Talk about a rocken party! Fabulous Lorraine knows how to keep a party going all night long. I learned so much this trip.. For Example, to be a successful rock star you must perform, not just sing. Lorraine is truly an entertainer. I am too, but she’s got FIRE on tap that girl! When she took me to the airport, the tears fell in gallons. Recording this CD feels like home. The Sci-fi/Horror/Fantasy fans are my people! Oh yeah! I am incredibly proud of my star trek geek background. No khakies or loafers here my dear. See, I can’t even spell khakies correctly. Hee hee.

These conventions foster self expression and individuality like no other group I’ve seen. There is no judgment. If you want to go full on goth or just be casual and wear a pickle hat, you are accepted. We nerds ROCK man! I’ve always loved conventions. I grew up wanting to be Princess Leah and Wonder Woman. I didn’t know it was possible to miss people you just met until now.

Not only is Fabulous Lorraine my best friend, but my mentor as well. We had QUITE a few photoshoots this week. What started out as a frightening experience for Lorraine turned out to be a blast. I teach Lorraine how to model and she teaches me how to ROCK! You see, I’m in charge of the Frou frou fashion and she’s in charge of the stage. We taught each other how to relax.

The corsets were a huge success. Our friends Jody and cool Mary learned how to shed their inhibitions and become leather clad ladies of the night. Of course, I LOVE LOVE LOVE to dress up my friends. I’m in the height of my glory when I can share the “Malena Collection” of jewels, corsets and gowns with my friends. At Mini Con I showed the girls how to make a shirt out of a pair of fishnets. Hey, you do what you gotta do!

I will miss all of you terribly. I feel like I am part of the Minneapolis family of ROCK. Thank you for accepting me so kindly. AND…….

Just for the record, you don’t ever have to be nervous when approaching me. I admit I may look like a Goth Dominatrix, but inside I’m Goth Snow White. Anytime you want an autograph or just want to say hello, Please! Walk up and introduce yourself. I promise not to make you lick my boots. Hee hee

On that note I am going to try and sleep here on the plane back to Hollyweird.

Love,

Malena

The Concert at MiniCon last night was one of the best gigs I have ever played. Adam Stemple and John Sjogren from the Tim Malloys started the night, as they had to leave and go to a gig and they , well, for lack of a more descriptive term, ROCKED. The whole night was so much fun. By the time Folk UnderGround took the stage everyone present was ready for some serious fun and very willing to go where ever our fancy took us. Steven Brust joined us on drums and Paul Regge on Madolin and some sort of Squeeze Box, and Steven’s solo on Star of the County Down will for me, not ever be forgotten, and Paul, well, Paul just rocks.

The thing about playing for a Sci-fi/fantasy Convention is that these people are the very best people going. They just want to have fun. They don’t judge, they don’t have to be ” cool” , they are the most willing people I have ever met in terms of jumping in and going along with whatever the spirit is at any givin point in time. THEY are the show, we play some music, and have a great time doing it, but they are the ones lighting the fire.

No one prestent at the gig will ever forget Geri Sullivan’s repeat of the ” Interpetive Ballom Dance” where the dance floor became Packed with people and balloons, or her once again taking the lead for , what I called for from the stage as” Lead us in a Pirate Dance “. Or Poet Laurel Winter ( who gave the band once again massages after the show, we are SO SO SO big fans ) and Sharon Stitlier ( Bird Lady of the World ) acting out Old El Paso….( yes, MiniCon fans are the Antidote to a week in Texas , we got a round of drinks in return for playing it, more than we got down there, thank you John Manzo ) And then we have Christy, Jody , Amanda , Bill, who are the very gods gift to any band going ( how are your feet today???? ) And not to forget Con Chair of many Cons, Anne Murphy who as far as I can tell, seems to love most everything and has the talent of making everything work while haveing a Blast doing it…

Magic , pure magic. I love it when things come together like that, and if anyone who was there is reading this, I say to you: YOU are the magic, each of you. And you have my thanks.

Malena and I did three songs with Folk UnderGround and Bedlam backing us. She had such a great time and could not stop talking about how wonderful everyone was, the bands, the people, and if I may venture what may not be an un-biased opinion, she was really really wonderful. It was such a great thing to be able to debut a new and un-tried band in front of such an audience . We can’t wait until CONvergence to do it all again!

Jane Yolen was there and gave us, Malena and I, some lyrics to write music to. Dearest Jane, I thank you, once again, I do not like a cd to go out with out you, and I say now, YOU are magic!

