Long time no post... what can I say, I have been bopping hither, thither, and yon all month, I think I had one weekend home this month..... I have been gigging coast to coast, here are some pictures from my last trip to California, there I met with Mark Nichols and Dana Harrison about the opera with whom I am singing this fall, and I saw our own Zafira Dancers in Sebastopol, CA at Tribal Fest, and my friend Rick McKinney, author of Dead Man Hike No Trails, took me on his boat and then I went to SF Music Tech Summit 2009 where I got to meet the guy who runs the company which presses my albums.....
That said if I have been lax in in promoting my current gigs, please forgive, and come out anyways.... Tonight May 27, 2009 Live and in person! Tommy Amoeba and I are visiting Sharon Mama Spell, at this very moment she is making popcorn for the Shrink mix for tonight's show:
Shrink @ Otto's Shrunken Head 538 East 14th Street, New York City, 10009 (Between A & B. Take the L to 1st Avenue) Stand-Up Comedy Variety Show. "When you Shrink, you come closer together."
Guest Host: Emmy Rivera With Special Guest Sound Tech by DJ Welly Wells Featuring: Nick Zimmerman, soce the elemental wizard, Brian Longwell, Evan Morgenstern, Fariaz, and with other special guests Phat Man Dee & Tommy Amoeba.
Free. 8-9:30 pm. 212-228-2240
21+, Cash Only. Otto's happy hour ends at 8 pm, so join us before the show starts for: 2 for 1 Bud / Bud Light and well drinks, $1 off everything else (which means $2 PBR!).
Next month save the dates: June 4 at Pegasus more info tba June 6 Biker Rally with Bag Lady Sue, benefit for Operation Troops Assist June 8 with Patrick Arena and Mark Lucas , benefit for PFLAG at the Hard Rock Cafe June 14 Pittsburgh Pride in the Streets June 19 Shining All Star Awards at Altar Bar , benefit for PERSAD June 20 The New Hazlett Theater , 1st Video shoot for my new Webcast Variety Hour!! June 27 Grand Midway Production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" w/ cameo by Phat Man Dee Ok, so it's not as sexy as bellydancers and sailing ships and drag queens and decadence, but meeting with local Move On members and Congressman Mike Doyle is pretty hot to me..... after I got back from playing with Peeka A Boo Revue in Philadelphia couple weeks back, I found myself invited as a member of the community and of Move On to Mike Doyle's office to discuss the environment.... Pretty rocking stuff..... If you're good I'll show you the outtakes with the aides....
The sun went out when the sea took his life, I could never feel good again.
Ripper the Shark drowned , not forgot, 1000 replicas would not replace him.
There were songs and altars and photographs too, Proof you had been here, proof we loved you.
But nothing could have prepared me for the sound, Of a marching brass band, wailing for the man who had drowned Their song was simple, it echoed the pain, Of a life we lost as we cried in the rain. Drums pounding, horns screaming, the fire flames high, Primal silence and screaming, I could only cry.
She said the reason he lived has not changed with his death, We must all try to furthur his holy quest. To live without warning, and sing songs with our friends, The love is still there, it can never end.
He drove fast in the fantasia he made with his hands, He adapted to sea forms to ride on dry land.
We love him and miss him, we must endeavour to be, the people Tom Kennedy would want us to be.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Sorry I have been out of touch, I was at a memorial in California last weekend, for my friend Tom Kennedy, and I just kind of fell off the promotion machine..... but please come on out to Pegasus for a rollicking good old gender bending time.... some of my favorite gender illusionists and performers are joining me tomorrow at Pegasus and I would be so happy if you came out to support us!
I will be singing and featuring performances by the lovely Gabyrella Divine, the very dapper Adam Hunter Starr & Miss Teen Pegasus herself, Angelique Young! Come clap your hands for these young performers and celebrate them and they community we represent.
-Pegasus Lounge, 818 Liberty Ave, downtown Pittsburgh, PA
-Thursday May 7, 10:30 pm, 18 and over with I.D. , $3
I have some very exciting projects on the horizon, in June I am launching, in conjunction with Tommy Amoeba and the New Hazlett Theater , we wil be presenting a monthly series, a variety show, as a tv pilot with live audience, also to be then available as a free downloadable podcast, and then in the fall I am heading to San Francisco to be part of a new opera called "How to Survive the Apocaypse, A Burning Man Experience" , and between now and then I am working on 2 albums, but for now, all I ask, is come out to the gig tomorrow and if you can't, buy album on iTunes..... and keep your eyes peeled for my gig @ the Hard Rock with Patrick Arena June 8.
