Luscious Jackson Throws A Party

 When I'm about to go crazy
cause I'm still living here
I just get my friends together
and we dance, dance, dance
cause this is the state of the world
this is the state of the world
this city tells me what it's like to live
- City Song Lyrics

Luscious Jackson surrounded by dancing fans. 

If you're Luscious Jackson and you haven't played your hometown of New York in 13 years, why not throw a welcome back party?  It happened at Webster Hall on Saturday.  The band was in fine form and the audience loved it.

The show opened with Here from Natural Ingredients and also used in the movie Clueless.  (I will always think Roller Derby when I hear this song.)  When Gabby sang Get on the Floor/Let's Dance some more, the stage was set.  Early on they played the hit Naked Eye, still cool as cool.  Other highlights were Nervous Breakthrough and Why Do I Lie?  The new songs like Are You Ready blended in seamlessly with the old. The band has a new album, Magic Hour.

Jill entertained the crowd with her tale of the days when they would sneak into Webster Hall (which was probably called The Ritz at that time). It involved scaling a wall, a dumpster, a fire escape and a knock at the door.  This entry is no longer an option. 

There was probably some anxiety about coming back after over a decade hiatus.  Will people respond? Will they show up?  The floor was packed with people having a great time.   Jill, Gabby and Kate made us feel like they were enjoying the ride and we were passengers in their bus.  

Kudos to Sparkle Beauty Studio's Gabriel Trujillo and Jeffrey Fernandez who worked the hair and makeup. Loved Jill's sparkling eyes.  They could be seen from the balcony.  As she said, "Gabriel really gets the glitter on!"

From The Reservation To The Runway

I've mentioned Sparkle Beauty Studio before.  It's a wonderful place to get a great haircut, be pampered and listen to a well-curated mix of music.  Gabriel Trujillo and his business partner/spouse Jeffrey Fernandez have created a unique space for beauty.

Jeffrey and Gabriel in The Green Room at a Letterman Taping

Gabriel and I met when I was managing Luscious Jackson (as an aside, LJ are recording a new record).  Jill heard about Gabriel and got a haircut which led to him becoming an integral part of their look.  I have fond memories of he and Jeffrey keeping it together on the shoot of the Naked Eye video.  The days ran way longer than they should have.  The guys were doing hair and makeup for the Luscious ladies as well as at least 20 extras.  Part of the video was filmed in the lobby of the World Trade Center.  There we were at 1am bleary eyed and losing our minds. At least I was losing my mind, the guys did not.  They continued to make everyone look good at that hour.

Gabriel and Jeffrey have a "Be Beautiful" column in a new magazine called Reality Weekly, which  is available at Walmart, Target and other stores.  Gabriel is profiled in The Minot Daily News.  He grew up on a reservation in North Dakota and lucky for us New Yorkers, he made his way here.

Gabriel has directed music videos (check out Jill Cunniff's Lazy Girls) and taken most of the photos  on the Sparkle website, which he built.  Gabriel is an amazing hair and makeup artist.  It doesn't stop there, add to that writer, director, webmaster and photographer. 

A Holiday Train Wreck

Hypebot is spot on.   They describe the new Coca Cola commercial, which uses Train's song "Shake Up Christmas":  (the spot) totally derails a perfectly good holiday moment. The song is a very odd choice for a Christmas ad. Train's lead singer Pat Monahan was quoted in Reuters as saying, "I think of what I did with 'Shake Up Christmas' as a 'how can I help'" spread some happiness."   The commercial is cluttered and noisy. His idea of spreading happiness is lost in the mix.

Here's a Christmas ad that got it right.  I managed Luscious Jackson when they performed "Let It Snow" for a Gap ad.  It's fun, it's grabs your attention and the ladies are all wearing Gap.  Kudos to Sparkle Beauty Studio for making the ladies shine. 

Discovering New Music While Getting Your Haircut

Radio isn't quite what it used to be for discovering new music. I keep reading that listenership is up, but advertising is down. I'm guessing that Talk Radio is leading the way. I don't know many people who turn on the radio to hear music. People are becoming their own radio stations. iMixes on iTunes are a great example of that. I've known Gabrielle Trujillo and Jeffrey Fernandez, the owners of Sparkle Beauty Studio for over 10 years. Not only will you get an amazing haircut from them, but you will be treated like a king/queen and will be turned on to some great new music. Music is Gabriel's passion and he's an informed and intuitive "DJ". Each month he posts an iMix which is a seamless bounty of new music. He removes it when the month is up and posts a new one. This month I was introduced to Ohm-G & Bruno, McFly and Augustana. Gabriel's iMixes are a great way to catch up on new music if you don't have the time to jump from Internet radio to terrestrial to satellite.