My Love Affair w/ Fender! (NAMM 2010)

This was our second year at NAMM…it feels really good when you play something big one year and everyone loves you enough to invite you back the next year…not that we aren’t lovable like that ha ha! We played for Fender/Gretsch which is basically the same company with one having more classic old school vibe and feel and the other one being the typical rock guitar…Now don’t get me wrong, I‘m a Gibson girl, but a fender strat WAS my first real guitar…I remember wanting one really really bad because Courtney Love played them. I started off with a Squire (Fenders' more moderately priced child) and later moved on to a real Fender. My first guitar was black and I remember having a Cramps sticker on it and a pic of Courtney Love (of course!) I played a set of two shows/back to back nights at some club in Westminster that isn’t even around anymore…with this ridiculous wanna be Kiss copy band called FiFi Larue…the shows were good, unfortunately some jerk stole my guitar when I made the mistake of not packing it in the van (at this point we’re talking mini van, not uh, van van…) My second fender went the same way…she was gorgeous, baby blue and managed to sound amazing although I was still playing out of a shot to shit Rickenbacker amp… I remember playing the 3rd or 4th annual Mad Monster Party that we used to play every year at the knitting factory… Someone stole it from the back room along with my coffin case. That sucked… and to this day I am a straight up Nazi about someone watching the gear at all times… I always just brushed off the loss of the guitar, cause after all it’s just stuff… but I’m SURE at this point in my life if I lost the Gibson I would surely lose my shit.
NAMM, oh yeah! NAMM! So Fender put us up in the Double Tree the night before so we didn’t have to deal with the NIGHTMARE that is parking at NAMM… Now if you haven’t been to NAMM it would surely blow your mind… even for the mild gear head it’s overwhelming… all the new guitars, psuesdo-rock celebs everywhere! One out of three people looks like they came from a time machine set to the 80’s… Mick Mars was there, Yngwie Malmsteen, Strung Out played, Kerry King, Slash, etc, etc...
We played the Fender stage which is inside and set up like an auditorium…it was cool, but honestly like the vibe wasn’t there… we were rocking and a lot of these people were trade show old people mixed in with our crowd… See namm is weird because you CAN'T buy tickets, so fans CAN'T get in… so when you see a whole bunch of people singing along, which thank God there were, then that means that your fans also work for companies… extra cool! So our set was good… there we’re a ton of cameras and the video looks pretty sick as do some of the photos, but truly my favorite set was the second one, down on the motherfucking floor super punk rock style. This was where we played last year, on the floor at the Kim Falcon booth…There’s just something about playing right there that has super good vibes… I was able to jump into the crowd and really “ACT OUT” I like that… that’s when I really feel it and am stoked… Chris Pontius loved it, and you know we love him! Other pseudo big fan moment was Dhani Harrison (George Harrison’s son) watching from the side of the fender stage and telling us how much he loved it when we got done… BTW he rolled up in a bullet proof escalade. Just sayin. So we played and it was great, both sets….it was only like 3:30 by that point and I was exhausted as I’m sure all the other girls were too… we walked around shaking hands and kissing babies and later after watching Strung Out’s set we headed off to a delicious sushi dinner with the Strung Out dudes, Michael Shultz (the homie) Billy the fender marketing genius and a few others… Sushi was cool, but I couldn’t wait to get some sleep and go round 2 as a spectator at nmamm the next day!
I rocked out on the Malcom Young model Gretsch which actually sounded pretty sick after I let a super tech friend rewire the sob to run hotter...I shot some stuff for Altitude TV which is now REVOLVER TV(more on this in a bit!) and the day was pretty packed, but in a good way!
The rumors were true! Rancid actually came out and played the Gretsch floor stage on Saturday… It was nothing less that phenomenal…it was good to be a punk rocker that day…I really really felt proud…it was one of those moments that really make me feel proud to do what I do and be a part of this hellcat family. I actually got teary eyed! And I wasn’t too big shot to sing along with all the other fans, cause this was real! I later ran into Corey Parks (Nashville pussy/Chelsea girls) who was there promoting her new cabinet line (super sick and white!) It’s funny because everyone is there promoting SOMETHING! It was good to see all these people (Tim, Corey, Michael) who believed in the band and gave us their love and support… that’s why we are where we are… we give them mad props and love! Viva Namm 2010!

