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April 23, 2009

I Put A Spell On You....

....because you're mine.

Look deeply into my eyes, Beauties. This is the way this gypsy works her magic.

This tour without a doubt has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It has been amazing seeing the world and being so welcomed all over. It has been delicious sleeping on the bus until noon, then adventuring, then strapping on our corsets and performing, getting a chance to do my pink feather fan dance that means so much to me, and to be able to meet so many of you and then go off on more adventures.

I will be honest with you, the last few days there has not been wireless, or I've been in a situation where it's the choice of wireless or having an adventure. And as much as I adore you....I will always choose the adventure. It's in my blood, you see. You can't hold that against me. I have had my little journal next to me in my bunk, so I am keeping my adventures there and will share them all with you soon.

Things to know:
Em and the Crumpets....closer than ever - we're practically communicating telepathically on stage we're so in sync with each other. I am convinced that in former lifetimes we traveled the vaudeville cabaret circuit together.

VKA....the numbers are multiplying by the second for world domination. Synthetice and Ariel are adding more things constantly at the Official VKA website. Check out the new banners and avatars! I am so proud of my hot and gorgeous soldiers.

Our Road Crew = our new family. Dolores, Ewa, Paul, Inky, Carsten and of course, Herman - our faithful driver of the Asylum tour bus.

The world = our playground!

I have SO many tour pictures to share, but I just wanted to check in and say hello. And let you know I am still alive and still soaking up every drop of these beautiful days that I will remember always.

Now...I'm off to sit in a garden under the German sunshine before we have to get ready.

Love you as always....

Posted by Veronica at 10:57 AM

April 12, 2009

Oh....About Last Night.

There are no known pictures from last night (thankfully). So this post is brought to you by some trouble making girls on top of a statue in Berlin. Namely, Aprella, Contessa and me.

What I can tell you about the last 24 hours....

*Laundry was done. Hallelujah. We pulled our suitcases off the bus and just sat in the parking lot sorting our clothes out. We are true gypsies of the road, sleeping on our treasures and airing out our dirty laundry for all to see. Now that's rock and roll *Glamour!*

*Captain Maggot cut my bangs. I waited until she was sober, which happens somewhere during mid-afternoon. She did a damn fine job.

*We got dressed up and did the book reading with Emilie. The crowd was great and we were all fresh and showered. WOO! AND LUCINA joined us!!

*Afterwards, because the bus call was pushed until 4am, we decided we might as well get dressed up and go dancing....

* We paid Paul (our awesome crew guy) five euro to dance in a cage on the dance floor.

* After Dolores bought me a tequila and then Ewa bought me a tequila (have I mentioned how much I love them?) - we all ended up joining him.

* At one point in the night, Aprella was holding onto me in the hardcore metal room whipping her long, blonde hair all over the dance floor and swirling me around until we collapsed in giggles.

* Dolores, Ewa, Aprella and I were screaming lyrics to some old metal songs at the top of our lungs.

* Em decided she was going to mess with all the goth kids and we ran onto the dance floor and tried to get everyone to hold hands and dance with us in a circle and then fall on the floor and pretend we were rats.

* We danced like crazy - incorporating the "feed the chickens" dance from Contessa's bollywood video into as many things as we could.

* We piled on the bus at 4am and then Em and I attacked a bunch of celery and peanut butter in the back lounge. We do attempt to be semi-healthy. We talked until 6am and I passed out in my clothes with all my make-up on.

* I woke up with red lipstick smeared all over my face. When I poked my head out of the bunk upon arriving in Frankfurt this morning, the first thing I saw was Ewa also poking her head out of her bunk, holding up an unidentified bra and saying, "What the hell happened?"

* I then had to half clean myself up because I heard that the VKA UK (yes, they flew in this morning...now that's dedication) was out in full force and waiting in front of the venue and I didn't want to scare them.

* I stumbled out of the bus with reapplied lipstick and got ready for this beautiful day in Frankfurt.

Happy Easter! (The venue here even put Easter baskets for us backstage. Yummy-yum. And psssst - for the people coming to the show tonight - Maggot hid chocolate eggs all over the club. Easter Egg HUNT!!!!!!!)

Posted by Veronica at 09:34 AM

April 11, 2009

This is what happens...

....when I wake up in France and have the most delicious crepes ever in a sunny outdoor cafe.

I get very happy.

We ended up wandering into a mini sidewalk circus and discovered this crazy cotton candy face with a smile on it.

So I did what any girl would do - handed Emilie my camera and did my best impression of cotton candy.

Because well, that's what you do when you're sleep deprived, insane and feeling absolutely la-la-lovely.

Indeed.

Posted by Veronica at 11:47 AM

April 10, 2009

Bon Jour!

