Ok, so I promised you all a post this morning, and I will try and get this poor Zombie Brain going enough to actually tell you some of the best bits, and we can keep going as our brains come back.

( Did that make sense???)

First off, the very best bit was getting a chance to meet all of you who came down! Thank you all for all of your help, every time I turned around another of you had jumped on the volunteer bandwagon and was doing something to make things run smoothly and everything go perfectly! Rayvn and Vandaluna were everywhere as Con Chair and her Trusty Sidekick and the weekend was so very much fun.

We need to welcome Glen to our group too, if he is out there reading this. We adopted him as our Bodygaurd-Assistant-Thing and he saved out lives telling us where to go when, and getting us there and making sure we had everything we needed. AND he wore kilts. A utili-kilt for daywear and full dress kilt for the concert. Oh yes!

I should also say we would have been LOST without our tour manager Kitty ( as useuel ) she worked so hard selling things for us and keeping us together and calm, not to mention putting up with things like ” It’s six in the morning and Lorraine a’ Malena are awake and starving and ordering room service”

And Paul and Jody and Dan Guy and Kristina……….Ok, I could go on thanking everyone for everything forever. Must move on. For the moment.

Those of you who who were there know that our Malena managed to catch a horrible cold, and nearly lost her voice. We kept her in bed with tea all day on Sunday and she managed to sing the concert, tho the Greg Brown-Tom Waits voice was pretty interesting. ( of course, Malena at half voice is STILL a better singer than anyone on the planet ) She wrote me this morning that her cold has turned into full blown flu, so we may not be hearing from her for a couple of days. ( feel better , Dearie! )

Ok, the concert, let’s see what I can remember about that….Adam and I started the show with the Norwegian Dance From Hungry #1, a fiddle tune I wrote years ago, which would have been great had I remembered to connect the tuner to the DI, fortunately the vocal Mic was a really good one ( OH! The tech crew was AMAZING, I have never worked with better! ) and I think it piicked up. Then Malena came out ( picture crowd going wild ) and we did Tango Till They’re Sore .

Hmm, onto the Tea Song, first Neil Gaiman Song I ever got from him, and then Something to Talk About. Marilyn, You Drive Me Crazy ( Greg Brown ) I know You By Heart ( Eva Cassidy, which Malena, sneaky thing, dedicated to me and made me cry ) Personal Thing, I’m a Vampire ( Future Bible Heros ) One Night in Boston ( an Adam Stemple Song , have I mentioned lately how very BRILLIANT a guitarist he is???? We cannot play without him and hope we never have to )

We did the Fox, and Dark Sonnet and Sonnet in the Dark ( from the first Flash Girls cd, one we recorded for Mirror Mirror but left off due to space ) and ended up with Lenord Cohen’s I’m Your Man. ( what am I forgetting? )

After the concert was one of my favorite times of the weekend, we went out and signed cd’s , tee-shirts, ( and one arm ) and got to talk to everyone and meet people. I have never felt so loved and appreciated, thank you all SO much for taking the time to let us know how much you enjoyed our music, truly, I was nearly in tears, it meant so much to us…..

The afters party , known commonly as the Goddess Corset Party , was a wonderful chance to unwind and just hang out. Of course, Paul ( Mr Score from my Irish Band ) and I set up and kept playing. Malena tried a couple of songs, but she just didn’t have enough voice left to sing anymore , but Paul and I had a blast.

I remember one delightful fan who kept smiling and listening and told me” I hate myself, but I am already Blogging this in my head! ” ( well??? WHERE is it???????? I want to read what EVERYONE is writing, let us know! )

Malena can go into greater details on the What We Wore, but I can tell you she wore a black evening gown with a Japanese Drag Queen Coat, and I a little Skull Skirt and the best HAT ever. ( I have never worn a HAT before ) and I wore my Desire Boots from the Fiddlers Green Auction, ( knee high red patent leather Doc Martens , hung all over with gold chains, made by Maureen )

I think I will stop for now, there is so much more, but this has gone on as long as my poor brain can think this morning. Malena and I got to fly together for the first part of our long trip home, ( after being driven to the airport by the most kind Dan Guy , don’t ask about evil carrots ) and had an hour in Detroit together. I mention this only because , tired and not looking forward to parting, I managed to HURT myself on the escalator , it caught my leg just wrong, and I was bleeding all over, not serious, but bloody I tell you.

We got some napkins and as I waited to board my flight, Malena dabbed at the blood , she then, the little Vampire, folded them up and told me ” I’ll just save this for a snack later “

And that, I told her, was the end of our journey, and the Bloggable Moment that would end my first post.

