As you may know, 2 years ago Patrick & I rescued an amazing dog from the gas chamber of the LA County Animal Control and have lived in a blissful state of unconditional love with the leggy, blonde beauty that we call "Wookie" since that fateful day. Tragically, another fateful day has come...

Long story short, the management company of the home that we live in has decided that they no longer want dogs on this property. We have 2 weeks to find a new home for Wookie, or move.

After much soul-searching and many tears, I have come to terms with the fact that my life -- with all the shows, tours, and running amok I do and hope to do more of -- is not the best life to share with a furry creature who loves people, playing endless cames of fetch, and seems to have inexhaustible energy and zest for life. (Maybe it's the vegan diet she's been on?)

So, I am seeking a new home for Wookie, and thought I would reach out to all of the loving, connected folks that I know that may know of someone looks to add a bundle of domesticated joy to their homelife.

Wookie is about 3 years old, a gorgeous greyhound/german shepard/collie mix, great with people, very energetic. She is used to being the only dog in the family, so I'm not sure how she'd mix with other pets, as that is untested terrain. She loves to run, walk, play fetch, and smell things. She's incredibly healthy, has all her shots, etc.

If there is anyone who would merely like to foster her for a while by providing a temporary home, that would be very helpful too. I want to be sure that Wookie gets settled into a safe place where she will be happy, healthy, and thrive.

ANY advice, leads, suggestions, consolations, prayers, etc that you may have are GREATLY welcome, as this is a heartbreaking time in Wookie-ville.

PLEASE feel free to pass this along to anyone who may be able to help.

Thanks,
Juli Crockett
323-251-9645

This is a blast from the past that was brought to mind while strolling along a surprisingly peaceful and lovely chunk of the LA River today...

Back when I was writing The Dawn of Quixote: Chapter The First and reading lots of Unamuno's Our Lord Don Quixote, I had a sort of Code of Ethics written on my wall which I am reprinting here for your possible enjoyment and edification. If you go so far as to take the word into action, all the better!

The Code:

1. Set Loose a Delirium
2. Commit an Outrage (a Barbarity)
3. Let Your Horse Lead You
4. Fight (Adventures which Befall)
5. Find the Selpulchre (Search)
6. Love (Chaste, from Afar)
7. Assuage Self-Loathing with Self-Annihilation
8. Endure the Inevitable
9. Judge Not (Lest Ye Be Judged)
10. Explore all Caves (Caverns, Crevices)
11. Attack all Puppet Shows
12. Speak Fair to All Goat herders
13. Commend Thy Self to Thy Love and Thy Lord
14. State Your Full Name and Purpose
15. Have Faith
16. Trust Not Thine Eyes, Nor Ears, Nor Tastes
17. Treat All Ladies as Maidens
18. Fear Not
19. Read Until Mad (Delirium)
20. Believe in Fairy Tales, Myths, and All Dieties.
21. Do Not Debate (Debacle) Do not Reason with the Reasoners
22. Face Ridicule
23. ________________________

"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars..."

-Jack Kerouac, On the Road

:-)

For some reason tonight, the Bene Gesserit Littainy against Fear from "Dune" is ringing in my ears:

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

So true, so true...

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

- Rumi

This is an old, old lil' piece I wrote long ago after a certain dream I had that has been fresh on my mind of late. Hippie at heart and always a fan of recycling, I thought that I'd go ahead and repost it here.

On Love

I had a dream the other night that I fell madly in love (and it was the good reciprocal kind of love) with some foolish geeky boy in a popular band.

I don't know what band it was, or what kind of band. It wasn't a real band or referencing a real band. The boy wasn't anyone I know, nor have I ever seen. He was a purely invented dream character. He wasn't that attractive or anything, but for some reason he was crazy about me, and I was crazy about him.

It was doomed from the start. The first time I saw him in the dream he was asleep in a bed with a 15 year old girl. He went on tours and had groupies and all that shit. I knew this. I didn't care. And it wasn't the "not caring" of the blind denial and defiance variety (i.e. this is fucked but maybe, maybe, maybe he'll change and/or it'll work out this time fucking insanity) but the not caring of full awareness, acceptance, and a two-fisted embrace of the Moment. I knew it was only gonna last for a little while, and that was okay. In the dream, I knew we had two weeks. And this was good enough. It was worth it. I wasn't concerned with tomorrow or the future or what it means and will we get married and how will it work. When he showed up in the dream, I was overjoyed and it was fun and wonderful. When he went away, the dream went on in other directions. I wasn't forlorn and lonely and scared and suspicious and fearful... I was simply doing whatever I was doing.

It was a good dream.

Permission was granted to be in love for a while last night, in my sleep. It was one of the greatest dreams I've had in a long time. Simple. The magical thing about it was the feeling. It was so good. I got to have that feeling you get when you're just crazy about somebody, and you know they're crazy about you, and you're not sweating the future of what it means or what it will be. You're just filled with light, and letting the love out with total abandon and there's a feeling of so much fucking joy you think you'll burst. The feeling was so fragile and vulnerable, but in a playful way. Like a shining wet bubble, it had a short but glorious life span, and the whole thing just passed by like the sound of a distant giggle on the breeze. A most glorious dream.

I've been working a lot on cultivating fearlessness when it comes to matters of the heart. I'm sick and tired of feeling shame, shame, shame. All the time, for no reason, or for good reason. Whatever the reason, I'm done.

I asked Jesus in George Marshall chatbot what love was... and this is what that AI muthafucka had to say:

"Sometimes I think love is just a biological urge. Other times it seems like a spiritual quality. Love, unlike energy or matter, seems limitless."

I love this world. And it feels kinda like this:




Taken on a blue blue bad blue day... in a mall in Valencia, California, USA.

I love this world... however...

