"The Joy Team"

Tonight was a very, very good night for the Evangenitals. Something happened in that room that is important, magical, beautiful, and GOOD. A bubble floated in front of my eyes during Quee Queg, illuminated by a shaft of stage lighting. Henry played the blues, Lisa sang Opera, David joyfully created a collective heartbeat, and Keith's debut with us on the bass filled my backbone with deep, happy thuds of glee.

For the first time tonight, an interpretive-dance gunfight was staged in the audience (can it really be called it an "audience" when they are such a part of the show?) during Sergio by Stodder & Crystal, Laura wore her Evangenitals t-shirt, I could see Albert's smile in the dark, Keith's mom glowed with pride, Kelly Chase of Hammerspace danced, the guys from With a Bible and a Gun nodded in approval (ah, winning the respect of the other band is a great feeling, especially when they are friggin' awesome). Bubbles were blown. Moments were shared. All present were given a nice sonic bath in everlovin' Evangenital joy.

We were given a new nickname... "Team Joy". Thanks Stodder. I like it very much.

Next stop, the INTEGRATRON!

And now, I sleep.

I love you, dear reader, whoever you are, with all my heart. Just because.

Love,
Juli

it never fails to make me feel insanely grateful when folks come out and show up for an Evangenitals show -- or any friggin' show for that matter!

there was so much good love in the room tonight, and so many people that I really care about. i was so glad, specifically, that albert and laura and robin and greg and nirvan and levi and patrick and dennis and david and andrea and nick and christine were all there to hear the new evangenitals tunes, and soooooo friggin' happy that they all seemed to like them so much. it seems "i'm sad" is the new unassuming hit song. you can look forward to hearing more of that at upcoming shows -- somewhere in the middle, right before we start rockin' to the end.

i've been thinking of opening sets with "bad town" lately, just to kick the barn doors open and establish ourselves clearly. WE ARE HERE! we used to start all the sets off slow and easy and work our way up to the shit-kickin', but i'm thinking it may be best if we just cut to the chase and squeeze the slow in the middle somewhere. i'm really enjoying playing with henry bermudez and david hurlin... they bring such great energy and enormous talent to everything they touch. it's an honor and a privilege to share the stage with them, and ESPECIALLY to have them playing with tunes that i wrote. ridiculous.

i wish we could have played more songs tonight... the show was running late, though, and i had promised to play the new stuff. i had really wanted to do "it takes a long time" for nirvan and levi, and the new version of "the hole" -- klezmer style. ah, well. that's what future shows are for, i suppose. as for now, i need sleep. i've got a long drive to Bakerfield in the a.m. with the Cash'd Out boys where we'll be playing some sort of a "soccer fundraiser" event... With all of Cash'd Out piling into one automobile, i am actually looking forward to the drive. :-)

Loving you, through it all,
Reverend Juli of the Evangenitals

This is going to be quite a long weekend... and a great one!

On Friday I'm heading up to Sin City with Evangenitals drummer George Bernardo to play with our *other* band, San Diego's "Cash'd Out" -- the world's premier Johnny Cash tribute band! George is their skin-beating rhythm train and I'm their dress-wearin', hair-curlin' June Carter Cash. We're playing at the Icehouse in Vegas on Friday, and then heading to the Goathead Salon in Phoenix for a gig on Saturday. It's my first time on the road with Cash'd Out and I'm EXCITED!!! It is NOT my first time on the road with Georgie; we spent a month together in The 1 Second Film's Road to Oprah bus!

So, if any Evangenitals fans out there live in Vegas or Phoenix, come and see Georgie and I get our Johnny Cash on! I may be able to score a couple of comp tickets for each show... so hit me up if you'd like to go.

Sunday morning I fly back to LA in time for the Evangenitals to rock the back porch of the Echo for the Grand Ole Echo Country Music Jamboree. We're assembling a crew of extended Evangenitals family members for an acoustic hootenanny out by the barbecue. I'll admit it, the 3 hours of music that we're going to be playing will serve a double purpose: 1) it will be an awesome fun music time, and 2) it will be a good rehearsal for our "plugged in" show the VERY NEXT NIGHT at the Bordello.

Yes, you thought this weekend of madness would be over with the show on Sunday, but no! We continue...

On Monday night, Lisa Dee and I are singing with Artichoke at the Silverlake Lounge (9pm) and then running over to the Bordello for an Evangenitals show at 11pm. At the Bordello we're playing with an awesome Western Swing 3-piece from Austin, TX called "Shotgun Party" whom I highly suggest y'all come out and give a listen to. They've got the goods! :-)

On Tuesday, we're auditioning a potential new bass player to bring in the extended Evangenital family fold! Yee-haw! I get very excited about meeting new talented people.

On Wednesay, I will try to rest up for the NEXT weekend which is full of improv shows with my group HAMMERSPACE and an Evangenitals gig at the Room 5 Lounge where we'll be debuting a handful of BRAND NEW SONGS that I've been tinkering away at in my room! I hope that many loving and supportive friends come out for that show, cuz I'm going to be SCARED!!!

Life is good. Love is good. It's all good.

Love,
Juli