New SONG posted I co-wrote w/ Elvis Cortez from Left Alone!

Yes, that's right....this song was about 10+ years in the making....he's always been a good friend of mine, even though we've gone long spells without talking over the years....this is probably the ONLY person in my life who was around in the beginning of civet (circa 1999) and is around now...ha ha.....so enjoy!!!!


Go check out his myspace
http://www.myspace.com/elviscortez
and support your music scene!!!



Oh and while I'm at it....I've decided after a lot of thinking to make my FACEBOOK open to the public....and actually announce it....I just feel that I get a lot more personal on that page and do constant updates and I would like my fans to have access to that...I mean....why not? You guys make this band and my projects what they are and I'm eternally grateful!!!! Just remember to behave!!! ha ha!!! Come find me!


Give me some lovin' feedback on that NEW song!!!!

"it's only been a couple months"

So much has changed in my life it's crazy, but I feel like as a person I've stayed the same....people close to me are all getting engaged/married and having babies and a part of me is screaming "I'M NOT READY TO GET OLD AND STOP LIVING"...not that I think that getting old = babies or is entirely BAD....but I really love my touring life, and my band life and drinking and hanging out and to a certain extent just my independence....I feel like I'm at a point in my life where career-wise I'm on fire and it's just getting better and better everyday, I've got a great new (which might actually be old!) outlook on the band and I feel full of energy, in control, etc.....but all around me there it is...the fucking babies, the "say yes to the dress" episodes, all the people close to me getting engaged....it's scary...Like tonight, suz and I went to Target to get me a Xmas tree and we run into Tatum, who is just gorgeous, but she's also suzi's age and has like a 4 year old....holy shit! like, when do you live? how do you pay for that? i would hate to have a child and not be able to buy him/her/it everything it needs and wants (to a certain extent)....I don't know...lots of crazy stuff to think about lately and I'm not really sure where I fit in...I'm a girl...i wanna get married, it's in my blood....but so is rock and roll.....soooooooo I guess it doesn't matter cause it's not my decision anyway! Boy does that take a lot of the pressure off!!! Yay for tradition!

Wild in Glasgow...Tonight!

Manchester, England….
You guessed it…just how they said the crowds suck here…they kinda did…or maybe it was the spice girls costumes we came out in, uh cause we didn’t give a fuck. I’m still feeling very much a girlfriend on this tour, but I feel like the more space I give myself the better I feel about everything in general…I am a real legit moving person, with a career and a history and lots of things…. Dont' get me wrong, i'm with someone for the first time in a long time, but vibing with another person while being really close space invaders everyday is kinda tough. I feel like I’m getting better. Dealing with my issues a little bit more, I need to make sure I’m not being crazy about nothing….Liza, for the record, totally gets crazy about NOTHING sometimes…ha ha…but honestly…that’s what makes you great, being slightly eccentric.

Nothing to see here

The tour itself has being going GREAT!! I’m definitely feeling the northern euro vibe like Sweden, Norway etc. a lot more than all the countries I’ve visited in the last few months….It’s crisp and everyone is really really good looking ha ha…oh and Belgium…..LOVED Belgium…I finally got to meet (and shoot with!) the one and only Cindy Frey who is not only talented and super cool, but beautiful…I’ll have some of those pics soon….I went to Vaudville 79 the store Tommy X owns…see I think they just hide all the super cool people in Belgium….He hooked us up with some clothes (that I proudly wore onstage) and his gf was at the show as well…It was cool to meet him outside of the whole US Bombs /Ex shadow….It felt good.






