Josh Hoge, Photo by Kristin Barlowe

Have you ever heard a voice and thought you could absolutely pinpoint what that person was going to look like? If not, let me just remind you that when Madonna first debuted in the early 1980’s, her original label didn’t want to put her face on her covers. Why, you ask? Well, apparently, the radio stations all assumed she was an African-American artist based on her sound/voice alone. Same thing could be said for Josh Hoge except that we live in a better world now where we don’t care what someone looks like as long as they got the chops to pull it off.

I met up with Josh a month ago as he was collaborating and opening for an old friend of mine, Joe Firstman (more on Joe later). This dude has a great story! Grew up in Franklin, Tennessee and moved to Nashville to pursue his dream. From Nashville, he moved to L.A. (are y’all starting to see a pattern here?) and became pals with Ne-Yo. Josh eventually moved back to Nashville where he signed to Epic Records but there was a whole corporate shift at Epic that left Josh without a label. No worries because my man landed another deal with Blackledge Music.

Her music is self-described as “happy and insane, not heartbreaking,” which is a nice change of pace from many female singer/songwriters – we don’t always need to be sad, do we? We can rock out with the boys, right?! Anyway, aside from her original material, Katie performed an amazing mash-up of 2 of my fave 80’s hits: “Shattered Dreams” by Johnny Hates Jazz and Kim Wilde’s “Hangin’ On.” She told me it was a last minute addition to the show and she learned them only days before which completely blew me away seeing as how they were seamlessly spot on! Her EP “Lost Inside A Moment” is set to be released by iTunes in July, but we have a sneak peek for you here:

My favorite thing about Katie, besides her music, was her sense of stage presence. While on stage, my favorite moment between songs was when she looked at the audience and said, “I love having 3 guitars with me to play – it’s much like a costume change, only a little more expensive.” Unfortunately, The Mint doesn’t allow videotaping (subject to a ridiculous fine) but Katie was kind enough to allow me to post her video: Katie Cole

Katie grew up in Australia listening to a really diverse selection of music from soul to Rock & Roll like Led Zepplin, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin to Peggy Lee, Stevie Wonder and Dusty Springfield. Per my convo with Katie she had this to say about her favorite live acts, “I guess I have always been amazed at great live musicianship. The best shows always involve a combination of showmanship and musicianship. Subsequently, I love U2, Sheryl Crow, Shania Twain, Robbie WIlliams and think that P!nk is amazing. No matter what some music critics say Madonna and Kylie Minogue both know how to ENTERTAIN. You’re not expecting vocal acrobatics or guitar solos from them, it’s all about the SHOW. I honestly think you can learn something to use in your performance from every great show you see but your own artistic identity should still come from within and grow as you do.” See why I love this girl?!

If you want to see Katie perform outside of L.A., she is planning to tour in Nashville before the end of 2010. It also looks like she is going to be opening a few shows in NYC soon for Jesse Malin and The St. Marks Social. To find out more about Katie, please check out her website: www.katiecoleofficial.com or her Facebook fan page: www.facebook.com/officialkatiecole. For more video footage, you can check her out here: www.youtube.com/katiecoleofficial.

So, until next time, remember it’s your life – live it like a shrimp on the barbie, hot & spicy! -MK

Tourdrobe Talks Accessories!

But that’s not all! Kathleen and I had so much fun together that we didn’t have time to film absolutely everything we talked about so here are more tips from us:

The 3 “Don’ts” of Accessorizing:
1-Don’t over accessorize. If you’re wearing a pattern, make your jewelry simple and basic. Your accessories can still be large but try to stick to one tone (Gold or Silver or one color).
2. The Rule of 2: If you have on statement earrings, you can add a bracelet. If you have on a statement necklace, you can add simple earrings.
3. Try not to be too matchy-matchy (Dear Trisha, I promise in the future to never do this again. Love, MK)

In 2010, layering is all the rage. When you layer, make sure to use more delicate chains that hit at different lengths. With the long chains that are so popular now, you can even double them up on themselves and then add another necklace to the mix – that’s what I do and people always seem to notice that (in a good way).