Our tour bus crossed from the border of Germany into France yesterday and I woke up in my bunk with the sounds of birds chirping.

Spring has definitely arrived in France...and the colorful blooms are all over the quaint city of Strasbourg. We spent our day off yesterday soaking up every drop of this city and celebrating the actual date of Carsten's birthday. The city was a maze of antique buildings with colorful shutters and old-fashioned street lamps. There were little twists and turns all along the cobblestone streets ending in the center square and the Cathedral of Strasbourg.

I ducked into a little shop of handmade clay pottery hearts of good luck that are traditionally hung over door entrances. There I met Clarise - who reminded me of a French version of my Grandma Helen. She was a sweet old woman who runs her store with her husband in the center of town. Not knowing much French - I find myself communicating more with my eyes, smiling and using sign language. We were able to introduce ourselves and talk a little through Ewa who knows much more French than I do. After we left the shop, she called out my name, ran after me and gave me a little souvenir of pictures of Strasbourg and gave me a big hug. She was so kind and sweet - it's amazing how connected you can find yourself with other people although we speak different languages from each other.

We ended up celebrating Carsten's birthday in an old Irish pub - where we played Truth or Dare into the wee hours of the morning and I got the whole bar to sing Happy Birthday to him. Then we stumbled back home under a beautiful moon and grabbed blankets from the bus to sit out under the stars in front of a art mural of cows.

It is almost 6am....sleep is calling....

Posted by Veronica at 01:39 PM

April 09, 2009

The Wolf Watches Over Us

In Munich...

As I write this, we are all hanging out in the back lounge of the tour bus after a heavenly day of adventure around the city.

Since the last time I wrote.....

* Contessa and I adventured in the dark trying to break into a building in Munich that shall be unnamed. We learned you do indeed need more than one hairpin to be successful. However, I am convinced that Contessa is a gypsy and can do anything she sets her mind to.

* We watched some random film that someone bought in a gas station at 4am after a show called "Sunday School Musical" - which at one point in the film, for no reason whatsoever - one of the girl characters says to the main character...."Are you stressed? Is it something to do with school?" Which we have taken to saying on stage.

* Contessa and I stayed up late exercising to her Bollywood dance video jumping on our beds along to the video. Now at random break stops we jump out of the bus, do the Bollywood moves under the moon and jump back on the bus. We find it makes us feel better afterwards. I mean, it's Bollywood. How can you not feel better afterwards?

* Nana surprised me in Vienna with another painting she did of me as the Queen of Spades which I will post as soon as I can get it scanned. I was very touched to receive it. Which reminds me - I also have to scan the amazing drawing that Synthetice made of me as well. Not only are the VKA loyal, fierce and gorgeous - they are also quite talented.

* Aprella, Em, Contessa, Maggots and I - as well as Paul and Ewa of our awesome crew - stood in the sunshine under the spectacle of the dancing barrel makers of the Rathaus-Glockenspiel in Munich. Apparently, in the 16th century, the first people to come out of hiding in Munich after a bad bout of the Plague were the barrel makers who did a dance to let people know it was safe to come outside again. The dance is re-created on the bottom tier of the glockenspiel and it was fun to watch.

* At one moment today, while just sitting on the stone walkway in front of a cathedral talking to Paul and Maggot - everything got silent for a moment and we were looking around at the people walking past us and just enjoying the day. It really hit me what a true adventure we are on...and that I was in fact, on the opposite side of the world from my home and having the chance to experience new foods, new culture, new sights and getting the chance to meet so many of you on the road. It was just a good feeling - a feeling that everything is right in the world knowing that I did not let down the child in me who wanted to travel and adventure so much. Moments like that I wish I could capture in my head and replay over and over. This is why I type this now...so I will not forget.

* Then all of us, my traveling gypsy family, met up to celebrate Carsten's birthday. A sunset of violet and blue made way for an almost full moon decorating the sky over the romantic city. I will never forget walking underneath old brick tunnels of this historic German city seeing the lone shadow of a violin player on the wall as his music drew us all further into the tunnel.

* It is after four in the morning and we are all still awake. We are drinking tea and giggling uncontrollably.

And that is all.

For now.

Posted by Veronica at 10:25 PM

April 03, 2009

Musings

The lovely madness has begun.

The screams from them were wrapping around all of us...something beautiful and electric....something born from goosebumps.

And there we were.

Do you remember when we thought we were dreaming - once when we were little and we were planning our lives?

Drawn maps of glittered markers of rock and roll adventures and screen dreams of golden Hollywood.....

Do you remember....

When we cracked open our hearts and little birds flew out and sang?

These are some of the times that I will remember all of my life.

Thank you.

Truly.

Posted by Veronica at 11:27 AM