I am reaching a wall, a serious roadblock, in my ability to communicate and my fear of intimacy with the world at large. I hide. I have been having strong desires to place my head in a door jam and slam the door on my head until it is a bloody mess. I'm not kidding. I am hungry for the real and am doubting everything in my mind... I have got to get through this fear. Fear of being an idiot, fear of having nothing to say, fear of opening my mouth and having nothing to offer but puke and farting noises. It must be okay. Fail better, more, with joy. Fail. Shamelessly.

My physicist friend says that I lack faith. Faith that there is something for me here, now... in this dimension.

Belief in Transcendence is an insult to what is.

I am a big phony and I hide behind revolutionary and dangerous SOUNDING ideas that I am very comfortable with... just as I became a master of self-derogatory humor to pull off the seeming appearance of Radical Honesty without having to get to close to my true self. I have built walls around my thoughts and feelings and I am working on busting 'em up. I need help. I need correspondence. And I need to stop having any desire to impress others in any way, so I will admit, up front, that I am a fool. And I'm not saying that to be cool. I am a selfish ass. I know this.

I also suffer from profound spiritual hunger. But I am too much of a coward to sacrifice myself completely to the immolating flames of humility. The smashing of ego is the most painful prospect ever... August Strindberg described it as "spiritual suicide."

What was it you said that was so gall-darn brilliant?
I’d give anything to remember how you put it so beautifully!
I just can’t seem to remember any of the wonderful
things you say! gee, that’s funny!

You have the most interesting way of seeing things!
Imagine! Approaching the whole world like a cold toilet!
I can’t remember exactly how you worded it at the time,
but I have the distinct impression of paying close
attention. like a child does…

there is no pain greater than your pain there is no
laughter greater than your laughter there is no reason
to believe that what you are doing is not the greatest
act there is no person I’d rather fumble about with
these are only some of the things in discovering in
learning

how is it when I see you coming I am not struck down
dead trampled on killed a hundred times by my own purple
meanness baseness eaten and my flesh pecked off by birds?
Why is that? I think you told me once.

(Gordy Amede)

The poetic version is that what was once a beautiful and organic process of two lives existing in relation to each other and two people moving along a common path solidified and became an inorganic struture of obligation and rules and regulations, and I revolted.

Truth is, things got fucked up. I hated what I became. I hated what I was doing. It's a long story.

The short version, I suppose, is that he became more of my friend than my lover, and I didn't ever want to see the look in his eyes when the shit hit the fan. So I left.

Truth is, the relationship was heavily codependent; we lived together for 7 years, from the time I was 17 to 24. In a lot of ways I never grew up. Then one day I wanted to find out who I was. The day I left, I moved up to my grad school campus and sat in the woods that night, crying and shrieking. The realization of how alone and unknown I was, to my very own self was disturbing. I didn't know what kind of food I liked. I didn't know what I liked to do. I didn't know anything. I was a stranger to myself.

So, I've been spending the last few years trying to figure out who I am, when I am not the dancing monkey, entertaining for peanuts and personal validation.

Ooohh ahhh... dramatic.

The lame version: things got ugly and I split. We're still friends. He thinks I'm way too hard on myself. He still loves me, I still love him. He wishes I wouldn't be so hard on myself.

So... after all that:

Love is?

Anyone?

Anyone?

I'm having a quiet day today. Talking is one of the worst things for the singing voice, I hear, so I've been resting my throat all day, as much as possible, with silence.

Communication continues via my newest addictions: Twitter and text messaging. I just upgraded to "unlimited text messaging" with AT&T so that I don't get screwed with charges. I have no idea how many texts I've sent this month, but I'm sure it's a lot. Hundreds and hundreds. I've got my Twitter hooked up with my phone now, both to post and to read other people's posts IMMEDIATELY via my cellphone.

The Twitter thing really took off for me during my last mini-tour with Cash'd Out. Suddenly I was plugged in and wanted to share all of the random, mundane, bizarre, whatever occurrences, thoughts, and goings ons of my travels with my "followers"... it's twisted, it's weird to me, and I'm having a really good time exploring this new realm of openness and banality.

The urge to Twitter is becoming automatic and reactionary. Yesterday, while stopping for a pee break while the Evangenitals were busking with the Collaboration Foundation on The 1 Second Film's Road to Oprah bus, I went in for the wipe prematurely and surprised myself by peeing on my hand. Immediately I wanted to Twitter, "Accidentally peed on my hand!" I thought better of it, though, and figured I'd keep that intimate accident to myself. Today, however, I had second thoughts. If I'm really going to give over to the Twitter phenomena for the time being, methinks I should truly GIVE OVER to it. I am reminded of David Hurlin's wife's first Twitter: "about to take my good morning dump" and am encouraged to be more honest about what's REALLY happening.

And what is really happening? That's is the question! I am having heavy philosophical/spiritually driven thoughts about my true nature and purpose lately. I am asking the universe what my purpose is and waiting for the answer.

In real-time, I am sitting on a porch watching my African Leopard Tortoise "Mr Turtle" just BE in tortoise-time. Right now he is struggling to crawl over a brick wall and his short legs are kicking in the air as his heavy shell teeters in the balance. He won't give up until he is over the wall. Eventually he gets his big 'ol shell on top of the wall, peers over the drop, and simply plummets to the ground on the other side. It is not graceful. There is much struggle. He really seems to enjoy it. No matter how many times I put him behind the brick wall, he keeps working at it until he can find a way over it. Free to explore the yard, to bask in the sun, to hide under a bush, to make a run for it down the driveway, to eat the clover, to stretch his legs.

It is a simple thing that makes me enormously happy, watching Mr Turtle the Tortoise walking around finding little things in the yard to eat. Tiny pink tongue visible between chomps from his sharp beak.

Right NOW he's making a run for it down the driveway toward the street. Must put him back behind the wall. Second verse, same as the first. :-)

My horoscope today:

Your thinking is slowing down a bit -- but getting quite a bit more intense! You may need to spend some time alone with your mind, just trying to get to the bottom of whatever problems has been bugging you lately.

Amen to that...