If you like the pieces in the video and would like to see more of Kathleen’s work, go to www.murphyjewelry.com – also,  if you like her contemporary styles, not all of Kathleen’s work is found on her site because she is designing new pieces all the time.  Feel free to contact her via her website and she will be more than happy to work with you. If you happen to be coming through Charlotte, NC, please stop at Scout & Molly’s of Charlotte on 3920 Sharon Road, www.scoutandmollys.com. Not only are they one of the upscale boutiques that sells Kathleen’s pieces, but they have a great selection of my favorite design houses: DVF, Michael Kors, and Marc Jacobs to name a few.

I hope you enjoyed the first installment of Tourdrobe Talks and I hope to bring you many more designers, artists, and musicians in the near future.  Remember, no matchy-matchy and it’s your life, live it on tour! -MK

It was in this class that I learned about Paul Robeson and Dorothy Dandridge, “The Imitation of Life,” and the films of the 1970’s, which we commonly refer to as “Blaxploitation” films. The role of both women and African-Americans were changing in the 1970’s and Pam Grier is THE woman who broke down doors for blacks and women, at the same time, with films like “Black Mama, White Mama” (1973), “Coffy” (1973), and “Foxy Brown” (1974). Keep in mind, around this very same time, then It-boy director, Quentin Tarantino, had cast Pam Grier in his 4th big written & directed feature film, “Jackie Brown” (1997), so I knew her from only that role before I took the class. Now, I’ve gotten to know more about this amazing women who broke the lid off the glass jar for so many others by reading her newly published memoir, “Foxy: My Life in Three Acts.”

“Foxy: My Life in Three Acts” is the memoir of Pam Grier as written by herself with Andrea Cagan. I was lucky enough to be on the set of a local show when Pam was being interviewed, followed by an intimate book signing. Here are a few takeaways I wanted like to share from her interview:

*She is a disciple of Sun-Tsu and “The Art of War”? I would expect nothing less!

*Her response to Richard Pryor’s objection to wearing a condom (while they were in a relationship) knowing it would endanger her life if she didn’t (because he had a contagious infection) was “Am I gonna survive his love?” That’s a strong woman even for our time now and a good lesson for young women to learn!

*When Kareem Abdul-Jabbar married someone else 1 day after Pam told him she wasn’t going to convert to Islam, he called to tell her. Kareem’s response to her questioning the decision was, “She was prepared for me.” Pam thought, “What, like a sandwich?” That’s just funny.

*My favorite takeaway quote was in response to one of the panel members asking Pam how she came up with a tagline for “The L Word,” which is “Living the life you love, loving the life you live.” This is actually a quote credited to Bob Marley but when the producer’s asked Pam about her thoughts, this quote just came to her…while she was drunk!

She was everything you’d hoped she’d be: strong, independent, funny, clearly a practicing naturalist and Buddhist, and as beautiful as ever. For the full interview, go here: http://www.youtube.com/user/lezview. I snuck in my collector’s edition “Jackie Brown” poster and she was kind enough to sign that, as well as her book, for me. I cannot wait for the film version of “FOXY” to come out (from me to you, I hope it stars Tracee Ellis Ross) and remember, it’s your life, live it like an independent woman (or man) - on tour! -MK

MK & Pam Grier (the flash was bright and I am pale)

