CHURCH

So here I am, 4am, Sunday morning... again my weekend flipped me hard upside down and nearly killed me... but it damn, was it ever fun. NOT expecting the Bassnectar afterparty at Dollhouse to get so slammed, but apparently I was the only person who wasn't expecting it since apparently he's some cultural icon now or something. Full in an hour with 200 hundred people outside and two stretch limos sitting there? No wonder the po-po showed up and shut the party down (even though they were nice and waiting until about 5am). This of course was a first for us but it was bound to happen at some point and I'm not sorry (I'm not worried about any future visits or anything). In fact if Vancouver's finest hadn't kicked everyone out I'm pretty sure the party would have gone until noon. It was a fitting end for our staff Christmas party, considering that it was called CHURCH. The Basscoast grrlz really set it up; Liz ended up having to stay up in Whistler for the night to take care of her little one after paintstakingly setting up the alter (bummer) and called to tell me that her phone had been going off all night with people trying to get in and saying that the line-up OUTSIDE was even fun... Church party indeed. I even managed to get Ronin into a cute alter boy outfit before the show, but only for a moment (it was a hot moment though). Another well-known DJ accidentally took the wrong acid and was high for the whole next day AS WELL and just finally came back into the world. Whuppppps, careful of that stuff coming from Nelson people. It's for real. Also cuts of images from the haziness... shots of us spanking Self Evident's hot ass behind the decks, Andrea our right hand grrl LITERALLY shop-vacuuming the unfortunate clog in the main toilet with the help of a random amazing couple (!!!) and all the while, a giant statue of Jesus with his bleeding heart thumping steadily to the bass in front of the booth. Did I mention the show at the beginning of the night featuring Melody Mangler & Voodoo Pixie sucking either end of a fat candy stick on their knees? AND I wasn't wear pants the whole night, PS. Yes, this is my real life.

But now another week begins; one week before I head back to the shivering city of Winnipeg to reflect for two weeks and put the finishing touches on my SassMaster Plan for life A.D. (After Dollhouse, of course). I'm ready for it for sure. These nights of epic debauchery have been fun and fabulous and a needed change from the machine... and I still plan on helping to make stuff happen like this... just maybe not so OFTEN. Another time, as I've said before, there will be a way to maintain space in the city for these kinds of events without the grind. I absolutely know it. I'm proud to see that so many of the underground peeps are now able to throw shows in nightclubs; makes it so much easier on everyone. No rental fees, no security fees, no need to turn it down (words I hope to never utter again in my fucking life)... whereas our space came out of a need. It's been nearly impossible to fill a room or get a decent night anywhere in this city at a conventional nightclub for us in the past, and it's still nearly impossible to get a Friday or Saturday. Hard work and the attention music is getting is now changing that. The support is there, the artists are getting the attention and as far as venues go, this city hasn't seen the last of us yet (ummmkayyy?). Part of it I think is that mainstream culture is just SO generic right now, I daresay almost more than ever before. I mean, I know there's trends and stuff but it just seems like they're spitting out the same shit in different piles over and over and over and over, and people are needing something else. BADLY. Unfortunately it means that some of the art we've worked so hard to get out there gets co-opted into harsh crap that totally misses the point, Pussy Cat Dolls and "McDubstep" remixes of your least favorite pop songs included (don't even get me started about "McDubstep"... trust me, you'll hear more about it in a future post). But there's always the flipside and it's really a small price to pay to get to reach out to so many people who may hear something that cracks open their entire world.

The need for escapism and alternative culture continues. I'm just not sure that the party element is what I actually personally need at the moment. It's kind of been something that I've valued and so I've put a lot of heart and sass and spirit into trying to provide at least somewhat nurturing options for the thinking person's party... but it's also to create a space for us to meet each other, and a platform for alternative artists, including myself. It has been rewarding... but how often have I actually taken the chance to really stand up on that platform? And how many other ones like it are out there? I wonder...

I'm thinking it's almost time to find out.

xoxo
CP

Scraping off the plate, getting chalk up on the slate... soaking up, wringing out, getting loud loud LOUD.

Blah blah blah, ok, ok... so... I haven't really been bloggy with it since I FULLY intended to do so again back in FEBRUARY already, for crying out loud. Of course I decided it would be a great idea to express as much to like, everyone I know... kind of like when that friend of yours decides to quit smoking and figures that blabbing about it will create some sort of positive peer pressure support incentive not to start again... but really, it just makes the friend feel kinda silly should she ultimately fails and starts smoking again. I am SO that girl. Except you know, cuter.