I’ve been drinking heavily (what’s new?!) and just having a good time in general…like I said earlier I definitely feel like this has been a trip where I’m wearing several different hats….Our merch girl bailed on the tour, so we’ve been handling all that, then I’m in the band (duh!) ha ha…I feel sooooo busy!!!! And truth be told when I’m not rocking out or hanging out I’m trying to sleep as much as humanly possible….I love love love my sleep….
Tonight we’re in Glasgow Scotland, which totally reminds me of my dad cause my family is Scottish
Is this real life? Am I really on tour in Europe for the 2nd time in like 4 months…and with my band who I love love love!? Damn!!!

Ain't no money in rock n' roll

Euro Update #1

Back in Europe…back on tour with the st dogs….shows have been really good…really really good, except for the first night, where apologies to our Berlin fans we totally shot ourselves in the foot by overpricing our tshirts….duh…ha ha….We had a wild drinking night in Stockholm followed by a equally wild night in Finland drinking again. It’s really hard to not drink around our tour and label mates, they are definitely seasoned drinkers….we definitely can’t go out at all without things getting exciting, whether it’s a bar fight or old flames, we just can’t seem to keep the drama under control….We just made the cover of our first magazine in Europe….SUE magazine and to add more fuel to the fire our magazine in all it’s glory was at the bar we chose to drown our sorrows in whilst in Finland….The thing about drinking is your perception of things totally gets skewed depending on how much you’ve had to drink….I’m always right when I’m drunk….unfortunately everyone else is too ha ha…my night was just a big rowdy messy mess of alcohol and civet/stdogs shirts…..sometimes after a night such as this it’s good cause it puts me in check…I want nothing more to go crawl back to the rock n’ roll love I came from, put all my time and effort into something that I know won’t ever disappoint me, and if it happens to, it’s never personal….it’s rock n’ roll….I want to write…I want to break away for a second and get back to the basics that feel really good..I wouldn’t be out here touring and dealing with all the bullshit if the pure act of playing and being one with an audience every night wasn’t so intoxicating. It’s never about the money or the love or the crazy hangouts, it’s always about the music and I just have to not forget that….Sweden, here I come, a little worse for the wear, but ready to rock n’ roll…..

Bardot or bust!

Here's my blog that ran on my good friend steph's site!!!!
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Now, I'm super psyched to bring you today's guest blogger who went to extra effort to get me her really amazing ballad while she and her kick-ass band were on tour with Social Distortion....I'm talkin' bout the one and only LIZA GRAVES OF CIVET!


If you've been following my blog for awhile, you know how much I adore Liza and Civet. I haven't been this into a band since I discovered the likes of Social D, Rancid, Hole, and Nirvana back when I was like 13.


If you haven't been following my blog, well here is the lowdown on Liza:


Liza Graves sings (and plays guitar!) for the femme fatale band Civet (check them out here!) And when she's not out touring/recording and generally trying to change the way women are perceived in music she does a bit of blogging/ modeling/ musical collaborating/ creating/ running her indie label (callgirl records)! She also is a VJ on Altitude TV which you can check out at www.rockonaltitude.com

Lastly, I cannot recommend Liza's blog enough. If you ever wanted to know what life is like for a real rock 'n' roller, you must start reading http://lizagraves.blogspot.com/. She's not a name-dropper or a kiss-ass, she just tells it like it is.... As she is about to do in this ballad.


The Ballad of Big Sister: Liza Graves


I am many things in my life… a rock n’ roller, a writer, a lover, a vj, an occasional dealer of weed (in the great state of CA where it’s legal), but most important, I am a big sister. In the grand scheme of things I have an even greater job and that’s shaping the lives of two growing human beings! I like to a think I had a hand in who they have become and I will be there to always take them through the tough times. If I’m lucky my little brother will be there to walk me down the aisle…..er, someday…not soon!