Take for example the massive amount of people that showed up to a free concert, yes, kids – free!, given by Matisyahu. If you aren’t familiar with Matisyahu, he’s a young guy who found his true Judaic-self when he was a teen visiting Israel. He also had a penchant for the beatbox, Reggae and hip-hop culture of the 5 Burroughs in New York. He changed his name from Matthew Miller to Matisyahu and began a career based mostly on word of mouth. I’d already seen him open for 311 but this was an opportunity to see him in a more intimate and acoustic venue. The people that showed up ranged from the hippies to the hipsters, the teens to the Quarterlifers, and the Orthodox Jews to the non-religious. It made me think, though, when Matisyahu sings, “Rebuild the temple and the crown of glory, years gone by about sixty,  burn in the oven in this century, and the gas tried to choke but it couldn’t choke me,” can someone whose family didn’t perish in the Holocaust understand what he means and how we feel about Jerusalem and why Israel is so important to us? And when he sings, “Like the sun of a sun ray burning up through a cloud, Torah food for my brain, let it rain till I drown, thunder!” can those who are not well-versed in the 5 Books of Moses truly get it? I think so but I’ll let you decide.

On the flip side, I recently was at a chamber choir concert and they performed a song called “O Sifuni Mungu.” I honestly didn’t have much of an idea as to what they were saying because it’s sung in Swahili. All I knew was that it moved me to no end. I wanted to sing it and dance to it and it almost made me cry. How was I to know that it was about  the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (something that I personally do not have a religious inclination towards)? You take a listen to this Swahili/English version, though, and tell me this doesn’t make you smile and bob your head.

In all fairness, I think that sometimes we take ourselves too seriously. If I enjoy a song about Jesus, that doesn’t make me a traitor and it certainly doesn’t mean I am turning my back on my religion. I say, let’s be thankful that we live in a country where, regardless of what belief we hold, we are allowed to sing out loud. Until next time, remember it’s your life, live it on tour and make sure someone takes the wheel in case you are to into the singing!

Randomly walking into a venue and taking a chance: This is my favorite method of finding new artists and how I discovered Kyler England. Imagine moving into a college dorm, Freshman year, and knowing only your roommate. On our first day without parents, we heard our dorm was holding an artist showcase. We grabbed our free coffee, sat down, and awkwardly waited for the show to begin. I can honestly say that, other than my suitemates, Kyler was the first stranger I spoke to at school – I introduced myself after her 2-song set and we chatted for a bit. Ever since then, I’ve followed her career from Raleigh to Boston to Brooklyn and now to Los Angeles. She’s honestly one of the most talented people I know and I might not have had the opportunity to get to know her if I didn’t take that chance. If you’ve been paying attention, you know I am also a fan of the band Kyler is in, The Rescues, who are going to be headlining some of the Lilith Fair tour dates. Kyler tours as a solo artist, as well as part of The Rescues, so I thought I’d give you a taste of her most recent solo cd, Simple Machine, because she only gets better with time: 

I highly recommend searching your local newspapers for events, grabbing a couple adventurous friends, and showing up, regardless of the type of event. Online you could search for art gallery crawls, symposiums held by your local symphony, talent showcases, or the like. These do not have to cost a lot of money and, if the locale is further away, you can carpool to save the gas money.This is your whole grain section – you need the carbs for the energy in your life. Without taking a chance, you’re missing out on major energy!   

So, my nutritonally well-balanced readers, I hope you guys take this to heart. If you’re stuck on Pandora’s “Notorius B.I.G.” station, like someone I know is, be sure you get out into the world and see some live shows! You never know when you might discover “the next big thing.” Until next time, remember – it’s your life, live it on tour! <3, MK

So, dear readers, if you are vertically gifted, please be kind and do not stand directly in front of someone at a concert. To be quite honesy, we didn’t pay good money to look at the back of your neck, despite how lovely it might be. Remember, it’s your life – live it on tour, just not in front of me if you are over 5′6″.  <3, MK

The exhibit features more than 700 drawings, paintings, photos, moving image pieces, concept art, puppets, costumes, etc, from many of Burton’s films. In the February 3, 2010 edition of the Wall Street Journal, James Gardner, Art Critic, had this to say about Burton and the exhibition: “The glowing, emotive core of his art, as of his films, is…the higher moral victory that only failure can confer…the little monsters who populate his drawings – hirsute, ugly, and entirely harmless – stand for all the scorned and overlooked losers in the universe…indeed, he seems to believe that all of us, even those who outwardly seem most successful, are infinitely frailer and more bruised than we care to admit, and it is this fact that constitutes our human dignity…but, Mr. Burton’s art is somewhat happier than one might expect.”  At the beginning of the exhibit in November 2009, The New York Times Art Critic, Ken Johnson, wrote: “Tim Burton’s career is the ultimate revenge of the art nerd…it is an entertaining show and a must for film buffs and Burton fans…it is when the drawing ideas are translated to the screen that the magic happens.”