Love and Zombie Brains,
Lorraine

We are home again, and not so much Vampire un-dead Creatures of the night as Zombies……..All was wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had SO much fun, and I promise you a proper post in the morning, but for now, I am going to pet the cats and go off to sleep.

( not something we got a lot of in the last three days! )

( all worth it )

Love and Sleep,
Lorraine

Amongst feathers, rhinestones, fishnet and leather….is a mooumu clad Malena scurrying to get the last bit of merch done. I shipped 30 pounds of LaMie glam to Baltimore yesterday. I’ts been so fun making all of this for you. Kitty and I have infused all of our gifts with Magic and loving energy. I even bottled up some of my oldest potions. It will be a witchy fun time for sure! (she says in her LA girl accent) We’ll be taking LOADS of photos for our fans who can’t come. I’ll be sure to get the goodies posted on our new SHOPPING site. (Thanks to Danth-the webmanth) We love him!

Here’s a photo of the back of Lorraine’s jacket I made her. She’ll be stylin’ honey! And to think it started as a man’s western shirt. Hmmm. I had to Malenafy it. hee hee

There is talk of a live webcam LaMie conference. Nora is doing her best to make that happen. We’re also planning to upload the concert footage to the website. (That might take a while) But, it will be COOL! Here’s the schedule again if you need it.

Fri 08:30 PM - Opening Ceremonies (0.5 hours)
Fri 09:00 PM - Meet the Guests Reception (1.0 hours)
Fri 10:00 PM - Art Show Reception (2.0 hours)

Sat 11:00 AM - GoH Collaboration Panel
Sat 12:00 PM - Music GoH Childrens Concert
Sat 08:30 PM - Masquerade
Sat 12:00 midnight- Magic 101 with Malena

Sunday 3:30 PM Malena’s Goth Makeover (1 hour)I’ll help you get sexy for the concert!!

Sun 08:00 PM - Lorraine a’ Malena’s Music and Magic Concert Extravaganza!!
Sun 10:00 PM - GODDESS CORSET PARTY (supermodel work! Ohhhhhh yeah you must stop by)

Ok, my long distance LaMies…
We’ll be sure to include you in everything we can. We will miss you all and we’ll talk to you soon! BIGGGGGGG HUG HUG Kiss Kiss Sighhhhhhhhhhhhh. How is it possible to miss people you haven’t met? You’re all pretty damn cool, that’s how!

Love and Chocolates,
Malena

So, it is coming up quickly, our BaltiCon, less than two weeks. We are really excited about getting to perform and getting to meet everyone, this is going to be a LOT of fun. I am sorry for those of you who can’t get there, but you will be there in spirit and we will be doing complete reports and hopefully, get some video or tape of all the music for you.

So, what exactly are we doing there and with whom, you ask?

Well , for one thing, a concert, backed by the Tim Malloy’s and our own producer, Adam Stemple. This is going to happen at 8:00pm Sunday night, I have been told, and we have the songs together, and the outfits picked out. Adam is an amazing guitarist, and also an author in his own right, having published, on his own ” Singer of Souls” and with Jane Yolen ” Pay the Piper” both are wonderful books, buy them and get them signed by Adam, is the best advice I can give you here today. He is also married , for many years now, to one of my longest and bestest friends, Betsy, she will also be coming to the Con, go up and introduce yourselves to her, I promise you , it will not be a dull expierence.

We are doing what is listed as a Children’t Concert on Saturday at some point, which ought to be fun. Paul Score will be playing that with us, and we will be doing an all accoustic set for “kids” of all ages. Mostly it will be just us, some tunes and a whole bunch of bubbles and fun, acting silly. Yes, you’re all invited.

There is a party on Sunday night too, starting around 10:00pm, which is being called a ” Corset Party” but you do not HAVE to wear a corset, the only rule for it I am laying down is you MUST be wearing SOMETHING. We are not into naked. Paul and Malena and I , with Adam if he is around and the spirit moves him, will be playing some tunes , tho not doing a formal show. Just the sort of thing the musicisions DO at parties, and I for one, am really looking forward to it. There is a lot of stuff that we won’t have time for at the concert, and it will be great to be able to kick back and mess around.

We are doing some other panel type things as well, and we will let you know as soon as we hear what and when they are.

