ToTblog: Life of a Lead Singer

How I Write Songs

noreply@blogger.com (TellingOnTrixie) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:05:00 +0000

A taste of what's going on in our Backstage Blog on A Band with a Plan.com:

How I Write Songs: Derek

When I write, it's almost always at night, or when I'm on the road, vacation, and many times, on a plane. I don't know what it is about planes. Maybe it's because I spent so many years as a flight attendant. I suspect it's because I'm detached from distractions. Honestly, if there were a 12-step for Facebook, I'd probably be chairing a meeting.

For example, I wrote the lyrics to "Orion's Light" when I was in Africa, and I had received music from Brad just before leaving. Sometimes I hum a melody first and then find the words to match it. Sometimes, it's the opposite.

Recently, I wrote "Eden (Take a Bite)" when I was in Australia, mostly, during the flights there and back. Tommy gave me the music and I had it in my iPod. I just listened to it over and over. I was reminded of a story Tommy told me about when he and his girlfriend Robin began dating. I know the intoxicating thrill of a new relationship. So I took his story and I wrote the lyrics, casting them as sort of a modern-day Adam and Eve, with a Tulsa hotel room as their Eden.

I have trouble sleeping. A lot of times this is because when I lie down, and the chaos of the day begins to fade, I get inspired. And I either get up, write my ideas down, or promise myself I'll remember them the next day, which I never do.

Almost everything you hear from my mouth on this upcoming album was born either late at night, or as I was in transit, or both.

Big Jugz

noreply@blogger.com (TellingOnTrixie) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 22:16:00 +0000

Right now, Brad is at the Bon Jovi concert in Central Park, Tommy is playing a Blue Man Group show, Andrew is probably working in his new bathroom, Matt is who-knows-where and I'm cleaning spit-up off my shirt. Although I love Bon Jovi, I adore The New Kid on the Block more- Mr. Asher.

Asher is noticeably different when women hold him. I think I know why. Sometimes, in a fit of body dysmorphia, I accuse myself of having man boobs. I feared Asher would think I was his milk source there for a while...until I read Skinny Bitch. Skinny Bitch shocked the carnivorous crap out of me, sending me to the Farmer's Market on 14th Street at every chance, but also effectively shooing away a few pounds off my mid-section.

At least until yesterday. The treacherous iPhone line sent me into relapse and subsequent shame spiral. After 4 or so hours in line (and by in line I mean inside in the air-conditioning with the baby while DJ stood in the sun outside), I marched across the street for some Grade D chicken on a stick. I figured my fall off the wagon might as well be fun. In the next 5 hours, I downed a hot dog, some Boston Market, a block of smoked Gouda and a pint of Stony Farm Chocolate ice cream.

The sugar buzz kept me up all night as I Facebooked, Twittered and MySpaced my friends, family and Telling on Trixie fans - from the iPhone 3G, in the dark, in my bed, while the DJ, Asher and the pets slept all around me.

The entire time, I received my new favorite message - the Google Alert. Whenever someone posts Telling on Trixie, Stevie Nicks, or my name on the Internet, a little email is sent. I love this because I got to see immediately that the Insomnia Cafe Podcast played our song "Atlantis", a teeny-blogger named "Cweestal" blogged about our band and the appearance by Jade Cole in the "Halfway Back to Sane" video. Our friend Zack Daggy played "Orion's Light" on his show The Flame. Jeff Hinz spun the dance remix of Halfway on the Friday Night Dance Party.

This week, Brad and I are doing an acoustic show on Tuesday night, July 15th at 8 p.m. at The National Underground. I love doing our set this way - just me and Brad. Usually, the songs will sound like they did when we first wrote them, so a bit of nostalgia washes over me while I sing. The cover is $8, and for those of you who have joined A Band with a Plan, your admission is on us. We are trying to reach our recording goal of $20,000 by the end of September and we're only 1/4th of the way there. If you think you'll get our next album, please consider joining now. The more people that join, the more press we get, the more successful the Plan is, the more people join, the more likely the chance that we'll actually be able to go into the studio on October 3rd. To make it fun for everyone, we're posting new, old, and rare songs on the site for members only, so that they'll get twice as much music as they pay for by the time we reach our goal. Remixes, acoustic versions, silliness, etc. are all in the Music Room page.

As my days have become nights and my nights are my days, I have a lot of quiet time with the baby, interrupted only by my Google Alerts. So, keep 'em coming and keep in touch.

