Tegan + Sara

I was in Gastown recently visiting my friend, Jill, at work when we decdided to head out and get a bite to eat. We stopped at a little cafe around the corner from her office and when we walked through the door, Jill immediately recognized one of her favorite artists sitting at the window chillin' with a cup of joe. It was either Tegan or Sara from the band Tegan + Sara. She wasn't sure which one so we introduced ourselves.

Now, even though I'm a lezzy, I have to admit, I only know one song of theirs: a short tune from the L Word soundtrack "Love Type Thing." I know, bad lesbian, bad.

Anyhoodle, I snapped a photo because I knew you'd all dig it. And now I'm going to go download some Tegan + Sara for my iPod.

Check out Blood into Wine!

An old friend of mine, Ryan Page, co-directed this amazing film coming out soon. It's called "Blood into Wine: The Arizona Stronghold" and its red carpet premiere is February 19th at the W Hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The movie is the widely anticipated documentary that shares the story of Tool/A Perfect Circle/Puscifer front man Maynard James Keenan and his mentor Eric Glomski as they pioneer winemaking in the hostile deserts of Arizona.

Check here for other screenings around the country. I wish it were coming to Vancouver!

DETAILS
Friday, February 19th
6pm
W Scottsdale, Arizona
Wine + hors d'oeuvres included
To get tickets, go HERE.



You can see an interview from Rolling Stone here.



Way to go Ryan!

A Walk Down Halloween Memory Lane...

Lipstick LOVES Halloween. Down in the garage, there are two huge boxes of costumes I've collected through the years. Also, as a former sorority girl, I seemed to have doubled my collection during my college years. Greeks are always finding a reason to dress up (and drink).

Here are some old photos of Lipstick through her formative years on Halloween.

Really Mom and Dad, you had no idea I was gay--even when I dressed up like a punker dyke and entered that contest?

Oh yeah, and as a football player? What straight girl dresses up as a quarterback?

In these photos, are some my oldest friends. If you look carefully, you might be able to pair them with their mug shot from the trouble we got into last summer.

Believe it or not, the sweet little witchy costumed girl sitting next to "Chief Lipstick" in preschool is actually "Tatum" in the mugshot. We're not sure how she got from sweet little preschooler to rocking rambler.

Great Baby Mama Gift Ideas

Know someone or a dyke couple who's having a baby? Are you preggers? Considering it? Looking for some cool new clothes?

One of my nearest and dearest friends has started a clothing line called Ava Rose Designs. It's an online clothing boutique for women and children. There are all kinds of fabulous things on her site for babies and kids--bibs, blankets, splat mats, burp cloths and, my personal favorite: The Ooopsie (which she has coined and created).

For mums, she has a great clothing line, too, which features bermuda shorts, pj pants, hoodies, polo shirts, and more.

I've known Mel since we were in kindergarden and she's been one of my absolute best friends since then. We've been through it all together, too, and she's as close to blood as it gets. She's pictured here with her daughter, the inspiration for the line, Ava Rose.



Way to go, Mel!

Big Lesbian Pool Party in LA Next Weekend

If you're doing to be in southern California on the 26th of Sept, you'll want to make the pilgrimage to West Hollywood on Saturday Sept 26th for "Wet" at the Standard WeHo. "Drink, Dance, Dip," is their motto and it's sure to be a scene out of the L Word. It's put on by Shannon K Productions and Diva Mel (aka Melissa Vickers, mi amiga).

Check it out California!

DETAILS

Saturday, Sept 26th

Noon-6pm

The Standard Hollywood

8300 W. Sunset Blvd.

Good Music at Mississippi Pizza This Wednesday

Hi Ya'll

My super-fly friend Christine Havrilla will be rocking out Mississippi Pizza on Wednesday. Hop on your bikes and head over to Mississippi to catch the show!

DETAILS
Mississippi Pizza + Pub (3552 N. Mississippi, Portland, OR

Wedensday, August 5th

6pm

Mississippi Website

Canadians :: Check Out Bonnie Ste. Croix

My friend, lezzilicious Bonnie Ste. Croix, will be touring Canada this month and into July, so I wanted to give peeps a heads up for her upcoming shows. If you're in eastern Canada, check her out!