Love and butter, Phat Man Dee
On a separate note, a poem I wrote after Tom's memorial last weekend: A Memorial, A Celebration, A Remembrance of a Life Well Lived.... words for Tom Kennedy by Phat Man Dee
"Wailing and heartache were all that were left as I cried with the big brass band.
Sorrow and loss and confusion and pain, Made tuneful with syncopation heart stain.
The sun went out when the sea took his life, I could never feel good again.
Ripper the Shark drowned , not forgot, 1000 replicas would not replace him.
There were songs and altars and photographs too, Proof you had been here, proof we loved you.
But nothing could have prepared me for the sound, Of a marching brass band, wailing for the man who had drowned.
Their song was simple, it echoed the pain, Of a life we lost as we cried in the rain.
Drums pounding, horns screaming, the fire flames high, Primal silence and screaming, I could only cry.
A Little Bell whispered into my soul, "If we loved him" she said, "He will never grow old."
His soul is timeless and his message is true, Lost not forgot, we are still part of his crew.
She said the reason he lived has not changed with his death, We must all try to furthur his holy quest.
To live without warning, and sing songs with our friends, The love is still there, it can never end.
He drove fast in the fantasia he made with his hands, He adapted to sea forms to ride on dry land.
He made missiles to fire the harsh words of peace, to warlords and monsters he demanded relief!
Hey kids, as I write this I am getting ready to head to NYC, my agents at UGLY NY got me a wonderful shoot with a photographer named Tony Notarbernadino at the Chelsea Hotel for a coffee table book he is planning of portraits of people, I am pretty excited about it.
I can't stay long however, as I have a last minute gig I want to warn you about, Friday, from 5-7:30 pm I will playing with Mike Murray at the Backstage Bar at the CLO Cabaret, off of Katz Plaza , located at 655 Penn Ave, downtown, Pittsburgh. Hope you can make it, it's also Gallery Crawl I do believe, but I am not sure, I heard they were going to do it, then they didn't have the $$ to do it, then I heard someone gave them the $$ to do it... so I don't know how the inner workings of giant funding and non profits work, I just know I am singing, and I hope you are there, free, no cover, light menu, delicious cocktails, be there....
Then Saturday I am headed to Draculacon in Windber, PA! I am so excited about this I cannot tell you, David J of Bauhaus will be there, I was a massive Love and Rockets fan as a child, and still am, so this is really a thrill for me, I am singing and emceeing, so for more details and info where to stay visit : http://www.thecemetery.net/Draculacon/index.html
Gotta go, have to pack, always leave it til last min and have a hair appt in 3 hours, so be well and I shall hopefully see you soon!
Mandee
Friday, April 17, 2009
Hey kids,
Just a quick note to send you the link, I have a new video of one of my new tunes online, let me know what you think!
Also a reminder I am singing at the Backstage Bar tomorrow from 5-7:30 with Mike Murray and Tony DePaolis, hope to see you there!
And next Saturday..... I vant to drink your Bloodweiser...... Draculacon is happeneing in Windber and I am the Mistress of Cereminies! Saturday, April 25, 2009 2:00pm - 9:30pm The Arcadia Theater 1418 Graham Avenue Windber, PA
A Delightful Day of Dracula Con Speakers featuring: SATURDAY DAY AND NIGHT APRIL 25, 2009 $10 at door, includes night performances as well (see below for event descriptions) 2 PM - 5 PM (in the beautiful Arcadia Theater, downtown center of Windber) http://www.arcadiatheater.net
AMERICAN RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE! (VFW next to the Arcadia Theatre, downtown center of Windber) Free! Please come down and donate your blood! 9 AM - 2 PM www.redcrosslife.org
The Harris Funeral Home will be bringing their fabulous motorcycle hearse, to be parked out front the Arcadia for the day!
Host and emcee: PHAT MAN DEE
Event organizer: BLAIR MURPHY, filmmaker of Jugular Wine, owner of the Grand Midway Hotel, and your host for Dracula Con, speaks on Count Dracula, Bram Stoker, and this event.
ROSEMARY ELLEN GUILEY: "Mondo Bizarro Real Vampire Tales!" Author of the underground classic Vampires Among Us, the fan book The Complete Vampire Companion, and the authoritative The Encyclopedia of Vampires, Werewolves and Other Monsters. MICHAEL MARARIAN: Deliciously-creepy fine artist of Inky Dreadfuls.