Kitty and Malena, the Merch Queens , have been working for months on things for our table in the dealers room. We will have tee shirts, on sale for the very first time, and all sorts of other Goodies, including Nocturna Underwear! Yes, folks, be the first to own these little darlings. ( Anyone not coming, don’t worry, all will be offered on the site very very soon! We would never leave you out!) We will of course sign anything, at any time. ( Remember that No Naked Rule tho , hee-hee ) Please feel free to come up and introduce yourselves at any time, we SO want to meet you all! We are not scary, really…

( ok, so maybe we ARE , but you lot have nothing to fear! )

Muic and magic, Lorraine a’ Malena

Hello all, for those of you in the Midwest, here is some great news about a weekend of concerts in Stillwater, MN , with some old friends, and for those of you outside the Twin Cities, some info about a mightly fine singer/songwriter (and our own Johnny Sjogren) you might like to know….

On Friday, June 2nd, from 7:30pm to 11:30pm we have, from the Bad Boys of Irish Music, John, ” Big Sexy” Sjogren coming down to Charlies Pub at the Historic Water Street Inn, for a concert with the Fabulous Lorraine, It’s the Lorraine and Johnny Show, (Sometimes known as ” Blarney Rubble ” sorry!) and yes, anything can and will happen this night.
Get ready for some WHISKEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And on Saturday June 3rd Lojo Russo is coming home for a concert with the Fabulous Lorraine! We will be playing at Charlies Pub from 7:30pm to 11:30pm. Lojo has been away on tour for some time now, and we can’t wait to have her all to ourselves again! For those of you who don’t know Lojo she is a wonderful, quirky, strange, lovely, very very talented , singer, songwriter, comeadian little darling, who from time to time has more colours in her hair than I do. In other words, just like us. Spread the word, folks!

So that is Frinday night June 2nd, Johnny and Lorraine!

And on Saturday , June 3rd , Lojo and Lorraine!

Two great nights of music, heck, it is a hotel, get a room! Stay all weekend!

Ok, so you ask, where is PAUL SCORE in all of this? Has she ditched him for a Hot Women and a Guitar Playing Hard Whiskey Drinking Dude???? No, no, not to worry. Mr Score has ditched ME for the weekend, to go to , of all things, a Genetics Conference. What a day job! He should get serious!

Love and Music, Lorraine

Hello all, and I hope your May’s are all going well. This is sometimes my favorite month of the year, Spring is here, even for those of us here in the North, maybe even those of you in Canada, and Things start growing again, little flowers bloom, trees get leaves, peas come up, and even if I am way way to busy these days to get out and enjoy it, I can look from time to time and get a feeling of ” Oh, it’s just all to lovely “.

Lots of Adventures happen in May. All you have to do is listen to any Folk/Celtic/Irish song going and over half of the songs, I guarantee you, will begin ” As I roved out on a May Morning , on a May Morning quite Early ” These people had some adventures I am telling you! I have been out early on many a May morning and I have never met a ” Golden Youth” or a ” Shy Lassie washing her feet” or a ” Withered Old Women who turned out to be a Wicked old Witch ( or a fairy, horse or cursed princess ) or even ” A band of Rovers ” ( or Gypsies, Lords, Ladies , or Fey Folk )

( Of course, the other thing people do in these songs is DRINK. They drink Lots. I wonder , from time to time if the EARLY in these songs is not late at night, and not early after sleeping all night, and getting up refreshed, if you see what I mean. I can see drinking all night and having some wild stuff happen to you on your way home, at least in your mind, as you stumble from the pub homeward with or with out your horse, as it were. )

Or not. Who can say?

I went ( Roved ) out this morning , ( On a May Morning Quite Early ) for a walk, and I admit that some breathing room , stress relief and fitness were what I started out thinking about, but as I walked ( think roved ) it was in my mind that this WAS May, and anything, literally , anything could happen….

Of course, I didn’t see the young girl doing her wash by the waterside, or the two lovers crying, or the mother singing to her fatherless child. Nor did I get drunk, make love, fall asleep and wake up in the fairy realm, or save my country, a cursed thing, or Farmer John’s cow even but…..

There’s always tomorrow, we have quite a bit of May left.

Love and Roving,
Lorraine

For all you LaMies who don’t live in LA, here’s a few pics of the famous Getty Museum. Miles and I had a lovely time looking at art today. My favorite painter is:
William Bouguereau. I love how he painted in such a way that you couldn’t see the brush strokes. I love how realistic and illuminated he made the skin look.

Ahhhh…And the Italian Furniture. The 16-early 1700’s decor was divine.
Well, sadly there are no funny stories to report. Just a fine sunny day of romance and art. I didn’t fall off the ledge and break my leg, and I didn’t squish any bugs. (Guess I have been temporarily relieved of my cricket-nazi title) hee hee. Hey, I do love the songs they make. That should count for something! Oh, BTW, Here’s a spider photo for you. Cruella is doing well. If only she were a vegan….