Thursday, June 24th, 2009
OTTAWA @ the RAINBOW BISTRO. 9PM to 1AM
76 Murray St. Ottawa. (Murray St. & Parent St. in The Byward Market) PH:(613) 241-5123

Sunday June 28th, 2009
MONTREAL
CASA BELLA. 7PM to 10PM
602-A Boul. Cure Labelle, Chomedy (Laval) PH:450-686-8388
Please try your best to CALL AHEAD and reserve for this one!!! The owner's are requesting this so they can be prepared for meals etc.

July 9
Fredericton, NB
Crumbs Café. 551 King St. PH: (506) 472-8106

July 10
St-Andrews, NB
Kennedy Inn. 218 Water St. PH: (506) 529-8844

July 11
Rothesay, NB
Sessions Café. 8PM. 140G Hampton Road. PH: (506)-847-1321

July 14
Tyne Valley, PEI
Britannia Hall. 7:30 PM Opening for "Lazy Jacks"

July 15
Breadalbane. PEI
The Dunk. 3864 Dixon Road.

July 16
Charlottetown. PEI
Summer Concert Series at Peakes Quay.

July 17
Halifax. NS
The Company House. 2202 Gottingen St.

July 18
Penobsquis. NB Timberland. Route 114 (just outside of Sussex)

July 24
Gaspe JacquesCartier Commemoration Show.

July 26
Gaspe La Petite Eglize, 8 PM, 208 Montee Wakeham

Come Out to See Christine Havrilla or Tune in on Web

Hi Ya'll

My dear friend Christine Havrilla is going to be performing in Portland tomorrow night (Friday, May 29). It is sure to be a great show and Christine will be rocking out all night. If you'd like to attend the house concert, email heather.knight.pdx@gmail.com As of right now, there is still a little bit of room, so RSVP today.

Door open at 7pm

Shows starts at 8pm

$10-15 suggested donation to the artist

If you can't make the show, you can watch it live streaming here: http://www.justin.tv/renegadepilgrim

Calling All San Franciscans

A friend of mine, Christine Havrilla, is performing tonight at the Delores Cafe. She's an amazing singer/songwriter.

If you're in the SF area, go check her out!

DETAILS
Fri 05/08
7:30 pm

Dolores Park Cafe
501 Dolores @18th
San Francisco, CA 94110
415.621.2936

w/ Heather Combs!


If you miss her tonight, you can catch her tomorrow night:

Sat 05/09
7:00 PM
KC Turner House Concert Series with Heather Combs
San Rafael, CA 94901
For Reservations: KC@KCTurnerMusic.com

PS: Found this photos of Christine and Kelly McGillis on her Myspace page. Too funny! Two blogs collide!

A Salute to the Women in Our Lives

I've written a lot here about my girlfriends, both old and new, and have often brought myself to tears, especially if I'm just getting ready to bleed, recounting our past shenanigans and current ones. I have the best friends in the world and today, I salute them with this video.

Send this to the important women in your life and tell them today how much they mean to you. What the world needs now is love, sweet love. It's the only thing that there's just too little of.

The Arizona Recap

So, I've sorted through all the photos and videos from our recent trip to Arizona and have a few things to share. The first, a couple gems from our night out with the Posse. The photo was taken at Kyoto, where we enjoyed sake bombers for the last time (they're tearing it down soon and rebuilding some huge glitzy, Scottsdale building). We used to go there when we were in college. All these girls--who are still some of my absolute nearest and dearest--I've known for at least 23 years, some for over 30! We use to run around in diapers together.

From our night out, I've also included a video (albeit dark) of Melanie (who I went to Kindergarten with) and I doing Sweet Caroline at Geisha A Go Go, a fabulous karaoke bar in Scottsdale, where you can rent private rooms and sing your hearts out. And that we did! Patty was filming, but you can see her hand. Together, we sound like a bunch of howling cats. Our karaoke room has never seen such craziness. I'm sure they had to re-upholster the couch and repaint the walls as we bounced up and down on it with drinks all night.




When we weren't singing karaoke or laying by the pool, we played golf, enjoyed grilling out and had an all around fabulous time with my family and friends. We spent time with my uncle Stan and his family, as well as Nana and her best friend Mary Faye. They're pictured below together. They've been friends since grammar school" (Nana's words), so I guess long-term friendship run in the family. Hard to beat 70 years! But I'm sure my friends and I are on the same path and will be rocking out with our rockers when we're 80, laughing about our old shenanigans, too.