The 1 Second Film & iJustine & The Evangenitals!

What an amazing day we had today! You can watch video clips from throughout the day's adventures on the Ustream.tv site/The 1 Second Film channel/page. I'm exhausted. Grateful. Hungry. Blessed. I feel like the luckiest gal in the world to have the privilege of making music with David Hurlin and Keith Lubow. The vision of the Collaboration Foundation is absolutely beautiful. I hope everyone will Digg this and VOTE for the Collaboration Foundation on IdeaBlob.com! This is the last possible day to vote, and we're in 2nd Place!!! So close to winning $10,000 for the development of our non-profit. Please help!xojulio

read more | digg story

All day long I've been thinking about the feeling of getting a tattoo, and how much I miss it. It probably has something to do with the fact that my mom is coming to visit, and both of the tattoos I've gotten so far were:

a) a day that my mom left town, right after dropping her off at the airport, and
b) while my mom was visiting, in my kitchen, and she even helped draw the tattoo! :-)

The next tattoo that I want to get, methinks, is a series of bubbles going up the spine, from out of the sea grass, which is sprouting from the seed at the base. My love of bubbles knows no bounds.

Last night at the Evangenitals show at Tre Stage audience members blew bubbles during Quee Queg. Words cannot describe the beauty and happiness I feel watching bubbles waft by, illuminated by the lights, during that song. It is a slice of heavenly heaven on the heaven that is earth, every time.

In other news...

This is an old piece of writing from my 'ol play [or, the whale] that has been on my mind tonight, due to the bubble theme of the past 24 hours. I hope you enjoy it.


In the final moment,
when the day is done,
when the captain becomes one,
when it’s all complete,
and he turns into himself,
he turns into himself,
that is to say,
in the end,
a perfect moment,
pure light,
a clean world,
a complete man,
a floating globe,
a temporary eternity,
the starting point,
beginning of all geometry,
such a clean world,
even if it only lasts for a second,
'tis long enough,
for mine eyes have seen,
at the perfect moment,
a point of light,
on the horizon,
a clean world,
completely transparent,
as is everything,
as is it all,
alter of other,
either or whether,
before or before,
sink or swim,
to burst inward,
to undergo violent compression,
to collapse inward
as if from external pressure,
the act or action
of bringing to
[or]
as if to
a center;
integration.

And in the final moment,
all you are is all you were,
you remember.
And memory is nothing but air,
and all you are.

(Copywright 2001, excerpted from [or, the whale] by Juli Crockett)

You can now listen to History of Water, the radio play, featuring performers Shaughn Buchholz, Andrea LeBlanc, Lisa Dee, Patrick Ian Moore, and Juli Crockett as well as the music of David Hurlin, Henry Bermudez, and Kieth Lubow of the Evangenitals and a recorded track (The Pet) by Timothy Sellers of Artichoke ONLINE thanks to the KPFK Archives!

Tune in here!

http://archive.kpfk.org/parchive/mp3/kpfk_080726_070100special.mp3

I've been struggling with a deep sadness lately that I can't exactly put my finger on. I think this is due to the fact that there is no single "on" on which to put my proverbial "finger"... whatever that means. It is a mist of shape-shifting feelings and reasons, which transforms into all sorts of causes and all sorts of effects. The main symptoms are the same as always... restless, restless, and restless. Craving for stillness, craving for motion. Craving for security, craving for upheaval and change. Craving for communication, craving for solitude. Craving, craving, and craving... yet another common symptom.

Melancholia is a better word for it. Everything has a tinge of the bittersweet to it. It is a great state for songwriting.

Realization #1: I had intended to buy a new headband before my Cash'd Out gig tomorrow!

Realization #2: This is what is called a "luxury problem".... Life is Grand!

"The Silent Yes"

Last night's dream:

I was working undercover and entered into a huge game being played by thousands of youth world-wide called "The Silent Yes", the purpose of which was to weed out fascistic tendencies in the youth and to test their decision-making powers in complex situations.

First I entered a locker room decorated with propaganda posters celebrating the winning teams, shunning the losers, and advertising missing children. The posters were all red and white and had "YES/NO" and "YES OR NO?" emblazoned upon them, along with graphics of planes dropping bombs, people screaming, or flowers and puppies and peace signs. Every decision within the game was a Catch-22; situations in which some population stood to suffer whatever the decision would be... such as, a plague would be released on a neighboring village if residents of the already-infected village was not exterminated quickly... WHAT DO YOU DO? Whatever the youth teams decided would actually happen. Genocides, wars, etc.

I was given a new name (my sister's name, Jaimee) and some money to get started in the game. Before I'd even entered the playing field, I made my first mistake and made eye contact with a more advanced player. Eye contact with any player who had been in the game longer than you was against the rules, so it was safest to never make eye contact with anyone, ever. This of course made it very difficult to solve a crime within the game, due to the fact that I couldn't identify anyone very well without risking "losing".

"Losing" was awful. There were these pixie-like creatures that were about 1 foot high, reddish colored, and rather beautiful. They had elegant, delicate hands with long, slender fingers and incredibly sharp nails. Whenever anyone broke the rules, a Pixies would be released on them and while a gentle wave of their hands their sharp nails would literally split the "loser" right open. The Pixies would playfully swat at the bodies in innocent glee while skin and guts spewed everywhere and the person was instantly killed in an incredibly gory manner.

Whenever someone had a "birthday" there would be a huge party in which all of their best game moves would be shown in a cinematic montage on a giant movie screen. Every single thing that anyone did was videotaped.

The point of the game truly was to find the few pure, peaceful souls in the world that could make the right peaceful, loving decisions even in the face of tremendous pressures and hardships. Only these people would have the ability to speak The Silent Yes... and it was the Silent Yes that could save us all.

And after all that..

I dreamed that my tortoise died. :-(

Inspired by David Hurlin's latest entry on his Dynamics of the Drum blog:

"where telepathy fosters the radiance of self sufficiency"

that is the place! the placeless place. the where its at, with it being nothing at all. the hole. the void. the empty room.

all day i have felt like crying. "who's pain is this?" i ask. methinks i am like a sponge, soaking up the feelings of others.

last night i dreamed of exploring a deep cave half-filled with crystal water. we were wading through. something in me knew that the water was sorrow. beautiful, perfect, perpetually flowing sorrow.

i also dreamed of being bitten by an adorable vampire puppy.

of what will we dream tonight, friends?

Sweet Love say
Where, how and when
What do you want of me?...

Yours I am, for You I was born:
What do you want of me?...

- Saint Teresa of Avila

While taking a walk at night with my lover and our dog I discovered the following in the grass:

Closer Inspection Revealed Eyes Peeking:


An unreal sleep of an unreal baby.

Further along the road... a discarded balloon:


Nothing is Sacred.

on this night, the evangenitals jammed...

it's really late, i'm fresh home from a gig, sleep deprived and hungry, thirsty and in love.

at some moment or other during tonight's show, i experienced a joyous and profound love for every single band member and was filled with genuine child-like GLEE at just how lucky i am to be making music with each and every one of these people

we HARMONIZE. we join in song and make waves. it is collaborative and creative and generative and magical and i'm simply stupid in love with the whole marvelous thing.

the feeling of really, truly being in a band is something i fantasized about as a child and feel absolutely blessed to be experiencing, in burst of vibrating sound and light, on stage and off with the people of the evangenitals.

so yes, all you evangenitals out there, both the ones on stage with me and the ones in the audience who help our music to thrive with your open ears, open hearts, and goooooood energy, thanks for letting me love you. it feels real good to feel good in your direction. :-)

love,
juli

Just saw an ad that said,

"I got my degree while working full time"

Why on earth is that supposed to be appealing????

micro-blogging, via Twitter, has had a serious effect on my macro-blogging, via Blogger and/or any of my other various blogs, be they on LiveJournal, Myspace, Wordpress, etc.

communicating piece by piece, bit by bit, i'm limited to mini-thoughts, and not having any mega-dish sessions of writing about life love feelings goings ons etc.

everything limited to 160 characters or whatever fits in a single sentence ADD burst of not too much information. something chatty and fun.

i did, however, have a 3 and 1/2 hour conversation with a very sad 21 year old girl last night while eating homemade vegan curry. that felt like being of service to humanity.

i am so grateful that i have a boyfriend that i adore who is an amazing cook and has the softest most touchable skin i have ever felt.

when i was breaking up with my ex he put a curse on me... it didn't come true!

blogging, for me, is the place to be embarrassingly un-deep. as if the world wide websurfers were invited to read my high school journal.

i didn't keep a journal in high school... only a highly coded date book/calendar which would, via symbols, remind me on which days i did which drugs and what sex acts and with whom. these were the key facts of my existence that struck me as "worth remembering"

once, in high school, i took (stole) all of the thermometer's from chemistry class, brought them home, broke them open, and made myself a glass full of mercury. i played with it often... spilling it on the rug and picking it up with my bare hands. as far as i know i am fine.

there are so many projects that i have started and haven't finished. i am feeling a call. the call.

a sound/image struck me today:

my relationship with god = a jolly game of marco polo. i say "marco" and wait for the response. a sign comes. "polo". i move one step closer.

Patrick and I had an awesome day today, and you can read about it here. Click this.

:-)

I recently went on a Colorado mini-tour with Cash'd Out, the world's premier Johnny Cash tribute band, in which I count myself blessed to be singing the June Carter parts. It was in Veil, Colorado, our 3rd show on the trip that I realized upon the dance floor that I was completely in love with this job, this band, and this whole adventure/experience in music that I'm having.

Prior to the show, we were all sitting around having dinner and geeking out over an article/interview that had come out in the paper that day about Cash'd Out and our appearance in town. It was the first time my name had appeared in print in association with the band (albeit misspelled) and the whole thing was pretty exciting.

I just found the article online, and figured I'd share it with y'all. Follow this link:
Johnny Cash Tribute Band - VeilDaily.com

Hopefully you'll be able to come and see me in action in this new gig. It's really something else, very different from the Evangenitals; in Cash'd Out I wear dresses and heels and makeup and curl my hair and pretty much sound the profound depths of my inner girlishness.

Much to my surprise, it turns out I'm quite a lady and am having the time of my life letting my femme flag fly. :-)

xo
julio

If you only read one chapter of Herman Melville's Moby Dick, let it be Chapter 23, "The Lee Shore". It rocks my soul boat, every time.

In case you don't own the book, here's the Chapter, in full, all 6 inches of it, for your enjoyment:

Some chapters back, one Bulkington was spoken of, a tall, newlanded mariner, encountered in New Bedford at the inn.

When on that shivering winter's night, the Pequod thrust her vindictive bows into the cold malicious waves, who should I see standing at her helm but Bulkington! I looked with sympathetic awe and fearfulness upon the man, who in mid-winter just landed from a four years' dangerous voyage, could so unrestingly push off again for still another tempestuous term. The land seemed scorching to his feet. Wonderfullest things are ever the unmentionable; deep memories yield no epitaphs; this six-inch chapter is the stoneless grave of Bulkington. Let me only say that it fared with him as with the storm-tossed ship, that miserably drives along the leeward land. The port would fain give succor; the port is pitiful; in the port is safety, comfort, hearthstone, supper, warm blankets, friends, all that's kind to our mortalities. But in that gale, the port, the land, is that ship's direst jeopardy; she must fly all hospitality; one touch of land, though it but graze the keel, would make her shudder through and through. With all her might she crowds all sail off shore; in so doing, fights 'gainst the very winds that fain would blow her homeward; seeks all the lashed sea's landlessness again; for refuge's sake forlornly rushing into peril; her only friend her bitterest foe!

Know ye now, Bulkington? Glimpses do ye seem to see of that mortally intolerable truth; that all deep, earnest thinking is but the intrepid effort of the soul to keep the open independence of her sea; while the wildest winds of heaven and earth conspire to cast her on the treacherous, slavish shore?

But as in landlessness alone resides highest truth, shoreless, indefinite as God- so better is it to perish in that howling infinite, than be ingloriously dashed upon the lee, even if that were safety! For worm-like, then, oh! who would craven crawl to land! Terrors of the terrible! is all this agony so vain? Take heart, take heart, O Bulkington! Bear thee grimly, demigod! Up from the spray of thy ocean-perishing- straight up, leaps thy apotheosis!

"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

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/

Greetings my friends.

I have made a play. It is called "The History of Water" and it is being presented at the 24th Street Theater as part of their Saturday Explorer Series... meaning that it's a cutting edge piece of theatrical joy that's recommended for ages 7 & up. Bring the family, bring your mom, bring you lover... there's something for everything in this erratic, dramatic exploration of the substance that makes up most of our planet, and most of our bodies.

The piece features performers Shaughn Buchholz, Lisa Dee, Andrea LeBlanc, and Patrick Ian Moore with musical accompaniment by JP Houston and a very special musical cameo by Artichoke's Timothy Sellers.

There is one show only this time round, so this is indeed the time to see the History of Water!

Reservations are HIGHLY recommended.



Hope to see some of your friendly faces there!

evaCheers,
Juli

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. ☺

Date Night Doldrums? How 'bout some Johnny Cash!

Hey there.

This blog entry is intended to simultaneously inform/invite/intrigue you with the news of my newest career move -- oh yes, I'm up to MORE excitement! I'd like to share the good news with you.

On Saturday night (4/26) I'm going to be performing at the House of Blues in Anaheim with "Cash'd Out" (www.cashdout.com) the only Johnny Cash tribute band to be endorsed by the Cash family. I'm singing the June Carter parts, and I'll be wearing a dress. This will be my 3rd show with Cash'd Out this week, and I've been having a BLAST! It's VERY different from my Evangenitals antics, that's for sure.

Just in case you were wracking your brain in search of an adventure, a road trip, and a good date destination for this weekend, I thought I'd let you know! :-)

Here's a link to more info about this show:
http://hob.com/tickets/eventdetail.asp?eventid=51064

There are more gigs to come for sure, and if you're interested in coming to a future show closer to LA, let me know and I'll keep you posted!

Much love,
Juli

Last night I had my debut performance with the world's premier Johnny Cash tribute band "Cash'd Out" in front of a sold out crowd at the Belly Up in Solana Beach, CA. It was an amazing night, and an amazing experience to have the opportunity to play with such an incredible band and be a part of such a great show. The crowd was fantastic -- excited, supportive, and totally into it. They welcomed me to the stage with big 'ol cheers and really seemed responsive to what I was giving them. I loved it. I even had a posse of girls screaming that they loved my shoes... which was awesome. Especially since I got them at Target! Woo-hoo!

Before this gig, I was only able to have ONE rehearsal with the band. Other than that, I have obsessively been listening to Johnny Cash/June Carter and Carter Family tunes almost constantly trying to learn all the words, harmonies, and nuances of the real deal. At night Patrick and I walk the dog and I wear my iPod and sing all the June Carter parts like some crazy person with a bad case of the Johnny Cash Tourette's. I feel for the folks whose apartments we walk by every night, as they get a 1am surprise performance out their window.

At home I'm learning to play a bunch of the Carter Family stuff on guitar and it would be super awesome if we ended up working that into the Cash'd Out stage show somewhere down the line. While I may have played it a little coy last night on stage (out of first gig nervousness and respectfully not wanting to overstep my bounds first show out the gate) I'm very much looking forward to how my role in the band might grow and develop as I do more gigs and more songs under my belt and get more comfortable with the group and finding my place in it.

All in all, it was awesome. It's awesome being in another band with George Bernardo. It's awesome being in a band where I wear a dress and curl my hair. It's awesome singing classic Cash & Carter family tunes to shrieking crowds of totally into it fans. It's awesome. I am blessed, blessed, blessed!

Next show is at UCSD and it's already sold out, and then there's the House of Blues in Anaheim on Saturday night. I'm stoked to get to play that stage!

I can't wait till I get to do a show closer to Los Angeles so that my friends and curious Evangenitals fans could come check it out. It's definitely one hell of a show!

- Juli

There are exciting things going on in Evangenital-land, and a LOT of them. This weekend is a Nexus of sorts, with 3 shows happening on one night - none of them Evangenitals shows - yet all of them Evangenital-related! Let me explain...

Evangenitals lead singer Juli Crockett (that's me!) has just landed a new gig singing the June Carter Cash parts in the greatest Johnny Cash tribute band ever - Cash'd Out. (http://www.myspace.com/cashdout) Evangenitals drummer George Bernardo has been drumming with them for the past year, and this Saturday night - April 19th at 11pm - I will having my debut performance with Cash'd Out at the "Belly Up" in Solana Beach, CA. If you happen to be in that part of town, I would LOVE to have some friendly faces in the crowd cheering me on!

At the SAME TIME that night, Evangenitals crooner Lisa Dee will be joining our seemingly joined-at-the-hip buddy band ARTICHOKE (http://www.myspace.com/artichoketheband) at MOLLY MALONES for a sure-to-be-awesome show of bumble bee-filled joy. So if you're in THAT part of town, I highly recommend it. (If I weren't singing with Cash'd Out that night, I'd be performing with Artichoke too!)
AND... down at the iO WEST on Hollywood Blvd, Evangenitals flier artist and videographer Patrick Ian Moore will be performing long-form improv with HAMMERSPACE (http://www.myspace.com/hammerspace_improv) - a group that I, Juli Crockett, am normally a part of, yet I simply can't be in three places at once at 11pm on April 19th! Not yet, anyhow! So... if you like to laugh and happen to be in THAT part of town, GO SEE HAMMERSPACE! IT'S FREE!

And if none of this works for you, fear not! The Evangenitals (yes, the REAL band) are playing on April 21st at the Verity Room in Canoga Park... and we would love to see you there. Details on that show are here: http://www.evangenitals.com/calendar.html

So, here's the summary for Saturday April 19th, all at 11pm:

Evangenital Juli as June Carter with Georgie on drums in Cash'd Out:
Belly Up Tavern
143 S. Cedros Ave
Solana Beach, California 92075
http://www.bellyup.com

Evangenital Lisa Dee with Artichoke:
Molly Malones
575 South Fairfax Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90036
http://mollymalonesla.com/

Evangenital-artist Patrick at iO WEST with HAMMERSPACE:
iO WEST's Andy Dick Theater
6366 Hollywood Blvd (entrance on Cosmo)
Between Ivar and Cahuenga, on Cosmo
http://www.iowest.com

That's the news! Hope to see your smiling face soon!

xo
Juli of the Genitals

Official Site: http://www.evangenitals.com
On Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/evangenitals
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5456766961

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

"good tired"

I'm exhausted from running about! Today I woke up in San Gabriel, walked dogs in Mount Washington, went to choreography & modern dance class in Pasadena, dropped Patrick off back in San Gabriel so he could walk OUR dog, recorded some tracks for Artichoke in Highland Park, ran back to San Gabriel to print scripts and pick up Patrick for rehearsal, and then went to a History of Water rehearsal in Silverlake. Yee-haw! After that, it was over to Rosemead to buy a full-length mirror at Target, and home to San Gabriel, where we ate some vegan cake and took the dog on another 2 mile walk wearing ankle weights. Then I strapped on the headphones and practiced Johnny Cash songs on the electric guitar for my upcoming gig with Cash'd Out. Now I'm making tea. It is bedtime.

Tomorrow the forecast is very much the same, as I've got lunch dates, more recording, 2 band practices (evangenitals and artichoke), a drummer (with drums!) to transport, and all of the scheduling intricacies of being part of a one-car, low-carbon-footprint family to work into it all. I love it.

improv, oh improv

you make me want to tear off my face and crap on it

and yet

for your golden rod

i grasp

why am i still awake? it is so late. i've been obsessing on Facebook and trying to start promoting the Evangenitals show in Canoga Park on April 21st. Canoga Park??? who lives near there?

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

Evangenitals in Austin - The Photos

Evangenitals in Austin
Originally uploaded by juliocrockett

I finally posted some photos from our recent trip to Austin and SXSW on Flickr. Huzzah! Video is coming soon, as our friend Chris Haro has been chopping away at clips from Izzy Cox's performance (check out YouTube, he's put about 6 different videos of her performance up so far), next he'll be putting up the Henry Bermudez solo set, and then the Evangenitals.

Unfortunately, he ran out of battery power and didn't get the Artichoke and Clock Hands Strangle sets on tape. Oh well... they shall live on in my memory, and any of y'all who live in Los Angeles can check out Artichoke on April 19th at Molly Malones!

All in all, the trip to Austin was a much needed spiritual journey into a very musical land and I can't wait to hit the road with this crew again.

xoxo
julio

The Bruise of Rock...

Tonight I sang backup for Artichoke and played the Tambourine. That may sound like a walk in the park... HOWEVER... the way *I* play the tambourine is a full contact sport! Check out the battle wounds:


You can imagine how messed up I look after playing the tambourine on Gasoline with the Evangenitals... with my groin. Youch!

After the Artichoke show I ran off to Hollywood and performed Improv at the iO WEST, then I ate a Vegan burrito from Cinnamon in Highland Park. Now I'm going to bed. I think I've earned it. :-)

Love,
Me

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

Moving and Shaking.

Something is happening in my world...

Charles Francis Richter would be impressed with the momentous shifts, some detectable by the human eye, and some not, that are going on in the life of one Reverend Juli Crockett of the Evangenitals! To list but a few, I've suddenly decided to move from my (way too expensive) South Pasadena apartment that I have loved and lived in for over 2 years into a place that is WAY less expensive (literally half the price), bigger, and I love even more. Huzzah! And I'm going to be roommates with one of the Evangenitals' biggest fans, which is awesome. And perhaps a little weird, but more awesome than it is weird.

Patrick and I will be packing up our joyful, art-filled, vegan lives and our joyful, energy-filled vegan dog and taking this show on the road... just 5 miles away, but it makes all the difference in the world when I don't have to sweat about the rent payments and can focus on a life dedicated to making art -- outside of any semblance of a 9 to 5 job. I LOVE IT!!!

We're skipping school tomorrow to pack. :-)

Last Friday night Lisa Dee, myself, (that's Evangina!), guitarist Henry Bermudez, and Timothy Sellers of Artichoke all jumped in a car and drove to Austin to catch a taste of SXSW and play a day show on Sunday. It was a much-need breaking out and breaking away from the day to day, and also a grand display of willingness and mild insanity. The whole thing made me indescribably happy.

Brian and Jerimi, a WONDERFUL couple who restore any lagging faith that any of us could have in humanity and the generosity of the spirit, put us up in Austin and took great care of us. I barely know these folks, and yet they opened their hearts, ears, home, and fridge to us... for fun and for free. Incredible. I also discovered that Austin has free health insurance for musicians and the audiences actually TIP... what am I doing here? I love LA. It's twisted.

It was great to play with Izzy Cox. I've missed her. She is a powerful performer and I look forward to doing more shows with her when she comes out to LA again. We also DEFINITELY plan to return to Austin next year, if not sooner. Now that Henry is going to be playing with us, we are indeed a road-hungry band... we want to play play PLAY and bring the Evangenital joy to every pair of ears that will listen.

I'm going to be posting the photo-journal from the Austin trip on Flickr real soon. I'll post links here when I do.

Tonight we played a fundraiser show with Veruca Salt in downtown LA and we debuted a never-before-seen/heard Evangenitals lineup featuring Joey Ninja of Ninja Academy on bass and the aforementioned Henry Bermudez on lead guitar. It rocked my socks off! I am excited to be revisiting our old tunes with new energy and explore and reinterpret them -- stretch 'em to the snapping point and see what their spine looks like. Constantly changing, exploring, questioning, enjoying, refreshing... I dig it. "The Hole" almost burst into a Reggae jam tonight, people. It was AWESOME!!!

So, the short version is: the flow is flowing once again, the universe is giving me the green light on all things, it seems, and I am revved up and ready to GROW! The party is about to get started, and you're all always invited.

Love, always and already,
Juli

i can't believe i'm taking off for Austin in just a few hours! this is CRAZY!!!

SXSW, here we come!

I friggin' LOVE my apartment in South Pasadena, but they keep raising the rent!! Arrrgh! So, I'm now looking for something affordable anywhere betwixt Hollywood and Pasadena (as in under $900, and the more under the better)

It would be for myself, my man, and our vegan dog Wookie.

Any ideas?

i stay up way too late... it's ridiculous. my internal clock is all wacko. i get cookin' at 2am and i gotta ride that wave and keep working while the creative juices are flowing, so i don't get to bed till 5am. it's not practical... but creativity ain't often practical, i've found.

i'm excited as hell about the History of Water piece, as i've had some mini-breakthroughs in my mind and i'm seeing things clearly.

perhaps i should count my blessings and call it a night.

I am busy as hell... and I've brought it on myself! I have an appetite for more more more and I am certainly getting my fill.

Technically, I'm a full time student working on my PhD dissertation for The European Graduate Shcool. On top of that, I've recently started being an "almost" full time student at PCC, taking 11 credits of performance classes including Choreography, Modern Dance, Voice & Movement, Mime, Musical Theater, and Improv. On top of THAT... I'm enrolled in the improv training program at iO WEST and I start Level 4 on Thursday, which includes student shows in addition to classes every other Sunday. Oh yeah, and my Improv group Hammerspace starts performing shows on Saturday night. On top of THAT... I'm creating a new theater piece for the 24th Street Theater in my "spare time" about the History of Water.

And in the midst of all that, Lisa Dee and I are heading down to Austin for an Evangenitals gig on the fringe of the SXSW madness on March 16th at Thunderbird Coffee along with Timothy Sellers from Artichoke and Henry Bermudez from Unpopable.

With the artistic life in overdrive, I can't seem to find any time to WORK! Hopefully my big 'ol Evangenitals Radio Play Push will pay off soon and we'll start selling a bunch of albums.

There's been a few interesting new developments that I'm excited about, such as, over on Last.fm, enough folks have listened to Evangenitals tunes to merit our own station. That's right, you can just type in "Evangenitals" and they'll play you an awesome station of related muzak. I've been especially enjoying listening to our tunes up against "Iron & Wine" and "Bonnie "Prince" Billy"... good stuff and an honor to be played in their fine company.

If you're not down with Last.fm yet, I highly recommend downloading the player. It's free custom radio, folks!

And finally... George Bernardo is Awesome. Need Proof? Watch this:

Frank Zappa meets the Marimba

Alright you Diggers out there... Digg this! It's Evangenitals drummer George Bernardo playing Frank Zappa on Marimba and it's friggin' awesome!!!

read more | digg story

I just took a bath with Epsom salts in it and I fear it is not going to be enough to prevent my body from going into muscular shock in the morning. It has been a while since I've been in a dance class. :-)

Lately I've been thinking about video blogging, ala iJustine, because it seems easier to turn on the camera and talk about my day rather than type it out... however, I look like hell right now so I'm glad to be writing this (I'm invisible!). It seems the first week of my adventures in Community College caused me to break out like I'm in high school again. It's wonderfully humbling.

Today I had to dress in leotard, tights, leg warmers - the whole 9 yards - for Modern Dance and Choreography classes. Truth be told, it is a kind of fashion that I have secretly wished to participate in since I was a child. Leg warmers and "shrugs", half shirts over leotards with the tights on the outside pulled up real high and some short-shorts over the black tights. Walking with feet turned out and pelvis WIDE OPEN through the campus.... it's pretty ridiculously fun. I woke up terrified to go to school, but ended up in the library after class making copies in my thigh-high leg warmers. FREEDOM FROM FEAR!

My mother, as always, is incredibly supportive of my sudden and profound return to focusing on performance. God bless that woman. She's been doing a lot of Kayaking in Florida, drifting around and seeing manatee's up close and personal. I love it. There are rumors that one of her books (Tangerine) may get made into a movie. Things are in progress, moving and shaking... we shall see. It would be amazing if it all happened. Especially if it happened SOON! :-)

Tomorrow -- Voice, Movement, Mime, and Musical Theater. I am hereby immersing myself in every art form that I mocked and ridiculed as an arrogant artsy undergrad. Glory be.

Keep Art Alive!

The 1 Second Film & the Collaboration Foundation could win $10,000 to help develop their nonprofit collaborative arts organization... and all you have to do to help them win it is VOTE FOR THEM on IdeaBlob! It only takes a minute (literally) to sign in and vote. Please, give this link a click and help "KEEP ART ALIVE" as our friend Mike Alva says! :-)

Hello?

Who would have guessed that "Hello" would be the run-away mini-hit from the new Everlovin album? Patrick, that's who! It was always one of his favorite songs on the album, and it looks like that's the track that is proving to have maximum cross-over appeal.

Thanks be to Addi's balloonhat video for putting it all into perspective and into the public consciousness!

Due to popular demand, I have just added "Hello" to our songs on Myspace. Woo-hoo! Now folks can hear it whenever they like and add it to their profiles and stuff.

The message of the music... DON'T FORGET TO LOVE YOURSELF, PEOPLE!

You can grab the tune here: http://www.myspace.com/evangenitals

In other news, I just entered us into some College Music Contest in which we could win some money and some great opportunities, so please VOTE FOR US!
http://contest.cmj.com/bands/142

xo
juli

I'm loving what's been going on with this Balloon Hat video. What a dope-ass mini-sensation. Now I'm going to watch "Battlefield Earth" and think about making a video for Ode to Scientology. Woot woot!

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What a difference a day makes...

Yesterday I became obsessed with getting radio play for the new Evangenitals album Everlovin. I was totally inspired by the recent success of the breakups on the CMJ charts (yay!) and figured that it's time for me to get crackin' on an idea that I had a long time ago.

When I quit my full-time "regular" job (if working at a sex toy company can be called regular) the plan was to throw myself into the Evangenitals full-time. I was working as a Marketing Director for a big 'ol company and thought that if I directed all that marketing savvy at the band, then maybe, just maybe, I could support myself on Evangenital Joy alone. A lot of good stuff has happened between now and then, but the band hasn't gotten the full force of my attentions that I would like it to. So, now is the time.

In the past 24 hours I have written to a BUNCH of radio stations that play something like "our kind of music" and over 1/3 of them have gotten back to me with a positive reply so far. 1/3!!! That's some good odds!

There was only one "negative" reply, which was:

"I suggest you rename your group if you want airplay on our radio station."

These are some of my very favorite emails to respond to. My reply:

"Thanks for the straight-forward reply! Though I would love to have our music on your station, we already have far too much invested in this name and have broken down too many semantic walls of judgement to abandon it now. :-)

As an ordained minister and student of philosophy, the word "Evangenital" (which I happen to own the trademark for) is not in any way meant to be offensive (playful, yes!), rather it is an incredibly valid linguistic combination that accurately describes the passionate joy that informs our music:

Evangelical: characterized by ardent or crusading enthusiasm; zealous.
Genitals: the organs of creation

Though our band name may not be a match for your station, I hope you give the music a chance. That's where the message is at.

Cheers,
Juli"

Kill 'em with kindness. That's what my momma taught me. :-)

So... let me tell you about today!

Addi (of Balloonhat.com and Unpopable) emailed me this morning to say that he used our song "Hello" in a video that he made of him doing balloon hats at a nursing home. It is a beautiful video and such a great use of the song I was reduced to gooey pudding inside when I watched it.

Then I went for a SUPER FANTASTIC bike ride with Patrick all over South Pasadena and Highland Park.

When I got back, I called Nirvan (of The 1 Second Film and the Collaboration Foundation) and it turns out he had seen the blog I posted on The 1 Second Film site and submitted Addi's video to BoingBoing, who then featured it on the front page!

The video has now gotten over 4000 views so far and "Hello" is showing up as one of the Evangenitals "top songs" on iTunes!

Then Patrick and I went to the LA Opera to see the final dress rehearsal of "The Broken Jug" and "The Dwarf"... which was friggin' awesome! The sets were AMAZING. I loved it... especially "The Dwarf".... and I don't even love Opera that much. And I saw Timothy Sellers from Artichoke there, a few rows in front of me... he didn't see me though. I was in the back a slipped out during the applause! Woo-hoo. Home in 13 minutes flat! I love it.

Upon returning home, I had gotten a couple MORE positive responses from radio stations, one of which even asked for the Evangenitals to do a "station ID" to put in their permanent rotation. Glory be!

Yes, I'm definitely feeling good about making the Evangenitals my full-time job for while. Radio waves, here we come!

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?

Today I did something I hardly ever do... I wore underwear. Why, you ask? Well...

I was having a theater-filled day with my main squeeze Patrick to celebrate the closing of the play (that he was starring in, that's right!) and one of the stops on our tour of Los Angeles theatrical offerings - right after seeing Del Arte's production "The Golden State" at the 24th Street Theater was the smash-hit sensation "Point Break Live" going down on weekends at Charlie O's Bar at the Alexandria Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles on Spring Street. Aww yeah...

Now, if you don't know already... Point Break Live is a live theatrical version of the awesome classic movie "Point Break" in which the Keanu Reeves character is picked from the audience. I had been invited to the show by friends involved with the production (Bill and his wife Anne - who's sister is the producer of the show) so I was real excited to go. My friend Shaughn Buchholz had recently gone and gotten picked to play the lead role of Johnny Utah, so I had a general idea of what we were in for.

So, the underwear. The underwear was for the rare chance that I got up the nerve to "audition" for the role of Johnny Utah AND was the audience favorite AND got picked by the director to play the part. If all of that HAPPENED to happen, then I would need to be able to do costume changes backstage... thus, the underwear.

As for why I never wear underwear... that is for another blog post.

As luck would have it... I *DID* muster to courage to audition for the role, and much to my surprise, I got it. That's right folks. For a few hours tonight, my name was Johnny Utah. I had to wear a wet suit, was soaked, smacked, fondled, tackled, squirted, and otherwise abused much to the delight of the crowd. I did exactly as I was told and delivered a most monotone and deadpan performance, only speaking what was on the cue cards, and only moving when told to move. I got to hang from the ceiling in a harness, chase a man through the streets with a gun, yell a lot, and learned to surf in the mix. It was exhausting and awesome.

I highly recommend the show. Tobias Jelinek, who plays Bodhi (the Patrick Swayze character) and Jennifer Jean who plays Tyler/the Lori Petty character (and studied improv at Second City AND we've had the same teacher - Scot Robinson of The Lampshades) were friggin' inspired. And Christi Waldon who was my personal PA and helped me survive the whole show was absolutely adorable. I will be eternally grateful and in awe of her energy.

Great cast, great concept, a great friggin' time at the theater. Thumbs up, yo! What's more... I got the whole thing on tape! Woo-hoo!

All in all, today was a very good day. I'm exhausted, I'm inspired, I've got fake blood in my hair. It's a wonderful life indeed.