My little brother Joe is 15 and smarter than me (or so he thinks!)…he’s one of those kids that just was given what he wanted all his life…he’s gunna get older and land some girlfriend/wife/significant other to take care of him all the way, I can feel it…my job is to teach him to love and respect women. I like to think he respects his sisters….He’s had a bit of a bad upbringing, bit it’s not unfixable. For a 15 yr old he’s got his head on pretty straight! He totally doesn’t think I’m cool at all…There’s plenty of kids who would love to be able to say their big sisters play in a rock band, oh but not my brother….he’s into other things, like that Screamo/Hardcore stuff…Our convos go something like this “Joe! I just landed a Social Distortion tour, do you wanna come see us?” Joe, “Naw, that’s cool man….when are you gunna play with Saosin?” I swear he likes bands I’ve never even heard of which makes me feel either a) really old or b) really uncool….ha ha….

On warped tour recently I was able to introduce him to the toothless singer of that band “The Devil Wears Prada” who I didn’t even really know at all….I had my ALL ACCESS pass and this desire to impress my brother, so I made it work….I think he thought I was pretty cool after that (for like a day!) Someday, I tell myself, someday I will do something that bridges the little generation gap we’ve got going on. I’d love to get him on the road to tech for us, but I don’t think that would ever really work out. I mean, would you really want to tech for your two older sisters?

Did I tell you my brother is cool? He is, he’s one of those eternally cool kids, not the socially awkward ones, I look at him and just think, “how come YOU get to go through high school that cool and we were totally suffering as awkward ugly ducklings?” Someone definitely hogged the “suave” gene in our family!!! I wanted to include my brother in my tale because he doesn’t get enough attention from us, we are always on the road…I recently got to hang out with him in Seattle at my grandmas and he flew through Stephanie’s new book…which also focuses on a sister/brother relationship. Joe, am I cool yet?

My partner in crime aka my sister aka Suzi Homewrecker, on the other hand, I like to think I was actually responsible for turning out…She was doing great in school and was in a mock “sorority” as well as an active member of the cheerleading team….typical wannabe all american girl (in high school you’re never who you want to be)…I put a stop to that real fast!!! As early as 14 I would have her sit in for a song or two at civet shows….she still was blond, but I had all intentions of handing her a bottle of black hair dye, a guitar and an official spot in my band as soon as she was old enough. “Old enough” came sooner rather than later, she was officially drafted at 15.….just 15! I meet kids now in bands as young as 17 and I just can’t even wrap my head around someone that age being able to tour….It’s mind blowing and I have no idea how she did it…The period she entered the band in was crazy too….We weren’t just playing backyards anymore, we were starting to actually get somewhere….Suz and I had just schmoozed our way onto a coveted spot at DISASTER RECORDS (Duane Peters’ label) and had started feverishly writing. My sister and I pretty much single handedly penned the Massacre album…granted she was still a little young and inexperienced to be writing great epic rock songs, she definitely was my sounding board. I can remember sitting in my room being the bossy older sis, “Suz, play this!” so that I could write my solo over it. I’ve always written better with someone around, and my sister seems to have that magic something to get the good stuff really flowing. I’ve always felt like that though, not soley in music. Suzi has always brought out the best in me, the crazy fearless side….I like that when I’m around her I feel like I’m 20, not 25...she keeps me young….ha ha….

