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February 28, 2010

It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World

I am writing from a hotel in Holland at 4:30am lying beside Contessa and a very tempting opened wrapper of orange chocolate. It is here, on a night off from performing, in the quiet of the wee morning hours, that I want to say hello to you and whisper tales of adventure into your ear.

I will not lie to you. There have been days that we have had internet access backstage that I have turned my back on Charlotte (my trusty Mac) and left her in her case ignored all day as I have roamed down streets in foreign countries I've never been to before and penned in my journal in cafes instead.

I am bursting with so many stories, so many adventures, so many days fully fully lived. I am beside myself with love for all of you that have come out to the shows and waited hours in cold and snow and wind and sleet. On my 3rd year of touring with Em - there are so many of you that have become my family away from home - and seeing you in the audience makes my heart spill over with goodness.

A brief list of things to report from the road:

1. The VKA is in FULL FORCE. Banners galore in the front rows, signs and flags waving, and now apparently pins are being made and distributed amongst the ranks. What have I done to deserve you guys? You are the hard core of the hard core.

2. I have not trashed a hotel room yet. Good for my wallet. Bad for any kind of rock and roll reputation. (EDIT: Moments after writing this I accidentally spilled orange juice all over hotel carpet. Time to throw TV out the window and just get it over with.)

3. I have not played "Hot Lava" this much since I was about 6. When we are in our socks on the tour bus, we don't walk the aisles (which is the hot lava of course and can kill in an instant), but we edge along the lip along where the cabinets begin. We do this while yelling, "Hot Lava! Hot Lava!" We do this every day and it never gets old (I will post pictures later).

4. I bought my first French dress. Contessa picked it out for me, there was only one of its kind and it fit perfect. Wasn't going to buy anything....but you try saying no to a saleswoman cooing at you in a French accent.

5. Had audience members in Italy yell "Brava!" and "Bella, Bella!" during my fan dance. It was a moment I will remember for the rest of my life, and so gorgeously romantic.

6. Had my first Italian cappuccino and followed it by four more. Once my hands started shaking I decided maybe I should stop.

7. Had a spy adventure on an off-day in gorgeous Strasbourg, France.

8. Was accosted by 10 women in pink furry bunny suits during Festival in Munich, Germany.....and I liked it.

9. Wrote a song with Emilie and Contessa in the wee hours of the back lounge of the bus that will almost certainly never be heard by anyone else, but made us laugh for hours.

10. Was moved to tears by the beautiful photo poem my husband sent me on Valentine's Day.

11. Rocked Nottingham and felt all Robin Hood.

12. Got lost in the beauty of narrow cobblestone streets in the snow in Stockholm, Sweden with Aprella and Contesa.

13. Ran out a mere hour before showtime to see the Berlin Wall and snag a German pretzel.

14. Threw off my boots to dive into a gigantic bouncing room (made for kids, but good enough for me!) in one of the hotels we stayed at.

15. Realized that simple sign language learned from years of playing charades substitutes nicely for traveling in countries where you don't know the language. As long as it is done with a smile, it definitely brings smiles to others, too! This technique even got us free desert in both Italy and Germany. Hell yes.

16. Rat Gamed with girls from Italy, Luxembourg, and Switzerland for the first time. Ratty, ratty, ratty.....

This week's adventures include Eindhoven, Bochum, and Paris - Ooh la la! Stay tuned.

Hope you are making this day an adventure no matter where you are!

xoxo
VeVa

Posted by Veronica at 09:00 PM

February 17, 2010

The Next Few Days....

will be very exciting for Lipstick Luvahs everywhere!

There are some people in my life who have truly inspired me with their actions and with their unstoppable drive to go for their dreams. There is one in particular who never ceases to amaze me with all that she dreams and does....and she is one of my best friends - Karen Robinovitz.

Karen helped change my life because she believed in me. She has a huge heart, a brilliant mind of ideas and makes a living loving what she does. And it shows.

Karen made her dream of Purple Lab Cosmetics a reality and now she's going to be featured on the Home Shopping Network tomorrow, February 18th through the 20th! We always hear about people building beautiful empires from scratch.... now is your chance to be a part of making Purple Lab a success story for the history books. Karen is a true dreamer of dreams and a supporter of all who dream....I know. And she deserves this to be awesome.

Please RT and share with friends. I want everyone to be watching this go down! Let's make this a success together!

TUNE IN TO PURPLE LAB ON THE HOME SHOPPING NETWORK

Thursday, February 18th at 9AM and 8PM EST
Friday, February 19th at 12PM and 7PM EST
Saturday, February 20th at 2AM EST

When Karen is on her Huge Lips Skinny Hips lip gloss will be $22 and you can get TWO for $29.50 for these three days by clicking here.

I wear her lip gloss Red Sole every night on stages around the world. It is my secret weapon to the ultimate glitter lips. Apply and tap on loose red glitter! Voila!

Put this awesome event on your calendar and tune in, Lovelies. And as Karen always says, "MWAH!"

xoxoxooxox

Posted by Veronica at 06:32 PM

February 11, 2010

With Regrets....

I am re-posting this press release that we just received.