CATHERINE COX: "The Space of Desire and the Hammer Dracula Films" Catherine S Cox, PhD, teaches in the Humanities Division at the University of Pittsburgh's Johnstown campus, specializing in biblical and medieval literature and gender studies. She's published two books, "Gender and Language in Chaucer" (1997) and "The Judaic Other in Dante, the Gawain Poet, and Chaucer" (2005), and is currently working on a third, on ethical dilemmas framed by contiguous religious traditions.
THE MEN IN BLACK Tim and John Frick (the Brothers Frick) have long been fascinated by the Man in Black legend. They first began investigating MIB cases in 2002. In 2005 they were asked to portray the Men in Black for a Travel channel documentary (Weird Travels Creepy Creatures). Since then they have appeared on a Sci-fi documentary as the MIB and filmed with the Biography channel for a show that has yet to be released. They have also portrayed the MIB at various parties and conventions, and have appeared as MIB every year since 2005 at the Mothman festival in Point Pleasant, WV.
VOXX: "Magic and the Paranormal Influence within the Vampire Myth" Voxx is listed in the national best-selling book, "America's Top 100 Psychics," where she is featured as the world's youngest and most accurate Psychic.
SILENT CINEMA BILL "Early Hollywood, light and shadow, and the films Dracula and Nosferatu" Silent film professor Bill Eggert says the reason he loves silent film so much is because the work transforms us to a world that seems underwater, full of magic and unique haunting beauty. Having spoken at several other Grand Midway events, Bill is a familiar good friend to the local scene as well as a filmmaker himself.
Dinner Break 5 PM - 6:30 PM
DRACULA FEST NIGHT... Continuation! Note: If you paid for the first portion, you do not have to pay for this. The $10 covers day and night, no discounts will be given for just the night portion. (Arcadia Theater) 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM THE CADILLAC CREEPS "Children of the night! What sweet music they make!"
DAVID J. AND DAMIEN YOUTH Next, as if all that wasn't enough, the legendary David J, of the seminal goth band Bauhaus and later Love and Rockets, and underground legend Damien Youth, lead performer for decade of Anne Rice Halloween parties, along with Pittsburgh's very own classical violinist Paul Dvorchak, join forces to make history one night only performing a slow deconstructed acoustic version of the classic all-time goth masterpiece Bela Lugosi's Dead! It just doesn't get much cooler than this...
DEVIL MUSIC ENSEMBLE & NOSFERATU "The climax of the night: A screening of the classic silent film NOSFERATU set to live music by Devil Music Ensemble" The Devil Music Ensemble, formed in Boston in 1999, is comprised of Brendon Wood on guitars, lap steel, and synthesizer; Jonah Rapino on electric violin, vibraphone, and synthesizer; and Tim Nylander on drums, percussion and synthesizer.
S.P.L.A.T. will be there! The Southwestern Pennsylvania League of Apparition Technologists is a professional team dedicated to aiding those tormented by apparitions and the paranormal.
Finally, the folks who run the famed Pittsburgh Comic Con will be here showing off their goods for sale. Their store, Comics World, is actually located in downtown Windber, and will be staying open late to accommodate all vampiric DraculaCon guests!
DRACULA FEST is a scholastic, history-oriented day and night of entertainment. Some of the material being of the vampire mythos will be mature. This is a serious event, not appropriate for children younger than 17 years of age. Costumes are naturally welcomed for the day.
WINDBER, PA is located next to Johnstown, PA, about an hour and a half East of Pittsburgh.
This event is growing. The times are apt to shift a tad as more ghouls and friendly fiends have begun to crawl from their crypts to join us as well... As J. Gordon Melton used to say, "We hope to blow your coffin lids off." Please check back in with this web site for further details.
Local Housing if needed: Richland Inn 1540 Scalp Avenue, Johnstown, PA 814-269-3366 rates $51.00
Holiday Inn Express 1440 Scalp Avenue, Johnstown, PA 814-266-8789 rates $94.00
Hope to see you there!!!
Lastly, it has occurred to me in my personal grief over the loss of my friend Tom, I forgot that I was remiss in my last email by not mentioning that we as a city have been in mourning for 2 weeks now for the fallen men who swore to protect us. There is nothing I can say that has not already been said, we lost three good men who deserved better than to go out at the hands of a lunatic. I just hope we as a city can be deserving of people like that, I think it will be hard to live up to how good they were but we owe it to them and their families to try and be the people who could deserve the protection of people like that. Rest in peace Officers Sciullo , Kelly, and Mayhle. You left us far too soon. Thank you for your sacrifice, may we be worthy of your untimely passing.