Suz and I have been though the ringer together and I’m proud to call her my best friend….There was even a time when my bad rock n’ roll influence actually started to sent her down the “road to ruin“. It was about 3 yrs ago, we were on the road with my sisters boyfriends band the Breakdowns (now the Strangers). She’s gunna kill me for telling this one, but I think it illustrates a really big point….that no matter who you are, or where you are, family comes first. We were all feeling a little cocky, it was our first tour in a while, we were getting in a little bit of late night “boy trouble” at a Motel 6 in Sacto….We had played a great show and split off into our separate groups at the hotel. I started feeling like something was seriously, seriously wrong…Like, I just knew…I jumped out of bed (one I probably shouldn’t have been in anyway) and ran to find my sister at the party room in the Motel 6.….Sure enough, there she was, my little 17 yr old partner in crime doing lines of coke with some serious bad influences. I was livid….more than livid I guess I was just scared. Being scared makes you do some seriously fucked shit….I grabbed her out of the room and pretty much pummeled her…I couldn’t stop screaming….Everyone said it wasn’t a big deal, but you know what? I knew better. I knew deep down that if I didn’t make sure she knew that this wasn’t ok NOW, it would happen again. I was fully responsible. I brought her into music. I put her in this life so early….and granted I set a really different rock standard of no drugs and no sleeze, it was still my fault that she was around those people at the Motel 6 at age 17… That night I had to make the choice of my sister, or my music….and all I could think was, “I don’t want to do this without her” …So after I gained control of myself enough to stop throwing punches at her and her bf (sorry Dave Stucken!) I told everyone we were leaving and threw her “good time” having ass in the van. We drove straight home without stopping…I knew that that in itself was a statement. That I would NOT put something like the band in front of her, that nothing was more important in my life than family and a cancelled tour was just one of the sacrifices I was willing to make to make sure she turned out alright in life. It worked. She doesn’t do drugs and although she pretty much grew up with the opportunity to be a big bad rock n’ roll kid, she’s totally got a good head on her shoulders. She’s respectful, she’s driven and she is one of the most amazing people I know…Granted we still argue about things like who the best Beatle was or whether a Fender or Marshall head gets better sound, for the most part it’s smooth sailing…and the best part of all of this is, I get to tour with my sister/ best friend…


Balance is the ultimate struggle in my life….I have to balance my relationships with my career….my rock career with my day to day job, my ego with my down home personality, my “Ms. Liza Graves” with “Just Liza“, my family life with my road life. In the end its definitely my family that keep me grounded. I like to give my sister and brother credit for keeping me grounded, reminding me that at the end of the day there’s nothing like family, that’s for life yo!


Today's Contest:
Really, there could only be one prize I could offer to go with that blog entry and that would be a copy of my book, I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone. I wrote that book because I dreamed of the day a ballsy woman would rule the world of rock. Liza and the ladies of Civet are exactly those kind of women. Not to mention the book is about family loyalty, whether it be the family that you are born into or the family you form from your friends.


So leave a comment to enter. Tell us about your sibilings or if you're an only child, friends or cousins who are like siblings, and the influence they have on you.

ballad of a life worth cyberstalking

I did a guest "ballad" for my good friend and AMAZING author Stephanie Kuehnert to help celebrate her NEW book "Ballads of Suburbia"!!! It will be posted tomorrow, come by, show some support and comment away!!! I love to hear from everyone whether it's on my blog er, or on myspace or at shows!!!! xowww.myspace.com/theblacknotebooks

Tonight we are playing the LAST show of the tour that never ends....we are in New Mexico at the Atomic Cantina.....tomorrow morning I'm flying out to TX for a little much needed vacation....Things are getting a little sketchy in my personal life, so I just want to say that I really love everyone that I am close to....I'm really good at being strong and doing what I believe in and I BELIEVE IN THIS. I believe in being loved and sharing your life with someone who "gets" you.... If you've had your chance and you've been cut from my life, please just move on, it will be better for everyone...no need to get all crazy stalker on me please.....

Also my facebook is private....i'm not really a facebook fan so i rarely go on there, there's like 10 friends.....serious!!!! Come see me on myspace or twitter or on my BLOG cause that's where it really gets juicy!!!! I'm the most boring facebook person EVER!

ps. I will be back on http://www.rockonaltitude.com/ in about a week and a half.....see ya there!!! I've got a ton of new pics to put up as well...shows have been amazing, but i'm ready to get home and recharge a bit!!!!Love you guys!!! Thanks for all the SWEET tour memories!!!