Tim Burton, Untitled, Cartoons, 1980-1986

In conjunction with the art works being shown, MoMA still has a few events the non-member public may attend. On April 12 and April 15 at 12:30pm, they are holding a Brown Bag Lunch Lecture with the MoMA Co-Organizers of this exhibition, Jenny He (Curatorial Assistant, Department of Film) and Ron Magdiozzi (Assistant Curator, Department of Film). If you have a young person between the ages of 11-14 in your family, or you are a young person between the ages of 11-14 and you have an adult in your family, you guys can go to MoMA on Saturday, March 27 at 2pm for a screening of “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure.” I loved this movie! This screening is just for kids and their fam though, so if you’re like me, you’ll have to watch it On Demand.

Regardless of when you plan to attend, MoMA suggests you pre-purchase timed tickets on weekdays and requires them on weekends and holidays. These tickets guarantee your entry to the exhibit and carry no extra charge.

Go to www.moma.org for additional information and let me know what you think about Burton’s take on “Alice in Wonderland”! Remember, just like Alice choosing to follow the White Rabbit in the Waistcoat– it’s your life, you can choose to live it on tour! <3, MK

Concert etiquette dictates you NEVER sit on the back of someone’s chair…especially while they are still sitting in it. Until next time, remember, it’s your life – live it on tour, just not on the back of my chair! <3, MK

It used to be: David Bowie and Grace Jones (1970’s & early 1980’s). Annie Lennox (mid-1980’s). Madonna (late-1980’s). These artists either were known for their androgyny (aside from other obvious qualities) or had exceptional instances reflecting androgyny (note: watch the video for Madonna’s Express Yourself). They were also known as expressive artists and there were very few who obtained levels of success they had reached.

Now we have  Iris Strubegger. Adam Lambert. Agyness Deyn. Elly Jackson. Bill Kaulitz (Who, you ask?! He’s the lead singer of Tokio Hotel who I happen to crush on).

Bill Kaulitz, Tokio Hotel

So, you haven’t heard many of these names – that’s ok – but these are the people who are epitomizing the androgenous movement of the new decade. They’re models, actors, singers, performers, artists, and regular people, too.

Elly Jackson, La Roux

Agyness Deyn, Photo: Imaxtree

Granted, some people may mistake “cross-dressing” with “androgyny” but I do not agree – to me, androgyny is all in the eyes. It’s the way you carry yourself, not just how you wear your clothes. As much as we want to believe it, we all care about how other people perceive us when we are applying our eyeliner or picking out which shoes go best with skinny jeans. The people listed above are at a distinct disadvantage because, at any given time, they could be photographed by the paparazzi and labeled as something they aren’t. Or are. We’re lucky – we don’t have that kind of pressure on us.

So how is it possible for me to feel just as comfortable in a strapless bubble-skirt dress and stilettos as I do in boyfriend jeans (more to the point, MY boyfriend’s jeans), a men’s button down vest (any man will do), and a fedora (only on a poor faux-hawk day)? Because I dress how I feel. In my opinion, this is the best piece of advice anyone could give someone else. If we care so much about what other people think about us, we will never feel comfortable in any of our clothing, regardless of what we are trying to wear.

Bottom line, my friends, is regardless of who wears loads of eyeliner or a fabulous Dolce & Gabbana suit (men’s cut), if you’re not comfortable with yourself, it won’t look good on you. Nothing looks better on you than you!

Try it out and see how you like it – if not, it’s ok, but remember – it’s your life, live it on tour! <3, MK