Many thanks are due to Greg Ketter , owner of Dreamhaven Books ,for one of the most well run conventions I have ever attended. We had a really great time, and we, all of us, thank you!!!!

Woke up this morning and attended to everything that needed doing and then took Malena to the airport.

I think I shall draw a veil, as writer say, over that parting. Suffice to say: I miss her…..

Love and magic, Lorraine

This has been the most magic week ever, Malena and I have had so much fun! The kind of fun that is a LOT of work , mind you, but we wouldn’thave it any other way. The CD is coming together, we spent last night making practice tapes, and going over song lists, deciding what we are going to record and who might play what. ( we may have worked a little to late as I recall at one point pairing an old Boiled in Lead song by Todd Menton with an even older Buddy Holly song and really getting excited about it )

Getting to play together in person and for real has been an amazing expierence for me, just as far as actual music goes this week. Malena is one of the best singers I have ever heard. She has an amazing voice and songs that I have always wanted to do, but have never been able to because I simply cannot sing them, are now not only possible, but magic. Isobel, by Steeleye Pan is one that comes to mind. Magic, pure magic. Also Post Mortem, an old Flash Girls song, that I have performed and recorded with both Flash Girls and Folk UnderGround , has undergone some serious changes. She sings it the way I heard it in my head when I wrote it. I didn’t know that it could be that beautiful, or haunting or magic, she takes every word and every note and makes them pull at your heart until it may break. I knew she could sing , of course, she has been doing nothing else since we first started talking on the phone, but hearing her in person is like remembering something you lost at the begining of time, and had forgotten, but always knew was there…..

Ack. I have long ranted about the impossibility of actually describing music , or talking about what music sounds like. There are writers that can do it. Adam Stemple does in ” Singer of Souls” ( coming out this summer from Tor Books ) , and Emma Bull did it briallently in ” War For The Oaks ” and Charles de Lint and Sharon McCrumb also come to mind, but I myself cannot. We will just have to get this CD done and post some MP3’s and you can give it a listen yourselves.

Did a lot of photos shoots this week, ending up with Dr. Dan Johnson in a graveyard yesterday. As soon as Malena gets home and sorts thru all of the disks we will have some to post, both the candid shots we have been hearing people like and the professional ones that will be making it onto the CD. Karen Garland ( who also happens to be my baby sister ) is going to shoot us at Mini Con tonight. It is not ACTUALLY our first gig, but Malena is going to sit in with all the various acts who are coming together to make this concert tonight. I think we have Folk UnderGround, Bedlam Band, 2/3 of the Tim Malloy’s and Steven Brust all doing Something tho we are not at all sure what is going to happen, except there will be a LOT of dancing and we may have one or two Lorraine a’ Malena songs that will be coming out for the first time.

Did I mention that I got to wear false eyelashes this week? Talk about new expierences…( no, I would not describe that bit as ” magic” )

Tomorrow Malena goes back home, and tho I am sure this will please her family to no end, I will say this: I will miss her. Really, really miss her.

Love and music, Lorraine

Some weeks take forever, and some weeks fly by faster than possible. This is one of the fliers. Being with Malena is about a million times better than talking with her on the phone and sending e-mails back and forth. And doing music with her , singing , playing , working out the songs and the cd together is pure joy and magic.

We’ve learned three new Neil songs this week and got some new ideas about what it is we are going to record and how we are going to go about it. We had our first pre-production meeting yesterday with Adam Stemple, our producer ( www.adamstemple.com ) and we have worked out dates, times, booked the studio, confirmed the other players, worked out some of the bugs and ate a lot of pastries. ( never underestimeate the power of Pastry in the making of an album )

Today is all about photos, we did our first photo shoot on Tuesday night and got some wonderful shots, we WILL be posting pics on the website, hopefully tonight. Today Lisa Mutch, a photographer from Minneapolis is coming out to shoot us in multiple costumes and make-up. ( I am learning a LOT about make-up this week. The ” just a little subtle for day wear ” make-up is more than I wear on STAGE and for photos shoots, yea gads! Malena is RIGHT of course and it looks otherworldly beautiful , but it is all new to me. She knows some cool traick, she does )

She is setting up the sets for the shoot today, and I am hoping that she can teach me how to move and sit and smile just like she does. In one easy hour. Keep your fingers crossed for me….