Gonzo

noreply@blogger.com (TellingOnTrixie) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:20:00 +0000

This week, I hosted NewNowNext (it still is in rotation, so go to LOGO and watch). I never realized the importance of angles. At some angles, I looked like I could do well on TV. At others, I resembled: a bald stork, Gonzo from the Muppet show, C3PO or Balki from Perfect Strangers. Also, thanks for voting us #2 on the Click List Ultimate Videos last week.

Do you see the resemblance?

Veggie Soup: a tribute to Telling on Trixie

noreply@blogger.com (TellingOnTrixie) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:01:00 +0000

Fashion designer, Telling on Trixie fan and all around nice-and-quirky guy, Francisco Medavog, sends us a one-of-a-kind tribute:

The Planning Begins

noreply@blogger.com (TellingOnTrixie) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 22:48:00 +0000

Ahhhh...our second album cometh. Planning, politics, production and pfundraising. Not in that order. I'm ecstatic to get the new songs to our fans. I'm really excited to move on to the new stuff. And we're taking many of you with us for the ride. We've set some new short term goals in order for us to record the album...check 'em out on our site. We've already posted top-secret insiders stuff - free music and lyrics, private blog posts for our members.

Here I am, mulling it all over.

Father's Day

noreply@blogger.com (TellingOnTrixie) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 02:17:00 +0000

On Father's Day, June 15th, 2008 at 7:54 a.m. Asher Hanson Nicoletto popped out on the third push.

From what we can tell, he digs Feist and Elvis. He does not care for any of the screaming divas.

He is a total angel. In sixteen years, he no doubt will be taking the car keys and stealing money out of my wallet to buy hooch with his friends.

Things to do in Denver while waiting for a Baby

noreply@blogger.com (TellingOnTrixie) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:53:00 +0000

Awaiting the birth of our son, I'm in a holding pattern in the mile-high city.

Here are some things I've found to do until he decides to shoot down the waterslide of life:

accept friend requests on Facebook from people I've never met and am sure are up to no good.
visit with 9-month pregnant surrogate who looks 3 months pregnant.
hurry up and wait.
write songs.
contemplate reactions to fantasy-births: two-headed baby, baby of unexpected race, Republican baby...
fight with Brad on the phone.
celebrate DJ's birthday.
go to Elitch's amusement park. Yay!
eat.
fall in love with GPS woman as she kindly, but firmly directs me about town.
give interviews about a Band with a Plan. Will Stevie Nicks answer us? Will we meet our goal? What is to become of Telling on Trixie? Enquiring journalists want to know.
work out kinks on upcoming tour schedule.
explore You Tube.
blog.
read iProng magazine article featuring Alanis Morrisette and...Telling on Trixie (duh).
read AfterElton.com.; watch Homophonic.net; read cnn.com.
conclude that most bitter mean women have big behinds.
encounter same in hotel and AT&T store.
accidentally call people on iPhone and then remain forced to make enthusiastic conversation.
go to Boulder.
go to see Sex in the City in wrong city. (see photo of DJ in empty Denver theatre at 8 p.m. weekend showing)

Sexy Time: A Group Effort

noreply@blogger.com (TellingOnTrixie) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 05:19:00 +0000

Two of my favorite people, Jay and Sally, own the Morgan Lehman Gallery at 28th at 10th Ave in NYC. Last week, I was finally in town and free the night of the opening for Sexy Time: A Group Effort, a collection of sex-themed art pieces.

After the show, we sauntered to elmo. I stuffed my face with mini-burritos, courtesy of elmo owner Stephen.

Pictured, some not-so-mini-burritos provide the medium for this art piece.

Dear Stevie Nicks...

noreply@blogger.com (TellingOnTrixie) — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 21:34:00 +0000

My message to Stevie Nicks:

Between Gov. Corzine & hard place (or Martha Wash)

noreply@blogger.com (TellingOnTrixie) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:18:00 +0000

For our biggest (live, non-radio) audience to date, we performed for 17,000 people at Jersey Pride on Sunday the 1st.

At first, I had no idea why there were so many secret service men running around the stage. I mean, how dangerous can drag queens and guitar-clad lesbians be? But then I saw that New Jersey Gov. Corzine was about to do his schtick. He spoke briefly, some more lesbians, then some more drag queens...then us.

The wind was blowing pretty hard and at times, took the breath right out of my mouth.

As you can see, the entire event was interpreted for the hearing impaired. I couldn't take my eyes off her as we shared the stage. She signed along to our new song, A.N.F.O., "Hand me a hammer, baby, give me some good ammo. Hand me a hammer baby, A.N.F.O. ...someone left the baby underneath the kitchen table. Someone let the bathtub overflow...."