I slid in a little video of my mom and Nana doing a little jig to My Humps. Priceless.




For kicks, I also included a video of my parents' dog, Trapper, getting into it with their resident swan, who my mom feeds regularly.

Patty was quite entertained.

From the Juno Awards Trenches

The Juno Awards happened here last night in Vancouver BC and they are all the local media is talking about this morning.

I'm not sure if they air the Junos (which are the Canadian equivalent to the Grammy's) down in the states, but we watched it last night and Sarah McLachlan shined!

Our dear friend, Jenny, scored tickets to the dinner and chatted with her briefly. Check out this amazing photo. Look how hot they both are! Two single women out on a rainy night... imagine the possibilities.

When I heard they met, I assumed they probably really hit it off, as it's one of the world's biggest wonders that they're both single! The woman who lands Jenny is going to be one lucky biatch. Of course, she'll have to get through Lipstick first, which--for all intensive purposes--is harder than getting through the older brother.

The Posse Reunited

We're headed to Arizona this week to spend some time with family, golf and soak up some vitamin D. A trip to AZ would never be the same without a night out with the Posse, so heads up Scottsdale. Lock up the kids, batten down the hatches and get ready!

Tomorrow night is sure to go own in the books. Stay tuned for a shout out from the trenches and a recap from the Scottsdale Police Department.

Lezzie Sorority

Check it out: there is now a national lesbian sorority for you girls who long for the bonding, pillow-fighting, warm fuzzies of joining a sorority. It's called: Gamma Rho Lambda and they're looking for a few good lesbians. Although they're not officially known as the lesbian sorority--but instead "providing a social support system for young college students, inclusive of all of our members, whether they identify as lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning, straight, or with no label"--there sure are a lot of lesbians!

I should preface all this by saying pairing your college experience with sorority life is like sitting down for a steak and the right glass of red wine. I was a sorority girl in college (rowdy-doo Kappa Kappa Gamma) and it was--next to coming out of the closet and deciding to be a writer--the best decision I've made in my life. I'm still very close to many of my sisters (who are all straight, except one, who was my first girlfriend--the novel's coming!) and cherish my memories at Kappa.

Anyhoo, any of you dyke-o-romos in or headed to a big state school (check out their website for chapters) and looking for a similar experience, consider the ya-ya-sisterhood of sorority life.

Dyke Tees

I was just working on our most recent column--which is Curve's fashion issue for later this summer--and was wracking my brain to come up with my top five fashions or accessories. Dipstick's were about as Dipstick as they come: a peace necklace, an army hat, a vintage boy vest. No surprises, right?

Mine are still coming to shape (there are just too many to choose from!), but one thing that was definitely on my list were Dyke Tees. I love this uber cool line of shirts and it's not only because my dear friend, creative storm Stacy Bias, started it, but also because I think they're so cuttingly clever. And it's kind of hard to make me smile when it comes to stuff like this.

As I was cruising their new and improved site this morning, I realized I'd never written about it so I thought I'd share it with ya'll this morning. I posted pics of a few that gave me an extra tickle. (Mom and Nana, the "My Humps" below as for you.)

PS: She just started her own web hosting company, too, which is 100% green web hosting. They do web design, too! Check it out here: www.taproothosting.com


*photos by Kina Williams, Rebecca Bateman, and Lydia Daniller.

Check out Boon!

I love Facebook. I can't believe the people I've been able to reconnect with. It simply amazes me nearly each day. It's such cross section of our lives, huh? I've got friends from pre-school, grade school, high school, college and from my grown-up life all in one nicely organized pool on my computer. I can see how my friends kids are growing and find out what's knew with my exes, all with one stop on the internet.

One of my my recent Facebook joys has been to reconnect with an old friend I met back in high school. Come to find out she and her wife (she came out years ago, too!) just bought and renovated a boutique hotel in California Wine Country. "Boon" (named after their dog) is a resort and spa in Sonoma on the Russian River. Be sure to check it out. It's super modern and has amazing spa offerings. Next time you're in wine country, swing by and visit Boon. Say hello to Crista and her wife, and support our sisters!