Love and light, Lorraine

Hi! It’s me, Malena. We’re finally together! Wehooo! I arrived at the airport safe and sound. I brought so many gowns I had to pay extra for the weight of the luggage. Hee hee
Lorraine took me for a walk in the snow when we got home. Man! I forgot how cold winters were in the north! Of course, she thought it was a “Nice warm day”. I was dressed like a Yeti, and my nose holes still froze. It’s beautiful here. When you live in LA, you forget what wide open spaces look like.
Today we started learning our songs together…in person. Neil taught us two new songs today, “Butterfly Road” and “Adam and Eve”. I can’t wait to sing them. I felt like a child waiting to go into a candy store. Yeah!
We’ll be trying on our Alter Ego corsets and doing our first photoshoot today. Lorraine has no idea what she’s in for. I doubt she will recognise herself. Cool Witchy Photos coming soon!
Love,
Malena the Yeti

I was introduced to Alter Ego Corsets when Miles bought me one for Christmas, one for Valentines, and so on and so forth. Then I started ordering a few for Lorraine. (Alter Ego has great prices so you can afford to go a little psycho.) As many of you know, I am a HUGE corset fan. What girl wouldn’t adore a piece of clothing that pushes up the bosoms and slims the hips, right? I have many corsets, but Alter Ego takes designing VERY seriously. The outside is made of fine lambskin leather and the inside is lined in comfy cotton. Every seam is finished beautifully and they’re steel boned! They’ve even sewn in a see through window for your business card.

So, I took it upon myself to write Karolyn at Alter Ego and tell her how I adored their fashion line. And of course, I told her about our band. One thing led to another and now……………………………..

Alter Ego is our Official Band Corsetier! Yeah! Wehoooo. Yea baby! Uuuu Hu u hu u hu! We will look more fabulous than ever at our first photo shoot this week. So, thank you Karolyn. We will enjoy every moment of being bound in your leather corsets while singing to the world. If your are into corsets, be sure to check the Alter Ego store. The link is on our front page. Let the Dress up Day begin!

I am back from Texas now. STILL tired from being in Texas. Had a great time at the Tim Malloy’s and Boiled in Lead Thursday night on St Pat’s Day , those boys can rock! All very fun, saw lots of people , did much dancing, came home and slept for nearly 20 hours.

Still tired.

But excited. Very very excited. 12 hours until Malena gets here and we Finally meet for the first time. Her plane gets in at 6:00 am this mornng. Sleep? I think not. Our familes are bearing up well during this, tho we are getting the ” You will see her in a few hours, why are you on the phone AGAIN! ”

Lots to talk about. Mostly it goes like this:

ME: I am SO excited!

HER: I am way to excited!

ME: This is so cool!

HER: This is so cool!

ME: What are you briging?

HER: Everything!

ME: I am so excited!

And so it goes….More and more corsets are showing up here at the house. Malena is , apparently , a very corset minded person, and has landed us a featured designer endorsement deal with Alter Ego Corsets, which is very fun. They send them to us now and she assures me we are going to look Wonderful. She has also said she will teach me how to wear them, get into them, and out of them again. Ah, leather….No more cowboy clothes for this girl! ( tho we SO need a picture of Malena in a corset and the pink cowboy hat, yes? )

I am SO excited…..

Love, Lorraine, soon to be Lorraine AND Malena

THe Fabulous Lorraine and I are so excited about this trip. In about 16 hours, we will finally see each other…….for the first time. I’m busy packing and it’s not the first time I’ve needed a bus to transport my closet.

Oh yes!

I am bringing Feathers, Leathers, and Laces too.

Ribbons and Rhinestones and lots of things to do

Sexy shoes for the studio to finish us off right

And in the end Neil will say,

Oh, What a sight!”

We playing two mini concerts and we’re doing three photo shoots. Trust me, her house will never be the same again.

My Boss blogs quite a bit and every so often he would come in very grumpy and explain he had just typed the most wonderful entry , full of facts and fascinating bits of things , only to have it vanish due to some sort of computer weirdness , taking the work of the past hour with it.

I don’t think I was ever properly sympathetic. Now I know. Ah, my yesterday’s entry, so full of wit, wisdom and most likely the finest thing anyone has ever written…Gone , gone it was….

I am running out of interesting things to say about Texas. Actually, I am a Zombie. Life gigging on the road has narrowed to Eat , Show , Eat, Sleep , Eat, Show, and Sleep again, but never for long enough. And I am to the point where I don’t much care which of them is coming up next. I have learned that Teleprompters are hypnotic, and not to watch them during the speeches. Waking up from some sort of trance , to find yourself on stage dressed as a cowboy in front of a thousand people is un-nerving, to say the least.