For her, it was a bit of a change from Corzine's comments just moments before. But probably not that different from the C&C Music Factory hits Martha Wash cranked out shortly thereafter.

AfterElton, Homophonic and me

noreply@blogger.com (TellingOnTrixie) — Thu, 29 May 2008 15:30:00 +0000

In this vlog interview, Alex and Lee of Homophonic nearly kill me as I sink into their quicksand-like couch. For the AfterElton interview, we talk about the making of Orion's Light, the making of our Telling on Trixie music and finally, the making of a baby. The baby "drops" on June 22", y'all!

Maroon 5 with balls

noreply@blogger.com (TellingOnTrixie) — Sat, 24 May 2008 07:23:00 +0000

Tonight I was a guest artist on the Joey Reynolds show WOR Radio. Basically, the seating arrangement was this: Joey Reynolds, a comedian who texted the whole time, me, an older queen, another comedian, some guy from Law & Order, and another comedian.

I didn't understand half of what they were talking about, but they played Dumb Boy and gave me lots of compliments, such as, "You sound like Maroon 5...but with balls." I'll take that.

A Band with a Plan

noreply@blogger.com (TellingOnTrixie) — Wed, 21 May 2008 15:30:00 +0000

'A Band with a Plan' Takes Fansourcing to New Levels

Today, we announced to the world that we've begun a twelve month plan that utilizes our fans and music lovers as active participants in our label, our album and our next video. It's called A Band with a Plan.

We invite anyone who has ever wanted to be a part of the indie band experience, whether it be as a recording artist, a video vixen or a record executive, to hop on our little Engine that Could and go for the ride with us for the next twelve months.

We took a long time putting the Plan together so we want you to take a look at the website and become active participants.

As I recover from our Cincinnati show this past weekend, I'm sitting with a lot of gratitude both to the fans who came to see us, to the club owners at Below Zero Lounge who treated us with respect and gave us the chance to entertain their crowd.

We've had a great, sometimes overwhelming, successful first year and we're excited to share year two more intimately with you.

Take care,

Derek

Derek and a Destiny's Child

noreply@blogger.com (TellingOnTrixie) — Tue, 20 May 2008 22:53:00 +0000

Last night I attended the New Now Next Awards at the MTV studios in Times Square. There was beauty everywhere...I can tell you that. Among my favorites, Michelle Williams from Destiny's Child. We chatted about her new single and other nonsense. I also got to meet Junior Vasquez, Cyndi Lauper (who refused to let me take her picture b/c she was shoving crabcakes in her mouth) and some other high-falutin' stars. Janet Jackson, scheduled to appear, sent some message via satellite. I must admit it was totally uncomfortable watching her lose the wrestling match with the words "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender," but God love her, she looked great.

Most of the time, I spent the evening hanging around with the guys from homophonic.net. Click the link, and you'll see my interview with them (beginning on 5/21). Deepa Soul played hostess, introducing me to everyone in the room and providing the best line of the night, "Oh my God, this is REAL CRABMEAT."

Real World: Hollywood

noreply@blogger.com (TellingOnTrixie) — Mon, 19 May 2008 04:03:00 +0000

Big fat smooches to the folks at Bunim Murray, who have used Telling on Trixie's music in a few of their programs, such as MTV Real World/Road Rules Challenge, Gauntlet III, and this past week, "Dumb Boy" played on Real World: Hollywood. I've never been a reality contestant myself, although I did get pretty far in the Survivor interview. Alas, my music is appearing instead.

Pictured, Beth and Coral smash each other's faces as "Halfway Back to Sane" plays in the background on MTV's Gauntlet III.

Coffee, Tea or Me?

noreply@blogger.com (TellingOnTrixie) — Fri, 16 May 2008 00:44:00 +0000

When they do the "Behind the Music" on Telling on Trixie, they will probably get wind of my former career as a Northwest Airlines flight attendant. I sucked at that job. I'll just say it. The public-at-large is better off that I'm no longer in charge of service or safety.

Now, I sing! A much, much better fit.

Although I've blocked most of it out as the brain tends to do with traumatic periods of our lives, I will never forget certain moments:

The day of the heart attack man/pregnant lady falling/ overdosing girl/ senior citizen breaking her hip. (yes, I said DAY)
Amsterdam. (I won't elaborate.)
Narita farts. (Also called 'crop dusting' - this is when a flight attendant flatulates whilst moving quickly down the aisle so as to spread it out.
Serene, Lyuba and the NYC crew.
Liquor minis.
The Marxist Theory argument I had with the pilot. (I hate pilots, still to this day. Cheapskate jerks.)
Walking off a plane because the pilot was an arse.
The day I hid in the overhead luggage compartment while the plane was boarding. No one opened the bin I was in!