Love
Malena and Cruella

Fablo left last night and is now safe at home. Before she left, we had dinner with Danth. What a darling dude he is!! With all of you…BALTICON will be a *&%^*&-ing blast, no doubt! Lorraine wrote a song called, Race you to the Moon..FOREVER ago. It’s on the Wild Queen album. Anyway, I loved it the first time I heard it and have been working on it ever since. Fablo says I might have time to sing it at Balticon. Yeah!!! Some songs just stick in your head the first time you hear them. Fablo and I are quite a pair. So many of us couldn’t live without her. Me and my spider to start!!!

Speaking of Miss Fabulous saving the day..
I love spiders, but I hate what they eat (crickets). I went to the pet store to get a few of the evil fiends. Hey! It’s better than feeding her baby mouseys. Oh DarlinG I couldn’t do it. The sales guy couldn’t understand how I could be afraid of crickets, but had no problem holding a 5 inch tarantula. When it was time to feed Cruella, Fablo saved the day (as usual)!!Who would believe an undead thing like me would hate crickets. Ewwwwww nasty! Dirty! Filthy! Crunchy when you step on them. So, Lorraine opened the cricket box and shook a few into the spider cage. (As I feared) one got out and was hopping all over the front room. I don’t think Lorraine has ever seen me that grossed out. Poor Miles thought the world was ending. He laughed when he found out I was screaming on top of a chair over a lil’ old cricket. Here’s my rule:
If it’s furry, I like it. Except Rhino beetles. They are cute too, thanks to watching a Bug’s Life.

With me having an unset broken arm, Lorraine got a little taste of LA driving. All I could tell her was, “No one obeys the traffic laws. And if you do, you’ll get reamed” For example:
The speed limit, turn signals, right of way, stop signs, and stopping at red lights jus to name a few. LA is truly another world.

So, now it’s back to work. Kitty is producing a movie called, War in Heaven. Sounds like we will be filming some scenes in a month or two. Wehoooo! Yeah baby! Jehovah speaks! (that’s me) I’ve got to practice speaking with a RADA accent… (Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts) Think Peter O’Toole. Cause HONEY! There’s NOTHING worse than an actor who speaks with a BAD English accent. Better to do it right or not at all. Lots of cool projects going on here in Hollyweird. As usual, I’ll keep you posted.

Love with NO CRICKETS!
Malena the spider woman

Hello there ,all of you, and a very happy Beltane/May Day/ Night of the Wolf and all!

( And a Happy Birthday to Adam Stemple! )

Sometimes when we are together there are weeks where there is a lot of time, we do exciting things, and we blog and we go places and take wonderful pictures and see our friends, and come back with many a tale to tell…..

And sometimes not. I would love to be mysterious and let you think this is one of the Oh-la-la weeks where it is a full on rock star diva extravaganza, but, ah, actually it might have been a little more mundane, and I am too tired this evening to say more than: Uh, Work..Lots of work where we have been. Our jobs are very similar and tend to go in the same sort of trend, so work again, lots of work.

Mr Miles has been designing another Super Hero suit, like he did for Batman, and had a film crew fly in from the Philippines to do a documentary on his work for the show, which was all very fun, and my big news would be a report from my Most tolerant Housekeeper in the World about a bear that has been hanging around taking down and destroying bird feeders at an alarming rate.

( not the Nice Little ones that hang from a tree , but the HUGE METAL poled jobs that require a Hot Bird Chick to install, custom ones )

( Bird Chick has, apparently taken Bear safety Classes and when called today, told me just what to do. No Food. It will leave. How very comforting. )

( Almost as comforting as my Boss’s idea of going out early in the morning with peanut butter sandwiches and making friends with it. I believe him to have been kidding )

So there you have it.

We have been singing every night and making sure all the tee-shirts and goodies are wending their way to us, and last night , for the first time for me, believe it or not, we watched MIRROR MASK.

( I had seen bits of it during production, but never the final version ye gads, what a wonderful , magic , lovely , gorgeous most perfect movie it is!!!!!!!!! Those guys are REALLY good ! )

( Malena, our one armed bandit, says it is a trippy Edgar Allen Poe-esque experience that could otherwise only be obtained or experienced by taking some sort of Psychotropic drug. Of course, she does only have the one arm right now, but I am inclined to agree with her )

( No, no idea why I am talking in parentheses tonight )

( Love and Mirrors )
( Lorraine )