I did find SPA yesterday afternoon. Ah, spa. I walked in to find the hot tub and started talking to the front desk. Never walk into a spa as Zombie Girl, they could have sold me anything. Sign me up, says I, for what says they, What ever says I, it all looks good.

I had my hot tub.

I got my toes painted Blood Red. Always wanted blood red toes.

I signed up for massage .

I had my first facial, by some sort of Facial Goddess named Tilley. Tilley was great, she had wonderful taste in music , meaning she liked all the same bands that I did and we had a great time together and I learned many things I did not know about what goes on regarding your face . I got to experience The Mask and felt more like Alien Malena than Zombie Lorraine. Tilley got to hear much more than maybe she wanted to about Lorraine a’ Malena and at one point said ” You two must be nervous and excited beyond belief to have done all this and know you are going to meet for the first time in just a few days “

Yes. Yes , I said, that would about cover it.

I spoke to Malena a while ago, and she has apparently gone on some sort of Corset Frenzy. ” I just ordered you another corset” says she . ” But you ordered one for me yesterday , and if I am not mistaken, the day before as well” quoth I. ” Well, yes ” she informs me ” you are going to look REALLY great “

Hard to pin that girl down.

Tomorrow I do the show one more time and fly home. It’s the first time in years I haven’t had a gig on St Pats Day, so I am going to dance the night away at First Avenue, with the Tim Malloys and Boiled in Lead. In my cowboy clothes, I think. ( no, I do not need some sort of Country and Western intervention, I can stop any time I want to…)

For now, it’s the point in the day where we do the show one more time, and then eat, then I go back to the Mustard Room for one more night, where I am hoping my band mate, the one with the Red or Magenta Skin and Long Dark hair ( uh, that’s YOU , Malena, don’t leave me alone my last night in Texas!!! I really really need you!!! I know your best friend has turned into a Zombie, but these things happen. I never said a word when you turned into an Alien…) will call up and tell me more about these corsets, and the fun we are going to have next week, or even just sing me to sleep, once again.

Happy St Patrick’s Day , everyone!

Lorraine

Painted Red? Tomorrow Magenta? Yesterday a Mummy? That girl does lead an interesting life. I suppose my little ” well I had a 6:30 am call this morning , where I sound checked and then got dressed in my purple cowgirl clothes , AND my pink hat and then sat around a fake campfire and played for 900 builders ” isn’t going to sound quite as exciting…..Malena, my dear, wash that red paint off, get your mind back on our music and call me tonight!!!

( tho I do love the idea of pictures at this point….I will post cowgirl pics when I get back to town on Thursday, and you can post, uh, Red Girl shots and Mummy shots , the world has truly never seen a band like this before! )

The show has been going well, and last night I heard the sweetest words ever when the stage manager said ” ditch the costumes and just play your own music for the reception ” It was full on Folk UnderGround madness and everyone concerned had a Great time!

I agree with Malena completely on this size issue, WHO are these people making clothes for ???? How can she be considered large??? Did anyone watch 13 Nights of Fright??? This is NOT an Extra Large women here!

Sigh…

One thing I have been looking forward to with our band and our blog is answering queries and questions and comments from fans, and for the first time now , we have one. I’ll take this one , Malena, and you can comment as you see fit….

Dear Sweetie, ,( where ever you are when this arrives. ) Thanks for the “link” to your Lorraine a Malena website. Gotcha. You look good and I spent some time reading the website and it is newsy. But, Girl, what’s this with corsets? I remember a child of 8 who once saw a girdle of mine and who stated that she would never wear one of “those” Corsets, my, my, my. I can see that you are having fun with your talent. But WHAT is with the Corsets ???? Love, Grandma

( there is no way this is going to go over well, you know….)

Hi Grandma,

Hmm, I’ll try and explain. Corsets nowadays are a little different. They are made of Leather, generally Black Leather, and not cotton, and Malena and I wear them as clothes, and not underwear. Mostly without anything under them too. You know, for photos, on stage, doing the housework….

I hope this answers your questions and doesn’t effect my chances for a Birthday Present this year.

Love, Lorriane

And love and Light from Texas, says Lorraine to anyone , everyone, and in particular, to you , Malena you, who is coming to visit in just 6 days!!!!