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

Hi there.

In case you're looking for something fun and free to do tonight, I'd like to invite you to help me win a place in history -- or at least a shot on the Mainstage at the iO WEST, where I have been studying improv for about a year now.

At 10pm tonight (Thursday May 29th) my improv team HAMMERSPACE (http://www.myspace.com/hammerspace_improv) is going to be "competing" in a "student cagematch" at the iO's "Andy Dick Theater". It's pretty much a popularity contest in which the team that can convince the most folks to come and vote for them wins, and what they win is the priviledge (or burden) of coming back the NEXT week to defend their Thursday night spot. Now, we usually don't care at all if we when or not.... but this is the last Thursday of the month, and on the last thursday of the month the winning them in the student cagematch becomes the INSTANT COMPETITOR on the MAINSTAGE of the iO, which is a hell of a lot of FUN! So, for that reason, we wouldn't MIND winning this week.

If you could come and vote for us, that would be awesome. Heck, even if you come and DON'T vote for us, it would be awesome. The more, the merrier. It's ALL AGES and it's totally FREE.

The details:
Thursday May 29th
10pm
iO WEST's Andy Dick Theater
6366 Hollywood Blvd (enter on COSMO, not Hollywood Blvd)
Los Angeles, CA
http://west.ioimprov.com

Hope to see you there.

Thanks!
Juli

I wanted to let any of you out there in cyberspace who may care about two COMPLETELY IMPROVISED and totally FREE shows that I'm going to be in THIS WEEKEND at the iO WEST's Andy Dick Experimental Black Box Theater.

Yes, someone named a theater after Andy Dick...

1) Friday May 23rd at 11pm (following Heather & Miles at 10pm, who are incredible and I highly recommend seeing them)

2) Saturday May 24th at 8:30pm (following Laurel Coppock's "Breakdown City" at 8pm, which I can't recommend highly enough!)

I will be performing with my improv group HAMMERSPACE (www.myspace.com/hammerspace_improv).

These shows are all-ages, totally free, completely improvised, and really go a lot better and are more fun (and funny) when there's a good crowd... so it would be awesome if you could make it and see me wrestle with my new creative obsession -- LONG-FORM IMPROV!

Here's the details:
HAMMERSPACE
5/23: 11pm
5/24: 8:30pm
@
iO WEST - Andy Dick Theater (*note: this is not the mainstage, the entrance to the Andy Dick is on COSMO)
6366 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028
http://west.ioimprov.com/

I’m whupped. I missed Improv class at PCC today to work on the History of Water play that I’m writing/directing… it shows on May 10th at the 24th Street Theater and it’s really coming together nicely. We had a 4 hour rehearsal today, from 4-8pm, which featured my favorite food “Falaquitos” – an original creation by Patrick Ian Moore, my lover and boyfriend, who combined falafel, black beans, corn, carrots, black olives, cashews, sunflower seeds, avocado, seasonings, and probably some more stuff I’m forgetting into a delicious filling for a white corn tortilla-wrapped taquito grilled in olive oil. I think Lisa Dee ate 6 of ‘em! They are AMAZING.

Post-rehearsal Patrick, Lisa and I headed over to the San Gabriel street fair to catch Evangenitals drummer George Bernardo playing in yet ANOTHER tribute band, “Proud Mary” – a Tina Turner tribute, for his 9 o’clock set. He finished just in time to run over to his Cash’d Out gig at LIFE on Wilshire. Unfortunately, I wasn’t singing with Cash’d Out tonight… their original June, Ginger Rees, was able to make it all the way up from San Diego to do the show. (She gets first pick of the shows she can make... and that's alright. :-) See! I know how to share!). I saw Ginger singing with Cash'd Out the first time I saw Georgie playing with them at the San Diego Fair on the 4th of July. Ironically, I was soooooo envious of what an awesome gig it would be to sing the June Carter parts in the greatest Johnny Cash tribute band ever (she did a great job, too) and alas, now I get to have a shot at it! Wonder of wonders, the beauty of this world is ceaseless.