Most of my former colleagues are still trudging around up there, overworked, underpaid and handed dirty diapers.

Super stews, this one's for you!

Hillbillies and Hitmen

noreply@blogger.com (TellingOnTrixie) — Mon, 12 May 2008 00:17:00 +0000

It's been a while since my last post, mainly because I went home to Indiana for a week for a funeral and stayed for a birthday party. I think as of today, I have safely recovered from culture shock. I choose not to rag too much on my hometown, because it's actually quite charming. But let me say this - I was aghast at the number of plus-size stores. Lord. Every night was Taco Bell or pizza. And inevitably, I returned with the volume turned up on my Hoosier accent.

Above is a picture of my brothers, my father, my uncle and me. Yes, we look like mafia stock. But mostly, we speak of music, as my brothers are in a Nashville band called Fires and my father has had his own totblog post heralding his musical career.

You Are My Face

noreply@blogger.com (TellingOnTrixie) — Thu, 01 May 2008 02:38:00 +0000

Performing for strangers all the time, people usually comment on our music, energy, and their favorite parts of the performance. However, there exists an eerie species of music-goers that comments first not the music or my voice, but rather on some physical feature of mine (or my bandmates' body parts, which I will leave to them to discuss). From these experiences, I have gathered the following findings, laid out in this very scientific, technical guide.

If the first thing you say to me is a comment about my:

my: YOU are:

eyes = probably nice.

nose = boring. It's like, duh.

bald head = boring. Again, duh. And usually ugly.

scar = either ballsy & cool or a total jerko, (this can go either way)

Stevie Nicks-like skin texture = my new BFF.

lips = probably a British chick.

cheekbones = again, a chick - possibly American.

mole on end of nose = blessed with superhero vision.

weight fluctuation issue = dead meat/jerkorama.

(above: me. Nose-mole Photoshopped off by Stephen Dimmick.)

Podcamp NYC

noreply@blogger.com (TellingOnTrixie) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 20:52:00 +0000

We were invited to participate in Podcamp NYC, a conference for podcasters and bloggers. Brad and I gave a few interviews and an acoustic performance on Saturday, courtesy of iProng Magazine. One interview is already up, for Go Rainbow Radio.

The coolest thing was attending the sessions and meeting Internet radio DJs and podcasters who have played our music, like Dan Herman of Radio Crystal Blue, Pete Harris of Harris Radio, Jeff Hinz of Friday Night Dance Party, CC Chapman of Accident Hash. Other podcasters who will have us on in the future include Nikki from Blog Talk Radio. In addition, we made some cool friends who podcast in other genres, like Chef Mark of Remarkably Mark and the Culinary Media Network.

In the sessions, I understood about 40% of what they were talking about. Flashback to when I was a foreign exchange student, sitting in class with a smile on my face, understanding only bits and pieces: "The future of music depends on a podcaster's...platform ...(I smile).... RSS...(I nod my head)...song selection...independent...feed burn...RIAA...(shake head)...calling the kettle black." I will say that the part I actually understood, I got a TON out of.

Above, Brad and his acoustic. More pictures on Flickr!

A Bloody Good Time

noreply@blogger.com (TellingOnTrixie) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 05:04:00 +0000

At our show at the Annex the other night, our drummer Andrew played until his hands bled all over the set list. Literally. For more photos both pretty and sick, see our flickr, myspace or facebook photo albums.

A Walk in the Park, Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (TellingOnTrixie) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 23:55:00 +0000

The following things happened, in this order, as I walked Henry and Moses around Washington Square Park this evening:

Some forgotten former Bravo reality star, Carson-Siriano-Scarlett Somethingorother, sprinkles past us in his black patent leather loafers. In turn, Moses makes a sprinkle of his own.
Moses eats an apple core.
A man in a dusty green sweatshirt says "Smoke?" to me.
A UPS man reads a People Magazine while picking his left nostril with his right index finger.
An incredibly hot Dutch couple asks me how to get to Sixth Avenue.
Henry tries to pee on a daffodil. (Don't worry)
A woman asks her friend, "How do you say 'smoothie' in Hebrew?"
Another man says, "Smoke."
Moses eats a Kleenex.
A Domino's pizza guy rides his bike on the sidewalk while talking on his cell phone, nicking almost every pedestrian and sending me into a rage.
Rage subsides, somewhat.
A woman calls me a "Dumb F*cker" for letting Moses pee on a young tree. (Accident)
Rage re-swells.
My super, Irish Martha, tells me I've lost weight, as I "was getting a little porky."
Smile.

