spaceland etc.

this is my last week-end living up the hill from Spaceland, and i'm so happy 2 amazing bands from Brooklyn will be performing there this Saturday night: Holy Fuck & A Place to Bury Strangers...
hope to see you there!!!
or later at Charlie O's.

the little girl giant in me

CAMP PHOENIX - Afghanistan

earlier this week, my brother Eric Alexandre landed in Afghanistan. as close as we are to each other, our lives couldn't be more different. i was born in Oregon yet i'm more "European" -- or maybe it's just that i'm gay! Eric was born in Lyon (France) but has always been more American in spirit. I went to art schools & then USC for film production. i started partying like an animal when i was 11 or 12, & paved the way for my siblings to be even wilder. yet Eric was always in bed early, kept a tidy room, barely studied & still had good grades. he didn't even develop a taste for booze till he was in his mid twenties. my mother would force him to toast the new year with champagne, which he hated; i LUUUVED it!!!
Eric went to college at the Naval Academy of Annapolis, settled in Washington D.C. & worked for several agencies before landing a job at the Pentagon. oddly, he's far from being a total square. he has a fantastic sense of humour, is always gentle to others, unless he's losing on a tennis court... he has now been in Kabul for several days, and is awaiting his next assignment closer to the Iranian border. I'm not a religious person nor am i deeply spiritual. i'm more of the superstitious somewhat neurotic kind! till his Afghan journey ends in 270 days, there won't be a day he's not in my thoughts, or dare i say "prayers." as different as we are, we share the same blood and a good eye for taking pictures! here are some he took this week, and one of him reading a paper in Kabul's Camp Phoenix:






there's something so absurd about the mood of these pix that reminds me of Terry Gilliam's "Brazil" don't you think? WAR IS SO ABSURD!

get fingered on saturday

if you still need plans for tonight, click on this!!! as for tomorrow (saturday) the fingered crew is throwing another event with great music & a dance class for drunks & punks. they put on a great show...

stones throw + cat power

i have to be moved out by end of week-end but i'll be taking a break from packing my shit up to swing by the Stones Throw event in Echo Park before heading over to the Wiltern in Koreatown to see Cat Power. Chan & band (Cat Power) go on shortly after 10PM... i'll head back to Silver Lake after the show for the Stones Throw after party at Rudolpho's... make it to one or the other or all 3 for a fun Friday night!!! don't forget to RSVP for Stones Throw parties...

free drinks & DIPLO

unfortunately, i don't think Blaqstarr is still part of the line-up but DIPLO sure is & he's the shit. get there on the early side or you're going to have to wait in line with a bunch of crazy kids... rsvpla@metromix.com

say NO to fashion? hell no!

Dutch creative duo Viktor & Rolf presented their latest collection in Paris yesterday. as far as i'm concerned, they can do no wrong... I WANT THIS COAT:

then again, would i be able to afford it? i'm glad there are enough local modern designers in LA i can afford to support with a few cool purchases a year, such as Grey Ant & Brian Lichtenberg... one of my favorite pair of pants was made by dancer/choreographer/designer Ryan Heffington who makes his own clothes & sometimes makes enough for others to wear & enjoy. i got my Sir Heffington seersucker riding pants at one of his private sales. you can sorta see them here. i also am wearing them here & here... and i love Marlene Salcido's Prospect 44; too bad she doesn't do anything for boys... i would much rather sport something unique made by local artists... when it comes to more global yet original clothes, i can always find something at Opening Ceremony in West Hollywood, Sirens & Sailors in Echo Park, Atmosphere in Los Feliz and the more corporate Energie & A.P.C. & J.Lindeberg... i'm excited to see what clothes Comme des Gaçons will have when i go back to their guerrilla store. if you're into vintage, American Apparel's flagship vintage store in Echo Park is pretty decent. recently, i walked into American Vintage in Los Feliz & found some even better stuff. i forget the name of the girl who works there on week-ends but she gave me some really sweat deals & discounts. at American Apparel's California Vintage they won't really cut you deals like that... at Sirens & Sailors i recently got a few cool things by this great Australian label: Saint Augustine Academy. down the hill from where i live, MAS opened just over 2 months ago; they have a nice selection as well...
on the Viktor & Rolf website, visit the picture gallery of their boutique! i want to live there!!!
Róisín Murphy wears Viktor & Rolph in this video... she pulls off this disco cabaret street diva act with utmost nonchalance so smoothly & non-matter-of-factly. my favorite part of the video is when the piss drunk guy sits next to her in the bus. sooo typical of public transpo! why is it that the drunkest one to get on the bus always has to sit next to you???

HELLO???

i just saw this on Hustler of Culture & it cracks me up:

shit, i've been guilty of this a few times, haven't you?

