my morbid curiosity to witness a soy approximation of chorizo. And let the record state that I was very impressed indeed – great texture to the burrito, and served with crunchy golden potatos on the side. A popular diner with some of the glitterati who frequent the nearby studios so I hear – and I can see why. These guys would be great neighbours.

Con’s: I cannot think of one…okay I experience some toilet related difficulties shortly after but it was worth it.

Overall rating: 7/10


Day 5 – Diner, Mar Vista, Breakfast Burrito

Order: Breakfast Burrito with Tofu (no eggs)

Pro’s: Heading over to the ‘Westside’ with my good friend Alex we stopped in one of his local diners where I opted once again for the Breakfast Burrito. Now normally this dish relies predominantly on eggs which I don’t eat, so I substituted for tofu. The result was a perfectly tasty but not mind blowing burrito.

Con’s: Whilst there was nothing particularly bad, in the scheme of some of the incredible. A bit too much tofu which is was quite tasteless, so plenty of hot sauce needed to jazz this thing up. Also, the waitress seemed somewhat frazzled, possibly having already cashed in her life’s fun tokens – she forgot to bring me my drink.


Day 6 – Swingers, Santa Monica, Breakfast Burrito

Order: Breakfast Burrito with Tofu (no eggs)

Pro’s: This particular diner is well renowned, and has a sister restaurant over in Hollywood which was the first place I ever dined when I visited LA for the first time nearly a decade ago. So this felt like something of a homecoming for me, and was not disappointed. The waiting staff were on the money, and the presentation of my burrito was immaculate – sat there with a dollop of salsa and guacamole on top for a king. I didn’t know whether to eat it or marry it! And it didn’t disappoint in the flavour stakes either – so much better than yesterdays effort. Tofu to rice and beans ratio was just perfect.

Cons: Hmmm. A very mild sense of self importance pervaids amongst the clientele of this place – I know I’m in LA as opposed to Preston, but just slightly more tangible in here. No bad things to say about the food though.

Overall rating: 5/10


Day 7 – Café, Echo Park, Breakfast Burrito
Order: Breakfast Burrito, no eggs

Pro’s: This particular breakfast burrito was served up to me by a lovely guy who knows Rob Campanella, and as he handed it over he said ‘made with love.’ Such sincerity and warmth I was yet to encounter in other eateries on this excursion. Whilst by no means the most substantial burrito, it was perfectly delicious and I particularly enjoyed the way it was toasted to perfection. I had a vision that Costa Coffee should try and invent an approximation of this particular style of burrito to serve at service stations across the UK.

Con’s:No sides with the burrito as standard, and a little toilet trouble afterwards. But otherwise good.


Poquito Mas (?) Studio City
Order: Pollo Burrito


Day 8 – Pinches Tacos, Sunset
Pollo Tacos x4


Day 9 – Foxy’s Resturaunt, Glendale
Order: ???