It's a brush, sweetie. Not a wand.

noreply@blogger.com (TellingOnTrixie) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 02:19:00 +0000

Trixie of the week: Stephen Dimmick.

Stephen Dimmick is one of NYC's hottest make-up artists. His Australian-born hands paint the faces of supermodels and cover the pimples of top actors. Because he's also a kick ass friend of mine, he helps Telling on Trixie out whenever he can. I can just imagine his calendar: ...Monday - Celine Dion cover...Tuesday - Hilfiger shoot...Wednesday - Dior runway show...Thursday - Telling on Trixie (pro bono)...Friday....

If you've seen our behind-the-scenes You Tube clips from the "Orion's Light" video, you might be able to tell that he's part make-up artist, part therapist, part stand-up comic. There's a great clip of him painting Jack Mackenroth's face. Between the two of them, the crew could barely get any work done because they were either being harassed or entertained the whole day. Stephen spent all day applying shades and texture to Jack's body. At one point, Brad passed by them and spat out of the corner of his mouth, "Enough is enough with the body painting." "Fine," Stephen responded, placing the glitter on the counter. He spun to his right and shouted toward Matt. "Excuse me. The director informed me you need more oil on your chest." Matt glared a death wish at Brad.

That day, Stephen was my on-set shrink. I began talking at him beginning at 7 a.m. My nervousness about this, my frustration with that. Each time he gently brought me down to Earth. By the time my close-ups were to be shot, and after approximately twelve hours of my blabbering, I pleaded with Stephen, "Oh my God. You've got to do something about my dark circles. I look like a raccoon on crack." I hurumphed back into the chair, folded my arms and awaited a gentle, ego-stroking compliment.

Stephen looked me dead in the eyes, drew his face close to mine and whispered, "It's a brush, sweetie. Not a wand."

Pope

noreply@blogger.com (TellingOnTrixie) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 04:11:00 +0000

The Pope's people phoned our people and promised to produce his Papal presence at our performance on Friday. Annex 9 P.m.!

Captcha makes me cry

noreply@blogger.com (TellingOnTrixie) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 02:10:00 +0000

I suck at Captcha. Every time I try to respond to a MySpace message or to register for a new website, I am forced to spend several desk-pounding minutes trying to decipher this horrible puzzle. I know the rest of the world must not be having as much trouble with Captcha, or it wouldn't be so prevalent. For me, it's like color blindness or dyslexia. I simply cannot get Captcha codes correct on the third or even fourth try. I'm constitutionally incapable of Captcha.

Many sites include a spiteful little greeting with their Captcha, like, "We just want to make sure you're not a computer, so please enter the code!" Here, I am surely setting off spam signals left and right. With every failure I feel needlessly guilty, like a driver being passed by a sirening police car chasing someone else. There's a moment of self-doubt and inadequacy. Is some portion of my brain undeveloped? Is it fried from my 'party' days? Did they insert more than a metal plate when I cracked my skull fifteen years ago? Perhaps ...a little... chip of some sort? The cure works - I must have the disease, right? The paranoia sets in.

Many times, I just click that little swirling arrow button without even attempting the code. Is that a stretched out "Z"? A roller coaster "N"? Or just part of that weird ink smear thing? When the letters touch each other and do not make a real word (which is most often the case) I surrender immediately.

I have decided to come forward about this. To be open about my condition. Not only to increase awareness, but so that those of you holding resentments because I haven't responded to your MySpace comments will know that it's not of my own will. I'm sick and suffering. Please know that Captcha has probably got me. Got me g8ooEYs7jd.

Smells Like Teen Spirit

noreply@blogger.com (TellingOnTrixie) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 19:31:00 +0000

Last night we performed for 1,400 super-charged NYU Students at the Relay for Life. Our stage shared the same floor as Starbucks and RedBull. Imagine the buzz. Speaking of buzz, a girl named Trish "buzzed" all the hair off her head for donations! Brad and I donated $80 and each got to clip a row of hair. Now, she's bald enough to join our band.

The students locked themselves in the gymnasium for 12 hours, raising thousands of dollars for the American Cancer Society. Thanks for sharing an hour with Telling on Trixie, NYU.