TONIGHT

good tunes/vibes/peeps by AUDIOCIDE:

the Broadway bar downtown LA is a chill spot:

BANG ON (playlist)

ok, so i'm in the middle of packing as i'm moving out of my house. i'm running out of time & will be taking a break from this blog for a little while... here's my latest playlist. all i'm gonna say is that it's all about the 1st song: Bang On by the Breeders. it's off their new album, Mountain Battles, set for US release on April 8th. i can't stop listening to this song (thanQ Jenn). aiiight, enjoy the following 29 tunes:

BANG ON - MP3 downloads

4:20 PM Ooops Post Scriptum: to avoid any kinda legal complications with the amazing Breeders, their label & the friendly insiders who share music with me, i have to remove the "Bang On" track. you're just gonna have to take my word for it. wait till it is officially released in April. trust me, you're gonna LOVE it! i'm replacing it with a new unreleased song by one of my faves: Jamie Lidell who is with Warp, a label attached to Q Department. Jamie approved this one for sharing. phew! anyhew, i can't wait to see him live again :)

oscar sunday + rocky

Joe had us over at his pad up Laurel Canyon, in the Hollywood Hills. it was definitely a USC crowd! i don't know why he was there but i was introduced to Michael Huffington. also there was my former screenwriting teacher Paul from USC... i left before the end of the Oscars for another party in Hollywood, where everyone had gone to NYU. the only difference between USC grads & NYU grads is that USC ones tend to be higher up, literally! we live in the hills; they tend to live down in the city! Vanessa, Ariana & Josh are from NY so they aren't used to the Oscars being over so early. we did what had to be done: go to the Short Stop & dance to some good ol' soul music, then have a night cap at the Gold Room...

















i wish i had a pic of this gay guy Rocky. years ago, he was introduced to me by a friend who went to Berkeley with him and just reminded me of his name. i never liked Rocky that much. i'm simply not fond of social retards. Rocky is the kinda queen who complains about everything, and unfortunately must have tons of self-hate issues... out of the blue, he walks up to my friends & i, leans over & tells me "I just want you to know that you are the biggest asshole ever!" before walking out of the bar all alone. i wasn't even able to tell who he was till he passed through a better lit area on his way out. i was a little stunned, i mean... for whatever reason, in the least expected place & time, the tragic cliché of gay cattiness kinda caught me by surprise! oh well...

a taste of belgium + reg'gay

Vanessa who is staying at the Viceroy jetted over to the east side to have dinner with me at Alegria, my favorite Mexican restaurant, then see IN BRUGES. not the best movie i've ever seen, but it took me back to my homeland & the beautiful "Little Venice of the North." this medieval town truly is "like a fucking fairytale!" (i'm just quoting Ralph Fiennes here; i would never use that kinda language). the little things made me nostalgic. for instance, the velvet train seats; they still have the same familiar colors (burgundy) & classic patterns (simple stripes) than in the 80s, when i used to take the train into the city to go to school. my brother sent me this pic of the secondary school i went to in the 80s, the Lycée Émile Jacqmain, considered the best in the city. it's in a public park right by the headquarters of the European Union:

i miss the canals, the grey skies, the flat landscapes. although i'd be running back to sunny LA if i was there for too long! between dinner & the movie, Vanessa's friend Vivienne who is also staying at the Viceroy joined us. we made it to an art opening at Wacko's where i tried on some hats, and swung by Cheetahs for a drink -- where Vivienne seriously considered leaving advertising behind for pole dancing -- then went to the historic Vista Theater. it has more leg room than any other theater; Vivienne was so comfy she fell asleep for most of the movie! besides, the picture/sound quality is fantastic... after the movie we swing by Akbar; it was a packed reg-gay night or something. Vivienne cracked me up. all i'm gonna say here is: tongue hard-on! we headed over to Eagle, the local gay leather bar for one last round, where Vivienne befriended Sister Dolly... anyhew, here are the pix:

gay friday

friday started out in Beverly Hills, where i met up with Jenn & Kari t0 go see this band from Austin called What Made Milwalkie Famous... some bands have such long names. anyhew, the show was at Bordello downtown, also known as Little Pedro's. Ryan Gosling was there shooting stuff with a DV camera. he's HOT! also Mary-Louise Parker's brother in one of my favorite cable TV shows, Weeds (he also was in Angels in America)... 5 bands were playing there that night but we decided to get silly & dance at a gay bar by my house. on our way there, i showed these 2 NYC girls the street where MJ's Thriller music video was shot & i took a pic of them in front of the Thriller house. at another kinda MJ's (the gay bar), Cacho first joined us. he's from Paraguay & is an old friend of Kari's whose husband is also Paraguayan. having grown up in South America for several years, it's always nice to have a latin connection. Kari was in town for a few days only; their beautiful kiss was frozen in time in one of my pix below! Jeanie cabbed it over to meet us there too & we headed over to Mia's for a night cap before calling it a night. here are some pix: