| Hi Beautiful people! Happy 2020. Or as we like to call it: Ramones Year (2020 24 hours a day…) 🙂 I moved to Mexico! My fella and I are living in a beautiful city called Merida in the state of Yucatan. It is a 500 year old colonial outpost, built from the stones of the five Maya temples that the Spaniards found and tore down when they came upon it in the jungle. The Yucatecans, more than most other Mexican Nationals I’ve talked to, really embrace their Spanish and their Maya roots. It is a gorgeous place full of culture, art, architecture, restaurants and more. Did you know MORE Americans are moving to Mexico than the other way around? It’s true!  GO-GO’S NEWS Unless you are living under a rock (and that actually sounds kinda cool), you know that Go-Go’s activity has really ramped up. We had the Broadway Musical, Head Over Heels, which ran for SIX months. Now the show is being produced all over the country in smaller theatres. Pretty cool.  The latest news is that the documentary, The Go-Go’s premiered at Sundance Film Festival. It’s getting rave reviews from audience members and critics alike. This year, as it turns out, is going to be really busy. We have the documentary likely playing at festivals worldwide, which they want us to attend. This film is responsible for so much healing in our band. I’m incredibly grateful for it and the director, Alison Ellwood. We LOVE the movie; it’s funny, touching and super interesting. The documentary will air on Showtime and coming to theatres nationwide. More info about the movie will be revealed soon! I am thrilled to announce that the Go-Go’s will be playing select dates to support the film in June/July (click HERE for tickets). Also – there’s a brand new Go-Go’s song in the documentary called Club Zero and we are really excited and proud for people to hear! And that’s just my Go-Go’s news! OTHER NEWS A few weeks ago I had the wonderful experience of attending an art opening for a wonderful artist, Beatriz Monteavaro. One of her muses is the Go-Go’s so a lot of her work features us. Betty (as she is called) is also a drummer and we jammed together at the opening. It was a strange and fabulous experience and I made some great new friends. Part of the aftermath of this is that I decided to START PAINTING! I’ve always been in awe of visual artists; pretty sure I have little to no talent in that area…BUT I decided, fuck it, I’m going to do it anyway! So far it has been challenging, scary, fun. I think scaring yourself as often as possible is pretty healthy (within reason OF COURSE!). And in other news – you know how much I love raising funds for various animal rescue groups by selling my stage-wear. We have recently listed some new (and vintage) items to my online store. Take a look around and you might find something you like. ELETTRODOMESTICO NEWS I am thrilled to announce that my band Elettrodomestico (ED) will be touring with The Psychedelic Furs (click HERE for tickets) in April. We’ve got a new single coming out soon (yay!).  I’d like to invite you to read the letter I’ve attached below. It’s a very thoughtful piece from a fan (Anita) who recently discovered the Elettrodomestico album: If You’re A Boy Or A Girl, and wrote to me to share her impressions of it. If what she wrote intrigues you, please listen for yourself! Click HERE to purchase the LP and other merchandise. Or if you’re more of a download person it is also available on iTunes. And if you’re a visual music fan – here’s a link to all ten of the videos we made to accompany the album, which was done on a $1000 budget each by many of our beloved friends. Hope to see you somewhere in the world this year! Much love to all, Jane |
| Overall impressions of IF YOU’RE A BOY OR A GIRL Do you know how long it has been since I just sat down and listened to a new album? There are so many layers in this album. It demanded attention. So now I’m lying in my bed with my headphones and I am amazed.   This must be what it felt like for kids in the 60’s picking up Sgt. Pepper’s for the first time (I had my own Sgt. Pepper’s experience when I was a kid, but the album wasn’t contemporary to me and that makes a difference). There is so much here. As soon as you begin to grasp it, it slips out of your fingertips. Here will be my best attempt at capturing what eludes. Rabbit Stew – Bowie would love every second of this. For real, girl. You did him justice. He is smiling in the English evergreens hearing this song. Aloha – Dicks gonna be dicks. I live in Kentucky so it’s like experiencing all the social judgement of Hawaii but without the beaches and sunsets. If I wrote the Kentucky version of this song, it would be called “Well, I’ll holler atchaâ€. . . My God, I don’t want to die alone, three thousand miles from nowhere. The bass really drives in this song. The controlled, fast rhythm guitar gives just enough edge to everything. The Hawaiian guitar is mixed at just the right amount. It would have been so easy to screw that part up and have too much of it. Mail Order Bride – The repeating Do it’s in the beginning are hypnotic. The vocal harmonies are tight. Makes me wish I could sing harmonies. The backing acoustic guitar really grounds everything. The tone of the lead guitar reminds me of my favorite shoe gaze band. This song has a menacing undercurrent. The lyrics oddly remind me of “Atonement†by Lucinda Williams (about the only country I listen to except for the old country singers). Fighting the predetermined social and religious conventions is hard, yo. Love Me at a Distance – Now we hit our George Harrison song of the album. The irony that a song like this should appear on the album the first time I sent my thoughts directly to an artist is not lost on me. I didn’t really plan this out well, did I? Maybe this is a mistake. Brittle – I had a friend once who said that she could breathe underwater when she was a child. Madeleine L’Engle said that she could fly down the staircase when she was a girl. What makes us have those abilities in the first place and what makes us lose them? And what do you do with yourself once they are lost? I guess you keep trying, keep moving, keep creating. Maybe someday you’ll be able to fly again. Stop, Drop and Swallow – Rollo May (psychologist) said that apathy would be the central crisis of our generation. Kreia (the most badass Jedi/Sith Master ever) said that apathy is death. If we numb ourselves to the point that we don’t remember what it feels like to be alive, what is even the point? Maybe the point is to remind yourself that it is a temporary state as long as you choose for it to be. The choosing is the thing, I suppose – to choose to put yourself in the struggle when it would be so much easier to be lazy and dead.This song is a slow burn musically. The vocals hypnotize. It’s so dreamy. It fits the lyrics perfectly. Bliss – Oh girl, I feel this song in my marrow. Looking over the landscape of your past mistakes is never easy.   Nightblind – One of my anxieties that can keep me up at night is the fear that I don’t even know all that I’m blind to. Of course I don’t know how blind I am! Creation and dialogue help you to see those blind spots. I really love the chord progression in the verse.   Lost at Sea – Oh, I feel this one. I’m in one of those post breakup, lost at sea periods. The line “it MOSTLY comes from a place of love†gets me the most. Mostly. . . Yeah. That’s some honesty right there. It’s brutal . . . mostly. It’s a compassionate brutal. My favorite kind. There’s a wavering in the guitar tone that makes it sound like everything is underwater. The off-kilter drum beat gives this song a different feel than the rest of the album. The Next Night – My God, I hope it makes the next night easier. Actually, this does make me feel hopeful. So thanks for that. And thanks for pushing through to make this album. I hope it felt like a renaissance for you.   With appreciation and respect,Anita |