Chicks with Picks

Dipstick calm down, I didn't say chicks with dicks--I said Chicks with Picks! Last night was a blast at the Railyway Club, a Vancouver BC music venue that has seen some of the biggest names in music get their start. Notably kd lang, who signed her poster (see photo below). But last night wasn't about any of them; it was about two up-and-coming stellar performers who packed the house with the ladies.

My friend, Bonnie Ste. Croix (who ROCKS!) was one of them and Vicki Sjohall was the other, someone who I was happy to discover. This music series--Chicks with Picks--is put on my local promoter Trigger (GirlGigs) who is super cool and a friend of our friend Ashleigh Flynn (the lezzie community is so connected...by a beautiful web of guitar strings, estrogen, tofu and lube).

I took these little videos of Bonnie and Vicky and thought I'd throw them up here for you as a Monday morning present. (Bonnie had a bad cold, but still sounded amazing! This was in part thanks to the scotch, which soothed her throat so she could finish her set.) The video quality kind of blows, so you can see Bonnie's video for "You are the Reason" Here.

See Bonnie's live version: "You are the Reason" HERE.

See Vicky's rendition of "Nothing Compares to You" HERE.

Check Out Bonnie Ste-Croix

I met an amazing lesbian singer/songwriter this weekend. Her name is Bonnie Ste-Croix (she's French Canadian, big surprise by her name) and her voice is like butter. Be sure to check out her website, but also listen to the moving words in her song "You're the Reason." I tried to embed the Youtube link here, but it's not working.

Check out here instead: YouTubeBonnieSte-Croix

You can buy her cds on CDBaby.

Art for Life

Last night, Patty and I got all gussied up (in hers and hers Italian dresses) and hit the town. Even though we weren't able to partake in the big protests for Prop 8 in the states, we did give back to our community this weekend.

Art for Life is an annual gala held each year to raise money for Friends for Life Society. But last night was extra special because our friend, Sheree Mitchell, was being honored for her generous and exhaustive support and work for the people living with HIV and AIDS through Friends for Life.

The night really kicked into high gear when the live auction started. Patty and I had our eye on one painting in particular -- Dreamer by Cybele Ironside -- and stuck our heels in the ground when t the bidding began. Patty let me hold the paddle and I nearly had a heart attack when the live auctioneer called out its name. Patty, the seasoned auction biatch that she is, told me when to make the first bid. And before we knew it, we were in a bidding war with a fag across the room. Until finally, we WON!

The piece is amazing and this little thumbnail doesn't do it justice (click on it to see it bigger). It's oil on panel.

Patty's beautiful and amazing daughter, Sarah, joined us (see photo with Dreamer and Sarah), as well as Patty's other pseudo daughter, Pamela (say it like Borat), who is equally as beautiful and amazing. The four of us laughed all night and bonded like the yaya sisterhood. We made nachos when we got home, the new painting leaning against the wall nearby, and relished in the the night and the huge rush of adrenalin we all felt during the auction.

Arizona Posse Reunion III

Oh Lord, what a wild night we had here in Scottsdale, Arizona last night! After sun worshipping all day in the lazy river, we all got ready for dinner and hung out in our hotel suite, again laughing our asses off and having a blast reminiscing. Everyone here--save Lipstick--is a mom and three of them are actually currently pregnant. For educational purposes, of course, I got to watch one of them pump their breasts and was amazed at how the nipples looked in those little cups as they were being pulled like a cow's utter. Fascinating... and sort of a turn on. Photo coming soon.

All gussied up, we played CLR (a game that involves dice and dollar bills). I won big and the beaves showered me with money. Also see photo.

We headed out to dinner at Sol Y Sombra, a delicious Spanish tapas restaurant in DC Ranch. It was at dinner when all hell started to break loose after a day in the sun. Some bitter old man, who obviously hadn't been laid in years, complained about how loud we were being within the first five minutes of arriving at the restaurant. All we'd done was cheers our champagne glasses and let out a "yeah." We kind of thought he was kidding when he told us to shut up, but turns out, the dickhead wasn't. He had the manager move them to a table further away. All grown up, we proceeded to have a food fight, a rated X photoshoot and lots and lots of laughter.


The late night shenanigans I'll keep to myself, however, I will share the Scottsdale Police Department Rap Sheet down below. Be sure to click on the sheet so you can read the details.

We're all out of jail today and headed to the pool again to nap, but it was one hellova night!

Until next time...