Anyway, in all fairness, my plate's been REALLY full of shit for the last few years, and unfortunately by "shit" I don't ACTUALLY mean "cheese" (a reality which I feel is total effing bullcrap). Nope, the "shit" I refer to is the "shit" that finds itself on your to-do list when you somehow convince yourself that you can helm several billion community / arts / groups / sass projects and simultaneously manage to sleep properly, eat properly, stay organized, continue to grow as an artist, maintain your personal relationships, pay your rent and oh yeah, rock hot new outfits dripping in your homecooked dopesauce. To think it took me four fucking years to realize that none of this was actually possible without a team of about 10 billion Cabana boyz, who in all fairness should probably be delegated to single moms instead of narcissistic party promoter diva bitches. Fuck fuck fuck. Teddy must have been making some strong-ass cocktails behind that red sparkly bar of ours for me to lose touch so fully and completely... oh yeah, HE WAS. And LOOK, see? "Blogging" wasn't even anywhere on the list!

HOWEVER. I actually do feel like I'm finally managing to permanently scrape some of the shit off my plate so I can catch my breath a bit and remember what it feels like to be a real human who likes to take walks, make brown-rice spaghetti, and rant randomly online about whatever amuses her or pisses her off. Turns out a grrl feels more inclined to do so when she has free time to actually THINK about stuff. I know, SHOCKING, huh.

Turns out also that a grrl tends to turn out better work when she feels inspired and all spongy, which is DEFINITELY how I felt after coming home from New York City about three weeks ago. I felt like a new woman on only a slightly altered mission. It made me realize even more that Vancouver is such a baby city... a beautiful city that I love, despite its need of a severe ass-lighting... and that the fight we fight to expand and deepen the culture / arts communities here is an age-old battle that has been fought and won and reflected in cities all over the globe... we're just a little behind is all. One day it will be possible for me to sustainably apply what I've learned in the last two years as a party promoter, festival producer and venue owner... but interestingly enough, I think that will be the day I'll no longer have to fight my way up from the underground. In the meantime, I plan to relish in the current rawness of it all. And I think maybe that means it's a good time for me to get some shit out on stage, or on a record, or on this blog, or wherever. So it's where I'm at... I just hope I can put my mouth where my brain is. I think I just sort of have to, because otherwise I don't really seem to work properly... I just feel sort of broken. Time for some renovations and a couple of good artistic fixes.

Speaking of which, lately I'm loving just letting burlettas come out however they want to... sometimes I feel like singing, sometimes stripping or strutting, or all three, sometimes rhyming or even just MCing the show in the classic sense with introducing the acts and hosting. And sometimes I NEED to create a new mohawk headdress or to tightlace into a corset... but then sometimes it's not so much the craftsmanship of what I'm wearing so much as the idea that it creates the desired effect for the piece, or even that I just get off on raging garters and an outrageous plastic jacket I giggled over in a bargain basement thrift shop. The point is that I'm open to whatever seems entertaining or interesting, and letting stuff go where it wants and develop into its own aesthetic and its own genre organically and all my own. And I really like where it's going, much more, I think, than if I was driving at something specifically.

It's almost like, you know, being an artist or something. ;)

Sass.

xoxo
CP

This is Why We're Hot

i'd like to address that
i'm still obsessed
with burlesque
i been workin' pretty hard since you seen me last
i passed the class
amassed
true believers in sass
& i ain't talkin' bout some uninspired tittie flash
& cash
will come but i ain't one for money grabs -
i'm not tanning or perfecting my abs
in fact, i'm still me
& forever CP
& i'll be killin' it onstage
where i'm meant to be

i gotta story bout a glory
that i didn't quite have yet
a little birdie spread it all over the internet
i read my words coming back to me
comin' soon it'll be on everybody's TV

a little Slice of advice for free
not every player in this game's got integrity
had to take a step back
was beginning to crack
needed to re-assess my needs
a new plan of attack
that's why they call us all troupes
cause we're fighting the fight
tryin' to get some shit started like I will tonight

hold tight & enjoy the ride
all the party freak grrls Dollhouse tonight
all my rockabilly grrls Dollhouse tonight
all my punk rock ladies Dollhouse tonight
all my liberated men Dollhouse tonight
got the big bass movement with some freedom in sight
so invite your best friend
let go if you can
gonna gather here together saying Fuck The Man.

now before i clear the stage i got one last thing to say
a shared love can be as simple as a DJ
my saving grace a lot of times is play
i think as far as playing goes we might be doin' okay ;)
i never wanna lose my sense of pretend
& that is how we will survive in the end
so if you find yourself left with just yourself & your friends
then you've got everything you need
we'll be provin' that next.