I *do* get to sing with Cash’d Out tomorrow night (which is now tonight, because it is late) Saturday April 26th, at the House of Blues in Anaheim. Cash’d Out is opening for Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine and it should be a super-good night of music. It will be nice when I get to play a show with them in LA, though, so my nearer and dearer can come check me out in my dresses and heels. It’s a crazy sight!

After tomorrow’s Cash’d Out gig I have a bit of a break from shows of the musical and improvised variety in order to focus on getting the play ready for it’s big day on May 10th. Right after that, however, it is full steam ahead with upcoming Hammerspace, Cash’d Out, Artichoke, and Evangenitals shows.

In randomly personal other news, my old boxing trainer Dub Huntley would be so proud of me right now… I currently am walking around at my old fight weight! NEVER did I do that back when I was boxing! I was always walking around about 10 lbs (at least!) heavier than weigh-in. Patrick and I started this experiment with portion control and the results have been crazy… we just keep losing weight. It’s totally weird and awesome. Next step, build lean muscle! So we’ve been lifting weights, doing pull-ups, and we ordered a pair of vegan focus mitts and I’m going to teach him some basic punches. I think I’m finally sane enough to be able to do boxing exercises for fun without starting to plot my comeback. ☺

Improv is a Battlefield...

Hey there.

My improv team HAMMERSPACE (which is me, Patrick Moore, Robin Reiser, and Shaughn Buchholz) is performing in a Student Cagematch at iO WEST tonight and we could use some friendly faces in the crowd.

An improv cagematch is a great opportunity for stage-time for a new team (which we are indeed) yet it is also a horrific competition/popularity contest in which two teams square off against each other -- someone wins, and someone loses -- and it's all audience votes that make the decision.

If you could make it out to support us in our awkward adolescence, that would be awesome. It's FREE, it's ALL AGES, it's at 10pm.

Here's the details:

10pm - Student Cagematch
iO WEST's Andy Dick Theater (entrance on Cosmo)
6366 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA
On the corner of Cosmo & Hollywood Blvd, between Cahuenga and Ivar.

Pray for us!
Juli

Hey y'all

My improv group HAMMERSPACE (which consists of myself, Patrick Ian Moore, Robin Reiser, and Shaughn Buchholz) is performing TONIGHT in the iO WEST's Andy Dick Experimental Black Box Theater at 8pm.

It's fun, it's free, and it's a great opportunity to watch us perform terrifying feats of making shizzz up and trying not to panic. Weeee!

The iO WEST is located at:
6366 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA
between Ivan and Cahuenga, corner of Cosmo and Hollywood Blvd

The entrance to the Andy Dick Black Box is on the Cosmo side of the building.

Come and get it!

xoxo
julio

Life is full. Full full full! Almost done moving into my new place, the car broke down (but I've got a big tax return coming in that will pay for it!), LOTS of rehearsals for plays and gigs and music and improv.... and now, on Monday I'm going to be driving down to San Diego with Georgie to audition to be the June Carter for the best-ever Johnny Cash cover band "Cash'd Out". Anyone that knows me seems to think that this is the "day job" I was BORN to have... it's only a question of me not freaking out and dazzlin' them in the audition. Heck, it would be awesome to be in ANOTHER band with George Bernardo, that's for sure. :-)

Before that big day, though, I've got two shows in one night (Friday the 28th) -- Artichoke at La Casa Blue (9:30pm) and Hammerspace (my Improv team) at iO WEST (Andy Dick Experimental Black Box at 11pm)-- to get through. It's a lot, and I'm loving it.

Saturday and Sunday we have to officially finish moving, clean out the old apartment (throw a couple of rehearsals and a class show for our Improv class on Sunday) and turn in the keys Monday morning. Then, at around 1pm I'm jumping in a car with Georgie to head down to San Diego... and DESTINY! In the meantime, I've got all my Johnny and June tunes on repeat play and I'm getting ready for greatness.