We are all very sad that we will not be touring the next few dates. The fans are SO IMPORTANT to us. If there was anyway that we could do it we would... we will be missing all of you. Please be thinking good thoughts for Em that she has a speedy recovery. There was so many of you that I was looking forward to seeing and meeting again - we shall have future adventures, my Loves....

Kisses, VeVa

PRESS RELEASE:
We are very sad to announce that Emilie Autumn has today been struck down with Tracheolaryngitis. This is basically a serious infection (and subsequent inflammation) of the voice-box and windpipe and yes, it is as painful as it sounds!! Emilie is currently unable even to speak, let alone sing or perform, and she is under strict doctor's orders to rest totally and not use her voice at all for the next three or four days minimum. Obviously it would be impossible to perform her usual show under such conditions, so we have no choice but to cancel the shows in Graz, Vienna, Prague, Bratislava and Innsbruck . This is not a step we take lightly, and while we understand that fans will be disappointed, we also hope that they will understand and join us in wishing her a full and swift recovery.

The rest of the scheduled shows will take place as planned, and we will be announcing rescheduled dates as soon as possible... please go to emilieautumn.com for further information!!

Posted by Veronica at 03:48 PM

February 10, 2010

Magic Dreams

I might be part owl....me behind the shadow screen at the start of the show. Picture taken by Rikka <3!

On the long drive from Berlin, Germany to Warsaw, Poland on rough backroads made of cobblestones and dirt, I ventured into a land of dreams. Perhaps it was brought on by the beautiful magic presents that some wonderful fans gave me that I was snuggling next to - some faerie potions, a few crystal points, and a deck of exotic tarot from Norway....

In my dream, Contessa and I were dressed as gypsies. We wore patchwork dresses of many different kinds of lace and ribbon. We wore heavy silver necklaces made of beads and bells. We both had multi-colored hair with dreadlocks and we were on a quest to go to all the magic places in the world. We were traveling all over and at one point found ourselves in the Hollywood Hills. We were watching the stars and all the lights over the hills, when Contessa told me that we needed to go speak to a man that she had met before who lived in a cave.

I went in and met a man whose face was half man/ half owl. It was split right in half. He put his right hand on the left side of my face and I thought that quite possibly the left side of my face might turn owl. He said that everything in my life was going exactly according to plan and that I was starting into the blooming....

He was kind and wise. I asked him how the right hand side of his face became owl. He said that his gypsy mother used to kiss him on his right cheek every night when he went to bed, and one day, that side of his face just became half owl.

What happens when I keep kissing you?

Posted by Veronica at 01:50 PM

February 05, 2010

Tour 2010

It begins again. The life of the traveling gypsy....

As I write this to you, I am hijacking internet somewhere nestled in the middle of nowhere in snowy, gorgeous Norway. We are more than a week into the European 2010 Key Tour and our comfy 1940s mint green double decker rolling house has traveled to so many beautiful cities. The tour has been a huge success - the crowds are fantastic, the fans are loud and amazing and well, Veronica's Kissing Army is in full battle world domination mode.

This morning, I found myself on the second level glass room above the driver's level which we affectionately refer to as the "tea room", and throughout winding small roads of the Norwegian countryside, I watched the sun rise. The colors pierced through the fluffy snow covered trees and lit up the sky - fiery orange and red. I was cuddled in my blanket, the only one awake, watching the world start to stir. In those quiet moments, I thought about how grateful I am for this experience. How grateful I am to be able to get on stage every night in cities all over the world and be able to meet so many of you.

My body is getting used to constantly moving again. We perform and then get on our bus and move while we sleep and wake up in a new place everyday. There are quiet winding roads and the busy autobahn, bridges, tunnels, and ferries. We take them all. We live out of our suitcases and one big flight case that holds all the crystal covered costumes, Victorian lace, masks and feathers. We soak up as much beauty in a place as we can muster because before long, the road will be calling, and we will be back into our moving home and onto the next city.

There is great comfort in the familiar faces in the audience....our extended road family. Seeing the VKA in the audience all dressed up, with banners and signs and all the screaming makes me proud and makes me feel at home anywhere in the world. You have been coming from all over and spoiling us with handmade presents and gifts of magic (songs you made, faerie figures, magic gypsy necklaces, pretty tarot decks and candles) and gifts of comfort (pretty soaps and teas, comfy socks and mittens) and even a gift for my dog Niney (pink rhinestone collar!). Your love and sweetness to me on the road just makes my heart burst with thankfulness. You remind me that this is truly living - being able to perform doing what I love every night on stages of the world and at the same time build solid, supportive friendships with so many of you. We get to experience this journey called life together. And what a fun, wild ride it has been lately! Here is a pic of my amazing Kissing Army UK waiting outside of Wolverhampton NINE hours before the show in freezing weather. This is how I was greeted as I came off the bus.....it was a damn good day.

Thank you for opening your heart to me. Thank you for packing out the houses every night that we play. Thank you for playing with us. Thank you for waiting in this shivering cold for hours ahead of doors opening, thank you for making the audiences loud, thank you for being so very alive, thank you for making this a gorgeous, fun and unforgettable experience for me. This is a time we will remember always.

We are creating this together.

And we have only just begun.

See you tomorrow, my Oslo Beauties....I am so looking forward to being in your presence once again.

Love,
VeVa

Posted by Veronica at 12:50 PM