Friday, January 15, 2010

XXII. A Better Sweater


Josie, January, 2010


I had a little breakdown in Leesburg, VA. My friend and my love were there to help peel off the leeches I kept taping to my flesh. As I mentioned in my previous entry, I cried and cried, and it eventually grew on me. I never stopped drawing, never stopped humming new songs in my head. I never just shut down. It was all done through walls of tears and dog hair. And shakes. Poor hygiene. Ridiculous highs. Love all around me like pampering snow. And it fell overnight. And I freaked. Got back to L.A. Freaked out some more.

I became a memory of a friend. I stayed home, still drawing. And drawing. Cans of gingered ale erecting templed walls of comfort. My love, my special, special one, warm by my side: such an unbelievable mind controlled by a God-powered heart. Who would want to leave? Who would want to prance around in the sun? This was a moment to capture and rub against the gums, fast brutally fast, like masturbating myself to bits. Weeks and weeks of mid-change. Blankets to roll around in. Flannel sheets. More gingered ale. More love. More pens. But what about music? No music. I enjoyed being a tourist, casually strolling and occasionally raising an eyebrow to bolkas and black pigs, all the while emptying my bowels of a slimy, dead child who no longer looked like me. This was the spa treatment/Burning Man I could never afford/never wanted to afford. I splurged, I purged, amen.

Whew.

February, O February...you are my January! It's unreal how mighty wonderful February is going to be. Wanna see what I mean? I hope you do. :-)

1. ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S BIG GAY VALENTINE BASH @ HIGHWAYS PERFORMANCE SPACE on SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13: The beautiful peeps at Highways deserve all manner of riches. For decades, they have nurtured and presented works with heart, guts and fluids. I am forever grateful to artistic director Leo Garcia and his army of fearless creators for giving me my first shots at avant-garde. On this special evening (a benefit for Highways), I will be performing a piece entitled "In Heaven". A sonic fondling, if you will. If you are interested in being fondled, and you live in Los Angeles, click here for more information.

2. GUTTED: LACE'S ANNUAL WINTER BENEFIT @ LACE on SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20: This one is being curated by my dear friend Dino Dinco. I met Dino eons ago at a bar. Maybe 2 bars. I don't remember. I knew he was some sort of artist, and I think he suspected the same of me. Several times, he'd be on one side of the bar, in a knitted panda mask (before all the hipstards were wearing them), and I'd be drunkenly gabba-gabba with my friends on the other side, and we would constantly be aware of each other, like two hot gargoyles. Years later, he curated a wonderful show in which I did Killsonic's "Black Pig" with Ryan Heffington's dancers. Then he directed a gorgeous video for "Pianos and Bricks". And now he has asked me to perform at a fundraiser for Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions. I can't say much about my performance, except that it involves many pretty ladies. Click here for more information.

3. REDWOOD BAR with MARK GROWDEN on WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24: SF-based music mastermind Mark Growden is quite a presence on stage. Sweat and enormous talent flow through and from him like plumes of heavenly smoke. He's a lovely man, and he has invited me to share the evening with him as part of his month-long residency. Songs of new and old. I'll be accompanied by friends. Click here for more information.

4. REPULSIONS: CELEBRATING 55 YEARS OF CINEMA @ GALLERY 2023 on SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27: This is my first voyage into curatorial waters, in that I will only be curating this event, and not performing. But please, take note: there will be 14 extremely gifted artists presenting new, multimedia works based on the films of a true Hollywood legend. Which one? Who could it be? Shall I lay out a red carpet of delicious hints? I will do no such thing. You see, all funds received at the door will go to RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network), and frankly, if I tell you who we're honoring on this evening, well...some fucktard in Hollywood will run and tell his cigar-sucking henchmen to shut us down and make sure that RAINN don't get a single cent for all the wonderful services they provide to survivors of rape, abuse and incest. You wanna be nice? Wanna experience an evening like no other? Click here for more information.

HOLY MOTHERFUCK, what a long blog entry! Sorry.

Tour-wise, there's also a chunk happening. This spring: New York, San Francisco, Paris, London, Stockholm, Berlin and Barcelona. More dates to be announced on my website. Take a peek whenever you feel like it. I'll also be introducing a new Art section on my website very very soon, where you will be able to purchase reasonably-priced original art created by my little brown fingers.

Oh yeah...and regarding Rattle Rattle: still moving forward! I'm working on arrangements. The songs are written. I performed several of them in '09. More will be performed in the following months. And yes yes YES...the whole fucking bitch will be released this year. However, the search for funds to get it off the ground is ongoing. If you want a taste of what Rattle Rattle will be like, check out Black Pig Suite. It's only $5, and you can download it almost immediately right here. You'll be helping massively with the funds needed to make Rattle Rattle possible, and you can get your scream on in the last song on the EP, "Pigfeed Blues". Crank it up and scream yourself into a stupor. FTW. :-)

So yeah...between the radical performances and non-stop drawing, I still have my head and heart, right where they belong. Thanks a bunch, God. Fo sho.

Totes love, my friends.

XOXOXOXOXO

Dorian