Say a prayer for me. :-)

- Juli

Inspirado.

If you haven't notice, The Evangenitals are on a bit of a hiatus. Brett is working a film editing gig, the Valentine's Season has meant that Lisa got consumed by her Flower Industry job, George has been makin' bucks playing with Cash'd Out, and I've been trying to get my life in order and figure out what I really want to be doing with it at this point in time. I think everyone needed a big 'ol break after the Road to Oprah tour. Although, I am already excited about the next tour we take. I really liked touring, which is a good thing, considering that we're the type of band, I'm told, that is really going to make our mark (and money) on the road. I'm glad I'm cut out for it!

On Monday I'm meeting with a man from USC to talk about possibly doing something with my next theater piece there, which is super-exciting. On Tuesday I'm starting some mime/musical theater/improv/choreography/modern dance classes at my local city college, part of the 'ol "honing my instrument" routine. My new improv dream-team "Hammerspace" started getting together to practice for our upcoming show on March 8th. I'm working on a bunch of new songs for the Evangenitals. My student loan checks came in. It's Valentine's Day and I'm in LOVE. I'd have to say things are going alright!

Yes, you heard me right.... I'm taking MIME!!

The Collaboration Foundation (aka The 1 Second Film's parent organization) is currently on the front page of IdeaBlob. If we get enough votes, we could win $10,000 toward our "Idea"... which would be amazing. So please vote for the Collaboration Foundation if you have a moment to register and vote.

Today I got totally inspired and started seriously pursuing some more Evangenitals radio play for our new album. I sent out a gang of emails and got some good responses, so that's promising. Tomorrow I'll be getting a bunch of CD's "radio ready" and sending them off on their fantastic voyage onto the airwaves! I figure that's something I can really get into while the band is taking a break. That and launching semi-complicated sales. Ahh... to be obsessed.

On Myspace, the Evangenitals are approaching the 30,000 view mark, which seems like it should be some kind of a big deal.

Evangina is in the planning stages of a covers album, and the long-awaited Evangina album PEAS should be available on iTunes any minute!

So things are good, right?

How are you?

I'm so happy to be back in my own house. I love housesitting in the fancy house, but I do miss my little apartment (HOME!) sooooo much every time. Ahhhhh..... back in the saddle again.

My hair is so dirty when I take it out of the ponytail holder, it stays up. That's gross. Time to shower. :-)

My hands and feet get abnormally cold. I think I may have bad circulation or something. Of course there's also that "cold hands, warm heart" saying... but I'm thinking it's circulation. Need more Yoga in my life.

I took an African Dance class at Heartbeat House last night and my spine aches today from all that rib & hip thrusting. I love African Dance. I need more dance in my life.

The Evangenitals are officially slated to host a day during SXSW at the Thunderbird Coffee House. Izzy Cox and some other friends are going to come out and play with us... whomever "us" is going to be for that show... seeing as Brett is doing a Hollywood editing job right now, and Georgie and Chesney are far too professional to be running off doing gonzo trips to Austin for no guaranteed $. Lisa and I, however, are totally down for tent-living and mad-cap touring... so we're off! The 1 Second Film crew may be coming along with us (read: Nirvan) so there's a chance we will be heading to Austin in the Road to Oprah bus, which would be super-fly.

It's time to start rehearsals, both for my History of Water piece that I'm creating with Avatar: The Last Airbender composer Jeremy Zuckerman, but for HAMMERSPACE - my improv team that Patrick and I hand-picked and are crafting into the greatest show on earth... or something like that. We start doing shows in April, and we want to be READY!!

Things are gonna get busy, but that seems to be the way that I like them. I am so grateful to have the full-up life that I have and people around me who get it. Lisa and Patrick, for example, totally get it. If there's any room left on the plate -- FILL 'ER UP! Life is short, life is long, life is for living so let's get on with it. Pack it in! Pack it in!

Now if only I could prioritize, write some grants, and get some more money to make some more art!