May the universe and all her mercy bless you and your families, we don't know how long we may or may not have, so tell the ones you love that you love them today and don't wait for tomorrow.
So I hope you had a lovely Pesach or Easter or Beltane or whatever it is you personally celebrate, me, I do it all..... I like colored eggs with haroses with bitter herbs, but I don't think they eat much at Beltane, I think eating is not really not the primary focus of that particular celebration......it may not have even happened just yet, I think it might be just around the corner, I need to check my Pagan/ Judeo-Christian datebook..... that said I hope you all had a wonderful time. I know I did, I went to dinner and sacrilegiously enjoyed the ham and the eggs and I even made a new taste treat called "White Trash" which is comprised of chex mix , pretzels, peanuts and chow mein noodles mixed up with white chocolate morsels. I forgot the m and m's and the mini marshmallows, but it was still a gastronomical circus for all to share.
And as usual I digress.... I hope you are available this Saturday? I am singing at the Backstage Bar (at Katz Plaza and CLO Cabaret space, katy corner from the Benedum downtown, Pittsburgh) at 655 Penn Ave. The show is from 5 - 7:30 pm and it is FREE FREE FREE! Also playing downtown that night is Rent, so make a night of it and check us out before the show! Joining me will be Mike Murray on keys and Tony DePaolis on bass. Stop in for some music and have a cocktail.... For more info you can call the host desk: 412-325-6769
Earlier that day at about 3, I will be singing a few songs at the tree planting we are holding in honor of the memory of my dear and very missed friend, Jay Bernard. He was an incredible artist, and community activist. His store Jay Design still sells the best soap I have ever used. We will be celebrating his life with the planting of a tree at Arsenal Park in Lawrenceville at 2:45 pm. I will sing a couple songs before I need to run downtown, I loved Jay very much and the tree will be a living tribute to his wild and very flowery spirit.
While I don't like to dwell overly much on the passing of my friends, when you lose one it just hurts, especially when they leave before any of us were ready to say good bye. Jay Bernard was one such man, and another was Tom Kennedy, who left us this past Sunday. While I was sitting down to a lovely ham and ravioli dinner in Bethel Park with Tommy Amoeba's wonderful family, my friend Tom Kennedy was taken from us on Ocean Beach in San Francisco, a rip tide pulled him under and when his friend Mike pulled him to shore, was unable to be revived. I don't want to think so much about how he left us as who he was and the art he made. I would like you to check out his art and say a little something to whomever you pray to , he was a good man and I will miss him so very much.
Here is a picture I took while riding his Green Dream Machine, we are looking at his roommate Dana Albany's sculpture, The Bone Tree.
Ok, now that's over, I should state that I consider today a holy day, one spent best in meditation and plans for the future. The art of the fool is sacred and if no one gives you reason to question reality than what's the point? But tomorrow we were made to party.....
Allow me to remind you I am singing at Pegasus Lounge tomorrow Thursday April 2, 2009 at 10 pm, joining me will be dancer Maria Hamer of Boheme Dance Studios & Zafira Dance Co. Also, I am so pleased to announce the debut performance of one of Pittsburgh's young queens my friend Gabriella! Do come out and celebrate with us!
And for your viewing pleasure, my attempt to sing in Turkish last Sunday night with Nick Ragheb's band , Kirik Hava. We opened up for Eastern Blok, it was a pretty cool show. I promise to memorize all the words the next time I do this, in fact, I should just learn Turkish (I had a Turkish man tattooed on my arm years ago...) Speaking of which, have you checked out the new Istanbul Grill location? Coshkun's got a lunch counter downtown right next to Dominion Towers on Liberty. Super tasty dude, and the food's good too of course (ba da ching! APRIL FOOLS!!! - slap knee here) seriously, the food is really yummy ..... I think Kirik Hava is playing his Shadyside/East Liberty location across from Giant Eagle Market District on April 10, mayhap I shall see you there?
Til then check it on the youtube n'at!
And here is a lovely photo of me that my friend Cindi Steuber's boyfriend Mario Schirripa took of me at the Boheme Center for Dance student recital last week!
Ok, so it's not as sexy as bellydancers and sailing ships and drag queens and decadence, but meeting with local Move On members and Congressman Mike Doyle is pretty hot to me..... after I got back from playing with Peeka A Boo Revue in Philadelphia couple weeks back, I found myself invited as a member of the community and of Move On to Mike Doyle's office to discuss the environment.... Pretty rocking stuff..... If you're good I'll show you the outtakes with the aides....
